I was thinking along the same lines. I guess it would matter on how much data needed to be stored vs images and documents, but if you move towards the out side of the box, you might be able to use a social networking system to do a lot of the work for you. Seems kinda screwy to think of MySpace as an enterprise tool though;)
No, I said they didn't know who was at the helm, you are the one who called them screw ups.
"I have all the faith in the world that those petition signers knew who RMS was and the kinds of tactics he uses."
Knowing now the types of tactics RMS uses I am withdrawing my support of the FSF, and will recommend others to find a more effective organization to back.
"RMS got where he is today by NOT playing the political game."
And I will say again, RMS is not a political power house. Or are you saying that it was RMS's goal to wind up with a broken patent system, the DCMA, and limitations of consumers rights? There are hundreds of lobbyists who could hold a candle to RMS on the intellectual or moral front, but have significantly more political clout.
"Funny, you sure can't seem to put them aside, here comes another one..."
Sorry, that was a bit harsh of me. It was the end of a very, very long day. My apologies.
"Oh, I know the game. As an independent I play it all the time with my clients"
Then you of all people should understand why it is important to work the system instead of trying to force your way against it.
"Like submitting an official meeting request weeks beforehand with the expectation of an acknowledgement, either accepting or denying it? Protocol like that, maybe?"
Yeah, that would be a great start. And when that fails, submit again. Have a successful lobbyist look over your requests and see if they are poorly worded. If sending a well worded request in still fails, try hitting up a smaller target first. If you could get on of the cabinet members on your side, you may get an extra hand getting in for the meeting with the PM. There are hundreds of appropriate attack vectors to worth through IN the system. All of which would have been significantly more likely to forward the cause than that little stint on the street. What were they expecting? The PM would come over and have a 15 minute talk to them about artists and consumers' rights? Then break down crying, screaming "What have I done!?!" Even if they managed to get to the PM they would have a matter of seconds to talk to him.
"Funny, what you 'intended' and what you wrote the first time around are more than just a little contradictory."
How so? Lobbyists tell the President of India that out sourced jobs are good for India, the opposition send 3 people out to interrupt the President and tell him that out sourced jobs are bad for India. The President, if he even hears the 3 poorly dressed individuals' message (over the crowd, motorcade, and secret service) thinks back to all the briefings and charts he's seen that show him how out sourced jobs are good for the economy.
Same thing here. Lobbyists tell the PM of France that stronger CR laws and enforcement will help the economy and promote big business media in France (ie: jobs, tourism, taxes). The President, if he even hears the 3 poorly dressed individuals' message (over the crowd, motorcade, and secret service) thinks back to all the briefings and charts he's seen that show him how out stronger CR laws are good for the economy.
Is RMS an impressive man? Sure. Is he the right man to lead the FSF? Probably. Is the the right man to take FSF's cause to the political arena? No way. And seeing as how the FSF has political goals, I can't see following them so long as they show nothing but incompetence in the political arena.
"Even if true, whose fault is that? RMS should stop being true to himself because some other people screwed up?"
So you are suggesting that the vast majority of FSF fans are idiots? All insults aside, RMS should be true to the cause. And that cause can be BEST SERVED by playing the political game.
"They don't hand out McArthur "genius grants" to people who are conventional and mainstream."
And how many 'McArthur "genius grant"' recipients are elected officials or have independently sponsored successful bills? My guess would be a scant few. I know some amazingly smart people, but most of them have the social skills of a tooth pick.
Point being, if you want the FSF and related movement to move forward and have a hand in the political process you need to decouple your face from RMS's crotch and learn the game. It's that simple, RMS can rant and rave all he likes, but so long as lobbyist with political face time can consistently show why RMS/FSF is not in the politician's best interest, whether it is true or not, he, and the movement will fail.
"Aren't you the one who said, "dressing up isn't a sign of respect for the person you're visiting," anyway?"
Perhaps I over simplified that. Dressing up is a sign of respect for yourself. Following etiquette is both a sign of respect for yourself and the person you're visiting. By following protocol not only are you respecting the person you are visiting, but you are showing that your believe is important enough that you are willing to follow someone else's procedures for presenting it. If RMS really cared about the cause why doesn't he use acceptable and proven effective means to advance it, instead of amateur tactics with little to no chance of success?
"You do realize that your example is backwards?"
