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Councilman Booted For His Farmville Obsession

Posted by samzenpus on from the think-of-the-crops dept.

Bulgarian Dimitar Kerin won't have to decide if he should tend his crops or pay attention to Plovdiv City Council business anymore. The committee voted him off 20-19, saying that he obviously "needs more time for his virtual farm." From the article: "Kerin was not alone in his obsession among council members. Council chairman Ilko Iliev had previously warned several of them that the new wireless network and laptops provided to all 51 council members were not to be used for playing games on social media sites during budget meetings. Kerin was singled out for continuing to manage his farm and milk his cows despite Iliev's warnings. "

19 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. Too nerdy. by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, what is it about this Farmville crap that turns otherwise normal people into ridiculous, obsessed nerdy dweebs? I've played WoW quite a bit, I'm really quite a nerd myself but this game looks boring as shit and it seems to drag "normal" people into it like WoW draws in nerds.

    1. Re:Too nerdy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously, what is it about this Farmville crap that turns otherwise normal people into ridiculous, obsessed nerdy dweebs? I've played WoW quite a bit, I'm really quite a nerd myself but this game looks boring as shit and it seems to drag "normal" people into it like WoW draws in nerds.

      My question is: Should a poster with the moniker of 'RightSaidFred99' be allowed to criticize anything at all?

    2. Re:Too nerdy. by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

      My question is: where there really 98 other people signed up with "RightSaidFred" related monikers? Frankly, I'm surprised "RightSaidFred" itself was already taken!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    3. Re:Too nerdy. by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's funny because there were plenty of nerds in the CS department at my school, including professors, who liked sports, collected figurines (usually Warhammer shit) and liked guns. Just because you find certain things banal and other things interesting doesn't mean that every "nerd" is going to agree.

    4. Re:Too nerdy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nevermind the popularity of Locke.

    5. Re:Too nerdy. by Shakrai · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's the difference between normal people and nerds. Normal people get obsessed over things too. But it's banal, uninteresting shit they get obsessed over. Sports, soap operas, miniature figurines, gun collections, etc. Nerds get obsessed over things that are actually interesting because they requires some thought. Normal people can't relate to it, so they label it and shun it as weird, geeky, nerdy, etc.

      Is there any way you could have said that and come off as more of a snob? Or are gun collections or sports somehow less worthy of being obsessed over than a virtual farm?

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    6. Re:Too nerdy. by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Are you too sexy for his criticism?

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    7. Re:Too nerdy. by OnlyJedi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sports, soap operas, miniature figurines, gun collections.

      One of these things is not like the others,
      One of these things just doesn't belong,
      Can you tell which thing is not like the others
      By the time I finish my song?

      One of these things is loved by otaku
      One of them used for Warhammer games
      Collect 'em, paint 'em, spend thousands of dollars
      It'll clinch your geekdom-hood fame.

      Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
      Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
      If you guessed this one is not like the others,
      Then you're absolutely...right!

      (goes back to bask in his Warhammer, D&D, and anime figure collection)

    8. Re:Too nerdy. by wjousts · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I found this piece rather informative:

      5 creepy ways video games are trying to get you addicted

  2. Using a computer on company time? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd fire anyone who uses a company computer on company time for personal reasons.

    Exempting this comment posting, of course.

  3. Idiot! by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If he'd been playing SimCity instead, he could have claimed it was work related!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  4. Good litmus test by RLiegh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you can't put down the zynga long enough to take care of your real-world job, maybe you don't need one. Normally I don't relish social darwinism, but in this case it's hard to not see the appropriateness of it.

  5. It doesn't look like the guys lost his job by the_humeister · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article notes that he was voted off of his committee. It doesn't say whether his actual seat is gone.

  6. two news in one. by andrea.sartori · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The real news here is, they voted him out 20-19. What were they thinking? I mean, the other 19.

    --
    Mostly harmless.
    1. Re:two news in one. by matrim99 · · Score: 4, Funny

      The other 19 were thinking: "With Dimitar gone, who will fertilize my crops"?

      --
      Right. No, your other right. No, the other other right.
  7. For a serious look at the sociological by ClosedSource · · Score: 4, Funny

    implications of Farmville see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odBDAcOEKuI

  8. I Want Him For My Councilman by Petersko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've considered throwing a brick through the front glass on city hall to indicate how I feel about my local government's obscene spending policies. Time spent playing online games is time during which they aren't spending ridiculous amounts of money on stupid, wasteful things.

    I want them to do at least 80% less than they do, so if they waste a bunch of time on online games, that's okay with me.

  9. You people forgot to cite another of his defenses by unity100 · · Score: 3, Funny

    he said "Im just level 40. there are councillors who are level 45. why is noone talking about them"

    --
    Read radical news here
  10. You m by ean+li · · Score: 5, Funny

    ke this?