Yesterday there was yet another “FriendRewind uses AI” post. Quite frankly, I am sick of hearing about it lmao. Def3ct has said multiple times that there is no AI here.
If y’all hate it here so bad, go back to Spacehey with the other three users still left🥴
But if you do that, you should probably give this a read first👀
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Ick. Well, I don't go to SpaceHey anymore. I kept my account because I don't feel like copy/pasting all of my blogs over to here right now. Lol.
I took it as my opportunity to update and "tweak" the blogs. I also deleted two that are no longer relevant.
they have an allegiance to the very thing they are criticizing, go figure.. if they want to stay on a dead and boring site that isn't even accessible on half of the planet without a proxy, with a lot of features broken or disabled, let 'em. have a nice nap, y'all..
at one time on there, I busted a lot of the fakes and scammers via reports and alerting others in bulletins..could spot them a mile away. I have several years of experience doing that kind of stuff on other sites, and even my own sites and phpbb forums that I once ran. in early 2023, An was taking applications for moderators and my resume was ignored, the people he ended up choosing hardly ever logged in and never got anything done. I couldn't get that kid to answer me in any kind of way to save my life. behold, AI moderation.. 😂
I remember when he announced it. that vangelis kid was the only one doing anything at all, and he got sacked.
the hypocrisy coming from the don't-friendrewind dorks is pretty extreme. the only proof they could come up with was the badges. I see those vanished, so now they have nothing. 😅
@Very Scary Fairy✨ it was such a lame, weak argument anyway. "D'oh fhree ikonz were made witt AI, i bettr stay heer. dat proovz duh whole site wuz made wit AI.."
@rillo Lately I've been wondering what happened with the badges.
And I see now what might bethe reason.
I thought it's been removed just for me but I saw others as well.
I wonder what was the main reason why.
@Cysper04 idk for sure if that was the reason, but here's a sample.
@rillo Yikes, but what you said was true.
I think looking at how things were on SpaceHey internally.
It looks like the writing was on the wall unfortunately.
It looks like it's not really being taken care of and on the outside, the community seemed pretty hostile about FriendRewind instead of being chill and wholesome and talking about nice stuff.
@Cysper04 it's beyond ridiculous. spacehey, or myspace or even napo didn't even have the freakin' badge system. it was kind of cool I thought, it reflected how active you were in the best interests of the site. how the icons were interpreted as proofs, I'll never know. *confused* 
@Cysper04 or just not even have badges or icons at all, and just list the ranks somewhere, like below mood or something. "community connector - gold tier.. forum engager - silver tier" or something like that. if they didn't like them, the option was there to not even display them.
@rillo Or maybe colored texts just like you said. LOL XD
That's real lol. I have an account there too, but this site has better accessibility. Just a shame I couldn't bring over my profile with the code lol
@𝕋𝕙𝕖ℍ𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟ℝ𝟘𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 You should be able to! FriendRewind's designed to read your SpaceHey code <<<3
Yep! def managed to get it through after a while
@(m)tropy cats on the web
rillo wrote:
I remember when he announced it. that vangelis kid was the only one doing anything at all, and he got sacked.the hypocrisy coming from the don't-friendrewind dorks is pretty extreme. the only proof they could come up with was the badges. I see those vanished, so now they have nothing. 😅
😂😂😂
I don't get how that relates to anything I said, but lol okay 😁
Whether AI was used during development or not, I honestly don't know nor care. Looking to the future, rather than treating AI as something that should never be used, I think the bigger picture involves a conversation about how it's used.
The last thing any of us want is FriendRewind to rapidly grow in popularity and turn into SpaceHey 2.0, where quick-fixes like disabling key functionality to combat spam are put in place without a realistic long-term solution.
If AI can prevent that moment in history from repeating itself, it may be worth considering. Of course, this wouldn't be a complete substitute for bringing a dedicated moderation staff on board when the time comes, but simply another tool to use, which is how AI should be used healthily, as a tool.
@Very Scary Fairy✨ Me too as well. :)
@Tobiage This is the best response. AI has been used for decades now and it’s become a larger problem because greedy corporations are turning to lazy, quick-fix solutions. AI went from a handy tool to an unregulated parasite that’s infected the capitalistic brain.
AI can be useful for coding. But when a creator starts using AI for visual assets or, I dunno, MODERATION, it quickly becomes a shitfest. The entire purpose of AI should be doing the monotonous, un-creative, laborious tasks that help uplift human-made creations.
rillo wrote:
I don't get how that relates to anything I said, but lol okay 😁
yeah I can't remember his exact screen name, vangelis or vasilis or vagisil, idfk 😆 he was constantly on page 1 of the browse with the little icon by his name.
