electric fences line our new freeway

There are things in this video analysis that I've missed over the years, and I can't count the number of times I've seen the original Psycho. It's a brilliant breakdown.

To that end, there's also Super Eyepatch Wolf's evaluation of The Shining (the Kubrick original, mind) and why it's so unnerving to this day. Some of this I learned by reading interviews over the years, some of it, amusingly, came out of the conspiracy-laden film Room 237--which is also mentioned in Wolf's review--but some things were new.

Meanwhile...

[10:24] Kxxx Exxx: ~~~This is A Full Contact message! Please Read.~~~Alright its that time again. theres a lot of people that are on my list that are no longer active and its been a few years since the last time i cleared out my list. if you guys could message me back after you read this so i know your still active that would help out greatly. just say hi or wave or something so i know your still active so i know not to delete you off my list. Hope everyone has a great rest of the day! *Waves*
[10:25] Rxxxxx Ixxxx: wrong box?
[10:25] txxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: heh heh XD
[10:25] Mxxx Kxxx: maybe
[10:25] txxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: We're active -wiggles-
[10:25] mxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Please don't delete me ;W;
[10:27] Emilly Orr: There are a LOT of inactive people on my friendslist. Most of them are dead. I am NOT deleting them. You do you, but nah, I'm good here.
[10:27] nxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I'm thinking someone put that in the wrong window lol
[10:29] Emilly Orr: Oh, absolutely, I just figured I'd point it out.

Son of meanwhile...this happened, and I'm somewhat conflicted over it. On the one hand, I understand the hurt in the community--City of Heroes was dear to many of us, and the outrage that there'd been a functional version of the game running for six years in secret, I totally understand that level of outrage.



But. I do think a lot of this is pretty hyperbolic, too. City of Heroes left several years ago. I was part of one of the early public servers that ran an old version of the game, and, after a year, it was just too depressing wandering through locations I loved, that were basically empty wastelands now. It never updated, it never changed, it was just...an old version of the game. That wasn't enough, at least for me, so after that year, I gave up.



Something beloved had been broken by corporate idiots who were both heartless and stupid (especially considering that City of Heroes was actually consistently in the black month after month, and Guild Wars, the game they killed CoH to shift resources to, was canceled entirely six months later), we lost something we valued, but then we moved on. It sounds very much, reading through that article, that some people forgot the moving on part.

turn out the light, and what are you left with?

I realize it's been some time since my last post to the blog. It's not looking sure that Disney's going to even bid on the City of Heroes software and code, and with them out of the picture, who's left? Of course, in a depressing bit of improper timing, the Titan Network's ongoing debates on Plan Z--the player-funded 'after project' of City of Heroes--have already hit a major snag, as one of their committee members went off and set up her own game site with no one from Titan the wiser. "Hurt feelings" over this duplicitous move is putting it mildly.

And NCSoft's already killed another game--and another game studio.

It seems to be what they do.

In the meantime, there's apparently been a rash of very coordinated thieves--or at least one coordinated thief with a lot of alts. My bet's on more than one, though, because of how frequently it seems to be happening. Flatterbots, panhandling bots, beggar-bots, call them what you will, but what they add up to is even more cynicism and lack of trust on the grid.

Moving to games, Quantic Dreams have put out a new "prototype" video called Kara, that they say isn't tied to any particular game at present. But, considering that Quantic's a game studio, and they have developed games in the past...actually, you know, I don't so much care if it's a game or a movie. I'll take either. It's that beautiful. (Note of warning: some [mild] robotic nudity, and some [again mild] adult concepts, but no bad language, no blood, no spinning weapons.)

Also, Ragnarok Online 2 may be getting a USA server soon. Beyond that, I don't know much, but it would be fun.

Meanwhile, Think Geek has invented...a...thing. It's tentacular, it moves, but it's not a memory stick, so...I'm afraid my mind is contemplating more adult uses for the...err...do they really call it the "Squirming Tentacle"? Really?

Cesar Kuriyama will be putting out his "One Second Everyday" app; it's been fully funded and has eighteen days to go. The "Dancing in Jaffa" documentary, about Pierre Dulane's journey to bring Jewish and Palestinian children together on a neutral dancefloor, will also be fully funded--three days ago, it was at $18,000 of its goal, but it's now well over the asking fund of $35,000. And the "Amazing Capes" Kickstarter is ridiculously well-funded, and will go into production within a couple weeks! Yay for innovation!

And the desire to be superheroes, apparently.

