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ZD "Objective Reporting" Not Just For Linux
I thought I'd post this in the YRO section for a couple of reasons. One is that it's starting to reverberate, and has generated at least one counter-editorial. But the second is a larger point. Half-Life and similar games are marketed to adults, not children; the 20-30 year old age group purchases almost all of these types of games. Yet attackers want to restrict the sales of these games to anyone on the basis that they're unsuitable for children. The fact that Family PC misjudged the game's release date when making up their article (remember, this had to be written months ago to make it to publication now, they probably forecast that the new game would be on sale by now) makes the attack more obvious, but these sorts of attacks happen all the time from the "save the children" crowd. (Family PC makes most of their income from advertising filtering software and similar snake-oil parental protective measures.) This is how you whip up the troops to go censor the internet or whatever other target you have in mind.
That said, I hope they get what's coming to them, but I don't think this is the end of any of this sort of propaganda. :/
---
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
Quine "quine?
Ziff-Davis is the most biased source for news/reviews/whatever anywhere. Examples:
:D
Games advertised in EGM get the best reviews every time. Same thing with their other magazines, advertised stuff gets great reviews, guaranteed.
The recent Linux vs. NT security "test." Installing a bloated service pack was OK, but they didn't install 21 RPMs that all together were less than the service pack wasn't done because it was "no enterprise would want to install all that." I wonder how much Microsoft paid them for THAT one.
(etc.)
For truthful reporting, don't buy Ziff-Davis.
emufreak
www.kontek.net/pp
I personally think that it is the parents responsibilty to keep track of their kids activities on the internet, and if the parents aren't capable of doing that, they shouldn't be allowed to whine and place artificial restrictions on the parents that ARE able to monitor their kids. Nuff said.
mov ax, 13h
int 10h
From the Shugashack
Subj: Re: Letter to the editor from Subscriber James Gillespie,North Fort
Date: 10/12/1999 9:31:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: fpcletters@zdnetonebox.com (FamilyPC Letters)
Reply-to: emily_friedlander@zd.com
To: JWGflorida@aol.com
Mr. Gillespie,
Thanks for bringing this error to our attention. It was a typo on an editor's part that through a series of edits,
made it to print. Watch for the correction in our January issue.
Thanks again,
Emily Friedlander
Even though, I must say that is really some shady reporting!
Having said that I think stores like CompUSA have a very real responsibility to watch who the sell games like this to. There are certain things that kids just shouldn't be buying. There'd be WAY more outrage if the game contained sexual content, rather than violent content, but the principles of mature-viewing are the same in both cases.
Just a little food for thought.
-----------
"You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."
This kind of story is why I don't like seeing "anti-/." stories out there. I'm over 30 and much of that youthful zeal is gone, so I frequently cringe at the loud and uninformed zealotry of some of my fellow /.ers, but usually, I think, their on line ranting is harmless and it is giving a place for a sort of populist rage to vent safely. Meanwhile, almost every thread has a few particles of true insight, information, and wisdom.
I happily put up with the flames to find those insights I would have missed.
One of the things I like about sites for nerds, linuxers, et. al., is the way they (we) subvert the mass media of the industry. The recent PCWeek debacle ("If I had installed the RedHat patches, I would have missed 'Baywatch.'" -- see the story on Linux Today) is a fine example of this. This story is another.
Okay, so individuals (including me) sometimes type faster than we think. So what? We think eventually. And we don't let lies go unchallenged.
Never be afraid to point out a falsehood! ZD deserves very little journalistic respect. This has nothing to do with the perceived OS bias, and everything to do with poor standards of fact checking and a complete lack of journalistic integrity.
Keep your eyes open. Catch them in the act...
...its just that lately it seems to be a bit
scarce at ZD publications. I regularly read
a variety of ZD publications and have lately
come to feel that they are of questionable
value for anything but the broadest news and
announcements. Anchordesk in particular seems
to be taking its cue from the tabloids and
doing its best to bring this...creative...
angle of news reporting to the tech world. More
and more I am leaning towards sources like
Slashdot because they are self correcting. By
their very nature, they tend to adjust towards
reality in the information they present. Since
the content is representative of a large group
of opinions, you get not only a feeling for what
the average opinion is, but also what the counter
points are. It's not perfect, it is prone to
groupthink and filtration in some cases, but I
feel that it provides a better source of news and
views then what we are seeing from many of the
more traditional mediums. At least with the
Slashdot model, the people providing the bulk
of the information (the Slashdot community) are
separate from the people with a financial stake
in having more hits on the site (Andover.net).
