tortilliachp

Most of the Iraq war documentaries I know of, have been rated NC-17 due to violence, language or barbarity. Many of these haven't been released in America because of this rating. This censorship is over-reaching, because a nation that spends 4% of its GDP on war, without conscription, does not want to be confronted with the reality of its wars. They're freedom fighters right?

Pre-Internet? I thought it was just an urban legend ._. I have never had either a facebook, myspace, or twitter account :o! that makes me the only person my age i know irl who hasn't had either of these

play an rpg then, not an mmorpg. Um,no? I like interacting with people. I don't mind competing with people. I like to achieve things with other people trying to do the same. I like that I'm not forced into group activities like you are in WoW. I'm just very, very over hearing about clans when I don't think that many people are even in them. The community opinion seems to be if you don't agree with the community opinion you need to quit our game. How often do you use a clan chat? I think you have a very narrow view of what a clan is, rather than the definition Jagex seems to use. In interacting with people, i think you utilize clan features almost every time you play. Jagex have claimed, repeatedly the last Q&A sessions that they wish for 50% quest / skilling time in our runescape play, and 50% "other activities", that leaves minigames, D&D and clan activities as something Jagex publicly asserts should take half your ingame runescape time. They also advertise the p2p game to have 25 000 hours of p2p content. I can easily show you 25 000 hours of quests (without guides obviously) and skilling. Show me 12500 hours of minigames and clan activities? Our clan updates are overdue. If you are tired hearing about 50% of the game you play, haven't you become either selfish, or grown away from the game? I'd say those are pretty clear reasons to consider rpgs that advertise their games more towards your liking. Many allow you to chat with others, but not interact directly other than through trade. They have IRC channels, official forums etc. where you can get your "interaction". G oing by your incessant complaints about some aspect in almost every topic, you might wanna step back and think about your gaming experience, and your tip.it "interaction" before posting your usual unfounded one-line complaints. You can't neglect runescape in your own terms, because they contradict with what Jagex state they will provide you. Based on your posts on the tip.it forums the last couple of months, It seems you do wish to play an rpg, but an rpg where you can chat to other people. That is not the MMORPG gameplay Jagex advertises itself as. Your complaints are unreasonable, you know what you've signed up to play, you want something else. If I continually complain about the lack of RWT opportunities within runescape, and whine about it at every opportunity, wouldn't you tell me to find myself a different game to play? sorry, asserting yourself in a victim's role "told by the community to quit". it's very unbecoming, especially considering what runescape actually describes itself to be.

play an rpg then, not an mmorpg.

the changes suggested benefit small clans. it does not bring back the clan community of the past, f2p warring culture, it does not increase the density of pking teams in f2p or p2p. Most of the damage has already been done: the old, strong clan members have left runescape permanently. The new players joining the game cannot be people who primarily want the clan experience, runescape is increasingly a game of individuals. no, clan activities must give real rewards, not "trophies" that is the only way of reviving clans. start with bosses, try to create pvm wars for groups ("campaigns"), improve the rules you can set in CWA, and rewards for CWA fighting. ensure that BH and PVP world wars become more profitable to fight ( a deposit box at member gate?), fill the wilderness with monsters and item spawns in PVP / BH worlds to make it more travelled (double mining ores in pvp wilderness anyone?). The question is how many of these things Jagex manage to implement, or can implement without making abuse easy. the wilderness in pvp and bh worlds need change. real clan rewards come from other players, clan competitions, not from jagex-made achievements.

this is what too many people forget repeatedly. This is why people complain needlessly, and their expectations are too high. runescape is a very very well-balanced game compared to many. the updates are meaningful, not just "another new empty area" that you finish with very quickly (World of warcraft). by filling out the current world map rather than adding "new areas" as was the creed previously, we are starting to get a world of gielinor, not a void of gelienor. It is a very hard task to implement new content in the current game, without obliterating, and making the current game content useless. That is where increased level requirements come in: if the new armour is not 80 defence, but rather 90 defence to wear, barrows and bandos etc. do not depreciate as much in price, or lessen in usefullness in the gameas significantly. High level content is overdue, that probably means the high level content to be released should be "elite" , not "master" I'm very glad i don't work at jagex in 2010.

