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Wil Wheaton playing for EFF

Quintin Stone (and every other Slashdot reader on the planet) writes: "Wil Wheaton is among the many Star Trek actors on tonight's Weakest Link, except that the charity he's playing for is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Though so far he's been doing well." CD: I don't want to give away the ending, many people have yet to see the show.

385 comments

  1. uh cool? by digitalsushi · · Score: 1

    wait so was this like, just on then? the website said sun/mon at 8. did we all miss out?

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    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
    1. Re:uh cool? by kochsr · · Score: 1

      there's been lots of will wheaton news lately! my friend is supposed to be on the weakest link soon... but i think it is moving to syndication. i guess it will be relegated to that funky pre-primetime 7-8 pm timeslot

  2. Re:He lost. by digitalsushi · · Score: 1

    well i didnt get to see it but i'm sure he prolly just read all the answers off his VISOR. cheah i'll find out when i download it off of the morpheus.

    --
    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
  3. A Question for Wil by Kozz · · Score: 5, Informative

    I enjoyed watching the show (WL), but I've gotta ask: Was Roxann just putting on an act, or is she truly as much of a colossal bitch as she seemed? My jaw dropped when watching her "exiting interrogation".

    --
    I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
    1. Re:A Question for Wil by skroz · · Score: 2

      Tough call. She blew him a kiss, though.

      --
      -- Minds are like parachutes... they work best when open.
    2. Re:A Question for Wil by Aelgifa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      She doesn't seem to know when someone is making a joke. I mean "because I am in love with her" all by itself....without the tone...maybe could be taken seriously, but add "because she is the only one on here who is as good looking as me" and it becomes a complimentary joke. In regards to her exiting comments" Starting out saying she would be mad if Wil wins it is just out of line, I mean what she was really saying is that she hoped he blew it for his charity. Way to go Roxann! Now shut up while I dig through your email. Then going on to say she didn't like how he "came onto her on public TV" Well geez, sounds like someone is full of herself to think that was coming onto her. And that she was upset cause her husband was going to see the show. Well my dear if you were that upset about it maybe you shouldn't have mouthed and gestured "I love you" back to Wil. What a dumb bitch. Aelgifa A.K.A. Cherish

    3. Re:A Question for Wil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe it's a monthly thing...

    4. Re:A Question for Wil by quantum+bit · · Score: 2

      Personally, I think they were just acting. Wil said that himself in his exit interview. And after all, Roxann DID play a Klingon. The players do discuss "strategies" before the game, so maybe they decided to mess with the audience a little.

      There's really to telling how long those exit interviews really were. That quote MIGHT have been taken out of context. I still think most of them went out for drinks after the taping and had a good laugh about it. Hmm, maybe if Wil's site ever comes back up he'll tell us what really happened...

      And the parent post was NOT offtopic.

    5. Re:A Question for Wil by Aelgifa · · Score: 1

      No, Wil posted a couple posts ago about being upset that Roxann might have taken some of his comments too seriously was going to call her and apologize. Although, I really don't see why he owes her an apology for the way she took the joke. It's her problem, not his. I guess that's what you do when you are a genuinely nice person.

    6. Re:A Question for Wil by ryanr · · Score: 3, Informative

      A couple of days ago, he made reference to that on his site... which I would link to if it weren't currently slashdotted to death. He basically apologized to her, and said he was kidding. Kinda implies he took her reaction seriously.

    7. Re:A Question for Wil by quantum+bit · · Score: 1

      Hmm, posted here or on his site? I've been trying wilwheaton.net since the show started airing, but it was down even before the /. article went up.

      There's a few comments about it on roxanndawson.net, mostly supporting Wil. I just figured she was playing into character like Shatner did (and like I said before, she DID play a Klingon :)

      It still seems a little fishy to me. If there really was a misunderstanding that was bothering him, wouldn't he have been "going to call her" after the taping finished, not after it aired? Or did he mention something about it before tonight? Hmm, maybe Wil's trolling /. in a more traditional medium...

    8. Re:A Question for Wil by Aelgifa · · Score: 1

      yes, it was after it was taped not after it aired. The post I am referring to where he adresses his concerns is at www.wilwheaton.net and it was posted about a week ago or so.

    9. Re:A Question for Wil by quantum+bit · · Score: 1

      Ok, cool, thanks. I'll check it out once the /. effect passes...

    10. Re:A Question for Wil by dillon_rinker · · Score: 2

      He mentioned it after the taping before the show had aired. I personally think she was messing with his head. Wil Wheaton can dish it out but he doesn't seem to be able to take it. On the other hand, when someone that you don't know dises you, it's hard to know where they're coming from.

    11. Re:A Question for Wil by Aelgifa · · Score: 1

      well, It may have been fun and games up to the point where she waltzed off the set. The tone set forth in the exit Interview reset that for me. To me I perceived it as though she was "acting nice" while in front of the crowd and then went completely feral backstage. I think Wil's approach to the game was clean and well represented as playful. Good boy Wil, good show. Roxann can't identify or take a joke. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. *pats Wil on the back*

    12. Re:A Question for Wil by Flakeloaf · · Score: 1

      He also said something about it on Fark a few days ago. His user ID is, strangely enough, Wil.

      --

      Am I the only one who heard Roxette to sing "I'm gonna get blitzed for some sex"?

    13. Re:A Question for Wil by bluephone · · Score: 1

      Collossal bitch or not, I want to do naughty things with her during naked-time. :)

      --
      jX [ Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Einstein ]
    14. Re:A Question for Wil by rianpie · · Score: 3, Informative
      Wil posted his regrets in his blog after the taping because he found out about Roxann's exit comments after participating in the interview here (includes Roxann's comments- the good stuff's on pg 2)
      http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,185430~3~0~star trekactorsjoin,00.html

      He thought it was all in fun, but apparently yes, she WAS a "colossal bitch". And WTF? She seemed to have it in for him from the minute the show started!

    15. Re:A Question for Wil by seann · · Score: 1

      yeah..
      wonder what wils wife will think when she sees it?
      there are other people in the world besides HERSELF!
      I'd bang her.

      --
      I'm a big retard who forgot to log out of Slashdot on Mike's computer! LOOK AT ME.
    16. Re:A Question for Wil by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Interesting
      • Was Roxann just putting on an act, or is she truly as much of a colossal bitch as she seemed? My jaw dropped when watching her "exiting interrogation".

      Here's something to bear in mind. Anyone who hasn't been following Wil's career would take him at face value too, and not realise that he was playing an (ill advised) part. We know better, but the vast majority of the audience won't.

      So let's not be too hasty to judge Roxann. Wil and Roxann were basically doing live improv, and that's a pain to do with someone you don't know. I'd rather assume that they got their wires crossed and both escalated their jerkwad/bitch roles without realising that one of them needed to defuse it by turning it into a joke.

      That said... just in case it wasn't an act on her part... hey, girl, you ain't all that. Wil's a lot finer than you. :-)

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    17. Re:A Question for Wil by dillon_rinker · · Score: 2

      "acting nice" while in front of the crowd and then went completely feral backstage

      I don't buy that; these people are TELEVISION actors. They understand that the studio audience is largely irrelevant - they're a live laugh/applause track. The actors understand that they are performing for the TELEVISION audience. Her blowing a kiss and her comments were all for the camera. Whether she meant them or not is open to interpretation.

    18. Re:A Question for Wil by martyn+s · · Score: 1

      Maybe she was cast as a Klingon because it would be such a perfect role for her to play. I don't find that hard to believe.

  4. Re:He lost. by jspaleta · · Score: 1

    This time....but since the star trek series love using random plot devices to go back in time, there is a good chance that there will be a rematch in an alternative NBC gameshow time line where wil wheaton wins.

    I have to admit I was impressed by the amount of money the star trek cast members racked up....they but every other weakest link team to shame.

    -jef"I can do anything...its in a book...take a look...the reading rainbow"

  5. The chick on that show is a bitch by Pi314592 · · Score: 0

    she never smiles.. never is glad about what she is doing.. the only time i have seen her smile is when rob schneider was on and had a thing for her.. but over all.. she's a bonified bitch

    --
    [img]http://www.danasoft.com/sig/Digerati.jpg[/img ]
    1. Re:The chick on that show is a bitch by Karma+50 · · Score: 1

      It's all an act, she's done a few things before the weakest link on British TV where she wasn't a bitch.

      She was on 'The Daily Show' as well last week (?), making fun of the show and herself.

      --
      http://www.thehungersite.com
    2. Re:The chick on that show is a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean Roxann? :)

    3. Re:The chick on that show is a bitch by Golias · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Her "bitch" act is grating and shrill, and adds nothing to the tension of the show... instead it distracts from it.

      And that wink she does at the end of the show to hint to the audience "it's all in good fun" is just creepy.

      The Star Trek one is the first episode I have bothered to sit through since the first time I saw it. I would watch it more, because it is a fun concept for a game show, except she annoys the hell out of me.

      I think that the dramatic tention that the show's format seems to be trying to cultivate would be much higher if the host was very calm and sympathetic. If I were producing the show, I would offer the job to Peter Faulk (of "Columbo" fame).

      To each his own, I guess.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    4. Re:The chick on that show is a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, that's not strictly true, is it!

      Anne was a total cow on Watchdog, at least this way she's adding humour to her insults.

      -JCC

    5. Re:The chick on that show is a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever see the version from France? They have a mad cow running that one, but the contestants seem to be more attractive.

    6. Re:The chick on that show is a bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bonified by whom? Captin Kirk?

      Oh, maybe you meant something else...

  6. ugh, the weakest link by sagious · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Anyone want to tell for those of us who can't stand the show?

    --
    -- "The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who can not fly" -Frederick Nietzsche
  7. I Just saw it Myself... by Alexius · · Score: 3, Informative

    Spoiler, If you didn't watch yet:

    Wil did pretty well. Made it to being one of the last three people (Robert Picardo And LeVar Burton went on, LeVar won), and I think he could have taken Robert. LeVar was pretty sharp, though.

    Also, it was good to see the EFF on a more 'Mainstream' medium. Go Wil!

    What was with Roxanne? She was honestly out to get Wil at first, and she just seemed like a real bitch, otherwise.

    --
    `Lex - Find Me Here: Text Appeal
    1. Re:I Just saw it Myself... by Geek+Boy · · Score: 3, Funny

      LeVar was on Reading Rainbow, after all....

    2. Re:I Just saw it Myself... by modulus · · Score: 1

      I don't know whether the parent was supposed to be funny, but I must say: I learned A LOT from Reading Rainbow.

      I'm amazed how often I'm discussing something with someone, and come up with some interesting/applicable knowledge, then wonder: how did I know that. As often as not: READING RAINBOW.

      Reading Rainbow is AWESOME. BEST SHOW EVER. MORE CAPITAL LETTERS.

    3. Re:I Just saw it Myself... by Radical+Rad · · Score: 2, Funny

      I don't normally watch the show except during commercials on the other channel, but yes she did seem especially bitchy tonight especially to Wil. Perhaps her hemmorhoids are acting up or she has the cramps. No that can't be it. I'm sure she went through menopause decades ago.

    4. Re:I Just saw it Myself... by sconeu · · Score: 3, Funny

      Naw... she was just disgusted by Shatner's kiss.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    5. Re:I Just saw it Myself... by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      I don't normally watch the show except during commercials on the other channel, but yes she did seem especially bitchy tonight especially to Wil.

      Probably because he tried to "take her on."

    6. Re:I Just saw it Myself... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was also an illiterate slave on Roots, what's your point?

  8. Little Late? by mal0rd · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    Well, this article was posted very recently, like 7 minutes ago. And in my Time Zone (EST) the show has already finished. This is about as un-news worthy as it gets. Most of the World has already seen this show (if it AIRs somewhere besides the US) and for us we'll need to wait for reruns for any substance from this report.

    seriously, if you guys can't get an article up about an EVENT before it happens then maybe it wasn't worth posting.

    1. Re:Little Late? by alfredw · · Score: 1

      Well, it's 9:27PM in the Mountain Time Zone right now.

      THE SHOW IS HALFWAY THROUGH.

      It isn't Eastern time everywhere in the world, despite what New Yorkers tell you.

      --
      In Soviet Russia, sig types you!
  9. Maybe a silly question by stressky · · Score: 1

    Anyone do a DIVX of it? I'd love to watch it, but I'm in Oz so we just get the stupid local version...

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    ...this is getting out of hand
    1. Re:Maybe a silly question by VALinux · · Score: 2, Funny

      We have locked onto your coordinates in Australia. Per the DMCA and the Berne Copyright Treaty, Jack Valenti and the MPAA will be coming to investigate your ass for conspiracy to pirate intellectual property. We will be investigating your ass with a large unlubricated broomstick handle, followed by the large end of a Louisville slugger, and finally we will conclude by investigating your ass with this. Do not be alarmed, if you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to hide. Thank you.

    2. Re:Maybe a silly question by arnex · · Score: 5, Funny

      but I'm in Oz so we just get the stupid local version...

      Hmmm... strange. That's what we get in the U.S. too.

    3. Re:Maybe a silly question by BloodAngel_Au · · Score: 1

      I'd love to get a copy to watch too...

    4. Re:Maybe a silly question by stressky · · Score: 1

      Ha! I fart in your general direction!

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      ...this is getting out of hand
    5. Re:Maybe a silly question by grammar+fascist · · Score: 1

      So who's the host there? The Wicked Witch of the West?

      --
      I got my Linux laptop at System76.
    6. Re:Maybe a silly question by stressky · · Score: 1

      Can't remember her name now, but the host is a female actor who used to be on "Home & Away", a popular (god knows why)soapie over here...

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      ...this is getting out of hand
    7. Re:Maybe a silly question by Monkeychunks · · Score: 1

      Cos the chicks on Home & Away are hotter than any other soap stars.

      --
      "We kill to cure, with cures that kill" - Skinny Puppy
    8. Re:Maybe a silly question by stressky · · Score: 1

      Not this one.... She's a wrinkley old fart :-)

      Course, if that's what gets you hot....

      --
      ...this is getting out of hand
  10. Who did Levar play for? by lowtekneq · · Score: 1

    What charity did Levar play for? And everyone doing the FT!!! OMG FT!!! please stop its annoying.

    --
    Carpe meam simiam!
    1. Re:Who did Levar play for? by leonbev · · Score: 5, Informative

      Levar played for an LA chapter Junior Achievement.

    2. Re:Who did Levar play for? by bluntmanspam · · Score: 1

      He played for Junior Achievement. A worthy cause, none the less. For all the STTNG fans, they did us proud. Smarter by far than all of the other celebrity casts. The only real embarrasment was from the old series (Shatner)

    3. Re:Who did Levar play for? by bluntmanspam · · Score: 1

      Damn, missed being the first to answer this. That's what I get for spending all that time looking up how to spell 'achievement'

    4. Re:Who did Levar play for? by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 2

      Junior Achievement...if I rewind my memory back to the seventh or eighth grade, I seem to remember Junior Achivement as a sort of mobile capitalist indoctrination course...but I could be wrong.

    5. Re:Who did Levar play for? by xinit · · Score: 1

      All I could think was "great, so way to show those kids how to be enterprising and just GIVE them money..."

