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All Your Base Are Turned Five

Subm writes "All your base are turned five! According to AYBABTU: The History, 'June 5, 2000: The Zero Wing Dub Project is posted at OverClocked - the first original AYB humor.' Before then there was only an oddly (brilliantly?) translated game. But five years ago, someone set up us the bomb!" The Flash Video is, of course, still available.

161 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. After reading slashdot for so long.. by ciroknight · · Score: 5, Funny

    All of your base are belong to us doesn't sound like such bad grammar.

    --
    "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
    1. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Indeed, if speak like this you do!

    2. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by Computer+Mutt · · Score: 1

      After reading Slashdot for so long...

      I realized it's name was spelt with a capital "S".

      (Yes. I realize my earlier post had a grammar error in it. I'm also unsure of my usage of "it's" in this post. This post is made in jest. Don't take it seriously.)

    3. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by ciroknight · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ahh.. I guess humor fails us all at 5am.

      --
      "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
    4. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by IpalindromeI · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm also unsure of my usage of "it's" in this post.

      If that is true, and you weren't just adding to the humor of the "grammar nazi in jest" content, there is an easy way to remember when to use it's versus its. Because it's is a contraction, you can always use the full it is whenever it's is appropriate. So try saying it is in your head, and see if it sounds correct. If it does, use it's. If not, use its.

      In your post, you should have used its, because it isn't correct to say, "I realized it is name..."

      --

      --
      Promoting critical thinking since 1994.
    5. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by computerdude33 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The phrase is actually All your base are belong to us.

      --
      computerdude33's stuff: My blog of wonder.
    6. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Funny

      So it's it's is it or is it its .

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    7. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by Daengbo · · Score: 1

      See
      Plural vs. Possessive:http://oss-in-efl.info/mod/resource/vie w.php?id=132 and
      A cool cartoon on the use of the apostrophe: http://oss-in-efl.info/mod/resource/view.php?id=12 5

      Disclaimer -- They'r on my site with a DSL connection.

    8. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by Daengbo · · Score: 1

      Preview preview preview. When posting about English, preview five times. Damn it!

    9. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by Digi-John · · Score: 1

      Just remember the song from Strong Bad:

      "If it's supposed to be possessive, it's just i-t-s, but if it's supposed to be a contraction, it's i-t-apostrophe-s. Scalawag."

      --
      Klingon programs don't timeshare, they battle for supremacy.
    10. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by akuma(x86) · · Score: 1

      People confuse its and it's for another reason. There is an inconsistent usage.

      Tom's hardware - uses an apostrophe to denote possession.

      It's hardware - would be consistent with that rule but there's a special case which says you must use its.

    11. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

      Yes.

    12. Re:After reading slashdot for so long.. by JadeNB · · Score: 1
      In your post, you should have used its, because it isn't correct to say, "I realized it is name..."
      All your base it is belong to us.
  2. AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by mhotchin · · Score: 5, Funny

    A classic Bash quote:

    #205633 +(3675)- [X]

    WallJam7: roses are red
    WallJam7: violets are blue
    WallJam7: all of my base
    WallJam7: are belong to you

    1. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by IpalindromeI · · Score: 2, Informative
      --

      --
      Promoting critical thinking since 1994.
    2. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF, chown -R you ~/base.

    3. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by acariquara · · Score: 5, Funny

      I got a few "foes" here b'cause of my sig...

      Sigh.

      --
      Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
    4. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

      What, they set themselves as foes and posted a message that you would "rue the day you made that your signature"?

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    5. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by Magic5Ball · · Score: 1

      Someone set him up the foe !!

      --
      There are 1.1... kinds of people.
    6. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by metlin · · Score: 1

      Funnily enough, this was seen outside Georgia Tech's College of Computing building on Valentine's day.

      The irony of it? GTech (and particularly the CS department) hardly has any women at all to begin with. I'm convinced that most of the women they show in the stats are either professors or janitors. :-/

      Makes you wonder who wrote that though...spooky!

    7. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by forrestt · · Score: 1

      That wouldn't get them all. Try this:

      Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF, chown -R you `find ~ -name base`.

    8. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 1

      Well? Go on...start rueing!!

      --
      [b.belong('us') for b in bases if b.owner() == 'you']
    9. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

      As they should!! Where's the "all"? The last line should read:
      chown -R you ~/base*

      n00b ...

    10. Re:AYB Vs. Valantine's Day... by Tiggs23 · · Score: 1

      Since we're all correcting each other's spelling and grammar here (which I find highly amusing in response to this particular article, by the way), the title of your post should be "AYB Vs. Valentine's Day..."

      --
      "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." --Ayn Rand
  3. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by bnitsua · · Score: 1

    agreed.
    the joke was dead four years ago... when I saw an all your base t-shirt at a hipster clothing store.

  4. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by MayonakaHa · · Score: 5, Funny

    I agree you spoony bard!