I used AI to help my build my profile so suck it
@aheartoffire1996 This is such a strange response lmfao
Very Scary Fairy✨ wrote:
@aheartoffire1996 This is such a strange response lmfao
@Very Scary Fairy✨ Ew. Blocked. It's one thing to disagree about using AI, another to come after you like that. Overly defensive much? Sheesh!
@aheartoffire1996 yeah no i can tell lol
@aheartoffire1996 so sad people can't just change up existing layers to their liking at the very least, what stops you from learning just the fundamentals of html and trying to take a crack at it? Coding is overwhelming when you don't try to learn it AT ALLL
@aheartoffire1996 kinda respect the honesty.
Hope that when MySpace gets the relaunch just be like the Old Days! With NO AI Stuffs !
I've been hearing a lot this from them lately, I really don't get the heat from them but it sounds like they were just bitter and jealous for pointless reasons.
I discovered both sites at the same time, I never got the invite to the other one, so all of that nonsense has thankfully went completely over my head. Still, seems like something to be wary of as the site grows.
@Cordell I found out about Space Hey first and even begged for a link. Come to find out its dead over there and I found people talking about friend rewind. Does FR have an app? i KNow SPace Hey did
@Callieforniiaa_ As far as I'm aware, it doesn't have an app, but in my experience, it is fully usable with a mobile browser
@Cordell yes they sadly dont have an app. Im wondering how far this site will go and what will happen when myspace relaunches though. Kinda sucks to see Hey space have an app but not Friend Rewind. Yes it use usable on mobile browsers but not the same imo
@Callieforniiaa_ Personally, I don't mind, the functionality seems to be all there, I can scroll forums and blogs all I want 😊 I find it kinda refreshing, actually, not to need an app. Other sites would make the mobile site annoying just to push the app...
@Cordell Im trying to stick to the desktop version for the authentic old school exp. maybe using the web version thru a phone with a physical keyboard would be better imo. Im looking at getting one soon. I agree about not pushing people towards and app but it is nice to have for those who want it.
@Cordell This is exactly what happened to me about a month ago. Went to Spacehey first, requested an invite, never got it. I saw people talking about FR as an alternative and signed up here instead. It was a blessing in disguise because I didn't end up getting invested in a dying site.
I just want to go back to the old internet, this place is a breath of fresh air. No doom scrolling thank god. I'm even thinking of getting a android phone thats in the style of a blackberry with the keyboard. IM CRAVING THE GOOD OLE DAYS. Tired of AI, tired of algos. i just want to have fun and not see all the stuff insta, FB, tiktok pushes. But im so ready to live on here till myspace comes back
@Callieforniiaa_ I want one of those keyboard phones but I don't want the Android system. I want it to be a dumbphone! I don't want access to anything, I have no self-control lol
@Very Scary Fairy✨ Girl this is giving me so much Nostalgia 😆 ah! But yes i totally get what your'e saying. I do like some smart phone features but I think the keyboard would help me not doom scroll as much but the phone is called the { Unihertz Titan 2 Elite} if you wanted to check it out. 😁
@Callieforniiaa_ I've got a Unihertz Jelly Max. I love this little phone!
@tellmesecrets I really want to get it but switching from Iphone to Android is so Daunting... I hate the feeling that im stuck to and iphone now.
@Very Scary Fairy✨ have you checked out these? https://www.thelightphone.com/ ^.^
@90's scream queen I have a Light Phone, yes, thank you :)
@Very Scary Fairy✨ oh, awesome! i'm kinda jealous lol. unfortunately, i need a smartphone for work/as a medical device *sigh*
@90's scream queen Ohh, I understand. There are ways to make your smart phone more like a dumb phone! You can get rid of all of the unnecessary apps and go into your settings and change the display to black-and-white. It’s not ideal, but it’s something :)
Personally I don't think AI has a place in moderation of groups and think it has been the downfall of MANY groups. It has erroneously shutdown and eliminated 1000's upon 1000's of profiles across many platforms with no way of recovering or contesting the loss of profiles.
But, on the other hand, I think AI in other ways is actually pretty cool when used in the right way. I recently have gotten into restoring very old family photos and seeing them being brought back to life and being colorized is cool as hell. I also since coming here really love making music genre banners for my profile which I've made all but 1 that I have on my profile.
But overall, I'm still on the fence and not a huge fan of AI especially in the ways I have been seeing it being used for, especially on AI generated bullshit articles that when fact checked turn out to be 💯 % false and can be very harmful with their content. So I would would at this point I'm about 20% for and 80% against AI.
@♠︎John K Callender♠︎ All of the things you mentioned can be, and have been, done with human hands; and AI is replacing many human jobs. Our world will crumble because of AI. I'm happy to be on a website in which it is not utilized.