      --
      --- http://foo.ca
    6. Re:Who did Levar play for? by jcr · · Score: 3, Funny

      I seem to remember Junior Achivement as a sort of mobile capitalist indoctrination

      Yeah, that's the way the idiot pinko commie traitor crowd in my high school described it, too.

      People who didn't have an axe to grind described it as a practical course in developing, marketing, and selling a product. All in all, quite useful knowledge in a world where Marx has been relegated to the ash heap of history, where he belongs.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    7. Re:Who did Levar play for? by Paul+Komarek · · Score: 2

      Marx predicted the dominance of capitalism. I think it's Lenin you have a problem with. I believe Marx even wrote a letter to Lenin explaining why Lenin's perversion of Marx's writings were a bad idea. In fact, Marx's writings are probably more relevant than ever as we watch the battle against corporatism unfold (think "Battle of Seattle" and such).

      -Paul Komarek

  11. Re:i'll tell you the ending by digitalsushi · · Score: 5, Funny

    an AC telling us Levar won?

    lemme guess... "But you dont have to take MY word for it!" buh bum BUM

    --
    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
  12. Nice shirt... by Loligo · · Score: 2, Funny


    Gotta say, Wil, that bowling shirt was cool.

    But since I already sent email to that effect, I guess I'm (-1: Redundant).

    -l

    1. Re:Nice shirt... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      But since I already sent email to that effect


      No, your a loser because you are sending email to a person you dont know, to congradulate him on his fucking shirt....

      Re-attach yourself to reality pal.

      A) its just a shirt, shirts keep you warm, who cares what they look like?
      B) its only Tv - big deal.
      C) Wil Wheaton is only a person. Feel the need to compliment people on their shirts? Try talking to your goddamn neigbours.

    2. Re:Nice shirt... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bowling shirts haven't been cool since 80s teen movies. They might have come back, but I doubt Wil Wheaton knows that.

    3. Re:Nice shirt... by JonKatzIsAnIdiot · · Score: 1

      Ugh. I thought it was ugly.

      Perhaps it's because I've seen that same 'naked-woman' silouette on the mudflaps of too many redneck pickup trucks ...

  13. Apology?! by rice_burners_suck · · Score: 2, Funny

    Heh heh... and to think that just a week or two ago, I posted a comment telling how much I hated his character in Star Trek. Especially in that episode where they go to some planet where the penalty for any crime, no matter how small, is death, and he runs into a glass thing and then there's a whole bunch of politics going on to try and get him out of it. But if he's donating to the EFF, it's all good dog.

    No, this isn't really an apology. I still think his character was a moron.

    Oh well.

    1. Re:Apology?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I still think his character was a moron.

      Yeah, so does he. Read the interview.

    2. Re:Apology?! by falloutboy · · Score: 1, Offtopic
      No, this isn't really an apology. I still think his character was a moron.


      I know this is offtopic, but I'm tired of reading this crap.


      You, sir, need to find a way to separate the actor from the character. Isn't it clear at this point that Wes != Wil?


      Bye bye, karma.

    3. Re:Apology?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Didn't he say that he thought his character was a moron?

    4. Re:Apology?! by gfxguy · · Score: 1
      I still think his CHARACTER was a moron.
      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
  14. the answer to the question is no. by cilix · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Ask Slashdot my ass! That's not a question.

    CT must be on nasty drugs again :)

  15. Planning to see it... by ackthpt · · Score: 2, Troll

    Interesting that he's backing the EFF, on a show presented on american TV which is no doubt behind the DMCA which has Sklyarov in jail. By the way, his hearing date was set today.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Planning to see it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...and my brother's roomate's dog... What a load of crap. So now all television is evil because it in somehow links to the DMCA? Gimme a break.

    2. Re:Planning to see it... by ackthpt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, bonehead, it's irony that he speaks up for the EFF in a medium which many parts of are sympathetic to or owned by the backers of the DMCA. It's pretty gutsy of Wil to do this. Typically those who take political stands against what the heads want have a tough row to hoe. Edward Asner's career clearly took a backseat during and after his stint as president of the Screen Actors Guild, particularly with some of the efforts he backed, including better compensation for actors on shows in syndicated reruns, since cable was growing and dipping heavily into the old vaults.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    3. Re:Planning to see it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Personally I would've modded him up if he had linked to some pictures of Natalie Portman and hot grits, but what do I know...

    4. Re:Planning to see it... by cancrman · · Score: 1

      True.

      But that's what happens when you give 18 year old boys the power to decide what other people will read.

      It's not a perfect system but that's why you can sort the comments in a variety of ways.

      Save your mental bandwith for comments that matter. Or better yet think up your own.

      --
      The sole purpose of the Internet is to get porn and bomb making plans into the hands of children.
    5. Re:Planning to see it... by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      No, bonehead, it's irony that he speaks up for the EFF in a medium which many parts of are sympathetic to or owned by the backers of the DMCA. It's pretty gutsy of Wil to do this. Typically those who take political stands against what the heads want have a tough row to hoe.

      I thought it kindof interesting that he sortof shied away from some of the EFF's efforts in that area.. mostly he described them as fighting for online privacy rights, something most studios I think don't have a problem with.

    6. Re:Planning to see it... by Monkeyman334 · · Score: 2

      Wow, that has to easily be the stupidest comment I have ever seen posted. While the US has the most censorship on TV than problably any other nation, they don't do political censorship. Hell, they had a show dedicated to saying the US faked the whole moon landing. And the US often calls itself a democracy, and the biggest problem we have is not enough people speak up about laws. Also, how would the US come off being the country that stopped money going to a charity. Bleh.

    7. Re:Planning to see it... by gowen · · Score: 2
      While the US has the most censorship on TV than problably any other nation, they don't do political censorship

      Hah! Except for the episode of Michael Moore's "TV Nation" which NBC refused to air, for suggesting that Cuba's healthcare system was better than the US.
      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    8. Re:Planning to see it... by bfree · · Score: 2

      Define political censorship? Is removing bad language political censorship or just social engineering? Does it make any difference? Is any censorship acceptable? Censorship of the form "you can't show this before 9pm" is ok in my book, but censorship of the form "you can't show this" is not. I don't care why some corpolitical entity wants to limit what we can broadcast, all I care about is making sure they fail in their efforts! From what I have seen of US TV it is repugnantly censored to ensure that nothing which might disturb the foundations of the political system is shown (MTV JackAss is about the only one I can think of that breaks this). As another poster mentions, Michael Moorer has to tip-toe around with what he can and can't show, try contrasting that with Mark Thomas (in the UK) who destroys anyone and anything that deserves it (from the leading politicians for not declaring their interests to the Church for investing in arms manufacturers). Now then who has no political censorship?

      --

      Never underestimate the dark side of the Source

    9. Re:Planning to see it... by Kenneth · · Score: 2

      The U.S. doesn't do political censorship. NBC can choose what they wish to air. That has nothingto do with the Government censoring something.

      NBC or any other content provider can choose to air whatever they wish and not air whatever they wish as well. I get the impression from the reading that NBC feared reprisals from advertisers for suggesting that Cuba was better than the Unites States at anything.

      Advertisers have to worry about what people buy piss off the viewer and you piss off a consumer. Piss off a consumer and your revenue drops. It's a pretty simple equation.

      Like it or not the right to speak does not equate with the right to be heard. The right to publish something does not require that people read it, and the right to air something on television does not require that advertisers purchase ad time during that slot, or with your company at all for that matter. Nor does it require that the viewing public view something that they don't want to see.

      Finally people have the right to choose what products they purchase using whatever critera they choose to use. If someone swears off a product or company because they aired a commercial during a news program that pissed them off, that is their right.

      Finally disagreeing with the parent to your post about the U.S. having more censorship on television than any other nation, I suppose that he hadn't thought about afghanistan, iraq, iran...

      Yes, the U.S. censors many things on broadcast television, less on the (almost nonexistant now) uhf band, or on cable, not at all for most pay stations.

      The key to the power of the FCC is that they are regulating something with a limited bandwidth. If the radio band isn't full, the control can be relaxed a bit, but what happens if it is? What happens if there is a single available broadcast chanel, but two applicants? The Federal Radio commision was set up to regulate such things because the available radio bands were too full. Some criteria were set up to decide what could or couldn't be done.

      If you suggest that there should be no control whatsoever, let me ask you:

      Do you use wireless networking?
      Do you use a cordless phone?
      Do you use a cell phone?
      ... a pager?
      ... a gps device?

      All of these rely on the regulation of the various regulatory bodies of various countries to stop people from stomping all over your transmission.

      For the libertarian view that everyone would be a good citizen, this didn't happen before when broadcasters demanded the creation of the FRC (later called the FCC), what makes you think things have suddenly changed?

      --
      There is a civil war coming in the United States. Remember which side has most of the guns
    10. Re:Planning to see it... by gowen · · Score: 2
      NBC can choose what they wish to air. That has nothingto do with the Government censoring something.

      Well the government doesn't censor the sex and swearing either, so if you can either say "The US has little or no censorship" (True, if you follow the "only a govt. can censor" line) or "The US has both political and moral censorship" (True, if you consider such actions of the major networks to be censorship). Either way, the original poster was wrong. I was using his definition, but in reality I agree far more with yours.

      Do you use wireless networking?
      Do you use a cordless phone?
      Do you use a cell phone?
      ... a pager?
      ... a gps device?

      For what its worth, no. I neither own nor use any of those things. I'm a kinda non-standard geek.
      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    11. Re:Planning to see it... by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      Yes, it was a bit of a let down, that and his "bowling shirt" I taped it, but don't expect to watch it again.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    12. Re:Planning to see it... by ackthpt · · Score: 2
      While the US has the most censorship on TV than problably any other nation, they don't do political censorship.

      And there was a play on Kirk's famous scene when he tied to smooch Anne Robinson. Shatner's kiss scene with Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, back in the 60's was too hot for NBC, a white man kissing a black woman, so lip contact was hidden.

      That was obsviously the reply of someone who knows little of what they write.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    13. Re:Planning to see it... by Monkeyman334 · · Score: 1

      Hmmm.. Did the US send it to court and shut them down? Or did a bunch of network execs shut it down? (I really don't know)

    14. Re:Planning to see it... by Monkeyman334 · · Score: 1

      Of course they sensor sex and swearing and violence. They recently pushed mtv to switch to a later time. The network (MTV) obviously didn't want to move it, it was one of their highest rated shows. But it's on at 10:00 now. Did they prevent it from getting out to the people? No. What they did is made it so less people can get access to it. And that happens all over the place (explicit lyric labels, nc-17 ratings, etc). So what I really meant was they have a lot of rules and regulations on media. Which fits the definition of censoring like a glove: "to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable."

  16. Wil Wheaton, actor, dead at 28 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    I just heard on the radio that Richard William Wheaton III (Wil Wheaton's full name) was found dead today at his home in LA. We will all remember his wonderful performances as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek:TNG and Gordie Lachance on Stand By Me. Recently he appeared as a contestant on the television gameshow "The Weakest Link". Wil has contributed much to society, and I'm sure he will be greatly missed by the readers of Slashdot.

    1. Re:Wil Wheaton, actor, dead at 28 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cmdr Taco found dead...
      Later in an interview Taco would say "What? I'm dead? Dam"

      The dead Taco would intervew the dead Will Wheaton..

      Other deaths...
      Bill Gates died when someone infected his computer with the "Install Linux" virus.. This was 6 months ago and only just now realised it.. the resulting heart attack killed him..
      Later he would said "Hay I just thought Windows was actually running faster..."
      Later reserch would show the famous 7 nines was actually preformed by Linux after the install Linux virus hit the Windows 2000 test box.

      and finally the AC who posts the death reports turns out to have died decades ago...
      Murdered by a man for having reported his death as a joke...
      "I guess not everyone can take a joke... I mean that midevil -1 off topic mod down is painful... I'm sure greatful it's been refined by Slashdot"

  17. I quit watching Weakest Link by sessamoid · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The problem with WL is that the brightest out of the bunch almost never wins. By logic, when it gets down to the last 3 or 4, it's in the best interests of the other players to vote out the player who is clearly the strongest. This has happened on almost every single episode I've watched, sometimes quite a bit earlier in the game as well.

    The few exceptions tend to be those episodes that are made up of celebrities from a similar background. They're generally all independently wealthy, so aren't driven by personal gain. In addition, they've all got "personal history" between them which often leads them to vote off other players without regards to what would give them the best chances of winning.

    It's nice to see the EFF getting national publicity though, as I'm a paying member myself.

    In all, though, when I watch game shows (not often) I tend to watch Jeopardy for the reasons stated above.

    --
    "No, no, no. Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
    1. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by John+Harrison · · Score: 5, Informative
      I just watched the episode. In general I agree with you. However, these people were simply trying to see how much money they could put into the pot, and they put A LOT in. $167,500 if I remember correctly. And in the end it came down to the two strongest, which rarely happens.

      BTW, the EFF and all the other charites (except for the winner's) receive $10,000 according to the fine print at the end of the show.

    2. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      [...] as I'm a paying member myself.

      Hey guy - you cannot propel yourself forward by patting your own back.

    3. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Legion303 · · Score: 3, Funny
      The problem with WL is that the brightest out of the bunch almost never wins. By logic, when it gets down to the last 3 or 4, it's in the best interests of the other players to vote out the player who is clearly the strongest.

      Just like Wil tried to vote off Robert, the brightest of the bunch.

      Wil was far from the smartest contestant.

      -Legion

    4. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is how it usually happens, but it looked like during this show they were actually voting out the worst and keeping the best, so the winning charity would get the most money it could. The fact that none of the players was winning any money this time probably had something to do with it.

    5. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Jack_of_Hearts · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That's why the truly intelligent player misses a few questions here and there on purpose. It's clearly an advantage to be the second or third strongest player going into the second to last round, so if you're really that good then you'll fix it that way. Of course, when it's celebrities playing for charity the strategy is completely different.

    6. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no shit, it's just a realitiy television show grafted onto a gameshow (or a reality show in disguise).

    7. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just like Wil tried to vote off Robert, the brightest of the bunch.

      When Wil voted for Robert, it was a choice between him or Levar... and Levar actually won, remember?

      Wil was far from the smartest contestant.

      Not very far. He seemed pretty flustered on the round he got kicked out (and the round previous, to a lesser extent), but when he was keeping his cool he did quite well. He finished third out of 8 contestants, and if I were trying to rank by "IQ" that's probably about where he'd fall as well.

    8. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Syberghost · · Score: 2

      Just like Wil tried to vote off Robert, the brightest of the bunch.

      Have you met Robert? He's an asshole, I'd have voted him off too.

      I wonder if Roxann Dawson was really pissed off, or if she too was playing a bit that fell flat there at the end when she complained about Wil hitting on her. It could be either, because Wil did come off a bit too strong on that "little bit in love" comment.

    9. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Legion303 · · Score: 2
      When Wil voted for Robert, it was a choice between him or Levar... and Levar actually won, remember?

      Yes. But I'm assuming Wil can't predict the future, and Robert was "stronger" up til then. He tried to vote off the strongest link at that point.

      Not very far. He seemed pretty flustered on the round he got kicked out (and the round previous, to a lesser extent), but when he was keeping his cool he did quite well. He finished third out of 8 contestants, and if I were trying to rank by "IQ" that's probably about where he'd fall as well.