  5. 5 Years? by miyako · · Score: 2, Insightful

    only 5 years, strange, it seems like so much longer....and I don't mean that in a good way.
    the original AYB game was funny (especially for the 4 people who actually played Zero Wing), but it has started to get old.
    I think the biggest problem is that there are still, believe it or not, people who have never seen it. They see it for the first time and then insist on showing all of us again.

    --
    Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
    1. Re:5 Years? by oogoliegoogolie · · Score: 1

      I think the biggest problem is that there are still, believe it or not, people who have never seen it.

      There are alway ppl that haven't experienced things older ppl have, but eventually they come to realize that the world's been turning for much longer than they've been around.

  6. While we're having a story about a bad joke by elgrinner · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'll just throw in:
    In Soviet Russia us belong to your all Base; err... belong us are to all your base ... umm... Base are to us all belong...
    Ah! Screw this!

    --
    But my Mom says I'm cool! -Milhouse
    1. Re:While we're having a story about a bad joke by m50d · · Score: 1

      In Soviet Russia, us belong to all your base!

      --
      I am trolling
    2. Re:While we're having a story about a bad joke by yakhan451 · · Score: 2, Funny

      All your base belong to the State.

    3. Re:While we're having a story about a bad joke by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1
      Base are to us all belong...
      Indeed, in communistic countries all means of production belong to the people, so you've got that one quite right.
    4. Re:While we're having a story about a bad joke by Tiggs23 · · Score: 1
      Indeed, in communistic countries all means of production belong to the people, so you've got that one quite right.

      If by "the people" you mean "the government," then yes.

      --
      "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." --Ayn Rand
  7. In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 year by guardiangod · · Score: 5, Informative

    all your base are belong to us

    In A.D. 2101
    War was beginning.
    Captain: What happen ?
    Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
    Operator: We get signal.
    Captain: What !
    Operator: Main screen turn on.
    Captain: It's You !!
    Cats: How are you gentlemen !!
    Cats: All your base are belong to us.
    Cats: You are on the way to destruction.
    Captain: What you say !!
    Cats: You have no chance to survive make your time.
    Cats: HA HA HA HA ....
    Captain: Take off every 'zig' !!
    Captain: You know what you doing.
    Captain: Move 'zig'.
    Captain: For great justice.


    I remember the day that I saw the flash movie (on gaming force I think)- it literally dropped me to the floor.

    Time sure goes fast...Or am I just getting too old for my own good?

  8. Korea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    In Korea, only old people make "All your base..." jokes.

    1. Re:Korea by mobby_6kl · · Score: 1

      No, it's funny again... in Japan!

  9. Blah. by Mike+Markley · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, I'm sure I'll get endless crap for this, but I still find it hilarious. I swear, I don't usually go for lowest-common-denominator humor, but man, that still cracks me up :(.

    1. Re:Blah. by dustinbarbour · · Score: 1

      For lack of a better word.. heard that! I love that little bit of Flash and will watch it every now and again for the nostalgia. I first saw it when I was first becoming an Internet geek and AYBABTU just makes me remember the good 'ole days.. college dorm room, university connection, Napster, et cetera. Good times, indeed!

    2. Re:Blah. by TomHandy · · Score: 1

      I'm with you on this one too....... as old as it is, and as many times as I've seen it, it still manages to make me laugh. And dammit, there's always good opportunities to bring out lines like "you have no chance to survive, make your time" and "move EVERY zig" and "you know what doing" and "what you say!?!?". It is timeless.

    3. Re:Blah. by localhost00 · · Score: 1

      Eh, me too....I still find it amusing. In fact, I created an All your Genesis are belong to us page

      --

      Calling atheism and agnosticism a religion is like calling bald a hair color.

  10. Zero Wing was valuable for a while by wheany · · Score: 1

    A friend of mine used to own the game. When I explained the phenomenon that had grown around it, 3-4 years ago, he was disappointed that he had sold it earlier, because at the time the cart sold for a pretty good sum on ebay.

  11. move zig by Kaisum · · Score: 5, Funny

    Somebody set up us the cake.

    1. Re:move zig by hostyle · · Score: 2, Funny

      Cake or Death?

      --
      Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
    2. Re:move zig by grolschie · · Score: 1

      Somebody set up us the cake

      I think you meant to say "Somebody set up us the pie". ;-)

  12. Happy AYB-Day! by alexwcovington · · Score: 1

    Even if it's a tad late ;)

    --
    (It's never too late to join the Renaissance)
  13. All your base meme graphs by dgtlhoon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Check these graphs out All your belong to us trendwatcher graph unfortuntaly was added around September, 2004, but you can still watch the eb and flow of this! Looks like its free, you can add others too.