Nope, my example was exactly as I intended. Lobbyist with access to the politicians will show how their plan is beneficial to the politician, his/her constituents, and the voting public. If a few amateurs try to interject rambling claiming just the opposite in passing, they will be discredited and ignored. Where as if those dissenters hired a lobbyist of their own, they would have much better luck at getting face time with the politician and getting their view heard by the people that matter.
Think of the other ramifications, one of the huge problems with cracking hydrogen from water is getting pure enough water to start with. If you can cut the cost of desalination significantly, you can reduce the total cost of hydrogen production.
"What would be great to me is if I wanted to know what new movies were out I would look it up myself online, or watch the ads that show on TV, Buses, Newspapers, Radio, magazines, morning shows, etc..."
Most of the TV I watch is either premere channels (no commercials) or video on demand. I drive to work and listen to CDs. The only magazines I read are home improvement mags on the john. So I don't really see a whole lot of those advertisements.
"I'm playing a game to slip into my little fantasy world, not be an active viewer for more marketing drivel."
In many cases, the advertising is already there, it's just fake. Fake movie posters, fake bill board adds, fake fliers, etc... the crap is already in the game, just at this point it has no redeaming value. So why not give it some value? Why not? Would you really refuse to buy a game if a movie theater in game had posters for X-Men 3 instead of Fecalfilia 2? The latest Vampire: the Masquerade game was verging on that topic. The bars had flyers for real bands. Why not just go the next step (in persistant universe games) and have those flyers update to reflect local bands and concerts?
"If your game is not situatied in a present-time/real-life-like scenario don't do in-game adverts. If you really, really want to make money from adverts, get companies to sponsor official mods and extensions for the game and make those available for free from a website while avertising (in that website) for the company that sponsored the mod/extension."
Dude, that's an awesome idea! Collect pepsi twist off caps to unlock a limited run item in game.
Given the proper systems and environment in-game advertising could be amazing. Say you're playing a modern day MMO (CoH/Cov or Matrix Online). What if you walk past a movie theater and instead of some static imagery on the side of old movie posters you actually saw new posters with release dates. And what if by clicking on those adds you could open a web browser (either in game via a PDA/laptop, or out of the game waiting for you to come look at it) that would take you to either the movie's home page, or to holywood.com for show time listings in your area. That to me would be great. Step into a bar in game and see a flier board for local bands and shows in your area. Assorted buildings that used to be just empty space holders now have signs over the doors that also act as links to web sites. That to me is perfectly fine, so far as the advertising does not break immersion.
Advertising in non-modern games is a bit more tricky. A lot of things would still work, heck, even an add for Coke in the store window of the alchemist shop wouldn't be that bad. But yeah, it's kinda hard to advertise for a new car or computer inside a high fantasy environment.
1. Dynamic and Flexible : Mostly static advertising
2. Broad Reach : Requires unique integration title by title
3. Accountable : Effectiveness is only measured by sell-thru
4. Easy to Integrate : Game teams pushing back, resisting due to it being a lot of work to integrate
5. Agencies Drive Value : Agencies have a very limited role
1) This would make sense at the system level, not the advertising level. I don't want to have to deal with animated gifs or AI controlled sales people in a game advertising for what ever product.
2) I would say just the opposite, Video games give you very specific demographics, and easy ways to track them, you don't need broad reach when you can practically cherry pick the add to show the consumer.
3) This one is key. One of the most annoying things about adds in TV and print is that if I see something I'm interested in, I can't buy it right then. Where as with online adds I can click on them and go straight to the company's web site and buy in over the web. I thought that/pizza deal in EQ2 was genius! Order a pizza in a game! I want more functionality like that.
4) I would say this one ties into #1, having an advertising system for the game engine to allow for abstraction of the advertising will make it significantly easier to implement, update, and target users.
5) Is kinda screwy, but still ties into #1 and #4. With an abstract advertising system in the game engine, the advertisers put together a package and the producer implements that package (assuming it meets their criteria).
And I'm amazed there there are no "points" about the players point of view. Nothing saying that adds need to be integrated with the environment and non-immersion breaking. That to me is the big one. If in-game adds are as annoying as pop-up adds for web browsers, the industry will start losing players.
I would be willing to bet most of those people chose his CAUSE and had no idea who the man at the helm was.
"Yes, definitely a no-brainer to ignore your constituents. Although I sincerely doubt that the PM gets 'thousands' of requests from people with at least 165,000 names on their petitions - I do have to say that you are right, that's the way modern business, er, politics, is done, francs before brains."