IMHO this makes a big difference.
Its an interesting time for journalism and journalists right now. Especially for those publications that deal with technology related issues. With the increasing speed of developements, the proliferation of information sources and the raw speed at which a story can propogate and grow on the Internet, journalistic integrity is having a tough time weeding out the fake stuff.
Slashdot itself is most certainly not immune to this effect and has on more than one occasion contributed to the spread of an incorrect of exagerated story, perhaps causing other more traditional media sources to pick up on the story themselves.
Unfortunately at this point in time, we can't have both lightning fast information reporting with 100% accuracy. The two are inversely related.
Hotnutz.com
>However, um, the game isn't even done yet,
>let alone gold or on the shelves."
Hey, it's a good thing time doesn't exist. Now we can get our games before they're made. Excuse me, I'm going down to staples to pick up my copy of Quake 4...
I like FamilyPC but they have a habit of reviewing software that is never actually even released. For example the latest issue (November 1999) includes a list of recommended games that parents might want to buy for their kids. Among the games they recommend is Sierra's Babylon 5 game which was canceled last month. Not only do they recommend it but they put a little graphic next to the recomendation to indicate FamilyPC staff have actually played the game and give it a score of 89 out of 100.
on a list far away in another time, some catholic mother suggested: "Adults should not be allowed to do anything that children aren't" - I didn't even bother to replay that if that were the case, there wouldn't BE any children :))
Chuck
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I used to buy every computer magazine, and within the last year stopped buying the stupidest of them because they just weren't worth it. I get PCWeek for free, subscribe to Maximum PC, and usually buy Wired and PC Magazine at the newsstand. (Linux journal has been hard to find)
Yesterday I noticed that the newest PC Week and Wired had just come out. I went over to the Magazine rack and picked 'em both up (mostly out of habit). Then I thought for a second and realized that PC Mag is put out by Ziff Davis. I reflected for a second about the many things they've done recently and put the damn thing right back where it was. Last month's issue is most likely the last one I'll ever buy, and I'm a pretty mainstream tech guy. I know I don't matter to them because most of their money is from MS advertising, but I hope that a number of people defect and their distribution numbers go down and hurt 'em just a little. Ziff Davis no longer deserves my hard earned money.
Yesterday, as I put my vcr on rewind after watching "The Last Broadcast" -(shameless plug for a GREAT movie better than Blair witch project (avail. at Hollywood video)) I caught a ZDNet spokesperson talking about Y2K preparedness and how ZDNet was THE company tracking all the preparedness of everyone and how THEY had all the answers. After this yo-yo said that all big companies have fixed their problems and small companies are the only ones with anything to worry about, I shut it off. I would have to form the opinion that these guys are pretty cheesey, and I wouldn't take much of anything they say as real, or factual. In fact, if they said it- I would probably have to do like I do to all the other articles I read, and prove it.
My dogma ran over your Karma....My Karma's a Greyhound: ugly, but strong. -You may think you know what, but I know who
The first issue, whether FamilyPC conconcted they story, can be solved by producing "Tricia". Tricia presumably has her receipt and the game although not the expansion pack as claimed. It's fair to assume she bought the Half-Life: Game of the Year edition and the game title was an editorial misfire. Cash or not, the receipt will tell.
.plan update all the way through to a second thought. This has nothing to do with Sierra, Valve, or Gearbox; the OpFor pack will be M-rated. CompUSA is responsible but, even so, hasn't broken a law as there isn't a penal enforcement component to the industry agreement. It's a kind of good-faith compromise.
Regardless, I think Mr. Pitchford did have a mental lapse and should have taken his reservations at the top of the
That's the point of the FamilyPC sidebar: legislation with teeth. An argument for media content enforcement indistinguishable from, say, tobacco laws. Why play into it, Randy? Why hold yourself as evidence for your opposition?