    1. Re:All your base meme graphs by dgtlhoon · · Score: 1

      Actually the following graph is getting off the subject a bit, but check out the growth from about 1000 entries to over 1.5Million and back down again for the Nokia 770 internet tablet, i guess news like this hits the blogs and quickly dies off again, no such spike recorded in the All your base graph tho hmmm

  14. You know, you've got to wonder... by aendeuryu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...if somewhere in Japan or Korea or China they've got tributes to poor translations from English into their languages.

    Lord knows there's lots of potential. "Don't see" or "Don't sleep" in Korean comes close to "vagina" and "penis", and Microsoft's first effort to build a brand in Asia (not quite sure where) ended up with something that came out as "small and soft".

    1. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by Curtman · · Score: 4, Funny
      This has to be my favourite..

      Microsoft has also managed to upset women and entire countries. A Spanish-language version of Windows XP, destined for Latin American markets, asked users to select their gender between "not specified," "male" or "bitch," because of an unfortunate error in translation.
    2. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by Paolo+DF · · Score: 1

      Oh, this is so funny. I never heard of this. PS: has this ever been posted on Slashdot? ;-)

      --
      Pumbaa! I don't wonder; I know.
    3. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by Curtman · · Score: 1

      PS: has this ever been posted on Slashdot?

      I'm not sure. I got it from Google News last year, and its been in my bookmarks ever since. Still makes me laugh. :)

    4. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by RedWizzard · · Score: 1
      Microsoft's first effort to build a brand in Asia (not quite sure where) ended up with something that came out as "small and soft".
      Hardly suprising, that's what it literally says in English, after all. You've got to wonder what Bill was thinking...
    5. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by Curtman · · Score: 1
      You've got to wonder what Bill was thinking...

      I think we all know what Bill was thinking...
      "I'm such a sexy bitch"
    6. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by woah · · Score: 1

      Yeah, well he's trying to compensate for this with the name of the upcoming operating system.

    7. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by konmem · · Score: 1

      Not quite, but http://www.hanzismatter.com/ is close...

      --
      This sig intentionally left blank.
    8. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by CrazyTiger · · Score: 1

      Yes it has-I laughed really hard that time. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/23/165322 9&tid=109&tid=1

    9. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by kfg · · Score: 1

      . . .asked users to select their gender between "not specified," "male" or "bitch,". . .

      Well, according to Dawn French there are two kinds of women, ones with chocolate, and complete bitches, so perhaps Microsoft's real error was the noninclusion of "chocolate" from the available selections.

      And always remember to yell "Fire!" when you fall into the chocolate (and a Brownie Point to the first one who correctly answers why you yell "Fire!" without resorting to Google).

      KFG

    10. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by conchobar0928 · · Score: 1
      I don't know about game translations specifically, but there is, ironically, a Japanese equivalent of engrish.com that pokes fun at foreigners screwing up Japanese in very public ways.

      http://www.geocities.co.jp/MotorCity/7168/others/j apaneseindex.html

      Ha, in the first entry, the candy wrapper's katakana says "funakku" instead of "sunakku"!!

    11. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by Daengbo · · Score: 1

      My Thai girlfriend recently got an email from a former classmate with a compendium of errors in the official translations of western movies into Thai(The pirated versions are hilarious, BTW).

      One of the corrections read something like this:
      Movie line: I'm going to the head.
      Subtitle: I go to a head (on a body)
      Thai woman's correction: Of course this should read, "I'm going to see the boss."

      I laughed for a long time when I read it.

      There is an anecdotal story which I've only heardonce about when "He-men, Masters of the Universe" was distributed in Thailand. The children all ran around singing "stinky twat" in Thai and the show was quickly cancelled.

    12. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by Dun+Malg · · Score: 1
      And always remember to yell "Fire!" when you fall into the chocolate (and a Brownie Point to the first one who correctly answers why you yell "Fire!" without resorting to Google).

      For the same reason that, if you're rock climbing, you yell "ROCK!" if you drop your lunch down the cliff-- because no one will know to duck if you yell "LUNCH!"

      Likewise, no one will come to rescue you if you yell "CHOCOLATE!"

      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
    13. Re:You know, you've got to wonder... by kfg · · Score: 1

      La dee doo dum, la dee doo dum day!

      And you're one point closer to your "Classic Comedy" merit badge.

      KFG

  15. 'flash video still available' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    no longer...looks like all your 500 server errors are belong to us.

    1. Re:'flash video still available' by ocelotbob · · Score: 1

      Probably a problem with mysql. Y'know, all your database are belong to us and all...

      --

      Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses

    2. Re:'flash video still available' by eddiec · · Score: 1
  16. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Romancer · · Score: 1

    Who was the translator who handled this one?
    Did he do other games too?

    We could find stuff like:
    Some your ship are belong to die.

    --


    ) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
    ) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
  17. Re:GNAA Announces Immediate Release of OSX_x86_YHB by bnitsua · · Score: 1

    wow, a gnaa comment in an article about unfunny old memes!
    what are the odds?

  18. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Computer+Mutt · · Score: 2, Informative

    The game was made by Toaplan, but I've had no success in finding any references to any specifc translator. Perhaps to was Google Translator '89?

