d) make a similar game with similar mechanics. open it up to player scenarios and mods. publish a "fan" mod that makes it perform just like the original game. deniability, check. all you are peddling is the platform for the legally questionable niche game mechanics.
Would free games also be affected? Is there a legal challenge to any such tax on the horizon due to the restriction by taxation on free speech, possibly on proprietary games but also possibly on open source games?
Would violent interactive programs, i.e. not "games" also be threatened?
Arguing that the company is composed of people is besides the point, as is the obvious fact that those responsible will be replaced. Punitive damages are designed to discourage similar behavior by others in the future, whether firms or individuals. Companies that do not have strict standards of conduct and means of enforcement in place to restrain bonus-happy minions can damn well pay up. Employees will suffer collateral damage in the very short term, but in terms of the damage to society, allowing companies or individuals to get off lightly on corporate crime acts far outweighs damage to employed individuals.
Sounds like you have some pretty developed views. It is strange to me, then, that you choose not to use the only tool within your grasp of manifesting those views in the political realm. I am talking about voting, of course. It may be a blunt -- a very blunt -- tool, but it is a tool nonetheless. In other words, you can make it serve your purposes.
For instance, you might express your displeasure with a bill such as the PATRIOT Act not only by complaining about it, but voting for the candidate who, in your judgment, least favors similar bills.
Get rid of the politicians and the stupid amounts of time and money being wasted on the popularity campaigns, and get some people who actually want to manage the country, rather than people who want to become superstars.
At the risk of proving Godwin's Law, I might point out that Hitler may have felt that way. In all seriousness, your comments seem to me to show a disregard for the responsibility of a citizen to hold his or her government responsible. Not voting is not a legitimate agent of change or expression of disavowal. Whining is equally ineffective. Voting, as repugnant as you may find it, if you spend time getting to know the candidates and issues, may be effective.
Or, if you cannot find a suitable candidate or issue, run yourself, or get your issue on the ballot. Such things can be done.
...and you had to expect the Wii Fit suggestion. An old standby: Dance Dance Revolution. A close geek friend who never touched a weight in his life lost 15 pounds in just over a month through conscientious DDR, and it was noticeable. Just like the Wii Fit, it is challenging to beat your own records, and thus in a way you measure not only your progress against your midsection but also against the "game."
Since you are asking for suggestions for workouts for geeks, something tells me you aren't simply looking for formulaic workouts, but strategies for staying motivated, as well, or else you'd simply download a few workout plans and proceed. So try the game approach, and if that doesn't work, fall back on the ballroom dancing and similar approaches that are geek-friendly and self-maintaining in terms of interest.
Good luck to you. Now I need to follow my own advice.
It seems to me that the higher priority online crime becomes, the more likely that not only are civil liberties restricted in ever-greater statutory and executive regulations, but the greater become the incentives for governments to step in and limit the "freedoms" inherent in a largely-untaxed open internet. I personally would prefer for the internet to be a lesser concern for the time being for government agencies, as it is one of the few cases where I DO feel the market has adequate and more-than-adequate responses to security risks without any governmental "help."
OTOH, if governments around the world do move toward taxing and regulating more heavily (some might say, 'as they continue' to do so), then the as-yet mostly-conceptual freenets and darknets of the world will increasingly be the new de-facto internet, at least for the technologically clued-in.
Slashdot Mirror
"... the first direct evidence that thunderstorms make antimatter particle beams"
Does this mean that elementary school teachers may need to revise their assertions that lightning does not make noise?
Real answer: Yesssssss!
d) make a similar game with similar mechanics. open it up to player scenarios and mods. publish a "fan" mod that makes it perform just like the original game. deniability, check. all you are peddling is the platform for the legally questionable niche game mechanics.
Would free games also be affected? Is there a legal challenge to any such tax on the horizon due to the restriction by taxation on free speech, possibly on proprietary games but also possibly on open source games? Would violent interactive programs, i.e. not "games" also be threatened?
Arguing that the company is composed of people is besides the point, as is the obvious fact that those responsible will be replaced. Punitive damages are designed to discourage similar behavior by others in the future, whether firms or individuals. Companies that do not have strict standards of conduct and means of enforcement in place to restrain bonus-happy minions can damn well pay up. Employees will suffer collateral damage in the very short term, but in terms of the damage to society, allowing companies or individuals to get off lightly on corporate crime acts far outweighs damage to employed individuals.
Get rid of the politicians and the stupid amounts of time and money being wasted on the popularity campaigns, and get some people who actually want to manage the country, rather than people who want to become superstars.
At the risk of proving Godwin's Law, I might point out that Hitler may have felt that way. In all seriousness, your comments seem to me to show a disregard for the responsibility of a citizen to hold his or her government responsible. Not voting is not a legitimate agent of change or expression of disavowal. Whining is equally ineffective. Voting, as repugnant as you may find it, if you spend time getting to know the candidates and issues, may be effective. Or, if you cannot find a suitable candidate or issue, run yourself, or get your issue on the ballot. Such things can be done.
...and you had to expect the Wii Fit suggestion. An old standby: Dance Dance Revolution. A close geek friend who never touched a weight in his life lost 15 pounds in just over a month through conscientious DDR, and it was noticeable. Just like the Wii Fit, it is challenging to beat your own records, and thus in a way you measure not only your progress against your midsection but also against the "game." Since you are asking for suggestions for workouts for geeks, something tells me you aren't simply looking for formulaic workouts, but strategies for staying motivated, as well, or else you'd simply download a few workout plans and proceed. So try the game approach, and if that doesn't work, fall back on the ballroom dancing and similar approaches that are geek-friendly and self-maintaining in terms of interest. Good luck to you. Now I need to follow my own advice.
It seems to me that the higher priority online crime becomes, the more likely that not only are civil liberties restricted in ever-greater statutory and executive regulations, but the greater become the incentives for governments to step in and limit the "freedoms" inherent in a largely-untaxed open internet. I personally would prefer for the internet to be a lesser concern for the time being for government agencies, as it is one of the few cases where I DO feel the market has adequate and more-than-adequate responses to security risks without any governmental "help."
OTOH, if governments around the world do move toward taxing and regulating more heavily (some might say, 'as they continue' to do so), then the as-yet mostly-conceptual freenets and darknets of the world will increasingly be the new de-facto internet, at least for the technologically clued-in.