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User: phorm

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  1. 3G/4G revolt on Grand Ayatollah Says High Speed Internet Is "Against Moral Standards" · · Score: 1

    Well, around here the support 4G speeds are pretty revolting as it is, and the 3G signal isn't very good either...

  2. Re:yet if we did it on Deputy Who Fatally Struck Cyclist While Answering Email Will Face No Charges · · Score: 1

    How many rich black dudes are there VS rich white dudes....
    That severely abuse their privileges...

    and get away with murder...

  3. Re:Start at the top on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    There's being attractive, and then there's over-sexualization or raunch. In the (latest) DN3D, the game starts with Duke getting a BJ from a gasping and choking cheerleader-type character. That adds 0% to the gameplay and is pretty damn degrading, IMHO.

  4. Re:No Patch Info on Microsoft Releases Replacement Patch With Two Known Bugs · · Score: 1

    Yeah, no kidding. If half the patches are for "issues when entering text with the Klingon language when your locale is set to Alpha Centuri" then I don't need the farging patch. Give me useful information, and don't load me up with patches that frankly don't apply.

  5. Re:Start at the top on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    it's simply a matter of improving the quality of storytelling in games

    Yes, totally agree here. Frankly, a lot of the issue may not be so much that so many people are sexist, it's just that they're used to familiar patterns and originality isn't often looked upon well in the gaming industry. The majority of game shops probably aren't threatened by women, but rather by *change*, which is why you see so much of the same crap released in slightly different format or as a "now with better graphics and bigger explosions" sequel.

    So, rather than changing Mario and getting rid of helpless ol' peach, let's come up with something new. The first step for some might be to have a "heroic" Peach, but frankly that's still going down the "safe and similar" route. Let's come up with some new game ideas, new plots, and new characters, including some more female characters (lead and otherwise) that are more than window-dressing.

  6. Re:Start at the top on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    I should add. I don't support the behaviour of the trolls (threats, etc) in this regard. I'm not sure if these people believe the crap they spew out or are truly trolls doing it to get a rise out of people (in that case, I suppose they succeeded), but either way they're fairly vile examples of humanity.

    The problem now is that there's been an association between people who simply disagree with Anita's actions/views/etc - and offer constructive criticism - and the vile filthy trolls.

    I agree with some of A.S.'s points. Others I don't agree with, and some I think are widely overblown.
    Do I care that somebody may be using their personal relationships to garner publicity. Well that's somewhat nasty, and I don't think it's right, but not worth a sh*tstorm. Personally I found it more scary when copyright lobbyist do so in order to sway laws. Maybe if a lot of people and/or myself bought a crap game because of industry shilling reviewers I might care a bit more, but that seems to happen anyhow without the sex.

    Seriously, anyone who cares to speak out against A.S's issues are best to do so in a sane manner. But trolls are trolls, and really I'm guessing that a lot of these are just sick people who are looking for attention. They do shit specially to get a rise out of people, so the bigger the reaction the happier. These are the same idiots that do swatting, troll forums with goatse, incite people to suicide and other crap. They're the Westborough Baptist Church of the internet, except you don't know who they actually are. They may be gamers, but chances are just as likely that they're simply attention-seeking sh*tbags. Hopefully some of the more legitimate threats can be tied back to a real identity, in which case games and feminists alike (or gamer-feminists) can celebrate.

  7. Start at the top on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    What I don't understand is why we're down on the "Save the Princess" games when yeah, there's much worse stuff out there to be dealt with. A lot of people mention GTA, but how about games like good ol "Duke Nukem." Yes, DN3D is old, and we all know that the newer game was bad from a gameplay aspect as well, but seriously the intro scene has got to be the biggest piece of sh** even.

    If you've got stuff like that out there, going after "Mario" is kinda like trying to bandage up a papercut when you've got a gunshot wound to the head/chest.

    p.s. I don't agree that "save the princess" is inherently bad to the point that it should be eliminated entirely. Somebody needs to be saved, after all. It's more that it's generally lopsided in favour of helpless female "props" and male protagonists. Maybe we need more Princess Fiona types that can kick ass in their own right

  8. Facebook just changed the game on Facebook Cleans Up News Feed By Reducing Click-Bait Headlines · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can see the headline now:
    Facebook decides to change policy and you wouldn't believe what happened next!

  9. Re:I live in a near zero earthquake area on Slashdot Asks: How Prepared Are You For an Earthquake? · · Score: 1

    Also, see this guy's comment about Minnesota... ditto for NS, at least in the winter months.

  10. Re:Having babies.... on ACM Blames the PC For Driving Women Away From Computer Science · · Score: 1

    Depends on what you mean by "growing up."
    If you mean, during elementary through high-school, no many of us were probably too busy avoiding being lockered or swirlied.
    But by college, and especially in that period shortly afterwards where many geeks I know - while not CEO's - were doing a lot better than the football squad who still worked at McD's and spent weekends drinking beer on the couch.

    Those that were missing out were usually due to frankly being poor company in general (as in, other "geeks" didn't want to hang out with them either), having really bad hygiene, or being more interested in D&D than in girls.

  11. Re:The real crime here on 33 Months In Prison For Recording a Movie In a Theater · · Score: 1

    Commercial gain does change this picture somewhat. My only counter is that jail-time also imposes a burden on society, whereas a fine that wipes out any profit from the infringement + imposes enough of an additional penalty would probably have worked well enough, and saved the cost of housing this idiot in a cell.

  12. Re:Not my kind of person. on 33 Months In Prison For Recording a Movie In a Theater · · Score: 1

    The financial advisor ruins people's lives by abusing a position of trust he's been given. He's also reaping the benefits of his crime and living high on the hog. Often enough, those that have enabled the advisor to run rampant manage to spew a bunch of B.S. excuses about how "shocked" they were and are unaffected.

