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>> ^Stormsinger:

The biggest flaw in this "analysis" is that these same claims were made -before- WoW. EQ was the big dog then, and "the market for MMOs has been pretty well capped at 2-3 million" WoW made it absolutely clear that 2-3 million was not the entire market, and that it most definitely is possible to make money even on unimaginably large development costs.
Actually, I didn't hear -anything- new in this piece...these claims have been being made for the last 10 years, every single year. Even though not a single one has ever proved to be correct.


I always was surprised that EQ's dominance lasted as long as it did. I think the designers for EQ had some serious sadistic tendencies, and they got so enamored with their own success that they essentially never responded to player feedback about anything, and refused to change the gameplay in any real way.

WoW on the other hand seems to have been designed from the ground up to be colorful, simple, and fun, and to go to great lengths not to frustrate people. EQ had been losing subscribers for years when WoW came out, and there was a mass migration to it. After that, all those network effects (i.e. all my friends play WoW, so I can't leave) worked in WoW's favor, as people dragged over their friends, and tried to bring in new people who (understandably) found EQ pretty hard to get in to.

Now, I do sorta have this feeling that WoW is in that slow decline mode now -- I haven't really played in over a year myself, and I can't remember the last time Blizzard made a big splash about how many millions of people they have subscribed.

I kinda think Star Wars: The Old Republic has a chance to really spark another mass migration. It'll probably draw in a new, untapped audience too; it's Star Wars! And unlike Sony's Star Wars: Galaxies, I think SW:TOR will actually be good.

Mostly though, he has a point -- WoW wasn't a clone of EQ with minor changes around the edges, it was a major upgrade of the genre. Just having prettier graphics and a different fantasy setting isn't really going to get people to pull up roots and move to a new game.

I'm also wondering when they're going to announce World of Starcraft, now that Starcraft 2 is out. I guess Blizzcon is coming this fall...

You're missing the T in the middle of Tortoise

Saw Tortoise open for Mogwai some years back, fun show, they're really interesting live.

Reminds me of Sesame Street...

Heres a little from one of the eSCAMilla fan club. Its just so insane I had to share it.
Its long, but well worth the read just to glimpse the mindset of the true conspiracy nut.

Here we go.....

"
PART 1.


mccandlish531
...

Your Jose Escamilla harassment campaign is just about over...
...
Your Jose Escamilla harassment campaign is just about over...
Advisory....
They have your name, number(s) and parent's address.
Everything you've said and done is trace-able and now on
the record. Time to stop and disappear. There are actionable
damages involved.
See: http://www.cyberguards.com/CyberStalking.html
scroll down to "federal cyberstalking laws"...
Up to 5 years in prison (juvenile detention in your case) plus up to a
$250,000 fine. Your mommy and daddy will love that. Because they
are probably gonna be liable. Talk about attorney's fees. LMAO!
Forget about ever owning a computer again. Or getting a real job
with a criminal record.
Bad boy! Bad boy!
What cha gonna do, what cha gonna do, when dey come fo' you?
You're cooked. You just don't know it yet.
Wish I could be there to see you piss your pants
when the FBI puts the cuffs on you right in your parent's home. LOL
You shouldn't mess with people who have friends in high places...

PART 2


mccandlish531
...

Re: Re:Your Jose Escamilla harassment campaign is just about over...
...
Re: Re:Your Jose Escamilla harassment campaign is just about over...
The "advisory" was a heads-up from a disinterested third party to give you a chance to quit before you get yourself truly fucked up. Jose has friends in the intel community; (read: retired spooks). Tor will not save you. They already know who you and your friend(s) are. It's just a matter of time.

Do you really believe that programs like Tor don't have a back door for national security purposes? EVERYTHING DOES. In fact, there is a huge building at Peterson AFB near Colorado springs-- millions of square feet-- filled with super computers. Every telemetric communication made in the world-- and I mean EVERY ONE -is digitally recorded there. It has been so for several decades. Your anonymity is not assured, and never has been, no matter what you believe.

But your continuing actions are only making your eventual fate all the more problematic for you once the hammer falls. It doesn't matter where you are, either. You could be in Red China and they will still find you. Funding is not a problem here. Hell ,they can even get intel on you that the public never could using the Freedom of Information Act. There are lots of ways around the Privacy Act too, for a retired field agent with lots of time on his hands. You're out of your league here, kid.

Just remember this: You had a choice, and you made a series of bad decisions. Now
it's too late. When it's all over and you look back, I can promise you that you will have nothing but regrets for what you have done. It will not have been worth the price you are going to pay. And considering the filth that you have subjected Jose and his site to, there isn't a jury anywhere that will have an ounce of sympathy for you.

