DudelRok

The internet has not really been high on my priority list of things to deal with, especially with not wanting to be home on a general level, but you all know how that is. Put a lot of emphasis online and then accidentally a social life and things get pushed aside.

Currently one school year down (sans a summer term I'm debating I even want to deal with right now), and in charge of a club on campus ... accidentally. I do a lot of things on accident, like get to know people and hang out places. I don't know. Certain aspects are still difficult to deal with, but a lot of others are becoming easier to not only have but express. Not looking forward to the day my inner filter finally goes away 'cause the close calls I've had recently were sorta bad ... well, no, nothing bad happened but the expression of internal thoughts without much, well, thought, is sorta bad in and of itself.

I'm not sure who's still about on dA. What of y'all are going about doing your own thing or curious to where I went (especially those who know me from places like RPGuild or Backloggery as I've not been around either very much the last 6 months/year) but I basically woke up from a sleep I wasn't aware I was sleeping and refuse to go back to bed. It might have felt like a pretty nice dream while I was having it, but I realize it was a bit of a nightmare. A part of me always knew, be why a lot of my writing has to do with being trapped or locked somewhere, but now I really know. I like the world outside, and would like to stay there.

I ... I am in a state. Dudel (sometimes with a Rok) is an entity I have created in order to help handle certain aspects of self that would be otherwise difficult to, well, handle. By itself, this was fine. The problem, though, is that "Dudel" is largely an online concept without a real face, yet it's the version of self most easily identified with ... and I am now actually "out in the real world"  taking this creation of "me" into it as a way to better deal with things than previously able.

...the bottom line of things is my "online self" and my more "real self" are quickly becoming a more single realized thing, and this is causing me to make some choices on how and what I wanna do. I suppose I shouldn't change my behavior because I suddenly have to actually slap people for being stupid, but there comes a point where questions arise and they are questions I do not want to deal with.

I realize I'm not making much sense, and the fact I'm dancing around something clearly undisclosed brings my motives into question, but there are just certain aspects or things certain people are unaware of, and I prefer it this way. ...but that might not be possible if I want to accumulate all of "Me" into a whole piece, which I really need to do in order to keep my bloody brain stable, so I'm stuck wondering if it's "Go for broke" time or if it's time to pull away ... but I don't want to pull away, and I hate myself for doing that the first time, so my choice becomes obvious, except the way to do this is very difficult and requires a string of awkward transitions.

So... yeah.

I'm so paranoid.
So very paranoid.

First thing I want to get out of the way is: Phishing isn't hacking. Phishing is a lack of internet safety by the person who's been targeted. Some simple ways to avoid phishing scams are installing NoScript to identify scripts running and learn to identify malicious or suspicious URLs.

All dA URLs look like this dudelrok.deviantart.com, and most competent browsers will show you the exact link you are going to in either the bottom left or bottom right of the browser window. If you hover over the above link, it should show a redirect from deviantArt to "example.com." Speaking of redirects: dA directly warns you NOT to follow links you don't know. The staff of dA has included a fail-safe to prevent people who, perhaps, don't know some of the horrible things online by halting any link that exits dA with an explicit warning that you are leaving dA. If you are not using a competent browser, then start using one. Internet Explorer is BAD. If you are using it, stop. Use Firefox or Chrome for Windows systems. Mac users should be fine as is. (And Linux users know better.)

Now, if you do somehow lose access to your account, the very first thing you are going to want to do is a password recovery. Of course, in order to do this you will need access to the email account you signed up to dA with. If you don't have access to that email, why didn't you change your email in dA's settings some time ago?





In some cases, people who use phising scams target your email (and not your dA account) and reset your password for you. In that instance, I'm going to ask you: "Why does this person have your email?" Be careful who you give your information out to and where you display this information. Moving along if you do find your email "hacked" you'll reset the password for your email account by, amusingly enough, having a second email or form of outside verification (like by cell phone text). You do the same thing you would with dA, resetting your password by claiming it as "Forgotten." And, then, you will have to reset your dA password.



So, to give a quick recap, what is the very first thing we will try when our accounts are "hacked?" Reset the password ourselves!

If for any reason you did not do any of the above, and you can not (for whatever foreseeable reason) reset your password, you may contact dA directly via email about the lose of your account. Seen Here As: FAQ #660.

Direct Copy Paste

My deviantART account has been hacked. What can I do?
Please email violations@deviantart.com immediately for assistance.

Please note: If you have lost access to your account, there is no need to create a new account in order to contact the Help Desk. Please email violations@deviantart.com and staff will assist you as quickly as possible. Since deviantART does not delete accounts, any 'extra' accounts created to contact the Help Desk cannot be deleted after the fact.

