Erika Melder
@erikavmelder.bsky.social
PhD student @ Northeastern's Khoury College of Comp Sci, studying protection and boundaries around online communities made by and for marginalized people. Former lecturer at U of Maryland, College Park.
Enjoyer of turn based RPGs and math puzzles!
Enjoyer of turn based RPGs and math puzzles!
Reposted by Erika Melder
HOPE has been banned from St. John's University. www.2600.com/content/hope...
HOPE CONFERENCE BANNED BY ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY | 2600
www.2600.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
HOPE has been banned from St. John's University. www.2600.com/content/hope...
I hardly post on microblogging apps despite writing about them constantly for the past several years. Something about the tweet format just doesn't register as a conversation in my mind. It feels like yapping into the void in a way that Discord, Cohost (RIP), and even phpBB forums don't.
September 12, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I hardly post on microblogging apps despite writing about them constantly for the past several years. Something about the tweet format just doesn't register as a conversation in my mind. It feels like yapping into the void in a way that Discord, Cohost (RIP), and even phpBB forums don't.
Reposted by Erika Melder
This is one of the worst violations of research ethics I've ever seen. Manipulating people in online communities using deception, without consent, is not "low risk" and, as evidenced by the discourse in this Reddit post, resulted in harm.
Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵
Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵
The mods of r/ChangeMyView shared the sub was the subject of a study to test the persuasiveness of LLMs & that they didn't consent. There’s a lot that went wrong, so here’s a 🧵 unpacking it, along with some ideas for how to do research with online communities ethically. tinyurl.com/59tpt988
From the changemyview community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the changemyview community
tinyurl.com
April 26, 2025 at 10:25 PM
This is one of the worst violations of research ethics I've ever seen. Manipulating people in online communities using deception, without consent, is not "low risk" and, as evidenced by the discourse in this Reddit post, resulted in harm.
Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵
Great thread from Sarah, and I have additional thoughts. 🧵
Reposted by Erika Melder
The trope that universities are "dependent" on the federal government fundamentally misunderstands how vital this partnership has been for the US. The private sector can't replace it. If we kill it, we're all worse off. From @donmoyn.bsky.social and me: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/are-univer...
April 23, 2025 at 1:53 PM
The trope that universities are "dependent" on the federal government fundamentally misunderstands how vital this partnership has been for the US. The private sector can't replace it. If we kill it, we're all worse off. From @donmoyn.bsky.social and me: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/are-univer...
Reposted by Erika Melder
#tech for those of you who do now or might someday upload content to YouTube, h/t @pantsawe.bsky.social
So Google's latest consent violation is them generating "AI" audio of your voice in YouTube as an opt-out "service."
Here's how to turn it off (original images reposted with alt text):
Here's how to turn it off (original images reposted with alt text):
April 19, 2025 at 10:48 PM
#tech for those of you who do now or might someday upload content to YouTube, h/t @pantsawe.bsky.social
Reposted by Erika Melder
72% of the book challenges are coming from organized pressure groups and politicians they work with to falsely claim inclusive books are offensive or inappropriate, according to the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social. (1/2)
April 9, 2025 at 4:22 PM
72% of the book challenges are coming from organized pressure groups and politicians they work with to falsely claim inclusive books are offensive or inappropriate, according to the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social. (1/2)
Reposted by Erika Melder
I have never seen anything like this in NYC. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff
April 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Erika Melder
If you study networks, or have been stuck listening to people who study networks for long enough (sorry to my loved ones), you may have heard that open triads – V shapes – in social networks tend to turn into closed triangles. But why does this happen? In part, because people repost each other.
April 1, 2025 at 8:00 PM
If you study networks, or have been stuck listening to people who study networks for long enough (sorry to my loved ones), you may have heard that open triads – V shapes – in social networks tend to turn into closed triangles. But why does this happen? In part, because people repost each other.
