jaklumen

For a time, dragon platelegs were worth more to players than dragon plateskirts, and so I suggested maybe Jagex re-implement Thrander to convert them. But it seems they are roughly the same price, now, with dragon platelegs being just slightly higher. Lots of things changed between RS1 (now existing as "Classic") to RS2 ("Old School", also called "2007" as the servers are based on an August 2007 snapshot) to RS2.5 (current game after "Evolution of Combat" update). Which version of the game are you playing? If you're in the current one (which I'm guessing), you should be able to take your legs to the Grand Exchange, sell them, and buy a plateskirt with about the same amount of money. RS Wiki(a) says they're roughly equivalent to green d'hide chaps. I checked on this site's item compare and the skirt lacks any armour bonus by comparison (chaps have 138). Don't get me wrong, I like the skirt, but I got it as part of a full Penance set, for the Prayer regen. I agree with Quyneax's suggestions-- I guess it would just depend on lot on your budget and your playing style. On current G.E. prices alone, royal d'hide chaps are cheapest, then Karil's skirt, then the Armadyl chainskirt, and finally Pernix chaps. Pernix and Karil pieces degrade over time, while royal d'hide and Armadyl does not. Armadyl pieces also went up in price after a damage bonus was added.

Not too many things have changed since I was last active, really. Why should I look out for the lunatics? I'm a card-carrying member, with extensive paperwork to prove it. That's no joke. On a more serious note, I'll just briefly say that I have issues with chronic pain due to back injuries and surgery about 3 years ago (and treatment is still ongoing). Some days it gets the best of me and my posts get a lot more curmudgeonly and grouchy. I am trying to avoid that, but some days I seem to fail. So your patience is appreciated.

Those of us that spent time on Staff have known, but yeah, he's laid pretty low on the radar. I remember him being more active during the big transition period/rebuild (phpBB2 to phpBB3, I think?) and he said a few words when news broke that Alduron/Idpup passed away. Neminon's been around a long time, that I remember... the other names I don't recognize. Didn't know she was still around, but I can agree she's a class unto herself ;-) Appreciate the clarifications, Randox, and also appreciate that roles have been much more clearly defined.

Hello. It feels rather odd reading and posting on here now, I have to say. Heya Phil. Very long time no see. re: mention of LadySarafina on the first post, I'm in regular contact with her. Some folks were worth keeping in touch with. Oh, and of course I'm so full of myself that I had to come back to mess with others that are still full of themselves, too. Come at me. I will begrudgingly admit that the Staff seems to be a lot less ham-fisted of late... please do correct me if I'm wrong.

Hey Drizzle: have you heard of the Icarus Project? http://theicarusproject.net/ Consider checking it out for resources; they are especially good at offering ideas and structure for treatment that is not medication based. They have an in-person presence in New York if that helps.

I thought that they were going to do that with 07, although I may be wrong. However, with the wonders of a virtual browser, you already can play on a tablet. I play on my iPad all the time. Yeah, I seem to remember Jagex saying something to the effect of prepping the game for mobile devices. They haven't said much more than that, have they? I also saw that some players had their own workarounds. Not too surprised that setting up for a tablet is pretty straightforward; tablets (and netbooks, if they are still manufactured yet) are basically laptops miniaturized a little further. But smartphones-- I think they'd have to make a dedicated app, maybe utilizing the client.

Don't forget about the God Statues Distraction and Diversion, which should be even more handy to do with the new Lodestone teleports. (The Canafis lodestone is especially close to the locale for Mortyania.) Otherwise, I agree with CharlieBrown that dungeon doors is more efficient XP-wise if you choose to stick with oak planks. At least, that was my own experience.

Since tieszen has taken on the responsibility of telling me what I should say, ignore anything I said before. No... it's not efficient. Play the game however suits you best. Allow me the same courtesy, and spare me any smugness.

Never mind.

