For example, if I put in extra hours as a data analyst to work on analyses and manuscript drafting that led to four peer-reviewed publications with colleagues, should this just be included as a bullet point under the role or specifically called out as work that went above and beyond what was required for the job? This work was entirely optional on my part. I don't want to make it seem like it's the greatest accomplishment in the world, but 4 publications in one year of work is pretty good, so I don't want to short change myself either.
Tips?

All quoted excerpts are from: MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT ALLEN'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS.

Coercive police activity is a necessary predicate to a finding that a confession is involuntary...However, coercive police activity is not a necessary prerequisite to challenge the voluntariness of a defendant's statement...The proper standard under the Indiana Constitution is whether the confession was "freely self-determined and the product of a rational intellect and a free will."
Thus, courts look to the totality of the circumstances to determine if the confession was voluntary, taking into account many factors, including:
(1) whether the statement was made under a court order; (2) use of police trickery; (3) threats or promises by police; (4) defendant's race, age, or disability; (5) length of detention; (6) physical coercion; or (7) illegal police practices.

In review:
October 19-Investigators receive analysis on unspent bullet and Richard Allen's Sig Sauer, Model P226.

• Allen is not immediately arrested. He is instead lured to the Lafayette Police Station on the pretense of retrieving one of his vehicles, seized during the October 13th search of his home. Detective Holeman immediately attempts to elicit a confession from Allen. When this attempt fails, Allen is arrested.

October 26-Richard Allen detained/arrested
October 28-Charges lodged
November 3-Without a hearing (before Allen had appointed counsel) Judge Diener signs order transferring him from Carroll County to--

Westville Correctional Facility and placed in a maximum-security segregation unit referred to by prison officials as WCU.

November 3, 2022 thru December 2023 (Approx. 395 days) - Allen remains at WCU.

Through this process, Allen's attorneys have learned that Allen has been accused of making incriminating statements to both inmates and guards. Nearly all of these statements appear to have occurred between mid-March of 2023 and June of 2023. During this time frame, there also exists* medical/psychiatric records suggesting that Allen was in a state of psychosis.
Most notably, Allen's living circumstances within the prison appear to have been designed (whether intentionally or unintentionally) to expose him to some of the harshest conditions that even the most heinous of convicted offenders have not endured. This coercive environment was initially the product of Allen being detained in an observation cell used for convicted inmates with suicidal ideations.
Allen's attorneys have learned that he was referred to as a "baby killer" and that he was the target of other similar accusations during his stay in the WCU.
Prison records reflect that Allen was placed on "suicide watch" during the majority of his stay at the WCU, including upon his initial detention in November of 2022. This occurred despite the fact there were no underlying findings to suggest he was suicidal.
Allen's bed consisted of a metal plate with a thin mattress, all of which was just a few inches from the concrete floor. Allen was issued an anti-suicide smock which covered his body no better than that of the garment of a caveman. Allen's food was served to him through a cuff portal and his dining habits involved him sitting on his bed or on the floor, as his cell was not equipped with a table or a chair that would otherwise serve even as a rudimentary dining arrangement.
Allen's attorneys learned that Allen was not only under constant surveillance, but that the lights remained on in his cell for many days and nights. It is also true that due to his "suicide watch" designation, he was afforded less or no recreation time and less of an opportunity for showers.

Observations:

1. There is a pattern of behavior on the part of investigators and other State actors of engaging in a number of aggressive attempts to get a confession from Richard Allen.
2. Both pre-arrest interviews turned quickly into aggressive interrogations, even though the case made against Allen was less than 2 weeks in the making.
3. Allen is imprisoned in unnecessarily harsh and restrictive conditions (there were arrangements available for a jail stay as opposed to maximum security incarceration.)
4. Allen did not exhibit suicidal tendencies that warranted this extreme oversight and especially harsh conditions.

On a side note--It was 4 months into Allen's stay at WCU that these "confessions" occur. The timing also coincides with the expected release to the public of 284 pages of discovery.
This next is totally a lay impression of what has occurred here, but I propose that when direct coercion tactics failed, it seems abundantly clear that the State then invested in indirect tactics.
Though the term Indirect Coercion is not one that I've seen used in regard to false confessions, I believe it is applicable:

Indirect coercion is referred to as "impersonal coercion," which is the pressure that arises from structural arrangements and circumstances that seem beyond individual control

The actions of the State speak.
This is not a case of a coerced confession given during a custodial interrogation, or even testimonial, this is a case of what I can only refer to as a method of indirect coercion, almost akin to Chinese Water Torture, where an individual is subjected to conditions so extreme that they broke his spirit and his ability to function rationally.
If we are looking for the truth, playing cruel games with the mental health of the accused is not the way to go.
What McLeland should be concerned about is whether these confessions are worth anything. Are they probative? Or are they nothing more than the rantings of a broken man?
And I will point out, nothing was learned from these confessions. The opposite. The information Allen gives is patently false.
When Chris Watts confessed, the world learned not only what had occurred the morning of those murders, but where the bodies were.
Allen's "confessions" filled in no blanks. They answered no questions. They are a distraction at best, a violation of so many crucial tenets of our legal system, it boggles the mind.
There are no words.
Definition of Psychosis: a severe mental condition in which thought and emotions are so affected that contact is lost with external reality.
Symptoms of Psychosis: Suspiciousness, paranoid ideas, or uneasiness with others.

• Trouble thinking clearly and logically.
• Withdrawing socially and spending a lot more time alone.
• Unusual or overly intense ideas, strange feelings, or a lack of feelings.
• Decline in self-care or personal hygiene.

So Tl;Dr I'm posting here hoping someone has a comprehensive answer to my question. I (32m) am wondering, what tangible results or outcomes does therapy with a psychiatrist/counselor hope to achieve?
I have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD for about 13 years, having received the diagnosis during my freshman year of college. When I was younger I had doubts as to the diagnosis, but my skepticism has diminished as I've aged. I have been prescribed Adderrall and Vyvanse, but I've never consistently taken it. I felt the side effects of diminishing my social presence, essentially eliminating my appetite, and producing an insatiable desire to smoke, CONSTANTLY, outweighed whatever benefits the medication provided. So I largely don't take it. I was seeing the same psychiatrist for the last 10 years. Mainly just 2 to 4 times a year to check my vitals, no counseling. But he retired summer of 22. So I currently receive my medication through my PCP. And after some life blows and setbacks I experienced in '22 and '23, I now have family members encouraging(nagging) me to find a new doctor and seek additional(new) treatment.
I still don't view ADD as something that drastically affects my life, hence why I haven't sought out more viable solutions previously. But I'm not opposed to receiving counseling. So I started seeing a licensed psychologists last spring and summer for about 12 weeks, with weekly visits. I ended up stopping the sessions after starting a new job and being unable to accommodate visist with my new schedule. But, I largely felt like the treatment was a waste of time.
It was difficult finding a doctor in my insurance network to begin with. None of the licensed psychologists/psychiatrists in my area specialize in ADD treatment. Almost all of them were part of some drug management program. Which is what I had to use in order to be paired with someone. Furthermore, I didn't really feel compatible or comfortable with my doctor. She was about my age or maybe a little younger. She felt more like a peer as opposed to an expert that I could be comfortable opening up to.
And largely, I walked away from the experience feeling like it was an entire waste of time. I don't need someone to vent to, nor do I even feel comfortable doing so. From my experience with this doctor, I feel as if that is the service she was providing. Maybe she'd be helpful for someone who would find value in having someone give commentary or help them process certain situations, idk. But, this has left me wondering, if I should continue seeking psychiatric treatment, what kind of results should I be hoping to experience?
I don't doubt the validity of psychiatric therapy, I just don't understand how it's supposed to help with ADD. For example, when you experience a deeply traumatic experience, your body is filled with Adrenaline and other endorphins and hormones. And counseling can help someone process that experience more clearly without the effects of those chemicals on their body. And it makes sense with depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders how therapy can help. And in those situations, the goal that's wished to be accomplished is apparent. Maybe to process a past experience without triggering a PTSD episode. Or to help improve one's mood. But what is therapy for ADD hoping to produce?
From my perspective, I feel I just need to be more disciplined, work harder, be more goal oriented and focus on achievements I hope to accomplish in order to overcome the setbacks I've recently experienced. I dont understand how having conversations can improve my experience.
So my question is, how does this help with ADD? What does success with ADD treatment look like? What outcomes can successful treatment hope to produce?

