@Auspice said in The Cat Thread:
When I was a teenager and still living in MD, we had a stray 'adopt' us. Named him Chip. He was super loving and cuddly. He taught two kittens we got how to hunt.
When I was a kid living in MD, we also had a stray adopt us. Named her Tuxedo. She was super haughty and superior. She was disgusted at how bad the two kittens we got were at hunting.
@ThatGuyThere My point wasn't that you trust Yelp as word of mouth. My point is that the general populace often does. I was answering "Do that many people trust it?" with "Yes."
@Thenomain said in RL Anger:
It baffles me how many times I hear business suing over Yelp reviews. Do that many people trust it? Because when I first heard about it, I thought: Well this is going to be a cluster of nonsense. How can they have any reputation?
A whole lot of people trust it. People -- by which I mean the general public, based on numerous studies and surveys -- trust word of mouth more than anything else in their purchase process. And user reviews are considered by most people to qualify as word of mouth. Scores on Yelp can indeed have a serious effect on business.
@Kireek said in Arx- Gareth:
- Did not ask to see that players stats. If saying I'm curious about the rest of a players sheet now once I learned they had freely offered 100 xp into another bit of stats is asking.. and then they offer it, I didn't technically ask, did I, I never demanded they tell me either.
I don't know anyone involved with this, but honestly this is all I really need. "I didn't ask to see his stats, I just happened to say I was curious about them in a manner that clearly expressed I would like to know! That's not technically asking!!"
Not really ANGER so much as a bit of stress. Enough that I didn't want to keep it in the RL Things I Love thread.
@Roz said in RL things I love:
So I work in arts marketing. Over the past year, we've gone through a full website redesign for one of my company's projects -- a performing arts venue -- and I project managed from the client end. Our web developer is fantastic. Like, legit, he's awesome. He's passionate about his work, patient, communicative, everything great. The experience was so positive on both ends that, kind of on a whim, I emailed him a few months ago to say, "Hey, I've been looking for new opportunities. Let me know if you're ever looking for project managers?" And he came back with, "Actually, I've kind of been looking for something on the level of a COO...
Fast forward to now, when he's actually in town for the conference of our ticketing platform. We talk about what he's looking for, what I really like doing, and find a whole lot of overlaps. My former department head has drinks with us, because she was there for the big chunk of the process and also loves him. She straight up acts like my mom (despite being a year younger than me) and goes WOW ROZ WOULD BE GREAT AT THOSE THINGS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NEEDING SOMEONE TO DO.
He's really careful about spelling out all the ways the work would be different for me. (It's remote, the team is all across the country, etc.) He thinks I'm great, but only wants me to consider talking about it seriously if I know all the pros and cons. I come back the next day and go, you know what, I think it's all exciting. So now I have to consider what my price tag would be and we can figure out if it's something that makes sense for both of us.
I'm kind of terrified?
So an update. The good news is that my salary numbers -- which would be a marked increase for me, we're talking like at least a 50% raise, but I'm underpaid now and it'd be a higher market rate -- all seemed to jive with what he expected. Really, most everything we talked about seemed to jive. That part was really cool, and I actually felt like a pretty good adult.
The tough part is this: he's not going to be ready for me for at least a couple more months. Usually? This wouldn't be a big deal for me. If it started stretching out to something like six, sure, but we're probably talking more like three. He wants to make sure they've got an adequate runway built out for me over there, as I'd actually be his second full-time, salaried employee (after, you know, him). It's a new frontier for him and his business.
The reason why it's a bigger deal for me is timing. My lease is up in November. I don't want to renew with my roommate for reasons you can -- hah -- find earlier in this thread. And actually, I don't want to renew at all, because one of the things this job would let me do is move to a different city entirely. Which is what I want to do. Even if I renew my lease at my current place, I'd have to find a totally new roommate to do it with, and I don't even know if they'll allow that. That is -- if that will constitute a renewal or if it'll be a brand new lease and maybe they can hike the rent or whatever. But I'd have to go through the whole search for a roommate. And I have to decide in the next couple weeks while my renewal period is open.
I was hoping that after the conversation happened I'd be able to give notice at my current job fairly soon and have started by the time I moved -- or maybe move in between jobs. Clearly that's not happening, and I'm not sure what the best option for me is.
I just wanted to be able to upend my life and run off to a new city. 
Is this something that's only going to work on MUX?
