you're seeing that reaction b/c quite simply, those are all endeavors in which a given person's health and psych state are all monitored quite carefully. considering that employers routinely run a credit check on prospective employees and the fact that all AUPs that i've ever seen say right up front that an employee has no expectation of privacy, i don't think that the reaction is unjustified in the least.
maybe you're right. maybe it's just the usual anti-M$ slashdot reaction + pro-privacy sentiment that are fueling this reaction.
but don't dismiss it out of hand, b/c while it's possible it's innocuous in the way that you say, there's certainly no guarantee of it.
we all know about AUPs. i wanna see an AEPP (acceptable employee privacy policy).
well, traditionally when one speaks with geeks, do they ever start talking about "gaming" and actually mean that they had a rip-roaring grand old time playing a rollicking game of monopoly?:>
no. they invariably mean a computer (or sometimes platform) game, or less often, maybe a classic (pen & paper) RPG. they don't even--by & large--mean casino gambling, which also uses the word "gaming" to describe what they do.
you're right, there's no logical reason, but that's the accepted usage, at least among the folks that i know.
wow...i scrolled all the way down and of the comments that still display w/out any effort, not a single one appears to refer to (pen & paper/tabletop) RPGs. am i alone in finding that surprising?
since i wager i'm hardly the only slashdotter who doesn't know, here's how to find out who your representative is, what district you're in and his/her DC office.
(note, you will need to know your ZIP code, and possibly +4).
...or with the spate of news articles about how revolutionary and paradigm-changing the iphone is, is anyone else expecting to start seeing an "iphone = chuck norris" meme?
"the iphone is so cool, the ISO is creating a new temperature scale based around it."
"the iphone is so powerful, it can cure cancer...once unlocked."
"the iphone is so versatile, it can not just play music, be a phone and browse the web, but imagine a beowulf cluster of them!"
is it just me? i mean, i think the iphone is pretty darned cool, myself, and i don't even own one. but there's been a great deal of fawning over it. not that apple doesn't deserve accolades for it, but jeez guys...haven't we collectively crossed the threshold of justifiable praise into fanboyism?
i concur, although what's gonna be really interesting is the kind of electronic massaging people are gonna try to do with the electronic files: various search/replaces, semiotic analyses, etc., if you ask me.
cytlid, i wish i wasn't already participating in this discussion b/c your comment deserves rep. well said. btw, do consider the planescape: torment game--superb writing, although it uses AD&D2 rules.
i'm trying to understand how one would structure an iron chef game, exactly. i mean, i can sorta see an iron chef RPG. but a console/computer game...how would that even work?
[grognard]back in my way, we had to calculate encumbrance...with a calculator...and we were grateful![/grognard]
back in my day, every class, at every level, had a class title! and every class had different XP charts! plus every thief had identical chances to do everything if they were of the same level!
when WOTC created 3rd edition, they killed a number of sacred cows--and that's a great thing, if you ask me.
as a fan of the star wars saga game, i certainly see much there that very clearly looks like it's gonna be part of D&D4, such as the second wind mechanic, the d20 modern-inspired alternating feat/talent slots at each level. but what i found most mechanically intriguing in the saga game was the usage of the use the force skill. as an amateur rules tinkerer myself, i was actually working on a variant of the first d20 SW game that would have done the same, but upon learning that you were going in this direction, figured there was no point on continuing.
so the question i have: does the force mechanic as presented in SW saga relate in any meaningful way to the way magic will work in D&D4? there's been what looks like signs of dissatisfaction with the vancian model that arneson & gygax first introduced in comments i've seen here or there for a while.
a lot of ID apologetics that i keep seeing appears to key off of conflating the scientific definition of theory with the considerably less rigorous definition that word has in common usage, for that matter.
perfectly reasonable point, but isn't the overage charge horror story one that we all have? i had one in the amount of $600 or so. haven't we all done something like that, or at least know someone who has? and isn't it common for teens and other new user to exceed minutes/txt limitations/month?
see, i think that more ways to spend money is part of it, but i think part of it is also exceeding restrictions/overuse charges.
landlines don't give you varying costs, usage limitations, texting plans, ringtones, MP3s, games, yadda yadda yadda. all landlines do is let you talk/fax.
of course mobile phone spending is gonna outstrip it. the real question to me is why did it take this long?
if the student put firefox on IE-only machines, it does matter what account he was using and whether he had admin rights. in a lot of user environments, your average user is not given the rights to install new software and whether it's stupid or not, it's the admin's right to make that decision for that environment. in a classroom, it would in fact make sense that the desktops be locked down to preclude bandwidth-abuse (MP3s, etc) or prevent "adult" site viewing, which would expose the school to liability in legal action, etc.