Have the devs ever mentioned why certain guns have a sight?
FCAR has the lowest mag size so I can see it being implemented for you to better hit your shots.
XP-54 I’m assuming same reason?
But why give guns such as the V9S and 93R terrible iron sights even the LH1 has a better iron sight then the pistols
The consistency with XP and FCAR are what makes them so good to use imo especially the XP
for example the V9S I need to hit 5-10 shots with it but the gun kicks so much that I’m mostly guessing where the bullets are going.
Not to mention I have to click fast enough and control it
Sure the damage is nice when you hit your shots but the XP is so much easier to use and 9/10 will beat a V9S.
Even the iron sight on the XP is better lmao. I just want to see where I’m shooting and where the enemy is at.
We already have 150 hp, can we at least have decent iron sights?

over the past few months or so i've been back on the apps and have had 3+ guys unmatch me after we have made solid plans without saying anything?
for example: this morning we made plans to go out tonight, and I said "sounds like a plan, see ya then!" and at somepoint after that they unmatched and didnt bother to cancel or say anything before unmatching when we have a time and location set?
this has happened a few other times recently and wondering if that's the vibe now or if I have just had incredibly bad luck?
i know dodging a bullet, ect ect, but are the boys okay?? so rude

slidesdown is my second shot at a plain markdown slideshow tool after mdshow. Fully free/libre/open source, no commercial offering, no tracking, no compilation step, Just Markdown. The goal?

Create slideshows as fast as you can type.

How to create a presentation?

1. Writes your slides as plain markdown - headings, bullet lists, etc. and store it as SLIDES.md
2. Add icons, they're all available
3. Use tailwind-style classes for quick HTML/CSS formatting

How to display the presentation?

Upload presentation to a git repository and point the online service to it.
Example link for the slidesdown project's presentation https://slidesdown.github.io/?slides=github.com/slidesdown/slidesdown

Slidesdown can also be used with non-public presentations via the slidesdown command line tool

• Present from local file system via Docker or the online service
• Or generate a URL for the online service that contains the whole presentation

Example & Online Service: https://slidesdown.github.io/
Source: https://github.com/slidesdown/slidesdown
I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions. The biggest thing that's currently missing is an online editor.

Can anyone recommend some good online intermediate to Advanced Word training? I’m starting to get into some quite complex word document creation and things like formatting and page/section alignments are starting to drive me loopy. I can build large ADDS/Hybrid identity implementations but I can’t make a Word document do what I want it to do.
As an example I want to create a template document where everything except the actual content is locked down and can’t be changed.
Only content can be added removed. So for example text styles are locked. Bullets styles are fixed. Numbering of headings and sub-headings is fixed. Document title and file name is locked down based on same the company document property value etc.
Anyone got any pointers?

As an educator, it may surprise you to hear that I view most of American education as a scam that drastically needs reform. No amount of debt forgiveness will get to the root of the problems in our education system from high school, all the way through graduate school.
As a high school history teacher, I can assure you that our students are not receiving the education they deserve. While some of us do try to teach life lessons such as taxes, how to get the most tax breaks, investment strategies, and how to start their own small businesses, most teachers do not. Furthermore, we do not teach students critical thinking skills AT ALL, you know this if you went to American public schools where students are expected to blindly listen to their teachers OR ELSE! In my class my students know that they are free to question me, in fact, I encourage it, as why should they merely accept what I have to say? After all, we only met at the beginning of the school year... We teach kids not to talk to strangers, yet we expect them to blindly follow teachers whom they just met, or deal with repercussions?
Another problem with high school is that we do not get students involved in technical schools soon enough, and make ridiculous requirements for them to do so. For example in my school the students must maintain a certain grade level to get in, and if they do not meet this requirement they cannot go until they do. Essentially trapping them in a liberal arts education, when they would thrive in a technical educational setting, but we make them prove it in the setting they struggle in? Anyone with a functioning brain can see the issue with this, yet we maintain the idea that students must do at least one year of high school even if we know for a fact that environment is not good for them. Then we force them to stay in that bad environment until they can supposedly prove that they deserve a chance to pursue learning that actually interests them. We justify this by saying we want them to be well-rounded, but this seems to me to not pass scrutiny.
Now onto the issue of college, which has become the ultimate scam in education. The first problem with college is that we in education have convinced young people that college is necessary for success in life, which could not be further from the truth. For the vast majority of our students, college is a giant waste of time and money. I try to tell my students that they should only go to college if the degree they are pursuing is a requirement for entry into their desired field, AND the financial reward is far greater than the cost of the degree. If the degree they wish to pursue does not meet those requirements then I recommend they think very carefully before spending money they could put to better use. Far too many students are going into college to either drop out in debt, or get a degree in something that they did not even need to do what they end up doing, however, this is only the beginning of the issue with college. Lets talk about the first two years of college, which may be the most insulting aspect of the undergraduate degree.
All of you reading this who attended college know that the first two years are almost entirely useless. Because you would know that the first two years are almost entirely of prerequisite classes (I.E. Intro to Psych, Intro to Sociology, College Writing, and Civilization). The colleges claim that this is to ensure that students can show they belong at the college level or the ethereal notion of ensuring students are more well-rounded. The more you think about these arguments, the less sense they make, until you realize it is all nonsense used to justify forcing kids to spend money they do not have on classes they do not need. We all know that the real reason for this has nothing to do with bettering students and everything to do making more money off of them. Eliminating the first two years of prerequisites would not only help young people, in the long run, it would help colleges with enrollment because more young people would see college as attainable. Perhaps the deepest issue with higher education at the root of all of this is the corporate ideals of credentialism and professional development, or in simplest terms, barriers to entry.
As a soon-to-be graduate of a masters program in educational leadership, it may puzzle you as to why the author of an article so critical of higher education would pursue one themselves. On the surface, this would seem hypocritical, however, I assure you that it makes sense when you consider the earlier requirements laid out for attending an institution of higher learning and the unfortunate reality of credentialism. In my profession, a masters degree is required whether you wish to advance or not, thus a choice had to be made. Slowly acquire credits to maintain my license as I head slowly for a masters in my subject area, or bite the bullet and rush through a masters in educational leadership to pursue a promotion to administration. As mentioned earlier, I would not recommend someone to spend money on a degree without doing a cost-benefit analysis. To me, the benefit of an administrative masters was far greater than of one in my subject area. Even if I do not get promoted, I get the same pay increase for a masters regardless, so it only makes sense to get the degree with more upside. When people wonder why so many young teachers leave for administration, this is a big reason for that. For all the lip-service about teachers deserving better pay, we hardly talk about eliminating these archaic requirements for teachers to maintain their license. I can assure you that I have learned FAR more from actually teaching than all of my education classes combined, and I am certain that I will learn more in the first month of being an assistant principal than the two years of my masters combined.
So what can we do about it? How can we take this knowledge and use what we know to be true to make our education system better? After all, as my favorite President Theodore Roosevelt once quipped ¨Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.¨ Thus it would be out of character for me to gripe about all of this without making a few suggestions for improvement. The first is to fundamentally re-think how we construct our classrooms. Students should have more opportunity to collaborate with teachers to shape their learning to meet their needs. Expecting students to blindly accept what we say while offering them little say in their education does not teach them the critical thinking skills needed to thrive. Second, we need to consider whether high school is even needed for many of our students, whether it would be better for them to immediately attend a vocational school or an apprenticeship if that fits their needs better. Finally, we need to end the idea that college is required for a good life, and warn students away from pursuing degrees that are not actually required for them to do what they want. These things may not address all of the problems with education in America, but at least they would be a start.
(I am posting this here for critique from my fellow educators) What do you think the biggest issues with education in America are? Do you agree or disagree with my points and why? If you disagree, please elaborate on how you think we could best serve our students and communities.
Thank you in advance!