He likely does, although not in the form of a petition. The problem with petitions is that many people will sign them, but not all of those people will vote, nor will they side with the petition when it comes to action time. Also, there was no mention of how the petition was formed, it could have been a publicly accessible website, which means that 165,000 people (about.3% of France's population) might not even be French! And on top of that, the people who make the petition with target their primary demographics, so the names on that list are not representative of the public at large. Compare that to a meeting with an industrial giant that could create 40,000 jobs in the labor pool, support companies and community growth could almost double that number. Who would you spend your time talking to? The college kids with a meaningless piece of paper, or the corporate head who can create tens of thousands of jobs?
Who would the signers of that petition side with? The moral victory of free software, or a new job?
"Basically, you are saying that RMS needs to "respect mah authoritae!" "
No, I am saying that if RMS wants to win by the game, they need to learn how to play. You don't win at Monopoly by pissing on the other players, and you don't get legislation passed by looking like a hooligan trying to interrupt the PM.
"The president of India seemed to have no such qualms about meeting with RMS."
The president of India is a completely different situation. But if an American, a Brit, and an Indian tried to interrupt the President with a petition with 500,000 signatures requesting and end to out sourcing of western jobs, he probably wouldn't stop either.
"Being true to yourself is the only source of respect here, conformity to someone else's standards,"
Yes and no. For starters, he is representing 165,000 people, so in addition to himself, he needs to be true to those 165,000 people. Second, politics is a job for salesmen/saleswomen. It is not enough to say to the PM "This is who we are, this is what we think, and this is a list of a huge number of voters who agree with us!" They have to sell the idea to the PM. And in this position, your previous point is partially true, if the PM doesn't think you look respectable, he won't respect you. You could have the greatest issue ever, with the whole country supporting you, but if you send someone who looks like a pressure washed street bum in to talk to the PM, your spokes person won't likely get a word in.
The PM of France probably gets thousands of requests similar to the ones that RMS sent in. Some undersecretary flips through them and determines who gets in. Will that person schedule some of the PM's limited time to 3 guys with a petition which would likely have little gain for the country, or schedule some time with the leader of an international software firm that employees thousands and provides software and services to a huge portion of the economy? It's a no brain-er.
To get philosophical about the whole deal, society is extremely discriminating. Everyone is, it is the norm. Some forms of discrimination are frowned on (race, sex, heritage, religion, etc...) but many more forms are not only acceptable, but expected. Appearance, money, affluence, education, clout, and profit potential are all acceptable things to judge someone on. If set upon by three individuals wearing nice suits appearing professional and politely requesting a moment of his time (30 seconds or less to spout off who they are, their voting block, and that they would like to arrange a meeting), he may go for it. If set upon by two college kids and a showered hippy asking for a moment of his time with papers and a huge role of paper, he's just going to blow them off.
They should hire a lobbyist to at least teach them the etiquette of the position so they can use the system to their advantage in stead of parading about like a bunch of college kids on a crusade.
I have to agree on the eccentric look being workable. A few months ago I grew out my beard (while on vacation remodeling the house). Just to be funny, instead of shaving it all off again I left the mustache, goatee and some big ol' lamb chops. I figured it would be good for a laugh at work. I was amazed when I actually got compliments on the look. People said it made me look older and more respectable then my 'baby face' look. I keep it neat and trimed, and I wear slacks collared shirts and slacks most of the time at work.
Hardly. Dressing up isn't a sign of respect for the person you're visiting, it's a sign of respect of your self, and for the people you represent. He is a man who is claiming to represent 165,000 people, yet he doesn't take enough pride in him self, his work, or his constituents to represent them in a professional manner?
A trimmed and well cared for beard is fine. But that guy's bear is a bit on the ungangly side, that coupled with his huge mane of tangled black hair gives him a generally unkempt look. The Frenchman could also use a visit by the "What not to wear" or "Queer Eye" teams, the cheap jacket with an off white polo shirt just looks cheap. Cut the poney-tail spend $500 on a decent set of close, and try again.
Leading a cause may be about an idea, but leading a political group is all about sales. If they are unable to sell themselves, they should invest in a lobyist who can.
Pornography is a huge range. For example, there is "pornography" in 'R' rated movies. Violence, death, sex, nudity, etc... but (for the most part) it isn't extreme, and usually has some other (entertainment) value. So far as I know, there are no laws preventing the sale of 'R' rated materials to minors. The industry is self regulating.
