Slashdot Mirror
Gamers Gain Political Voice
GameDailyBiz has a rundown on the just-announced Videogame Voters Network. The network has been established by the ESA with the intent of organizing gamers into a political force. Will Wright: "Computer and video games represent one of the most important new media developments of this generation. Unlike many other forms of entertainment they offer players the opportunity to explore, be creative, learn through interaction and express themselves to others. It is vitally important that we protect and nurture this new art form so that it can reach its full potential. Like most new forms of artistic expression that have come before (music, novels, movies), the primary critics of video games are the people that do not play them."
Do we really want to have gamers as a political force..? IMHO the gamers and developers will always have a good connection, what players like they sell. Active gamers will follow the game news and await good new titles (I can't wait for Spore!!) so the thing we need is good media that keeps gamers up-to-date with good reviews, not reviews/previews written like a commercial by the developers.
My blog: http://www.redcode.nl
This should be interesting. Granted there was the hue and cry (and plenty fun made) over remarks made by Jack Thompson, but other than rattling a pretty brittle man's cage, will this prove more of an effort of herding cats?
What about the dark and sinister people who come up with some of the really good (and controversial) games? Isn't there the opportunity for, just like we whine and bitch and moan about lobbyists in Washington DC making whores out of our representatives, for these people to manipulate us, the game playing public?
Honestly, I would feel pretty let down if I was in there pitching for Rockstar and then found thy put some thing in the game, as a joke, which undermined my other positions.
introducing the honorable Senators Gabe and Tycho of the great state of Washington
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I must say, I wonder how effective a lobbying movement of computer gamers will be against the coordinated efforts of family groups who want to ban "improper" video games. The family groups are more prone to vote, contribute, and be active in the political arena in general. I know there are exceptions, but I think Will Wright's just angling for some publicity for the cause...not a bad goal, but I hope nobody's hopes are raised too highly by this.
Tags != Comments, and -1 (Troll) != -1 (I Would Respond Angrily To This Poster So They Must Be Trolling)
Education has nothing to do with income -- I barely graduated high school and I do fairly well considering most people in my fields have MBAs or Master's Degrees and I never attended college.
Employment "rights" have been slowly destroyed by the law, not made better. Minimum wage laws have made it very hard for the young, the uneducated and the minorities to find entry level work that teaches them responsible work ethics as well as a trade. The Americans with Disability Act has made it much harder for the disabled to get jobs, and it has made it much harder on employers to even interview someone with a disability. Business licensing and regulations have made it difficult for the common man to start a business -- just trying opening a restaurant or a small retail store today. In the past you could open either with very little income compared to what you need to pay today just to get an occupancy permit.
Housing prices have been put out of reach of millions by government currency inflation (which is the sole cause of housing and consumer price increases in the past 20-30 years). On top of this, the housing and rental market is made more expensive by ridiculous property tax increases which make it near impossible for the poor, elderly and uneducated to live near opportunities to make good money.
Medicine was available to almost every poor person until the HMO Act of 1974, which created a trap for those without insurance. Up until the early 70s doctors made housecalls and charged very little -- once insurance was nearly mandated by government (either as a required benefit or used to circumvent tax laws for employers), the price of medicine skyrocketed. It is directly the fault of government that health care is outrageously expensive.
Government is to blame for each and every situation you laid out above. I just returned from a tour of Europe and Asia -- I visited some of the most impoverished areas. What did I see? People trying to make a living by entering the business market themselves. Sure, I saw a lot of low quality businesses, but they were backed up by a real drive and a desire to do well for themselves. In the U.S., the average person has to get a 9-5 job because doing anything else requires too much money to overcome the costs government has enacted and enforced and continues to increase.
Voting can't and will never work again in the country. Unconstitutional violations of our freedom of speech (such as the McCain-Feingold incumbent reelection reform law) keep authoritarians in power and prevent the ability of anyone outside of the authoritarian parties from having a chance. Even if a "libertarian" got elected, the taste of power would quickly destroy any freedom desires they'd have.
That's the reality -- Congress and the Federal government have gone out of control. The framers intended the federal government to be very tiny -- so tiny they could do their job in weeks instead of all year long. The intent of the Constitution is to keep big laws like this one in the hands of the individual states and even just in the hands of the people. By keeping the biggest laws at the state level, people like me could vote with our feet -- the ultimate vote of freedom.
Sure, you can say "just move if you don't like it" but the idea is we're supposed to be free in this country, and 95% of slashdot readers don't want that -- they want an all powerful federal government instead of an all powerful state government that competes with an all-freedom-loving state government. The socialists can live in one state, the fascists in another, the Christians in a third, the green-lovers in a fourth -- the idea of the Republic was to give people the ability to congregate with others like themselves instead of trying to force the entire nation to be exactly the same.
