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    Posts made by Arkandel

    • RE: World of Warcraft: Legion

      @Misadventure is being of typical LITTLE HELP in my quest to figure out which healer to run as a main for RBGs. I am leaning towards Druid though.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: World of Warcraft: Legion

      I won't put the image inline here as it's conceivably NSFW.

      Inkeeper Pala.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Random links

      I thought it made for an interesting read. TVs Are Still Too Complicated And It's Not Your Fault by Walt Mossberg.

      Edit: Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Good TV

      @ThugHeaven said in Good TV:

      Still nobody for "The Night of" on HBO?

      You guys are missing out.

      On episode 3 now, it's really good. And I don't even like police/procedural shows.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Random links

      Perfect time for a selfie.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      @surreality I'd say there's a very strong correlation in hobbies between the time invested and the expected 'returns' even if no such scaled returns were ever promised.

      It has historically been quite easy to notice this trend on WoW - recurringly so, and with completely different players involved. Some simply put ("invested") way more time and effort than others; I'm not talking the difference between hardcore and filthy casual levels here but compared to real, tangible but not extreme investments; so while an otherwise perfectly reasonable player might have done their dailies and farmed their pre-raid gear but no more than that then showed up for the raid with flasks and knowledge of the fights could have been considered more than adequate, others who had done three times as much - who farmed the same content with LFR first to learn and get a small equipment edge, number crunched very carefully to squeeze that extra 5% for their DPS expected the same - and if the guild raid disbanded after three hours of wipes on the same boss while learning the fights, they'd be quite upset.

      To a certain degree this is to be expected. You sink real-job hours into a hobby and it's only human to think... something will come out of it. Who hasn't seen the MU* player who practically lives online 24/7 be upset if they don't get all of the ranks that they want? Who's gonna get it, the person who plays every couple of days? If they do, what does it say about their time investment? There's some sort of projection happening there that's not reasonable but it's still... natural. Such situations might not be normal or even healthy but the expectations are perfectly natural.

      So yes, the above all deal with extreme cases but they still showcase a correlation... and it starts with how involved - as measured in quite real hours per day - we sink into our past-times. The more we put in the more we want back, even if no one has ever promised such returns.

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      If we're discussing all this perhaps Arrow should be in the conversation; the original (justified in my eyes) discontent over how crappy it got some time in season 3 was then compounded by absolutely rabid fans either shipping or detesting Olicity - the coupling of Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen. It got pretty bad as apparently death threats were sent to Stephen Amell's RL wife along with anyone else who'd speak against the shipping.

      It's pretty toxic even by fandom standards.

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Recc/Squee/Kudos Code?

      What's the intended goal for this though? I mean what's the essential difference between +recc skew and page skew=Hey, that RP was great, thanks! ?

      I can see social recognition being a tool (with some caveats about popularity contests) if it's somehow publicised so that hopefully people driving roleplay are given some additional peer kudos to motivate them, but what's the reasoning behind this?

      posted in MU Code
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      I don't even know if it counts as fanbase entitlement or just general inability to cope with the reality that actors aren't their characters but...

      http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/28/entertainment/bradley-cooper-chris-kyle-dnc-trnd/

      TL;DR: Bradley Cooper got booed for appearing at the DNC because how dare he when he played a conservative icon in American Sniper?

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: RL things I love

      Tor Project Confirms Sexual Misconduct By Developer Jacob Appelbaum.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      @Tinuviel Ethical issues go beyond being part of a fanbase; say, if George Martin was a flaming racist I'd not buy his books and I'd make a point of stating why regardless of whether they're otherwise perfectly good works that scratch my nerdy itches. Orson Scott Card is sort of in that niche for me these days.

      As for MU* that's significantly more likely to happen, too. I already wouldn't play on a game whose staff I mistrust or where I feel uncomfortable for any reason, so actually knowing (or at least believing, which isn't necessarily the same thing!) there are shenanigans like that happening would make me leave just about right away.

      However if the only actual problem with a MU* is that their policies don't agree with me then it's a judgement call; does the fact hinder my ability to have fun more than leaving? If so I'm out of there. If not I put on my big boy pants, accept staff's decision and move on. The only wrong approach in this situation is both staying and being miserable about it (or, worse, making others miserable by constantly harping on it every chance I get or making excuses to beat the same dead horse again).

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      @Tinuviel Oh, criticism isn't the same as trying to incite boycotting.