Yup. I often say "think like a developer!" as far as game suggestions. I get all excited when a player shares with me how the code works, like psuedorandom number generators (PRNG), playerID, player save files, etc. I was never very good with coding/programming/scripting after 20 years of trying, but that aspect of the game always fascinates me. My memory is pretty good and as a storytelling-based gamer, I like to talk about the story arcs, especially how Jagex has fleshed out the concept of the gods since Andrew and Paul's departure. I have a strange fascination with small details and I learned a lot about the game poring over fansites. So yes, in some ways I'm weary of dissecting old content, and I'm actually looking forward to breaking down how new mechanics, including new strategies with EOC (although I looked at the Archive of Wisdom post here concerning Barrows under EOC-- how can a new strategy get so complicated?) My nostalgia per se is more in emulation, more especially with M.A.M.E. and commercial arcade controls. I'd be a hypocrite to criticize my younger gaming peers for nostalgia because I have plenty of my own, but just in other areas. (Ask me about pranking younger gamers with a "Gamepads suck!" line sometime. I've got a twisted sense of humor.) Now, what I think would be BRILLIANT is if Jagex figures out how to retrofit Classic and 07 to HTML5 so that they can have Runescape on mobile devices. Is it just me, or does EOC and the upcoming RS3 seem too piggy and cumbersome for tablets? I predict they'll have to water things down. Although I don't have a tablet, I really do think that lots of people would flock to Classic and 07 if they could play them on smartphones and tablets. (Well, my friend LadySarafina-- anyone remember her? she used to be on Staff-- tells me she would.)

The articles are okay, I guess. It's nice to see someone bidding a formal goodbye on a more positive note, as some in the past here have been much less so. I freely admit I cannot relate to the viewpoints. There is no happy childhood nostalgia for me as far as Runescape is concerned; that era was about arcade games and Atari consoles in the beginning, and taking off to friends' houses for NES at the very end. No, I started Runescape as a full-grown adult, struggling to provide for a family of my own that was just beginning. The Runescape of that time is called "Runescape Classic" now. I don't see the fascination with the 2007 servers. I really don't. From RS1, to RS2, to RS2.5/EOC, I felt I adapted to the changes, even the ones that the community cried bitterly over. I felt vindicated when ideas I saw criticized and spurned here... become a reality. (Mages got craftable armour with EOC-- I told you so!) Granted, although I happily participated in the RS2 beta, I couldn't participate in the EOC beta because of complications of using the beta servers on Linux (long story). But I got excited about combat again once it was rolled out. Likewise, I can't properly access the HTML5 or NIS beta servers either. Oh well, but I figure I'll like the changes. I'm not sure what I'll do when I max out and finish the completionist list. Maybe I'll try the roleplay thing, or try to revive memories of the Order of Cabbage, or both. Maybe I'll "retire" and try to work more like a responsible adult. But whether it's Classic or 2007, I really have no desire to turn back. I had some moments when I did, and I remembered what I was glad to leave behind.

This is generally why I haven't seen a movie in the theaters for many years. I stretched things a little when my daughter was relatively young (a little older than "baby")-- we went to see X-Men 2 and she insisted on roaming the entire theater. She's 11 now and much better behaved, but usually she goes only if my parents take her. My six-year old autistic son? Forget it. What annoys me generally is parents behaving badly, not caring for their kids as they should... I believe it makes it much harder for me, and for my wife. I'd like to think I can be cut some slack for my son's meltdowns (NOT tantrums, with autism, his world pretty much comes crashing down in certain circumstances), but I'm pretty sensitive and I don't ever want others to think I'm not doing my job, because... I am doing my job. So it annoys me when I see parents that are very clearly negligent, or abusive-- especially because in most situations, they will go ballistic if I say anything ("DON'T TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY KID!") I am grateful to those that give me some assistance when I'm struggling, however.

Good Day TIF. I say "good day" because that tends to avoid confusion over time zone differences. It has been a while. A long while. Maybe not as long as you might think, however.