that's what it is all about: taking most of the larger updates for granted, because we expect them. we're very demanding, really. rightfully so?

updated personal bests: 40m (no reaction time) 5,4 (March 2010, August 2009) 100m (with reaction time and blocks) 11,17 (March 2010) 400m: 52,76 ( March 2010) 800m: 2:02 (March 2010) Mile: 4:37 (Jan 2010) (Haven't run since) 3km: 10:14 (March 2010) 5km: 17:47 (March 2010) half-marathon: 1:27:54 June 2009 (haven't run since) It's still been too long since I've run an 8km, 10km, 15k or 20k to give an accurate time. I guess i could say i'm in form for the upcoming season :D

I'm curious, what stereotypes would those be? first I just want to point out that stereotypes are generalizations, therefore they show general trends, not the opinions of anyone in particular. they are also opinions, reflecting me. - Americans believe in the right to freedom, even when the moral cost is substantial. - The american justice system protects itself, not individuals - Americans are mostly far to the right, politically. - Religion stands strong in America, in principle, but the morality of religion seems lost. - America has been holliwoodified by hollywood, culture (sports, music, opinion etc.) have changed accordingly - extreme examples, dominate american opinions. they are scaremongered by their media - differences in american society are massive. The middle class of america are worse off than in Europe. - Socialism is always horrible, every man is his own castle. - view and knowledge about the world outside america is limited. few actively seek this on their own, and must meet other cultures before they see things globally. What a load of [cabbage]. How can you realize your intellectual potential unless you experiment as you grow up? academia is not for everyone Lawl juxtaposition. respecting someone's opinion, even though you disagree is often appreciated by those willing to give their honest opinions. I comparatively give my opinions, however irrational they are. that's why they are clearly presented as opinions, not as fact. Disagree, respectfully if you will. I'm curious to see you try to characterize a culture different to your own. To claim my opinions are stupid, I assume you think you could do a better job yourself. Please do that. I'm interested in broadening my horizons. your juxtaposition says more about you than me: criticism is a lot easier than constructive or reasoned criticism; Initial respect harder than xenophobic scorn. consider yourself challenged. :)

I've lived therem on two seperate occasions, both times for longer than a year. once on the west coast, once on the east coast. I never said you had to be like us, i said we were different. I've also travelled / sightseed extensively in 15+ states :D

I think you misread what i wrote. Not only this particular bill, where the republicans were uninclined to cooperate accross the isle, but that's another story. Birbery happens with every bill. Republicans, independants, democrats are all part of the system, because that's what it is: systematic bribery with every bill.

I'm curious, what stereotypes would those be? first I just want to point out that stereotypes are generalizations, therefore they show general trends, not the opinions of anyone in particular. they are also opinions, reflecting me. - Americans believe in the right to freedom, even when the moral cost is substantial. - The american justice system protects itself, not individuals - Americans are mostly far to the right, politically. - Religion stands strong in America, in principle, but the morality of religion seems lost. - America has been holliwoodified by hollywood, culture (sports, music, opinion etc.) have changed accordingly - extreme examples, dominate american opinions. they are scaremongered by their media - differences in american society are massive. The middle class of america are worse off than in Europe. - Socialism is always horrible, every man is his own castle. - view and knowledge about the world outside america is limited. few actively seek this on their own, and must meet other cultures before they see things globally. How can you realize your intellectual potential unless you experiment as you grow up? academia is not for everyone

Jack Bauer was the new McGyver, but not as good. someone just remake and exadurate McGyver a little bit please? :D I'll never forget that time McGyver stops an elevator with floss, a toothpick and some tape :D

electronic documents are very easy to search through. flipping through a physical book also goes very quickly, if you know what you're doing and read relatively fast. I'm sure i could get through the bill in 2-3 days to find anything sensational to publish.