Voting is worthless as the power of the Fed is too big, too strong, and too tempting.
Don't worry, no one's going to take it seriously with a name like VVN.
Videogame Voters Network. Sheesh. How about something that doesn't sound like the next MTV awards.
1st: Videogame is almost instantly associated with children or those that are childish. Change it to Interactive Entertainment or Interactive Electronics
2nd: Network: wow. coulda picked a better one, thats for sure. Lets see. Association, Group, etc..
3rd: "Voters" is redundant, because politicians don't care about those that don't vote.
What they describe is a lobby, not a voting bloc. What are the core values of gamers? "We like games?" "We don't like Senator Clinton?" Plus the added difference that a huge portion of the group CAN'T EVEN VOTE. And among those that can, many aren't involved in the political process or care, anyway.
But you know, whatever! Big mean government says violent games are bad! Gamer mad! Gamer smash!
Yes... as much as portraying the exact same thing in a movie, novel, song, play, or painting is art.
Most people consider Shakespearean or Dickensian portrayals of murder and warfare (which were written for the enjoyment of the unwashed masses, no less) to be art, so why is it so different when essentially the same story is told through modern media?
Of course, the average game may not be good art, but then again, neither is the average novel, song, movie, play, or painting.
You run retail stores, which you apparently shut down to spite the IRS, despite claimed "record sales",
No, actually my retail stores were shut down by the local taxing agent over fouled paperwork filings. We had record sales for the industry at the retail level, and everyone at the taxing body was shocked that we were forced to close for 2 weeks as we were one of the top earners in our field, for the state. After that closure I lost faith in the ability to continue earning, and voluntarily left the retail market forever so I'd never have to charge sales tax again. All retail I'll do now will be e-commerce oriented, outside of my state.
a record studio
Which isn't opened yet and is is not really a business as it will run at a loss for me. The studio is a need of mine personally to advance my political goals through capitalism, not force, and I have received financing from private donators who also want to see it succeed. Of course, without it being open, I can't prove anything, and I'm having problems opening it due to licensing problems at the local level, so we're looking for other locations. Funny how government keeps me from proving that I don't need government.
IT
My IT business has been around since 1987 provably, coming directly from my BBS which hundreds if not thousands of users have memory of (as well as proof on the various BBS archives). The Melting Point was a favorite of Chicago BBS users for years, and it was directly the reason I entered the IT field and continue to do so today. Plus the fact that I'm quoted in various contracting magazines as an IT consultant (just Google my name for at least 2-3 quotes in various contracting magazines).
while all the time writing multiple books which no one else seems to have read or heard of,
One which was published under a nom de plume and which will be republished this year under my real name after being edited, and one which was a self-published book outside normal distribution which I am currently converting to a free e-book to be published in April. See my blog where I am re-developing it as a Q&A book. Sadly, selling a few thousand copies over 10 years doesn't make one famous. Happily, those who own a copy or have read it have the knowledge the needed to add value to their lives.
multiple blogs and newsletters
Which are updated almost daily, not including the two print newsletters which are updated monthly.
and posting and engaging in numerous long running slashdot debates
Which I do 100% on-the-road in between projects. I am currently at a church right now working on a contract to do their signage and bulletins and checked my e-mail (and slashdot) before I close up the laptop and head home.
yet only making enough to have a rundown, I believe camary(sp?).
I previously drove a Land Rover and was a huge Subaru geek (had 3 Subarus at one time), yet I learned that I can't preach living a downsized life unless I did it myself. I actually love my Corolla (96 Toyota Corolla with 50,000 miles or so) as I save almost $2000 a month in gas and maintenance over my Land Rover Disco2. Do I miss my truck? Often. Am I happy that I was able to work $30,000 ($24,000+taxes) a year less and still have the same amount of income? Absolutely. I highly recommend to anyone who is trying to keep-up-with-the-Joneses.
As those who know me in person, I sold all my property and all my cars, moved into a nice trailer home and found myself with more time and a better standard of living before. In fact, it was specifically because I downsized my life that I am able to write, travel (at least once a month if not more) locally and internationally, and help others to find stability and peace in their lives without the need for forcing others to do things against their will.
You don't have to believe me, admire me, or even agree with my opinions. All I ask is that you contemplate your premises and look at what you consider a
I burned my mod points here just to reply that your response was excellent.
Please stop APK.. you're only hurting yourself.