Reposted by Erika Melder
have you ever lost sleep wondering how hashtag activism campaigns unfold over time???
in a new paper with @erikavmelder.bsky.social and @foucaultwelles.bsky.social, we look at the temporal evolution of 7 years of #StopLine3 on twitter
more here: doi.org/10.1177/2056...
in a new paper with @erikavmelder.bsky.social and @foucaultwelles.bsky.social, we look at the temporal evolution of 7 years of #StopLine3 on twitter
more here: doi.org/10.1177/2056...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
March 12, 2025 at 1:33 PM
have you ever lost sleep wondering how hashtag activism campaigns unfold over time???
in a new paper with @erikavmelder.bsky.social and @foucaultwelles.bsky.social, we look at the temporal evolution of 7 years of #StopLine3 on twitter
more here: doi.org/10.1177/2056...
in a new paper with @erikavmelder.bsky.social and @foucaultwelles.bsky.social, we look at the temporal evolution of 7 years of #StopLine3 on twitter
more here: doi.org/10.1177/2056...
Reposted by Erika Melder
This is pretty bad- but better this than Apple just sneakily adding a backdoor. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj54eq4vejo
Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row
Customers' photos and documents stored online will no longer be protected by end-to-end encryption.
www.bbc.com
February 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM
This is pretty bad- but better this than Apple just sneakily adding a backdoor. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj54eq4vejo
Reposted by Erika Melder
Wikipedia Prepares for 'Increase in Threats' to US Editors From Musk and His Allies
🔗 www.404media.co/wikipedia-pr...
🔗 www.404media.co/wikipedia-pr...
February 11, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Wikipedia Prepares for 'Increase in Threats' to US Editors From Musk and His Allies
🔗 www.404media.co/wikipedia-pr...
🔗 www.404media.co/wikipedia-pr...
Reposted by Erika Melder
Got a bluesky account just to plug this #CHI25 preprint that I got to write with @taliabhatt.itch.io and @michaelann.bsky.social.
"We ask: what does an orientation of HCI research towards fighting epistemic injustice look like?"
arxiv.org/abs/2501.14648
"We ask: what does an orientation of HCI research towards fighting epistemic injustice look like?"
arxiv.org/abs/2501.14648
Moving Towards Epistemic Autonomy: A Paradigm Shift for Centering Participant Knowledge
Justice, epistemology, and marginalization are rich areas of study in HCI. And yet, we repeatedly find platforms and algorithms that push communities further into the margins. In this paper, we propos...
arxiv.org
January 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Got a bluesky account just to plug this #CHI25 preprint that I got to write with @taliabhatt.itch.io and @michaelann.bsky.social.
"We ask: what does an orientation of HCI research towards fighting epistemic injustice look like?"
arxiv.org/abs/2501.14648
"We ask: what does an orientation of HCI research towards fighting epistemic injustice look like?"
arxiv.org/abs/2501.14648
Reposted by Erika Melder
"Making extensions under MV3 is much harder than making extensions under MV2. That's just a fact. They made things harder to build and more confusing," EFF’s Alexei Miagkov told @theregister.com.
Google's slow Chrome Extension reforms anger developers
Makers of content blockers, privacy add-ons say promises weren't kept
www.theregister.com
February 7, 2025 at 5:31 PM
"Making extensions under MV3 is much harder than making extensions under MV2. That's just a fact. They made things harder to build and more confusing," EFF’s Alexei Miagkov told @theregister.com.
Reposted by Erika Melder
I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion
The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 28, 2025 at 3:03 AM
I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.
Reposted by Erika Melder
Gritty continues to be a real one
January 22, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Gritty continues to be a real one
Reposted by Erika Melder
Friends play a key role in the lives and wellbeing of adults 50 and older. CID Faculty Affiliate Sarah Patterson @spattersearch.bsky.social contributed to the National Poll on Healthy Aging @um-src.bsky.social. Read the press release: isr.umich.edu/news-events/...
Poll shows role of close friendships in older adults’ health | Institute for Social Research
isr.umich.edu
January 13, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Friends play a key role in the lives and wellbeing of adults 50 and older. CID Faculty Affiliate Sarah Patterson @spattersearch.bsky.social contributed to the National Poll on Healthy Aging @um-src.bsky.social. Read the press release: isr.umich.edu/news-events/...