  19. Re:all your first posts are belong to us by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 1

    Not that redundant: Slashdot was created in 1997, which means that "first post" meme is 8 years old. That beats AYBABTU hands down...

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  20. All your Rhapsody are belong to us... by zalas · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think one of my favorite ones was still the all your base set to Bohemian Rhapsody:
    http://www.pwned.nl/ayb/

    1. Re:All your Rhapsody are belong to us... by Zemrec · · Score: 1

      Wow, that was the best one ever!

      Too Much Spare Time Productions, indeed!

    2. Re:All your Rhapsody are belong to us... by (startx) · · Score: 1

      ahhh! After watching that it feels like my brain just shrunk. Give me my 5 minutes back!

    3. Re:All your Rhapsody are belong to us... by Koiu+Lpoi · · Score: 1

      That was really good, overall. Except for the General MIDI music. I'm sorry, even though it was a Good MIDI, it was still flat straight Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth General MIDI. I was not impressed.

    4. Re:All your Rhapsody are belong to us... by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 1

      That wonderful. All my thanks are to you.

    5. Re:All your Rhapsody are belong to us... by blacklite001 · · Score: 1

      My god.

      Thank you. I think.

  21. Admit it, you love stupid memes by bersl2 · · Score: 1

    Stupid memes are those stupid inside jokes you have with friends, except that the inside is enormous. Furthermore, the jokes get older much more quickly, so people end up trying to out-weird the most recent meme.

    In case you missed it, this is the best of the more recent Zero Wing parodies.

    1. Re:Admit it, you love stupid memes by bersl2 · · Score: 1

      Aw, crap. Got beat to the punch because I watched it.

  22. Re: all your first posts are belong to us by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1


    > Slashdot was created in 1997, which means that "first post" meme is 8 years old.

    Actually, the fp meme wasn't original equipment. IIRC it's slightly more recent than the portman/petrified/grits silliness.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  23. Ode to McBride by DrJimbo · · Score: 5, Funny
    McBride's face is now red
    SCO owners are blue
    'Cause none of our Linux
    are belong to you

    --
    We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
    -- Anais Nin
  24. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by MSTCrow5429 · · Score: 1

    That isn't actually a link to Toaplan's website. Toaplan went out of business in 1995, so what you have there is a fansite. Which is why the last published games were in 1994.

    --
    Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
  25. AYB impressed me so much.. by haggar · · Score: 1

    ..I picked up a Sega MD II and Zero Wing just to see for myself the real deal. Actually, it's not a bad game at all.

    Then I bought Sonic and Sonic 2 - great fun. All in all, I am grateful to those Japanese developers, for their warped translation.

    --
    Sigged!
  26. Re:all your first posts are belong to us by Lozay_2k · · Score: 1

    http://web.archive.org/web/19971221012817/http://s lashdot.org/>The Wayback Machine

  27. Is there a statute of limitations by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1


    for jokes on Slashdot?

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    1. Re:Is there a statute of limitations by Babbster · · Score: 2, Funny

      In Soviet Russia, limitations statute you!

    2. Re:Is there a statute of limitations by Quantam · · Score: 1

      Oh Gord, how I wish...

      --
      You have tried to support your argument with faulty reasoning! Go directly to jail; do not pass Go, do not collect $200!
  28. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by PakProtector · · Score: 4, Informative

    Whoever modded this offtopic is in sore need of understanding.

    The parent post refers to another video game that also was not well translated, namely the American Final Fantasy II. At one point, a character named Bard (Who is a Bard) is moping over the meaninglessness of his existance. Another character, Tellah, cracks him on the head and shouts, "You Spoony Bard!"

    For a picture of Bard and Tellah, just go to the games page. Bard is standing on the left, with blond hair and a red cap, and Tellah is on the right with white beard and hair and a purple robe and glasses.

    --

    Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
    man: no entry for woman in the manual.
    "Qua!?"

  29. Re: all your first posts are belong to us by torpor · · Score: 1

    there have been first-post'er morons since chips&dips ..

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
  30. Re:all your first posts are belong to us by wootest · · Score: 1

    Corrected link (removed second 'http://' which isn't actually necessary but probably causes Slashcode to end the first link):

    http://web.archive.org/web/19971221012817/slashdot .org/

  31. Yatta! The flash madness continues by GQuon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The only flash movies that... ahem, struck me as much as AYBABTU were these:

    Sticky Night of Love

    And of course, the Yatta flash.

    Original Yatta video for context.
    Yatta Flash

    Plenty of Engrish and epilepsia-inducing pictures.

    Thank you slashdot. Oh, boy do I look forward to having my friends send me a link to this funny AYBABTU thing that they just discovered. ;-)

    --
    Irene KHAAAAAAN!
    1. Re:Yatta! The flash madness continues by Zugok · · Score: 1

      I think you need to visit 2ch to see some really whacky falsh movies. Of course, this made me laugh more than AYB ever did.

