The definition of "troll" has changed. It used to be, back in the good old USENET days, a troll was someone who intentionally took an outrageous viewpoint, purely to generate responses and enjoy the excitement of being in the center of attention.
Now, "troll" is anyone who disagrees. I've seen some pretty bad abuses on other forums, where someone advances a reasonable idea that doesn't dovetail with the way the group prefers to perceive reality, and is instantly labeled a troll and banned. The trend is self-reinforcing over time. Result: groupthink. The meaning of "normal" gets distorted as the goalposts move farther and farther away from the world outside the forum. This is especially jarring when these folks move out to a mainstream forum like Slashdot and nobody shares their preconceptions.
You can see it in the linked article, the author's examples such as "You are on a Vim channel" - who the F spends time on a "Vim channel"? Himself and his tiny group, I'm sure. Jeez, the guy bought and is reading a self-help book called "Feeling Good"...obviously he has major life problems that the rest of us consider lameass Stuart Smalley territory "I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am attractive person. I am fun to be with." OMG TROLL -1
1. The solution isn't more energy usage. The solution is less energy usage, period. Nuclear reactors will kill us all with radioactive pollution. "People must have come not only to distrust the safety of the technology but also the authority of those who have assured them so confidently that nuclear power is safe. In this sense people distrust the entire nuclear enterprise -- not only its technology, but the public and private organizations, the political parties, and those often prestigious scientists who advocate and assist in the development of nuclear power."
2. This is because USA still stupidly has an unregulated economy that does whatever it wants. Sane countries, like China, let The Smart People plan their economic growth in accordance with scientific principles. An excerpt: "Promote energy saving and environmental protection.
Currently, for every 1% increase in GDP, China's energy use increases by 1% or more. If this rate continues, China will need to increase its energy consumption by 2.5 times to achieve its 2020 economic goal. To put this into perspective, this would mean increasing the current consumption of coal from the current 3.6 billion tons per year to an astronomical 7.9 billion tons a year. No one in China thinks this can be done. One major way to reduce the amount of energy required for the Chinese economy is to implement energy saving practices throughout the economy. A second way to reduce is to shift from hydrocarbon based energy to alternative energy sources. The new plan advocates an all out program in this area."
Just imagine if USA had similar policies, and could actually implement them. Ownership of General Motors to advance state economic policies was a good start, but needs to expand to more sectors of the US economy. Letting the market decide is, frankly, irresponsible and a proven recipe for disaster, time and time again. Just look at history.
Soviet Union. People's Republic of China. Democratic People's Republic of Kampuchea. Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Republic of Cuba. Assignment: 1000 words on each country and the deaths caused by each government in the 20th century.
The president of this company is famous for writing a song by the name of ""Does a Fool Ever Learn"
Ironic eh?
No, it's not ironic. It's just a coincidence. For some reason Canadians have a real problem understanding the concept of irony. What the hell is wrong with you people? Irony is not 10,000 toques when all you need is a can of endangered seal meat.
Isn't it "the narrative" that the West should stay the fuck out of Africa's internal affairs? Haven't we meddled enough? If it were an oil company instead of elite academics, it would be criticized for enabling a dictatorship. Self-serving comment, interpreted to give the best light to its beneficiary.
Maybe it's because, no matter which choices we make, we're going to get criticized by the usual suspects? This sort of thing does inspire cynicism. Let's grab a random example: PBS show on 1993 Somalia, "explores the well-intentioned, aborted, and ultimately tragic American effort to bring about stability and stop starvation." PBS show in 1994 Rwanda, "how the West ignored warnings of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and turned its back on the victims."
It's the Kobayashi Maru - the no-win situation. And there's no reprogramming the computers this time. Is it any surprise that there is a lack of enthusiasm? You're bitching that we aren't doing anything, but the minute the first US Marine sets foot in Libya you'll change your tune to IMPERIALISM USA FASCISTS OIL HALLIBURTON EARTHQUAKE MACHINE 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB WHARRRGARBL
Well, I must have missed where they held elections. Anyway, since the link is a typical Slashdot non-story, let's talk about Harvard university professors supporting Khadaffy instead. Nicholas Negroponte from OLPC accepted his money and is proud of his participation. The really outrageous detail is that these professors were complicit in the award of a fraudulent PhD. For that they should have their tenure revoked and their academic positions removed. Of course, this won't happen. If a buffoon like me showed up to protest Haah-vahd, I'd be laughed out of the discussion due to my lack of a doctorate, and even if I did have one, my Ph.D would be mocked as the award of an inferior school. Khadaffy's son Saif is hardly the first to have his Ph.D thesis written for him. Unfortunately this is a perfect example of the principles (or lack thereof) of the cultured, intellectual elite who are convinced that they should be in charge of America. That they are reprehensible scalawags who are for sale to a tyrant will never be accepted. It would be like a socialist accepting that her ideology resulted in the deaths of millions of 20th century humans. The consequences are just too much to bear thinking about.