      Finishing third doesn't mean he was the third smartest person on the team, only that he wasn't voted off. In contrast, I've seen a few shows where the two overall dumbest people ended up in the final round (in one episode, the "strongest" link stumbled onto a right answer and won 1-0).

      Moderators: does my parent article *really* deserve a +4? Come on, now.

      -Legion

    10. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have to wonder though... did Robert throw the game? IMHO he KNEW it was Hirohito and he deliberately mispronounced the name. What charity was he playing for anyway? Maybe he felt guilty and wanted to let the black guy win for a change?

    11. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by theancient2 · · Score: 1

      when it gets down to the last 3 or 4, it's in the best interests of the other players to vote out the player who is clearly the strongest

      I always enjoy it when Anne stresses that the point of the game is to vote out the weakest player. It makes me wonder if the players on the British version don't use the "vote out my enemies" strategy as employed by the U.S. contestants. It appears from this episode that voting out the actual weakest players will get you the most money in the end... so I wonder if that's really a better strategy.

    12. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hello, Adolf.

    13. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Golias · · Score: 1
      But I'm assuming Wil can't predict the future, and Robert was "stronger" up til then. He tried to vote off the strongest link at that point.

      Not exactly... Picardo was the "strongest link" in the previous round, but Burton was kicking serious ass for the entire night. It's been a few hours now since I saw it, but I don't recall that he missed very many questions at all.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    14. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by mvdwege · · Score: 1

      sessamoid wrote:

      The problem with WL is that the brightest out of the bunch almost never wins. By logic, when it gets down to the last 3 or 4, it's in the best interests of the other players to vote out the player who is clearly the strongest. This has happened on almost every single episode I've watched, sometimes quite a bit earlier in the game as well.

      Frankly, although a very human thing to do, this is actually the dumbest strategy to use on 'The Weakest Link', as it is the stronger players that fill the pot by giving correct answers. Remember that there is a geometric progression in the prize money for every right answer. In fact, Anne Robinson keeps harping on that during the entire show (at least on the British shows). Perhaps the US candidates are too dumb to see this?

      Mart
      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    15. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by CProgrammer98 · · Score: 1


      The strategy here in the UK is exactly the same - vote off the biggest threat to you. Very often, they vote off the strongest link.

      --
      And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
    16. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by devjoe · · Score: 1

      The thing is, among the US candidates, there is rarely more than 1 very bright contestant on the show, so the geometric progression bit never gets above about $10,000, and the players grow to expect this and bank at $5000 or $2500 and as a result they're lucky to get $80,000 by the end of the game most times.

      By the time there are just 3 contestants left, when there is 1 obviously strongest link among them, there is little reason to do anything but vote that person off -- it's a matter of playing a relative equal, say 50% chance, to win $70,000 vs. a poor chance of winning maybe $80,000 you might get up to playing together with the stronger link in the last money round.

      Last night's show was the first time in the history of the US show that I have seen 3 strong contestants on the show who all survived the voting out of the weaker links. They realized they were doing well and let the banks build up in the last 3 rounds, resulting in them making more than any other group yet on the US show and about twice the typical total.

    17. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Erasmus+Darwin · · Score: 1
      "I always enjoy it when Anne stresses that the point of the game is to vote out the weakest player."

      That drives me crazy -- not because I disagree with voting off the weakest link, but because I disagree with Anne's criteria. The evaluation used focuses exclusively on questions missed, with zero regard for banking strategy or time wasted. For the most part, the criteria used is good enough, but there've been too many cases where Anne has failed to recognize the person who wasted an extra 20 seconds getting a question wrong but didn't have the lowest total as being the actual weakest player.

    18. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by CleverNickName · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Just FYI-

      The three of us left knew that I was going to be voted off...I totally tanked in that round. So I was going to vote for Levar, but Anne was grilling us between each round, and I thought I could have more fun with her, talking about how Levar is my friend, and I didn't know Robert at all...thought maybe I could get in some comments about how we TNG actors have to stick together, or something...but they didn't air any of that exchange.

      Yes, voting off someone who you KNEW was the strongest would be insanely stupid...but we all knew that my vote wouldn't count for anything, since I was doomed, anyway.

    19. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by big_nipples · · Score: 1

      Wil - do you think they purposely edited it to make you come off as a jerk?

      The only non-pretentious words of yours they aired were your comments after being voted off.

      BN

      --
      BN
    20. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Fredbo · · Score: 1

      Hmmmm if you were playing for the money for yourselves, I could see eliminating any threats. But it was all for charity... no matter who wins, it is for a worthy cause, I can't see why you wouldn't let the best man win.

    21. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by ocelotbob · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but they were playing for different charities - Wil wanted the loot to go to the EFF and so he would try his damndest to make sure that it did get there. He may not have personally benefitted, but he did have a good amount of motivation.

      --

      Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses

    22. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by bark76 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm sorry, I don't think I can respect you after you got the Orvile Redenbacher question wrong. Not to mention how long it took you to multiply 4 * 21.

      The funniest part of the show (next to William Shatner hitting on the host) was when Denise Crosby was asked 'What is the national anthem of Canada?' and she replied 'Oh...Canada?'

    23. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by xinit · · Score: 1

      Being Canadian, I was more surprised and amused by her look of absolute shock and excitement that she was RIGHT. I laughed throughout this show; one that I can rarely stand to watch.

      --
      --- http://foo.ca
    24. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by xinit · · Score: 1

      I started watching the show last night simply to ensure that you lasted longer than Shatner. I'm thinking that most people could have, but I'm still glad.

      --
      --- http://foo.ca
    25. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by CleverNickName · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hmmmm if you were playing for the money for yourselves, I could see eliminating any threats. But it was all for charity... no matter who wins, it is for a worthy cause, I can't see why you wouldn't let the best man win.

      This is *exactly* the idea we all had, and why I was glad to be voted off. I blew some really easy answers, because I choked, and my brain skipped ahead...I mean, Paul Newman? C'mon! The worst thing was, with that one, and the ACE bandage one, as the words were coming out of my mouth, my brain was screaming at me "YOU'RE WRONG, ASSHOLE! YOU BLEW IT! SHUT UP, WESLEY!"

    26. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Legion303 · · Score: 2
      Yes, voting off someone who you KNEW was the strongest would be insanely stupid...but we all knew that my vote wouldn't count for anything, since I was doomed, anyway.

      First of all, congratulations on being part of a record-winning WL team. Anne said things like "...a paltry $23,000 in the first round" even though Sunday night's team had something like $7,000 at the end of round 3.

      How often do you watch the show? Voting off the strongest link in the late stages is actually a good strategy in game theory (if you're playing to win); I've seen many shows where the two weaker contestants did just that.

      And now that you're on this thread, I'd like to ask a few questions about the show, if you don't mind: What is Anne like when the cameras aren't rolling? What's the deal with the $500 amount (You can't bank when it's on $1,000, but $500 is added every so often at the end of a round)? Do you know why no other original series members played?

      When Roxann left the stage, there was a close shot of her blowing a kiss and mouthing, "I love you." If that was in your direction (as it seemed to be), then why is she saying you were rude and "coming on to" her? I would have dismissed it as an act if I hadn't seen her poor acting skills on the few Voyager episodes I could stomach and if I hadn't seen Slashdot posts to the effect that you wanted to apologize to her.

      Someone also mentioned that you were shocked when a producer called you arrogant. If you were acting arrogant for the show--and my wife says you seemed fairly humble on the Diary-L list a while back, so I tend to believe her--then people who are seeing you for the first time (like me) are going to think you're arrogant, even if people who know you know different.

      -Legion

    27. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Vonatar · · Score: 1

      She seemed really personable on the Late Late Show w/ Craig Kilbourne a few weeks ago. Came out smiling wide enough to shock the host, but there wasn't much to the few minute interview.

      --
      "Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it."
    28. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by CleverNickName · · Score: 5, Informative

      And now that you're on this thread, I'd like to ask a few questions about the show, if you don't mind: What is Anne like when the cameras aren't rolling? What's the deal with the $500 amount (You can't bank when it's on $1,000, but $500 is added every so often at the end of a round)? Do you know why no other original series members played?

      When I ran into her backstage (literally. crashed right into her), she was really nice. She was all smiles, warmly shook my hand, and all that. It was really cool. She even made a comment about how she wasn't supposed to be nice to us, and she'd better put on her 'mean' face.

      When Roxann left the stage, there was a close shot of her blowing a kiss and mouthing, "I love you." If that was in your direction (as it seemed to be), then why is she saying you were rude and "coming on to" her? I would have dismissed it as an act if I hadn't seen her poor acting skills on the few Voyager episodes I could stomach and if I hadn't seen Slashdot posts to the effect that you wanted to apologize to her.


      I have no idea what was going on with her. I had forgotten that she voted for me in the first round, and I really did think that she was playing with me. That's why I said that I was voting for her out of spite, because I thought she got the joke...but when we were in commercial breaks, and I tried to make sure that we were cool, she totally wouldn't talk to me, and was kinda cool and snippy towards me. After seeing her comments at the end of the show, I guess she really was pissed at me. Which made me feel really badly, because I never meant any disrespect, or anything like that.

      Someone also mentioned that you were shocked when a producer called you arrogant. If you were acting arrogant for the show--and my wife says you seemed fairly humble on the Diary-L list a while back, so I tend to believe her--then people who are seeing you for the first time (like me) are going to think you're arrogant, even if people who know you know different.


      Yeah. Thing is, I've done hundreds of shows for small, live, comedy club audiences in the past year. I was really playing to that studio audience, who totally got the joke. I should have been playing to the home audience, but I didn't think of that until later. I also think that the producer was saying that to get a rise out of me. They do that, you know. They want to get you riled up, so they can take the most indignant, bitchy, or nasty soundbyte and use it. I was very aware of that, and didn't want to fall into that trap. That may be why Roxann came off so mean towards me. She may have said funny things, and that's the only one they took.*shrug*

      Bottom line is, I got 10K for the EFF, and that makes me happy. I also got to raise awareness for the EFF, and that is way more important to me than some stupid thing between two actors, or how I'm percieved.

    29. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by sessamoid · · Score: 2

      No, it's the logical thing to do. The final winnings are generally mostly generated by the early rounds in most episodes anyway, as the questions are much easier. A somewhat larger pot does no good if you're pretty sure you can't beat a much better player. So eliminating the better player, especially when it's down to just 3 left, is the smartest thing to do.

      --
      "No, no, no. Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
    30. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by John+Harrison · · Score: 2
      Wil,

      Thanks for being so cool. We (ok, I) appreciate having a high-profile geek out there! And I bet you show more often than RMS. And your shirt was certainly funnier than his halo.

    31. Re:I quit watching Weakest Link by Fjord · · Score: 1

      Yup, but you always bank beforehand. Nothing gets you voted off faster than not banking a streak and then missing a question

      --
      -no broken link
  18. That's the idea... by Kenshin · · Score: 1

    Would you actually WATCH the show if she wasn't a total bitch? Seriously, that's the best part of the show: watching her chew out the contestants.

    --

    Does it make you happy you're so strange?

    1. Re:That's the idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd rather watch her chew out contestants than vice-versa. The thoughts of her skanky pussy are enough to make me take up projectile vomiting as a hobby.

    2. Re:That's the idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if most people would but I would consider watching the show if the host weren't mean to the guests. I realize it's all an act but I don't see the point in it and after watching only a handful of episodes I find the repetition in the taunts to be remarkably UNentertaining. A friend told me NBC was once considering replacing the host with Kelsey Grammer and having him be courteous. I think I'd watch that show. I never watch the show now (with the exception of watching this Star Trek celebrity episode).

  19. Not sure what happened by Quintin+Stone · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty certain I didn't submit it as an "Ask Slashdot" category, but it's possible it was a slip up on my part. If it was, my apologies.

    --

    "Prejudice is wrong; you should hate everyone the same."

  20. Wil Wheaton is cool by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The more I read about the guy, the more I like him. I admit, I didn't like Westley Crusher, and each time I saw Wil appear on TV or say something as himself, I had this dislike of his character come back in my mind. It's sad isn't it, mixing the actor with the character. But now having read what he had to say, and looked at his website, I reckon he's really smart, and I believe he has a real good chance of getting his career out of the "child star" trap : not many child actors can, just look at how many times Mcaulay Culkin has appeared in movies or shows recently ...

    Way to go Wil, you deserve success !

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And now his site is /.ed. For a person gushing with admiration for Wil, I'm surprised at how devastating your comments were...

    2. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by devonh · · Score: 1, Funny

      agreed! i've actually been reading his site for quite a while.. and if he wasn't married, i think i'd have a bit of a crush on him! :)

      - dev0n (www.dev0n.com)

    3. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 1

      Three unrelated followup comments:

      The actor who played "Renko" (?) in Hill Street Blues (?Charles Haid?) came to New Zealand many years ago (when HSB was still running) for some charity fundraising, and I heard him speak. The contrast between him (discussing the character of Renko as a 'Shakespearian low comic') and the character was stunning.

      Anna Paquin has managed the transition from child star to adult career pretty well. So did Christina Ricci. I don't think it is rare.

      I hated the Westley Crusher character too. I saw the pilot of ST:TNG and the only thing that made it bearable was compiling the list of the order in which I'd space the characters. (He was second after the empath.) I pretty much haven't watched ST since.

      --
      Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
    4. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by cancrman · · Score: 2

      "The moose out front should have told you."

      Always a sucker for an appropriate Vacation quote.

      Heh.

      --
      The sole purpose of the Internet is to get porn and bomb making plans into the hands of children.
    5. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by Trinn · · Score: 1

      That's quite hard to believe. I personally actually quite liked Wesley Crusher...
      As for Deana Troi, until she went on some kind of diet, she was quite attractive, and one of my favorite sights on the show...
      But that's just my opinion.
      _______________________________________Trinn
      (you were expecting maybe the Grinch?)

    6. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by ErikZ · · Score: 1

      Yes, but Christina Ricci developed a huge pair of knockers.

      Even if you knew who she was, you wouldn't see the child star in her. She became an adult, had some name power, didn't screw up the jobs that came her way. Ta da. Success.

      --
      Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
    7. Re:Wil Wheaton is cool by kaimiike1970 · · Score: 1

      Maybe he will get to be on NYPD Blue. It seems that is the preferred cure for childactoritis. First that Silver Spoons guy then the Save By The Bell guy. Wil Wheaton seems like a natural...

      --


      Do a google search before posting.
  21. what a waste by tavern · · Score: 0, Troll

    granted i believe the eff is a wonderful thing, but as a charity? look at the other people -- they were playing for women's human rights, or children. those are charities. the eff as a charity does not even come close.

    1. Re:what a waste by 1010011010 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, freedom is not nearly as important as children.

      Not.

      --
      Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
    2. Re:what a waste by glwtta · · Score: 1

      "children" is a charity? where are they based?

      I am sure Children can stand to lose ten grand in favour of our geeky rights. This whole "my charity is better than your charity" business is just rubbish.

      --
      sic transit gloria mundi
    3. Re:what a waste by Artifex · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have to agree with this. With starvation-related deaths in Afghanistan (conceivably going over a million) as just the most obvious example, there are better ways to spend the money. Sure, the EFF is cool. General human rights is even cooler. But... let's keep people from dying of things like starvation, disease, and our own political expediency before we worry too much about their rights - or ours.

