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StarCraft Cheating Scandal Rocks Korea

dotarray writes with this snippet: "The largest scandal in e-sports history is currently unfolding in Korea, with revelations that a number of current pro gamers are involved with match setups and illegal betting. While the gamers are unnamed at this point, the story is said to touch many A-list StarCraft celebrities, including sAviOr, Ja Mae Yoon, one of the best-known and most successful players of all time."

71 of 471 comments (clear)

  1. How is this news? by allaunjsilverfox2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seriously, I was expecting something like a bot ring or involvement in a virus that spread via the game.

    --
    Restore the madness of youth's lechery
    1. Re:How is this news? by Dalambertian · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I started following Starcraft a couple years ago, mostly through YouTube commentaries like diggity, klazart, moletrap, and their ilk. Anyone following the scene knows this is seriously bad news for our fledgling sport, and for e-sports in general. Perhaps it's a sign of maturity, or maybe it's just in time for new blood - for StarCraft 2 to take root. Still, it's very disheartening to hear.

    2. Re:How is this news? by Decollete · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Koreans will react the same way if this was American Football and teams were fixing matches to screw over betting.

    3. Re:How is this news? by Dalambertian · · Score: 3, Informative

      For more info, you can follow the coverage at teamliquid's forums. Click to expand the "spoilers". http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=119403

    4. Re:How is this news? by hairyfeet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually I may be able to point out a reason why Koreans are having a shitfit. While I doubt anyone here is old enough to remember the quiz show scandals that hit in the early days of TV here in the US, but it pretty much killed the format for decades after it turned out that the games of skill were basically just pro wrestling, with the outcome decided before the contest even began.

      Now for those that don't know Pro Starcraft competitions are BIG business in Korea, with folks buying merchandise and tuning in to their favorites, a lot like the quiz shows we had in the 50s. Now it may turn out that just like those quiz shows the games were rigged, only by the contestants themselves instead of the networks.

      So I can understand why Koreans are seriously pissed. it would be like finding out the players were rigging our baseball and football games to win bets in Vegas. While it won't be a big deal to those of us here in the USA, to them it will probably cause as big a stink as our quiz show scandal did here back in the day. And of course you have to add the human element, as nobody likes to find out the athlete you're cheering for is a scumbag and rigging the games.

      --
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    5. Re:How is this news? by MancunianMaskMan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      it would be like finding out the players were rigging our baseball and football games to win bets in Vegas

      you mean, like, they don't actually do that?

    6. Re:How is this news? by jo_ham · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why is it any different than the "sport" of running into someone as hard as possible so another guy can throw a ball that is not even round for another guy to catch?

      Any game that features a competitive element can be raised to the level of a sport if it attracts enough spectators that become interested in the outcome.

      Blizzard worked very hard to tune the original SC (with help from players in Korea) to balance the 3 sides to enable it to be a stable enough base for a competitive sport (ie, there's no argument that the Terrans are better than the Zerg or the Protoss etc - they are evenly balanced). Some might say it's even more evenly balanced than a sport where the team with the most money can buy the championship (or at least make a very good go of it).

      I realise your AC post was nothing but a troll, but I thought it was worth saying. I've never followed competitive Starcraft, but I can fully understand how people could.

  2. Oh my goodness by socceroos · · Score: 5, Funny

    My world has fallen to pieces!

  3. In a way it's nice.. by blind+biker · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It is nice to be part of a demographic that couldn't give a rat's ass about the whole thing, including MMOs and the surrounding scene.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:In a way it's nice.. by Dalambertian · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Funny, that's exactly what I thought when I heard about Tiger Woods.

    2. Re:In a way it's nice.. by bennomatic · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but Tiger's /. ID is, coincidentally, 963809.

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      The CB App. What's your 20?
    3. Re:In a way it's nice.. by Punto · · Score: 5, Funny

      instead, you're part of the demographic that cares about "Dancing with the stars". Congratulations.

      --

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      Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!