And...uh...OK, how many planes crashed as a result? What, exactly, was the state of computer technology in 1981? Oh wait, the whole thing was a union power play? Let's all remember, Reagan fired the controllers when they voluntarily walked off the job in violation of federal law (they were government employees, imagine US Marines walking off the job by comparison), demanded $10,000 raises (in 1981 dollars), and a French style 32-hour work week. Huh. It's as if the whole "not safe" thing was a cassus belli> bullshit excuse for massive raises at the taxpayers' expense (the means you and me.) Imagine the world if public sector unions had instead won this battle and felt free to impose their selfish wants on the rest of us. Scary, eh?
Females initiate 90% of all divorces. 70% are due to females filing themselves, and 20% are due to the woman choosing to cheat. Now you know why the divorce laws are so totally screwed up and one-sided.
So...just because Japan followed a certain route, that means China must as well? Wow, that is incredibly racist. Those yellow slants all look alike, eh?
n. (1) a person, group of people, or a community that is only concerned with their limited way of life and not at all interested in new ideas or other cultures.
Speaking as a China Mobile customer for some years...I used to get 2-5 SMS spam per day. This has dropped to zero for the last six months or so. Actually, today, I got a spam and was surprised by it...and was surprised by the fact that I was surprised. A big advantage to an authoritarian government is that it can make decisions and then implement them. It makes messy representative government look shabby by comparison. The things you can get done when The Smart People are in charge...
What are these "street corners" of which you speak? Do they actually exist, or is this some sort of romantic notion you got from reading seventy-year-old novels?
Wow, you mean up until this point it simply wasn't feasible to track cash? And now science has provided a way? Thanks, amoral German scientists! This is the best gift you've given the world since mustard gas!
As a scientist, surely you know the plural of anecdote is not data. But I suppose politics have irretrievably muddied the subject, eh? That's the whole point.
I have heard this attitude a million times and it is just a self-justifying excuse. It does not matter if it is good, only if it is original. If it is original then it may possibly be good. Failing to try is the worst. It is always a sign of cultural decay when fresh populations fail to innovate, and worse, think that copying is a most natural thing.
Yet another remake, sequel, re-imagining, mashup, or reinterpretation. Sigh. I never realized at the time that things were so good...I honestly expected that we would keep going onward. For the past 10-20 years, it has just been remake after remake. For every movie like Pulp Fiction or Necronomicon, there are two Karate Kid or McHale's Navy made. Just imagine if all the talented people who spent hundreds or thousands of man-hours making this remake instead spent their energy on something new. It just says that things were better before and imagination has become an unusual quality.
commodore6502 is the new account for commodore_love, a well-known slashdot troll. I wonder why he's using a new account - perhaps his old account got banned for some unknown reason?
You got trolled, buddy. I hope you felt intellectually superior while doing it because that would be a delicious irony.
I always thought it was odd that they used verbal commands for the replicator. Probably because nobody thought it through and the writers knew zippo about science (in Trek, shocking I know). Imagine the bridge of "The Next Generation" Enterprise where all the crew are using verbal communication with their computers instead of those ridiculously low-tech keyboards and monitors.
No, that was a personal anecdote. If you don't believe me then take your children with you to a Chuck E. Cheese on the second of next month and tell me about it. I'll wait.
Slashdot Mirror
Uh, dude? "Why do you say X" is a canned ELIZA response. Nice to see that you took the opportunity to display hate, though. U GOT TROLLED
The definition of "troll" has changed. It used to be, back in the good old USENET days, a troll was someone who intentionally took an outrageous viewpoint, purely to generate responses and enjoy the excitement of being in the center of attention.
