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Comment Re:They didn't drop number ratings... (Score 1) 135

My idea is the other side of the word of mouth coin. The reviewers can't know you, but you can know them.

Having reviewers announce what they're primarily interested in would allow you to choose the reviewer that best matches your own preferences. Then you can easily give that reviewer greater weight when reading reviews. If you don't want to or don't need to choose a reviewer, you can instead look at individual reviews for the specific points that best line up with your interests. If good networking functionality is very important to you, then you just skip over reviews that don't include it as a metric. If you see a metric, good or bad, appear in multiple reviews for the same game, then you know that feature really stood out and should probably be considered if it is even remotely interesting to you.

Comment They didn't drop number ratings... (Score 2) 135

They just changed it to a 3 number scale and gave them names.

games will be considered Recommended, Essential or Avoid.

Translated to a 1-10 scale, that is 5-8, 9+, and 1-4.
Translated to 5 stars, that is 3+, 4.5+, and 1-2.

Better is to find a specific reviewer that favors the same types of games that you favor and read what they have to say about a particular game. Reviewers themselves should be given scores in different genres to reflect their interest, and scores in different aspects of games that don't necessarily translate between genres and are not necessarily used on every game (perhaps each reviewer chooses 3 most important factors of a set list of say, 10 different areas); then have multiple reviewers on each game.

How should we score an excellent game with severe networking issues? A flawlessly polished game with a hackneyed design? A brilliantly tuned multiplayer experience with dreadful storytelling? If you expect the score to encompass every aspect of a game, the task becomes an exercise in futility. Add an inflated understanding of the scoring scale in many quarters - whereby 7/10 and even sometimes 8/10 are construed as disappointing scores - and you have a recipe for mixed messages.

Excellent game with networking issues:
"Mary the FPS guru" says:

Polish: 9.5/10 "It's pretty!"
Networking: 4/10 "Networking problems ruins everything."
Replayability: 8/10 "Single player scenarios keep me coming back."

"Matt Foley the puzzle champ" says:

Team Balance: 8/10 "Pick your army, its all about skill"
Networking: 6/10 "It's ok because I live in a trailer down by the river!"
Price: 10/10 "Freeware, freeware, freeware."

You get the idea. Sorry for the babbling. No time to reword this.

Comment Re:Wow ... (Score 3, Informative) 44

No, this article isn't a question of whether the NSA can spy on the UK (if we have the "national technical means", we can spy, if not, not), it's whether GCHQ can USE the take from NSA spying to get around BRITISH espionage laws. Answer: it CANNOT.

Incorrect. You have to get past the headline & read the article. The ruling was not that using the data was illegal. The ruling was that using the data without telling the public how you obtained it, was illegal. Now that they've explained how they got it, it is back to business as usual.

From the article:

The UK government issued a robust defence of GCHQ on Friday and said the judgment would not alter in any way the work of the monitoring agency. The prime minister’s spokeswoman said: “Overall, the judgment this morning is that the UK’s interception regime is fully lawful. That follows on from the courts clear rejection of accusations of mass surveillance in their December judgment and we welcome that.

emphasis mine.

Comment Re: Thanks (Score 1) 779

So would a law against armed robbery be considered racist if it disproportionately impacts poor minorities who, arrest records imply, are more likely to commit armed robbery. The law would equally apply to white millionaires, but 'we all know' that 'they' (rich white folks) aren't likely to commit armed robbery...

The effects are just one piece of the equation. The goal & motivation are also important. Who is protected by a law against armed robbery?

Comment Re:Thanks (Score 1) 779

That is not awesome, that is ultra-cheap. She's going to be one of those fools who dies with millions in the bank and living in poverty conditions.

Oh, no, she does not live in poverty conditions, but she is also not disconnected. I'm not doing the story justice. You have to know her. She is awesome.

Comment Re:Thanks (Score 1) 779

Do millionaires sleep on the sidewalk? No

Somebody hasn't been to Mardi Gras before!

:D My mother-in-law once got stuck overnight near SFO waiting for a delayed flight (She is a millionaire). She ended up sharing a piece of cardboard with a random guy. Even with millions she is still the type to say "It was only 5 hours, why would I waste money on a hotel?!" She is awesome.

Comment Re:Thanks (Score 1) 779

Oh absolutely. But see my followup post. Most people I encounter online discussing politics are absolutely dumb enough to make & believe such a statement.

I generally trust /. still on moderating such posts enough for meed to weed them out, but I browse lower... probably lower than I should with my emotional baggage.

Comment Re:Thanks (Score 1) 779

I am the OP, and I certainly had sardonic irony in mind. I am surprised by the amount of "whoosing" that my comment engendered.

Remember that over 80% of people support mandatory labeling of foods containing DNA.

Most (I am not exaggerating, I believe the number actually is > 50%) people are stupid and/or uneducated enough to be quite serious with comments such as yours. It is pretty safe to assume people are in the majority.

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