    4. Re:In a way it's nice.. by blind+biker · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Me, too. I really can't be assed about a multi-million-earning sportsman, regardless of the sport. Golf, soccer, football, basketball... none of these guys are any role model (eccept on how to rake in the dough). Fuck 'em. Together with the dumb celebrities of all kind. Fuck 'em all.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    5. Re:In a way it's nice.. by kiddygrinder · · Score: 5, Funny

      It must suck to be a part of the subset of those who care enough about not caring to make sure everyone knows how much they don't care.

      --
      This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
    6. Re:In a way it's nice.. by apoc.famine · · Score: 2, Informative

      They're not even a role model for how to rake in the dough - your chance of having the skills and grooming to play a pro sport is approximately on par with your chance of getting struck by lightning. Seriously - how many pro golfers can you name? 600 people get hit by lightning in the US every year. We're not adding 600 world-famous golfers each year, that's for sure.

      It blows my mind how many kids are fed the lies that they can make it in pro sports. I your skills aren't better than 1 in 100,000, you're not going to make it into pro sports.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  4. Name is wrong - Jae Yoon Ma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    His first name is Jae Yoon, and his surname is Ma. Typically written in Korean with the surname first, as Ma Jae Yoon. Ja Mae Yoon is wrong.

    1. Re:Name is wrong - Jae Yoon Ma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      His first name is Jae Yoon, and his surname is Ma. Typically written in Korean with the surname first, as Ma Jae Yoon. Ja Mae Yoon is wrong.

      This website is not in Korean is it?
      Great first Korean Grammar Naz...err I mean Juchi!

  5. Re:A-list? What? by Some.Net(Guy) · · Score: 5, Informative

    In Korea, video gaming is a professional sport. These guys they mention are bigger celebrities to Koreans than, say, LeBron James is to Americans. You think I'm joking or exaggerating, but I assure you I am not.

  6. Re:A-list? What? by DreadPiratePizz · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually yes, in Korea they do have the tabloids cover them. Some even date actresses. Everybody knows of Boxer, Savior and Bisu. Everybody.

  7. Re:A-list? What? by tensop · · Score: 2, Informative

    Starcraft is korea's national sport. they're most definately celebrities

  8. This is why I only play D&D (3rd ed.) by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I played Starcraft for a while, and I was very impressed with how balanced the gameplay was and how thought out the interface was. Blizzard did a great job making that game.

    But it really stifles the creativity of the player by restricting actions to a very specific set of pre-programmed actions. You *must* farm for Vespene gas. you *must* collect crystals. There is little room for true creativity and adventuring. Today's FPS games are actually getting better at allowing this kind of freedom.

    But to really get the most out of a game, you have to use your imagination. There's nothing more challenging than interacting with your friends and working out puzzles with nothing more than paper, dice, and pewter figurines. Dungeons and Dragons (and other clones of it) is the ultimate game because it removes artificially created limits and depends completely on how much you are invested in it.

    If people are cheating and rigging game competitions, it's only because there is something to rig. Try cheating in D&D and you'll find that you only cheat yourself.

    BadAnalogyGuy (aka Black Leaf)

    1. Re:This is why I only play D&D (3rd ed.) by GrumblyStuff · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, you'd need a different set of rules and, presumably, a DM you're comfortable with sexually (depending what you plan to be doing with said chicks).

      "k, rolling for gender check."
      "You did that already."
      "Yeah, well, after last time, I feel like rolling again. Panties of Binding +5, my ass...."
      "I didn't make the tuckback rule. You got a problem? Take it up with the book!"

  9. As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Here's a weird quote from the article:

    As part of Korea's human rights laws, it is illegal to release criminals' names - they can only be implied - which means that as the police have now gotten involved, we may never be officially told who was involved in this drama.

    You can't know criminals' names in Korea? Kind of weird.

    --
    Qxe4
    1. Re:As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "You can't know criminals' names in Korea? Kind of weird."

      It has it's positives i.e. vigilante justice and not getting ones life ruined if accused of a heinus crime (pedophelia, sexual assault, etc).

      In america I find the fact they publish the names of sex offenders grotesque because rehabilitation and re-entering society to lead a normal life is impossible, this vigalante mob justice has never sat well with me.