Ironic that a magazine called "Family PC" is writing articles complaining about, the supposed, lack of functionality in a process that allows a parent to put less "family" into their "PC".
If a game is carrying a ESRB rating, which is actually self imposed by the industry and totally voluntary, the parent has the tools they need to easily make a decision about their child playing the game without having to play through the game themselves. How hard is it to look at the jewel case, or even on the CD itself and see what the rating is. It's even part of the silk screen. The only way I can imagine little Susy playing a game like Half-Life, Kingpin or one of the numerous other "mature" titles out there is if the parent doesn't even put enough effort into seeing what their kid is doing.
-sw
Just pointing something out: CompUSA has only a moral obligation to obey the ratings of the game publishers. There is absolutely no law requiring them to verify the age of the purchaser--and likewise, no punishment for selling it to them.
If a 12-year-old walked into CompUSA and bought Half-life, who cares? Shouldn't the parent of that child be responsible? If you think about it, the only people who are really going to get upset about it are the parents. Then they're going to push for laws requiring an ID to purchase games. However, this will just cause the under-age folks to simply pirate the software since they're the best at that sort of thing anyway.
I say let the kids blow the crap out of people online. If they can't do that, they're only left with reality.
--------------------------
-Riskable
-Riskable
"Those who choose proprietary software will pay for their decision!"
I'm concerned that there is not enough manipulation, or that the current manipulation by media/games is missing the point.
We need games and articles that (accurately) depict programmers as sexy, desirable, stable mates to young women.
Too many young, attractive women are bearing children by young, attractive, athletic, stupid males because of the crappy TV shows.
Somehow, this trend needs to be reversed so future "crops" of children have the intellectual skills needed to keep technology moving forward.
The whole 'typo' issue aside... Mark me Offtopic if you want.
I find the whole idea of restricting access for everyone to anything, because it is not appropriate for a subset of those interested - nauseating. Posting that idea on slashdot is sure to be marked Redundant, fire away.
How are we to protect ourselves from those seeking to protect us from ourselves?
As with the MPAA, TV ratings and music, is it not the parents responsibility to monitor what their kids are into?
[rant]
I realize that there are plenty of ingenious teens and pre-teens out there, able to pull the wool over their parents eyes - I was one of these myself. But if this is the case, than it is a failing of the parents. How can someone who does not put in enough effort to stay aware, raise a child? How can a child from such a home grow up with any sort of respect for authority (boss, law, peers) if they see their own parents as full of ignorance, incompetance and apathy.
[/rant]
Yes, technology moves fast, and working parents have a hard time keeping up with it - while kids have plenty of disposable time. But really, is it so difficult to talk to your kids, peek in on the lucky few that have their own PCs? Stay aware?
Conversely, as a future parent (God willing), after I approve a game for my kids entertainment, I want them to be able to go and get it themselves. I want the decision about what they can and can not do to be made at home, and not in a board room or a court room.
Frankly, the whole politically correct and sue-happy attitude is starting to trouble me. Cinema managers requiring that parents be present, after they permit their kids to see South Park? Clerks policing who can and can't buy a video game? You can't send a kid to school with aspirin, because it is a drug, and we know what school rules say about dealing drugs in school. Five year olds getting thrown out of kindergarten for kissing a classmate on the cheek...
It looks like this (video game availability over the counter) is going to become another instance of parents abdicating control to some organized, rightist organization - just to avoid taking the time to explain to their kids why they feel that blasting people's avatars into oblivion is inappropriate.
Feels like we're reaching critical mass here. But unlike the Japanese uranium workers, I'm starting to see red, not blue.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
I think that the Save the Children crowd is the scariest political phenomena of the last few decades.
Personally violence disgusts me and I think there is too much in the media. I particular like gratuitous violence that has little or nothing to do with the plot. So i have made the incredible step of avoiding veiwing such violent content. I have plenty of friends IRL and online that serve as my personal guide to movies and games. The capalert site is also great for this in movies( i also find it hilarious; read the review of Tarzan for a real laugh)
The Save the Children crowd don't seem to think that controlling their own viewing and the veiwing of their children is enough. Itshould be enough for anyone, but they want more. They want access to all content they disapprove of limited for everyone. To meet this goal they use children as an excuse and then try to whip up outrage that children may have access to these things, and thus we must give over our rights to Save the Children.