But if it is illegal to distribute an X-rated snuff re-enactment film to a minor, why should it be legal to distribute a game where players re-enact snuff films to minors? I have no problem with the genre of snuff film games, and I think that such games should be producible and distributable to adults (not that it's truly my taste), but if there is a law in place regarding the material already then why would adding games to the list be unconstitutional?
The problem as I see it is making sure that the same level of rating is used for both movies and games. While GTA is violent, it is less graphic then 'American History-X', so the two in my mind should be rated as a very strong 'R'. As for hot coffee, how can you show consumers movie after movie with crappy 30 second sex scenes and then say that a rough rendition of sex in a similarly rated video game is over the limit?
Well, this one actually sounds like it might have some merrit, IF (and that's a huge if!) they improve the definition of 'inappropriate violence'. For example, so far as I can remember, there is no nudity in Trent Reznor's tripple-X Video rell. But I would definately consider it worthy of a XXX rating. If a state can make laws relating to the distribution of pornographic materials to minors, and pornography includes extreme violence, mutilation, etc... then this law is just "same stuff, new format"
IMO, the ESRB does a good enough job. But IF someone makes a game/movie/[insert prefered medium here] that include elements of torture, rape, mutilation, extreme graphic representations of those acts, and the like, AND the state has existing laws against the distribution of that material, then I say leave this matter to the states.
My question is: Are there laws preventing the sale of X-rated material to minors?
Not only that, but if you are going to attempt to barge in for an unscheduled appointment, at least dress appropriately! I mean, you're going to meet the Prime Minister, don't you think a tie is in order? Or at least a step up from khakis and a polo shirt? These guys look more like college kids than the heads of political organizations. I wouldn't take them seriously either.
Ya bunch of limey bastards! I'll teach you to not use US CST!:P
Yeah, I should have focused on the time from post to the down time, 10 minutes or less. That' what I get for posting before my morning dose of caffeine.
they are only as good as the legal battle that ensues.
Can a public school force a student to shut down a web site (even a site designed to circumvent the school's security)? No. Can the student be expelled for violating the school's computer use agreement? Yes.
If the school says shut it down or you won't graduate, the answer is to sue. The only reason why that "we won't let you graduate" arguement holds any weight is because students and their parents allow it to. Of course, challanging a school on that can get messy. If you remove their ability to threaten graduation, the only tools they have left (the correct ones!) are suspention and expulsion.
I got busted in high school also, with two of my friends. This was back in '95 or '96. To make matters worse, my father was the IT director for the school district. Luckily, I had a chance to clean up my tracks a bit prior to being busted (my friends were busted earlier in the day, and as I'm sure you are aware, news travels fast in HS). Both of them were suspended from school for a few days and we all lost our network access for the rest of the school year. We had to work on laptops or independant work stations the rest of the year.
So in short, he can keep his site, but he has to face the concequences of his actions. If the school makes a deal with him, shut down the site and we will drop any threat of non-graduation or expulsion, I'd say take it.
I'm right there with you on the context-sensitive ads. If a company wants in-game advertisement to out-of-game products, it better be extremely refined, appropriate for the environment, and severly limited.
While your sample is a bit extreme, is it that different then advertising for ingame services ingame? I used to play DAoC, back before housing. I had a LGM weapon smith, I had a huge stock pile of weapons to sell, but no way to inform people. So I had a friend who loved going on raids, I gave him a 5% commission for each person who contacted me and said they heard about it from him. So he would go on raids and advertise (in character, it was a RP server) for my weapon sales.
Like whys for a messaging service, if WoW didn't have a artificial mail service, and some independant group of players created their own ingame mail company (ala Fed-Axe!) would it be wrong of them to advertise in the major cities?
I guess my problem is not with advertisement, it is with advertisement that breaks immersion. I think doing burnouts in a bestbuy parking lot while playing Need for Speed is awesome. I think buying a mana potion at a Rite-Aid is far from ok.
Slashdot Mirror
Access can store images and documents as OLE objects I believe.
-Rick
I was thinking along the same lines. I guess it would matter on how much data needed to be stored vs images and documents, but if you move towards the out side of the box, you might be able to use a social networking system to do a lot of the work for you. Seems kinda screwy to think of MySpace as an enterprise tool though ;)
-Rick
"No, you are."
