"I think that's a bogus argument, because it's ignoring the thousands of small retailers with no such policy (just as there are thousands of theaters that will show movies un-rated by the MPAA), and it ignores the possibility of Internet distribution"
Possibility and reality are two very different things. If reality were as you've described, this wouldn't be a contraversial issue. Not that it really matters, anyway. If the ESRB is as inconsequential as you're saying, then your desire to have it around is amusingly futile.
Your reasons are fine and dandy, but if the result is the same either way, then the motives don't matter. The ESRB still has to do its job right. Being incompetent at times isn't acceptable, nor is it preferable. Blind acceptance is dangerous.
"It's in Rockstar's best interest to support the ESRB, because I can guarantee that if the government takes over, you're not going to see anything even close to the level of Manhunt on shelves.."
That's already happening, that's why they're drawing the line.
"I know that the Slashdot way of thinking is "we hate all censorship" but in this case you need to set that aside for the greater good."
Your assumption doesn't accurately reflect my sentiment. I find your call for voluntary censorship amusing, though. In any event, I do not agree with your assessment. If the ESRB is going to bend to the whims of a few noisy people, we're not actually any better off.
"Possibly, but that's just an indicator that the MPAA is doing a crappy job of rating movies and the ESRB is doing a better job of rating games, isn't it? "
Nope. It may be an indicator that the ESRB is being overzealous against Manhunt 2. Alternatively, it could be an indicator that they're judging the games based on human intuition as opposed to actual measurable aspects of the game. It doesn't really matter either way, but I suppose it's a fun academic exercise.
"2) The ESRB is, by far, the lesser of two evils. If the ESRB ceases to exist, or if they fail to do maintain confidence among customers, the alternative (and only alternative) is *government control* of games. That's a far worse result than Rockstar losing a few sales due to hard-to-find AO titles, and I hope that Rockstar recognizes that."
No matter what statistics you throw at it, the ESRB still has to do their job right. Rockstar's doing exactly what they should be doing. They're not 'fscking idiots' like a previous poster was saying for fighting this battle. This is not Hot Coffee. This is millions of dollars in game development rejected for questionable reasons, not sexual content playfully hidden in a game. Likening the two demonstrates a lack of understanding of the topic.
"I realize this shouldn't be as big of an issue, society and violence, blah blah, but the truth remains that the industry remains under tight scrutiny, and Rockstar isn't doing anybody any favours."
Rockstar was faced with an injustice in the first place. Cry me a fucking river.
"Uh... I don't think anything was "lifted". In zero G, there is no up and down, AFAIK."
Up and down are relative terms. On Earth, for example, down to us is a straight line from the point of the sphere we're standing on to the Earth's core. If you're on a space shuttle in 'zero G', you still think of the floor of the shuttle as 'down'. When the doors on top open and the cargo is removed, it goes 'up' to exit.
The reason the phrase "there's no down in space" came about is that there isn't the pull of gravity to give you an intuitive sense of direction. If you were just free floating out in deep space in a space suit, you wouldn't know which way to go. That's all that means. It doesn't mean that you've entered some weird wibbly wobbly area of space that lacks any dimension.
"Simply put, they will lie to make more interesting TV"
That's certainly a possibility. However, a good chunk of the series, if not most of it, has them finding nothing at all. If they're lying to make the show more interesting, they're still leaving quite a few dead episodes behind.
"I think the biggest complaint of users of Paintshop and Photoshop is that the Gimp does not use MDI. Yet, for many, this is an advantage as it works better with multiple monitors and allows for greater multitasking."
Photoshop's windows are not stuck inside of their parent, so you actually do get the multi-monitor support. However, not everybody working in Photoshop wants all the shit underneath Photoshop on the screen when they're working on the image. I don't know if the GIMP is like that or not, but if it doesn't actually have a full-screen mode, that sucks major ass for some people.
Re:Most important thing
on
GIMP 2.4 Released
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· Score: 4, Informative
"For instance, I can keep the image full-screen on one monitor while using the editing tools on a second monitor. I'd like to see a single-window app like Photoshop do that!"
Despite popular belief, Photoshop's panels aren't stuck inside of the parent window. You can do exactly as you described in Photoshop, and it's been that way for at least two years.
"The other programs may still be useful in their own right, though."
That's the part nobody's ever sold me on with the GIMP. I have Photoshop CS3. I'd love to be able to expand my toolset. What can Gimp do that Photoshop can't, OR, what can GIMP do better/faster so I can get more done in a day?
"Honey, the house is on fire!" "Grab the laptop!" "What about the kids and the dog?" "Screw them, I need my WiFi fix!" "Honey, there's a fire a few miles up the road. I've already got the kids and the dog packed up. Anything else we should grab?"