Tsk. I'm enjoying my real life quite well, thanks. No, really, I get your argument, but it's a tired and overwrought one. Yes, I've met plenty of players-- adult ones at that-- who really are hooked because of the escapist appeal. Cue the Run!Escape jokes now, please. But at the risk of repeating myself, this is why I play: 1. 5US$/month is lower than all of the other subscription-based MMOs out there, period. 2. Most of the time, I can log in and out of the game quickly, at will. It is fairly easy for me to attend to real life as I need to. My friends who play World of Warcraft, for example, can't claim that-- they know if they have to leave a raid because IRL is calling... they get ditched. 3. Runescape appeals to a wide variety of playing styles-- the other MMOs do NOT cover that many, especially when the gameplay is non-combat. I do play other games-- I'm enjoying Parallel Kingdom right now, which uses Google Maps. But really, if you're going to dis adult players... c'mon, save it for Facebook. I know hordes more adults that sink real money and grind even harder on games with stupidly simplistic scripts *cough*Zynga with Farmville and Mafia Wars especially*cough* I enjoyed the articles... yes, the first one was biased, but let's be real here... so many in the past were biased towards slamming Jagex. Man, I will laugh so hard if Tip.It gets threatened with a lawsuit again, someone other than Andrew. I mean, really, overall, this community really can be full of itself sometimes. One week someone isn't full of piss and vinegar, and the piss and vinegar flows harder to compensate. I'm laughing, man, and I've been around long enough or talked to people that have been here longer than me-- back to the Scapeboard days and such-- ha. Ha. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, I need to convince myself I'm wasting my time here. Everyone likes stewing in their own juices with a little whine, right? Ha, with a liter or so of hypocrisy to boot.

Understood, although I might not have made that clear enough. I do understand constraints, especially when it is volunteer and on free time-- unpaid work usually isn't valued as much. What my primary concern is, though, above all, is that there has been a very subjective tone in Times articles in recent years. If that truly is what the community here wants, however, I can accept that. I'm from the Pacific Northwest-- before the Seattle Post-Intelligencer folded, it was known as a very emotionally written newspaper. I know some people very much liked that. It's not so much my cup of tea, however. The reason why I have not submitted an article is that my ideas and suggestions have been shot down by the community before. Call it a copout if you wish, but I'm not interested in sitting under the hot interrogation lights, so to speak. I've also been very badly burnt here in other matters which I have discussed before and do not wish to discuss again. Responding to the Times is a big step for me; otherwise, I'd stay away. Not looking for a pity party; I just want you to understand that my participation here is as much as I want to do right now. (My submissions to the website and Staff work still stand.) Ohh... that is nothing. You should read the guy's blog. But to be on topic, my "crude wording" is struggling to keep the attention of younger readers here while trying to stay somewhat concise. I've never quite mastered that and usually affect a blunt edge in my choice of words. My undergraduate work was in teaching-- elementary school and music. I am not employed as a teacher-- but that's another long story. I've also done customer support, too. I think a friend of mine, however, put it better than I could: "It takes a certain kind of mindset." He works for Amazon as tech support for the Kindle. I can well imagine that what he describes at his work is very much like what Jagex deals with: customers that have made a mistake, broken something-- but are too frustrated and upset to admit such. He says four-letter words and dirty epithets are pretty common. I freely admit I know I can't do that kind of work. I'm too full of fire and sensitivity. You've missed my point-- so I'll try again. I wished to speak more to the changes Jagex is experiencing as a corporation. I wish I had a better example to quote-- but an article on customer service was the closest I could get. Jagex is not Andrew Gower's little project anymore-- it's morphing into a corporation. What I was trying to say is that many of the things players are complaining bitterly about is par for the course. The business and especially business administration students I have spoken to seem to understand this. For the record, the Jmod I consulted was Ash. I think he has a genuine understanding having been a regular player... most of the developers aren't, if any of them are. None of them play the game the way a regular player does, and if I have to name names to back things up... fine, I will. I know a few people I've talked to about it think Ash is shilling a bit, but... no, what he said matched what I had figured beforehand. Don't get me wrong-- I don't mean to say it was a subject that is easy to write about. My first thought, though, about the newest Prayer Restore potion was that it was to address Mortyania, especially as Mortyanian monsters are among those that drop the fellstalk and morchella mushroom seeds. Probably more so in regards to Temple Trekking and Barrows. There were no prayer altars previously in Mortyania (EDIT: sorry, I keep forgetting about the Darkmeyer altar)-- Paterdomus is technically right on the edge, on the Varrock side. You might remember that a previous update allowed you to burn hollow bark in torches to restore prayer, but those torches were limited to a very small area. So a potion that gradually restored prayer apparently was the next solution. (I would assume Akrisae's set can be considered another subsequent solution, as the set effect leeches prayer.) I *do* like that you pointed out that these updates were released before Bonus XP weekend. I stockpiled herbs and seconds for the "Three Cheers" and "A Second Helping" BXPs.

