I have been trying to get my partner into Pathfinder 2nd edition, and they do seem taken with it, however he's been having some issues lately with PF2E. Notably, online. The more he gets into PF2E, the more hate he sees for 5E. He's been playing 5E for years now and has invested a lot of time and love into the game, and to see it bad-mouthed online by a ton of people either because they think PF2E is better, or they don't like the system, or because of the company that manages it, has been disheartening to him as of late.

He told me today that he might just stop playing altogether after he's finished with his games because of the hate he's been seeing online, and I would hate for him to drop something he loves and has invested so much time into because of some online hate comments coming from another community in an act of internet tribalism.

I tried telling him that people disliked D&D4E when it came out for various reasons, yet people still play it today, and that when I started playing 5E, 4E had the reputation of being the game that everyone hates, but he's still focused on how people will bad-mouth 5E when they really have no need to. One example I can remember him seeing (and before I bring it up, I understand Reddit's culture, but the large amount of forum posts are going to be on Reddit, especially for a large and insular hobby like TTRPGs) was on a Reddit thread of someone asking what an analogous spell or ability would be to some spell in 5E and one person commented something to the effect of "well, you could try using this spell/ability, but you won't get the same effect as you would in 5E because 5E is just for auto-win stuff that doesn't have the player trying hard" (moderately paraphrasing, but I think my point is conveyed well here).

Personally, I like PF2E over 5E, but I'll still play both, mostly because most people will play 5E and not want to try and learn a new system, especially if it's one that has a reputation of having exponentially more rules than the one they already know and are comfortable with. Does anyone have any tips for how I can help my partner here?

I am currently obsessed with this song and am listening to it on repeat.

I'm looking to getting back into VR gaming. However, with my switch to Linux, that has made things a little more complicated. I don't own a Valve Index (although I've heard that there are some issues with the Index on Linux), I own a Rift CV1. As far as I'm aware, the Oculus Rift is pretty much completely incompatible with Linux. I do also own both Beat Saber and SUPERHOT VR on the Oculus Store (poor choice of platform, I know).

So, unless there's something I've overlooked, my options are as follows:

1. Sell my Rift and stop playing VR games (weird option to choose but it's an option).
2. Sell my Rift and save up to buy a Valve Index (despite its issues)
3. Sell my Rift and save up to get a Quest 2 (or 3 when that comes out, although that plays into Metz's pockets).
4. Keep my Rift and do tiny experiments with it (again, weird choice given the title of the post, but it's an option)

Does anyone have any advice for me here?

Other than with like a PDF of a textbook (or a physical version thereof), I don't know many FOSS apps/sites for learning a language whether its a fringe language with few resources like Te Reo Māori, Irish, or Georgian or a major language like German, French, or Spanish. Have y'all seen any sites or apps for this?

Edit: I am already aware of Anki, although I don't think it alone is enough for me (plus I can get unmotivated to do the cards for a day and then I have to play catch up)

So I just updated Liftoff manually by downloading the APK from GitHub, however I feel like doing so isn't the best way to keep the app updated outside of installing the app from the Play Store. I had heard of a way to keep it updated automatically with some app or service but I can't remember the name. What is the best way to keep this app updated?

So my roommate has informed me that Android and Motorola donate to Republicans more than Democrats whereas Apple does not, claiming this as a reason that the iPhone is better than an Android phone. While I could find statistics confirming the fact about Motorola, I don't even know what they were referring to when they mentioned Android and I tried looking for "Android" and "Android Foundation" and came up with nothing. If they're referring to the fact that Android, while it's an open sourced project, is maintained by Google, I'm already aware of that and would like to de-google my phone as much as possible (note: my phone is a Motorola Moto G Power (2022)). I however couldn't find any stats to support the Apple claim and my roommate has yet to provide me with any sources.

In any case, for my next phone, I'd like to move to a more privacy-focused phone. I've heard about the Fairphone, but re this comment, I'm slightly dissuaded from getting one when it comes to the US. I got a Motorola phone in following the advice of this post regarding the safety of the hardware used, but I might want to switch off of the phone when it comes time to upgrade to a new one down the line.

I'm not sure what to go with, so feel free to give me tips on that. Also I've wanted to install an alternative OS on my phone but all the ones I've seen aren't compatible with my phone at the moment.

I'm on a quest to de-Google my life and that does include Android Auto. At the very least, I want to use more FOSS stuff if possible. I'm wondering if there's any FOSS alternative to Android Auto.

Feel free to add your favorite de-googled alternative apps as well.

Edit: I've also been getting annoyed at the fact that my podcasting app of choice, AntennaPod, doesn't extern its media controls to AA. Is there a fix for this such that I don't have to keep reaching for my phone to pause an episode if I'm e.g. grabbing takeout?

Edit 2: a word

Edit 3: It appears that apparently, AntennaPod doesn't work with Android Auto because I downloaded it with F-Droid and is signed with a different key, so Android Auto doesn't trust it. There is apparently a setting for Android Auto that enables unknown sources. I might try that out soon.

These tracks are an assortment of tracks I made while studying modular synthesis in university and created with VCV Rack and Ableton Live. The link listed here is for my Bandcamp (as that supports me more than streams) but my music is also available on most major streaming platforms.

So I'm currently playing through Pokemon Violet and I am enjoying. However, I've noticed something during my playthrough semi-recently that I've noticed whenever I play any Pokemon game: the level progression. Now in Pokemon Violet, it's open-world and also up to the player as to what path they take and what order they complete certain events in.

In any case, I've been following IGN's guide on the game and have completed (in this order) Cortondo Gym (Bug), Open Sky Titan (Flying), Team Star's Giacomo (Dark), Artazon Gym (Grass), Stony Cliff Titan (Rock), and Levincia Gym (Electric). The guide recommends that I go up against Team Star's Mela (Fire) next, so I'm currently working on leveling up a team of Water-type Pokemon. Most of them average at about level 20. The guide however recommends that I be at level 27 with my Pokemon. I'm trying my hardest but every time I load up the game, I'm hit with the constant feel that I have to go level up and I can't go do the next thing in game. It feels stifling, and this isn't the first time I've felt this while playing a Pokemon game. While doing a Nuzlocke challenge, I decided that I would literally invent a rule that says I could hack in Rare Candies to level up my Pokemon if grinding gets too boring and annoying.

Has anyone else felt this? I want to love one of my favorite franchises and keep playing the games, but I also don't want to boot them up and feel like I'm dragging a rock in a sack down the road.