Now a report has to be clear and properly structured in your native language with correct spelling, grammar and manners. I can not emphasizes manners enough! If you want someone's help, you don't start off by screaming at them for not doing their job. Yes, having your account taken from you is annoying, but these people are here to HELP, and they are far less willing to do so if you are insulting. Be clear and concise with your report. Show specific examples as to who you are, use whatever you think is relevant. DeviantArt staff have the ability to check certain things, and with some individuals it is quite clear when a different person is behind the wheel of an account. Now, after we've sent our report, WE WAIT. A staff member will get to that report as quickly as possible, and any information they need from you will be asked for. These questions are to make sure you are not a Liar McCheaty Pants trying to steal someone's account, because dA does not watch everyone's account 24/7, or at all, really, as the community is expected to self-regulate.

The best way to solve all this, though, is by not making yourself a target. People who rage, flame and start all kinds of noise are those that find themselves at the wrong side of an attack because it is these reactions that most "hackers" relish in. They want you to squirm and cry, to flip tables. It gets them off. So the very best protection against "hackers?" Don't be an asshole.

Kind of an "Oh yeah" moment, but I finished that first semester of supposed "upper education." Grades were posted today, so I figured I'd share my thoughts. Firstly: If Summer with 4 classes is supposed to be some huge big deal and fast paced, I am DREADING the slow, tedious, hell that will be fall. Can you believe that the supposed "mini-mesters" were not fast enough for me? Cramming an entire class into 6 Weeks was, for me, too slow.

I'd like to now take a moment and send a few shout outs to my classmates and teachers.

Random-chick-who-was-in-both-my-Bio-and-Math-class: "No, I'm not paying attention to you, no I don't care what you are doing, and no, I'm not even ware of your name. I'm also not a genius, you are just dumb. Fuck off me, for real."

Bio Teacher: "Looking forward to flirting with you in the spring term. You never told me to stop, so I didn't."

Math Teacher: "Don't belong here my ass! I didn't open my book ONCE, payed minimal attention to what you had to say and passed with, what was it again? Oh yeah, an A."

Com Teacher: "Good job, man. Good job. I approve of your methods, mostly. I wanted to sign up for your Com II class but all the spots were in the early morning. Yeah, no... and I'm not waiting. I want the English and Humanities out of the bloody way as quickly as possible."

Spanish Teacher: "We're cool."

Dude's-that-decided-to-circle-around-me-and-make-me-their-Bro: "We're cool. It's all good. That one guy probably shoulda cheated, though. It wasn't like I was hiding my test or cared. He's gonna have to take that shit a second time. Sucks to be him!"

Underage Girls: "Pin your age on your forehead somewhere! I don't need the threat of jail time just for talking with you. One chick in my Spanish I class was 15, looked 28... and I was not the only person fooled. Now that I'm 25, I really have to pay attention to that crap, and is not fun."


I hope that the long painful stretch that is fall will AT LEAST be more difficult. I mean... bleh. It's supposed to be new material for me for the fall, so let us hope.


Also: I am no longer a WOTM Contest Manager. Thank God!

...I think.

Honestly? I am not sure. I believe I did well enough to pass, but it might be by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin. By the way the class was set up, one bad grade could really eat you up. I really should not have tried and contest with the professor, as he was quick to call me on my shit. Good fun, though. Good fun. It isn't often that someone has such strong moral/ethical lines that they plop my ass down with a bad grade; in fact, I earned my first legit bad grade from my Com 1 professor. ("Legit" meaning I did not receive a 0 for non-complete, but got a honest "Bad job, try again.") I still remember the shock I felt at seeing that D. I thought the guy would push it to a C as most teachers tend to. Quit glad he didn't give me that free C, too, as then I probably wouldn't have created such a nice research paper for my final grade. Well, I think it's nice, but I'm going to think it's nice as I think everything I do is nice. I'm awesome! It's a rule.

So Com 1 is done, and now I have Spanish and Math coming up next week. I'm quitting WOTM as I'm kind of sick of RPGuild as a whole, let alone managing the entire process myself, and if things go according to plan, I'll be able to post up my Com 1 assignments within the week. (No promises to anyone paying attention. I'm keeping it as speculation, for now.) I wanted the professor's approval on that as I 1) am not sure of the rules when it comes to such things and 2) want to include the comments I received with my own thoughts after. They will be constructive thoughts about myself and my writing, not about the comments I received. I'm not that much of a dick. (Well, maybe I am, but the intent and purpose of this project is to get a little more out of the short semester that I might have otherwise missed.)

Also: Who's the jackass who made all the spell-checks in the world? "Otherwise'd" is totally a word! I am going to point you at slang, and common usage, and other stuff that only makes sense to me, apparently.

MOVING ON!

Oh, wait, I'm done.