"I heard on the news that the cell phone network is having trouble with the load."
"Okay, I'll throw the laptop in the trunk. Anything else?"
"Well, we still have time..."
There, fixed that for you. I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in the Slashdot readership for thinking the evacuations are being caused by people's houses instantly engulfing themselves in flames, or the sensationalist media depicting mother nature on a godzilla-esque rampage. Whatever.
"Isn't it great that technology like the internet has reached the point of acceptance that when peoples houses are burning down one of the main priorities is to ensure the shelter everyone has to hide in has wireless internet access and that people make sure they at least rescue their laptops and PDAs."
They need information about their loved ones and the celluar network isn't handling the load. 'Everyone' isn't running into burning houses and rescuing their computers. They're being evacuated because their houses are endangered by the fire some ways away.
"I'm sure it wasn't much more than 5 years ago that people would look at you funny if you turned up in such a place and said "Right, where's the net access?"."
Go back to any point in time when a disaster like this takes place and anybody'll say "I need to know where my loved ones are."
"Oh how times change;)"
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That's what's happening, here.
"'The idea here is that if we create this intense beam of antimatter electrons the complete opposite of the electron, basically we can then use them in investigating and understanding the new types of materials being used in many applications.'"
They'd also be able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels!
"Aren't electric motors amazing? They tell me they're going to run cars some day =)"
Erm... I think the elevator works that way because they have a counterweight on the other side. I may be mistaken about that, but I don't think it's simply a matter of an electric motor single-handedly lifting 8,000 lbs.
Slashdot Mirror
"I think that's a bogus argument, because it's ignoring the thousands of small retailers with no such policy (just as there are thousands of theaters that will show movies un-rated by the MPAA), and it ignores the possibility of Internet distribution"
Possibility and reality are two very different things. If reality were as you've described, this wouldn't be a contraversial issue. Not that it really matters, anyway. If the ESRB is as inconsequential as you're saying, then your desire to have it around is amusingly futile.
Your reasons are fine and dandy, but if the result is the same either way, then the motives don't matter. The ESRB still has to do its job right. Being incompetent at times isn't acceptable, nor is it preferable. Blind acceptance is dangerous.
"It's in Rockstar's best interest to support the ESRB, because I can guarantee that if the government takes over, you're not going to see anything even close to the level of Manhunt on shelves.."
That's already happening, that's why they're drawing the line.
"I know that the Slashdot way of thinking is "we hate all censorship" but in this case you need to set that aside for the greater good."
Your assumption doesn't accurately reflect my sentiment. I find your call for voluntary censorship amusing, though. In any event, I do not agree with your assessment. If the ESRB is going to bend to the whims of a few noisy people, we're not actually any better off.
"Possibly, but that's just an indicator that the MPAA is doing a crappy job of rating movies and the ESRB is doing a better job of rating games, isn't it? "
Nope. It may be an indicator that the ESRB is being overzealous against Manhunt 2. Alternatively, it could be an indicator that they're judging the games based on human intuition as opposed to actual measurable aspects of the game. It doesn't really matter either way, but I suppose it's a fun academic exercise.
"2) The ESRB is, by far, the lesser of two evils. If the ESRB ceases to exist, or if they fail to do maintain confidence among customers, the alternative (and only alternative) is *government control* of games. That's a far worse result than Rockstar losing a few sales due to hard-to-find AO titles, and I hope that Rockstar recognizes that."
No matter what statistics you throw at it, the ESRB still has to do their job right. Rockstar's doing exactly what they should be doing. They're not 'fscking idiots' like a previous poster was saying for fighting this battle. This is not Hot Coffee. This is millions of dollars in game development rejected for questionable reasons, not sexual content playfully hidden in a game. Likening the two demonstrates a lack of understanding of the topic.
"Maybe you consider that an "injustice", but there's nothing unique about this case, is there?"
Their game cannot be sold because it was given a worse rating than, say, the Saw movies. (And those are only rated-R.)
"I realize this shouldn't be as big of an issue, society and violence, blah blah, but the truth remains that the industry remains under tight scrutiny, and Rockstar isn't doing anybody any favours."
Rockstar was faced with an injustice in the first place. Cry me a fucking river.
"But I think we can almost all agree that Joel made the show (literally and figuratively), a fact supported by its demise once he left."
It 'died' like 6 seasons after Joel left. No, the end of the show does not support the "Joel is better than Mike" debate.
"Uh... I don't think anything was "lifted". In zero G, there is no up and down, AFAIK."
Up and down are relative terms. On Earth, for example, down to us is a straight line from the point of the sphere we're standing on to the Earth's core. If you're on a space shuttle in 'zero G', you still think of the floor of the shuttle as 'down'. When the doors on top open and the cargo is removed, it goes 'up' to exit.