I don't think i've learned anything particularly "new", rather i've reenforced observations i've made in other aspects of my life as well. I have an arguably academic mindset, and a global perspective through living in different cultures, and having an interest in global politics and economy. Therefore, I would have been very surprised to find the world much different from previous experiences, and simoultaneous experiences. forums are a nice place to learn about yourself, as you experiment with your persona, mode of expression etc. It's only online, so you can say what you actually mean, and see the reactions. you can experiment with how you present arguments, and views and very directly see the reactions. I hope many of us take the opportunity to improve ourselves, and deepen our understanding of ourselves through these arenas. personally I've had these points reinforced: - Cultural differences around the world always become clearer with individual stories - You learn people. Most of us are predictable, and react predictably in arguments (/pessimism). - Many american stereotypes (of thought, not behaviour) are more correct than i had ever dreamed. this scares me. - Irrationality and self-insight: people continuously attribute their emotions factual value in discussion, and vice versa. They also refuse to re-examine held opinions when new evidence is presented to them. - "winning" an argument is the widespread interaction on these forums. People discuss and debate to reinforce their own opinions. - young people are fundementally fundementalists, and hold positions in the extremes. seen research before, confirmed very clearly here though. - common sense is uncommon, bigotry and partiality are. Principles and ideology often enshroud and obscure the real world - attentionspans (reading posts) are very short. why bother replying when you don't consider the opinions of others? my personal answer: many have an extrovert need to publish own opinions, not a wish for dialogue. - logical connections often require significant explanation; we are a passivised generation, not willing to excersice our minds. - many find it hard to ignore people and arguments although this is often the best course of action. All in all, real discussions can be a true learning experience if we open ourselves to the effects. "Trolls" and counter-trolls ruin a lot of good discussions though. respect is in short supply online.

Lol, purposefully? Please, elaborate. I need to know what's going on in your mind. Lol. I think he/she means purposely. They say it was made purposely extremely long so it wasn't readable. I think Obama didn't necessarily have it made so long so that no one could read it, but it was to his advantage so that the Democrats could slip in some unrelated laws that would be disregarded since no one actually bothered to read the thing anyway. Shouldn't that be unconstitutional as it purposely detracts from the main idea of the bill to pass unrelated laws without having them scrutinized? rather, you add that related thing that the senator from Missouri required to vote yes, you bribe that californian senator with that guarantee etc. It's bribery to get the bill passed. Like with all federal bills in the US. republicans and democrats do exactly the same thing, claiming it is only Obama, or purposely done is crazy-man's talk; propaganda to slander individual politicians and parties. "Compromise" was neccessary to get any healthcare bill passed, and any other major bill is at leasta couple hundred pages. The longer the proccess goes, the longer the bill becomes, that's inevitable with a long process before a bill gets accepted. no democrat or republican changes that, be they the president or not. That's how all american legislations that are a "compromise" will look, always and eternally. That is, unless a law is accepted such that all federal laws need to apply unilaterally to all states, in combination with stronger legislation that only closely related aspects of an issue can be passed in the same bill. The current bribery system of american policy ruins legitimacy for all participants.