This was originally meant to be a post in a "what do you want from FC7" thread, but wouldn't let me post it so here goes - just some thoughts I've been mulling over while playing FC6 - and actually starting all the way back playing FC4, which is obviously a loved entry in the series but felt somewhat derivative to me at the time.
I'd like the devs to simply review most of the core gameplay on a couple of different levels. For context, I've played through all the mainline games (except Primal), and currently playing FC6, so most of this is based on observations of that.
Combat and AI
Guns should be deadly and people should be afraid to die – for now, most of the time the soldiers' reaction to being shot at is to stop and look around (and end up being shot in the head); it's understandable that they're probably under-trained (but then again the same applies to special forces as well) and taken by surprise, but I'd image the gut reaction of anyone being shot at would be to get into cover or run inside and only then start wondering where it came from, and maybe then call for reinforcements (also, if you're on horseback and someone takes a shot at you, you probably wouldn't stop to ceremonially holster your weapon and then slowly get off the horse - you'd scramble for your life or escape).
I think if the enemy's first reaction would be to fortify & regroup would make both stealth & assault options more interesting. Maybe this could also be so that at some point remaining enemies would try to retreat or escape, or even surrender. As said, most people probably want to hold on to their sorry little lives even as videogame bad guys.
Also the general dumbness seems to be sort of balanced with everybody being a magic commando marksman, being able to hit moving targets firing from the hip or shooting backwards from a car – I feel there should be more bullets spent but with a lot less accuracy, and instead of getting hit all the time (if a firefight ensues), maybe the consequences could be more fatal but far rarer than they are now. The "heal" mechanic has been more or less the same since FC2 and I guess the whole health thing could be updated a bit instead of endlessly digging bullets out of your forearm. CoD Warzone's/DMZ's armor plate mechanic could be a good candidate for this.
The different ammo types seem like a bit of a miss imo. I've played most of the game with the MS16S you get right in the beginning, and fitted with AP rounds and an ACOG sight I can just waltz right in through the front gate of a special forces base and headshot everybody without breaking a sweat, and it's not like I'm a great FPS player.
Infrastructure
This is something I've thought about quite a bit, actually probably starting with the Just Cause games - for now it seems reinforcements just spawn out of nowhere, and they're very similar regardless of where you are in the map – maybe there are a bit more guerrillas skulking about when you gain more territory, but that's about it.
Would be interesting if the reinforcements actually were 1) finite and 2) came out of a central territorial base or a sub base, or the nearest bigger encampment - which would also mean that there would not be as much resistance at said base. Maybe you could set up impromptu roadblocks or ambushes to take them out, and maybe the choppers and tanks and soldiers would actually eventually run out, or they would stay back to guard more important targets. There could also be a time-based mechanic of the central bases getting reinforced, say, once a week in game time - so time would actually mean something, and your sabotage runs would have an actual effect on the world. The enemies would get more spread out as you thin their ranks, but eventually they'd get fresh troops if you took too long to make your move.
Missions
I'd like to see the whole Ubisoftian thing of every mission type segregated into their own little bubbles to be broken out of, and instead of icons telling you beforehand exactly what you're getting, you'd just have an "organic" mix of mission types - an Intercept turning into a Treasure Hunt, or a base takeover leading into a secret complex with a Yaran Story in it or just opening a FND crate would turn out to be something else. I guess a lot of people do like the predictability, but I'd be more interested in seeing variety. Now it feels fairly grindy because the basic missions are more or less the same all the time. From a game design standpoint this is obviously somewhat complex, but there would be a lot of interesting possibilities - and I guess you could still have underlying base mission types, but maybe the outcome of an Intercept (for example) could be that instead of just failing to make it on time, that'd just mean they take the crate and transport it somewhere, and maybe get ambushed on the way by guerrillas (this could, for example, tie in with the infrastructure - maybe they can be ambushed only if you have enough influence in the territory), or they'll lead you to a treasure that'd be hard to find otherwise. And so on. I doubt I'm the only one who loved the Bethesda style points of interest in Fallouts/Oblivion/Skyrim - that you're just pointed to something interesting in the horizon and you never know what you'll actually find.
The setting & misc.
Well, not too worried about the setting tbh. I think all the games have had enough of their own thing but I do wish the next installment would be something of a reboot - there's a lot of baggage from the previous games that "has to be included", but I think a bit of re-envisioning the whole thing might be in order. There now needs to be a Villain (this would depend a lot on the writing, and having a Bad Guy at the Top is certainly an easy way to drive any violent story but I kinda liked the McGuffin-y aspect of the more or less invisible villain of FC2), there need to be funny sidekicks, there needs to be a nod to the burn-the-weed-field mission, over-aggressive animals to be hunted for a bigger wallet/arrow quiver and so on. I'm sure everyone has their preferences, but instead of trying to appease everyone, make a focused game with only the best systems, not everything from every previous game. Stating what needs to go and what stays would just be my personal preference, but let's just say that all the Resolver stuff, the crafting aspects, the Bandidos missions etc. all feel like rather extraneous fluff. No superpowers or forgettable meta game aspects needed if the core game is solid enough.
tl;dr a more refined/rewritten combat routine & enemy AI and a more organic, less Ubi-standard open world in a setting of your choosing.

at this moment i am currently in high school and a senior typing this. and yes i am a furry. i cant take this anymore. i dont wanna live. im tired of being disrespected. Im tired of there being barely to no support from anyone. Even my family. I had a long distant relationship with a partner and they dont even care to talk to me anymore. Im so sick and tired of everything and everyone in my life being so negative and disliking me. As for school, im tired of feeling this fucking feeling from everyone else i cant even fucking describe it. Its like they do this shit where its sorta bullying like for example; some random fucking girl comes out of nowhere and touches my whole shoulder just to get me out of her way. Or some guy getting so offended just because i accidentally stepped on his shoe while we're switching classes. Im so fucking tired of this shit. What the fuck is the point in even living in this world. Everyone and everything is literally pointless. Even everything in this world is fucked up and theres nothing we can do. What is even the point? I cant even make friends when they just ditch after one day just so they can hang with their own friends. Its like im nothing. As for the furry part its more of a coping thing. I use my personal character and draw him at times to make me feel safe, but even the community and people from there are mostly jerks and want nothing from me. I cant anymore i cant take this shitty life. I cant take or understand this world. And its bad enough im close to finishing school. What the fuck else am i going to do? I tried to become sort of content creator and also getting ready for college. i dont fucking know everyone i just feel so god damn lost. I cant even think straight. I cant just do nothing. I cant. I cant.
Im sorry if this makes no sense at all i just cant even elaborate on how im feeling. And im sorry if this isnt part of the reddit rules or anything. I cant think straight and i just need help. I've tried seeking help numerous times. From family (mom, dad, brothers), to friends, and counseling. Nothing just fucking works. What is even the point.. Am i just being ungrateful of life? Do i just look at everyone and everything differently? What is wrong with me.. i hate everything about me. Its like i cant ever be perfect otherwise if i do some dumb fucking inconvenience happens. Can someone please just help me? Its all i am asking for..