No, I said they didn't know who was at the helm, you are the one who called them screw ups.
"I have all the faith in the world that those petition signers knew who RMS was and the kinds of tactics he uses."
Knowing now the types of tactics RMS uses I am withdrawing my support of the FSF, and will recommend others to find a more effective organization to back.
"RMS got where he is today by NOT playing the political game."
And I will say again, RMS is not a political power house. Or are you saying that it was RMS's goal to wind up with a broken patent system, the DCMA, and limitations of consumers rights? There are hundreds of lobbyists who could hold a candle to RMS on the intellectual or moral front, but have significantly more political clout.
"Funny, you sure can't seem to put them aside, here comes another one..."
Sorry, that was a bit harsh of me. It was the end of a very, very long day. My apologies.
"Oh, I know the game. As an independent I play it all the time with my clients"
Then you of all people should understand why it is important to work the system instead of trying to force your way against it.
"Like submitting an official meeting request weeks beforehand with the expectation of an acknowledgement, either accepting or denying it? Protocol like that, maybe?"
Yeah, that would be a great start. And when that fails, submit again. Have a successful lobbyist look over your requests and see if they are poorly worded. If sending a well worded request in still fails, try hitting up a smaller target first. If you could get on of the cabinet members on your side, you may get an extra hand getting in for the meeting with the PM. There are hundreds of appropriate attack vectors to worth through IN the system. All of which would have been significantly more likely to forward the cause than that little stint on the street. What were they expecting? The PM would come over and have a 15 minute talk to them about artists and consumers' rights? Then break down crying, screaming "What have I done!?!" Even if they managed to get to the PM they would have a matter of seconds to talk to him.
"Funny, what you 'intended' and what you wrote the first time around are more than just a little contradictory."
How so? Lobbyists tell the President of India that out sourced jobs are good for India, the opposition send 3 people out to interrupt the President and tell him that out sourced jobs are bad for India. The President, if he even hears the 3 poorly dressed individuals' message (over the crowd, motorcade, and secret service) thinks back to all the briefings and charts he's seen that show him how out sourced jobs are good for the economy.
Same thing here. Lobbyists tell the PM of France that stronger CR laws and enforcement will help the economy and promote big business media in France (ie: jobs, tourism, taxes). The President, if he even hears the 3 poorly dressed individuals' message (over the crowd, motorcade, and secret service) thinks back to all the briefings and charts he's seen that show him how out stronger CR laws are good for the economy.
Is RMS an impressive man? Sure. Is he the right man to lead the FSF? Probably. Is the the right man to take FSF's cause to the political arena? No way. And seeing as how the FSF has political goals, I can't see following them so long as they show nothing but incompetence in the political arena.
-Rick
"Even if true, whose fault is that? RMS should stop being true to himself because some other people screwed up?"
So you are suggesting that the vast majority of FSF fans are idiots? All insults aside, RMS should be true to the cause. And that cause can be BEST SERVED by playing the political game.
"They don't hand out McArthur "genius grants" to people who are conventional and mainstream."
And how many 'McArthur "genius grant"' recipients are elected officials or have independently sponsored successful bills? My guess would be a scant few. I know some amazingly smart people, but most of them have the social skills of a tooth pick.
Point being, if you want the FSF and related movement to move forward and have a hand in the political process you need to decouple your face from RMS's crotch and learn the game. It's that simple, RMS can rant and rave all he likes, but so long as lobbyist with political face time can consistently show why RMS/FSF is not in the politician's best interest, whether it is true or not, he, and the movement will fail.
"Aren't you the one who said, "dressing up isn't a sign of respect for the person you're visiting," anyway?"
Perhaps I over simplified that. Dressing up is a sign of respect for yourself. Following etiquette is both a sign of respect for yourself and the person you're visiting. By following protocol not only are you respecting the person you are visiting, but you are showing that your believe is important enough that you are willing to follow someone else's procedures for presenting it. If RMS really cared about the cause why doesn't he use acceptable and proven effective means to advance it, instead of amateur tactics with little to no chance of success?
"You do realize that your example is backwards?"
Nope, my example was exactly as I intended. Lobbyist with access to the politicians will show how their plan is beneficial to the politician, his/her constituents, and the voting public. If a few amateurs try to interject rambling claiming just the opposite in passing, they will be discredited and ignored. Where as if those dissenters hired a lobbyist of their own, they would have much better luck at getting face time with the politician and getting their view heard by the people that matter.
ugg, I'm too tired to keep at this tonight.