Would you be so kind to elaborate a bit more on your views - ie. do you mean that Jagex is dishonest ? - please explain ! He's probably referring to the tone of the writing; I imagine he sees this as something of a "gilded" post. It's all very endearing/flattering, but little of substance was said. Jagex laid it on a bit thick with this, heh, and so their message comes across as condescendingly false (to a degree). Mhm, I'm of the same opinion. :mellow: I'll quote something i posted on the issue somewhere, i don't remmeber where though: Just watch the video: the strategy is clear: Mod Mark H is very limited in what he can say, and is directly insincere. My insertations are marked by square parenthesis [] as I interperate what is said, versus what he means. This image of paradise shows positivism gone awry. I do not mean the positivism that spurred the area of enlightenment in the 1750s, no I mean the Joyous Manifestation that everything has a bright side that may be projected onto the public. This may be a reaction to the barrage of rants and negativism that so completely dominates the Runescape Official Forums: It may be the moral high-ground as a reaction to the cynics of youth, or reality. You complain? we'll show you everything is as if it were paradise, we'll fake it real good. These are not smart PR strategies to continue with, looking at the bigger picture of a bigger company. What companies do we know that have a PR branch that are not positivist to a degree? None. Every company has much to gain from hyping up their own products - obviously they directly earn from positive reviews etc. The degree of how positively inclined a company is to their own product is meticulously calculated, in many cases. In the case of Jagex, it seems to be mis-calculated. Their image, for them, needs to be positive, but critically not too positive, but still as positive as possible while retaining their credibility. That credibility is what Jagex has eroded with an image showing a stance of its all good that they are inadvertently projecting. They seem fake, because what they are telling us are small white lies, one after the other, which combine to form a distorted image of the situation jagex and runescape is in. For that is the danger of a public image in a closed company, especially one with dealings primarily online: your clientele see you as the image you project. You show them fake, they see you as fake. Once that image has fastened, it becomes your public identity, because we have no other sources of information, it's all "secret" -visitors not allowed to talk. Where did the positivism of Jagex go over the top, and how can we really see this fake attitude? That is the beauty of modern social networking. Many of us had Mods on our friends-lists, back when we were few, and they were independent to do what they wished in-game. As Jagex have grown, the personal relationships with mods have withered away, as a deseased papaya tree no gardener is taking care of. How could it have been avoided? It probably couldnt have been, and shouldnt have been. But as Jagex lost its humanity, its image has become superficial. With a YouTube channel, Jagex have given a unique insight into how mods really are. They are not Oompa-loompas, as we would expect by their over-positive image on Runescape.com. The veil of the Jagex façade has been lifted for all those interested to see. And see we do. There are people behind the plastic mask, the faked beauty of Jagex HQ. at least one of them is discontent, but says something else. Can we trust Jagex? Probably not. But we can trust the humans that represent jagex which we see, if they are convincing. They need to be allowed arenas where they express themselves honestly, and tell things as it is. As Jagex has adapted its image to becoming a large employer and heavy-weight company, social networking necessitates a new reworking of the Jagex image, back into the personal and the refined honesty that has been lacking. As mod MMG notes in his interview, he was head-hunted to the company as a slick leader figure - because he can lead a major company and earn loads of money for jagex, not because he understands players. Will Jagex take this reinvigorating second chance of interviews and use of their youtube channel to regain our trust? Let us dearly hope so, to avoid further embarrassment in insincere positivist announcements. The 'year of Awsome?' We have called your bluff, now show your cards. This diary was another step in the wrong direction. We are all smart enough to see that what Jagex says, and what they true opinions are, are worlds appart.

we didn't know any of that, sure.... no details, no nothing. This is a plastic, botoxed facade of Jagex that they project, chemically removed of personality and honesty.

This is what I meant by my comment though. and what i'm getting at is how nit-picking and useless that is, practically. :D If you don't call a pool ball a sphere, you use an incorrect denotation of the word, thus impede your own quality of communication. Why does that change when you're talking about the Earth? :P Nope, even the definition of a planet as any entity with a strong enough internal gravity to attain a spherical shape suggests the spherical nature of the earth. you won't contest that Tellus is a planet, will you :D ?

Hell, he may have only been off because it's not a perfect sphere... Which isn't something he could have known at the time. the earth is rounder than a pool ball. It is as close to a perfect sphere as you can almost get. Uhh.. What about mountains, and valleys? in the grander scheme of things, they don't even matter. it's all about the centripetal force of the earth's rotation.

Hell, he may have only been off because it's not a perfect sphere... Which isn't something he could have known at the time. the earth is rounder than a pool ball. It is as close to a perfect sphere as you can almost get.

more of the corruption to get individual votes that runs through the system of american democracy. pressure groups run the nation.

those numbers cannot possibly be correct.

I find one flaw with the theory: that we cannot observe that the earth is round ourselves. Everyone who has ever climbed a real mountain, looked down over a sea can see the actual curvature of the earth. I am my own witness.

From what I've read, the population is actually declining in some European countries. True. But uncontrolled immigration is not the answer for a declining population, as a few countries do. What the government in European countries should do, first and foremost, on that bit is to encourage people having kids. As it's now, in many western countries, people are choosing their career first and having kids are on the bottom on the "to do list", generally speaking. Altho i'm drifting a bit away from the topic here. Surprisingly, a recent survey with Belgian youths (I think it was 18-20 or something like that) are putting kids before their career. I'm not sure how trustworthy such a result is, but we might actually be seeing an improvement when it comes to that. or an environmentally disastrous generation who lack education :S