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Comment Re:What say the people on the inside? (Score 2) 207

Decentralization. It's not like the people supplying the data get to directly see how it's used. I'm sure plenty of them aren't even aware of just who they're supplying data to. And the people compiling the data don't necessarily know where it comes from or what the output will be used for.

You can guess an awful lot, but hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

Comment Re:Flaws? (Score 1) 203

I play RPGs for the RP. I grew up freeform RPing on IRC. I'm one of the small margin of RPGers that actually loves rolling stats one at a time with do-overs only for min values. Nowadays everyone has to be equal, even in a fantasy world. That's boring to me.

When I read books I don't expect every character to be an in-your-face war hero, and I certainly don't look down on the characters that support them in things outside of combat. Remember the days when a rogue loaded with social skills and charisma could be just as pivotal to the adventure as some ninja assassin rogue? You can't even make that character under the newest editions; most of the skills were cut out to give more room for combat/trap skills so you didn't end up with "useless" rogues.

Comment Re:Flaws? (Score 4, Interesting) 203

I've played in several systems with perks/flaws and they're normally fun. It encourages people to take personality traits that they otherwise wouldn't bother with, and also gives it a solid spot on their sheet to remind them.

That said, I stopped buying D&D stuff after 3.5 was announced and I realized WotC was going to just keep changing the game every few years. 3.5 was still mostly compatible, but I saw the writing on the wall. Nowadays I just make my own systems for fun, keeping die rolls to a minimum and trying to avoid encouraging min/maxing.

Comment Re:Why? (Score 1) 664

My manager at work has actually had HR completely reverse a firing for someone that didn't come to work for three work days in a row with no notice whatsoever, while calling up at the end of each day and promising to be in the next. Reason? Not enough paperwork on said person.

Of course on the flip side, if you follow the policies at my workplace to the letter, each and every employee should be fired roughly once per week. It's not possible to follow every policy at once.

Comment Re:Torchlight 2 (Score 4, Interesting) 177

I have TL1 and 2, Titan Quest, D2 (and even that other abomination). PoE has a lot more variables in item stats, and you have a lot more influence on your items due to the "currency items". The game also seems to be a lot harder than most hack and slash games I've played before. High level monsters don't mess around, and there are bosses that will pretty much one-shot you. Reflect mobs remind me of the old iron maiden mobs in D2.

Overall the game feels very different than any of the other games listed. Whether the differences are good or bad is up to each individual. I do agree that the spin of the summary seems forced and comes off as pure marketing, but the game is worth trying.

Comment Re:Sure... (Score 5, Insightful) 399

"but there was no justice involved"

As a US veteran I actually got teary eyed when I saw the newspaper headlines after Osama was killed with the President saying that "Justice has been served". The President of the United States, calling that justice. The country we have now and the one I enlisted to defend are not the same country.

The older I get, the harder I find it to be truly patriotic.

Comment Re:people may hear about but rarely see or touch (Score 1) 47

The interesting bit is the possibility of schools being able to get their hands on cheap scale models of some of these things. Getting a child interested in science and history makes the learning process go a lot more smoothly than just cramming a bunch of facts down their throat. Even viewing the 3d models on the computer is actually fairly interesting. Rotating around the mold of Lincoln's face is very much different than just "looking at a picture". The same for things like the Wright brothers' plane, with all of its individual parts.

Just because you aren't interested doesn't mean that other people aren't.

Comment No problems here (Score 5, Insightful) 142

Despite the massive amount of bashing going back and forth here, I feel compelled to point out that I've swapped back and forth between both AMD/ATI and NVidia over the years and I've run into problems with brand new games having glitches with one or the other on both sides. Even having said that, I'm talking two or three times in over a decade. Aside from that I've had fans go out on one card, and it still lasted long enough after that that I didn't feel bad when it came time to buy a new one.

For most people it really doesn't matter what card you get as long as it isn't ancient. For enthusiasts, compare specs and get what you need. If the specs look like they're in Klingon to you, take the time to learn what's what. If you can't be arsed to do that, then you aren't an enthusiast in the first place.

This isn't like rooting for your home sports team. There is no justifiable reason to give complete loyalty to any company when weighing your purchases.

Comment Re:PC + TV (Score 1) 166

Why would you need a second PC? There are plenty of ways to use your television to display without putting your PC right next to it. I have a 25 ft HDMI cable, with my computer desk in the back of the living room. The cable sits coiled by the TV when I'm not using it.

Also, if you DO get a 2nd computer for that function, it doesn't have to be a massive gaming powerhouse. You can hook up a cheap laptop and push video from your main PC to it.

Comment Re:What is a 100Mbit connection good for? (Score 2) 327

He was restating the parent post, only from the view of years earlier. The point is that at one time, the connection speeds we have now would have been considered excessive in much the same manner. Somehow some of us still manage to use all of the bandwidth we can get without sharing movies and other media. Maybe not always, but sometimes. (How 'bout that summer Steam sale? My ISP must've hated that...)

Having better internet access available universally can at worst have no effect on some people that really don't use it that much. For the rest of us, it's a bonus. To even imply that it should be seen as a negative thing is ridiculous.

Comment Re:A real-name policy is GOOD for privacy (Score 2) 85

Because he obviously has never thought about this issue before now, right? It didn't affect or influence him in any way prior to this story being posted.

When you have a mental condition and people tell you they just don't believe that you have it, it makes you question your own sanity. Your post makes a rather large assumption about someone you have never met and could be detrimental to the person it's aimed at. Apparently he's not the only one that has problems with emathy and filtering his output...

Comment Re:A real-name policy is GOOD for privacy (Score 1) 85

You say he should just be careful what he discloses... You are failing to see the problem. Until he's had a lot of experience with a new social situation, he doesn't know what is acceptable and what isn't. And even then, that doesn't mean he understands WHY. Combined with the fact that he can't fully erase any actions or statements he makes online after making them, that leaves avoiding that media altogether or remaining anonymous. You are telling him to do the thing he has problems doing to begin with.

Also, hindsight is 20/20, etc.

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