-Rick
Think of the other ramifications, one of the huge problems with cracking hydrogen from water is getting pure enough water to start with. If you can cut the cost of desalination significantly, you can reduce the total cost of hydrogen production.
-Rick
"What would be great to me is if I wanted to know what new movies were out I would look it up myself online, or watch the ads that show on TV, Buses, Newspapers, Radio, magazines, morning shows, etc..."
Most of the TV I watch is either premere channels (no commercials) or video on demand. I drive to work and listen to CDs. The only magazines I read are home improvement mags on the john. So I don't really see a whole lot of those advertisements.
"I'm playing a game to slip into my little fantasy world, not be an active viewer for more marketing drivel."
In many cases, the advertising is already there, it's just fake. Fake movie posters, fake bill board adds, fake fliers, etc... the crap is already in the game, just at this point it has no redeaming value. So why not give it some value? Why not? Would you really refuse to buy a game if a movie theater in game had posters for X-Men 3 instead of Fecalfilia 2? The latest Vampire: the Masquerade game was verging on that topic. The bars had flyers for real bands. Why not just go the next step (in persistant universe games) and have those flyers update to reflect local bands and concerts?
-Rick
"If your game is not situatied in a present-time/real-life-like scenario don't do in-game adverts. If you really, really want to make money from adverts, get companies to sponsor official mods and extensions for the game and make those available for free from a website while avertising (in that website) for the company that sponsored the mod/extension."
Dude, that's an awesome idea! Collect pepsi twist off caps to unlock a limited run item in game.
-Rick
Given the proper systems and environment in-game advertising could be amazing. Say you're playing a modern day MMO (CoH/Cov or Matrix Online). What if you walk past a movie theater and instead of some static imagery on the side of old movie posters you actually saw new posters with release dates. And what if by clicking on those adds you could open a web browser (either in game via a PDA/laptop, or out of the game waiting for you to come look at it) that would take you to either the movie's home page, or to holywood.com for show time listings in your area. That to me would be great. Step into a bar in game and see a flier board for local bands and shows in your area. Assorted buildings that used to be just empty space holders now have signs over the doors that also act as links to web sites. That to me is perfectly fine, so far as the advertising does not break immersion.
Advertising in non-modern games is a bit more tricky. A lot of things would still work, heck, even an add for Coke in the store window of the alchemist shop wouldn't be that bad. But yeah, it's kinda hard to advertise for a new car or computer inside a high fantasy environment.
-Rick
1. Dynamic and Flexible : Mostly static advertising
/pizza deal in EQ2 was genius! Order a pizza in a game! I want more functionality like that.
2. Broad Reach : Requires unique integration title by title
3. Accountable : Effectiveness is only measured by sell-thru
4. Easy to Integrate : Game teams pushing back, resisting due to it being a lot of work to integrate
5. Agencies Drive Value : Agencies have a very limited role
1) This would make sense at the system level, not the advertising level. I don't want to have to deal with animated gifs or AI controlled sales people in a game advertising for what ever product.
2) I would say just the opposite, Video games give you very specific demographics, and easy ways to track them, you don't need broad reach when you can practically cherry pick the add to show the consumer.
3) This one is key. One of the most annoying things about adds in TV and print is that if I see something I'm interested in, I can't buy it right then. Where as with online adds I can click on them and go straight to the company's web site and buy in over the web. I thought that
4) I would say this one ties into #1, having an advertising system for the game engine to allow for abstraction of the advertising will make it significantly easier to implement, update, and target users.
5) Is kinda screwy, but still ties into #1 and #4. With an abstract advertising system in the game engine, the advertisers put together a package and the producer implements that package (assuming it meets their criteria).
And I'm amazed there there are no "points" about the players point of view. Nothing saying that adds need to be integrated with the environment and non-immersion breaking. That to me is the big one. If in-game adds are as annoying as pop-up adds for web browsers, the industry will start losing players.
-Rick
"those people chose him and his cause"
.3% of France's population) might not even be French! And on top of that, the people who make the petition with target their primary demographics, so the names on that list are not representative of the public at large. Compare that to a meeting with an industrial giant that could create 40,000 jobs in the labor pool, support companies and community growth could almost double that number. Who would you spend your time talking to? The college kids with a meaningless piece of paper, or the corporate head who can create tens of thousands of jobs?
