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How could you tell if someone is ISFP ,or INFP in 'real' life?

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How could you tell if someone is ISFP ,or INFP in 'real' life?

Between aux Se:Ni ,and aux Ne:Si
,what could be a 'thin thread' that could separate their world entirely?

(from your own experience > theory!!)
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Disclaimer: one of the ISFPs I'm discussing did have some mental health shit going on, so some of her traits are a bit exaggerated and she might not be the best representation of ISFPs in general.

I've had a few experiences and close friendships with both types, but it's been a while since I've interacted with those groups. From my memory there are three main differences I noticed between INFPs and ISFPs.

First and foremost, the ISFPs were far more concerned with their appearances. By no means am I saying that ISFPs are vain, nor am I implying that INFPs don't look nice. I'm just saying that, overall, INFPs didn't agonise over their physical appearance as much as the ISFPs. It was important to the ISFPs that they looked nice. It wasn't as much of a priority for INFPs.

Secondly, the contents of our conversations had some subtle differences. Similar to my ISTP dad, ISFPs would often comment on things that they could see/hear/smell/etc. at that particular point in time. If there was a cool cloud formation, they'd point it out. If something had a slightly abnormal texture, they'd let me know. INFPs either didn't notice these things or didn't feel the need to comment on them. ISFPs were more focused on the physical world around them and would frequently point things out.

This final point may cause some disagreement, because it comes across as a criticism and I'm not sure how to word it. Generally, I found that ISFPs were more prepared to believe things without considering other options. If it made sense to their internal assumptions about the world, then it didn't seem to occur to them to think about alternative possibilities. In this sense, I suppose, INFPs were readily open-minded about alternative explanations, whereas ISFPs could be quite closed off and would need more time to consider.
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@Panda Eyes super-Thanks for the thoughtful answer


1) the second point of your observation is very interesting
__I will try to keep that in mind__and observe more.


2) I think it s very challenging to observe someone else ,and try to figure their type out
__lately I have to put the level of 'development' of each cognitive functions into my consideration more
(I am quite new to MBTI ,and still learning ,so I cannot 'digest' it properly yet)


hope we could discuss more.
enjoy your day!
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INFPs I've met have more of a divide between sometimes seeing the world in a very negative light, and othertimes in a very positive one. ISFPs are more even in their worldview because they're more concrete. Things "are what they are" and they're less likely to think about things in terms of good and evil.
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G
Hi, I'm an ISFP and I have a friend who is an INFP. We both let emotions guide our actions, we are goofy, sweet or scary...

The differences are she imagines and assigns meanings to many things: movies, songs or places and use them to nurture her Fi by creating connections via those meanings. There is a time when she likes this boy and even when he doesn't know who she is, she still able to find happiness by imagine being in a relationship with him. She doesn't understand realistic things and her head is in the clouds a lot of time. Also her Si makes her stay at home like always, she prefers comfort from familiar things or people.

With me, I can't stay at home, I need to see, listen, smell, touch things and new things. Everyday I need to go out to new locations and do things otherwise I would get really tired and stiff. If I like someone, imagining being with them is not enough, I need to stay next to and touch them for 24/7. My Ni sometimes makes me be paranoid about things I get from my senses, like I locked the door and then think "Did I lock it?" and went to lock it again for a couple times.

We did get our inferior Te moment, we will yell and order people around, becoming very fierce for a (very) short moment. People tend to be really surprise when it happens haha.

I don't know how to say it clearly by words, hope you can understand and hope it helps!
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@PlasticRenaissance
I can tend to tell the difference based on the aux Se and Tert Si contrast. I lived for 20 years with INTPs who also have Tertiary Si. I would describe tertiary Si as very sensitive to certain sensory stimulus, and having a kind of hyperfocus vs. obliviousness about sensory things. There are certain details that are internalized and for which the person has a sensitivity to keep it consistent. Then there are other areas where the person is completely oblivious. The person I live with now is likely an INFP (possibly ENFP), and he is very sensitive to keeping the floor vacuumed and certain aspects of his things very ordered, but then he is completely oblivious to the bathroom. Tertiary Si causes pockets of sensitivity, rigidity, and expectation about sensory experience, but it can be a little bit masked by the pockets of obliviousness that seem more go-with-the-flow.