I like the fact that this site isn't being Moderated by AI hope that it never is, but for people to get on here saying the pictures and stuff like that are AI, I say to that, so what. If the man wants to utilize AI in that manner then that's his business, not anyone else's. I use AI for creating art and photo restoration, ain't no different really than using using photoshop except for those of us who don't know photoshop, then AI is a better option and gives the same and sometimes better results. So if someone wants to use it to help build their website and do the art then that's their business, not anyone else's. That's such a trivial matter to be on here crybabying about.@Very Scary Fairy✨
@♠︎John K Callender♠︎ Feel free to do some research on the plethora of issues that AI datacenters are causing and you may then understand why people are “crybabying” about it. ✌️
I get much of what you're saying. You're comfortable with various levels of mediation existing between you and your final products. However, some demand creators employ zero levels of mediation, or at least use those tools that don't employ AI, and I believe that's where the debate over AI usage begins.
For the record, I am a writer by trade, and I strive to keep my use of AI as close to zero as I can. However, even grammar checkers employ AI now, so I can't entirely avoid AI usage. Similarly, I am a blogger in my personal life, and not only do I need reliable grammar checking, but I also need at least one free image from sites like Pixabay.com or Pexels.com for each article. Many of the images on those sites were created through the use of AI, and though I often succeed in locating a non-AI image, there are times when the best image found—the one that closest relates to my work—is of AI origin.
I am obviously not an image creation expert. No, I am an employer of the written word and an advocate for human-generated writing. I pore over the text I create knowing that an AI could achieve the same task with far greater speed, but using one would yield a product that is bereft of the emotion, pacing changes, punctuation variations, specific word choices, and other aspects that are the hallmarks of human-generated text. In short, my creations—though well done—will only be as perfect that I, as an imperfect being, can make them. Conversely, an AI will create textbook-perfect text, but the cost in having that is the human element. AI is a tool, and we need tools, but we don't need tools that replace us.
The data centers that power AI are to us what light bulbs were to lamplighters, pinsetters were to pinboys, and Netflix was to video rental stores. They have the power to destroy not just lives, but our entire way of life due to the scope and prevalence of AI. Lamplighters, pinsetters, and video store clerks were left unemployed by very specific advances in technology. Conversely, the adoption of AI is widespread, and it presents the realistic prospect of the elimination of most or all white collar positions within our lifetime. That is not crybabying. No, that is concern. That is an expression of the need to preserve humanity as a species in the face of cold, indefatigable, and absolutely soulless artificial minds of supreme efficiency, all of which can perform days or weeks of office work in minutes, or restore an image autonomously in less than a second.
I try to limit my usage of AI to a bare minimum to creating things that I myself wouldn't otherwise have the talent or skill to create by my own hands. So by searching the internet for images and with the combination of very detailed descriptions with those images I'm able to create what is in my mind to achieve something new and original.
Now I don't agree with the destructiveness that these centers cause on the communities or the environment around them and I know here recently in the area I live in there has been a 5 year moratorium put on any consideration to allowing any to be built. I also don't agree with the loss of jobs these centers cause and by what I see they screw things up more than they do any good.
Just an example of a couple of banners for the profile I've done. Now I ordinarily wouldn't have been able to do something like this on my own. I took the word design Jazz and Classic Rock and totally changed and transformed them into something new and original with a very descriptive addition to the image to produce both. Others I took and pieced together 3-5 images into a cohesive banner to produce an original piece using the help of the profile itself and a couple using the profile and AI combinations to get the desired results. After these are done I may not use AI again for several months, so my usage is very sporadic and limited.
@Red, White and Real
@♠︎John K Callender♠︎ you say you couldn't have done these things yourself, and yet these are things people have learned to do themselves before ai. it's not a lack of ability, it's choosing the quick, easy & convenient route (which often uses the stolen efforts of artist it was trained off without their permission, when it comes to any kind of image generation) over one that takes your time & effort. personally, I would encourage you to try learning these skills for yourself instead of relying on ai to do it for you, it's harder but you might find it more rewarding.
Whenever I do use an image off the web I make sure it is one that is free to use and not copyrighted and then expand on that image with a description of what and how I want it to look and what I want added to it. I am not artistic in the least except in my mind and that's where AI and being able to be descriptive helps to achieve the end result I am looking for. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing and still get the satisfaction in the end. It may take me a dozen edits but it gets me what I'm looking for in the end.
@♠︎John K Callender♠︎ the images you find may be free to use, but ai still uses the work of artists who never gave permission to train itself to do what it does. and no artists came out the womb being able to do what they do, they learned to do it over time, just like you can. if you want to choose the easy route and put your time into something that will never teach you anything of worth that's your prerogative, but it isn't because you can't it's because you don't want to. and people aren't crybabies for having a negative opinion of something that has caused harm to communities and artists who spent their life learning the skills they have for the sake of convenience and laziness for those who don't want to learn themselves or pay those who have to make something for them.