Reposted by Erika Melder
Hell. You are describing hell. Nobody wants an “interactive and engaging” dishwasher. They just want their dishes cleaned. www.forbes.com/sites/bernar...
March 29, 2024 at 3:32 PM
Hell. You are describing hell. Nobody wants an “interactive and engaging” dishwasher. They just want their dishes cleaned. www.forbes.com/sites/bernar...
Reposted by Erika Melder
Just to share something cool... I was looking for pixel fonts for my neocities and like, I keep getting all the usual font sites on google and like... Sometimes you want like.. a REAL website like no I need a page where some weirdo wrote the HTML!!
int10h.org/oldschool-pc...?
So I found THIS!!!
int10h.org/oldschool-pc...?
So I found THIS!!!
The Ultimate Oldschool PC Font Pack: Font Index
Full index of the world's biggest collection of classic text mode fonts, system fonts and BIOS fonts from DOS-era IBM PCs and compatibles
int10h.org
December 30, 2024 at 4:00 AM
Just to share something cool... I was looking for pixel fonts for my neocities and like, I keep getting all the usual font sites on google and like... Sometimes you want like.. a REAL website like no I need a page where some weirdo wrote the HTML!!
int10h.org/oldschool-pc...?
So I found THIS!!!
int10h.org/oldschool-pc...?
So I found THIS!!!
I get the game design argument for contact damage but it's just not very fun. Actual attack hitboxes add so much to any action game.
I'm supposed to believe my guy is a cool powerful hero and yet he loses half his life bar and is flung across the screen simply by touching a snake? Yeah, sure.
I'm supposed to believe my guy is a cool powerful hero and yet he loses half his life bar and is flung across the screen simply by touching a snake? Yeah, sure.
December 28, 2024 at 7:49 PM
I get the game design argument for contact damage but it's just not very fun. Actual attack hitboxes add so much to any action game.
I'm supposed to believe my guy is a cool powerful hero and yet he loses half his life bar and is flung across the screen simply by touching a snake? Yeah, sure.
I'm supposed to believe my guy is a cool powerful hero and yet he loses half his life bar and is flung across the screen simply by touching a snake? Yeah, sure.
Reposted by Erika Melder
Recently talked to a student who admitted to using ChatGPT as a study device - by feeding it all of the class lecture slides and having it generate summaries. So now OpenAI has ownership of all the slides my co-instructor and I created from scratch…
December 23, 2024 at 5:22 PM
Recently talked to a student who admitted to using ChatGPT as a study device - by feeding it all of the class lecture slides and having it generate summaries. So now OpenAI has ownership of all the slides my co-instructor and I created from scratch…
Reposted by Erika Melder
I cant believe Cave Story is 20 years old.. Such an amazing and formative game for me, what better way to enjoy it than on a fully restored IBM ThinkCentre that also happens to be from 2004!
( ^ ^)
( ^ ^)
December 21, 2024 at 3:25 AM
I cant believe Cave Story is 20 years old.. Such an amazing and formative game for me, what better way to enjoy it than on a fully restored IBM ThinkCentre that also happens to be from 2004!
( ^ ^)
( ^ ^)
Reposted by Erika Melder
You do not need to be an academic to visit an archive.
You do not need a degree to visit an archive.
There is no terrifying Don at the door grilling potential visitors.
If it's your first time, a nice archivist will help you.
It's our shared history, our preserved records. Go explore it.
You do not need a degree to visit an archive.
There is no terrifying Don at the door grilling potential visitors.
If it's your first time, a nice archivist will help you.
It's our shared history, our preserved records. Go explore it.
December 17, 2024 at 12:43 PM
You do not need to be an academic to visit an archive.
You do not need a degree to visit an archive.
There is no terrifying Don at the door grilling potential visitors.
If it's your first time, a nice archivist will help you.
It's our shared history, our preserved records. Go explore it.
You do not need a degree to visit an archive.
There is no terrifying Don at the door grilling potential visitors.
If it's your first time, a nice archivist will help you.
It's our shared history, our preserved records. Go explore it.