p.s. "Earn Your Keep"... sloppy writing. Yes, that is way harsh. Sorry. It's not proofreading stuff-- spelling, grammar, etc. is fine, very good, even. I mean that the style wanders and I have trouble getting the gist or main idea. Okay, you saw me blather up there, so am I making any sense, then? The writing could be much more tight and focused. Keep in mind I have no idea what the deadlines and circumstances were.

^this. I think the Times can do much, much better. How? Okay, I'll tell you. I gave you an example before, and I'm going to do it again. The Nightmare of Working for Customer Service, by Hugh_Mannity. Read it. No, seriously. Before anyone starts thinking "But Jagex customer support still sucks five years later," or decides to reply as such, allow me to explain the context to which I'm referring. Yes, customer support needs a lot of work, but I'm referring to a broader concept of corporate growing pains. What? Okay, time for a quote. Yep, one of the very same ones I used before. Spot on. Yes, I know membership fees have gone up a little, but it is NOTHING compared to the many other games out there that give Jagex competition. World of Warcraft is what, 15US$? (Pardon me if I've got that wrong, as well-- I'm too lazy to look it up.) My point is that while there are a lot more MMOs now than 2006, they all still charge higher subscription rates-- and even the ones that are toying with the idea of free play are a lot more restricted. Here's the rub, though: the Runescape community has got a terrible reputation of being very, very demanding, and really quick with the complaints. Another quote: THAT"S HAPPENING right now. What? No, really, go ask an MBA or other business student/grad sometime. If ForsakenMage is still around, she might tell you. Um... let's put it this way... you get what you pay for. Yeah, back to the previous quote. Runescape members pay about 5US$ each month and expect customer service that would cost many times that much? I think some of you haven't dealt with enough outsourced CS or know why businesses are doing it. I worked with the Crew for a short time-- I remember the junk that came flowing in on the feedback form. No, I don't mean the spam stuff, I mean the "Dear Jagex, listen to me because I am a parent and I'm mad because my kid got hacked." I think many don't have a real clue how customer support typically works, and based on replies I got the last time I brought this up... I still say that. I'm 37 years old. Plenty of people my age still game. Sadly, I remember some of them blowing hard cash on Facebook games that had pitiful scripts. Yep, Mafia Wars, Farmville, etc., all comes to mind. And I'm not going to say they couldn't be melodramatic about it. But over here... well the people I *know* are in my age group here are pretty silent on this subject. Pay attention, kids. That means they don't give two farts to the wind about you quitting. And as it's been pointed out very clearly-- people quit all the time. People have threatened to quit BEFORE, too. BOY DONE CRIED WOLF, SON. So Racheya makes a big high-profile post on it when it's been said dozens of times... yeah, okay, I will admit it's grabbed people's attention, but I'm inclined to say, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, the wolf is not there." I'm gobsmacked, y'know? People whined and cried so hard even when the Gowers were still quite involved. What, you don't believe my lawsuit story? Fine. Go ask someone else who remembered that. But I hope you get my drift that an adult like me (Andrew is 34, supposedly) gets MIGHTY TIRED of listening to customers that rant and rave about things they probably know very, very little about. And if anyone remembers WHAT he said after he threatened Tip.It with a lawsuit... they should remember he's no suit and never will be. Again, he forms Fen Research... so he can get back to coding/programming. What is so hard to understand about that? Not to mention wow... ingratitude, really. $5/month is a drop compared to my regular expenses-- more as I've got a house of my own, finally. And DON"T GET ME WRONG-- I was plenty idealistic up through my twenties. But after a while, it's just not a high priority. Blah blah blah blah BLAH BLAH BLAH. I'm bored with my own writing here. Okay, bottom line: Tip.It, you've got people here that can write stuff that is more... objective. I understand that it can't be too analytical or the younger teens go to sleep. Believe it or not, I do remember that. But melodramatics is annoying after so many years, although I freely admit I've met too many gamers of every single stripe (games, games, any games, not just pixelated) that were heavy on the drama llama. Oh, yeah. I was in the Super Mod chair before, too. Yada yada Tip.It is over the drama, right? Heh, I guess not. Sorry, Racheya, I had no idea who you were when Silverion gave me a remote control, so to speak. That means... yeah, facepalm, or something to that effect. Thanks for the memories and all that. Once again, most of my peers... I think most of them don't even care about this stuff, so maybe the fact I'm saying anything at all might have some meaning. Well, it means more that I care. But, uh, whatever, I guess.