@Cupcake said in RL things I love:
I love singing, but I'm extremely critical of my own voice
I'm going to tell you a secret. So are all the fancy professional Broadway actors. There is no combination of vanity and insecurity greater than the working professional actor. Even people in giant, groundbreaking shows like Hamilton.
I absolutely guarantee you that if Lin-Manuel Miranda attended your event, he would think you were a fucking amazing rock star.
@Insomnia said in Pokemon Go:
Hell, people have sued because coffee was too hot.
You might want to read the facts of that case before you bring it up as an example of a meritless lawsuit. It's really not what people expect.
So I work in arts marketing. Over the past year, we've gone through a full website redesign for one of my company's projects -- a performing arts venue -- and I project managed from the client end. Our web developer is fantastic. Like, legit, he's awesome. He's passionate about his work, patient, communicative, everything great. The experience was so positive on both ends that, kind of on a whim, I emailed him a few months ago to say, "Hey, I've been looking for new opportunities. Let me know if you're ever looking for project managers?" And he came back with, "Actually, I've kind of been looking for something on the level of a COO...
Fast forward to now, when he's actually in town for the conference of our ticketing platform. We talk about what he's looking for, what I really like doing, and find a whole lot of overlaps. My former department head has drinks with us, because she was there for the big chunk of the process and also loves him. She straight up acts like my mom (despite being a year younger than me) and goes WOW ROZ WOULD BE GREAT AT THOSE THINGS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NEEDING SOMEONE TO DO.
He's really careful about spelling out all the ways the work would be different for me. (It's remote, the team is all across the country, etc.) He thinks I'm great, but only wants me to consider talking about it seriously if I know all the pros and cons. I come back the next day and go, you know what, I think it's all exciting. So now I have to consider what my price tag would be and we can figure out if it's something that makes sense for both of us.
I'm kind of terrified?
@Ganymede Yes, there's a big difference between quizzing people for existing in a certain t-shirt and quizzing people in response to them talking up their knowledge and inviting it. You're right that I was definitely given the impression that you were using this quiz as a sort of opening act for anyone in a Transformers shirt. (And the whole conversation did start from a random example of fandom gatekeeping that does in fact do this as if it's a reasonable method of conversation.) I do still find how you talk about checking your boxes a bit off-putting and judgey (as opposed, I guess, to just being like, "oh nevermind they're not into the specific show I'm into," but maybe that's all your checkboxes mean, idk). I'd be kind of bothered if someone told me that they were like secretly quizzing me to determine if I was enough of a fan of something.
@Ganymede said in Fanbase entitlement:
@Thenomain said in Fanbase entitlement:
Judging someone because they don't know as much as you do about it is accusing them of being Not A Fan, the same kind of malarkey we had kind of recently with Fake Gamer Girls.
I guess so. I don't have a stamp to slam on people's head with my judgment. Are you suggesting I've no right to examine someone's level of knowledge to figure out if they are a fan or not? If so, how'm I to figure out if I should geek out with someone or simply share beers with them and talk about the Jackets?
Have a conversation that doesn't involve a quiz? Go "Yeah Autobots! Love the G1 stuff, how about you?" Like, the idea that you can only get this information through quizzing them about a roster of characters is honestly fucking baffling me right now. It's seems like such a fundamentally skewed perspective to a very basic social tenet: Just talk to people in a friendly manner and swap interests.
You figure out what people like by asking them. You can also "know I can talk to them about the original series" if you just ask if they're into it. Giving people quizzes is inherently judgmental; sharing what you're into and asking what the other person is into is a conversation.
And hell, plenty of people will set you up practically begging you to quiz them by being like YEAH I LOVE TRANSFORMERS I'M THE BIGGEST FAN EVER. I get that there's a place for friendly fandom competitiveness and throwing down trivia back and forth. But using it as a measure to simply figure out if the person is into the same thing as you is just a bad idea.
@Ganymede said in Fanbase entitlement:
@Roz said in Fanbase entitlement:
I don't have much patience for "I was bullied as a kid so now I'm going to bully other people as an adult," though.
I didn't say anything about bullying them, did I? No. I said they were posers, which was a distinction back when.
Maybe not you specifically, but it's wrapped up in a sort of attitude that plenty of people use as justification to totally harass other people.
Also not super interested in distinctions "back when." Just be a nice person now? Stop quizzing people about their t-shirts??
Sorry, you're no longer allowed to wear any Transformers-related clothing or call yourself a Transformers fan, because you didn't spell Sunstreaker's name right. Sorry, I'm sure you had a good run.