    2. Re:As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by rebot777 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's most likely you can't know alleged criminals names for their protection. A concern I have with current US society is the media's influence on our views of 'alleged criminals'. If you're in a high profile case and it turns out you're not guilty the inertia of public opinion against you for being accused can haunt you for the rest of your life. I believe these laws are in response to such situations.

    3. Re:As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by gzipped_tar · · Score: 4, Informative

      Criminals? I guess you mean criminal suspects, since it's the police rather than the court that "have gotten involved".

      --
      Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    4. Re:As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by Cimexus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's a similar principle as in the West, where you generally can't release the names of suspected offenders (or victims) who are minors (or at least that's how it is here in Australia ... you often hear 'the offender's identity cannot be revealed because s/he was under 18 at the time of the crime). This applies to both those merely accused and awaiting trial, as well as those convicted (or for that matter, exonerated).

      The Korean law just goes a step further and extends this protection to all people involved in criminal matters.

      I kinda like the idea actually, although there are some obvious caveats. The general public certainly has no right to demonise someone accused of a crime before it's been proved. And even once they are convicted, it is not really the general public's business to know criminals' names, other than obviously those connected with the crime (victims/families etc). They will pay a penalty under the law (a fine, community service, jail time etc) ... but once that debt is paid they have a right to move back into society without being discriminated against for the rest of their lives. And keeping their name out of the media is one way to do that.

      The counter-argument is made that people have a right to know if they are living near/employing/otherwise engaging with people who have been found guilty of serious crime (particularly sex offenders or murderers). And it's a good counter-argument. Perhaps we can draw a line and say "people convicted of the most serious crimes or those with no hope of rehabilitation can have their identities revealed, but for minor to moderate crimes, the criminals should remain anonymous". Either that or we toughen up sentencing so that serious criminals don't GET reintroduced into society in the first place ... then the whole argument becomes moot.

    5. Re:As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by Cimexus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I doubt they have an equivalent. Even in other ~Western~ countries there is often no equivalent of such a registry. It's one of those things I always found a bit odd about America actually.

      Where I live, you either don't release a serious criminal who is going to have a tendency to re-offend, or tabs are kept on them in other ways (house confinement, surveillance, radio bracelets etc.). I mean sure, the people who live nearby to the to-be-released sex offender will be notified and have a right to object to/block the offender moving into that area. But that doesn't extend to the whole world being able to punch in a random address and see who's around.

      I'm not American so I may have misinterpreted what the Registry actually does. If so I apologise. But my impression was that ~anyone~ can search for nearby offenders ~anywhere~, even if that location has nothing to do with them.

    6. Re:As long as it's not Boxer, I'm ok by MindlessAutomata · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, you're absolutely correct.

  10. When money is involved by Kitkoan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Some people will do anything to get even more money. Its also possible that some of the Starcraft players are seeing a dead end of their time playing gaming professionally. As in they might not be that great at most RTS games, but amazing at Starcraft. And with Starcraft 2 coming along closer and closer, it might be the writing on the wall for Starcraft 1's viability. Cash out while they can and all?

    --
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  11. Re:Who cares? by Fluffeh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, if I was betting on the outcome of a contest between two people, I would sure as hell care if they were fixing the outcome and I wouldn't say I am stupid.

    Oh, I get it, you just wanted a first post and had nothing better to post than racism. Guess who looks stupid now?

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  12. got caught using cheat codes by QuantumSlip · · Score: 3, Funny

    apparently someone used show me the money too many times...

  13. Re:A-list? What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Probably because his name is typically written in Hangul?

  14. Re:A-list? What? by mwvdlee · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Speaking as a non-American... who the f**k is Lebron James???

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  15. Re:A-list? What? by Dalambertian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For starters, try googling it in Korean?

  16. Re:A-list? What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hello, and welcome to the world! Despite what the crappy Disney ride says, the world is a big place, where many people speak any languages and, shockingly, use different characters for writing.