Articles like the false one in Family PC serve their politial agenda. I don't care for that, but the fact that the magazine is guilty of sloppy editing or outright falshood makes me smile. It highlights the inherent sloppy thinking and deception in this political movement.
If they really want to do something about kids and these games why not make a site like CAPAlert for games? That might give people information that they can use to avoid games they would dissapprove of and even *gasp* monitor their own child's PC.
But they don't want that. They want to control my PC, and yours. I won't let them, I hope you won't either.
--- If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question.
THQ is a half-assed outfit.
Acclaim games will always suck.
Movie-Based Games will always suck (except Goldeneye).
Games based on licenses (spawn, McKids, etc) will suck worse than a broken hoover.
I do have to agree with you on the "Linux VS. NT" test, as they borked it all up. Although I really don't think they were "paid" by micro$haft, they most likely fixed the outcome to stay in microsoft's favor. Considering all the "alternative OS" crap they've been mentioning, Microsoft's gotta be pretty peeved at their little llamas.
For official Magazines, here's my picks:
PC: Maximum PC. they like linux, and are pretty straight-up. They even interviewed Linus Torvalds in their last issue of Boot (when they were still called that).
Linux: either Linux Magazine or Maximum Linux.
PC Gaming: PC Accelerator. good, and funny.
Console Gaming: GameFan. They're also keen on emulation (as seen by www.vintagegaming.com)
DavesClassics is dead. Long live Zophar.net
Excuse me, I'm going down to staples to pick up my copy of Quake 4...
Why?
Quake 5 is much cooler anyway. Don't waste your money on 4.
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
...I think it's quite possible they made a calculated risk, given that the game would probably be out by now when they wrote the article. They assumed that the reader would find it more interesting because it would be about current games, not some year-old game.
However, in the case that this failed, which it did, they have the backup plan of saying, "Someone mistakingly added the the 'opposing forces', assuming it was the full title of Half-Life."
It's pretty important in journalism to get the scoop (for news items) and also to be current in the 'information' you present. I wouldn't put this kind of thing above anyone.
The argument I've always seen for the labeling of software (and music, etc.) when it's first proposed is that it will simply be a tool for parents to decide what to buy for their children. The reasonable person then says "well, that's reasonable" and they go ahead and do it.
Now, apparently, the game ratings need to be followed by the store clerks, who, quite often, wouldn't be old enough to buy the games themselves.
What? Where did that come from? Is it a voluntary bit of information or a hard and fast rule? Are they looking to provide parents some control over their children, or are they trying to control everyone?
I can tell you that the first time someone cards me when trying to buy a video game, I'm going to kill everyone in the store. I'll kill all the children in the store TWICE.
So in order to protect the children from my violent rampage, lawmakers best not make it a legal requirement to check ID for the purchace of a video game. Think of the children!
-LF
Please note: This article contains sarcasm.
I have played Half-life, Doom, Quake, Duke3d, etc. for years and I haven't been brainwashed. Now shut the f**k up before I kick your a** you liberal censoring p***y b***h. People like you should be shot with a BFG9000 at point-blank range.
This is all culled from the Softbank web site, at http://www.softbank.co.jp/. Read on and be frightened:
For more, see these news releases:
There may be objective news sources (I don't know), but ZD is not one of them.
--Bantik
Ruby on Rails resources and more at idolhands.com
Mark me Offtopic if you want.
Ah, that old trick. Nothing is surer to get you marked up than to request being marked down. Go ahead and mark this as flamebait, moderators! You moderators suck! I dare you to mark this down!
No, wait.. -2, argh!!! Glub, blub, blop...
Yes. Brainwashing is bad. We should get rid of our education system, revamp it so that we teach kids to be critical thinkers instead of accepting the status quo.
We should also get rid of television. The media serves to maintain the status quo as well.
I'm perfectly happy entertaining myself on the Internet.
Common, you have to add PC Accel to that.
hehe (note its like Maxium cept for gamers)