But I named 12, which was the point I made before, right? Right. And, again: it's not that I ask people to name the three original jets (Thundercracker; Skywarp; and Starscream). I'd also consider the Dinobots part of the first generation, but not in the 18 that the question seemed to want.
The three jets are way easier to name than 12 Autobots though.
Also you keep editing and I keep having to update my quotes!!!
@Ganymede said in Fanbase entitlement:
@Roz said in Fanbase entitlement:
This probably looks like a somewhat explosive response, but I am like 200000% done with t-shirt quizzes and fandom gatekeepers. Someone wearing a shirt and possibly knowing nothing about the product does not actually affect your relationship with the product.
You're absolutely right, of course. This is a reasonable position to take.
However, there was a time that the litmus test to figure out who to trust or not revolved around this sort of lore. You know, back in the day when some of us banded together to avoid the wrath of bullies and other sorts of ne'er-do-wells. We didn't have much pride in ourselves, but we knew who belonged and who didn't based on what they knew about esoteric topics.
I do understand that there's a lot of protectiveness in a lot of geek circles that comes from having been bullied and abused growing up for being a geek.
I don't have much patience for "I was bullied as a kid so now I'm going to bully other people as an adult," though.
That said, I usually start with the mini-bots: Brawn (Jeep); Bumblebee (VW Bug), Cliffjumper (Still can't figure it out); Gears (Ditto); Huffer (A tiny truck); and Windcharger (Dodge Challenger). Then there's the normal sized Autobots: Wheeljack (Race car); Trailbreaker (SUV); Mirage (F-1 Car); Jazz (Race car); Hound (Jeep); Bluestreak (Datsun Sport Coupe); Prowl (Police Cruiser, if it were a Datsun Sport Coupe); Sunstreak (Lamborghini); Sideswipe (Another Lamborghini); Ironhide (Van); and Ratchet (Ambulance Van). Add Optimus Prime (Tractor with Trailer), and you've got the original 18.
Sorry, you're no longer allowed to wear any Transformers-related clothing or call yourself a Transformers fan, because you didn't spell Sunstreaker's name right. Sorry, I'm sure you had a good run.
I grew up in a pretty Transformers-obsessed household (one of my brothers went through a period of time when he only responded to the name Optimus Prime), have seen the movie a bunch of times, have seen a good amount of the G1 series along with a few other series, read the current IDW comics, staff an IDW Transformers game. I was actually just trying to name G1 Autobots because a couple at a party I was at were talking about how they were at a trivia night where one of the questions was naming all 18 of the original season 1 Autobots. I don't know if I got up to 12. (I tried to get clarification if the Dinobots counted, because they weren't on the original crew and were created later in the season, but the couple was very unhelpful.) Sometimes names are hard, and sometimes they don't come to mind immediately even if you know the answer.
I do know that even if I didn't get up to 12, I can still wear a fucking Autobot or Decepticon shirt if I fucking want and I don't actually have to be able to name any of them.
If the idea of someone wearing a t-shirt with artwork of a show, band, comic, movie, whatever without being able to answer an unsolicited pop quiz about the product is so offensive to you that you are actually compelled to quiz them about their clothing, then you are the problem, not the person who put on a t-shirt because they liked the t-shirt. Logos aren't sacred. T-shirts don't require an exam.
Especially because women are the targets of this like one thousand times more than men are.
Maybe the girl with the Nirvana shirt loves the music but never bothered to memorize the band member names because that wasn't the important part to her, and maybe she was getting fed up at getting increasingly condescended to.
This probably looks like a somewhat explosive response, but I am like 200000% done with t-shirt quizzes and fandom gatekeepers. Someone wearing a shirt and possibly knowing nothing about the product does not actually affect your relationship with the product.
@Tyche said in RL things I love:
@Insomnia said in RL things I love:
I just love that this is happening. NSFW, maybe? 3D printed clitoris to teach girls about sexuality in France.
Really? I mean it's not like giving a smart phone to a cave woman. Woman have had this equipment for thousands of years and billions of them have figured out how to use it without the 3d models or classes.
And for hundreds of years, women have been taught to be ashamed of their own sexuality, that their pleasure is dirty, etc., etc. Like, the number of women who go through their teen years and parts of adulthood without having an orgasm is way higher than you clearly think.
@Auspice GIT IT GUD. Apartment hunts are awful, I'm crossing my fingers for you!
@Misadventure It's definitely not where the trouble starts.
@Auspice That is a really awful, shitty situation and I'm really sorry about it.