  17. Re:A-list? What? by EvanED · · Score: 5, Informative

    A couple posts (e.g. the top one on this page) dispute it's at that degree of popularity:

    bjornkavist:

    You over estimate the popularity of Starcraft. Since this is a Starcraft site that covers pro BW from a foreign stand point it seems like the biggest thing in the world. When sadly, when compared to Hockey in Canada, or Football in the States, its no where near as popular. Yes people know about it, tons do, compared to other countries but Koreand definately dont breathe Starcraft.

    PanzerDragoon:

    I would say SC is most comparable to MMA in the states; a niche sport with a decent sized hardcore fanbase, but not wide casual appeal.

  18. Re:A-list? What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ma Jae-Yoon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Jae-Yoon

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Ma+Jae-Yoon

  19. Re:A-list? What? by syousef · · Score: 5, Funny

    Speaking as a non-American... who the f**k is Lebron James???

    Who knows. I haven't heard of him either. Best guess based on this story: He probably plays Warcraft instead of Starcraft.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  20. I Feel So Betrayed... by Comatose51 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I feel so betrayed. This must be how Tassadar felt when Aldaris arrested him upon his return after discovering the key to slaying the Overmind. It is as though I am Kerrigan abandoned by Acturus Mengsk to be captured by the Zergs. Today I am Jim Raynor, a warrior cut loose from his own people.

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    EvilCON - Made Famous by /.
  21. Re:A-list? What? by bennomatic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gretzky? Wasn't he the guy who played on the LA Kings?

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  22. Re:A-list? What? by SeeSchloss · · Score: 2, Informative

    The pics in http://images.google.com/images?q=%EB%A7%88%EC%9E%AC%EC%9C%A4 are more representative of his status.

  23. Re:A-list? What? by crossmr · · Score: 5, Informative

    mainly because you're a tool. Here is what a search of him in Korea looks like:
    http://search.naver.com/search.naver?sm=tab_hty&where=nexearch&query=%B8%B6%C0%E7%C0%B1&x=0&y=0

    news sites, images, magazine covers, videos, etc

  24. This does deserve a story by n_are_q · · Score: 2, Informative

    As someone who occasionally follows the SC happenings in Korea, I can attest to the fact that this is a huge story there. The fame of these players really is comparable to that of football or basketball stars in the states.

    More to the point, there is real talent, years of honing your skill, and real fans involved here. That's what makes this match fixing a real deal. That's too bad, this young sport deserves better.

  25. Re:e-sports? really? by Abcd1234 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is Chess a sport? What about Go?

    If you said yes to both of those questions, why not any other game of strategy/tactics?

  26. Re:A-list? What? by Abcd1234 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's it, you're going on my foe list... :)

  27. Re:Who cares? by blackraven14250 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you were betting on the outcome of a football game, I'd say that you were stupid.

  28. Love is like Starcraft by dushkin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I really like watching commentaries on SC games. I started watching them a few weeks ago and I'm HOOKED.

    Now I'm not a great RTS player. And I've never enjoyed watching sports on TV - basketball, football (English or otherwise) or even the way overhyped olympics - I just never cared.

    But Starcraft is something I can somehow relate to. Especially Starcraft 2. myself, not being a good player, I see all sorts of strange tricks I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

    Micromanagement tipping the results of battles in ways I wouldn't have even imagined. All kinds of strange tricks involved - it's mind-blowing sometimes, and really... really exciting.

    The other thing is the commentators are very useful. They call out the strategy, which really helped a not-so-good player like me. you get some insight into their thought processes.

    I knew Koreans were into Starcraft, but I didn't know they were THAT into it. I feel kinda sad now. As I see it, it doesn't matter who wins at Starcraft, I just like watching the game and could never imagine placing bets on it.

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    o hai
  29. Cargo Cults by lilooet · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Something about Korea's obsession with Starcraft reminds me of cargo cults.

  30. Further Information by ahaubold · · Score: 2, Informative
    --
    Nope, I think you mistook me for someone else.
  31. Sport? by jandersen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Maybe I am just that ancient, but is it a "sport" to sit in a chair pushing buttons? When I grew up, apparently in the stone age, sport was something that involved not just skill, but physical excellence; even body-building wasn't considered to be a sport, and you wouldn't use the word "athlete" about them either. No wonder the world is coming to an end...