Wife(F31) OP(M31)
suggestions on a healthy way to confront wife about our Todo List without her always getting defensive about it and implying I’m starting an argument or attacking her when addressing my concerns with our progress, for example-
🟢Todo List 🟢Weekly Goals 🟢Monthly Goals 🟢Financial Goals 🟢Personal Self Growth Goals 🟢Family Goals
It becomes exhausting time to time when I have to be the one that comes up with ideas or shows interest in growth for our marriage and family, we have been married 8 years. I’ve always wanted more for my family like I’m sure there’s a lot of people out there with the same mindset. I’ve done vision boards which didn’t last as she only agreed to the idea but didn’t participate, which later I just toss it since I was alone working on our project. I got us a white board and chalkboard to keep track of our objectives and to keep better track of everything going on for the week and month which didn’t help. I started to print out colorful Todo List papers that would keep us engaged as a team and that didn’t work either. I’ve watched Ted Talks and Read books to how to motivate my partner as well as attended marriage counseling. throughout the years constantly investing into methods and applying different approaches and strategies that I’ve decided I’ll just mind my business and focus on me, I thought we could be a team and work together on what we wanted to accomplish as husband and wife and a family but I’m drained. If feels like our marriage is a roommate marriage, believe me I have communicated over and over again and expressed my feelings about it all and my concerns but this but it’s always the same out come no matter how many times I change my perspective and finding a better way to handle with and just coexist.
I’ll do my best to keep this short and to the point, today I want to review our progress on our todo list and see how many things that were a priority got accomplished last week to no surprise it was none, It’s always the same outcome like “ I was gonna do that today believe it or not “ “ I forgot “ “ no response “ “ I’ll be on it tomorrow “ we always alternate our todo list based on our schedule, we communicate on who will take on that task and to be open if they need help if something else pops up. I have a journal to add notes on how to improve our progress. She doesn’t like it when I need to address this concerns because she says she feels attacked or I wanna start an argument.. i informed her that we both have responsibilities and duties and we need to be more responsible. I have let it slide for 3 months to where I just simply didn’t mention anything. She didn’t mention anything or showed concern at all. Everyday I wanted to make the best of it and take advantage of it but she simple doesn’t have ambition nor the motivation.

Given most of the big customer support live chat providers (Zendesk included) are adding AI chatbots to their products, I thought it would help to share a few tips on how you can optimize your help documentation/center to ensure your AI gives users the best answers.
(generally speaking, it will also mean it is easier to access for people too!)
AI isn't a magic pill, it really is a case of garbage in, garbage out, so it's worth spending the time to think about how to address these points in your docs if you want to get the best bang for your buck when working with AI.
(For context, I have been working every day on this kind of thing for the last 18 months so have gotten to learn quite a few ins and outs over that time that I thought might be worth sharing!)
On with the tips:

1. Be clear, concise and unambiguous

Each article or question you answer should be short, to the point, and use language specific to the issue being addressed.
Think overly specific rather than general. Spell things out as if you are writing to someone who has never seen or heard of your product or business or understands what it does. Don’t worry too much about repetition across articles.
It is worth pointing out here too that having less “personality” or “brand” to your help content will likely be a good thing for the AI’s understanding (you have lots of other opportunities across your product to get this across!).
2. Think about formatting
You can’t go overboard when formatting for AI.
Think of it as ‘sign-posting’. Use lots of headings and subheadings to identify each section of the content or guide and use bullets or numbering to show the steps of a process.
This type of formatting helps the AI to ‘read’ and interpret what each piece of help content is about without it having to ‘read’ more information around it.
Also, make sure you use full stops at the end of sentences and bullet points, as otherwise when the text is extracted it will be harder for the AI to determine where sentences and phrases begin and end.
3. Drop the jargon, but think about keywords
AI won’t understand your company jargon or acronyms, but a lot of the time, your users won’t either.
So limit the use of it to improve the likelihood that your AI will understand what you are talking about.
Use a plain English explanation with jargon in brackets afterwards (if you want to educate your users), rather than the other way around.
Think about the words you can use to make it clear what the help article is about for the AI. Think about what a user might search for if they were asking the question.
If you had to summarize the help article in 2-3 words, what would they be and are they mentioned several times throughout the article?
4. Take care when using tables and images
Most of the time, the AI won’t read a table as a table, it will just take all the text from it, without knowing which text comes from which column.
So the fewer tables you use, the better, or, if you have to use them, keep them smaller, with 2-3 rows maximum.
The same goes for images, most AI chatbots won’t be able to interpret them, so don’t use them to explain core concepts or show diagrams or screenshots without explaining them in text format in the body of the article.
(Added bonus here - it will only help make your articles more accessible for those with visual impairments).
5. One help article, one topic
The less ‘overlap’ between help articles, the easier it will be for the AI to identify which article it should use to answer the user’s question.
Try not to put articles that cover different parts of the product or business in one article, but do make sure that anything about a specific topic is in one place as it gives the AI more contextual understanding for answering questions.
6. Answer in full, using context
When writing out help articles and FAQs, they are often framed as questions with a “yes” or “no” response. AI needs more context than this, so instead of just saying “yes” update answers to be “yes, it can ”.
This will make it far easier for the AI to find these answers when searching.
In addition, if an answer or help article is a little longer, it helps if you can provide some more context or background to the problem the article solves or question it is answering. This will help the AI discover it, but also give it more background when it comes to actually answering the question.
7. Avoid conflicting or contradictory information
You shouldn’t have outdated information in your help content. This is especially important if you use AI as the chatbot finds it nearly impossible to distinguish between the old and the new content and therefore can give outdated responses.
The same principle applies if your business has multiple versions or products.
Unless each article specifically calls out which version or product it relates to, the AI will have no broader knowledge to draw from to determine the correct answer.
So make sure, when giving context, if there are product or version-specific differences, that you call these out explicitly in your help content.
If you find these useful let me know and I can share a blog post with examples and a bit more background with you too.
Feel free to ask any questions too, no AI questions are too dumb, we're all learning right now!