    Meanwhile, the guy who recorded in a theatre is an idiot, but he hasn't ruined anyone's life and hasn't really benefited financially from his act. A significant (but not ruinous) fine would accomplish plenty in terms of penalty. The corporations have also successfully lobbied to have what was once a civil offence which could be resolved between two groups (see: lawsuit) into a criminal act.

  13. Re:OPSEC on NSA Agents Leak Tor Bugs To Developers · · Score: 1

    Indeed, it could be people who are using TOR but don't want to end up on an NSA watch-list because they have in-depth knowledge of a tool that's probably not well-received by the NSA...

  14. Blocking exit nodes on NSA Agents Leak Tor Bugs To Developers · · Score: 1

    As it stands right now, it is SOP for an admin to block all exit nodes at the incoming router, the IP stack on the machine, the web server, and the application

    And there's plenty of reasons to do so. There's a reason that companies have firewalls that block outgoing connections as well as incoming. Or would you rather they allowed traffic from anonymous internet sources to route through their networks?

    Home users are a different story, but I don't see why most corps would want to allow TOR. They have enough issues securing their networks as it is (see: UPS breach).

  15. Re:Most of the failures never would've made it. on How Game Developers Turn Kickstarter Failure Into Success · · Score: 1

    OCRemix initially made a kickstarter for an FFVI music remix. Initially they ran into legal issues with Squaresoft, but apparently sorted that out and then successfully funded the second incarnation.

    If a third-party can successfully garner funds and create a prototype, I wonder how many of the big entities would be willing to license such projects for a cut of the profits at the end?

  16. Re:Most of the failures never would've made it. on How Game Developers Turn Kickstarter Failure Into Success · · Score: 1

    And yet... funded at $504 (of $500).
    Maybe people felt it was easier than donating directly to help the guy out, but still...

  17. Re:I suggest Kickstarter on Linus Torvalds: 'I Still Want the Desktop' · · Score: 1

    If you add Battlefield 3 to the PS4, would that increase PS4 adoption? That's not likely, but bringing out Uncharted 4 probably will.

    I mean adding a *new* title, possibly as an exclusive title (at least exclusive for the first while).

  18. In the ice? on Scientists Baffled By Unknown Source of Ozone-Depleting Chemical · · Score: 1

    Something in the currently melting polar ice caps, perhaps. If it (or a chemical that breaks down into it) are in there in some form, they could be getting released as the ice melts.

  19. Re:Wow on China Pulls Plug On Genetically Modified Rice and Corn · · Score: 1

    This is what used to happen in the West, when companies were similarly unrestrained by legislation

    Maple Leaf Meats. Deepwater Horizon. Exxon Valdez. Mount Polly Mine. Tepco.

    I'd say that the East and the West do a fairly shitty job of enforcing regulation. You can have all the legislation you want but lack of enforcement or monitoring = fail. The West would like to point fingers at China but frankly we've been chasing profits at the expense of health+safety just as much.

  20. Re:Clothes on Calif. Court Rules Businesses Must Reimburse Cell Phone Bills · · Score: 1

    Work uniform? If you're in Canada, then the answer is yes (actually, they supply it and you get a stipend for cleaning etc).

  21. Re:Why is this Google's problem? on Google Receives Takedown Request Every 8 Milliseconds · · Score: 1

    Well, it certainly wouldn't be a DCMA complaint, unless you've got the copyright on small members (or signs to small members, perhaps)?

    Most likely it would be considered a form of harassment, possibly libel.

    In the case of a search engine and to some extent a torrent index though, it's more like "There are signs located in the men's bathroom on fifth avenue, as well as in the back alley on third that say Jones_Supa has a small johnston"

  22. Re:perjury re identity only not accuracy. EZ fix D on Google Receives Takedown Request Every 8 Milliseconds · · Score: 1

    It seems to me that the infringement is alleged, but the ownership shouldn't be. If they can't even come up with something definitive as to *what* is infringed, I would hope they could be liable.

  23. Re:I suggest Kickstarter on Linus Torvalds: 'I Still Want the Desktop' · · Score: 1

    And autoCAD, and MS Project. Visio. Exchange... and that proprietary application that's really popular with X.

    Linux isn't really fighting against usability (yes, it does have some issues there), it's fighting against an entrenched user-base whose needs are tied to existing software. Porting Adobe might help for some, but there are still plenty of other things out there.

    In the same vein, though, for a lot of users it's more than enough. It's got email, web browsing /w flash/java support (facebook and games), word-processor, spreadsheet, some basic games, and now even some stuff on Steam. Getting Adobe moved over would help add to that, but I'd imagine that if Steam ever gets their Steambox out there with a killer title (another Left 4 Dead, Half Life, etc variant would probably do it), then adoption will increase quite nicely as well.

  24. Re:What constitutes sexism? on News Aggregator Fark Adds Misogyny Ban · · Score: 2

    Would that be "genocide" or "gendercide"?

  25. Re:Kickstarter Goals? on Women Founders Outpace Male Counterparts In Certain Types of Kickstarter Funding · · Score: 1

    Maybe females were less likely to attempt kickstarting stupid things like booby apps etc, or their projects are more meaningful to a given audience. Remember, not every kickstarter is a geek toy etc, there are a lot of projects with a more personal/direct aim that may be able to easily solicit funds from a targeted audience.

    Then again, some dude managed to kickstart making potato salad for a ton of cash, so it seems there are still plenty of people out there to fund stupid projects too.