    1. Re:Sport? by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2, Informative

      The IOC are a group of corrupt, money-grubbing assholes who would gladly certify a non-sport as a sport for a shockingly low amount of money. You didn't hear about all the journalists who won awards for exposing them to the world a few years back?

      --
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    2. Re:Sport? by kramerd · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's a sport when you talk about, it's a game when you play it.

      Also you are very old.

    3. Re:Sport? by Aim+Here · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sir, I beg you to try clicking the mouse 3 times a second for half an hour. I assure you it is quite physical.

      He's on Slashdot. He probably clicks that fast normally.

      Actually, in all seriousness, 3 times a second, or 180 actions per minute) is fast for a starcraft player, but it is too slow for a Korean pro - only the slowest of them, such as Savior, average 200 over a game, while most average an APM Of 300-450 over the course of a 5-60 minute game, and peak at maybe 600 or so.

      I can maybe hit 300-400 if I mindlessly spam keypresses and mouseclicks while doing nothing at the start of the game. I can't evisage how anyone actually can click that fast that AND keep track of the units and the tech tree and the base layout and the production buildings and the workers and the scouting and the upgrades and the 2 dozen things you have to worry about in a normal Starcraft game AND try to outwit some other devious bastard at the other end of the internet trying to kill you off all at the same time.

      Anyone who says playing Starcraft doesn't involve a physical skill is probably assuming that it's like some other game they happened to play once.

  32. Yeah, big surprise that where there's betting... by Moraelin · · Score: 2, Funny

    Reminds me of a Woody Allen quote, "I was watching a ballet at City Center, and I'm not a ballet fan at all, but they were doing the dying swan, and there was a rumour, that some bookmakers had drifted into town from upstate New York, and that they had fixed the ballet. Apparently there was a lot of money bet on the swan to live."

    --
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  33. Re:A-list? What? by jimthehorsegod · · Score: 2, Funny

    What's Michael Jackson got to do with basketball?

  34. Re:A-list? What? by imakemusic · · Score: 2, Funny

    Aaah Jordan! I wondered what Michael Jackson had to do with sport...

    --
    Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
  35. Re:A-list? What? by plasticsquirrel · · Score: 4, Interesting
    As a resident of China, I can tell you that in this country, basketball is by far the number one sport. NBA is extremely popular, as are American basketball shoes from Nike, Adidas, etc. Considering this is the favorite sport of the world's most populous country, it's hardly an American sport. In China, there is even a Chinese nickname for LeBron James that everyone is familiar with. In fact, there are nine Chinese nicknames for him in common use in China.

    King James, LeBron, LBJ, LRJ, James the Great, Ray Pa dragon, The Great, James, Old Beijing

    Basketball is much more popular here than it ever was in the U.S.

    Also, when I was visiting Japan, baseball was by far the most popular sport, played by just about every boy after school.

    The world is a lot bigger than the U.S. and Europe.

    --
    Systemd: the PulseAudio of init systems
  36. Re:A-list? What? by AMindLost · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In the UK, we call it netball and it's played by girls. Basketball here is ranked below dominos in popularity.

  37. Re:and this relates to /. how? by delinear · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You're confusing the concept of "news for nerds" with the concept of "news which is personally interesting to me". Nerds cover a wide spectrum of interests and nationalities. The development of these competitive tournaments in the field of gaming are certainly interesting to me on one level, even though I'm neither Korean nor into Starcraft - it's interesting to see where this is headed, and similarly interesting to see the parallels with sports (in terms of the fame of the players and even match fixing scandals now). I don't follow this too closely, I'm mildly interested, but other people follow this passionately, for that particular group of nerds, this is definitely "stuff that matters".

  38. Re:A-list? What? by mestar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In my book, game shattering is even bigger than revolutionary.

  39. Re:A-list? What? by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

    For starters, try googling it in Korean?

