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How grassroots activists are forcing gun sales off Facebook

The social network banned private gun sales in January, but a dedicated group of users says it’s fallen to them to enforce the rules.

On Jul 3, 2016 by Peter Rugg

Tech
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A death on Usenet: Sharon Lopatka and the strange case of ‘consensual murder’

To her neighbors she seemed quiet and unassuming. Online, she asked to be tortured and killed.

On Jul 3, 2016 by Jeremy Lybarger

Tech
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How Romania brought broadband to a whole country—and who got left behind

For more than 30 years, a U.S. government program has helped provide connectivity to the poor. It recently expanded to provide broadband access—but critics want to shut it down.

On Jun 26, 2016 by Christine Ro

Tech
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Can technology and a new way of teaching help Ghana’s schools?

In the African country, an ambitious program uses video conferencing to train underfunded and overwhelmed teachers. But is it enough?

On Jun 26, 2016 by Rachel L. Martin, Ph.D.

Tech
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How to speak meme

So you’ve finally decided to browse memes. Here’s how to use the lingo like one of 'the crew.'

On Jun 5, 2016 by Miles Klee

Internet Culture
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The rise and fall of Urlesque, the site that wanted to take memes mainstream

For three and a half years, from 2008 to 2011, Urlesque was the definitive site covering the internet as its own culture. Then AOL shut it down and erased it from the web.

On Jun 5, 2016 by Rae Votta

Internet Culture
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Inside the topsy-turvy world of Useless, Unsuccessful, and/or Unpopular Memes

The successful meme propagates itself, multiplying far and wide across the internet. But what one Facebook group presupposes is: What if it didn’t?

On Jun 5, 2016 by Jay Hathaway

Internet Culture
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Confessions of a catfish

I was alone and unloved. So I became someone else.

On May 30, 2016 by Aris Apostolopoulos

Internet Culture
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The unending quest of the Hoax Slayer

Thirteen years ago, Brett Christensen was the victim of an email hoax. Since then, he’s dedicated himself to preventing the same fate for others.

On May 29, 2016 by Andrew McMillen

Internet Culture
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The disappearance of Amina Arraf, a gay girl in Damascus

She was a lesbian activist and blogger, writing eloquently about the war in Syria. She was lauded and brave. The only problem? She wasn’t real.

On May 29, 2016 by Duncan Fyfe

IRL
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The literature professor who helped convict the Unabomber

Ted Kaczynski mailed bombs to people across America, then demanded newspapers publish his manifesto. They did, and that proved to be his undoing.

On May 22, 2016 by Nathan Smith

Tech
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The strange and twisting case of r/A858, Reddit’s indecipherable Stonehenge

Five years ago, cryptic numbers began to appear in a little-trafficked subreddit. They seemed to be a code—one whose purpose, even today, remains a mystery.

On May 22, 2016 by Robert Guthrie

Tech
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The obsessive amateur code-breakers hoping to crack the Zodiac killer’s cipher

Nearly four decades ago, the Zodiac Killer terrorized the Bay Area, taunting newspaper readers with coded clues to his identity. Online codebreakers are still battling his final puzzle.

On May 22, 2016 by Rick Paulas

Tech
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The last wrestling hotline still worth calling

For a few years in the late ’80s, 900 numbers were an incredibly popular and profitable industry. Decades later, one Queens man is keeping the art of the hotline alive.

On May 15, 2016 by David Bixenspan

Streaming
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The rise and fall of FriendFeed, the social network that brought you the ‘Like’ button

It was a site with bold ambitions to “glue together the web,” and innovated in ways we take for granted today. But it couldn’t last forever.

On May 15, 2016 by Corinne Litchfield

Tech