I would be willing to bet most of those people chose his CAUSE and had no idea who the man at the helm was.
"Yes, definitely a no-brainer to ignore your constituents. Although I sincerely doubt that the PM gets 'thousands' of requests from people with at least 165,000 names on their petitions - I do have to say that you are right, that's the way modern business, er, politics, is done, francs before brains."
He likely does, although not in the form of a petition. The problem with petitions is that many people will sign them, but not all of those people will vote, nor will they side with the petition when it comes to action time. Also, there was no mention of how the petition was formed, it could have been a publicly accessible website, which means that 165,000 people (about
Who would the signers of that petition side with? The moral victory of free software, or a new job?
"Basically, you are saying that RMS needs to "respect mah authoritae!" "
No, I am saying that if RMS wants to win by the game, they need to learn how to play. You don't win at Monopoly by pissing on the other players, and you don't get legislation passed by looking like a hooligan trying to interrupt the PM.
"The president of India seemed to have no such qualms about meeting with RMS."
The president of India is a completely different situation. But if an American, a Brit, and an Indian tried to interrupt the President with a petition with 500,000 signatures requesting and end to out sourcing of western jobs, he probably wouldn't stop either.
-Rick
"Being true to yourself is the only source of respect here, conformity to someone else's standards,"
Yes and no. For starters, he is representing 165,000 people, so in addition to himself, he needs to be true to those 165,000 people. Second, politics is a job for salesmen/saleswomen. It is not enough to say to the PM "This is who we are, this is what we think, and this is a list of a huge number of voters who agree with us!" They have to sell the idea to the PM. And in this position, your previous point is partially true, if the PM doesn't think you look respectable, he won't respect you. You could have the greatest issue ever, with the whole country supporting you, but if you send someone who looks like a pressure washed street bum in to talk to the PM, your spokes person won't likely get a word in.
The PM of France probably gets thousands of requests similar to the ones that RMS sent in. Some undersecretary flips through them and determines who gets in. Will that person schedule some of the PM's limited time to 3 guys with a petition which would likely have little gain for the country, or schedule some time with the leader of an international software firm that employees thousands and provides software and services to a huge portion of the economy? It's a no brain-er.
To get philosophical about the whole deal, society is extremely discriminating. Everyone is, it is the norm. Some forms of discrimination are frowned on (race, sex, heritage, religion, etc...) but many more forms are not only acceptable, but expected. Appearance, money, affluence, education, clout, and profit potential are all acceptable things to judge someone on. If set upon by three individuals wearing nice suits appearing professional and politely requesting a moment of his time (30 seconds or less to spout off who they are, their voting block, and that they would like to arrange a meeting), he may go for it. If set upon by two college kids and a showered hippy asking for a moment of his time with papers and a huge role of paper, he's just going to blow them off.
They should hire a lobbyist to at least teach them the etiquette of the position so they can use the system to their advantage in stead of parading about like a bunch of college kids on a crusade.
I have to agree on the eccentric look being workable. A few months ago I grew out my beard (while on vacation remodeling the house). Just to be funny, instead of shaving it all off again I left the mustache, goatee and some big ol' lamb chops. I figured it would be good for a laugh at work. I was amazed when I actually got compliments on the look. People said it made me look older and more respectable then my 'baby face' look. I keep it neat and trimed, and I wear slacks collared shirts and slacks most of the time at work.
-Rick
I was citing Nick's work on social issues in gaming years ago, just when is he going to finish his Ph.D.?
-Rick
Hardly. Dressing up isn't a sign of respect for the person you're visiting, it's a sign of respect of your self, and for the people you represent. He is a man who is claiming to represent 165,000 people, yet he doesn't take enough pride in him self, his work, or his constituents to represent them in a professional manner?
-Rick
A trimmed and well cared for beard is fine. But that guy's bear is a bit on the ungangly side, that coupled with his huge mane of tangled black hair gives him a generally unkempt look. The Frenchman could also use a visit by the "What not to wear" or "Queer Eye" teams, the cheap jacket with an off white polo shirt just looks cheap. Cut the poney-tail spend $500 on a decent set of close, and try again.
Leading a cause may be about an idea, but leading a political group is all about sales. If they are unable to sell themselves, they should invest in a lobyist who can.