      --
      "I just can't sit while people are saying nonsense in a meeting without saying it's nonsense" J Watson, Sci Am 288:(4)51
  32. koan.net older than slashdot tho by dgtlhoon · · Score: 1

    Well koan.net was registered in `96 by a bunch of nerds who were into the blogging idea way-back-when.. so who knows

  33. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Einherjer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Somebody set up us the bomb...

    hmmmm..... reverse it...

    Bomb the U.S., upset somebody.

    *tinfoilhats himself*

  34. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by MayonakaHa · · Score: 1

    Thank you! I hate when clueless people mod something offtopc without looking it up.

  35. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by PakProtector · · Score: 1

    No need to thank me -- we do as we must.
    That and I'm rather fond of that game.

    --

    Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
    man: no entry for woman in the manual.
    "Qua!?"

  36. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by MayonakaHa · · Score: 1
    Anybody know where this comes from?

    "You! Invaders! Get you the hot bullets of shotgun to die!"

  37. From my movie review web site... by bennomatic · · Score: 1
    Haiku Movie Review of AYBABTU

    phenomenon web
    all your base are belong to us
    want must shake your zig

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  38. What the hell... by Jugalator · · Score: 1

    News so old that archive.org need to be used to post it? Now that's a first...

    Now I wonder why these news are considered so important that there's a need to go these great lengths to get them on Slashdot four years after they were posted?

    I can understand looking back at Apple's switch to Intel in 2010 to see where they went, but the AYBABTU meme?

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  39. "Small and soft" by liangzai · · Score: 1

    Yeah, in Chinese Microsoft is translated as Weiruan, where "wei" means miniscule, small, tiny and is also the prefix micro, and "ruan" means soft ("software" is accordingly "ruanjian"). Similar with Japanese and other Asian langauges.

    Speakers of English can easily infer that the company name is really short for Software for microcomputers, but all in all, Microsoft means small and soft, also in English, if you are to take it literally.

    (My humble apologies for being unable to write out characters; Slashdot, this modern and geekily techy site, seems to have some problems chewing representations of anything but Latin 1.)

    1. Re:"Small and soft" by antifoidulus · · Score: 1

      It's not impossible (ignore the post as it's just a troll and look at the sig), but I have no idea how he does it.....

    2. Re:"Small and soft" by liangzai · · Score: 1

      Testing... HTML entitites...

  40. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Shano · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, when bush started waffling about Operation Infinite Justice (demonstrating that he doesn't have a clue what infinite means, but I digress), what was the first thing I thought of?

    For great justice.

  41. Re:I always used to get "its" and "it's" wrong by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
    The exeception to pay attention to is that for all pronouns, the possesive never has an apostrophe.

    Except for "one's".

  42. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Dehumanizer · · Score: 1

    "Here is a graveyard of you!"
    (Ninja Kids)

    "Sammy you!"
    (Violence Fight)

    "The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?"
    (Bad Dudes)

    --
    The Tlog - a technology blog
  43. Find another one? by StarCharter · · Score: 1

    NO!!!!
    I'd have to buy another T-shirt and this one still has a good twenty years of use in it.
    If I don't wash it...

  44. Re:I always used to get "its" and "it's" wrong by IpalindromeI · · Score: 1

    Yes, but for those that don't know or care about parts of speech, it's easier to just try and say it is in your head and see if it sounds correct. Plus, it also works for they're versus their.

    I'm all for knowing language, but most people don't really care (as is obvious from the lack of proper speech), so it's best to keep the rules simple and easy to remember.

    --

    --
    Promoting critical thinking since 1994.
  45. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 4, Informative

    If anyone is interested, this is how the manual puts it (yes, I actually have the game):

    Space Piracy

    The year is 2101 A.D. The Milky Way Federation, the galaxy's governing body, has made public its (sic) plans to construct stategic defense bases in eight different locations. The purpose of the bases is protection against intergalactic crime. The Federation's prime concern is a band of space piractes led by Cats, the flamboyant cosmic freebooter who is secretly plotting his biggest performance...

    Two years later, the bases were completed and operational. Despite the new defense network, tragedy struck. Ten Strike Force attack craft docked aboard the Federation 1011 Star Cruiser were destroyed by a bomb that had been planted aboard the mother ship!

    Shortly after the explosion, the ship's operator recieved an odd signal. The Captain ordered the viewer turned on, and who should appear but Cats himself!

    "Nice to see you all. I've taken control of each and every one of your bases. Today will go down in history as the day the Milky Way Federation was destroyed by one man - me! Ha ha ha ha..."

    One attack craft remained undamaged. The Captain, without hesitation, ordered the ZIG-01 "Zero Wing" into battle. You must fly the attack ship to each friendly base and drive Cats' forces out. The fate of an entire galazy rests on your shoulders!