      Wil, I like ya - I really do. I just have to wonder, though - if you had a million dollars to invest on a cause, why you'd pick the EFF. I hope it wasn't just because of some 31337 haxor image or something...

      Disaster and famine relief organizations (I'm thinking Mercy Corps, not the Red Cross), Doctors Without Borders, CARE, and UNICEF have relatively low administrative overheads (Mercy Corps claims 5%!) and work to stop people from dying. If slashdotters want to concentrate on helping people at home, plenty of homeless shelters and havens for abused and/or addicted women and children, not to mention any number of cancer and disease societies and, yes, famine relief organizations in almost every city, also are desperate for funding.

      --
      Get off my launchpad!
    4. Re:what a waste by naasking · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Before you can help others, you have to help yourself. You're no help to someone if you're in just as bad a situation as they are (albeit different circumstances). Freedom is very important, more important than food, shelter or anything else you can possibly think of. I would rather starve free, then live a comfortable, oppressed life.

      When freedom prevails, the ingenuity and inventiveness of people creates incredible wealth. This is the source
      of the natural improvement of the human condition.

      ~ Brian S. Wesbury ~


      In order to truly help these countries, we must provide them with a model upon which to build. If the free world (not just US) can provide this example, then that is a worthy goal. No amount of free giving will solve the causes of those problems; they will just temporarily alleviate the suffering.

      To sum it up: there is no point helping someone survive starvation, war, or any other form of suffering, if all you do is buy them a life of slavery. That is why freedom is important.

    5. Re:what a waste by EllisDees · · Score: 1

      Funny that you mention that. The place I work has an 'employee giving campaign' and a list of charities that they consider 'acceptable'. After I looked through the list and didn't find the EFF, I wrote it in for a $20 a month contribution. Surprisingly, I received a notification that my contribution would start in January without any problem at all. Extra cool, since they match any donation by 15%. :)

      --
      -- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
    6. Re:what a waste by dillon_rinker · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's because the Red Freakin' Cross has so much money they don't know what to do with it. Maybe it's because any dolt can understand "it's for the children!" and see the point in supporting it. Maybe it's because so few people GET how important the EFF is and Wil wanted to point that out. Maybe it's because he was playing for what was important to him...his freedom. Note that all the things you note (homeless shelters, havens for abused people, etc.) are large recipients of governmental funds. Maybe he picked the EFF instead of one of those other charities because no one is trying to pass any bills in Congress to make it easier to harass women or abuse children but a whole bunch of people just voted to eliminate some of your electronic freedoms.

      Feel free to think Wil's wrong...I don't want to invalidate your opinion; just wanted to give you some food for thought. You work for what you think is important and the rest of us will do likewise and hopefully we can make the world a little better. I just hate to see everyone's efforts concentrated on the obvious problems. We've got 6 billion people in the world...it's not like we don't have enough effort to go around.

    7. Re:what a waste by Bodrius · · Score: 1

      Defining the rules by which technology will affect society (including children, women, et al) seems like something important. Particularly since that will define what rights, human or not, they will have in the future.

      To put things in perspective, what helped the most to eliminate starvation since the industrial revolution? Industrialization and the modernization of society, or the civil and religious charities for the poor?

      --
      Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2=4, everything else follows...
    8. Re:what a waste by belg4mit · · Score: 1

      What is life (not dying of starvation)
      without rights?

      --
      Were that I say, pancakes?
    9. Re:what a waste by Sloppy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're right, it's not a charity. It's an activist organization. And it's worth more than almost any charity. It's for improving the future instead of putting a bandaid on the present.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    10. Re:what a waste by blair1q · · Score: 2


      Freedom for your children is as important as freedom and children put together.

      --Blair

    11. Re:what a waste by PD · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Your comments reflect a common sentiment, but it's not logical to take that position. Here's why:

      1) First statement (yours) summed up neatly: why play for charity A when charity B appears to address a more pressing need. That is where you stopped thinking about it and reached a conclusion.

      2) The conclusion was premature: one can go further - why play for charity B when charity C is addressing an even more pressing need. But that's not the end of it either.

      3) The set of all charities is finite, meaning that if you continually favor the charity that address the more important need, then eventually you will find THE charity that addresses the MOST important need. That is where you stop. Give them your money.

      4) Unfortunately, that situation leads to starvation. If you accept the first idea as true, (the one that you offered) then only one charity can logically be funded. Obviously, this is a far worse situation than we intended,

      5) Therefore, we must reject the original premise as leading to an undesirable outcome, and therefore flawed for purposes of efficiently distributing money to charity.

      The insult "get a life" is similarly flawed. At the end of the chain of thinking, one must live as the finest human being ever, and to be any lesser earns the "get a life" smackdown. One could offer my argument that I gave above as a logical retort. Or, one could simply offer a middle finger and a "hearty colloquialism".

    12. Re:what a waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some overworked parents I know value what little freedom from their children they can get ;)

    13. Re:what a waste by pressman · · Score: 2

      When it comes to charity, it's not about who or what is the better organization, but that someone cares enough to donate to the cause at all. In the current political climate, my personal charity would be donating to wither the NYFD or to an organization benefiting those starving and freezing in Afhanistan. Wil chose the EFF, a worthy organization. Not my choice presently but I respect his choice. Will you made it to the final three! Way to go!

      --
      Pooty tweet
    14. Re:what a waste by gnovos · · Score: 1

      Sure, the EFF is cool. General human rights is even cooler. But... let's keep people from dying of things like starvation, disease, and our own political expediency before we worry too much about their rights - or ours.

      Don't fall into this trap. A perfect "Brave New World" society complete with decanted babies and forced euthanasia for the elderly would give us a "Utopia" of sorts. Sure we wouldn't be able to think or act how we wish, we would not be able to choose our occupations or our friends, we couldn't raise our practice our own religions, but there would be no suffering, no disease, no starvation, no murders...

      Worst case scenario, if we completely give up on helping the poor and wretched, and instead focus on our freedoms, the next generation of us can still come back and help them someday. However, if we give up our freedoms now to help those in need, our children won't find it so easy to win them back...

      --
      "Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
    15. Re:what a waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ahh yes and American Imperialism rears its ugly head once more. The only right way is the American way. Just because the United States built its wealth on the exploitation of natives, slaves, and the destruction of MOST of the natural resources of the north american continent does not mean that the same thing will happen in other parts of the world, since they do not have most of those advantages.

    16. Re:what a waste by p3d0 · · Score: 1

      Oh Christ, not again. If every damn dollar isn't spent preventing people from starving, then it's wasted. That's certainly an easy moral position to take, isn't it?

      --
      Patrick Doyle
      I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
    17. Re:what a waste by cavemanf16 · · Score: 1
      I have to completely agree with you. You stand up for your families freedoms first, then your friends, then your own, and if you have the ability to, people halfway around the world too. Seriously, there's plenty of Northern Alliance fighters in Afghanistan that decided they weren't going to be bullied around by the Taliban, no matter the cost. I'm not keen on sending a bunch of food and money that will end up going to the Taliban anyways on behalf of some poor, unthinking bums who are happy to let others dictate how they should live their lives and what they should believe in (killing innocents by crashing planes into towers).

      Certainly that is not EVERYONE's situation over there, but when you let your government push you around long enough, sooner or later your freedoms have all been taken away, and you too are wishing some filthy rich soul halfway around the world wasn't so busy defending his own rights in his own country so that he could spare you a warm meal.

    18. Re:what a waste by Robotech_Master · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When you get on The Weakest Link, then you can decide where you want your money to go. I have to say I agree with all the other people--the EFF is an important foundation, now more than ever, what with the terrorist backlash seriously threatening our civil liberties. It's not just about whether we can watch DVDs on Linux, you know.

      --
      Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
    19. Re:what a waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      aren't you someones child, you fucking asshole lackwit fuckface?

    20. Re:what a waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Where's "+10, God's Almighty Word" when you need it?

      This is one of the best displays of sarcastic logic I've seen in quite a while.

    21. Re:what a waste by jcr · · Score: 2

      if you had a million dollars to invest on a cause, why you'd pick the EFF

      When it's *your* million dollars, you get to pick where to spend it.

      Personally, I'm very happy that people like John Gilmore are spending millions of dollars to fight for my liberty.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    22. Re:what a waste by Ziviyr · · Score: 1

      If every damn dollar isn't spent preventing people from starving, then it's wasted. That's certainly an easy moral position to take, isn't it?

      Not really, if a pair of these people generate more than a pair of offspring in an area that can't support it, and if this pair represents an average you can say its just making the problem worse.

      A pretty gritty moral position there.

      --

      Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
    23. Re:what a waste by bgarcia · · Score: 2
      Your comments reflect a common sentiment, but it's not logical to take that position.
      Cool!

      First we have Wil Wheaton on Slashdot, and now Leonard Nimoy!

      --
      I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
    24. Re:what a waste by naasking · · Score: 1

      Where did I mention any of what you said? I was talking about establishing a country of freedom, not exploiting resources and slaves. Do you understand freedom? Freedom means no slavery. And I never said anything about the American way as the right way. I'm Canadian, and to be perfectly honest, I prefer the state we're in than the US is getting itself into. The point still stands though: we must still fight for our freedoms. We must still spend money defending our rights even while people are starving because there's no use saving someone's life if you sell their soul into slavery.

    25. Re:what a waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's tough for children (or anyone else) to care much for freedom when they're starving or subjected to routine physical abuse.

    26. Re:what a waste by The+Ape+With+No+Name · · Score: 1

      Occam's Razor: Since sorting by need is inefficient, one should sort by interest.

      But isn't this dangerous as interest can be influenced by coercion. Hence, more interest can be found in particulars who are the focus of powerful agents. These agents are able to influence other less powerful agents' interest toward certain particulars to the deteriment of other particulars who have no powerful agents in their corner.

      Just muttering... But I will say that PD's post is the best I've seen in a while. Do I get good karma for that?

      --
      Comparing it to Windows will be a moot point, since El Dorado is going to have a 40% larger code base than XP.
    27. Re:what a waste by markbthomas · · Score: 1

      Ummm.. surely if they're routinely physically abused then the first thing they want if freedom.

      :)

    28. Re:what a waste by The+Breeze · · Score: 1

      Without the EFF and other organizations fighting for free speech, we would never find out about the suffering children in the first place. Our happy-happy-joy-joy consumerist soceity is geared towards suppressing unpleasant things and anything that takes people's mind off of shopping...

      oh, and I'm a right-wing Republican, too. Doesn't stop me from thinking that corporations have bought off our government...and would love to clamp down on free expression when it gets in the way of profits. I applaud Wil for publicizing the EFF.

    29. Re:what a waste by madmancarman · · Score: 1
      Disaster and famine relief organizations (I'm thinking Mercy Corps, not the Red Cross), Doctors Without Borders, CARE, and UNICEF have relatively low administrative overheads (Mercy Corps claims 5%!) and work to stop people from dying. If slashdotters want to concentrate on helping people at home, plenty of homeless shelters and havens for abused and/or addicted women and children, not to mention any number of cancer and disease societies and, yes, famine relief organizations in almost every city, also are desperate for funding.

      Maybe it's just me, but after the Red Cross were less than forthcoming about what they were going to do with all the money raised to help out the September 11th terrorist attacks and then destroyed excess blood donations instead of passing them on, I have a hard time supporting them.

      There are definitely charities that do a lot of good, but I think it's up to each individual to choose how they want to contribute. If someone wants to contribute to the EFF, then at least they're contributing to something.

      As for the Red Cross, if they can't handle a national crisis when the country turned to them first and gave so much, then maybe they should step aside and let another organization do it. I helped raise $1,500 through the high school where I teach, and when I found out they weren't going to use all the money for the terrorist attacks, I felt used. Fortunately, they've changed their minds and decided to do the right thing, but I will never ever donate to the Red Cross again, nor will I support them.

      First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. -Ghandi

      --
      First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Gandhi
    30. Re:what a waste by spankfish · · Score: 2

      Worst case scenario, if we completely give up on helping the poor and wretched, and instead focus on our freedoms, the next generation of us can still come back and help them someday.

      Not if they're dead.

      --

      NO TOUCH MONKEY!
    31. Re:what a waste by Computer! · · Score: 2

      Someone please mod this up, +1, Funny!

      --
      If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
    32. Re:what a waste by ProfKyne · · Score: 1

      Wil, I like ya - I really do. I just have to wonder, though - if you had a million dollars to invest on a cause, why you'd pick the EFF. I hope it wasn't just because of some 31337 haxor image or something...

      Let's try not to forget that there are certain rights that we need to protect -- and that does require financial support in a capitalist system like the one in the US -- in order to then go on to help others, no matter how much more "needy" those other causes may appear.

      Everyone takes for granted the freedom to post their thoughts to sites like SlashDot (just look at the crap that gets posted on this site). The EFF does its best to make sure that we can continue to do so. Do you think that we would even be aware of half of the problems in the world without freedom of communication?

      Right now, there are far too many ways in which basic rights of communication are being trampled on, and I'm not referring to the freedom to swap MP3s. The EFF is one of the only organizations that is dedicated specifically to protecting these rights.

      --
      "First you gotta do the truffle shuffle."
  22. Wil lost, but EFF is still a winner! by leonbev · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to the disclaimer screen at the end of the show, all of the charities get at least $10,000. So, even though Wil lost, EFF still gets some money. Besides, the free publicity that Wil just gave EFF is probably worth much more than the donation.

    Everyone also got paid union scale to appear on the show, so Wil got a few bucks out of the deal, as well.

    1. Re:Wil lost, but EFF is still a winner! by dimator · · Score: 2

      Thanks for saving me the hassle of watching that shitty show! The host's bitchiness got old after about half an episode.

      --
      python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
    2. Re:Wil lost, but EFF is still a winner! by Farmer+Jimbo · · Score: 1

      You realize that anyone with half a' brain would surmise the outcome of the show from the your thread title alone? I know that only counts for a minority of slashdot users, but still...

  23. Re:He lost. by Imperial+Tacohead · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    What I fail to understand is why you would say sorry instead of HITTING THE FREAKING DELETE KEY. Maybe I'm just stupid.

  24. The bitch on the show wasn't Ann this time but... by b0r0din · · Score: 1

    Roxanne. What was with her? Umm, honey, he wasn't hitting on you. He's married.

    Also, apparently the Star Trek cast made the most of any team yet, 167, 000. Wil was pretty damn good, too. Loved the shirt.

  25. They were able to bank $167,500! by Hylian · · Score: 5, Informative

    All of the contestants seemed to pretty much rock at one time or another on the questions... much better than on the average celebrity game show. LeVar Burton mentioned something about $167,500 being some sort of Weakest Link record.

