Very happy to know that my Abandoned America trademark has been coopted by not one but two different AI slop "creators", both based out of Europe to circumvent my legal protections.
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@AbandonedAmerica JFC, that really sucks. I'm so sorry. Fuck AI and anyone propping up this fraudulent garbage.
@AchillesTang thank you. It's pretty dispiriting. But hey, when the whole world is currently an ocean of scams, what's one more I guess
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@johannab @AbandonedAmerica It isn't only web projects. A book produced by a local org in my community is being sold through bookshop.org at $300 and up. I'm sure it's filled with AI text.
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Fuck. I am so sorry. I know there are open web projects working on combatting shit like this, but it’s too little, too slow, for those refusing to use AI to fight it.
@johannab I honestly don't see a way of winning without destroying the existing models and setting guardrails for new ones and we all know that's not going to happen
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@AbandonedAmerica @johannab Yep. There's no way they got any part of the text.
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@AbandonedAmerica Oh, this is so shitty of them.
@okwari yuuuuuuuup
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Well, nice knowing you all, I guess. The work I spent 20 years creating will drown in a sea of AI impostors using models that pilfered my writing/photos to create their garbage. I don't have the money to hire lawyers to chase phantoms. I'm sure this is coming soon to every small artist with a brand
@AbandonedAmerica I refuse to hit star on this, but thank you for sharing and I hope people will still manage to find you and find the difference
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@AbandonedAmerica @johannab Yep. There's no way they got any part of the text.
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@AbandonedAmerica Who will photograph its remains? Looted data centers; unlit strands of fiber optic cables dandling from IXPs walls...
@pr_ret_lutz it'll have to be someone else because hopefully I won't have to live through this entire farce to its conclusion
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@pr_ret_lutz it'll have to be someone else because hopefully I won't have to live through this entire farce to its conclusion
@AbandonedAmerica sorry to ear what you're going through (I did buy your book and really love your writings).
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@AbandonedAmerica I refuse to hit star on this, but thank you for sharing and I hope people will still manage to find you and find the difference
@almad thank you. I appreciate that. This project has never been an easy job and hopefully the luck that's got me this far won't quit just yet.
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@almad thank you. I appreciate that. This project has never been an easy job and hopefully the luck that's got me this far won't quit just yet.
@AbandonedAmerica I appreciate you doing this. Labor of love has its clear signature, and it’s getting rarer and rarer…
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@AbandonedAmerica sorry to ear what you're going through (I did buy your book and really love your writings).
@pr_ret_lutz thank you very much, I really appreciate that. All I see are flaws in what I put out sometimes but hey, at least they're my flaws. It means a lot to know other people enjoy it.
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@AbandonedAmerica I appreciate you doing this. Labor of love has its clear signature, and it’s getting rarer and rarer…
@almad that is the truth. I think a lot of "labor of love" projects are vanishing off of the internet due to this type of stuff.
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@AchillesTang thank you. It's pretty dispiriting. But hey, when the whole world is currently an ocean of scams, what's one more I guess
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@almad that is the truth. I think a lot of "labor of love" projects are vanishing off of the internet due to this type of stuff.
@AbandonedAmerica It was nice while it lasted.
My hope is that it’ll lead to resurrection of offline spaces for those venues.
And maybe even sufficiently shielded online communities will appear…
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When your favorite websites or YouTube channels or whatever go offline, hide behind a paywall, or just stop producing because all their public work is stolen with AI, the Internet is going to be such a miserable and shabby place - devoid of the only spark that made it truly magical years ago.
@AbandonedAmerica @mcc The open internet is already dying. Everything growing logins to throttle scraping if not to age verify.
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@AbandonedAmerica It was nice while it lasted.
My hope is that it’ll lead to resurrection of offline spaces for those venues.
And maybe even sufficiently shielded online communities will appear…
@almad that would be cool. I hope so too. But I think when we start looking away from our screens - if we do! - we're in for the unpleasant realization that third spaces are in a pretty bad state too
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When your favorite websites or YouTube channels or whatever go offline, hide behind a paywall, or just stop producing because all their public work is stolen with AI, the Internet is going to be such a miserable and shabby place - devoid of the only spark that made it truly magical years ago.
@AbandonedAmerica Ugh. I'm so sorry.
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@AbandonedAmerica @mcc The open internet is already dying. Everything growing logins to throttle scraping if not to age verify.
@blinkygal @mcc absolutely. I've heard about a number of creators who decided to stop publishing online due to AI. I haven't added new work to my website since 2025, I only post it on Patreon. Wanna guess why? The answer isn't because I'm trying to change for everything. Putting stuff out for free actually works best for getting subscribers. But I'm sick of my work getting hijacked
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@AbandonedAmerica Ugh. I'm so sorry.
@MFennVT thank you. Me too.