No need to reply to this. You were given one last chance and you took a pass. Like I said..... you're cooked. You just don't know it yet.

Goodbye................................
Mac531


PART 3

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Remember Manuel Noriega? The Invasion of Panama?
His arrest, then rotting in a Florida prison, where the press
couldn't even see him? (You're probably not old enough.)
He worked undercover for the DEA monitoring drug traffic
through Panama. But he got greedy and decided to play both
sides. He needed a SSN to get his U.S. "government" paycheck.
Once his betrayal was discovered, that gave them a nexus to
go after him ANYWHERE in the world.

If you pay taxes, in ANY country, that nexus exists.
(It's not a "conspiracy". It's by international treaty.)
It doesn't matter where you are, or who you
are. Now if you were a real, live, non-taxpaying "ghost", then my
hat would be off to you. I am. Not a penny in taxes in over twenty
years in any country where I worked... Can you make such a claim?
I seriously doubt it. And that is why you are cooked.

This is why it is nearly impossible
for most people to hide. It might be easier for a kid like you who
has never had a "real" job, thus no tax record, but for most "adults",
hiding only happens by design or government sanction. Why do I
have such a "sanction"? I was involved in the design and creation of
weapons systems that as of today, (twenty years later) still have not
been declassified.

You seem fairly "bright" and articulate for a kid, but it's really a shame
you're wasting all your time harrassing guys like Jose. His heart is in
the right place. That's why the guys in the intel community appreciate
him. But even Jose doesn't know the whole story. The level of
advancement in weapons technology is beyond the comprehension
of most American citizens. Some folks in my field are concerned that
the control of that technology has gone to a group of people who
do not have the best interests of this country in mind.

The propulsion technologies alone would revolutionize the Earth and
Humanity's reach out into the cosmos-- if they were ever declassified.
But I suppose it props up your self esteem and teenage ego to be a big
fish in a little pond rather than to apply your intelligence in areas that
could have world-wide impact. Like physics. Or literature. You're just
wasting valuable time, kid. You've spent so much time living in your
little computer fantasy world, you've lost touch with the fact that there
are real, live endeavors out in the world you could be a part of IF you
simply applied yourself.

Get a life. Know what I mean? "

WOW... See what I mean ?

Oh goodie, all sorts of interesting discussions going on here.

Yay, somebody that wants to respectfully debate, rather than call me a pussy. If I were you, I'd ask your camp to show a little more respect. Not that it's always returned by the proselytizers, but I hardly feel I'm being disrespectful to your beliefs. I wish your comrades would show the same courtesy.

Agnostics make no claims to know anything, they say "I do not/cannot know X". The celestial teapot is the oldie counter for that - in principle we have to be agnostic about it, but in actuality we're not. We are all a-teapotists. Atheism is the same way. You can say that you believe in the celestial teapot, but with no evidence, you're not going to convince anyone.

Yes, but we are not all a-consciousness. Nor are we all a-string theorists. This comes down to basic inference. One adopts an arbitrary prior probability over the space of alternatives. This is the rational Bayesian thing to do. Putting any sort of constraints on that process is completely a subjective process. For instance, people typically cite 'simplicity', or 'elegance', as properties that should be more highly weighted. There is no more evidence for that then there is for God, at least as far as the 'truthfulness' of the claims is concerned. Now, I remain agnostic as I'd rather not make the claim, because as you've correctly pointed out I shouldn't expect to be able to convince anybody else. That doesn't mean that I consider the lack of existence of a deity as more likely than the existence.

As for determinism, what about quantum mechanics? When I look at that evidence I see randomness, not determinism. Some people, such as Roger Penrose, have thought that the key to the hard problem might dwell at the quantum level. I'm not prepared to jump into the "micro-tubule" camp, but the existence of quantum mechanics does leave the door open for a less deterministic reality.

[edit] If you are interested in this idea of consciousness as an illusion, you should read "The User Illusion" by Tor Norretranders.

Quantummushroom,
“The point is that there are thousands of religions in the world, contradicting each other, and solely on the basis of the mutual contradictions most of them have to be wrong.”
You’re conclusion is indeed correct!

If all the religions have their origin from the Creator, [proof for a Creator, see my blog: bloganders.blogspot.com (left menu)) it implies that the contradictions betweens the religions reflect a self-contradicting Creator.

No eminent scientist represents that our perfectly-orderly universe can be explained ex nihilo without a Prime Cause.