    Just in case anyone was wondering, here are the contestants:

    Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG)
    LeVar Burton (ST:TNG)
    Robert Picardo (ST:VOY)
    Denise Crosby (ST:TNG)
    Roxann Dawson (ST:VOY)
    John DeLancie (ST:TNG,DS9,VOY)
    William Shatner (ST:TOS)
    Armin Shimerman (ST:DS9)

    1. Re:They were able to bank $167,500! by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 2
      "Just in case anyone was wondering, here are the contestants:

      Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG)
      LeVar Burton (ST:TNG)
      Robert Picardo (ST:VOY)
      Denise Crosby (ST:TNG)
      Roxann Dawson (ST:VOY)
      John DeLancie (ST:TNG,DS9,VOY)
      William Shatner (ST:TOS)
      Armin Shimerman (ST:DS9)

      Can you guess the first contestant to be voted out ? (hint: his center of gravity has been shifting forward for years)

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  26. Offtopic? by Quintin+Stone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not offtopic, it's a damn good quetion. When Roxann (Engineer B'Elanna Torres from Voyager) was voted off, she put on a bit of a hissy fit in the "exit interview". She especially singled out Wil Wheaton for "hitting on her" when he knew her husband would be watching.

    --

    "Prejudice is wrong; you should hate everyone the same."

  27. Re:Ask Slashdot? by NetSettler · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Re: How the [...] does this qualify for "ask slashdot"? Ask implies a question.

    Sounds like a question you want to--er,--ask Slashdot. I guess they were just thinking ahead...

    --

    Kent M Pitman
    Philosopher, Technologist, Writer

  28. Payroll deductions... by AtariDatacenter · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If the EFF worked with corporations to offer payroll deductions like the United Way does, I'd be happy to donate a portion of my salary to the EFF. It really was a pleasant surprise to see Wil ("that's one L!") playing for that charity.

    1. Re:Payroll deductions... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why wouldn't you be happy to donate a portion of your salary if you can't do a payroll deduction?

    2. Re:Payroll deductions... by AtariDatacenter · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You're an AC, so I almost thought of writing this off as an Eliza response. However, in fairness, this question does deserve an answer.

      Under the United Way payroll deductions, I can pledge $500 to be taken out of my payroll, automatically, paycheck by paycheck, over the course of a year. Since I am paid bi-monthly, it is only $20/paycheck.

      The advantage to me is that this is completely automatic. However, to do the same without automatic payroll deduction would require a great deal of dedication on my behalf.

      The United Way has learned that they can reliably get a higher level of donations through the course of a year by working with corporations to do an automatic payroll deduction, versus asking employees to pledge a certain amount.

      If the EFF should pursue such a method, and target companies that are more focused on Internet related business, perhaps they could find themselves a better revenue stream than traditional one-time donations.

    3. Re:Payroll deductions... by Farmer+Jimbo · · Score: 1

      If then EFF is a registered non-profit (like a 501 (c) (3), the company and the employee could reduce their tax liability with even an informal program of matching. One of the advantages to a payroll deduction of course would be a pre-tax decution rather than claiming it. 1040's are a bitch and only help those who have a morgatge.

    4. Re:Payroll deductions... by LWolenczak · · Score: 1

      It would be easy to do, just go talk to your accounting department. They can make neccessary arangments. The only thing with the united way is what you can have taken out of your check, goes to what your company donates, besides, the United Way and The Red Cross have tooo much money as it is.

    5. Re:Payroll deductions... by SicariusMan · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually you can have the EFF deducted from you payroll. You make your deduction throught the United Way and on the form you can elect where your money goes. You can choose from one of the United Way Charities, or you can donate to any 501c3 tax-exempt organization. On the donor form check the Specific Requests, code 99 is usually the one for 501c3 charities and include a statement saying which 501c3 charity, you want your money going to, along with their address. I personally give to the FSF through the united way, but plan on including the EFF sometime soon.

    6. Re:Payroll deductions... by Superfreak · · Score: 1

      The United Way has learned that they can reliably get a higher level of donations through the course of a year by working with corporations to do an automatic payroll deduction, versus asking employees to pledge a certain amount.

      "Working with corporations" is the most polite term I've heard for what the United Way does...a lot of corporations, going for that 100% goal, subject workers to press-gang charity drives.

      I don't like a lot of things the United Way does, but this is one that really gets me....charity is *NEVER* supposed to be mandatory.

  29. Re:He lost. by norculf · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    My delete key is broken. It just makes those funny ^H things. Maybe I should upgrade to Windows XP.

  30. LITTLE MAN, WHAT NOW ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic



    An afternoon nostalgia
    Television show
    You spoke in silhouette
    (but they couldn't name you)
    Though the panel were very polite to you

    Oh, but I remembered you
    Friday nights, 1969
    ATV - you murdered every line
    Too old to be a child star
    Too young to take leads
    Four seasons passed
    And they AXED you

    Nervous juvenile
    (WON'T SMILE!)
    What became of you ?
    Did that swift eclipse
    Torture you ?

    A star at eighteen
    And then - suddenly gone
    Down to a few lines
    In the back page
    Of a faded annual
    Oh, but I remembered you
    I remembered you

  31. Re: but EFF is still a winner! by burtonator · · Score: 2

    Thanks a LOT dude!

    Your subject line didn't have to start with "will lost"

    dork

  32. Good for him by electricmonk · · Score: 0
    It's good to see that the real charitable people like Wil Wheaton are donating to a real worthy cause. What most people don't realize is that our online rights are very much simply an extension of our meat-space rights. Once they make it OK to oppress us online, real life is next.

    Anyway, I'm not able to view Weakest Link, unfortuately, since I'm in a market without NBC (gawd). However, I have heard rumors recently that Roxanne was a complete and utter bitch to Wil during the filming of the show (as is evidenced on Wil Wheaton's site). Further examination of this leads to Roxann's site, where apparently the guestbook is censored of all comments pleading with her to forgive Wil and whatnot. No surprises there, but it was kind of interesting to see what happens when Wil acts like a dick to women.

    --
    Friends don't let friends use multiple inheritance.
  33. Re: but EFF is still a winner! by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Funny
    "Your subject line didn't have to start with "will lost"

    It didn't, it said "wil lost"

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  34. Re:They were able to bank $167,500! NO SPOCK?? by simetra · · Score: 1

    Where in the hell was Spock? Why wasn't he on?

    --

    "Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
  35. Damn. by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Wil, you just flat out _rock_.

    Actually this tends to confirm a theory I have- the coolest/healthiest/sanest people out there are those who HAVE to be, because they learned the hard way. I think Wil definitely illustrates this- if you get heavy into being not only a Hollywood teenager, but are also saddled with being Wesley Crusher, you'll get off to a really bad start- and then, unlike most people, you have to _really_ grow up.

    That's my theory, anyway, for explaining how Wil Wheaton turned out to be one of the cooler humans I've ever seen. Keep it up my ex-starfleet friend :)

    1. Re:Damn. by squaretorus · · Score: 2

      Nice thought! On a quick run through of people I know - those who have to work harder, were saddled with disfigurements, excessive boogers, being too short, when at school have all turned out to be pretty cool (with one exception who we wont go into as he's a dick) and the guys that had tonnes of cash, chicks and NES games are all... I dunno where they are as they all have their heads shoved too far up their PHBs ass and only come out from time to time to discuss how much tax their car allowance costs them!
      Another truth exposed by /.!

  36. Not true by gehrehmee · · Score: 2

    If you ever get the chance to see the episode of TWL that starred Ben Stein (Host of game show 'Win Ben Stein's Money'), you might just be surprised.

    TWL's host said something to the affect of "Well, Ben, you're supposed to be quite smart at trivia on your own show, but you're playing a very average game today."

    Ben Stein mockingly mumbled whines perfect in time with her syllables, and while she covered her face, I swear she was cracking up underneath.

    --
    "You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help" -- Calvin
  37. Freedom is not a waste by IdocsMiko · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The EFF is fighting for our freedom, one of the most important and central issues in the world. Women's Rights, Human Rights, Children's Rights, these are all worthy and important issues. They all have on thing in common: they need freedom to make progress.

    1. Re:Freedom is not a waste by Grimmtooth · · Score: 1
      Women's Rights, Human Rights, Children's Rights, these are all worthy and important issues. They all have on thing in common: they need freedom to make progress


      On the flip side, we need Women, Humans, and Children for Freedom to be relevant.

      Methinks the defense of EFF is a bit too strident. But what the hey, they were all worthy.
      --
      /* .sigs are irrelevant */
  38. 3Gen vs. Misses Evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Dr. Evil should get out and date more.. how about Anne Robinson.

    The contestants acquited themselves well, but Q took a powder early on.

    Denise was obviously the crowds favorite and had the entire soundstage bidding her a rousing farewell... even Anne!

    Bill was Bill, with a little Kirk thrown in.

    Armin was a great sport.

    Bob Picardo was a genius, WoW some of the questions he answered floored me.

    Levar pulled some of the most amazing answers out of thin air and even wow'ed Bob.

    Wil though was a true geek and seemed a team leader, doing verbal duets with Anne til the end.. of course we all know who got the last word..

    I'd say Wil was more a brash younger captain serving as the instigator of the Clash, while cooler more intellectual minds eventually had to finish the game. How Weslean.. ~~

    The dynamics and interplay, of which there was surprisingly a good lot, seemed truly like a missing Trek episode.. some years down the road I wonder if it will turn up in an Anthology of Trek stories.. the one where real characters from the Trek Universe get mixed up with actors in a Game show Universe.

    Wil really seems to be over his "I am Not Spock" phase and resumed being a human being with a wicked alter-ego.. imagine a twisted Wesley with revenge on his mind, true brillance, and a good dialogue coach.. Eee Gads..

    But throwing in his chances with the EFF, you just gotta admire him for that.

    Roxane? what of Roxane?

    Could it be some evil entity of denial that body hops from person to person shortly after a Trek series is over? Is it Roxane's turn to play "I am Not Banal Balanna, the Klingon"

  39. Yeah, it was... by Quintin+Stone · · Score: 1

    John "Q" DeLancy, unfortunately. Chrisd actually trimmed out the comment in my submission where I lamented that he was the first to go, since he was my favorite.

    --

    "Prejudice is wrong; you should hate everyone the same."

    1. Re:Yeah, it was... by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 2
      "John "Q" DeLancy, unfortunately."

      Hmm, I haven't seen the show yet unfortunately. I was making an un-educated guess :)

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  40. Re:He lost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    as if it affects your life in the least.

  41. Record winnings by Sunir · · Score: 1
    They even beat out the World Trade Center benefit where the charity was given a $100kUSD bonus ($145k). That was incredible. Definitely not Celebrity Jeopardy.

    For those interested, the former record holders are listed here.

    1. Re:Record winnings by Ozx · · Score: 0

      Yeah, that's because these morons couldn't manage to bank $2k in Jeopardy, being retards and all...

  42. too real for some? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is TV, people...not real.

    Everything you watch is scripted....packaged...marketed. And the target is an audience with a 4th grade education.

    You people scare those of use that know not to take it seriously....just like /.

    Get out into the real world, please.

  43. Re: 3Gen vs. Misses Evil - Where are my mod pts? by Hylian · · Score: 1

    The parent comment is a great overview of the episode. MOD IT UP!!! :)

  44. Re: but EFF is still a winner! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you didn't want to see any spoilers, why'd you read the comments? It was only a matter of time before the winners/losers came up in the discussion.

  45. Re:Huh? by siraim · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    river phoenix is dead.. they were practically the same guy..

  46. Three good reasons by Pedro+Picasso · · Score: 1

    Wil Wheaton, the EFF, gobs and gobs of money.

  47. LeVar beat WW because of RR by Bastian227 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess those years of Reading Rainbow really paid off...

    1. Re:LeVar beat WW because of RR by BLAMM! · · Score: 1

      How come I never have mod points when I really want 'em? Mod this up +1.5, Insightfully Hysterical.

    2. Re:LeVar beat WW because of RR by Galvatron · · Score: 1

      Did anyone else see the episode where they tour the Enterprise? LaVar showed you how they do the transporter special effects, which (despite being absurdly simple) was a tremendous revelation for me at the age of 6.

      --
      "The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
    3. Re:LeVar beat WW because of RR by Bastian227 · · Score: 1

      I have that episode on tape somewhere. I'll have to look for it and post some pictures somewhere.

  48. Wil Wheaton by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Star Trek: The Next Generation is best watched with the pants down, am I right folks?

    1. Re:Wil Wheaton by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Well, Troi was there for a reason.

  49. You're Right by waldoj · · Score: 2, Funny

    We should never give any money to any organization that helps anybody but women and children. Let's immediately cut all government funding and donations to art, science, politics, education...everything.

    So, you don't have any worldly possessions -- you live in a cardboard box and use the Internet thanks to the generosity of passing laptop-and-802.11b-bearing strangers. You are a model to all of us!

    -Waldo Jaquith

  50. I scored the game - here it is by Erbo · · Score: 5, Informative

    THE WEAKEST LINK - STAR TREK EDITION - 11/26/2001

    The Team: 1. Wil Wheaton
    2. LeVar Burton
    3. Robert Picardo
    4. Denise Crosby
    5. Roxann Dawson
    6. John DeLancie
    7. William Shatner
    8. Armin Shimerman

    Round 1: $17,000 banked
    Strongest: Crosby - Weakest: DeLancie
    Votes: Dawson 2 (Wheaton, Shatner), DeLancie 2 (Burton, Crosby), Shatner 2 (Picardo, Shimerman), Wheaton 1 (Dawson), Picardo 1 (DeLancie)
    Crosby elects to remove DeLancie

    Round 2: $13,500 banked (total $30,500)
    Strongest: Picardo - Weakest: Shatner
    Votes: Shatner 3 (Burton, Picardo, Shimerman), Crosby 2 (Wheaton, Shatner), Wheaton 1 (Dawson), Dawson 1 (Crosby)
    Shatner removed

    Round 3: $2,500 banked (total $33,000)
    Strongest: Burton - Weakest: Crosby
    Votes: Dawson 4 (Wheaton, Burton, Picardo, Shimerman), Wheaton 1 (Crosby), Shimerman 1 (Dawson)
    Dawson removed

    Round 4: $14,500 banked (total $47,500)
    Strongest: Picardo - Weakest: Shimerman
    Votes: Crosby 4 (Wheaton, Burton, Picardo, Shimerman), Shimerman 1 (Crosby)
    Crosby removed

    Round 5: $25,000 banked (total $72,500)
    Strongest: Picardo - Weakest: Shimerman
    Votes: Shimerman 3 (Wheaton, Burton, Picardo), Wheaton 1 (Shimerman)
    Shimerman removed

    Round 6: $25,000 banked (total $97,500)
    Strongest: Burton - Weakest: Wheaton
    Votes: Wheaton 2 (Burton, Picardo), Picardo 1 (Wheaton)
    Wheaton removed

    Round 7: $35,000 X2 banked (total $167,500*)
    Strongest: Picardo

    Final: Picardo starts, Burton wins 4-3

    * - According to comments made by Burton, "They say it's a record."

    --
    Be who you are...and be it in style!
    1. Re:I scored the game - here it is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like star trek and all but, you need to get out more.

    2. Re:I scored the game - here it is by FortKnox · · Score: 2

      Burton won?

      Guess hosting "Reading Rainbow" paid off...

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    3. Re:I scored the game - here it is by Noehre · · Score: 1

      "Guest" hosting?

      He wasn't a guest host, he was THE host.

    4. Re:I scored the game - here it is by Bitsy+Boffin · · Score: 1

      That's some serious moula there.

