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Comment Re:The climate changes have been obvious (Score 1) 145

When I was a kid in the 80s, our halloween costumes were sized to fit snow suits under them.

A few decades later, we had a green Christmas, and it was so odd that we made a Caribbean theme to go with it.

Nowadays, it's even money if we'll have snow on the ground at Christmas any given year, and it was 30c on Halloween.

Submission + - Civitai Blocking Access to the United Kingdom

Shakes Fist writes: Thanks to the Online Safety Act, the UK is blocking access to one of the world's largest AI resources. The government that wants the UK to be a software powerhouse. Labour didn't introduce this but they didn't oppose it.

I quote:

"Civitai Blocking Access to the United Kingdom
---------------------------------------------

As of 11:59pm UTC on the 24th July 2025, users located in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will no longer be able to access Civitai.

We know this is deeply disappointing news, and we're tremendously sorry to our UK community. You've been an important and valued part of our platform since inception, and we're heartbroken to have to take such a drastic step. This decision wasn't taken lightly, and we want to be transparent about why it's necessary.

### The Online Safety Act (OSA) Is a Serious Compliance Burden

The UK government has enacted the Online Safety Act (OSA), a sweeping new law that governs any online service accessible to UK users — even those hosted abroad. If your platform allows user-generated content (as ours does), you're required to comply.

This law is not limited to big tech. It explicitly applies to platforms of all sizes, including small companies like ours. It doesn’t matter where we're based. The moment a UK user can access our site, we're on the hook.

The law requires:

- Two complex legal risk assessments (on illegal content and children's access)
- Ongoing compliance documentation and auditing
- Age verification systems, requiring intrusive biometric ID checks
- Expanded moderation requirements, and the removal of new categories of content, under the UK's Extreme Pornography legislation.

If that sounds like a lot, it is. The law itself is over 250 pages long, and the regulatory guidance from Ofcom — the UK enforcement agency — is currently over 3,000 pages. It is legalese-laden, cross-referenced, and constantly shifting.

We’re a small team. We simply don’t have the legal budget or manpower to decode and implement this. Attempting to comply without expert legal counsel would be reckless, and if we get it wrong...

### The Penalties Are Real — And Personal

Non-compliance with the OSA is no joke. Ofcom has the power to levy fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue, whichever is greater.

These fines aren't a threat; they're being applied to platforms now. In March, after the first requirements of the Bill came into effect, Ofcom fined OnlyFans £1.05 million for failing to adequately explain their age-assurance measures.

More chillingly, company directors and designated managers can face personal criminal liability if Ofcom determines we failed in our child safety or moderation duties. The law empowers Ofcom to act without warning: their first contact with a platform can be a formal breach notice with enforcement action attached. We cannot risk this level of liability.

### Can't We Just Fly Under the Radar?

Unfortunately, no. We're already on it. We've had multiple meetings with the UK Home Office to defend the legitimacy of our AI-generated content and protect creative freedom. We’re not an unknown startup. Civitai is known to UK regulators, and pretending we can remain invisible simply isn't realistic.

### Why Not Just Comply?

We wish we could. But the truth is, this law was written with massive tech firms in mind, not modest teams like ours. It requires constant legal review, multi-layered moderation systems beyond those we have in place now, and deep regulatory expertise. To do this responsibly and effectively would require hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. It's not just a few policies — these sorts of obligations require a full-time legal team, and expanded moderation team which we can't afford.

### What Happens Next

At the deadline, UK users will begin seeing a block message when visiting Civitai from within the blocked territories.

### To Our UK Community

We're truly sorry. This situation is deeply frustrating, and a geoblock was our last possible option. We care about this space, and we care about our users.

We hope the regulatory climate changes in the future, and if and when it does, we’ll reassess our ability to reopen access to the UK. That said, if recent legislation is any indication — such as proposals to further restrict even consensual adult content — we worry that the trend may be moving in the opposite direction."

An online petition to question this was started https://petition.parliament.uk... which has gained over 17'000 signatures. The Government responds to all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures.

Comment Re: Don't be overconfidence battery tech progressi (Score 1) 201

As youâ(TM)ve pointed out many times, the UK is much smaller than Canada, and this means that EV charging is incredibly straightforward for me

In another slashdot post about EVs, a poster was saying that it 'feels like' it would be impossible to drive across Canada in an EV in the middle of winter.

I pointed out that A Better Route Planner exists, and he doesn't need to 'feel' anything about it, he can just go look. And yes, it turns out that with a modern EV, even in the middle of winter, you can drive cross country with zero issues. Charging added something like six hours or so on to the several thousand KM trip, and that assumed all fast-chargers and no overnight charging at a hotel or anything.

The minute you switch from that mentality to âoeIâ(TM)ll charge while I do something elseâ, it all just slots into place. So on road trips, I charge when I eat or while Iâ(TM)m parked up for the day (or overnight).

Yup. You *have* to change your mentality away from 'refueling is an activity/event in and of itself' to 'refueling is something that happens while the car is parked anyway while I'm sleeping/shopping/pissing/eating/whatever.'

Comment Re:This guy had a different experience (Score 1) 201

treating EVs as thought theyâ(TM)re inconvenient ICE vehicles instead of adapting your modus operandi even the slightest iota will lead to you having a shit experience.

Truth. I see this attitude a lot.

"I don't want to sit around for half an hour while my car charges." Yeah, that's why we don't do that; we plug in the car and wander off to do something.

But even *if* it's a charger in the middle of nowhere and you're stuck sitting there charging, I'd rather half an hour in the car, while the heater's running, than standing outside for a few minutes in -30c plus wind chill pumping gas.

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