It’s usually mediated by viruses. A virus infects an organism, picks up some host genetic material, and later jumps to a different host. At some point, the viral DNA is incorporated into the host genome and stays there, bringing the DNA from the previous host with it. This is how mammals got placentas. About 8% of the human genome is made of viruses that got stuck there

There are conservatives on Mastodon, but the rest of the Fediverse defederates the explicitly conservative instances. The big ones are Gab, Parler, and TruthSocial, which don’t seem to federate with anybody at all. (I would advise against looking them up, because they have a rather high concentration of Nazis).

My country recently changed it from “only if the mother’s life is in danger” to “any time in the first three months; after that, the mother’s life must be in danger”.

Maybe I’m just terminally online, and most people have more detailed opinions than one normally sees on social media.

I think part of the reason they come across as mediocre to modern ears is that they were so influential, basically every rock and pop singer copied them. As such, they can easily come across as generic nowadays.

So if I build a house I own the walls and ceiling, but not the ground floor?

Human life begins at some point after conception but before birth. Therefore, there comes a point in pregnancy at which abortion ends a human life.

Oh for crying out loud, that is such a Greek attitude. We barbarians are perfectly literate. Just because we don’t read or speak Greek specifically doesn’t mean we can’t read anything. Can you even read Amharic? I can, but to you it all sounds like “bar bar bar” whether I’m speaking Amharic, Egyptian, or Farsi.

You need to look beyond your own borders and realise that “literacy in Greek” ∈ “literacy”.

Email?

Some mobile phones support group texting, which as far as I can tell is a preinvention of WhatsApp.

And even that is unnecessary if the wiki in question allows anonymous editing.

Here it is on desktop.

I agree it could be more prominent; hopefully that improves as kbin matures.

As others have said: Yes, it does count. You’re still making a formal, legally-binding pledge, in front of witnesses, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the way, you don’t actually need to swear at all. If you’re an atheist, you can instead make a solemn affirmation, which is the same thing but without invoking a deity.

Historian Brett Devereaux goes into the finer details of oaths here. The idea of invoking the names of deities when one makes a promise is as old as religion. The idea is that doing so calls the attention of that deity, who then acts as a witness and enforcer of the promise (so make sure it’s carefully worded!) Thus, in ye olden dayes, if you swear by God to tell the truth and then tell a lie, the punishment is damnation in Hell for breaking a promise that God formally witnessed. Touching a Bible (or a relic or religious artifact) makes the oath more potent.

Mango works surprisingly well.

Seconded. It’s funny, light, and pretty short, so a good way to ease OP into the world of books.

Like any artist, as he improved his craft, he grew embarrassed about his early work, and felt it wasn’t up to the quality of the later books. There are also some inconsistencies; most notably, Death is actively trying to claim Rincewind, when in later books He just facilitates the process of crossing over.

Notably, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic both directly parody contemporary fantasy, and if you’re familiar with the books he’s making fun of, it’s pretty obvious. Equal Rites is where he went more into the allegory, satire, and social commentary which people tend to associate with Discworld.

I vote for kbinauts