Aux-Se tends to be more wholistically flexible about sensory experience. There is more of a generalized awareness and adaptability. There also tends to be some logic to the preferences and distastes about sensory experience - the Se-Te pairing creates a sort of objectivity that takes each thing for what it is instead of having an internalized model of it. For example, I tend to keep all my stuff relatively organized, but nothing is extremely well-kept. Everything is clean and organized enough to be easy to access, but never done to any extreme that would also waste my time.

In a way I would say that Tert-Si also has a bit more anxiety about concrete, sensory experience because of the sensitivities and pockets of blindness. The inconsistency is rooted in a kind of personal investment that can be hit or miss. Aux-Se feels a little more command of the concrete realm and is more comfortable adapting and going with the flow and changing things up as needed.
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@PlasticRenaissance
I can tend to tell the difference based on the aux Se and Tert Si contrast. I lived for 20 years with INTPs who also have Tertiary Si. I would describe tertiary Si as very sensitive to certain sensory stimulus, and having a kind of hyperfocus vs. obliviousness about sensory things. There are certain details that are internalized and for which the person has a sensitivity to keep it consistent. Then there are other areas where the person is completely oblivious. The person I live with now is likely an INFP (possibly ENFP), and he is very sensitive to keeping the floor vacuumed and certain aspects of his things very ordered, but then he is completely oblivious to the bathroom. Tertiary Si causes pockets of sensitivity, rigidity, and expectation about sensory experience, but it can be a little bit masked by the pockets of obliviousness that seem more go-with-the-flow.

Aux-Se tends to be more wholistically flexible about sensory experience. There is more of a generalized awareness and adaptability. There also tends to be some logic to the preferences and distastes about sensory experience - the Se-Te pairing creates a sort of objectivity that takes each thing for what it is instead of having an internalized model of it. For example, I tend to keep all my stuff relatively organized, but nothing is extremely well-kept. Everything is clean and organized enough to be easy to access, but never done to any extreme that would also waste my time.

In a way I would say that Tert-Si also has a bit more anxiety about concrete, sensory experience because of the sensitivities and pockets of blindness. The inconsistency is rooted in a kind of personal investment that can be hit or miss. Aux-Se feels a little more command of the concrete realm and is more comfortable adapting and going with the flow and changing things up as needed.
Totally! I live with a ?NFP too, and I was taken aback when he confronted me about certain things needing to be in their proper place. I had no idea he cared so much, because to be honest, his living style is pretty chaotic overall. It's a kind of ever-changing chaos in which many, but not all, components have some sort of personal meaning to him, but he's constantly struggling with arranging them in a way that he feels comfortable with. On the surface it's just a jumble of stuff, but it is more than just that to him--it seems to be, more or less, a physical representation of his thought processes and associations.

For me on the other hand, stuff is mostly just stuff, with a few exceptions. I'm comfortable with some chaos, but I don't ascribe that much meaning to it. There are a handful of things I own that have personal significance for me: my laptop, musical instruments, film camera, certain shirts, kettlebell, bike. But the significance of these things has more to do with the actions I can take with them than any kind of nostalgia. The only exceptions are cards and pictures and maps that remind me of places and people, and a small wooden elephant that a girl I was friends with gave me in fifth grade.

The nice thing about this is that I can be comfortable with very few possessions. Even if my bed were taken away it wouldn't bother me all that much. I'm pretty flexible and if someone I'm living with wants to change the layout of a room up I'm usually down to experiment with them.
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Hi, I'm an ISFP and I have a friend who is an INFP. We both let emotions guide our actions, we are goofy, sweet or scary...

The differences are she imagines and assigns meanings to many things: movies, songs or places and use them to nurture her Fi by creating connections via those meanings. There is a time when she likes this boy and even when he doesn't know who she is, she still able to find happiness by imagine being in a relationship with him. She doesn't understand realistic things and her head is in the clouds a lot of time. Also her Si makes her stay at home like always, she prefers comfort from familiar things or people.