    If you're an old person, ask your robot to do it.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  40. Throw that boomerang a little harder next time... by rts008 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seriously, if you don't know who Lebron is you either don't know what the fuck basketball is, are just making shit up, or are a borderline retard.

    Despite your grossly misplaced arrogance, you left out the most popular option: D: none of the above.
    You are making some erroneous assumptions with that proclamation:

    I/we actually give a rat's ass about basketball, USA sports, or any sports....NOT!!!
    (BTW, I know what basketball is-I even used to play a lot of it-but have NEVER watched it, but I did not know who/what a 'Lebron' was. I was also wondering what Michael Jackson [MJ] had to do with basketball!)

    Maybe I am 'just making shit up, but if by not knowing who Lebron Whoever is makes me a borderline retard, I can assuredly take comfort in the fact that you are truly over the line, and outstanding in that field.

    BTW, who(or what) is a 'Beckham'? Another basketball player?

    This thread is getting more confusing than getting struck on the head with a football bat.

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  41. Re:to put this in perspective... by kramulous · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've travelled to korea a few times and I love going to a pub (every second shop) and watching the starcraft channel. And the cheap beer. And the cheap, excellent food. And just general good times to be had by all.

    Fascinating to watch competitive gaming. Mesmerising.

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    .
  42. Re:e-sports? really? by delinear · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It kind of depends on how narrowly you interpret the term. The narrow definition seems to be a physical activity in which athletes participate, which would suggest that both chess and computer games are not sports. The very wide definition seems to be any recreational or fun activity, in which case they would be sports. I guess the truth is somewhere in between (playing Wii, for instance, is more strenuous than playing snooker), but actually it's just a lot easier to say "sport" than "competitive computer gaming", so I suspect the usage will stick.

  43. Re:A-list? What? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually, netball requires more tactical thinking than basketball because you're not allowed to move with the ball at all, which makes it slightly more interesting to watch (aside from the fact that it's played by girls). Basketball is relatively common as an amateur sport, but in my experience tends to attract the hypercompetitive element who fail to realise that the point of playing a sport is to have fun.

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    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  44. Re:A-list? What? by Angua · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, see, telling a non-sports-loving, non-American nerd (me) that Lebron James is the basketball equivalent of Peyton Manning doesn't help, because then my next question inevitably is: Who the hell is Peyton Manning?

    I suppose neither one of these guys has managed to have dozen mistresses at once, because I sure do know who Tiger Woods is.

    --
    I am not a vegetarian werewolf.
  45. Re:A-list? What? by Qu4Z · · Score: 2, Funny

    Not Michael Jackson. He means Mick Jagger.

  46. is a golf a sport? by circletimessquare · · Score: 2, Funny

    you walk and hit a ball. any old duffer can do that

    is car racing a sport?

    like you said, you sit down and push a buttons. now you've added a steering wheel

    is poker a sport?

    you fiddle with chips and cards. but those poker players are athletes of mental endurance, that's for sure

    no, the simple fact is: a sport is anything you want to call a sport, a sport. and if enough people agree with you, it simply is the new truth

    why? because there is no linguistic authority that allows people to use words in only proscribed ways. the people own the language, and the people decide what a word means any damn way they please, in aggregate, with no authority. this is simply the evolution of language: all words shift in meaning, constantly. the way you use certain words would be looked at aghast by people from 1960, 1910, 1860, etc. the world is not ending, language is simply evolving, as it always has, and always will

    if enough people feel like the word "sports" is being dumbed down too much, a new word will evolve that will come to signify a sport of mighty physical endurance only, like football or cycling... if enough people deem that meaning important, and incorporate it into wide use

    why don't you go and invent that derivative word now, or coopt an existing word close in meaning to a new meaning. it happens every day, all the time. go, get the ball rolling, pun intended

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  47. Re:A-list? What? by silentcoder · · Score: 2, Insightful

    >Capitalization and punctuation don't vary that much across languages

    WTF ?!?!?! Seriously dude... WTF ?!?!??!

