philosophy: on nicknames

I really need to fix diagnostics soon.
I can't see it when branches are broken -w-

content/about.tree

@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@
             what do robots like doing?
 
             % id = "01J09E55G1AGZ51ZV5ZGFMF78H"
-            - listen I'm trying to ward off spam with this weird wording, but I bet you can figure out my email adddress from this pretty easily.
+            - listen I'm trying to ward off spam with this weird wording, but I bet you can figure out my email address from this pretty easily.
 
             % id = "01J09E55G1XKF12N27Y8TCMQPY"
             - if not then my email is not that hard to find in other places.

content/philosophy.tree

@@ -169,3 +169,7 @@
         % id = "01JBAK3T1Z6QSCGVE9PF9CWFGC"
         - an entry on this website provoked me to write this.
         I don't want to call out the specific one because it would be missing the point.
+
+% content.link = "philosophy/nicknames"
+  id = "01JBWJ0475CPPP1FTWY1BRDWA6"
++ :page: on nicknames

content/philosophy/nicknames.tree

@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+%% title = "on nicknames"
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKTDGDBATFM9H27KZK"
+- my given name is Gabriel.
+I'm okay with saying this here, because it's not exactly hard to find that out.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKZRY3G0P0GQK8Z1TY"
+    - I don't really try to conceal my real world identity; you can even find my up to date photos online, and I'm okay with them being there.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKNPNHRZ9R2BSBFNHH"
+- you may've noticed however that I don't ever use my real name on the treehouse (outside of this branch.)
+nor do I use my real name on any social platforms or chat apps.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKZ9SV2TV3RKEYK98B"
+- so you may be left wondering, "what's the deal with you calling yourself _liquidex_?"
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMK65CZ5Y7660AZS1JW"
+- I'm a zoomer; the Internet existed since before I was born.
+my first exposure to the world of computers (and the Internet) was when I was just 6 years old, and I remember my uncle telling me something along the lines of:
+
+> Do not type in your real world details _anywhere_ online.
+>
+> Not your name, your home address, your phone number.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKFWRPNJXW5HA50ZAS"
+    - this was in 2010.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKGRHKNSK0GG13FNEJ"
+    - so I took that advice _very_ seriously.
+    _never_ input your real world data anywhere.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKDJ9JBZR93DFXPGBE"
++ later on my cousin would introduce me to the world of email and [online chat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadu-Gadu).
+she came up with a nickname for me, `gabens`.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKGGRPMJCFKHR6BQ60"
+    - it's pronounced like "gah-bens."
+    this was before [Gaben](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabe_Newell) was popular in Poland.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKDJDFTGHY57AHVW6E"
+- I didn't really like that nickname though, since it still had my real name in it...
+so I used it for email only, and went on to search for a different one.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMK6PQNR8M45JSXQYT9"
+    + I went through many iterations.
+    in 2014, I finally arrived at the word `liquid`, which had a really cool sound to it.
+
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMK0E4EPJMS40X9ZW00"
+        - I came up with this word while playing around with Mom's smartphone at the time.
+        I was in the car with my sister, waiting for Mom to leave work and drive us home, and I was playing around with HTC's image editor.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKZ7JND40G9F9RKSJS"
+            + we had just adopted a cat at the time; I was using a picture of her as my test subject.
+
+                % id = "01JBWHXTMKA5BBH22ATKZGK0V9"
+                - (she's still alive and well! though she broke her tail a couple years ago :cry:)
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKG21RQH51Y7FT9ZQW"
+            - one of the filters was called "Prism" and it had a few kaleidoscope-like patterns, chopping up the image into bits, shifting it around a bunch, and masking off parts.
+            the pattern I liked the most had a distinct italic `L`-like shape, and as I was looking at the picture, the word `liquid` popped into my head.
+            "yup, that's gonna be my new online nickname!"
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKAJ6T5PGJAQ24TJGM"
+    - at first I transformed it into `liquidek`, which is a diminutive of `liquid` if you interpret it as a Polish word.
+
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMKE1ZXRKF2Z4CH9HXP"
+        - later I made it more serious and turned it into `iLiquid600`.
+
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMK4NRVXXEXJPGPB0NX"
+        - later I dropped the `600` and it became just `iLiquid`.
+        it stayed like this for a really long time.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKCCHA6YVP5F2V2CVW"
+            - my friends got used just to calling me `liquid` at this point, dropping the `i` in the front.
+
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMKS5D5JGSXZQSZXK71"
+        - then in 2019 we were dicking around in FL Studio with a friend, and I jokingly chose an alias for my shitpost music---`DJ Liquidex`.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKRND5W0AQAX6R4QZS"
+            + I really liked the ring of it though, and in 2020 my online identity went through a rebranding---change all nicknames from `iLiquid` to `liquidex`, and adopt a new logo for myself.
+
+                % id = "01JBWHXTMK2VS2ZB7CEMCPG8F3"
+                - scroll to the top of the page, and it's still that same logo!
+                the original had a rainbow in it, but I don't have it on the website because I thought it was a little too distracting.
+
+                ![the original version of the logo, with a rainbow beneath the L][pic:01JBSYYTVXW7EG2YH13P5W983V]
+
+                fun fact: this logo was drawn in [Aseprite](https://aseprite.org/), using [ENDESGA's 32 color palette](https://lospec.com/palette-list/endesga-32).
+
+                % id = "01JBWHXTMKQX9MVXJTZ5Q0N18D"
+                - I think the logo still holds up really well after all these years.
+                it's unlikely I'll change it any time soon; it's basically my digital signature at this point.
+
+                    % id = "01JBWHXTMKF17KRBCZK1GH90PR"
+                    - I might bring back the rainbow though.
+                    maybe on hover :thinking:
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKFCBWBPP20G397ES5"
+    + when I was looking for a fake surname for liquidex, I chose Woźniak.
+    it's a very common name with Polish roots that starts with the same letter as my real name.
+
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMKH39JK3G72F8M4BFC"
+        - _and_ Steve Wozniak.
+        I don't know much about him personally, but he seems like a worthy person to look up to.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKCS16X93VVJWYBH6W"
+    - and that's the whole story; that's how liquidex came to be.
+    I've been using this nickname for a few years now and I really like it.
+    it has a friendly but slightly edgy and quirky vibe to it, which fits my personality well.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKKJB8JH4TCH8XSAZS"
+- I'm really happy with having a nickname.
+it represents a part of me I don't actually hate.
+it represents something I built up to over many years; my personal brand, my online identity.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKCKVCZ2DYDK2RPCNG"
+- but an interesting thought arises: would I be more normal online if my family hadn't educated me to hide my own identity?
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKT1TCWT89JX88QVX1"
+- and another interesting thought: nicknames seem like a thing of _our_ generation---gen Z.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKM2G2AF70VX3X2KST"
+    - as we were just getting Internet into our homes, our parents wanted us to be safe out there.
+    so to try and minimise the risk of getting manipulated by a pedophile, they told us to _never, never ever_ input our real data online.
+
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMK87DR99KKP6WSF5J4"
+        - there's an interesting divide that happened because of this.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKGTNCMMZ2TJ8XPFWV"
+            - there were the folks that grew up with facebook, which forced you to use your real world identity.
+
+            these people generally seem to use their real names everywhere still.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKBRWRCT0TKMYE9W5G"
+            - there's also us nerds who grew up doing other things; socialising more online than irl, taking care not to run into any sus people along the` `{=html}way.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMK1981C88E4HF3WPFS"
+            - I've been thinking about this and it doesn't seem like it's entirely _generational_; initially it seemed like a gen Z thing, but I know people far older than gen Z who do prefer using a nickname.
+            however, I do think a large portion of gen Z _nerds_ chooses to use nicknames because of how they were raised.
+
+% id = "01JBWHXTMKA0C6ZW75T269C9AR"
+- I'm grateful for my parents' care when it came to my online presence.
+sharing your real data online when you're a kid sounds like a _baaad_ idea.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMKXBK1B99VED9GV2BT"
+    - but this also has a flip side: being the weirdo I am, the idea of hiding your real world identity online keeps lingering within me.
+    and that sometimes feels wrong when you're already an adult and see your coworkers being okay with using _their_ real names, and heck, real _photos_ online.
+
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMK9QAJGHHM9VRQ02M3"
+    - also, while it supposedly helped me protect me as a kid, it also caused _so much_ unnecessary self-hate.
+    
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMK4SMAMG4W61E02ZSV"
+        - it instilled [a fear of seeing pictures of myself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNKrcwOG-SE){.secret}.
+
+        I never published my own face online, so I never got much of a chance to look at my own pictures.
+
+        and I don't ever take photos of myself, because I don't like looking at my pictures.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKPQ6RN7TNXN51BHGV"
+            - so it's like an endless cycle of disliking the way I look.
+
+            but honestly... I'm okay with that.
+            I've learned to accept my face in the mirror. I don't need it shoved everywhere I go.
+            I'm not Aphex Twin.
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKKZ4H2THV6C2A6SCN"
+            - besides, I have a cute fursona, and I'm proud of it :smile:
+
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMKR4WZK36WYA0E1XF0"
+            - and there's so much more to a person than just the way they look.