      For MU* purposes, saying "well, I was kinda bored on that MU*" is one thing; "staff is hostile and hound female players for TS, playing there would support that culture" is another.

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Bump In The Night: A Chronicles of Darkness MUX

      @Cupcake Fair enough! My own was that, outside plot-running sessions (mine or others') I couldn't find things to do, so I gave up.

      Either way I agree, it's a shame but not staff's fault. The circle of MU-life. 🙂

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Bump In The Night: A Chronicles of Darkness MUX

      @Cupcake It's the problem with sandbox games. They work really well for some people especially if they have access to plot-runners but they're not for everyone, and if a critical mass of players leaves it's a problem.

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      @Tinuviel I may be biased but a common clash of... cultures or perhaps mindsets comes when players and staff don't see eye to eye regarding the way things work. For instance I recall having a long thread going back and forth with @Coin trying to talk him into making buying Renown on Eldritch more liberal than he intended; neither of us was wrong per se (other in the general form of him being wrong by default, naturally) but ultimately the creator's intentions for a MU* have to be respected. In fact they will be since they maintain nearly all of the power in that equation in the exact way George Martin does; they get to do whatever they like, and it's up to the content consumers (players, in our case) to either accept it or walk away.

      Either way I'm sure no one in this thread accepts overreactions such death threats to be acceptable; I'd say that barring major ethical failures on the creators' part, too, attempting to incite a boycott is going too far as well. Trying to convince audiences to not go see the new Harry Potter theatrical production because it's different feels quite wrong to me, for instance - but if it was promoting puppy-killing then it'd be acceptable. Likewise not getting my way about Renown would have been an acceptable reason to leave the MU* (it wasn't so I didn't) but not to try and get my friends to not play there by badmouthing the game for a creative choice; that's cheap.

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: LastPass Potential Security Flaw

      @Tinuviel On top of that, turning autofill off (which is the default) avoids the issue altogether.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      See, that still doesn't satisfy me @Tinuviel. Let me be more clear on why.

      I think my last sentence answered that one: If you take a thing someone else has made [...] and people like the original... expect kickback if yours is radically different.

      Just because we know kickback is expected it doesn't make it justified. For instance George Martin delaying Winds of Winter for years was guaranteed to cause the fanbase to grumble but it's perfectly within his rights to not work (which is what it is) if he doesn't want to. Those are separate things.

      I'll admit, the only real "right" an absorber of content has in the case of them not liking something is, simply, not to absorb it. Complain, critique, and spread the word if one must, sure. But ultimately, nobody is under an obligation to do anything about a content absorber's dislike.

      We agree there.

      I would also be right to call HBO stupid for doing so (until viewing/financial information proved me wrong).

      So does fiscal viability play a role (and what kind of role)? For example the Star Wars prequels were quite successful financial but the common consensus is that those movies were shit; does the number of tickets sold alter the premise? Was Lucas less stupid for doing them the way he did because it still made money?

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      @Tinuviel Here's a thing though - let's work with copyright.

      Let's say Harry Potter's rights are legally transferred to HBO, and they make an ultra-violent sexy take on the world of Harry Potter. For the purposes of this we can also assume the show is good - it's perfectly watchable, it's just not traditional Potterverse. There are heads exploding, body parts are getting exposed and all that adult stuff.

      Would fans be right to be upset about it? Is that the wrong kind of entitlement?

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Fanbase entitlement

      And yet entitlement exists and it doesn't always take nasty forms. For instance just this morning I saw this article from the Boston Globe written by someone who's coming from a good place; it's her childhood memories she's defending, at least in her mind, from all this new stuff. It's not even that the stuff is necessarily bad mind you, even according to her; it's just different, and so it has to stop!

      In our hobby though it applies differently because who has the 'right' to set the overall pace and direction? It's not always (in fact not even typically once a MU* has been running for a while) that an original content creator is being confronted by their players who want something different; typically it's closer to 'a revolving door of changing staff' dealing with 'long-time players'; is it entitlement when Bob Staffer (who wants a Mage sphere based on Consilium politics) retires and gives way to Tim Staffer (who wants a Mage sphere modelled after exploration) and people in the sphere take exception?

      It's not a rhetorical question.

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Bump In The Night: A Chronicles of Darkness MUX

      @tragedyjones Sorry to hear that, TJ. It had a good run!

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
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