Ian Coomber

Ian Coomber

@madeindescribable.bsky.social

Occasional Academic. Sporadic Backpacker. Constant Geek.

143 followers232 following722 posts

Ian Coomber reposted

katlunya.bsky.social
@katlunya.bsky.social

Some Lula supporters apparently shouted his name out their window when it was announced he won and a cop pointed his gun at him and they took what is possibly the greatest image of a cop ever taken, like genuinely this would go hard as a cover for a Rage album its so poetic.

Ian Coomber reposted

Christie Golden
@christiegolden.bsky.social

This hit me unexpectedly hard in the best way. To my Brazilian, friends and fans, you should be very proud of yourselves and your country today.

Diana Passy@dianapassy.bsky.social

Many people are talking (correctly) about how youth participation was important for this result, but I’m crying because of scenes like this as well. Older people who aren’t required to vote anymore but made a point to show up and reject fascism.

Ian Coomber
@madeindescribable.bsky.social

😢😢😢

Jesse Thorn@jessethorn.bsky.social

My pal Danielle Koenig shared that her father Walter Koenig passed away last night at age 90. A performer whose kindness and warmth shone through the screen. He will be well remembered.

Ian Coomber reposted

Adam Schwarz
@adamjschwarz.bsky.social

Lula: "We had to overcome foreign interference through digital platforms, which we will have to regulate. A crime in the digital world must be treated the same as a crime in the real world. We cannot have monstrous companies earning millions... not paying taxes... wanting to steer elections."

Ian Coomber
@madeindescribable.bsky.social

"What was your biggest impact on the internet?" I once wrote a What Culture listicle about Star Trek novels that was shared by several authors. "Impact" might be pushing it, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

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Ian Coomber reposted

the pickwicker man
@pickwick.bsky.social

Everybody is mentioning poppy month in response to the BBC's sudden anti-badge, pin, symbol and slogan crusade, but I'd also note that they're flogging Pudsey badges and T-shirts for Children in Need in two weeks

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *

Ian Coomber reposted

Picard Tips
@picardtips.bsky.social

Picard civics tip: Becoming subservient to an oppressive regime shows profound disrespect to the people being governed.

Ian Coomber reposted

Kelly Barnhill
@kellybarnhill.bsky.social

Nailed it.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

AOC: "What the Trump administration is doing in targeting trans people is to get everyone on board with supporting defunding their own civil rights ... understand that when they attack trans girls in sports, they're also attacking all women's ability to stand up against their abusers"

Ian Coomber
@madeindescribable.bsky.social

Ruin a song by adding "I guess" to its title "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine I guess"

William Leisner@wleisner.bsky.social

Ruin a song by adding “I guess” to its title (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)(I Guess)

Ian Coomber reposted

George Young
@vitageorge.bsky.social

📣Calling all women and femme writers📣 I am looking to commission around 10 heartfelt essays surrounding video game criticism. If this sounds like something you are down to do them read on and I urge you to apply. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.comWomen-led book pitchHey women, femmes, and literary gems, First off, I'm George Young and I like video games. I like them so much I've turned writing about them into my career. While I love to write about them, I also l...

Ian Coomber reposted

Courtney Milan
@courtneymilan.com

This is such important work, and the thing to keep in mind is that when AI people tell you that games will be personalized for you, this is the kind of thing they are more likely to mean.

Morgan Johnson@poormojo.bsky.social

No joke. I think this is the most important video I have ever seen about mobile games. This guy breaks down how this game psychologically profiles you, and makes the game harder or easier in order to show you ads

Ian Coomber reposted

Kate Griffin
@griffinkate.bsky.social

eBay users! Don't ignore today's email, even though it looks like a boring standard update to the User Privacy Notice. They want to use your data to train AI models. If you click the link over the words "the right to object", it takes you to a page with a toggle button letting you opt out.