-Rick
Pornography is a huge range. For example, there is "pornography" in 'R' rated movies. Violence, death, sex, nudity, etc... but (for the most part) it isn't extreme, and usually has some other (entertainment) value. So far as I know, there are no laws preventing the sale of 'R' rated materials to minors. The industry is self regulating.
But if it is illegal to distribute an X-rated snuff re-enactment film to a minor, why should it be legal to distribute a game where players re-enact snuff films to minors? I have no problem with the genre of snuff film games, and I think that such games should be producible and distributable to adults (not that it's truly my taste), but if there is a law in place regarding the material already then why would adding games to the list be unconstitutional?
The problem as I see it is making sure that the same level of rating is used for both movies and games. While GTA is violent, it is less graphic then 'American History-X', so the two in my mind should be rated as a very strong 'R'. As for hot coffee, how can you show consumers movie after movie with crappy 30 second sex scenes and then say that a rough rendition of sex in a similarly rated video game is over the limit?
-Rick
Well, this one actually sounds like it might have some merrit, IF (and that's a huge if!) they improve the definition of 'inappropriate violence'. For example, so far as I can remember, there is no nudity in Trent Reznor's tripple-X Video rell. But I would definately consider it worthy of a XXX rating. If a state can make laws relating to the distribution of pornographic materials to minors, and pornography includes extreme violence, mutilation, etc... then this law is just "same stuff, new format"
IMO, the ESRB does a good enough job. But IF someone makes a game/movie/[insert prefered medium here] that include elements of torture, rape, mutilation, extreme graphic representations of those acts, and the like, AND the state has existing laws against the distribution of that material, then I say leave this matter to the states.
My question is: Are there laws preventing the sale of X-rated material to minors?
-Rick
Not only that, but if you are going to attempt to barge in for an unscheduled appointment, at least dress appropriately! I mean, you're going to meet the Prime Minister, don't you think a tie is in order? Or at least a step up from khakis and a polo shirt? These guys look more like college kids than the heads of political organizations. I wouldn't take them seriously either.
-Rick
Ya bunch of limey bastards! I'll teach you to not use US CST! :P
Yeah, I should have focused on the time from post to the down time, 10 minutes or less. That' what I get for posting before my morning dose of caffeine.
-Rick
or "reading" either! I type good.
-Rick
At least it sounds like it wasn't worth readying!
-Rick
they are only as good as the legal battle that ensues.
Can a public school force a student to shut down a web site (even a site designed to circumvent the school's security)? No. Can the student be expelled for violating the school's computer use agreement? Yes.
If the school says shut it down or you won't graduate, the answer is to sue. The only reason why that "we won't let you graduate" arguement holds any weight is because students and their parents allow it to. Of course, challanging a school on that can get messy. If you remove their ability to threaten graduation, the only tools they have left (the correct ones!) are suspention and expulsion.
I got busted in high school also, with two of my friends. This was back in '95 or '96. To make matters worse, my father was the IT director for the school district. Luckily, I had a chance to clean up my tracks a bit prior to being busted (my friends were busted earlier in the day, and as I'm sure you are aware, news travels fast in HS). Both of them were suspended from school for a few days and we all lost our network access for the rest of the school year. We had to work on laptops or independant work stations the rest of the year.
So in short, he can keep his site, but he has to face the concequences of his actions. If the school makes a deal with him, shut down the site and we will drop any threat of non-graduation or expulsion, I'd say take it.
-Rick
I'm right there with you on the context-sensitive ads. If a company wants in-game advertisement to out-of-game products, it better be extremely refined, appropriate for the environment, and severly limited.
-Rick
While your sample is a bit extreme, is it that different then advertising for ingame services ingame? I used to play DAoC, back before housing. I had a LGM weapon smith, I had a huge stock pile of weapons to sell, but no way to inform people. So I had a friend who loved going on raids, I gave him a 5% commission for each person who contacted me and said they heard about it from him. So he would go on raids and advertise (in character, it was a RP server) for my weapon sales.
Like whys for a messaging service, if WoW didn't have a artificial mail service, and some independant group of players created their own ingame mail company (ala Fed-Axe!) would it be wrong of them to advertise in the major cities?
I guess my problem is not with advertisement, it is with advertisement that breaks immersion. I think doing burnouts in a bestbuy parking lot while playing Need for Speed is awesome. I think buying a mana potion at a Rite-Aid is far from ok.
-Rick
Finally, a post that actually talks about the issue and not just stupid elf jokes.
-Rick