Maskull Lassere is a woodcarver, a sculptor, and a painter, but he's recently come to my attention on Tumblr of all places for the carved bone intersection work. You'll see what I mean when you look at that particular archive, but feel free to look at the rest of his work. If you like those in-between places between the inanimate and the organic, and ponder the potential inner structures of objects, you'll like Lassere's work.

Tardar Sauce, the internet phenomenon named "GrumpyCat" by the masses, has been given the Storyboard treatment. What's that, you ask? Storyboard is this odd, quirky video project where everyday objects--including pets--are overvoiced by small children. It's perplexing, occasionally baffling, and usually very fun.

Two French designers have decided to immortalize their love for retro geekery in the form of a table. A table designed to look like a floppy disc. It's definitely innovative, and witty design, and features a hide-the-whatever pocket in form of a shutter that actually slides, revealing a small space just large enough for most remotes. Perfect.

This may well be the most impressive Minecraft shot--using the default game textures, that is--that I've ever seen. Phenomenal...though I don't think there's enough torches...

And, um...apparently the Daleks are invading. And I do not understand Imgur. That is all.

and close a chapter, lay to rest the past

[Help] Samantha Walters: I keep crying whenever I hear Closing Time.
[Help] Samantha Walters: It's always the parts about opening the doors and letting you out in the world.
[Help] Samantha Walters: And the other part about the "places you will be from."
[Help] Agent Rosemore: Don't forget "We'll meet again"
[Help] Samantha Walters: Dammit, my eyes are all watery now.
[Help] Blitz Riot: Mass Server group hug!
[Help] Zoey Lovecraft: Badges, Exp, IO...None of it means anything to me any longer. The only thing in this game that truly matters to me is my fellow heroes. I would throw away all of the cosmetics and "stats" just to keep what makes us REALLY stand apart.
[Help] Willow Lambert: Goodbye forever Virtue...

In a day, that will be true.

Recently, I've gotten involved with cStar Skins again. I can't remember exactly where my original objection was to them, but it was something in terms of either template use or similarity in style to someone else. Can't recall just yet, and as the original objection was likely two years ago--and I know for a fact she's wholly revised both her store design and much of her skin line--the original objection, whatever it was, probably no longer matters.

How'ver, something else is going on. This, from the designer's (main, not Platinum) store group:

I was contacted by many loyal followers to cStar Limited about an unfortunate event. That a malicious ex-employee of cStar Limited is abusing the trust and word I was promised by her.

I don't know the name of the employee; I'm not planning on listing it if I do find out. I'd imagine it's easy enough to discover with a little attention to the cStar group, or a group search in SL.

She is now making promises to folks of providing free cStar Limited skins if you join her group and false promises that I will pay you for them. These skins are being giving unlimited as she claims to have created them this is false. She only assembled them by placing the uploaded texture which I paid L$10 each for and she placed them onto a skin under my name. This was her job and she was paid a percentage of sales. She was a trusted employee to cStar Limited and was given rights and access to these skins. She had given me her word that she would not pass them to friends, strangers or resell them then or after employment were to cease.

This is both the most ingenious and the most bafflingly, stone-stick stupid thing I've heard in my life. Not a skin designer trusting someone--there are some very good people devoted to managing and distribution, helping some very good designers on the grid. This is as it should be. But more the whole, turning on that designer, even after an argument, and making quite plain that you're not only lying to that designer's customer base, but deliberately doing everything you can to damage her business. This seems to me the act of someone very petty, small-minded--and extremely short-sighted.

I'm not getting involved beyond posting the contents of Miss Jasmine's notecard; I'm not asking on what the argument was, or how she stopped being a trusted employee; in all honesty, unless the Linden gods are very unkind, she won't be on the grid long enough to matter. But it does seem very odd to me. The whole point of copyright infringement--or so I thought--was for the infringer to cover their tracks enough to sell copies of the main item, without being accused of selling copies. Maximize their profits, and stay making those copies...right?

This is not what seems to have happened. This--just on the surface, by this notecard, and by what I overheard in the main group chat last night--seems to be the insane retaliation of an unstable, vindictive avatar. Which I suppose makes sense, because it's so blatant in terms of the violation, with zero attempt to hide her tracks. It's beyond bizarre.

At these moments, cStar Limited's loyal followers and employees must carry on and not pay any attention to this person because we as a strong family have to remain full of faith, hope and be true to each other.

Today these challenges that are facing us are real. We must be aware that a business in secondlife is not just a game but a lively hood for many content creators in the secondlife community. Our nation in secondlife is at a war. A war of hatred, revenge and theft. The economy in secondlife becomes weakened when these acts occur. When one business is attacked by content theft, should it create a ripple effect and hurts the other bushinesses that the attacked business owner supports financially as a consumer.