Ian Coomber reposted

Chaz Hutton
@chazhutton.com

AI Slop Design School… (Did I spend hours meticulously recreating a horrible poster just to take the piss out of it? Hell yeah I did)

Ian Coomber reposted

Rose Schmits
@roseschmits.bsky.social

The people responsible for this must be held to account and punished for knowingly implementing discriminatory and anti health policies

Trans+ Solidarity Alliance@transsolidarity.bsky.social

NEW: NHS England know the harm they are doing to trans patients. Their internal assessment reportedly warns of corridor care, treatment delays, outing, discrimination and healthcare avoidance being among the risks identified from their new policy www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

theguardian.comNew NHS England policy for trans people could have ‘a number of adverse impacts’, report findsExclusive: rules on same-sex wards could lead to delays in care, discrimination and animosity between groups, finds internal assessment

Ian Coomber reposted

John Scalzi
@scalzi.com

I see we're having a debate about whether it's okay to go back to "X," the site owned by a trillionaire fascist who is currently bankrolling the GOP's midterm, throttled Ukraine's war effort, and still winkingly allows vast amounts of CSAM on his service Answer: No, what the fuck is wrong with you

Ian Coomber reposted

Alex Winter
@alexwinter.com

It’s taking a long time for people to wake up to the fact that these platforms are not public forums but privately owned companies with terrible agendas and total control. If you lay down with these dogs…

The Hollywood Reporter@thr.com

TikTok “Permanently Suspends” the ‘Musk’ Film Account, Raising Suppression Fears (Exclusive)

bit.lyTikTok “Permanently Suspends” the ‘Musk’ Film Account, Raising Suppression Fears (Exclusive)TikTok has banned the entire Musk film account, citing political content that violates its policies. The move, which comes just as the Alex Gibney’s investigation into Elon Musk expands to more than 470 screens across North America, raises concerns about Big Tech suppression that the very film seeks to expose.Distributor Bleecker Street was informed Friday afternoon a “permanent suspension” was coming. The entire page disappeared from TikTok’s platform shortly after. The film company had been planning to spend ad money to boost certain posts; that will no longer happen.
Ian Coomber
@madeindescribable.bsky.social

I did one day at a small amusement arcade. As soon as I arrived the only other person went for a smoke break, left me on my own with no training. Also part of the ceiling collapsed.

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Ian Coomber reposted

A.R. Moxon
@juliusgoat.bsky.social

If you would try to win by abandoning trans people (or any targeted group) you can save this “we need to win” talk; there is no “we.” I am about solidarity, and you have chosen anti-solidarity. You are not any “we” I recognize. You are the enemy I’m trying to defeat. Beating you is how my “we” wins.

Ian Coomber reposted

Anon Opin
@anonopin.bsky.social

£10 spent on benefits isn't just £10 lost, it's £10 that will then be spent on food, or rent which keeps circulating in the economy. £10 given to big businesses in a tax cut just ends up in a profit margin, or a millionaire shareholders pocket. Its likely never spent again.

Ian Coomber reposted

Rose Schmits
@roseschmits.bsky.social

Many years ago, i had a serious mental health crisis and was hospitalised for it. The care was actually really good and that week on a womens ward did in fact save my life. Had i been treated as the nhs now says i should be, i would have in fact, only been pushed deeper into my suicidal crisis

Ethel Weapon@lousadzak.bsky.social

This will kill people

bbc.co.ukTrans people should use hospital spaces according to biological sex, NHS England saysNew guidance says trans patients should be cared for on single-sex hospital wards or bays that align with their biological sex.

Ian Coomber reposted

Laura Helmuth
@laurahelmuth.bsky.social

A friend's sibling's child is non-binary, and the friend wished English had a good word for them. OH, says I. But we DO! That's your NIBLING. It's a mash-up of niece/nephew + sibling, and it's gender-neutral, linguistically efficient, and CUTE. Sharing this for anybody who doesn't know the word.

Ian Coomber reposted

Prince Charles Cinema
@princecharlescinema.com

The Prince Charles Cinema Secures its Future The Prince Charles Cinema is thrilled to announce that we have signed a new 25-year lease with no break clause, ensuring our projectors will keep rolling for years to come. #YouSavedthePCC