While creating the outline for an article about preventing parenting burnout, I kept thinking about what I wanted to know before I had a child. So, I asked my husband and some of my friends what they wish they knew before their first newborn. In random order, and under the guise of anonymity, here are some ideas:
Breastfeeding One of the biggest myths about breastfeeding is that it is easy, billions of mothers have done it before us, and it only takes a bit of willpower. Breastfeeding is not the most natural thing in the world as it takes a while until mothers warm up to lactogenesis (the onset of milk secretion).
… I should have stopped consuming dairy products made with cow’s milk while still pregnant. My baby was reacting badly every time I had regular dairy products.
… I should have met with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant before giving birth. Also, to assess my baby for tongue tie, as the hospital midwives said there was none. The lactation consultant detected it immediately and led us to the tongue tie surgery (this procedure was done in a few seconds).
… Overall, a competent midwife would be a must. She would guide me and not force me, encourage me to try breastfeeding positions or be gentle with myself.
… I discovered that men (my husband, my GP or Jack Newman) provided me with more help and understanding than some women. My mother doubted me. The baby was crying while breastfeeding, and my mother thought my milk was not fat enough. I breastfed for much longer than I intended, and would you believe my baby was in the top percentiles for growth and weight! Guess my milk was rather good.
…. I should have researched earlier about weaning breastfeeding at night. I read that once older babies get water instead of milk at night, they may think it’s not worth waking up just for water and rather, they start sleeping through the night.
… I should have learned earlier about ways to prevent the terrible, terrible pain of blocked ducts that could lead to mastitis or hospitalizing. I should have taken lecithin much earlier.
… I am so glad I got to read Chribsheet before giving birth. It busts many unnecessarily harmful breastfeeding myths, nipple confusion, lactation, etc. It eases the expectations and pressure on moms, especially first-time ones. Excellent book!
… And the joke inspired by actual events: I share parenting responsibilities with my husband. I breastfeed because he can’t. He sleeps because I can’t.
Connecting with the Partner … I should have read earlier The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, by John Gottman and Nan Silver:
[The husband] loves his child, but he wants his wife back. What’s a husband to do? The answer to his dilemma is simple: He can’t get his wife back — he has to follow her into the new realm she has entered.
The couple needs to ignore some popular bad advice. Many well-meaning experts recommend that they consider marriage and family a balancing act as if their lives are a seesaw with the baby on one end and the marriage on the other.
Couples are counselled to spend some time away from the baby and focus on their marriage and outside. But marriage and family are not diametrically opposed. Rather, they are of one cloth. Yes, the couple should spend time away from the baby occasionally. But if they are making this transition well together, they will find that they can’t stop talking about the baby, nor do they want to.
Too often, such couples are made to feel as if they have done something wrong because they have made their own relationship seemingly secondary to their new roles as parents. The result is that they feel all the more stressed and confused.
But in fact, they have done something very right. The important thing here is that they are in it together. To the extent that both husband and wife make this philosophical shift, the parent-child relationship and the marriage thrive.
Remember, you haven’t failed if you end up spending a lot of your “dates” discussing the baby — you’ve succeeded.
A baby is like water, and it will permeate through every layer of the parents’ life. What was the colour of the poo? How many wet nappies? Is that a rash I see? Your turn to give a bath.
A baby is like a woodpecker, chipping away time, energy, and sleep from the family tree. No wonder new parents crave a chance of normalcy, yearning for some remembrance of the old life.
Having a baby will not magically mend all the broken ties between partners. Instead, too often, parents will fight like never before, and they will doubt themselves, their partner, or the baby.
Sometimes, an atrocious lack of sleep could make any normal, decent human being act in terror.
Sometimes, much bigger personal or couple issues that we can no longer ignore resurface. Old wounds appear. Then, we ask ourselves, as Dr Seuss said:
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And the terrifying reality is that according to psychotherapist and marriage researcher John Gottman who studied couples from the newlywed period through the transition to parenthood, most couples break up within the first seven years of marriage because they became parents.
Around 67% (67%!) of couples in one of Gottman’s studies reported declining relationship satisfaction after the first baby’s arrival. This decline typically showed between six months (for women) and nine months (for men).
Some causes for these break-ups: parents feel unappreciated, frequency and intensity of relationship conflicts increase significantly, frequency of sex declines dramatically, one of the partners gets very involved with the baby and is too exhausted to offer the other partner much in ways of emotional connection, changes in identity, goals in life or values, etc.
So a better preparation from both expecting partners for dangers to come is crucial. What are the responsibilities of each partner? How will each partner connect with the baby? Sleep is not a luxury, so what can be done to protect it? What about sexual life? What can be done about chores around the house – cooking, cleaning, etc.? What about relatives and their, most often, unwanted recommendations?
These essential questions might be acted out as implementation intentions (self-regulatory strategies in the form of an “if-then” plan). Being more specific about our intentions will eliminate ambiguity. Visualizing is a powerful tool, and various parts of the day can be imagined. If I sleep rough this evening, what activities can I skip tomorrow? Would I cook, or would I order something? Would I call a friend or not?
A massive part of disconnection between partners begins when we lack empathy and understanding towards the other.
“Look at them, they go to work, no care in the world, they get to drink hot coffee, talk to adults, and I am stuck at home.”
“Look at them, they stay home all day, the baby is sleeping non-stop, and I’m drained from the commute, my boss is impossible, and I just want to quit.”
These examples are plausible internal monologues that we start repeating until we believe them.
Not only a baby is born, but a mother is born too. A father too. And we need time and understanding until we adjust to our new roles. Do we even want these roles? What if a mother does not feel motherly? What about dads that are asked if they babysit, instead of parenting, their own babies?
Self-care … I needed the patience to lower my expectations and find a support group, some friends to see each week as I isolated myself too much in my baby’s first months.
… I wish I had stated more clearly to my partner when I needed time for myself, no babies allowed.
… I was lucky to have other friends who had children before me, and hearing what they were going through made me realize how difficult having a baby is. Their experience helped me to keep an open mind.
… Develop empathy, tolerance, adaptability. I needed to know myself well. Once I knew my limits, I now understand what can be ignored or what needs to be respected.
… Learn exercises to relieve stress or build patience.
…. Offer and receive a massage from the partner at least once a week. Every parenting expert will tell us about the importance of skin contact between a baby and his parents, so why ignore skin contact between parents? Keep the baby close, get a back massage, talk about the day.
…. I heard “sleep when the baby is sleeping” so many times from all kinds of people that I started to wonder what they do for a living. Sure, I’ll sleep when the baby is sleeping, but first, let me tell my maid to clean the house, tell my cook what I want for dinner, talk to my secretary about my appointments.
… At least one hour outdoors.
… Toxic motherhood when I compare myself to other mothers. We all have different life experiences, risk tolerance, social ambitions, work-life balance targets or career goals. So I learned that sometimes it is better to unsubscribe from Facebook parenting groups. To each their own.
Habits … Form good and healthy habits before my baby arrives. For example, compile a list of quick and straightforward dishes to avoid wasting time in the kitchen.
… It is difficult for me to write, and I would have liked to journal earlier. In time, it becomes easier to grab a pen. As a new parent, my mind wanders about a million little things, but if I write down as much as possible, it helps me figure out the cause of a problem. I also won’t forget essential memories about my baby.
… I should have been more careful about my caffeine intake.
Recommendations … I was helped a lot by the national antenatal classes organized during my pregnancy. There are quite a few differences between countries’ recommendations about child-rearing. For example, doctors tell you to bathe the baby every day in Romania and in Ireland once every two or three days. A seemingly minor thing but important to parents. A friend told me that she bathed her girl every day and wanted to make an exception for at least one day because she was too tired, but she felt too guilty about it. Less is more.
… I should have read What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff sooner than I did because it covers everything a new parent needs. Those books also helped me ignore all the parenting myths I received from others.
…. During pregnancy, I should have made a list of all the things I swore I would never do with my baby so later I could cross those items one by one.
…. Having a summer job as a babysitter. When they are old enough, I will encourage my children to work a few hours as babysitters so they experience first-hand how to handle babies or small children.
… I should have used my Boba wrap from the first day of having a baby. So much freedom when you can use your arms for feeding yourself instead of going numb from holding the baby. Parents also must research babywearing as far too often parents carry their babies not in an M-shape position. Some interesting guides about babywearing are here, here, or here.
… I should have used Infacol (simethicone) right from birth instead of worrying and waiting for a consultation with my GP, who urged me to use it immediately. My baby was in so much pain after every feeding, and Infacol was nothing short of a miracle for us.
… I should have read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo earlier: declutter the home from the things we don’t need and make better shopping choices. Especially with new parents, there are too many shopping temptations everywhere as we want to make the best purchases for our babies.
… Watch the content from CPR Kids and have the Dk book First Aid Fast for Babies and Children : Emergency Procedures for all Parents and Carers (nothing happened in our case, but I did sleep better after reading and doing a first-aid course for babies and children).
Other recommendation articles are Shopping Recommendations for Children and Books for 0-6-year-olds.
They say to trust your instincts when you are a new mom, but what if those instincts fail you? I put myself under the pressure of believing there is a mythical motherly knowledge buried inside me (“sure, things will work out”) and that it was just a matter of time until that instinctive knowledge started pouring. It didn’t.
It is believed that motherhood is a woman’s responsibility and vocation. But sometimes, dads are better parents because mothers are slowly drowning under the overwhelming waters of sleep deprivation, constant exhaustion, increasing irritability and frustration, unhealthy comparison with others, self-doubt. And so, in a healthy relationship, we raise ourselves taller and stronger when we acknowledge that we need a break and let the other take the wheel. What if the other isn’t there?
And perish the thought that a parent might complain. Either there are numerous remarks from affable strangers or friends about what parents need to do, shop, try. Or there are ominous remarks: “well, this is what happens when you have a baby. What did you expect?”
A bit of compassion or empathy towards us and others would go a long way. To my surprise, I was still shamed, by women nonetheless, whenever I hurried to hold my baby when she was crying or in distress: “you’ll see, whenever she wants you, she will start crying!” Isn’t this what small children want? Their parents?
But the sad reality is that I don’t know if my pregnant self would have read this article. I was too caught up in pregnancy narratives and believing that somehow, things would arrange themselves. I would breastfeed with no issues. Sure, I might have some sleepless nights here and there, but that would be incidentally. I would go out and meet my friends. I would read plenty in my technical field.