    The only things I can note about this is that Cats is "flamboyant", make of that what you will, and that this seems to imply your ship is the only one working, yet the intro seems to imply at least three Zigs are working.

    Later the Getting Started bit of the manual suggests "Follow the story screens to get a better feel for the task you're about to take on." I kinda feel that advice may leave someone far more confused than if they just read the story bit of the manual really.

    And no, I will not transcribe the other seven language versions that are in the manual.

    --
    10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
    20 GOTO 10
  46. experience the AYBABTU glory by hourieh · · Score: 1

    I knew about Zero Wing after the whole AYBABTU thing broke off, a while ago I thought of trying the original game, I downloaded Gens and the game's ROM, the game itself isn't bad at all, it also features the intro with the original beeps and background music too.

  47. It must be asked: what did they _really_ say? by Chuck+Messenger · · Score: 1

    I'm curious -- OK, so AYB is a bad translation of a Japanese game. I'd be interested to see a _good_ translation of that dialog. What is a "zig"?

    1. Re:It must be asked: what did they _really_ say? by RPoet · · Score: 4, Informative

      Here is a "good" translation.

      --
      "Oppression and harassment is a small price to pay to live in the land of the free." -- Montgomery Burns.
  48. Is there any playable port for Linux??? by marat · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry, I never played Zero Wing, now is probably a good time to see it finally. Google only displays links on Doom and Quake for some reason.

  49. Reminiscing by TheoMurpse · · Score: 2, Funny

    *sigh* I remember when my friends (who had broadband, and I had dialup and I think was grounded for a while from the internet for downloading some *cough* pictures) were talking about AYBABTU. One even got a bumper sticker for his car. For some reason I was under the impression some Chinese hackers had hacked the CIA's website and had meant to be "badass" by declaring that they had owned the US's intelligence-gathering office. However, in a stroke of irony, they employed horrid grammar.

    It wasn't until I was ungrounded that I found out the truth.

    I'm not sure which version I like better -- hackers screwing up the pr00f of 0wn4g3, or that the Japanese could not translate to English.

    As a sidenote, I just bought myself a shirt that says "REFLECT BABOON it does no matter where you come from" and one that says "HIPPOpoTAMUS brother it takes care when playing GEE THANKS" here in Japan this week. This is of course balanced out by the kanji mistakes on Tian's site.

  50. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Yosho · · Score: 2, Informative

    Erm -- the bard is named Edward in the American translation, Gilbert in the original Japanese version. And if I recall correctly, the reason Tellah was thrashing Edward was because he (who was actually the prince of Damcyan) ran off with Tellah's daughter, and his daughter was killed in an attack on Edward's castle. So, "You spoony bard!" was a rather awkward thing to yell out when most people would've be cursing..

    --
    Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
  51. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by PakProtector · · Score: 1

    Oops. Sorry. I'll have to dig out my copy and get the SNES running.

    --

    Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
    man: no entry for woman in the manual.
    "Qua!?"

  52. Zero Wing on "Teh Lunix" by tepples · · Score: 1

    Just grab an emulator and pirate the ROM. Toaplan is dead, and it's not illegal if you don't get caught.

  53. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Yosho · · Score: 1

    The year is 2101 A.D. The Milky Way Federation, the galaxy's governing body, has made public its (sic) plans to construct stategic defense bases in eight different locations.

    You know, "its" is correct in this case. There's no apostrophe when it's indicating possession.

    --
    Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
  54. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 1

    Ahh, I thought it was needed, seeing as you usually use 's to indicate possession... Bloody English, too many stupid contradictions, plus it never was my strong point really. At least I don't usually get Their / There / They're mixed up anymore. :-)

    --
    10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
    20 GOTO 10
  55. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by kravlor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    We do need to give the translators credit where credit's due:

    has made public its (sic) plans to construct

    Note that its == posessive; it's == "it is", so the plans of the Federation are accurately described with "its" versus the contraction form.

  56. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by otis+wildflower · · Score: 1

    "The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?"

    Well, are you?

  57. My Zig by Hythlodaeus · · Score: 1

    I guess that means I haven't changed my sig in 5 years.

    --
    For great justice.
    1. Re:My Zig by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Ah, that probably explains the smell.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  58. I don't know about the rest of you.... by hoborocks · · Score: 1

    ....but the prospect that after 5 years, "[I] have no chance to survive make [my] time" REALLY worries me.

    --
    AccountKiller
  59. Re: In a post 9/11 world... by LordEd · · Score: 1

    In the post 9/11 world, the risk of being set up the bomb is yellow.

  60. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by uttaddmb · · Score: 1

    I've taken control of each and every one of your bases."

    Somehow, I don't think this wording would have caused an Internet phenomenon.

  61. My favorite pic by Tancred · · Score: 1

    ...was one a coworker took in our lab. He'd put "all your base are belong to us" on the little readouts on the line cards of a Cisco GSR (12008), where it normally says "IOS RUN" or startup or error messages. Tres geeky. Wish I had a copy of that.