With me, I can't stay at home, I need to see, listen, smell, touch things and new things. Everyday I need to go out to new locations and do things otherwise I would get really tired and stiff. If I like someone, imagining being with them is not enough, I need to stay next to and touch them for 24/7. My Ni sometimes makes me be paranoid about things I get from my senses, like I locked the door and then think "Did I lock it?" and went to lock it again for a couple times.

We did get our inferior Te moment, we will yell and order people around, becoming very fierce for a (very) short moment. People tend to be really surprise when it happens haha.

I don't know how to say it clearly by words, hope you can understand and hope it helps!

thanks for your reply ,could we discuss more?


for you ,do you count 'being online' 'exploring the online world' as a 'going out for your sensing's experience'?
@PlasticRenaissance
I can tend to tell the difference based on the aux Se and Tert Si contrast. I lived for 20 years with INTPs who also have Tertiary Si. I would describe tertiary Si as very sensitive to certain sensory stimulus, and having a kind of hyperfocus vs. obliviousness about sensory things. There are certain details that are internalized and for which the person has a sensitivity to keep it consistent. Then there are other areas where the person is completely oblivious. The person I live with now is likely an INFP (possibly ENFP), and he is very sensitive to keeping the floor vacuumed and certain aspects of his things very ordered, but then he is completely oblivious to the bathroom. Tertiary Si causes pockets of sensitivity, rigidity, and expectation about sensory experience, but it can be a little bit masked by the pockets of obliviousness that seem more go-with-the-flow.

Aux-Se tends to be more wholistically flexible about sensory experience. There is more of a generalized awareness and adaptability. There also tends to be some logic to the preferences and distastes about sensory experience - the Se-Te pairing creates a sort of objectivity that takes each thing for what it is instead of having an internalized model of it. For example, I tend to keep all my stuff relatively organized, but nothing is extremely well-kept. Everything is clean and organized enough to be easy to access, but never done to any extreme that would also waste my time.

In a way I would say that Tert-Si also has a bit more anxiety about concrete, sensory experience because of the sensitivities and pockets of blindness. The inconsistency is rooted in a kind of personal investment that can be hit or miss. Aux-Se feels a little more command of the concrete realm and is more comfortable adapting and going with the flow and changing things up as needed.


thanks for a thoughtful observation.


1)from your description ,it seems like ISFP is more adventurous in the outside (tangible?) world
,on the other hand INFP is make their own journey in their head a lot
(pls, correct me if I am wrong)


2)since you seem to have the experience with both side
,could I ask you about their 'shadow' ?
(I mean when they are struggling with life)
,what does they react when they are in the 'bad' mode?
(since their inferior functions are the same)


3)(maybe we should invite @goldthysanura and @HaneruHare to join us in the Q?)

someone told me once that I could be ISFP because of my 'jumpy' behaviors and thoughts.
can you,guys relate to THIS so-called 'jumpy' ?
(I think she meant about push vs. pull reaction ,and very active mind)


hope we could discuss much further.
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G

thanks for your reply ,could we discuss more?


for you ,do you count 'being online' 'exploring the online world' as a 'going out for your sensing's experience'?
Hi, exploring online stuffs does not count, firstly because my body does not move, the things I see are processed by the brain, which has little to do with my body. I need to move my body to feel and experience things, you could use the word 'tactile'. Secondly, I know which is real, as in similar to the real world, and which is not. For example, I really don't like to watch Hollywood animated movies like "The Incredibles", I even feel afraid of the 'fakeness' of the characters sometimes because there are nothing real with their details. I can watch movies like "Howl's Moving Castle" but I still prefer going out then watching something. Another example is seeing my character swim in an RPG is nothing like swimming, when you are wet and you can feel your hands/arms motions against the water and many more. Well, you will use your head most when using computers, your body will literally switch to idle mode. I used to play about 5 hours continuously with a game I like and my head hurts heavily I have to take a paracetamol pill, same with 3D movies where your brain has to goes into hardcore mode. I then will have to go out and move my body, shake it and exercises it hard to gain consciousness again, leaving your body to go into your brain/mind is scary for me. On the other hand, playing sports 5 hours straight will just make me feel refresh and fun and a good night sleep is more than enough for me to roll again.


thanks for a thoughtful observation.