      Here in New Zealand I have seen bits and pieces of our "Weakest Link" (IMHO, "The Weakest Link" is the Weakest Link, but then I think Survivor type shows are crap too) and our totals were miniscule compared to those, the couple of endings I saw had _grand-totals_ of about $5000 NZ as I remember which is about $2500 US. Perhaps that is why it is so crap here.

      That and the host is a moron.

      --
      NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
  51. Kudos to Wil by LaNMaN2000 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    While most celebrities compete for whose charity supports children that are suffering more, it is refreshing to see one person support an organization with a philosophical agenda that he identifies with. I'm sure most celebrities' publicists would have reccommended that they avoid charities like the EFF because their opposition to draconian surveillance technologies stands in stark contrast to the prevailing public opinion.

    One question for Wil or any aspiring entertainers on /. who support the EFF: how do you respond to their opposition of content control/digital rights management? If so, how would you respond to your colleagues who claim that it will impair their ability to support themselves as artists?

    I recall that Wil was booed at a Star Trek convention many years ago and vowed never never to speak at such a convention again. However, his commitment to civil liberties and his young age/ability to relate to an audience of college students would make him an ideal guest for the college lecture circuit. I know of at least one organization on my campus that would be willing to sponsor a guest like Wil and I'm certain that similar organizations at other Universities would also be accomodating. The money may not be as good as an Star Trek convention, but he would certainly receive a better reception than he did at the Star Trek convention and he would have the opportunity to use his celebrity to advance his ideology.

    --

    ByteMyCode.com: A Web 2.0 code sharing community.
    1. Re:Kudos to Wil by kindbud · · Score: 2

      ...and he would have the opportunity to use his celebrity to advance his ideology.

      Not to mention his comedy career.

      --
      Edith Keeler Must Die
  52. For those of us outside .us by Foddrick · · Score: 1

    This sounds like it could be a cool episode of WL, but alas I'll never see it in .au. Anyone want to create a digital copy and post it somewhere ?

    1. Re:For those of us outside .us by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That would be illegal though. The show is copyrighted. Sucks to be you I guess. There are some benefits to being an American... Celebrity WL Star Trek edition is one of them baby. ;-)

  53. Weakest Link could be much better by JoeShmoe · · Score: 2, Offtopic

    The thing that is stupid about Weakest Link is that people are penalized for not knowing EVERY single question. I mean, how retarded is that? In every game show I've ever seen there has always been a way to defer one or two questions on subjects you don't know. Jeopardy you get to pick the category. Millionaire you get the lifelines.

    Weakest Link is stupid because it is completely random luck. You either get asked what color is clover or who invented the little plastic thing that holds the ends of your shoelaces together. This forces people to become paranoid and bank at ridiculously low levels. Most people barely let the pot hit $5000 before yelling "BANK!"

    Here's how it should work:

    Answering the question right adds a link and increases the pot. Answer the question wrong and the pot disappears completely. Say "BANK" (or "PASS" or whatever) and the pot gets banked and resets to zero and play moves onto the next person.

    That way, the bank has a real chance to grow. So it costs more money, boo hoo hoo. Millionaire gives away more in a single night than Weakest Link does in a week. It is just plain anti-climatic to see someone fight his way through this whole Darwinian process only to walk away with the paltry sum of $30,000 and change.

    - JoeShmoe

    --
    -- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
    1. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Answering the question right adds a link and increases the pot. Answer the question wrong and the pot disappears completely. Say "BANK" (or "PASS" or whatever) and the pot gets banked and resets to zero and play moves onto the next person.

      That's how it does work, doesn't it?

    2. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To me, it depends on how you compute generosity. When you figure these shows are making enough money in one commercial break to pay for a season's worth of payouts (particularly Weakest Link that doesn't pay much compared to Millionaire or the ever-stingy Jeopardy), the shows are not very generous. I prefer to compute generosity by judging how much the giver has to give and measuring that against what was given. Hence I agree with you that these shows are rather stingy.

      Another approach is to consider only the recipient. If you consider the winnings given to a person for roughly 42 minutes of work (estimated show time minus ads and intro repartee), ~US$30k is a LOT of money. Very few people earn the equivalent of $42,857.14/hr (that's 30,000 * 60 / 42). Granted, game show winnings are a one-time sum so comparing that to an hourly wage isn't quite fair but the hourly wage helps put the amount in perspective. My point in this is: From this angle I'd hardly call $30k a "paltry sum". I'd gladly work backbreaking labor for 42 minutes for $30k. Sadly, I probably wouldn't last long enough on a trivia game show to make that much, however.

    3. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Sentry21 · · Score: 2

      Also, don't forget that on Jeopardy, you don't have to answer any question you don't want to, (except the Daily Doubles, and Final Jeopardy).

      What I was thinking is something like... You start off with a lower scale - say, from $100-$5000, in the first round. The questions are also easier.

      In the next round, it's shifted up - so instead of $100, $200, $400, it's $200, $400, $1000, or whatever - and the questions are harder.

      It's a brilliant idea. You have a show where one person a week wins $12000, instead of people on Millionaire who get up to $125,000. You always have 8 people on, but no one ever gets money that the network can't afford to burn. They probably spend more per year on the host than they give away.

      The network is laughing. Quiz-show giveaway that costs absolutely nothing, but brings in viewers, why on earth would they want to change it?

      --Dan

    4. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Sentry21 · · Score: 2

      Oh, and I forgot to point out...

      1) All their episodes lately have been for charity

      2) For charities, they get celebrities, which people are more likely to watch (they had one for wrestling fans the other week, tonight is Star Trek, etc)

      3) The money they give to charity is tax-deductable

      The network's not losing ANY money, except what it costs to pay Anne and to actually run the show.

      Man, that's just evil. Then again, better charities than the IRS.

      --Dan

    5. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Dodger_ · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to read the print in the credits either. Every person's charity gets $10,000 regardless of the amount won at the end. So the network is already getting $80k per charity show in tax-deductions.

      --
      Dodger_
    6. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its enterainment,,, the point of the show is too create the feeling of tension as much as possible. Game shows are just things that are set up for TV anyway.
      However I do agree that the show is random luck I remember watching someone asked the question which is the last vowle, she answered Y (which is technically right) but the presenter thought that is was U, what shits me is that if she had answered U then she whold have also been called wrong. All the question are of the type "what is the average flight speed of a whatever".

    7. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      ...of an unladen African swallow?

    8. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The difference though is that working backbreaking labor for 42 minutes isn't worth $30k to any employer. To a TV show an hour's commercials more than make up for the paltry couple dozen thousand dollars they're paying out on these shows. They probably make ten times that in commercial revenue. Now, if you were doing some kind of incredibly amazing backbreaking labor like tossing 1 ton boulders 20 feet with your bare hands on national TV then you'd probably get $30k/hour too.

    9. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by raju1kabir · · Score: 1
      Weakest Link is stupid because it is completely random luck. You either get asked what color is clover or who invented the little plastic thing that holds the ends of your shoelaces together.

      Anyone would would confess to being unable to get a single question asked on tonight's Weakest Link game should have the dignity to never show their face on Slashdot (or anywhere in public).

      "Ten squared" throw you for a loop?

      --
      "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
    10. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by nagora · · Score: 1
      The network's not losing ANY money, except what it costs to pay Anne and to actually run the show.

      That's plenty.

      TWW

      --
      "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
    11. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by the_quark · · Score: 2

      Uhhh...Corporate taxes don't work like individual taxes. There's no such thing as "deductable charitable giving" for a corporation. Basically, a corporation takes in X dollars in gross profit, and pays out Y dollars in costs, generating Z dollars of net profits. They then pay taxes on Z, if Z > 0. Anything you can do to increase Y reduces Z (and hence your taxes). That's why companies are very interested in finding ways to increase Y on paper without actually spending any money.

      But, the point is, whether the network pays $10,000 to the EFF or $10,000 to Wil Wheaton, it's still $10,000 more "Y" and $10,000 less "Z". The charity part doesn't matter for taxes - it's all the same. It's essentially the same way you as an individual can lower your taxes quite simply by earning less money. :)

    12. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 2

      In the next round, it's shifted up - so instead of $100, $200, $400, it's $200, $400, $1000, or whatever - and the questions are harder.

      What's easier, what's harder?

      That's the point some people are making.

      I've been forced to watch the show once or twice, which is sheer torture to me since I hate watching television. I feel naked when I'm unable to control the action on the screen, and when I don't have some kind of video game controller in my hand to do it with.

      Anyway, while watching the show I was amazed at some of the questions some of my friends knew the answers to, and they were amazed some of the questions that I knew the answers to. But they were all totally different topics. The loosely science related questions were easy for me, but anything related to television, radio, or any other form of pop culture, and I didn't have a clue.

      The fact is -- if you DON'T watch TV (and I don't) you're NOT going to know the name of the actor that played so and so on that show with what's his name. And you're certainly not going to know the name of their spouse!

      When it comes to trivia such as this, the random topics that Weakest Link covers makes the show almost anybody's game I would think. What it really comes down to in the end is a little bit of luck, and a lot of charisma (so you don't get voted off so quickly!)

      --

      "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

      Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
    13. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the problem is the stupid players always take too long to anwser the question when it's at 1K, they take 5-10 second to think of an anwser when a quick "i don't know" would have saved time for the next question.

    14. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by onion2k · · Score: 2

      Answering the question right adds a link and increases the pot. Answer the question wrong and the pot disappears completely. Say "BANK" (or "PASS" or whatever) and the pot gets banked and resets to zero and play moves onto the next person

      If it were played in this way, one intelligent person would rack up some money for the whole 'team', and promptly get voted off near the end. It wouldn't work.

      As for saying the show is 'too hard', and 'they don't give away enough money', tough luck. The idea is not to redistribute wealth, its to make an entertaining game show. If the contestants were to play the game properly then it'd work very well. But they don't. It boils down to tactical voting and temporary alliances. I'm English, and occasionally watch the UK edition of the show. Frequently we have contestants that don't get a single answer wrong, and they're soon voted off. Its a shame that the show rewards the sneaky morons and doesn't give the people who know what they're on about what they deserve. But then, thats like the rest of life isn't it.

    15. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by julesh · · Score: 1

      Err... I don't know much about the US version (OK, I know a little and know that what I'm about to say doesn't apply directly to it, so wait for a second), but:

      Weakest Link was a low-cost show set up to be run on a tight budget in an unpopular time slot (17:30) on a relatively unpopular channel (BBC2). Everything about the show was intended to be cheap, from the prizes to the presenter ("can't afford a megastar? Oh, ok we'll get a vaguely well known presenter of consumer rights programs, at least she'll be able to be scornful of idiots"). Nobody anticipated that it would take off like it has. And they're scared to touch the format in case they destroy that 'special something' that makes it so popular. And they're probably right. The chances are, with even the modest changes you suggest it wouldn't have taken off so much in the UK, and you'd probably have never seen it in the US by now.

    16. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      As for saying the show is 'too hard', and 'they don't give away enough money', tough luck. The idea is not to redistribute wealth, its to make an entertaining game show

      Increasing the stakes increases the tension; For those persons who are into game shows, this is the same thing as making the game show more entertaining. This is why millionaire is so interesting; The stakes get huge.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    17. Re:Weakest Link could be much better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure why you bothered with that redundant response. The previous AC post said:

      ...these shows are making enough money in one commercial break to pay for a season's worth of payouts...

      and you follow up with the same thing, reworded, offering it as if it's something new. It's readily apparent people aren't paying $30k for 42 minutes of backbreaking labor or else everyone would be doing it (or $30k would be worth hardly anything). You give no indication you understood the more interesting point about the different ways to measure the worth of $30k.

  54. Airtimes by geoffeg · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well, slashdot posted the info 13 minutes after the show ended here (8pm). Searching tvguide.com and tv.yahoo.com shows that particular episode as not airing again.

    Anyone have any idea if it will air again or maybe someone who captured it to mpeg or something?

    I really wanted to see it.

    Geoffeg

    1. Re:Airtimes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The cable networek PAX replays WL. It might show up there eventually.

  55. Reading Rainbow by kninja · · Score: 3, Funny
    Reading Rainbow was a TV show about reading books. It was always on Public Television. It's actually quite enjoyable if you can get around the irony of watching a TV show that reads childrens books to you.


    I'm humming the theme song.


    Mod that guy up as funny.

  56. Re:HE SEXUALLY HARASSED BELANNA TORRES ON THE AIR by Aelgifa · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    yet another person who does not have the brain capacity necessary to identify a joke or the definition of sexual harrassment. And now we know why reality TV is raking it in...because fiction requiring some sort of imagination and creativity is a position with a vacancy sign on it. Either writers are getting dumber and lazier or the audience is getting too dense to fathom fiction... *sigh*

  57. I missed something... by sconeu · · Score: 3, Funny

    In the previews they showed Anne Robinson saying, "Whose phaser is set on stupid?" I didn't see that one in the aired version.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    1. Re:I missed something... by celeste_ · · Score: 1

      I saw her say this, perhaps you just missed it... I think it was about halfway through.

    2. Re:I missed something... by Mike+Hicks · · Score: 2

      I saw it.. it actually got the biggest laugh, from what I recall..

  58. shameless adverts by latinageek · · Score: 1

    This was the first time I've even seen the show, but I don't think I'll watch it again. I mean, what's up with using the questions to hawk merchandise?! They advertised hamburgers, cars, pantyhose, not to mention plugging the network's other shows...is nowhere safe from the almighty advertising dollar?

    But in any case, Wil rocked, and major cool points for choosing the EFF!

    1. Re:shameless adverts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jeopardy does the same thing now, and its even worse on that show.

    2. Re:shameless adverts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's wrong with using the questions to hawk merchandise? Nothing. It's free speech, and it actually supports free broadcasting. No reason to be ashamed at all.

    3. Re:shameless adverts by GigsVT · · Score: 2

      ABC's Millionare show regularly asks questions about recent Disney releases. The contestants also regularly have to use lifelines on them, because who the fuck keeps up with the 15 flop movies per year that Disney churns out these days.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  59. Wil's comments about the show... by Lyrrad · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Can be found in the Google Chat here:

    Here are his comments copied:

    Aw, Crap

    I did this interview with Entertainment Weekly Online, to support the Star Trek Weakest Link...I know, it was risky, considering how brilliantly objective and reasoned their last story about me was...but I was assured by NBC, and by the guy who did the interview, that it was a different medium (Website vs. Print) and it would be okay....

    So here's the article...which is fine, except for "Crusher Crushed"...c'mon, how many times have we heard that?

    Anyway, here's the deal: I'm really scared about how this is going to come off. I'm not allowed to talk about the outcome of the show, so I'll walk a very slim line here, while I try to explain some stuff.

    I made a choice, when I went to play the show. I decided that I'd really play with Anne Robinson, and really go head to head with her, and never back down. Even though that's not really my style, I thought it would be fun, and it was...but I'm really nervous, because, at the end of the show, one of the producers came up to me and said, "You're really arrogant, aren't you?"

    I was stunned. Ask anyone...I'm lots of things, but I'm not arrogant. But I played it snotty with her, because I was playing with her at her own game, you know? So I begged them to please be thoughtful when they edit the show, because if they make me out to be a huge dick, it could REALLY hurt my career. All of a sudden, the guy who you used to love from TV and Movies has grown up, and he's grown up to be a huge dick.