  62. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Koiu+Lpoi · · Score: 1

    I still like from Phantasy Star IV how all of a sudden, after a boss fight, a converstation happens:

    "How was it?"
    "Yes, it's better now."

    It's referring to the start of the game boss, but damn is it confusing and funny sounding, seeing as grammer would have them referring to the now dead monster.

  63. Ob. Spelling nazi by SoTuA · · Score: 2, Funny

    Surely you meant "my ZIG", right?

  64. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by DrunkenTerror · · Score: 1

    Then shut your pie-hole! P.S. Howdy neigbor!

  65. All your memes are tired and ancient. by ShaniaTwain · · Score: 1

    The hep new thing is Extreme Futurism

    All the kids are into it.

  66. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Reverend528 · · Score: 1

    Wikipedia has a fascinating rendition of how it should have been translated.

    A.D. 2101
    The war has begun.
    Captain: What was that?!
    Chief Engineer: It appears someone has planted bombs.
    Operator: Captain! We have an incoming transmission!
    Captain: What? Who?
    Operator: I'll put it on the main screen.
    Captain: You! You're...
    CATS [with sarcasm]: You seem to be preoccupied, gentlemen.
    CATS: With the kind cooperation of the Federation forces, all of your bases are now under our control.
    CATS: Your ship, too, will soon meet its end.
    Captain: That's... impossible!
    CATS: Thanks for coming out this far. You have made it too easy.
    CATS: Make the most of these last moments of your lives.
    CATS: Ha ha ha ha ha...
    Operator: Captain...
    Captain: Operator, give a launch order to all ZIG fighters, now!
    Captain: We have no time to lose. It's up to them.
    Captain: All our hope for the future is in their hands.
    Captain: Godspeed, ZIG fighters!

  67. Enough is enough! by Cobron · · Score: 1

    I think I speak for everyone when I say: http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/?t=archives&date= 2002-11-01

  68. And "Al Qaida" literally means "the base". by GQuon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    And "Al Qaida" literally means "the base". No joke.

    --
    Irene KHAAAAAAN!
    1. Re:And "Al Qaida" literally means "the base". by QuaZar666 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I had to look this up just to verify that and yeah its correct according to various sites including the Air Force's Air University Webpage.

      Link
  69. Culture by daniil · · Score: 1

    Whether you like it or not, this silly meme is a part of Slashdot culture. That's enough a reason for someone to post a story about the AYB meme turning five.

    --
    Man is a slave because freedom is difficult, whereas slavery is easy.
  70. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by nherm · · Score: 1

    here is one of the funnier interpretations for the "How are you gentlemen" line, from an old poll

  71. Why for do you incorrect grammar? by Inoshiro · · Score: 1

    "has made public its (sic) plans t"

    Its is the possesive form of it. It's (the contraction of it was, it has, it is) would not fit in such a space. As such, your (sic) is incorrect.

    Remember, friends don't let friends incorrect grammar in a quote!

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
  72. made public its (sic) plans by lildogie · · Score: 1

    Interesting on how you use "sic" for correct grammar.

    The appostrophe is only used in the contraction for "it is," not the posessive "belongs to it."

    1. Re:made public its (sic) plans by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 1

      I would like to conratulate Inoshiro and you for being the third and fourth people to correct me on that error, especially with your dilligence of correcting me several hours after the first two people to correct me (I'm guessing the first two was just a case of two people replying at the same time). I know I screwed up, but if one person has already pointed out the mistake, you don't really need to correct it again. Or in other words: check the other replys first, dummy.

      --
      10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
      20 GOTO 10
    2. Re:made public its (sic) plans by hobbit · · Score: 1

      That should be "replies" ;)

      --
      "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
    3. Re:made public its (sic) plans by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 1

      Bugger, I can't do anything right at the moment! :-)

      --
      10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
      20 GOTO 10
  73. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by keith_nt4 · · Score: 1

    Well I just found this one. Course I don't know if it's poorly translated or not (appears to be Japanese). Just strangely hypnotic. Or just strange.

    --
    "UNIX is very simple, it just needs a genius to understand its simplicity." -Dennis Ritchie
  74. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by nothings · · Score: 1
  75. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by KillShill · · Score: 1

    ahh, copyright infringement in space.

    it all makes sense now...

    --
    Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
  76. I, For One, Salute You by SecretAsianMan · · Score: 1

    Do you realize that you just posted a link to and transcript of AYB ... and got modded to 5? I think that qualifies for Slashdot's Greatest Karma Whoring of All Time award! :-)

    --

    Washington, DC: It's like Hollywood for ugly people.

  77. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Sj0 · · Score: 1

    At one point, a character named Bard (Who is a Bard)

    You mean Edward right?

    He might have been the most useless character in the history of video games, but he did have a name and a history.