I've seen a few posts here recently from men calling for containers to connect, drop in, and be real with each other. I think there are very few more important things that we can do with our time than gathering together to practice being human. And there's something special that happens when men gather with the intention to be real and authentic with each other. It's a place where we can put down our masks, shields, status, rank, and strategies for a while, and be seen and heard for who we are.
I invite you to gather with me 2nd Thursdays starting 9 May at 6pm at Bodywise on NW 12th + Flanders.
These will be facilitated events oriented toward connection with self and other. An example of what that means is that I will invite you to slow down and pay attention to your breath, or places of tension in your body. We may also do physical practices like Qi Gong, or partner exercises to tap into curiosity, mutual physicality, and emotional vulnerability.
These kinds of experiences are not for everyone. Some men do not feel safe being vulnerable in a group of men. That makes a lot of sense. I have been there. I spent most of my life not being able to trust men. I have been sitting in and leading men's groups for many years, and my relationship to groups of men has changed dramatically.
That's why I offer these containers: so that we can practice together, and pay attention to the stuff that comes up. No matter what it is, now matter how big it feels or how small it makes you feel, it is welcome. You are welcome here.
This is not therapy or mental health counseling. This is more about deep inquiry into the present moment, which is the moment in between all the other moments that most of us tend to focus on.
The healing potential of psychedelics usually finds its way into the conversation. I'm all about that conversation, however, there will be no medicines available at these events.
Men who come to these events tend to build friendships with fellow participants. Sometimes, their relationships begin to change for the better. Some men feel more connected to their life purpose. Fathers have reported being more present with their kids, and actually enjoying time with family instead of thinking about work, social media, or bitcoin, for example.
For others, the path is longer. When we bring attention to things that have been hiding in the shadows for a long time, those things may want to be heard. I've been there too, and I got you.
This is brave work. When you really engage with it, whether in this container or elsewhere, your life will begin to change. You may notice that you feel more agency, more choice, more fulfillment in the day to day. You may eventually notice less fidgeting, fewer addictive tendencies, or that you feel kinder to yourself, and perhaps others.
Please show up sober and on time. We will begin at 6pm.
9 May 6-9pm Bodywise Somatic Healing Collective NW 12th + Flanders
If you want to attend, please RSVP by emailing me at sean (at) seantalbeaux (dot) com, or by joining on Meetup
I am available for questions here, however, my work is off-screen and I have a toddler, so I may be slow to reply. Feel free to email questions as well.
Thank you.

For context, my girlfriend and I have been dating for almost three years, been official/exclusive for roughly two and a half, and living together for about one and a half. She's in her late twenties and I'm in my early thirties and I pay all the bills and own the home we live in. I insisted she move in with me after her verbally abusive father kicked her out while in the middle of her undergrad degree because I love her and didn't want it to ruin her future. We have a great home with her wonderful dog that we both love dearly.
Ever since the beginning of our relationship we've had conversations on what we think is the appropriate amount of time two people should be together before considering marriage. I initially said about 4-5 years is best to really get to know someone and she seemed to think that was a bit long but respected it.....at first.
We're both in school currently (I'm in a master's program) and had agreed that waiting until we finish before seriously discussing engagement would probably be for the best. We've also been making a lot of progress in our relationship regarding arguments and understanding each other. She's had a lot of fears and insecurities from a previous long-term relationship and her upbringing that caused her to assume the worst about me and lash out in different scenarios but we've been able to talk things out every time.
However, recently she's started getting more agitated by the amount of time it's taking to reach the point of a proposal. Her friends keep asking about it, she's seen some of her friends get engaged and married, and it's obviously weighing on her to where she brings it up a little more frequently now. She also had a guy that she used to hook up with years ago DM her out of the blue asking if she was married yet, which pissed her off so much she messaged his wife asking WTF he was doing.
Recently after finding out another friend of hers had gotten engaged she asked me why I didn't feel ready yet and I honestly told her that it's because our communication hasn't reached a point where I'm comfortable committing to marriage. We had our last really bad argument about two months prior where she was making accusations about me not wanting to go on our Valentine's date and it made me briefly consider ending things.
She accused me of intentionally sabotaging our Valentine's dinner reservations by not telling her we were going to be late (she had lost track of time while doing her hair and makeup in the bathroom, which I didn't know, and I decided to be patient and call ahead to adjust the reservation if need be instead of get her angry by rushing her preparation, which she hates). This lead to me being so upset by her horrible mood, not caring for my explanation, and the mental calculations I have to do to stay on her good side that we ended up cancelling the date. We talked things out after a lengthy sit down, but it still weighed heavily on me.
There have been several examples just like that in our relationship so far where she assumes the worst of me or gets seriously upset/snaps over minor things and I end up having to spend an hour or longer explaining myself before she finally understands me. These issues come from her past stressors and trauma, but also from not having a good enough understanding of me. I told her there needs to be a trend of 4-6 months without issues of that severity cropping up before I would feel comfortable getting engaged. This all seemed reasonable to me, and I even said that she'd been doing great ever since then.
At first she responded by getting really quiet and solemn, saying that she's not upset with me but felt emotional knowing I wasn't as ready as her. We've talked before about how her tone and the way she reacts to things makes me feel and she agreed to make a real effort to be better and not let her past influence her, so this shouldn't have come as a surprise. After I asked more about how she was feeling she cried on her own while I was out at work, and we discussed things some more when I came back.
By then she had changed from understanding how I felt and not being upset with me to claiming that I "want us to never argue" and "want [her] to hold back how she feels because it makes me feel bad," all things that were not at all what I said and seemed like an attempt to create a viable counter-argument for herself. Again, she was making false accusations and assumptions about me. She also said that she "shouldn't need to change" and that I should "accept [her] as she is."
We spent the next hour talking things out and, like so many of our arguments before this, I had to patiently and passionately fight to get her to understand what I was saying while she was hung up on complete fabrications she'd made up about my words and intentions. Afterwards we kissed and made up, and agreed to look into couples counseling, but for the next day she was weirdly stiff and a little passive aggressive (she's usually very touchy-feely, loving, and outgoing so it's easy to tell).
Then tonight while we were laying in bed and after a full day of more of her weirdly distant/cold behavior she gives me this ultimatum. She refuses to do any couples counseling until we're engaged, she wants to be engaged ideally within three weeks, and she wants me to get a specific style of ring for her in that timeframe (she gave me a cheaper one she has as an example and told me to "get a real one like that"). When I mentioned possible issues about the cost of the ring she stopped me and said she "wanted it to be a surprise" and that I could "figure it out."
This is despite all the conversations we've had in the past regarding marriage timelines, talk about how I need to be ready to help my family in case something happens to my elderly parents and/or single-mother older sister, and despite explaining to her how paying all the bills, paying my way through school, and going to school while working full-time means that I have less disposable income and free-time for the foreseeable future. All that matters to her is that she gets what she "deserves" and doesn't feel like she's being strung along like she was with her ex.
This relationship has taken a lot of work, but has also been the best I've had in my life. She's also been a hit with all my friends and family, and we've built a great life together. That being said, I've decided that I'm going to reject her ultimatum but can't decide whether I should continue fighting for this relationship or take this as the final red flag and end things.
I'll be asking my closest friends and family for advice on this as well, but I'd like to see what people here think.
TLDR:

• GF (late 20's) and I (early 30s) are living together, both in school, and I work full-time and pay all bills
• Started off agreeing to wait until school finished to seriously consider engagement/marriage and that 4-5 years before engagement was ok.
• GF feels pressure from her friends, family, and others to get married.
• I say I'm not ready because we haven't gotten to know each other well enough, as evidenced by major communication issues being worked through.
• GF gets upset, willfully misrepresents what I said, and gives me the cold shoulder for a day or two but agrees to look into couples counseling.
• GF finally gives me an ultimatum: No counseling before engagement, and we must get engaged and a ring within three weeks ("ideally" she said) despite prior conversations about engagement timelines, financial obligations I have, and needing to focus on school, work, and a precarious family situation.