Now, "troll" is anyone who disagrees. I've seen some pretty bad abuses on other forums, where someone advances a reasonable idea that doesn't dovetail with the way the group prefers to perceive reality, and is instantly labeled a troll and banned. The trend is self-reinforcing over time. Result: groupthink. The meaning of "normal" gets distorted as the goalposts move farther and farther away from the world outside the forum. This is especially jarring when these folks move out to a mainstream forum like Slashdot and nobody shares their preconceptions.
You can see it in the linked article, the author's examples such as "You are on a Vim channel" - who the F spends time on a "Vim channel"? Himself and his tiny group, I'm sure. Jeez, the guy bought and is reading a self-help book called "Feeling Good"...obviously he has major life problems that the rest of us consider lameass Stuart Smalley territory "I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am attractive person. I am fun to be with." OMG TROLL -1
1. The solution isn't more energy usage. The solution is less energy usage, period. Nuclear reactors will kill us all with radioactive pollution. "People must have come not only to distrust the safety of the technology but also the authority of those who have assured them so confidently that nuclear power is safe. In this sense people distrust the entire nuclear enterprise -- not only its technology, but the public and private organizations, the political parties, and those often prestigious scientists who advocate and assist in the development of nuclear power."
2. This is because USA still stupidly has an unregulated economy that does whatever it wants. Sane countries, like China, let The Smart People plan their economic growth in accordance with scientific principles. An excerpt: "Promote energy saving and environmental protection.
Currently, for every 1% increase in GDP, China's energy use increases by 1% or more. If this rate continues, China will need to increase its energy consumption by 2.5 times to achieve its 2020 economic goal. To put this into perspective, this would mean increasing the current consumption of coal from the current 3.6 billion tons per year to an astronomical 7.9 billion tons a year. No one in China thinks this can be done. One major way to reduce the amount of energy required for the Chinese economy is to implement energy saving practices throughout the economy. A second way to reduce is to shift from hydrocarbon based energy to alternative energy sources. The new plan advocates an all out program in this area."
Just imagine if USA had similar policies, and could actually implement them. Ownership of General Motors to advance state economic policies was a good start, but needs to expand to more sectors of the US economy. Letting the market decide is, frankly, irresponsible and a proven recipe for disaster, time and time again. Just look at history.
Soviet Union. People's Republic of China. Democratic People's Republic of Kampuchea. Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Republic of Cuba. Assignment: 1000 words on each country and the deaths caused by each government in the 20th century.
Question: how did Ghandi die? Did we remember that part?
The president of this company is famous for writing a song by the name of ""Does a Fool Ever Learn" Ironic eh?
No, it's not ironic. It's just a coincidence. For some reason Canadians have a real problem understanding the concept of irony. What the hell is wrong with you people? Irony is not 10,000 toques when all you need is a can of endangered seal meat.
Isn't it "the narrative" that the West should stay the fuck out of Africa's internal affairs? Haven't we meddled enough? If it were an oil company instead of elite academics, it would be criticized for enabling a dictatorship. Self-serving comment, interpreted to give the best light to its beneficiary.
Maybe it's because, no matter which choices we make, we're going to get criticized by the usual suspects? This sort of thing does inspire cynicism. Let's grab a random example: PBS show on 1993 Somalia, "explores the well-intentioned, aborted, and ultimately tragic American effort to bring about stability and stop starvation." PBS show in 1994 Rwanda, "how the West ignored warnings of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and turned its back on the victims."
It's the Kobayashi Maru - the no-win situation. And there's no reprogramming the computers this time. Is it any surprise that there is a lack of enthusiasm? You're bitching that we aren't doing anything, but the minute the first US Marine sets foot in Libya you'll change your tune to IMPERIALISM USA FASCISTS OIL HALLIBURTON EARTHQUAKE MACHINE 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB WHARRRGARBL
Well, I must have missed where they held elections. Anyway, since the link is a typical Slashdot non-story, let's talk about Harvard university professors supporting Khadaffy instead. Nicholas Negroponte from OLPC accepted his money and is proud of his participation. The really outrageous detail is that these professors were complicit in the award of a fraudulent PhD. For that they should have their tenure revoked and their academic positions removed. Of course, this won't happen. If a buffoon like me showed up to protest Haah-vahd, I'd be laughed out of the discussion due to my lack of a doctorate, and even if I did have one, my Ph.D would be mocked as the award of an inferior school. Khadaffy's son Saif is hardly the first to have his Ph.D thesis written for him. Unfortunately this is a perfect example of the principles (or lack thereof) of the cultured, intellectual elite who are convinced that they should be in charge of America. That they are reprehensible scalawags who are for sale to a tyrant will never be accepted. It would be like a socialist accepting that her ideology resulted in the deaths of millions of 20th century humans. The consequences are just too much to bear thinking about.