    --
    It's been a long time.
  78. Another aniversary by Lost+Race · · Score: 1

    Four years, eleven months, and three weeks ago today: "All your base" and "set us up" references and variants stopped being funny.

  79. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by AyeRoxor! · · Score: 1
  80. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by PakProtector · · Score: 1

    Sorry. It's been a while.

    I did alot of wall candy when I was a kid.

    --

    Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
    man: no entry for woman in the manual.
    "Qua!?"

  81. Re:Or, as Nino Brown would so elegantly put it... by Sj0 · · Score: 1

    All your freebasic are belong to us?

    --
    It's been a long time.
  82. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by John+Newman · · Score: 1
    Ahh, I thought it was needed, seeing as you usually use 's to indicate possession... Bloody English, too many stupid contradictions, plus it never was my strong point really. At least I don't usually get Their / There / They're mixed up anymore. :-)
    It's not really a contradiction. Think of it as "order of operations" instead. Contraction takes precedence over possession. "It's" might be the proper form for either the contraction or the possessive, but contraction takes precedence and possessive is relegated to "its".

    A more general way to think about it is to realize that no pronouns use the apostrophe for their possessive forms. Mine, yours, her/hers, his, its, our/ours, their/theirs... The anachronistic reason for this general exception to the "'s" rule may well have been to reduce the confusion of contracted "_ is" forms, which are very commonly used with pronouns.
  83. Re:I always used to get "its" and "it's" wrong by Mozk · · Score: 1

    That was strange because I was just looking up info about apostrophes yesterday. I was having trouble with possessives that end if s or z. Like if a person named Jones had a house. Is it Jones' or Jones's. It gets even harder when it's plural. Like if the family was named Jones. Would it be Jones's, Jones', or something else? What about Z's? (Yes you use the apostrophe for single letters like that)

    --
    No existe.
  84. important flash? by ASLayerAODsk · · Score: 1

    so..did someone summon the coinbahd??? *how old is this?* http://www.oz.net/~will/adventures_of_coin_bird/co inbirdflash.html

  85. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by noidentity · · Score: 1

    The year is 2101 A.D. The Milky Way Federation, the galaxy's governing body, has made public its (sic) plans to construct stategic defense bases in eight different locations. The purpose of the bases is protection against intergalactic crime. The Federation's prime concern is a band of space piractes led by Cats, the flamboyant cosmic freebooter who is secretly plotting his biggest performance...

    "Its" is correct there. Score one for the translators!

  86. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 1

    Only about eight hours after the first reply to say this, and two and a half since my last reply moaning about people who reply without checking to see if other people have already said the same thing. ;-)

    --
    10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
    20 GOTO 10
  87. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Hes+Nikke · · Score: 1

    or you can do the ad-libs version :)

    --
    Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.
  88. Get the LITTLE book. by rpresser · · Score: 1

    The Elements of Style , Strunk & White. Originally published in 1918.

    "The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe."

    Try to get the 3rd edition, though. The 4th is much weaker.

    Best advice evar: "Omit needless words."

  89. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by dtungsten · · Score: 1

    I think this would be the correct placement of the "[sic]," unless "piractes" was your typo.

    a band of space piractes [sic] led by Cats,

    Please note: I have not pointed out the same old mistake here, it's something that others have missed.

    OT: It seems that I don't have to "prove" I'm human anymore. Good thing, because I can't! :)

  90. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by noidentity · · Score: 1

    and two and a half since my last reply moaning about people who reply without checking to see if other people have already said the same thing. ;-)

    Argh. OK, I need to start checking this. But that's what mods are for, to mod up non-redundant items. Anyway, I'm lame :)

  91. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Zugok · · Score: 1

    The 'Spoony Bard" reference makes return in Final Fantasy XI in one of the San d'Oria Quests. In the quest, you have to catch an Elvaan thief. If you talk to one of the guards at the West Gate(?) he'll make that reference.

    --
    "I just can't sit while people are saying nonsense in a meeting without saying it's nonsense" J Watson, Sci Am 288:(4)51
  92. There were heroes on both sides by MichaelPenne · · Score: 1

    Evil was everywhere
    All your base are belong to us...

    Now that would have been a prequel!

  93. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by AyeRoxor! · · Score: 1

    Wrong.

    "The cat lost its teeth." is the only correct way to write it. "The cat lost it's teeth." is completely wrong and no English teacher will tell you otherwise. That would mean "The cat lost it is teeth."

    Glad I could help. :)

  94. Re:All Your Base Are Dull Now by Computer+Mutt · · Score: 1

    I'm aware of that, as it says so on every page. It still seems to be a valid source of information.

  95. Re:In case u've been living in a cave for past 5 y by Tiggs23 · · Score: 1
    Ah, a man after my own heart. Have you heard of the book _Eats, Shoots and Leaves_, by Lynn Truss? I think you'd enjoy it.

    (Please forgive me for being slightly off-topic, O great and just gods of moderation.)

    --
    "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." --Ayn Rand