Random links

surreality · Aug 11, 2019, 3:23 PM

^ Pure awesomeness.

JinShei · Aug 13, 2019, 9:25 PM

See this tweet if you live in El Paso.

Auspice · Aug 14, 2019, 8:41 PM

Robo Goddess.

Auspice · Aug 15, 2019, 1:33 PM

https://gizmodo.com/security-researcher-s-null-vanity-plates-cause-glitch-1837206261

Wretched · Aug 17, 2019, 8:14 AM

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/crf5y2/til_a_statistician_spent_years_writing_a_science/

Scifi Graphic novel about statistics, theres a download link, its neat.

Wretched · Aug 28, 2019, 8:52 AM

Dungeons & Deceptions: The First D&D Players Push Back On The Legend Of Gary Gygax

The Sands · Aug 29, 2019, 3:26 AM

@Wretched It's a very uneven article.

From what I've read in the past it has its core facts correct (Arneson created D&D on top of the rules for Chainmail by Gygax and Perren, they had a falling out after about a year, Gygax was difficult to work with) but there are secondary facts that seem wrong (which makes me believe that the majority of the 'research' for the article was interviewing Kuntz). Some of his conclusions seem badly supported and even biased (for a lot of the article he seems to be trying to say that Gygax shouldn't be given any credit whatsoever for D&D, yet he basically writes that it took Gygax to make "a publishable game system" with the emphasis from the author).

The author might have given some thought about his source as his source claims to be "the first 'dungeon master' " even though Arneson ran the first games.

For all the 'knocking' of the article I might be doing I think it does do a good job with the core facts at a basic level. It's just that, like I said, I think there's a big problem with bias (possibly from Kuntz skewing the author's view) so take some of its conclusions with a grain of salt.

And if you find the article interesting you might want to look for Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It. I read it a couple of years ago.

Arkandel · Aug 29, 2019, 4:34 PM

Old men bicker about their legacies way after the issue has been laid to rest is basically a staple.

History isn't always fair. Sometimes events, contributions and ideas are simplified or attributed on a first-come first-served basis then that's that. Whether this article is true or not I think it's the case here; Gary Gygax will be credited with D&D and that's about that.