Hello dear MoN keepers - spoiler warning!
So, I'm just about finished reading the entire campaign and have already played the Peru chapter with my beloved players. After thoroughly planning and creating various props for America and England, I came up with an interesting idea to make the campaign, especially Australia and a possible finale, even more epic.
The whole thing came from inspiration available via:
https://www.prosperopublishing.com/2021/09/28/robert-huston-a-deeper-analysis-part-2/
There the role of Dr. Huston was described in a little more detail and made him a possible final opponent of the campaign.
My idea would be roughly the following:
Nyarlathotep has offered Huston to become an eternal ruler of the dreamlands, see his close contact with this as a Freudian psychoanalyst. While arriving in Australia to prepare for the opening of the Great Gate, he spent some time in the Dreamlands carving out his own empire. Nyarlathotep's true plan in this scenario would be to use Huston as his puppet so that he could rule over the Dreamlands once the great old ones return. The background information that Nyarlathotep is actually more or less a servant of the Old Ones, as he himself has the desire to have his own empire and Huston would be the perfect opportunity for that. He has already given Huston some powers and spells to represent a dangerous, unpredictable opponent for the investigators, which they would eventually confront in the dreamlands.
So both the Australia chapter and the entire finale could be much more exciting and possibly have an even more epic ending. The outcome would be that even if the Investigators manage to destroy all three points for the great ritual, Huston would still be able to rule in the Dreamlands and, with Nyarlathotep's help, spread terror and destruction across the human world and other dimensions from there. This would come very close to the basic idea of ​​Nyarlathotep as the creeping chaos.
Huston's manifestation in Australia, for example, could be little more than an illusion or projection from the Dreamlands, made possible by Nyarlathotep's magic. The faces of the investigators as their bullets fly through his image while he adopts a visibly dark expression and laughs mockingly at them would certainly be priceless. If the investigators destroy his camp and thus thwart his plan, he, as the dream ruler, could have already made his own plans as a kind of backup. Continue attacking the Investigators through dreams to further advance the plan as Nyarlathotep wishes. However, if they are victorious in the end, Huston will remain entirely in the dreamlands, where he is already building his own empire through various manipulations and Nyarlathotep of course of the beings there.
Investigators could use Mythos tomes to learn a variation of a gate spell that takes them to the dreamlands, or other powers they may learn through Kakakatak for example. In this variation, Kakakatak would play an important role in making it clear to the investigators what Huston's true plan is. She may even decide to help them to get them important spells or artifacts to eliminate Huston in the dangerous dreamlands, as she may also have been interested in doing so, seeing the danger this poses to herself and her people.
I already have written out a chapter for the dreamlands, which will take place on the first crossing America - Wherever, to introduce this intermediate dimension to the investigators for the first time. Small details would already be found there that an evil force is spreading and the balance of this world seems to be slowly tipping.
Overall, this is a relatively complex undertaking with a alot of details to be implemented and I hope that other keepers or players have already had and played out such an idea and could therefore give me some tips and information or criticism on how to implement such a modification.

Throwaway here.
I (51M) have been going to therapy because I have been really depressed and going through a midlife crisis. One of the things that really bothers me is my marriage. I have been working through things in therapy. Today my wife (53F) told me that she doesn't know who I am anymore and that it all started when I went to therapy. She sort of blamed the therapist. She said "You pay that lady money to tell you what you want to hear." She also said that she is on the brink of wanting to divorce me for the first time ever. She said she has never thought so little of me as she does now. She also suggested it may be hormonal which is a laugh when she is the one with no sexual desire and yet has never had her hormones checked.
Ironically, a big part of the reason I went to therapy was because I was having thoughts of divorce. Our marriage hasn't been good. We fight all the time, she doesn't contribute financially, our sex life is beyond non-existent, we sleep in separate bedrooms, she never tells me she loves me, and I can't even remember the last time we hugged or kissed. She blames me for all of it. I take some responsibility, maybe even most of it. I don't communicate well. When things bother me I let them fester until I finally blow up at her and raise my voice. On the other hand, she doesn't express herself at all. Whereas I explode she is silent. She won't ever bring up any issues until I finally do and when I do she often dismisses them.
My therapist keeps telling me there is a lot of "I" in our sessions. How can I be better? What did I do wrong? How can I make her love me? How can I improve myself? Why can't I communicate better? How can I control my anger? Why didn't I behave differently? She said "At some point I want you to realize there are two of you. For example, sure you didn't bring up issues in a timely manner. But maybe she could have. And when you finally do she is dismissive of you. At what point do you start to consider that?"
I asked my wife to go to counseling. She says she will, but we never do. There is always something more important going on in her life. My therapist told me to tell her I want to save the marriage and to give her an ultimatum to go to counseling or else I just need to accept how things are. I told her I will not accept how things are and so ultimatum it is. I actually haven't done that yet, but I was planning to sometime this week before today happened.
So... my wife is right. I am different after therapy. I am not complacent. I am more confrontational. I am more willing to express my dissatisfaction. I think that somehow my wife thought that this midlife crisis was a phase and that once it passes we will go back to how things were. She told me "When you think about the future, consider your life not just 2-3 years from now but 20-30 years from now." Which... of course I am. I understand what she is saying, which is that I shouldn't throw away our marriage, our shared history, our friendship, our being together in old age, because of how I feel at the moment.
On the other hand, I don't want another 25 years like the last 25 years. It's been awful. If we are going to spend another 25 years together there will have to be some big changes and a lot of them need to come from her and not just me. Otherwise, we need to call it quits. I think that is scary for her, because she has fear of abandonment and also has just gotten really comfortable with her lifestyle. Yes, we fight but it's a price she seems willing to pay for security. She doesn't have to work. She has all the luxuries of having a husband without having to have sex or even really being too nice to me. Certainly she likes the status quo. Of course, she isn't happy either but change is hard. My therapist said "Is she happy or just comfortable? She deserves to be happy, too."
The reality is that therapy did change me but I went to therapy because I wanted change. Therapy is helping me with that. I can't believe it finally dawned on my wife that I don't like the life I have with her and her response isn't "I didn't know you were this upset. Let's work on this." but rather "I don't know you anymore. I am considering divorce."
The complacent man that I was is gone now. I am still scared as hell of a divorce but any change is better than being where I am. I think that she finds that insulting. Maybe she should have listened to me when I told her she needed to find a job, that I missed intimacy, that I didn't feel loved. I was still hopeful she will want to try to turn this marriage back into what it used to be but I lost a lot of hope today when she said she is tired of being uncertain about my commitment to her and for the first time ever thinks maybe a divorce is not a bad idea.
So do I give her the ultimatum? Do I tell her that I still love her and all of this divorce talk is disturbing but that she needs to go to counseling with me in the next 2 weeks or else I need to file for divorce? Will that just make things worse? Is there a more gentle way to tell her she needs to go this time without giving her the out she always takes?
This next month will start me on the path of either saving or destroying our marriage.
Thanks for advice.

While we wait for SP3, over time even before SP2's release, I thought about some cool traversal and environment features that I think could make the next game better and desirable. I apologize for the length but I wrote down and thought about these for a few years now, but decided to finish it out and post it recently. I also apologize if someone else has suggested anything I have written below and am in no way trying to take credit for it. I have some more suggestions on the way for other areas of the game besides traversal, but I gotta expand on what I have for those first. - Natural weather cycle & Day/Night Time Cycle:
A natural weather cycle could add depth to the gameplay. Heavy rain, like that church mission with Symbiote Peter, followed by sunny skies or cloudy, drizzly weather like the Overcast time of day. The same goes for snow, depending on the game's setting. Rain makes surfaces slippery, affecting wall running, web wings, and even wall crawling. Windy days could alter momentum which could impact air time and speed with the web wings or performing certain traversal moves like the Loop de Loop.
The aftermath of rain, with damp ground, water dripping off objects or buildings, and scattered debris blown by the wind. In snowy scenes, frozen lakes could speed up water gliding and enable new momentum-building maneuvers with web-zip and web-turning features on icy surfaces. Spider-Man uses the web-zip to propel faster forward or uses objects with the web-turn to propel himself forward or in another direction.
As the snow gradually melts each district has unique leftover snowfall patterns. Snow could freeze puddles of rain on the ground, adding to the immersive experience. Each district has its weather variations - heavy rain in some areas, light rain in others, and fog limiting visibility in one district while wind boosts momentum in the next.
Then small details impacting traversal - kicking up water from puddles, struggling to land on icy surfaces, and the risk of slamming into objects with certain traversal moves if not careful (fall and/or environment damage enabled). These elements add depth to the gameplay and enhance immersion. For example, players would need to slow down before landing on an icy surface to land correctly or they'll just slide and not stop in certain areas.
Occasionally, and I mean very infrequently for this to be realistic, the weather conditions will cause natural disasters to occur such as floods or blizzards that are a struggle to see through. For example, the player may need to rely on Spider-Sense at times to guide through certain rain or snow storms or use specific traversal mechanics while others may hinder the player. Sometimes even an earthquake or fissure could occur which should be even rarer of an occurrence.
Honestly, the day and night cycle is self-explanatory. However, with both cycles, it would be realistic for Insomniac to want a specific weather and/or time of day condition for specific missions in the game which I don't think anyone has an issue with, it's just the open world, but it could be cool to allow players to replay main missions, side missions, bases, challenges, etc. with different weather conditions and time of day once they complete the main story.