And yet they won't claim a lick of responsibility nor admit that they are indeed contributing to the problem. The player community is playing the blame game pretty hardcore... and it has been doing so for years now. I think it should stop-- but I don't think I've got any momentum.

I am so tempted to come down to Texas and smack you... well, at least give you what for. If you'd leave it just on the forums, that'd be one thing, but I know (gee, no surprise to you, of course) that you're pissing off your roommate blathering on about something that does not matter in the day-to-day IRL stuff. THAT SAID... and yes, go ahead, roll your eyes already, because I'm referencing the "Andrew threatened a lawsuit story" again. But it does apply to this situation-- his investment in Fen Research is TOTALLY consistent with what he said then. He is NOT a management type. He will never be a suit. He said specifically then that he just likes dealing with code and programming-- and this investment allows him to do that. If you aren't going to trust my word on it, respect Mod Ash's. Y'know, that jmod who has actually been a regular RS player and seems to be in tune with what actual players do. I'm not going to reveal my sources on how he confirmed this to me-- it was through a mutual friend and I don't want either of them to be harassed. Quick sum up: Andrew is doing what he likes and this time he doesn't have to deal with whiny, seemingly entitled players moaning and kvetching to him what they don't like about the game, especially when it was done in a clingy, ungrateful way. I think just about any other person in his situation would do THE VERY SAME THING. It amuses me to recall how bitterly players complained, and now they howl about abandonment. Please. About the other stuff... hard dose of reality. This is NOTHING. I mean, c'mon. C'MON. I mean, I'm laughing again here-- that was the other thing Ash mentioned.: Investment in the game is solid and funding is there for the long-term. Yes, the downside is soulless marketing with cheap come-ons, but hey... that happens all the time in the corporate world. Sneeze twice and this stuff with Jagex was already repeated elsewhere 50 times over with no exaggeration. Own up-- the updates are good, membership IS up. All the players that are threatening to quit-- they obviously haven't, or at least they are lost in the heap. This is real life, ladies and gentlemen. Phhhtt, fine, I'm 37... part of this comes with the territory. You're familiar with Kevin Smith, right? Reminds me of how he admitted in an interview that he finally stopped caring about some random critic on the Internet, especially when one said critic was only 14. He had her in tears and then he finally realized it wasn't worth it. NOW I do hope that what Hugh_Mannity said years ago does come to pass and all this management restructuring brings some better customer support, but... again, c'mon. Much like any other company today, I figure they will go with whatever gets the job done... and not too much more. This is also why I couldn't be more blasé about the Jiblix interview-- and I do mean unimpressed. Streisand effect? Hoo yeah. Way too much dramatics for me to take it seriously and I'm speaking from experience, i.e. I've done my fair share of drama llama crap and I know it makes waves for a while and then the backwash comes in. I'm hoping you and the other kids here come to a realization that dealing with companies-- if you WANT a reasonable response and possibly get your complaint resolved-- you don't carry on with a lot of emotion. I mean, really... you never hung up on a customer foaming at the mouth when you did call center work? Rant at a company and they WILL ignore you. State your complaint in a thoughtful, calm manner-- your chances of your issue being handled well improve exponentially. Heh. Dang. I wanted to comment on "My kind of field" but I'm going to assume a number of eyes have glazed over right about now.