I'll do things the way I want to do them in the way I want and how I want and your input is irrelevant and I really don't give a shit what you have to say about it so go piss the fuck off. I really don't care if you like the way I'm doing things, I'm happy with it and that is all that counts. Your opinion means absolutely 💯% ZILCH.
@marasuppukii yeah i was gonna say.. opinion challenge and answered like a true crybaby.
acting like he’s five years old, embarrassing
@♠︎John K Callender♠︎ no reason to get so heated and resort to swearing over someone providing a different perspective. but I'll go ahead and piss the fuck off, sure. have a great day :)
@♠︎John K Callender♠︎ For someone who accuses others of being crybabies, you sure are acting like one. Take your pills and go to sleep, gramps.
Last I heard about friendrewind using AI was when someone claimed they seen in the files that pictures there were AI, I didn’t really believe them because how would they know what’s really in the files, I doubt the creator of the site would let just anyone see them. I personally don’t really care either way, I just wanna have fun and make friends tbh.
As long as the site itself isn't being Moderated by AI I personally could care less if the photos and stuff were made by AI. That is such a trivial and unimportant matter lol. @Hopeyy Haywire
Ok so... even if the site might use AI to code (the only AI that really PISS ME OF is the fucking generative one, as an artist), at least this site is not a zombie like Spacehey (sorry - ? - for the slander)
I don't get how some people are like, "AI is evil! Don't use it!!!" Well, do you remember Clippy from way back then? Clippy was freaking AI! And that monkey too (I can't think of his name). CPUs in video games are AI too. Hell, simply searching for something on Google is a form of AI usage. I guess I'm more lenient with the use of AI, depending on how it is used. The only AI I don't like is the ones that are created to basically trick people into thinking they are real.
@thevoidisred If it gets any crazier I’ll have it locked lmao
hi hi
this is absolutely nothing against friendrewind btw, it's miles ahead of spacehey and i'm not getting involved in that debate lol. if anything, i think friendrewind is way ahead of the game when it comes to the whole myspace revival. the inclusion of things like music, videos, photos and actual age verification makes it feel like they're trying to recreate the whole experience and go beyond, rather than just making another social site with a myspaceish layout.
but some of the features on friendrewind do look vibe coded to me. when i'm talking about that, i'm mostly talking about the messages and music sections. by vibe coded i just mean code that's been generated with ai from a description of what you want, rather than something you've necessarily built out manually. obviously i have no idea how those features were actually made, so i'm not saying they were ai generated.
the main reason i get that impression is honestly just the ui. the messages and music sections feel a little clunky and annoying to use at the moment, and visually they're quite bland and basic compared to the rest of what friendrewind is trying to do. there isn't really much graphic design or custom visual direction layered over the underlying components, so they have that very recognisable default ai interface look. obviously that doesn't necessarily mean they are vibe coded, but when an interface feels like it's missing that last layer of design and polish, it's pretty easy to mistake it for something that was generated with ai.
i notice vibe coding on people's profiles a lot too, which obviously isn't a crime. not everyone has the time or interest to learn css and build everything from scratch, and honestly fair enough. i'm mostly just glad people are actually putting stuff on their profiles and getting involved rather than leaving the whole thing blank.
i've also noticed a lot of the site seems to use existing open source code and templates from github, which honestly isn't unusual at all. spacehey seems to have done similar things with some of its features, and i've noticed other myspace revival sites doing it too. after seeing enough of them you start recognising the same templates and little bits of code everywhere haha.
and honestly, defect seems to genuinely be putting a lot of effort into the site and actually listening to what the community wants, which matters a lot more to me than whether every single feature was written completely from scratch.
even if some of the features are vibe coded, open source, adapted from existing projects, whatever, i don't really care. the fact that someone is actually trying to build something, add features people have been asking for, and get people involved in the process is what counts. i'd much rather have someone experimenting and making something than another dead myspace clone that gets abandoned after three months lol.
anyway, this is really just something i've noticed after spending way too much time looking at how these sites are put together. i'm genuinely excited to see where friendrewind goes, because i think it's probably one of the more interesting attempts at bringing this whole style of internet back. :)
weighing in with my thoughts
the only thing which actually matters is the community as a whole
its the users who help create the content that keeps the site engaging
and on par with that, regular feedback between end users and staff
which this site has and others (for whatever reasons) don't
idc if its a labor of love, gpt assisted or held together with string and tape
it works, it's active, it's fun to use - that's all i rly need to know 
I found friend rewind in a bunch of “don’t go to friend rewind” posts in SpaceHey. I hardly was on there because it was so dead. I’m glad I logged in and seen that because I really like it here.
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