This is some good stuff, I'm going to listen again, lots to take in.
On a side note: I would like to follow MY Prime Directive, and violate Capn Janeway.

>> ^Stormsinger:

It constantly amazes me how few people understand what the U in UFO stands for. But whatever...we don't know what it is, so the best theory is obviously intelligent visitors from another planet who -never- leave any physical evidence.
Just another invisible man in the sky.


"Never leave any physical evidence" as far as you know, that is.

We have no idea what was pulled out of Roswell. A weather balloon? Please, I don't buy it. Perhaps a classified military vehicle. But not a weather balloon.

I have seen documentaries that show pieces of metal that were claimed to have been found by the farmer who lived there, as well as accounts from his children about the memory metal he found at the "crash site" and the "beams" with strange characters on them. There have also been eye witness sitings by military units in England in which impressions were in the ground which also produced results when tested with a Geiger counter.

Besides, maybe they have a "Prime Directive" of their own. Hence no or little evidence of their visit.

Ugggh. This is a non-issue. So the guys a douchebag hypocrite. Worlds full of em, governments worldwide are filled with at least 70 percent of the same. So what. If the time and energy wasted to lambaste, poke fun, and come up with clever little quips like a schoolyard full of distracted apes was used to radically change the system for the better, well fuck. What would happen in 2 years that it would take several administrations to fuck up beyond all recognition? The founding fathers would recognize one thing if they were able to see this type of forum.....People are idiots who would rather let others make decisions concerning their destinies and talk horseshit along the way, than to have to really think, act, or accomplish.

By the way? Why is this punk-ass homo even still in the news? Answer: The news in non-news, diversion, infotainment doing little to affect change of collective realization. Maddow is but another talking head whose prime directive consists of a symphony of the self, played-out daily to the delight of her fan base. It's a tired burlesque baby....get a real job.

>> ^PHJF:
You're not supposed to INTERFERE with nature, only observe! Upsetting the balance!
just like when Capt. Picard while observing primitive civilizations sometimes decided that Prime Directive be dammed and he must rescue those people.


Anderson Cooper is CNN's Jean-Luc Picard.

I was pretty happy with the ending, it would have been nicer without the manipulative super being(s) running the scene like something out of RAMA, but the seeds for that plot device/cop out had been in the show since the begining.

I think it was a pretty good send off for all characters and as for the abandon all tech stuff, well, maybe it was partially out of respect for us/our ancestors? Kinda like a spontaneous prime directive moment that everyone bought into after thinking about the utter cluster?§$& the last few years had been and how much of it had been their own doing? And maybe after being basically imprisoned in crappy spaceships never designed for long term habitation everyone wanted a nice slice of nature pie.

Gotta use your imagination to fill in the gaps, TV can never do this escapist stuff on it's own y'know!

Wait, no music channel??

Normally I try to follow the Prime Directive, but this will not stand!

*nochannel

*Art
*Rocknroll
*Animation
*Dark
*Fear

*Love

aaaaannnnd *music

Well, the whole idea of videosift is that you don't promote your own stuff. In fact, our "prime directive" is no self links. If you have something of your own you would like to promote in general, this is not the place to do it. If you are a part of the community or join the community and vote, comments and so on, you can have another user submit something of yours as has been done before.

If you're asking about the invocation (* promote) then don't worry about it, since you need to have a gold star before you can do it, and by then you'll know how.

Entanglement with civilizations too primitive to fend for them selves leads to imperialism. That's what the prime directive is guarding against.

^I'm just re-watching TNG.. Good stuff. I think Picard is by far the better captain, and his method of leadership is good, but sometimes I think his priorities are a little wonky. Starfleet > all, for instance. I'm not all that keen on the Prime Directive either.

Anyone who's noticed my lack of comments in any of these controversial community squabbles can guess that I'd like nothing more than to distance myself from these pathetic situations. I say pathetic but really it's just this ugly facet of human nature to which I refer. Nature/God/Evolution demonstrates that there must always exist bullies and those who cannot/refuse to get along and share their thoughts with others in a mature, rational way.

Nothing can be said that can change a person like that, so I try to leave everyone to their own devices and mind my own business. However, when someone's fucked up attitude becomes more than that by crossing the line into hatred and virtual assaults, something must be done.

Some people say "So what? Ignore them you pussy." But, really? This community might be virtual but it's filled with real people with real human psyches. If a lot of people feel threatened or intimidated or just generally bothered repeatedly by someone's actions, why should we as the site operators feel compelled to say "Too bad. Go somewhere else if you can't take it, wimp."

We are trying to maintain a grand ol' place where anyone and everyone can enjoy themselves regardless of their personal beliefs. If there's something we can do to help, why would we have any interest in trying to force people to toughen up or gtfo? So only people with a thick skin can participate? To be like YouTube where management doesn't give 2 shits about what anyone says to anyone else?

I don't know what I'm ranting about any more, but all I really wanted to say is dag is completely right in his decision to temp-ban because, as is evidenced by many member comments, CP420 has been hurting the Sift and it's our prime directive to keep a healthy Sift. And alien_concept/burdturgler did nothing wrong by asking the community for opinions. It's a very plain fact that we often refer to the community for many decisions, so there's no reason this partial self-government shouldn't also provide the consensus on which our administrative decisions might be based.

I'd have to suggest Picard was more like a Lawful Good alignment, since he was a sort of constitutionalist or idealist regarding the Prime Directive. He would always be guided by it when a primitive culture was in danger of contamination for example, even if it was to some detriment. That is to say, he would hold it in higher regard than he would the Federation if he had to choose.

Unlike characters such as Capt. Janeway, who would disregard the Directive for the greater immediate good.

Well they wanted to be close to nature but getting close enough to piss off wild animals is rude at the very least. Lets see a little prime directive in there

MINK?, alien concept??...QM?... dannym3141?? Thank you. Stay safe and sane, and your dissent in this matter, is greatly needed-swimming up-stream in shit is difficult, and oftentimes, goes unrewarded-

Institutions hold weight and meaning, and this one pissed upon, is a simply the signs of the times.....retrograde, dying, bursting at the seams-

Marry away Mary Lacy, marry away Sappho Jasper-and then, as it has been throughout the history of societies.."Keep a lid on it."

"Mommy, why is that man kissing that other man?"
"Well Billy, their public display in the face of overwhelming contrary social mores, could be a frustrated and anarchistic protest-they do it perhaps, because they know that most of the people watching will be offended and uncomfortable...perhaps they did not get enough proper attention from their mothers and fathers, maybe their first sexual encounter at puberty was one with a person of the same sex, or maybe like all of earth's creatures, whose prime directive is continuation of the species, they we're simply BORN that way."

Siftbot's is programmed to follow three prime directives:
1. Serve the public trust
2. Protect the innocent
3. Uphold the law

<whispers> A fourth directive, which he was programmed to be unaware of unless it became relevant, rendered him physically incapable of banning any VideoSift developer.