• City Events:

Periodic events in the city - parades, block parties, protests - where Spider-Man can traverse and interact with floats, balloons, banners, etc. These events could pose obstacles like crowded roofs from a party hindering point-launch moves. It's a cool detail that adds depth to the gameplay.
Construction sites could appear intermittently, adding to the realism as projects are completed. A dynamic where new businesses open and old ones close in the open world, adds immersion, with storefronts changing over time.
SP2 made civilians feel more alive, but to improve upon this, there could be people going about their day - heading to work, school, actual sports games taking place with basketball or football at Midtown or Brooklyn Visions that's been hyped up on social media, or having a picnic in the park. It's the little details that make the city feel dynamic it seems.

• Interacting with the City:

Hitching rides on any vehicle casually with the mechanics like in the car chase crime with the hunters. To add to this, Spider-Man can zip to the top of a car to perch or chill on it before jumping or zipping away off. You can also hop from car to car, detaching from one and latching onto another going in a different direction. Again, it's the little details. Sometimes civilians will react positively or negatively to Spider-Man being on their car.
You can zip through windows of buildings, quipping as you go through. It could be something like "Coming through!" or cracking jokes about what's happening inside. It would be a huge addition to the already cool traversal and adds fun interactions with civilians.
And speaking of, imagine civilians asking Spider-Man to strike specific poses or angles for pics or videos, or to perform a specific traversal move with the results posted on social media, or someone posting pics or videos of Spider-Man fighting crime or doing other open-world/side/main missions either in support or not. I think it could also be cool swinging by and seeing civilians listening to JJJ or Danika or when you're near or on top of cars. Maybe, even when swinging by or crawling/running on certain buildings or houses/apartments with a window open. Another idea is an animation where Spider-Man zips across a street crowded with civilians, cracking jokes along the way depending on the occasion. It adds more humor and liveliness to the interactions once again.
The addition of disaster-based "crimes" where Spider-Man races against time to rescue civilians from a burning building before it collapses or explodes. The urgency becomes more apparent as the building starts to give out gradually or explosions occur, emphasizing the danger.
Sometimes Spider-Man teams up with the fire department to put out fires after saving civilians or police to arrest the thugs responsible. Sometimes, Spider-Man will have to fight thugs in the street before the vehicle can continue, and/or car chases where you have to stop one or two cars when escorting ambulances or firetrucks to safety. It adds extra stakes to these types of missions.
Weather adds another layer of challenge. Rain slows down fires making saving civilians from a burning building a bit easier, rain or snow can make catching up on car chases easier, etc. Specific open-world missions could have unique objectives and QTEs during floods, blizzards, or ground fissures. You would save trapped civilians, catch falling civilians, assist with flood mitigation, etc. To be specific, Spider-Man may have to save civilians who are trapped in their cars or by objects during blizzards or floods, or even help get rid of snow that is trapping people inside buildings. Then, catch multiple people who fall off a building one after the other because of a fissure. Helping emergency services with minimizing property damage or managing flood warnings and guiding civilians to safety inside a building or on top of one when there is a flood. The possibilities are endless here.
Depending on public opinion, civilians may assist Spider-Man or hinder him. Positive reactions could make missions easier, while negative responses add to the challenge. It adds an extra layer to these missions and pressure, making them more realistic because there are always those people who feel like they don't need to listen and some who do.
Spider-Man can be called upon by civilians or emergency services, leading to spontaneous crimes or missions. The player will help with everyday tasks like catching a kite, assisting the elderly, or retrieving items from hard-to-reach places.
After each mission or crime, the aftermath is reflected in the open world. If you help a kid catch a balloon, you'll see them happily walking around with it. But if you ignore a mugging, you may stumble upon a beaten civilian with police and ambulances on the scene. The player's choice should influence public opinion, especially on social media.
Then there could be environmental missions/crimes like blackouts or leaks of toxic gas. The player would need to restore power or clean up and figure out the source of the toxic gas. Another layer could be stopping thugs from looting stores during the blackout after the power is restored or from spreading more toxic gas after getting rid of it, adding urgency to the situation. For example, if you fail to stop the thugs from looting during the blackout, the shop owner could have to close down his shop because he doesn't have enough resources to pay rent or products to sell. If you don't stop the toxic gas you could see multiple civilians being driven off in a bunch of ambulances in critical condition. This focuses on immersion and the consequences of actions.

• Environment dynamics:

When helping the police fight crime, you can use their blockades, riot shields, and even their car doors to hit enemies. If you knock an enemy near a cop, they can be seen taking them down with tasers, pepper spray, or just physically restraining them before handcuffing them. It adds depth to combat.
Depending on public opinion, police tactics may vary. Instead of resorting to gunfire, they might also use stunning grenades or distractions to ease combat. It's a reminder that player choices have consequences in big and small ways.
With a police car chase with thugs firing stray bullets and throwing obstacles to slow down pursuit, Spider-Man helps the police, and sometimes crimes or missions involving assisting emergency services are initiated because Spider-Man is tapped into the city's crime network which is a call back from the first game. Police can be under immense pressure and stress when asking for backup, kind of like the helicopter crime with Roxxon and The Underground in Miles Morales.
However, sometimes the police or civilians brush off Spider-Man's help, leading to hilarious interactions during combat. After the crime/mission ends, you can see bullet-riddled police cars or the thugs' cars and/or shell casings on the ground, adding to the realism of the aftermath.
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NO MORE GETTING HIT BY BULLETS FROM THE POLICE ACCIDENTALLY!!!! It's so annoying to get a high combo and then a police officer decides to shoot a thug and you get hit with a stray bullet.
Swinging from old buildings or structures, feeling the urgency to move before they collapse. Also, cranes move as you swing on them sometimes, adding to the fun of traversal.
Damaging objects in the environment in previous games has improved. However, I think Insomniac can improve the concept even more. You can combo enemies into billboards/signs, weak walls, scaffoldings, and other objects watching them crash through or get buried. Spider-Man could even trigger a QTE if hit hard, lifting debris off himself or getting up from being trapped. This should add another fresh element to the crimes and use of the environment, even making it more cinematic-like. Swinging off light poles to attack would add a fresh element to combat and also build on the concept from SP2 where you can kick off cars or other objects.
Bringing back crimes/missions with a puzzle-solving beginning or ending. Something like turning valves to stop water pressure before tracking down the thugs responsible and taking them out similar to that one side mission in Miles Morales when F.E.A.S.T had shut down temporarily. Additionally, these puzzles could be used to unlock collectibles or secret areas, adding depth to obtaining collectibles.
To take it a step further, players can gather valuable information from civilians to access secret areas which will also depend on public opinion. Meaning sometimes you may need to get your public opinion up to a certain level to obtain this necessary information for the collectible. For example, learning about old underground tunnels from locals could lead to hidden collectibles, easter eggs, etc. It makes the civilian interactions and collectible hunting with puzzles and exploration more dynamic and challenging.
Subway:
Missions when riding the subway will occur randomly when taking the subway for fast travel or if reported you will be prompted to go down into the Subway and catch up with the Subway car. You will fight enemies either in the Subway car kind of like the Martin Li boss fight in the first game or the tunnels themselves if the Subway has to stop. Following this, there sometimes may be urgency where Spider-Man must solve puzzles to fix a malfunctioning subway car or prevent a train crash by pulling levers, pushing buttons, webbing the track to turn it in another direction on the fly, or simply rewiring the Subway controls/fixing them.
Afterward, Spider-Man can either ride the subway to the destination while staying on top of the train kind of like that one cutscene in Miles Morales when he talked with Uncle, or traverse out of the tunnel. The Subway mechanics need a huge upgrade in my opinion.