I do get what you are saying, but negligent/reckless driving and DUI infractions aren't enough for certain jurisdictions. In my home state of Washington, driving while operating a mobile phone is now a primary infraction. In Utah where my sister lives, cell phone distractions still falls under negligent driving, but quite a few states are where Washington is at. It's a fine case for "enforce the laws that are on the books," but clearly, in practice, there is more following of "need some clarifications here with more laws." I admit, the reputation of U.S. law doesn't help my argument, but I am trying to simply state how it is, and not really so much how it should be. So again... I'd say law enforcement still has a reason against it, although you will find individual officers here and there that support it.

From what I know of Andrew-- including what he said at the end of this stupid lawsuit threat story I seem bent to keep repeating-- is that he is not a suit, not an exec. I mean, that's really what he said, that he'd rather be deep in the technical aspects, doing the coding, than doing management sort of stuff. I'm paraphrasing, but if he meant it sincerely, I don't doubt that he quickly lost interest in being on the board. Paul was a little more into the PR but from what little I remember of his involvement, I'm guessing he withdrew for somewhat similar reasons. Never read anything from Constant, so I have no idea about him. Fen Research is R & D -- y'know, Research and Development, and as relatively young as Andrew is (five years younger than me, anyways... do the math), I really do think he decided to pour himself into something more interesting now that Jagex is much bigger, and of course, when companies get big... so does the management. No, I'm not surprised, and the cries of abandonment and selling-out seems overblown to me.

I do see what you're saying but my cynical take really is that Jagex is addressing their shareholders. That is the evil but very bitter reality of corporations. But I also take the player complaints with a boulder-sized grain of salt, because the community has got a very bad rep of complaining bitterly without serious and nuanced persuasive tactics. I do appreciate that Croce linked to the RSOF thread because it does seem like a notable exception. Too little, too late... or am I just delving deep into the philosophical implications of "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" vs. "the nail that sticks out the farthest gets pounded down first"? I feel like I am repeating myself over and over again. I am constantly amazed how entitled some players can act like-- again, "Jagex's poo stinks, but mine doesn't". Even when there is a chance that their argument might be won, I really don't see anyone saying "players might be contributing to the problem -- even someone like me". Just the other day I found a player proudly waving around screenshots of evidence that he'd corrupted a pmod to break rules and abuse powers. C'mon, really? (Not to mention-- must I really put them up? Because I most certainly can... although I'd have to edit out a lot of stuff.) I mean, where is the justification in that, or that I hear rumors that players feel the need to put up ASCII drawings of genitalia all over the Rants section of the RSOF? Is someone really going to tell me players are justified? Most advice I've read about dealing with companies, when you feel you've been wronged, says something to the effect that complaints should be respectful and to the point. I'm sorry, but I don't see sufficient evidence that this is what players are doing overall or even on average.