    Perfect. Can I take your order? How about a nice Iced Tea to start, sir?

    But here's the thing that I'm really, really upset about: Roxann Dawson, who I don't know at all, was, apparently very offended by something I said on the show. Here's the quote from EW:

    However, Roxann Dawson (''Voyager'' sex symbol B'Elanna Torres) appears less amused when the married Wheaton jokes that he's in love with her. ''Coming on to me on national television -- when he knows my husband's gonna watch the show -- is just unfair, and frankly rude,'' Dawson says to the camera. (We don't think she's joking)


    So, I feel just terrible. I don't know her, at all, and she seemed very nice to me, and I am really upset that she felt like I was rude to her, and that I was coming on to her, because nothing could be further from the truth.

    I doubt it, but if Roxanne reads this, I want her to know that I meant absolutely no disrespect, at all. I am truly, truly sorry for that.

    I just feel awful, and I've put in calls to my Star Trek friends, so I can phone her myself, and apologize to her.

    *sigh*
    1. Re:Wil's comments about the show... by driftingwalrus · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, she *IS* half-klingon.

      --
      Paul Anderson
      "I drank WHAT?!" -- Socrates
    2. Re:Wil's comments about the show... by Rogerborg · · Score: 2
      • All of a sudden, the guy who you used to love from TV and Movies has grown up, and he's grown up to be a huge dick.

      It's a shame, but honest open people do tend to assume that other folk will have the necessary clue to get the joke, rather than taking them at face value. Ouch, Wil, you should have remembered that most of us had a hard enough time separating Wesley and Wil, without reenforcing that by playing Jerkwad Wil.

      On that matter, we seem to be assuming that Roxann really is a dumb bitch. Maybe she was just playing too, and we're too dumb to get the joke. ;-)

      That said, I don't think Wil needs to worry. Anyone who has been keeping track of him will get the joke. Anyone who hasn't probably remembers him as that irritating little geek from Next Gen anyway and was already predisposed to hate him.

      He could have played it better, but cest la vie, I doubt if he's actually lost any credibility or fans. And he got his face and name on TV, along with the EFF. Any publicity is good publicity, right?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    3. Re:Wil's comments about the show... by Lars+T. · · Score: 2

      And the other half seems to be a human female.

      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

    4. Re:Wil's comments about the show... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      Any publicity is good publicity, right?

      If you're Kato Kaelin (sp?), yes. If you're OJ, no.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:Wil's comments about the show... by BitterOak · · Score: 1
      Ok, if you're reading this Wil, you shouldn't feel bad. You certainly didn't come off nearly as badly on the show as Roxann. I honestly don't know if she was joking or not, but if not, she sure did not do much to improve her image with her final comments.

      As I'm sure you know, it is very common for people to flirt jokingly on celebrity versions of that show. People do it all the time, and yours was no different, except for the fact that you had a much cooler shirt than any I've seen on that show before.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
  60. Geek Stereotypes by stefanlasiewski · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Roxanne may have come off as a bitch, but Wil came off as a obnoxious prima-donna (And there is a problem with prima-donnas in the geek world).

    Wil was playing a joke on Roxanne and it backfired on him. You can tell he felt guilty by the way he backed off the obnoxious act in later rounds and in his exit review.

    While we all know he was joking, his timing and maturity was way off. Unfortunately, his behavior just reinforced some very negative geek sterotypes: obnoxious, immature, rude to women.

    --
    "Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
    1. Re:Geek Stereotypes by ConsumedByTV · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      You sir are a fucking idiot. Wil is clearly in the wrong, however you are even more so. Please shuffle off this mortal coil.

      --


      "Not my manner of thinking but the manner of thinking of others has been the source of my unhappiness." - M
    2. Re:Geek Stereotypes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fucking idiot? Just look at your little lottery quote - The oldest, lamest and most unfunny quote there is. Oh, and your lefty website is simply shit.

      TWAT!

    3. Re:Geek Stereotypes by Rogerborg · · Score: 2
      • Roxanne may have come off as a bitch, but Wil came off as a obnoxious prima-donna

      Yes, he's already said that was a collosal pooch fuck. He made the mistake of playing a character that's about as far removed from himself as possible, without realising that very few people actually know that, and will take him at face value. D'oh

      But on the other hand, what the heck. Any publicity is good publicity, right?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    4. Re:Geek Stereotypes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wil is a funny guy whose only mistake was not continuing to rib everyone.

      Roxann is a politically correct moron with such an inflated opinion of herself that she had to believe Wil was serious. Or maybe her husband would beat her if he found thought for even a millisecond that she was interested in Wil. Either way I don't like her.

      p.s. I would still f*ck the beejeezus out of her given the chance...but I wouldn't cuddle afterwards.

      p.p.s. I wonder how many geek stereotypes this post reinforces.

  61. Too bad Wil was on the far left... by Jetson · · Score: 1

    I was about 30 seconds late tuning in and missed the first two introductions. As a result, I didn't find out about Wil's charity until I saw it here. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands more people might have found out about the EFF had Wil been on the other end of the stage... Too bad he didn't use his exit interview to plug the cause again.

    1. Re:Too bad Wil was on the far left... by Rakarra · · Score: 2, Informative

      Too bad he didn't use his exit interview to plug the cause again.

      Maybe he did, but the exit comments are obviously edited. If he mentioned them again, it would probably have been cut.

  62. Re:He lost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, all the poop on your finger is making it slip off the key and hit another one.

  63. Slashdot effect strikes again... by StarTux · · Score: 1

    Been trying to view his web page for awhile, but with little luck, then got this:

    "WIL WHEATON DOT NET
    is temporarily closed, due to exceedingly high traffic.
    The moose out front should have told you.

    Please check back later today."

    How pretentious to keep using that one L though :).

    Can see this at the server room, with Picard being at the helm:

    Picard:"Wesley, why is the server inaccessible! Is it the Borg?"

    Wesley:"Not quite captain, but something that can be just as devastating; we seem to be under some form of attack from all these user, probably something to do with..."
    [Interruption from Picard and in a stern voice]

    Picard:"You ended up having the server address on Slashdot again didn't you!?!"

    Wesley:"Errr, yes Captain, But"
    [another interruption from Picard]

    Picard:"Put up some form of close sign and report to my private quarters, where I can give you a good form of justice you naughty little boy".

    Wesley:"Ummm, yes Captain, but..."
    [Interruption from Picard]

    Picard:"Report there in 20 minutes, no excuses and no buts. Picard out"

    Wesley:"Oh darn, don't like the sound of this".

    1. Re:Slashdot effect strikes again... by Foochar · · Score: 1, Redundant

      I would think by now that the slashdot editors would have realized that posting a link to wilwheaton.net is pointless. Every time they put it on the front page Wil hase to go out to the barn and wake up the moose. At least don't put the link on the front page, put in the "Read More" section or let someone karma whore with the address. I'm just glad that Wil has a cool hosting provider that hasn't kicked him off for getting slashdoted on an almost weekly basis.

      --
      "You can't fight in here! This is the war room" --Dr. Stra
    2. Re:Slashdot effect strikes again... by 19Buck · · Score: 1

      try http://www.wilwheaton.net/main.php to circumvent the fake index ;)

      edit:oops, fugged up mah login.

    3. Re:Slashdot effect strikes again... by StarTux · · Score: 1

      How about mirroring?

      Someone somewhere will no doubt offer to do this.

      Matt

  64. At least it wasn't for Tony Robbins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    or Guthy-Renker, his other favorite pasttime.

  65. Rawk by matt-fu · · Score: 1

    This was probably mentioned before but according to Wil's weblog (down at the moment so I can't provide a proper link), he was talking with Burton on the set and Burton got him hooked up with a role in Star Trek X.

  66. Re:They were able to bank $167,500! NO SPOCK?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As I understand it, he couldn't possibly care less about Star Trek anymore and wants as little to do with it as possible. This, at least, is the impression I got watching him on an interview with one show or another a few years back.

    Leanord Nimoy is a talented and intelligent man who, unfortunatelly, got pigeon-holed. I can see why one would want to avoid association with a show that forever kept you in the mind of the world as second-fiddle to fatty Shatner.

    Plus, they probably knew he would embarass the hell out of the other players when he nailed every question.

  67. What's the Deal with Wil and Shatner? by Chibi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Round 1: $17,000 banked
    Strongest: Crosby - Weakest: DeLancie
    Votes: Dawson 2 (Wheaton, Shatner), DeLancie 2 (Burton, Crosby), Shatner 2 (Picardo, Shimerman), Wheaton 1 (Dawson), Picardo 1 (DeLancie)
    Crosby elects to remove DeLancie

    Round 2: $13,500 banked (total $30,500)
    Strongest: Picardo - Weakest: Shatner
    Votes: Shatner 3 (Burton, Picardo, Shimerman), Crosby 2 (Wheaton, Shatner), Wheaton 1 (Dawson), Dawson 1 (Crosby)
    Shatner removed


    If the above is correct, before he (Shatner) got voted off, Wil and William Shatner voted for the same people. In the first round they voted for Roxann Dawson, and in the second round, they both voted for Denise Crosby. OK, Wil, what's the story? :-)

    --
    If all you have are silver bullets, everything looks like a werewolf.
    1. Re:What's the Deal with Wil and Shatner? by Felinoid · · Score: 2

      I'll guess both catch hell for having characters the writers don't know how to write for.

      Most of the horrific jokes seem centered around Shatners bad acting and wig and Wheatons character being garbage.

      BTW I liked the consept of Wesly Crusher and personly think Rodenbury needed to think that character out more and put more guidelines with reguards to that character.
      Wheaton had nothing to work with...

      --
      I don't actually exist.
  68. Speaking of Jeopardy...they doubled the pot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now questions in the first round are 200, 400, 600, etc, and in the second questions start at 400 instead of 200. They JUST started it today. It's kind of cool.

  69. gooble gobble, gooble gobble! by eGabriel · · Score: 1

    One of us! One of us!

  70. Armin Shimerman by raju1kabir · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If anything impressed me on that show, it was that Armin Shimerman really came off as a class act.

    To be honest, I'd never really thought about the human inside that all that makeup before, and somehow I assumed if there were a person he'd be about 4 feet tall.

    But he was a real live person. And he managed to be funny, modest, engaging, and do a fair job with the questions too. Really put everyone else to shame. This was my first time watching the show... between Shatner's hamming, Roxann's childish tantrum, and Wheaton's ill-conceived schtick, I was starting to figure that all these actor people are idiots when nobody's around to make sure they stick to a script (okay, no complaints about the two finalists, they seemed sharp and decent too - but Levar, "600"??).

    --
    "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
    1. Re:Armin Shimerman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was also the principal of Sunnydale High on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, where he gets to play an even bigger asshole than Quark, without the makeup.

      He gets eaten by that huge demon-snake thing that the mayor turned into in the season finale, then the demon-snake thingy gets blown up with about 500 pounds of C4, taking the partially digested remains of the principal with him.

  71. Re:He lost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    stty erase

  72. Re:He lost. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the one time i dont preview

    stty erase <ctl-v> <bksp>

  73. Re: but EFF is still a winner! by Stonehead · · Score: 1

    I'm not being cynical - I was looking especially for the spoilers, since I haven't ever seen those celebrity Weakest Link shows on TV in my country.. (insert default curse about USA-mindedness of Slashdot here)
    Thanks!

  74. NBC supporting EFF! by juju2112 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, NBC is now going to donate $10,000 to the EFF. Does anyone else find this kinda funny? :)

  75. wil wheaton & EEF by lusretcbinyourafag · · Score: 0, Troll

    Who cares?

  76. Re:The bitch on the show wasn't Ann this time but. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your Mom is a BITCH!

  77. Funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just love it when people use a computer network that was created by the United States to visit a website in the United States for purposes of badmouthing the United States.

    1. Re:Funny... by Stonehead · · Score: 1

      As far as I know, Tim Berners-Lee created the WWW at the CERN institute in Switzerland. Now fuck off.

    2. Re:Funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He was referring to the Internet, not the WWW.

    3. Re:Funny... by F452 · · Score: 1

      AFAIK, You are right about Tim Berners-Lee. His WWW runs on a network originally created in the USA.

    4. Re:Funny... by Gen.+Ho+Lee+Phuc · · Score: 1

      yeah, and as far as you know, the internet is the WWW

  78. Guess what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You've been TROLLED.

  79. Hey! by 42forty-two42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I didn't submit this story! Therefore, I'm not on the planet, I'm in an incredibly detailed holographic simulation. Wow. I didn't know that before...

  80. They were probably all knew that it was a joke. by Schwarzchild · · Score: 2
    Obviously Wil was joking when he made his remark about voting her off because they were the best looking people on the set. Also I believed that she was also joking on the exit interview playing the part of someone who was ticked off by the other member of the game.

    Remember, they always have pissed off people at the exit interviews to Weakest Link. It's a given. They always say something like "I hate her" or "I hope they lose!"

    I'm sure she got the joke and was playing along.

    --

    "sweet dreams are made of this..."

  81. a phenominal haul by mr.ska · · Score: 2
    I think it's incredible that these fine actors managed to get a record-breaking $167,500. Just the fact that Levar and Robert managed to get $35K between themselves alone in the double round is amazing!

    Wil: Unfortunately, you did come off as an ass... my wife was hoping you'd get axed. I was just glad that Shatner got culled. His antics were... painful. Congrats on going as far as you did... and nice shirt! You gonna start selling those too?

    --

    Mr. Ska

    1. Re:a phenominal haul by Refrag · · Score: 2

      What was so special about Wil's shirt? This is the second comment I've seen about his shirt.

      --
      I have a website. It's about Macs.
    2. Re:a phenominal haul by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a collared shirt that was untucked, and featured a medium "booby-girl" sillouette that you see on truckers mudflaps.

  82. lessig should take his show on the road for eff by Benjiman+McFree · · Score: 1

    I'd gladly fork out 100$ for a dinner at a convetion center, if lessig was speaking. If he did a dinner a night and traveled from city to citry, I suspect it would do a good job of raising money for eff and allow similar minds the ability to get together and discuss ideas and scheme. I think If you were a online business and decided to donate half of your net profits to eff, you'd get alot more business. If it was competiton to cheap bytes, I'm sure people would be willing to pay 1/3 more than cheapbytes pricing, knowing that half the money is going to eff.

  83. It was a record, however... by asdfasdfasdfasdf · · Score: 1

    ... my team still holds the record for most $$ banked in one round ($42,500)... And, it should also be noted that "celebrity editions" have considerably simpler questions.

    Is it wrong that I am so stoked that I shared a podium with Shatner?

    Cory.

  84. "Sorry, Dubya Dubya" by Stavr0 · · Score: 2
    Is what LeVar called Wil after he got voted off. And was will shirt a KAPPA or just one of those 'naked babe' outlines you see on truck mudflaps -- I think it's the shirt that ticked off Roxann.

    Spoilers:

    Come to think of it, she voted against Wil twice in the first two rounds, so Wil probably was ticked off and got even on round 3 when she gets voted off...