Being logically consistent (orderly), the universe must mirror its Prime Cause / Singularity-Creator—Who must be Perfectly Orderly; i.e. Perfect. Therefore, no intelligent person can ignore that our purpose and challenge in life is learning how we, as imperfect humans, may successfully relate to a Perfect Singularity-Creatorwithout our co-mingling, which transcends the timespace of this dimensional physical universe, becoming an imperfection to the Perfect Singularity-Creator
An orderly Creator necessarily had an Intelligent Purpose in creating this universe and us within it and, being Just and Orderly, necessarily placed an explanation, a "Life's Instruction Manual," within the reach of His subjects—humankind.

It defies the orderliness (logic / mathematics) of both the universe and Perfection of its Creator to assert that humanity was (contrary to His Tor•âh′ , see below) without any means of rapproachment until millennia after the first couple in recorded history as well as millennia after Abraham, Moses and the prophets. Therefore, theCreator's "Life's Instruction Manual" has been available to man at least since the beginning of recorded history. The only enduring document of this kind is the Tor•âh′ —which, interestingly, translates to "Instruction" (not "law" as popularly alleged). [Source and more extensive reasoning: www.netzarim.co.il]

Religions that contradict with Torah cannot therefore describe a religion from the Creator.

Anders Branderud

http://www.mininova.org/tor/1926101

Don't forget to thank your tracker !

great sound, by the way.

How to censor whoever you dislike (I think):
Method A:
1. Create 30 youtube accounts via 30 different proxy servers.
2. Flag a user's videos from each of those accountgraterhe timing is done right it will be indistinguishable from distinct users)
3. Sit back and watch that user get b&.
(This whole process could be automated with a script that just asks you for the captcha solutions)

Method B:
1. Post on a forum full of like-minded people who also dislike that user, and get them to all report him.
2. Sit back and watch that user get b&.




Youtube really needs to fix their automatic censorship junk.
They won't fix the broken system unless it becomes a HUGE problem, which means they're not gonna fix it until mayhem occurs as a result of someone posting such a script publicly.

They could start fortifying their defenses by allowing each IP address a maximum of 3 flaggings per year, and ignoring all subsequent flaggings coming from that IP address. They could ignore flaggings from all known open proxies and tor nodes. They could ignore flaggings from anyone who didn't actually watch the video in question. They could require that the greater of 50 or 50% of viewers flag a video before it will be taken down. They could permanently ignore flaggings from IP addresses of flaggers who submit fallacious flaggings (as determined by being the 1 flagger among a million viewers).
A somewhat better defense against fallacious one-guy-in-a-garage-with-a-script censorship would be a human volunteer network akin to wikipedia, but my preferred solution is to abandon censorship altogether (information wants to be free). If you don't like something, don't watch it! Copyright? Bah!

Vibrator, you know, I think there a market for that!

But it has to record data to send to this one, such that it simulates where it is, and vice versa. That's proper human-computer interaction. (This conjures up an image in my mind of a sadistic woman smacking her measuring-brator into a desk, and the poor schmuck on the other end taking the punishment.)

In some way one can say that colonial actions by the British government at the time, created a volatile situation in the post colonial world, leaving a spectre of war and instability in the same way we see played out in the creation and seperation of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Agreed on the analogy, with the added factors of WW2 going on and complicating Britain's commitments and Jewish ambitions considerably. My problem with this video is instead of portraying the complexities that led to what was a civil war within Palestine between jews and arabs, it portrays only a British supported Zionist military occupation of all of Palestine. In my book that is just as indefensible as saying that Palestinian civilians deserve to live in fear because some of their 'leaders' are some very bad mofos.


Essentially nearly three decades before, it was preordained that a Jewish state be created in Judea, the British government finding favour with Zionist interests.


But that is again only partially true. Britain simply stated they would not object to Zionist ambitions in Palestine. Later on after Balfour though some Zionist terrorists changed Britains position by killing a bunch of people they didn't like. Israel wound up arresting and deporting a hundred some such Zionists to Britain tor trial to avoid Britain becoming hostile toward them.

My other major beef with the presentation here is that it completely ignores the treatment of Jewish people in Palestine under the Arab majority from 1900 to the early 1940s. The Jews tolerated many of the same restrictions and abuses that Palestinians 'enjoy' today. I'm obviously not saying two wrongs make a right, I'm saying that both were wrong. Pretending like this video does that Zionists just decided in 1948 to chase out all the Arabs that had previously treated them kindly as equals is false. Worse, that false presentation creates a, I'll say deliberate, bias against Israel.

you should check out the album http://www.mininova.org/tor/1911868

In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
Oh this is fuckin wicked!

LOL! Freakin' Awesome!

"Dick-tay-tors"

In what respect Charlie?

Ctrl - Shift - Del --> clear Browsing History
Or why not just use a separate Portable Firebox on a USB (or in a folder) for all your deviant crap. Heck, why not use Opera + TOR.

cause this took like a second to change.