content/treehouse/changelog.tree

@@ -1,24 +1,34 @@
 %% title = "what's going on inside the house? (a changelog)"
 
+% id = "01JBWHXTMC7GZEMTH2WT7TN1GT"
 - *revision 12:* refurnishment
 
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMCHVAXKV18VZ3C5RS4"
     + I changed the layout of the treehouse to be more spacious and fit more branches on the screen
 
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMCC4E4P8C3MBMB0M3Z"
         - you may have noticed the usable area for branches is now much wider without the branches themselves being too long.
 
+            % id = "01JBWHXTMCBMBRXQ66J5F19DPD"
             - I like that balance, though I don't love how far to the right the branch buttons have gone now.
             feels like there's a lot of unnecessary mouse travel happening with that.
 
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMCYXEFA2J18WEY3F83"
     - since the layout rules are a bit more complex than the previous one, I expect lots of bugs around narrow displays...
 
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMCK7TJK4J1FM4AGY5M"
     + one rad change is that the liquidex brand colored hobby corners are now more elegant, displaying the whole icon, and using a tamer text underline than the previous long border.
 
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMCVXNAACA86AET9BXD"
         - this icon is gonna be the death of me on narrow layouts
 
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMCZN2Q7R0FS208A8FR"
     + page titles are now way bigger!
     
+        % id = "01JBWHXTMCMVHB3T4GBM6SQM3D"
         - I like this change in particular because it clarifies the visual hierarchy between page titles and the commonly used level 3 header on pages
 
+    % id = "01JBWHXTMCYJ0358SR76Q0V422"
     - the fact I'm still finding bugs in the layout as I'm writing this is not exactly the most encouraging, but I'm optimistic it's gonna be a change for the better :ralsei_love:
 
 % id = "01J8YW9MZ4SD06KQY2H5GHJXRR"