Slashdot Mirror
i don't view it that way, but i'm sure he did.
ed
fischer struggled throughout his life with being jewish himself and his anti-semitic harangues are pretty well-documented.
ed
anybody else glad that fischer can't write his own press release re: his death? b/c you know he'd blame this fictional jewish conspiracy for it...
ed
i think your dilemma is precisely what the AT&T management is anticipating, to be honest.
ed
clearly, our respective peers are rather different, then. :>
ed
you're seeing that reaction b/c quite simply, those are all endeavors in which a given person's health and psych state are all monitored quite carefully. considering that employers routinely run a credit check on prospective employees and the fact that all AUPs that i've ever seen say right up front that an employee has no expectation of privacy, i don't think that the reaction is unjustified in the least.
maybe you're right. maybe it's just the usual anti-M$ slashdot reaction + pro-privacy sentiment that are fueling this reaction.
but don't dismiss it out of hand, b/c while it's possible it's innocuous in the way that you say, there's certainly no guarantee of it.
we all know about AUPs. i wanna see an AEPP (acceptable employee privacy policy).
ed
well, traditionally when one speaks with geeks, do they ever start talking about "gaming" and actually mean that they had a rip-roaring grand old time playing a rollicking game of monopoly? :>
no. they invariably mean a computer (or sometimes platform) game, or less often, maybe a classic (pen & paper) RPG. they don't even--by & large--mean casino gambling, which also uses the word "gaming" to describe what they do.
you're right, there's no logical reason, but that's the accepted usage, at least among the folks that i know.
ed
wow...i scrolled all the way down and of the comments that still display w/out any effort, not a single one appears to refer to (pen & paper/tabletop) RPGs. am i alone in finding that surprising?
ed
patriot act, check.
:>
abolishment of habeas corpus, check.
i'm sorry, you were saying?
ed
since i wager i'm hardly the only slashdotter who doesn't know, here's how to find out who your representative is, what district you're in and his/her DC office.
(note, you will need to know your ZIP code, and possibly +4).
ed
...or with the spate of news articles about how revolutionary and paradigm-changing the iphone is, is anyone else expecting to start seeing an "iphone = chuck norris" meme?
"the iphone is so cool, the ISO is creating a new temperature scale based around it."
"the iphone is so powerful, it can cure cancer...once unlocked."
"the iphone is so versatile, it can not just play music, be a phone and browse the web, but imagine a beowulf cluster of them!"
is it just me? i mean, i think the iphone is pretty darned cool, myself, and i don't even own one. but there's been a great deal of fawning over it. not that apple doesn't deserve accolades for it, but jeez guys...haven't we collectively crossed the threshold of justifiable praise into fanboyism?
ed
i concur, although what's gonna be really interesting is the kind of electronic massaging people are gonna try to do with the electronic files: various search/replaces, semiotic analyses, etc., if you ask me.
ed
uh...didn't you mean the vogon destruction of earth rather than takeover? you know, something to do with a hyperspace bypass? :>[/pedantic bastard]
ed
actually, given the advent of DHS's C-TPAT program, i would bet that a dock is a lot more physically secure than you might think, to be honest.
ed
cytlid, i wish i wasn't already participating in this discussion b/c your comment deserves rep. well said. btw, do consider the planescape: torment game--superb writing, although it uses AD&D2 rules.
ed
if you're interested in planescape, there's a site that's adapting it to D&D3.
ed
i'm trying to understand how one would structure an iron chef game, exactly. i mean, i can sorta see an iron chef RPG. but a console/computer game...how would that even work?
ed
[grognard]back in my way, we had to calculate encumbrance...with a calculator...and we were grateful![/grognard]
back in my day, every class, at every level, had a class title! and every class had different XP charts! plus every thief had identical chances to do everything if they were of the same level!
ed
as noted by doug, the four classic roles in WOW are actually influenced by the original D&D in all likelihood far more than the other way around.
ed
when WOTC created 3rd edition, they killed a number of sacred cows--and that's a great thing, if you ask me.
as a fan of the star wars saga game, i certainly see much there that very clearly looks like it's gonna be part of D&D4, such as the second wind mechanic, the d20 modern-inspired alternating feat/talent slots at each level. but what i found most mechanically intriguing in the saga game was the usage of the use the force skill. as an amateur rules tinkerer myself, i was actually working on a variant of the first d20 SW game that would have done the same, but upon learning that you were going in this direction, figured there was no point on continuing.
so the question i have: does the force mechanic as presented in SW saga relate in any meaningful way to the way magic will work in D&D4? there's been what looks like signs of dissatisfaction with the vancian model that arneson & gygax first introduced in comments i've seen here or there for a while.
ed
a lot of ID apologetics that i keep seeing appears to key off of conflating the scientific definition of theory with the considerably less rigorous definition that word has in common usage, for that matter.
ed
perfectly reasonable point, but isn't the overage charge horror story one that we all have? i had one in the amount of $600 or so. haven't we all done something like that, or at least know someone who has? and isn't it common for teens and other new user to exceed minutes/txt limitations/month?
see, i think that more ways to spend money is part of it, but i think part of it is also exceeding restrictions/overuse charges.
ed
um...duh?
landlines don't give you varying costs, usage limitations, texting plans, ringtones, MP3s, games, yadda yadda yadda. all landlines do is let you talk/fax.
of course mobile phone spending is gonna outstrip it. the real question to me is why did it take this long?
ed
er...no. by your definition, perhaps, but not by the standard employed by the majority of the english-speaking world.
ed
if the student put firefox on IE-only machines, it does matter what account he was using and whether he had admin rights. in a lot of user environments, your average user is not given the rights to install new software and whether it's stupid or not, it's the admin's right to make that decision for that environment. in a classroom, it would in fact make sense that the desktops be locked down to preclude bandwidth-abuse (MP3s, etc) or prevent "adult" site viewing, which would expose the school to liability in legal action, etc.
ed