  85. The sad, tragic thing is... by Svartalf · · Score: 2

    ...that we would have a "terrorist backlash" no matter what we did. This whole mess has been building for decades- even if we did nothing they'd keep at it because they think we are the great evil in the world and disapprove of our way of life in the strongest way.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
    1. Re:The sad, tragic thing is... by Paul+Komarek · · Score: 2

      I don't think they "disapprove of our way of life in the strongest way." I think they disapprove of our foreign policy. It's not to hard to extend that to disapproving of our collective apathy with respect to our government's foreign policy. All in all, I doubt they care much about us eating twinkies and watching sitcoms.

      -Paul Komarek

  86. Wil Wheaton's Comments, Highlights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, Wil Wheaton did come out looking like a fool: for once the most self-indulgent, self-centered Star Trek personality WASN'T Shatner, and that's saying something. But his apology seems sincere. Yes, AR did use the "phasers set to stupid" line in the show. Also, to John DeLancie: "This is your Q to go." Overall, Shimerman, Burton, Picardo, and DeLancie came out looking the best; Dawson and Wheaton the worst.

  87. Improving WL by john@iastate.edu · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Clearly WL would be a lot better if (oh gosh, here it comes) the strongest link in each round won a reprieve and was exempt from being voted off.

    --
    Shut up, be happy. The conveniences you demanded are now mandatory. -- Jello Biafra
  88. Its TV, you know fake. by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2

    Every so often ths comes up. Its an act. She's acting. Everyone who gets on the WL eventually gets asked that and the answer is always the same.

  89. SOOOoooo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "She especially singled out Wil Wheaton for "hitting on her" when he knew her husband would be watching. "

    If her husband hadn't been watching the wannabe geek wannabe actor would've gotten lucky with the Romulan chix0r? heh heh heh.

    1. Re:SOOOoooo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She's a half-klingon Chix0r, you stupid twat!

  90. Damn you all, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now that Irwin Cory is dead, AC is the the world's foremost authority on all matters. You can take his word as gospel, he's a fine upstanding cyber-citizen.

    If you can't take advice on crucial life decisions from random strangers, who can you trust?

  91. Minor correction by evil_one · · Score: 2

    Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG)
    LeVar Burton (ST:TNG)
    Robert Picardo (ST:VOY),(ST:TNG) - He was in first contact, remember?
    Denise Crosby (ST:TNG)
    Roxann Dawson (ST:VOY)
    John DeLancie (ST:TNG,DS9,VOY)
    William Shatner (ST:TOS)
    Armin Shimerman (ST:DS9),(ST:TNG),(ST:VOY) - He played 2 different Feringi on ST, and he was in the first episode of Voyager.

    --
    Desperation is a stinky cologne
  92. screw weakest link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To hell with Weakest Link. It's a dumb concept with an even dumber host. I've watched half of an episode once and that's it. I've seen the host interviewed on Larry King once and she actually seemed decent (then again, maybe that was just because she was being polite to Larry King who all but proposed to her on the set). Still, I can't stand her or the show.

    I think it's great if someone wants to come at her at her own level and see if she can handle it. People who, for whatever reason, deride other people with no merit need to get a life. Honestly, what humor is there in insulting the intelligence of someone who she's only known for forty-five seconds and who was obviously smart enough to be on the show? Sure, it's all supposedly in the name of 'good natured fun', but there's a difference between the one-sided humorless attacks she attacks her guests with and the "witty banter" between people who know each other or at least have some history to base their playful attacks on.

    The only problem with dealing with her on her own level is that the outcome is predictable and even more unfomcortable than watching Rosie O'Donnel try to humiliate Tom Selleck when he was a guest on her show, simply because he was against banning guns. (For a bit of history, Selleck was a guest on her show, it somehow segued into a brief comment about guns, Selleck mentioned how he felt it was important not to strip the American population of their 2nd Amendment and that was that. Only, Rosie wouldn't let it go. She kept going back to it, probing, pushing and attacking. Finally, Selleck said (paraphrasing here) "drop it. I came on your show as a guest to enjoy a conversation with you and your audience - not to be attacked over a personal opinion". It was one of the most uncomfortable things I had ever seen and if there was ever any thought in my head that she might be an "okay" human being, that ended it right there.... not that I ever gave that mouthy moron a thought to begin with).

    Back to my point. As anyone in television would hopefully know, you can ALWAYS be edited to be what the producers want you to be. Say one snide remark that comes off wrong to someone on the set and you'll come off looking like Satan. I'm not in television or any media of the sort. However, I once dealt with a talk show host who caught wind of my strong dislike for her and my website (which chronicled her involvement in the death of a guest who was murdered by another guest in an ambush she arranged) and her treatment of some people I know personally. Not to mention, her staff was continually spamming a newsgroup I used to frequent. The site was really just for fun, but it grew out of control until radio stations, print magazines and papers, other news sites, Skynews/Canal Plus and a lot of other people wanted my opinion on trask television or wanted to interview me or wanted information from me. I always declined. I don't want to deal with television people who make their living off soundbytes. Then, the talk show host herself that my fun little site was attacking had her staff invite me on the show as a "surprise guest" to tell her why I can't stand her. Obviously, I said "you have to be joking" and refused. The only basis, I had said, that would convince me to show up was if I was given an unedited full copy of the entire taping, I was given enough time to speak without interruption (no five seconds of talk, two minutes of host blabber and five minutes of audience comments on my five seconds) and if I could make a final decision as to whether or not my "segment" aired based on how they cut the edit for the actual aired show. Additionally, I would require everything in writing, signed by the producers, the host herself and the parent media giant that owned the show.

    As expected, they declined. But it just goes to show that you have to willingly say "fuck you" to certain people and avoid them altogether. Television producers aren't much better than kids on the playground.

    Besides, I'd much rather see Wil Wheaton on Survivor (I'd actually watch it then) or maybe get on a BattleBots team. Wait.. wait.. better idea! I want to see Wil Wheaton on Changing Rooms/Trading Spaces! ;)

    1. Re:screw weakest link by gidds · · Score: 0
      I think you're missing the point with 'The Weakest Link'. I know I did when it first came out. (Here in the UK! Yes, not all entertainment is US-centric.</troll>)

      Anne Robinson's character on the programme is exactly that: a character. It's probably the result of the public reaction to her appearances as host of 'Watchdog', a UK consumer affairs programme, in which she seemed a little patronising and imperious when dealing with companies at fault. 'The Weakest Link' seems very much like self-parody in that respect; it's an entertainment programme, after all, and people clearly enjoy a certain level of confrontation and scorn. Please don't mistake the persona you see on the programme for Anne Robinson's real character or views; I suspect they're quite distinct.

      --

      Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.

  93. This just in... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will Wheaton is dead. He died from a drug overdose, it was announced on NPR this morning.

  94. You're missing the point by IdocsMiko · · Score: 1

    The final pool of money is only relevent to an individual player if he or she wins it. If the choice is $10,000 for you or $20,000 for someone else, the obvious choice (from a selfish pov) is to take the $10,000.

    1. Re:You're missing the point by mvdwege · · Score: 1

      Ah, but that's the beauty of this show. It's actually a real-life implementation of the Prisoner's Dillema: Cooperate for a long term larger profit, or screw your opponent for a short-term smaller profit.

      I do see all possible strategies implemented, but in the end the players that go home with the most amount of money are those that vote off the weakest link, not the strongest one.

      Mart
      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
  95. Doh! by Giggles+Of+Doom · · Score: 1

    Damnit! I was planning on watching it then totaly forgot. Any fellow geek out there have it in MPEG or DivX? If so please email me a URL!

    --
    "A coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one."
  96. What was the deal with that shirt? by Tassach · · Score: 2
    The shirt you were wearing had to have been one of the most hideous things I've ever seen. It looked like somthing you'd get as a free gift for buying a pair of mudflaps.


    Other than that, you did really well -- congrats on making it to the final three. Keep up the good work.

    --
    Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
  97. Did anybody else notice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wil grinning like an idiot in the background on most of the shots where he wasnt the main focus? For example, then they were close up on the host but he was in the background, most of the time he had a great big grin on his face. I think that's a lot more telling than the the ass routine he was putting on... which I found humerous none the less.

  98. Trek Boldly Wins What No One Has Won Before by pokeyburro · · Score: 1

    I agree with Golias from another thread; Robert and Wil were excellent, but Levar was the man. I'm pretty sure he had a perfect record in the first three rounds. He went 4-1 on the head-to-head (how many notes minimum make a chord). I'm pretty sure he got one wrong in Round 7 (which is to be expected, given that you have something like eight tough questions to answer). And maybe one or two wrong before that. He did miss "10 squared", which I can only guess is him mishearing the question(??). The only reason he wasn't cited as strongest link was because Robert, Wil, Denise, and Armin were also often giving perfect answering records, and were also banking.

    Judging from Round 6, if I were in Wil's place, I would've voted for Robert too, simply because I can't vote for myself, and there's no way I'm voting for Levar. I'd figure on Levar voting for me, and then either Robert (who I don't know as well, though he went up several notches in my book as of last night) either votes for me and I'm off, or he votes for Levar, and Levar gets to cast the deciding vote.

    Wil, you did great all game, but you seemed to tank Round 6 and knew it, and IMO you did the honorable thing... and in the meantime, damn, y'all really ran it up. I loved the whistles coming from the audience at the end of Round 7. (I missed what Levar and Robert were saying to each other there; anyone?)

    In general, I'd say the block of Wil, Levar, and Robert was the main force behind that record prize, with Denise, Roxanne, and Armin right there with the bank, not to mention starting a few good chains of their own. Let's hear it for Trek...

    --
    Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
  99. I know the answer...! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When a *woman* cuts her hair THAT short *on purpose*.. trust me.. she's a raving BEYOTCH!

  100. Fuck the children. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Carlin was right, children get entirely too much attention. Fuck 'em!

  101. Seems in Character to me by Martin+S. · · Score: 2

    I've not seen this show yet, but the way Roxann is described here, her 'behaviour' sounds very much in character for Torres. Seems to remind me of the episode where the Vulcan Engineer goes PonFarr on B'lanna.

    1. Re:Seems in Character to me by martyn+s · · Score: 1

      It is spelled B'Elanna. Hey you have my name Martin S. You are my evil counterpart.

  102. Re:Is Open Source the answer? by Dastardly · · Score: 1

    I think he meant...
    "I guess, hosting Reading Rainbow helped."

    Interestingthat when I heard the list of players my first guess was that he would win.

  103. Re:Why the FUCK is this /. news? by mummers · · Score: 1

    For once in his long and varied posting career, our one true friend, Anonymous Coward, has actually hit the nail on the head.

    IMHO the original post should be mod'd as off-topic right here and right now

    Meanwhile, for anyone actually dumbass enough to care more than a dog's fart about the life and times of Will Wheaton here's some more fascinating trivia:

    The answer to 1 Across in Tuesday's Independent cryptic crossword is 'balance'.

    Toast actually does land butter side down more often than not.

    And airflow alternates between the nostrils so that one gets a rest whilst the other takes over

    Get me some Mogadon someone, please, I'm getting over-excited here.

    --
    --This isn't a man who is leaving with his head between his legs.
  104. Roxann Dawson says "It was all in jest" by Da+Schmiz · · Score: 3, Informative
    It was an act. In a message on her website's community board titled "Please can't we just get along!", she says:
    • It was all in jest. My comments at the end of the show were in keeping with the spirit of our fun sparring. I wish I could even take credit for the idea. It was recomended that I say that by the producers. I thought it was funny.. Its a shame they cut away from my comment before I started laughing. The aim of the show is to create conflict... and I guessthey did. I didn't take offence to Bill Shatner saying he could take me in a fight. What does he think I am, a weak woman?!! LOL Come on everybody "lighten up" We were all having fun. Wil is great and I loved doing the show with him.
    I agree... Wil is cool, Roxann was joking -- let's not start calling people names.
    --

    "Anything is better than IE, and you can quote me on that." -- Wil Wheaton.

  105. "Pressing need" is in the eye of the beholder. by way2muchsense · · Score: 1

    What is important to one person isn't so important to another. Clearly the First Amendment is very important; it affects all of us in ways that we often take for granted. In most countries, you can get thrown in jail or worse over something as trivial as a personal website. The only reason that is not the case here in the USA is because people are vigilant in its defense.

    The radical right wing, led by people like Attorney General John Ashcroft is now running the government in the US. Without the protection of the First Amendment, we would quite quickly descend into a fascist hell like Germany did in the 1930's. Believe me, these people have no respect whatsoever for civil rights. Don't believe me? Go surf at Democratic Underground for awhile and you will see what I mean.

  106. I knew it... by Cynikal · · Score: 1

    well i knew most of it...

    Since i only get one channel, i have no choice what i watch, just whether i watch or not. TWL is "ok", but having the ST people on added a nice twist. Unlike alot of people here i really don't care how bad crusher's lines were, i wouldnt hold it against Wil himself. but i digress..

    When i saw Wil was playing, i KNEW he was gonna play for the EFF, or something closely related to that. And i just KNEW soons i could check /. there would be some kind of hype about it. I don't think he seemed overly arrogant so much as just slightly over confident, but that was a better face to put up than one of a beaten dog, considering his PR.

    I think of everyone there, Shatner made an ass of himself, as usual, shames me to be Canadian... Roxanne.. well, i share the sentiment of the majority here, she totally over reacted, and got labeled a sabre-toothed-battle-bitch, too bad for her career.. but theres always bitch roles available in the movies, it could open doors. and babe, if your husband is that jealous as to have a problem with innocent flirting banter like that, put on some shoes, get out of the kitchen, and find yourself a 21st century man.

    burton and picardo really impressed me, although i did expect that from levar, he's always struck me as intelligent.. and of course Wil did a competent job, but i couldn't claim i would do better on a show like that. I'd just be happy that i didnt come off looking like an idiot...
    nuff said..

    last thing, so what IS the reason of the 1 "L"?

  107. Roxann Just replied on HER Website now .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Roxann has now commented on her website about this, and it was confirmed by the webmaster of the website, that it was indeed Roxann 'speaking'.
    Check it out here:

    Roxann's Website

    Please, can't we just get along!

    Posted by Roxann Dawson on November 28, 2001 at 00:37:56:

    Hey Everybody,
    Wow. Checked in to my friendly website to discover it had become a war zone. My goodness!

    We all had a great time shooting Weakest Link. Wil and I especially had fun sparring. It was all in jest. My comments at the end of the show were in keeping with the spirit of our fun sparring. I wish I could even take credit for the idea. It was recomended that I say that by the producers. I thought it was funny.. Its a shame they cut away from my comment before I started laughing. The aim of the show is to create conflict... and I guess they did. I didn't take offence to Bill Shatner saying he could take me in a fight. What does he think I am, a weak woman?!! LOL Come on everybody "lighten up" We were all having fun. Wil is great and I loved doing the show with him.

    The best part of the show is that $10,000 went to Half The Sky Foundation. For those of you new to my website, check out this worthy charity.

    Well, if this is what it takes to get so much traffic, maybe I should start another rumor... hmmm, let me think. The show was a cover up for a long time affair Wil and I have been having. Don't tell anyone!

    Anyway, please , can't we just get along!

    Remember the show was about having fun and charity. No one took it very seriously.

    My best to you all.

    Watch for some new and exciting changes to website coming soon.

    Roxann Dawson


    Looks like Roxann was just having a little Fun at Wil's expense, and meant no harm. :D

    Hmmm ... I wonder about that 'affair' rumor (grin).