    Let's just look at the small sampling of languages I can read (to a lesser or greater extent). And keep in mind three of these are all languages that share a COMMON Origin (Ancient West Germanic) and one is essentially a dialect of the another split of a mere 300 years ago. That makes this a pretty skewed sample. Choose any two languages randomly and the differences will get MUCH bigger.

    German: All nouns are capitalized.
    English: Capitals are used only for the names of Deities, Persons and the first word of a sentence.
    Afrikaans: Similar to English... oh unless the sentence starts with the non-specific article... then the SECOND word starts with a capital.
    Dutch: Same as English (the Afrikaans exception does not exist in Dutch).
    Portuguese: Fucked if I know... after several years, I STILL don't understand all of it.

    How about the Apostrophe:
    Dutch: Apostrophe is used to indicate missing letters.
    German: Same as Dutch.
    Afrikaans: Apostrophe indicates missing letters - but it's only allowed to be used for this when those letters are deliberately left out for an EXCEPTIONAL reason (such as accenting a quote or poetic freedom) and in the spelling of the Afrikaans word 'n (yes the word is an apostrophe and an small n but pronounced "uh" - derived from the Dutch word for "one").
    Portuguese: There is no apostrophe as we think of it, thoug the ' symbols is used in the spelling of some words.
    English: Used to indicate missing letters in (specifically in contractions) and to indicate possession. Moreover the rules on how it does both the above get very convoluted (especially where the uses overlap, as in a posessive contraction) and leads to continuous confusion among English speakers about the fact that it's, its and its' are three completely different words with exactly the same pronunciation (apparently we can easily tell them apart from context when LISTENING but when reading we have to create a stupid cosmetic difference to see which is which).

    Now those are small differences between languages of relatively common origins... if I start telling you how it works in African languages (I speak two) you simply wouldn't BELIEVE me, it has the following in common with the above: Sweet blue fuck all.
    That's despite the fact that no African language has a written language of their own and adopted a modified version of the English alphabet and punctuation to be able to write -they still had to change almost every rule just to make sense because their entire gramatical structure is radically different.
    It gets even more bizarre when you consider languages that have a history of writing, but radically different origins from English, such as the Slavic and Asian languages.
    In English a word with no vowels is unpronouncable. In Russian... that's about 3/4 of the dictionary. In Polish, it's more like 4/5...

    See... I'm actually a non-native English speaker, who has a degree in English literature. I can read Shakespeare with ease and joy, and both speak and write English quite a bit better than most Britons (let alone Americans) and I had Linguistics as a second major.
    And if there is one thing you learn very quickly when you study multiple languages on a professional level - it's that languages are as radically different as the cultures that produce them, reflect those cultures and become an extension of those cultures.
    What you say smacks back to the so-called romantic theory of linguistics. Which was a very Platonic theory that believed there is some perfect language we're all born with, and all human languages are imperfect attempts to implement it.
    The romantic theory is interesting in that it was the very first theory to ever exist in Linguistics... but it's also not actually been considered to have any basis in fact or reality for over 200 years now... hell even the Russian Orthodox theory of Linguistics have at least SOME provable reality to it and THAT came from 1916.
    Current linguistic theory as it applies to your statement can be summarized as follows: you're an idiot.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  48. Re:recidivism by g0del · · Score: 3, Informative

    Wrong. Recidivism rates are much higher for people who are driven by a desire for money than they are for sexual offenders. Evidence from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/ascii/rpr94.txt
    "Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were --

    robbers (70.2%)
    burglars (74.0%)
    larcenists (74.6%)
    motor vehicle thieves (78.8%)
    possessors/sellers of
    stolen property (77.4%)
    possessors/sellers of
    illegal weapons (70.2%).

    What these high-rate offenders have in common is that they were all in prison for what are generally thought of as crimes for money. By contrast, many of those with the lowest rearrest rates -- persons convicted of homicide (40.7%), rapists (46.0%), other sexual assaulters (41.4%), other violent offenders (51.7%), and those convicted of driving under the influence (51.5%) -- were in prison for crimes not generally motivated by desire for material gain."

    Sexual offenders and pedophiles are a problem, but attempting to solve it with bad data won't work.