The reason the phrase "there's no down in space" came about is that there isn't the pull of gravity to give you an intuitive sense of direction. If you were just free floating out in deep space in a space suit, you wouldn't know which way to go. That's all that means. It doesn't mean that you've entered some weird wibbly wobbly area of space that lacks any dimension.
"In the same way a drone is made for "suborbital missions", many people everyday take planes to go places "suborbitably". Stupid buzzwords."
NASA is known for sending shit into space. Of course they're going to be that specific about this drone.
"Simply put, they will lie to make more interesting TV"
That's certainly a possibility. However, a good chunk of the series, if not most of it, has them finding nothing at all. If they're lying to make the show more interesting, they're still leaving quite a few dead episodes behind.
"... ghosts are bullshit!"
Show some respect, man. Ghosts were people, too!
"So PShop finally surpassed it's Win 3.1 paradigm. Golf clap."
Yeah because if there's one app out there that's the shining beacon of state-of-the-art interface design, it's the GIMP. Heh.
"Maybe he's not brave, but he's a lot smarter than you, registration-slave. Slashdot has YOUR personal info to misuse or get stolen, not his."
Oh noes!! They have my super-secrete throw-away email address! I'm totally their bitch now!!!
Boy, you really showed me.
"Which is it, do they need to be enforced or are they invalid?"
Both. There are two points of failure, not one. It is not a contradiction.
"And neither is Jack Thompson."
It takes a brave man to claim that Jack Thompson isn't anal... I'd call you that, but you posted anonymously.
"I don't know, but wasn't it that way in Photoshop, like, always?"
I cannot say this with the utmost authority, but I think version 5 and below were trapped inside the window on Windows machines.
"I think the biggest complaint of users of Paintshop and Photoshop is that the Gimp does not use MDI. Yet, for many, this is an advantage as it works better with multiple monitors and allows for greater multitasking."
Photoshop's windows are not stuck inside of their parent, so you actually do get the multi-monitor support. However, not everybody working in Photoshop wants all the shit underneath Photoshop on the screen when they're working on the image. I don't know if the GIMP is like that or not, but if it doesn't actually have a full-screen mode, that sucks major ass for some people.
"For instance, I can keep the image full-screen on one monitor while using the editing tools on a second monitor. I'd like to see a single-window app like Photoshop do that!"
Despite popular belief, Photoshop's panels aren't stuck inside of the parent window. You can do exactly as you described in Photoshop, and it's been that way for at least two years.
"The other programs may still be useful in their own right, though."
That's the part nobody's ever sold me on with the GIMP. I have Photoshop CS3. I'd love to be able to expand my toolset. What can Gimp do that Photoshop can't, OR, what can GIMP do better/faster so I can get more done in a day?
"Duke = Vapor, Spore = Real."
On Slashdot, it's vaporeware unless it is on store shelves or it's Apple.
"I for one bow down to our new Orange Box overlords"
Heh, that reminds me of a nickname we had for your mom.
"I heard on the news that the cell phone network is having trouble with the load."
"Okay, I'll throw the laptop in the trunk. Anything else?"
"Well, we still have time..."
There, fixed that for you. I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in the Slashdot readership for thinking the evacuations are being caused by people's houses instantly engulfing themselves in flames, or the sensationalist media depicting mother nature on a godzilla-esque rampage. Whatever.
"Isn't it great that technology like the internet has reached the point of acceptance that when peoples houses are burning down one of the main priorities is to ensure the shelter everyone has to hide in has wireless internet access and that people make sure they at least rescue their laptops and PDAs."
;)"
They need information about their loved ones and the celluar network isn't handling the load. 'Everyone' isn't running into burning houses and rescuing their computers. They're being evacuated because their houses are endangered by the fire some ways away.
"I'm sure it wasn't much more than 5 years ago that people would look at you funny if you turned up in such a place and said "Right, where's the net access?"."
Go back to any point in time when a disaster like this takes place and anybody'll say "I need to know where my loved ones are."
"Oh how times change
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That's what's happening, here.
"Why are classified documents even on a computer that's connected to the internet in the first place?"
For the field. Not every place gov't workers with clearance go to has a connection to their seperate networks.
"'The idea here is that if we create this intense beam of antimatter electrons the complete opposite of the electron, basically we can then use them in investigating and understanding the new types of materials being used in many applications.'"
They'd also be able to detect cloaked Romulan vessels!
"Aren't electric motors amazing? They tell me they're going to run cars some day =)"
Erm... I think the elevator works that way because they have a counterweight on the other side. I may be mistaken about that, but I don't think it's simply a matter of an electric motor single-handedly lifting 8,000 lbs.