1)from your description ,it seems like ISFP is more adventurous in the outside (tangible?) world
,on the other hand INFP is make their own journey in their head a lot
(pls, correct me if I am wrong)


2)since you seem to have the experience with both side
,could I ask you about their 'shadow' ?
(I mean when they are struggling with life)
,what does they react when they are in the 'bad' mode?
(since their inferior functions are the same)


3)(maybe we should invite @goldthysanura and @HaneruHare to join us in the Q?)

someone told me once that I could be ISFP because of my 'jumpy' behaviors and thoughts.
can you,guys relate to THIS so-called 'jumpy' ?
(I think she meant about push vs. pull reaction ,and very active mind)


hope we could discuss much further.
Hi, hope I can help a bit with these questions!

1) A yes from me, it is summer time and I have gone to various places doing tons of things while my INFP girl has watched like a hundred movies already and have her own story/review about them inside her head. I feel pretty amuse when I ask about them but I tend to retreat before she shares too much haha. She only goes out when her family requires her or when see needs to buy something and no one is there to ask. His cousin has to buy a lot of things for her while he is out.

2) I've been through my 'shadow', my tert Ni is working like crazy and I am paranoid about everything, especially about non-tangible, mysterious and scary things. There was one time when I worry too much about catching a certain disease that I got a migraine headache and it keeps pounding for 3 months straight. Then I couldn't control my emotions and blamed everyone around me and went on a rampage.

My 'bad' side is much better (for me), I would display an intimidating outlook and be very serious and bossy. People better do what I said or I will get angry. However in both cases, actively hitting someone is very hard for me, I've only done it a couple of times and I tried to punch as lightest as possible. I feel remorse and guilty afterwards. Sometimes when I know that I am incompetent to others (which is a lot actually haha), I tend to react with rage just to hide it.

I'm more than ready to hit people when I'm in my Fi heroic mode, especially when protecting people I love. Never happens though because people tend to afraid and retreat really fast.

3) I do have jumpy behaviors or feelings, however I tend to not displaying them and show them only when I'm with my close ones. They tend to fade away really fast though so on the outside I'm pretty normal. My ENFP and ESFP friends are much more jumpy than I am. The hype are the same but they show it instantly and unabashedly while I will be embarrassed and sometimes blame myself for letting it out if the embarrassment is getting serious (in my own view). The ESFP is more hyper then the ENFP as she would not hesitate to show her excitement at everything!

I don't think I have an active mind as I really don't want to think/study/research or discuss. I can do so when the topics involve feelings or people but I still not prefer it much.

Hope it can help!
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I'm not sure if this always maps to Ne and Ni, but with my current partner who is xNFP, he always focuses his intuition on world events and what is happening externally. My intuition is always very personal about my life and the people I know and love. When I have a metaphysical experience, it is always personal and individual. I look at all the large scale patterns and global processes with a feeling of deflation - like I just want to give up.
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I apologize it's been quite some time since this thread was posted, but I'm curious if @PlasticRenaissance is wondering about their type, between ISFP and INFP? If there's any confusion or need for clarification, I'd be more than happy to help! I took a bit of a hiatus from Meyers-Briggs types and found I'm ISFP, and my ex and one of my closest friends is INFP. Some little differences I can think of @ the top of my head:

  • ISFP is more easily bored, and will look for instant gratification and interaction with the environment. It could be something as simple as going on a spontaneous drive, or visiting a park, going on walks to find cats to pet. INFP is much more content to stay in the comforts of home, find ways to entertain themselves. Enjoys exploring worlds in books, video games and imagination.

  • ISFP may be more inclined to pay more attention to their appearance. Emphasis placed on aesthetic and style, think of trendsetters such as Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe (both typed as ISFP). There's an eye for detail, and a need for constant change. INFP is happy being comfortable, and wouldn't trip over themselves to do so much to their looks as an ISFP might.