And...uh...OK, how many planes crashed as a result? What, exactly, was the state of computer technology in 1981? Oh wait, the whole thing was a union power play? Let's all remember, Reagan fired the controllers when they voluntarily walked off the job in violation of federal law (they were government employees, imagine US Marines walking off the job by comparison), demanded $10,000 raises (in 1981 dollars), and a French style 32-hour work week. Huh. It's as if the whole "not safe" thing was a cassus belli> bullshit excuse for massive raises at the taxpayers' expense (the means you and me.) Imagine the world if public sector unions had instead won this battle and felt free to impose their selfish wants on the rest of us. Scary, eh?
Females initiate 90% of all divorces. 70% are due to females filing themselves, and 20% are due to the woman choosing to cheat. Now you know why the divorce laws are so totally screwed up and one-sided.
So...just because Japan followed a certain route, that means China must as well? Wow, that is incredibly racist. Those yellow slants all look alike, eh?
n. (1) a person, group of people, or a community that is only concerned with their limited way of life and not at all interested in new ideas or other cultures.
2nd world countries? Uhhh...newsflash, the Soviet Union and its satellites collapsed 20 years ago, maybe you didn't get the memo?
Speaking as a China Mobile customer for some years...I used to get 2-5 SMS spam per day. This has dropped to zero for the last six months or so. Actually, today, I got a spam and was surprised by it...and was surprised by the fact that I was surprised. A big advantage to an authoritarian government is that it can make decisions and then implement them. It makes messy representative government look shabby by comparison. The things you can get done when The Smart People are in charge...
What are these "street corners" of which you speak? Do they actually exist, or is this some sort of romantic notion you got from reading seventy-year-old novels?
Wow, you mean up until this point it simply wasn't feasible to track cash? And now science has provided a way? Thanks, amoral German scientists! This is the best gift you've given the world since mustard gas!
So...about that Greek culture. How did that turn out? They're still going strong, right?
As a scientist, surely you know the plural of anecdote is not data. But I suppose politics have irretrievably muddied the subject, eh? That's the whole point.
I have heard this attitude a million times and it is just a self-justifying excuse. It does not matter if it is good, only if it is original. If it is original then it may possibly be good. Failing to try is the worst. It is always a sign of cultural decay when fresh populations fail to innovate, and worse, think that copying is a most natural thing.
Yet another remake, sequel, re-imagining, mashup, or reinterpretation. Sigh. I never realized at the time that things were so good...I honestly expected that we would keep going onward. For the past 10-20 years, it has just been remake after remake. For every movie like Pulp Fiction or Necronomicon, there are two Karate Kid or McHale's Navy made. Just imagine if all the talented people who spent hundreds or thousands of man-hours making this remake instead spent their energy on something new. It just says that things were better before and imagination has become an unusual quality.
commodore6502 is the new account for commodore_love, a well-known slashdot troll. I wonder why he's using a new account - perhaps his old account got banned for some unknown reason?
You got trolled, buddy. I hope you felt intellectually superior while doing it because that would be a delicious irony.
I always thought it was odd that they used verbal commands for the replicator. Probably because nobody thought it through and the writers knew zippo about science (in Trek, shocking I know). Imagine the bridge of "The Next Generation" Enterprise where all the crew are using verbal communication with their computers instead of those ridiculously low-tech keyboards and monitors.
No, that was a personal anecdote. If you don't believe me then take your children with you to a Chuck E. Cheese on the second of next month and tell me about it. I'll wait.
Heh. Let's just say, don't go to Chuck E. Cheese's after the first of the month. Why? Because that's when the welfare checks come in. Think I'm joking? The Wall Street Journal did a piece on the high number of police calls at Chuck E. Cheeses. Biker bars record fewer calls. Look at the Google search.