I think this deserves a better reply than the one Moe gave. You see, that was my problem at the forums here. Or rather, I had hoped that somehow, in some odd way, moderating here might be a step back to employment. An Admin at the time had said he'd gladly give me a referral. Might as well come clean about it, although I'm sure it's convenient since precious few might even remember. It does look delusional when I look back on it now, but... at the time, I was pretty desperate. Ask any parent struggling away living on disability if they'd like a shot at going back to work-- I think quite a few would tell you they'd jump hard at that. No matter how much I was subtly encouraged to quit, I dug my heels in harder and took more and more thankless tasks. I wasn't in it for the attention, no no. I really did want to quietly do my job, but I was hoping that it would somehow be meaningful for real life stuff. The unkindest blow of all was when a friend told me I'd been backstabbed hard when my moderatorship was terminated. I considered some of the remaining Admins friends, but to be told they'd basically all dropped their support-- that was hard to take. I have to credit Silverion for giving me a brutally honest answer, but of course he will never know me. I did get on with my real life and went on to better things, but, trust has NEVER been rebuilt and I'm not really interested in talking to any of them anymore. I came back around because now and then I think I might have something worthwhile to say about the Times articles, but... ...oh, how the comparisons of this to Tip.It make me laugh. It makes me laugh to think of it, really, when I knew behind the scenes here some of the people with the most responsibility, in the past, said and did things I think are just plain ugly. Honestly though, in my other experiences, I know it happens at all kinds of forums and online communities that have nothing to do with Runescape or even gaming. I laugh at the claims of innocence here. I'm sorry, from 1994-2011 I've seen plenty of Internet users roll in crap and claim they were smelling like roses. Or they say they smelled like roses all along but some other idiot chimpanzee flung some poo at them. I laugh when I see responses on some of the other threads asking about the story about Andrew threatening a lawsuit here. Do you really want me to open that can of worms? There's quite a bit I didn't include but suffice it to say there was another case of "I don't smell like poo, I smell like roses". Not to mention someone also said "I'll fix everything"... people, that person didn't quit Tip.It-- that person got FIRED. Hmmm, smelled like poo, it did. And that's about all I'll say. I mean, it's really amusing to make that analogy because there has been an attitude of "The poo at Tip.It doesn't stink." It did. And I'll betcha it still does. And so I also laugh at claims that fmod/pmod poo doesn't stink, either. Or just plain generic player poo. I laugh because there are big claims of "Jagex's poo stinks" and I can't find any trace but maybe a little where someone says, "Oh gee, but my poo stinks, too." I just told ya'll how bad my poo stinks... anyone else got the guts to own up?

I wish qeltar would put Truthscape back up or at least release some of that material. "Don't Resent My Toilet" was one of the best arguments I've seen on this very subject. No modern person says things like "You whippersnappers and your water-flush toilet, that is nothing like our old outhouses with the Thunder Mug we had to empty every night! You need to go back to what it was REALLY like!" No, you hear more things like "Oh, I guess that is green living, but I'm sorry, (grand)kid, I rather like modern conveniences." "Challenge" is not why I play, but then I'm a parent with a house and I have some responsibilities. Much of the time, I just want something mind-numbing and sometimes even flat-out boring by comparison to my everyday routine. Looking back at the early days of Runescape-- back in the RS1 years before it was dubbed "Classic"-- no, I do not want to go back to endlessly clicking on fishing and mining spots, the 3-hit system as far as player vs. monster (PvM - Elvarg, IMHO, is tougher on the RSC engine), and so on.

Well, yes, which includes the reasons I mentioned. I wish I'd managed to snag some of the stuff I was fortunate to observe. It really is high quality. Not really true. There are better growing practices and better strains today, sure, but it really depends on what level you buy. Schwag is still crappy schwag and dank will be dank. You could still get really good pot back then and you can get it now, there's no big difference. It may true that weed has higher THC levels today, but this is really irrelevant in terms of damage, as THC is not a dangerous chemical to begin with. As I tend to ramble on and on, I would have wasted a lot more space trying to clarify what I was saying. The sublingual drops are basically pure THC. No, I don't think the chemical ITSELF is inherently dangerous, but I do think the impaired judgment while under its effects has been fairly well documented. In particular, much of the documentation points to impaired judgment while driving, particularly when combined with alcoholic intoxication. This is why I think law enforcement-- particularly the highway patrols and other such street police-- would not be too fond of perceived consequences of legalization. They simply do not want to scrape more wreckages (including dead bodies) off the road. I don't think that would be an enjoyable part of a job-- would you?