  • ISFP may have shorter attention-span, and may have trouble keeping up with fanciful ideas and thoughts that aren't immediately applicable. INFP can philosophize for longer periods of time, may be more interested in ideas of morality, what their reactions may be in certain situations, right vs. wrong, etc. ISFP may not realize these values until a moment suddenly calls for it.

  • While inferior Te may make both types quite authoritative and critical, ISFP may be more likely to "lash out" and act out in the moment without thinking of the consequences. INFP may practice more restraint, and keep in mind how their actions may come back to hurt themselves or others later in the future once their emotions are smoothed out.
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A good friend of mine is INFP. We have a few differences (I think our Enneagram types are different, for starters. She's probably 4w5 or the reverse whereas I'm 6w7.) But I would say her Ne is very evident as opposed to my Se. She, for example, can spend hours reading giant books on ancient Egyptian civilizations and enjoys the mysticism aspect. I couldn't do that to save my life because even though I think that stuff is interesting, honestly, I don't care too much about things like that. I'm much more focused on getting to know people around me and figuring out how I can execute ideas I have into my surroundings/the real world. It's also definitely true that philosophy doesn't interest me much unless there are physical plans put in place to execute those philosophies.

This isn't to say that all ISFPs are like this. I can't speak for anyone else. But all I know is that compared to my INFP friends, I'm less likely to want to be in the house alone studying anything or playing video games. I'm happiest when I'm connecting to certain people outside of my world, finding my place out there.
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Hi, exploring online stuffs does not count, firstly because my body does not move, the things I see are processed by the brain, which has little to do with my body. I need to move my body to feel and experience things, you could use the word 'tactile'. Secondly, I know which is real, as in similar to the real world, and which is not. For example, I really don't like to watch Hollywood animated movies like "The Incredibles", I even feel afraid of the 'fakeness' of the characters sometimes because there are nothing real with their details. I can watch movies like "Howl's Moving Castle" but I still prefer going out then watching something. Another example is seeing my character swim in an RPG is nothing like swimming, when you are wet and you can feel your hands/arms motions against the water and many more. Well, you will use your head most when using computers, your body will literally switch to idle mode. I used to play about 5 hours continuously with a game I like and my head hurts heavily I have to take a paracetamol pill, same with 3D movies where your brain has to goes into hardcore mode. I then will have to go out and move my body, shake it and exercises it hard to gain consciousness again, leaving your body to go into your brain/mind is scary for me. On the other hand, playing sports 5 hours straight will just make me feel refresh and fun and a good night sleep is more than enough for me to roll again.



Hi, hope I can help a bit with these questions!

1) A yes from me, it is summer time and I have gone to various places doing tons of things while my INFP girl has watched like a hundred movies already and have her own story/review about them inside her head. I feel pretty amuse when I ask about them but I tend to retreat before she shares too much haha. She only goes out when her family requires her or when see needs to buy something and no one is there to ask. His cousin has to buy a lot of things for her while he is out.

2) I've been through my 'shadow', my tert Ni is working like crazy and I am paranoid about everything, especially about non-tangible, mysterious and scary things. There was one time when I worry too much about catching a certain disease that I got a migraine headache and it keeps pounding for 3 months straight. Then I couldn't control my emotions and blamed everyone around me and went on a rampage.

My 'bad' side is much better (for me), I would display an intimidating outlook and be very serious and bossy. People better do what I said or I will get angry. However in both cases, actively hitting someone is very hard for me, I've only done it a couple of times and I tried to punch as lightest as possible. I feel remorse and guilty afterwards. Sometimes when I know that I am incompetent to others (which is a lot actually haha), I tend to react with rage just to hide it.

I'm more than ready to hit people when I'm in my Fi heroic mode, especially when protecting people I love. Never happens though because people tend to afraid and retreat really fast.

3) I do have jumpy behaviors or feelings, however I tend to not displaying them and show them only when I'm with my close ones. They tend to fade away really fast though so on the outside I'm pretty normal. My ENFP and ESFP friends are much more jumpy than I am. The hype are the same but they show it instantly and unabashedly while I will be embarrassed and sometimes blame myself for letting it out if the embarrassment is getting serious (in my own view). The ESFP is more hyper then the ENFP as she would not hesitate to show her excitement at everything!

I don't think I have an active mind as I really don't want to think/study/research or discuss. I can do so when the topics involve feelings or people but I still not prefer it much.

Hope it can help!
whoa! ,super-Thanks for your detailed answer
actually this help me to understand and think more esp. the last part

hope you have a nice day
I apologize it's been quite some time since this thread was posted, but I'm curious if @PlasticRenaissance is wondering about their type, between ISFP and INFP? If there's any confusion or need for clarification, I'd be more than happy to help! I took a bit of a hiatus from Meyers-Briggs types and found I'm ISFP, and my ex and one of my closest friends is INFP. Some little differences I can think of @ the top of my head:

  • ISFP is more easily bored, and will look for instant gratification and interaction with the environment. It could be something as simple as going on a spontaneous drive, or visiting a park, going on walks to find cats to pet. INFP is much more content to stay in the comforts of home, find ways to entertain themselves. Enjoys exploring worlds in books, video games and imagination.

  • ISFP may be more inclined to pay more attention to their appearance. Emphasis placed on aesthetic and style, think of trendsetters such as Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe (both typed as ISFP). There's an eye for detail, and a need for constant change. INFP is happy being comfortable, and wouldn't trip over themselves to do so much to their looks as an ISFP might.

  • ISFP may have shorter attention-span, and may have trouble keeping up with fanciful ideas and thoughts that aren't immediately applicable. INFP can philosophize for longer periods of time, may be more interested in ideas of morality, what their reactions may be in certain situations, right vs. wrong, etc. ISFP may not realize these values until a moment suddenly calls for it.

  • While inferior Te may make both types quite authoritative and critical, ISFP may be more likely to "lash out" and act out in the moment without thinking of the consequences. INFP may practice more restraint, and keep in mind how their actions may come back to hurt themselves or others later in the future once their emotions are smoothed out.

Thanks for a very well structural answer ,yet insightful
it could help me to observe more

I am quite new to MBTI ,and still learning
at first I was so eager to know my type
,however, right now I am trying to study about the basic foundation
(cognitive functions ,etc.) as much as I can
,I hope it could help me 'pick' my box clearly in the future.


hope to see you in the next discussion
I don't know if this applies across the board, but another personal anecdote has to do with how one deals with personal, emotional pain, since both INFP and ISFP are Fi doms and share that same quality. And yes I know Fi isn't emotion, but I'm talking about making sense out of the pain in life which requires making sense of its morality and meaning and where to put it inside your own head and sense of self and reality.

When I'm overwhelmed with painful situations, my iNtuitive friends and family almost always give me a book to read to fix it. I KNOW there are important ideas in the book, but it really falls flat for me. To sit in a corner and look at tiny words in a book when I'm distressed really makes me anxious. I don't read a lot for pleasure and relaxing and I tend to feel guilty about it because I understand why reading is noble and wonderful. I have been required to read a lot and have advanced degrees, but it somehow stresses me out - especially when I'm processing complex, negative emotions.

What I need to process overwhelm is to go on a long nature walk. The energy required to move my body takes away from the negative emotional energy and provides a little relief. I could go all Forest Gump on his endless walk when I'm in enough pain. It has also helped me the times I've gone to metal concerts at small clubs because there is another kind of sensory overwhelm and a feeling that something is telling the truth, so I'm not alone in my emotion. Nature also overwhelms me because the colors, air, temperature, sound, and feeling are all very intense to me. Bad sensory overwhelm like in a megastore has the opposite effect and makes me feel really sick, but meaningful, intense, beautiful or horrific - but still aesthetic, are what I require to survive intense emotional processing. I'm not very skilled at dance, but it would be the ideal outlet for me to integrate emotion and exhaustive physical expression.
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