Let me pause here and say as much as I'm tempted, I'm not correcting her spelling. Mainly because even with her errors, the original point is valid: there are more people on Second Life now who see it as an easy way to rook people of Lindens than are devoted to making sure the game, as a whole, survives.

And that's upsetting to see. It's demoralizing, and it goes beyond that into devastating when merchants get involved. Customers, after all, can lose their Lindens, lose their items, lose their hearts, depending: but if things go that wrong for a designer, they could potentially lose their homes and their abilities to eat off the grid. That raises the stakes in a truly frightening way.

I come to you today through this letter to let you know that once I was defeated in the past and I closed down my store from this war we are in...but not today! Actions to fight back against this, I can assure you, will be met!

If you were given these skins free by the ex-employee whom first name is [Hxxx] (or any of her alts), I would suggest you to delete them.

Choosing to leave the first letter of the name in, obscuring the rest.

If you had spent any kind of L$ to purchase from this individual or you planned to, you are soon to lose that L$ as these skins are at risk of being removed from your inventories. If you had legitimately purchase any of these skins from cStar Limited's store or directly from me, you are safe as well as your skins.

Because it's become a thing to trade for free or for the purchase price the limited-edition zodiac skins of a month, I should also make plain that in-group trading, or buying skins set out on the group-only platform above cStar, counts as legitimate "purchases" for the terms she's discussing here.

This act does not help bring down the prices of cStar Skins, but it only hurts the individuals that have legitimately paid for these skins and hope to sell them in the future at a higher value on their own or through renting a cStar Limited Platform.

Here is how YOU can take action! Many of my skins are transfer permissions, however, this ex-employee had in the past access to these skins with full trust. So you do not want to purchase these skins. She has them unlimited and if you purchasing them it does not take them away from her. Next, do not join her groups she creates. Be sure to mute her and her alts so you are no longer disturbed or at risk of being conned. All official cStar groups can be found ONLY in profiles of; AppleSpiceStore Resident, cStarLimited Resident and Unico Solo. Please contact Christiana Xevion should you be suspicious of any behavior found through any other groups, accounts or Residents. Also contact Christiana Xevion if you were given a cStar Skins from someone you do not know.

Also choosing to leave these names in as they're all accounts directly aligned with cStar Limited.

Then, report the person that has sent you that group invite to their unofficial cStar group as well as that group owner. I too have begun to make my reports, but the more reports made, should it help make the actions stronger. Also, alt accounts of this ex-employee are unknown. I would suggest you to hold caution with whom you communicate with about cStar Skins and transactions being made and please report all suspicious behavior to Christiana Xevion.

cStar Skins have been made with Transfer rights back in 2010 so you can have the rights to sell, trade or gift your cStar Skins as you please. Any skin that is NOT stolen content is encourage for you to sell however you like! You can open your own marketplace to sell your cStar Transfer skins! Even use my store to rent a platform at a very low fee of L$100/week to sell directly to my customers! You get more visual promotion that lead to a high percentage chance of sales for yourself! The difference here with the ex-employee is she did not collect her skins off the lucky board, MM, gatcha or through purchasing like you have.

I will say--especially considering the high cost of many of her individual skins--I've always liked that they're transferable. No-copy anything is always chancy, but even with the instability of the current grid, my biggest concern has always been furniture, not skins, in terms of the sim glitching and eating things I have rezzed out.

cStar Limited as become strengthened by all of your love and loyalty and I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for your great support and courage! It's time to move forward into a wonderful new year in 2013! No plans are being changed by this and this is only a minor speedbump for cStar Limited!

Happy Holidays and let's stay positive with love in our hearts!
Jasmine - AppleSpiceStore Resident
cStar Limited Skins

Now, that's a sentiment I can definitely get behind.

baby, you're lost, baby you're a lost cause

[Help] Natures Furry: I have the 30th off and plan to play like...its the end of the world and I know it

Wednesday, November 28th, I logged in to City of Heroes for the last Wednesday strike force ever. In two days, the game will be gone.

(from the City of Heroes album; the crumbling of Alastair's tower)

[SuperGroup] Your supergroup owes 1900 Prestige in base upkeep by 12/02 04: 07 PM

And yet, the hits just keep coming. So many people over the weekend just stopped logging in. They gutted their bases, or had already done so at the start of November, so at this point, their bases cannot be accessed. I doubt anyone's going to get around to paying our base's upkeep, because seriously, locking our base from use in December, when the entire game leaves on November 30th? I mean really, what does it matter?

But more than that is how quiet the game is, now.

We've tried everything we know to do. We've talked to every company we can think of--several of whom made offers. (These were all, as far as we know, rejected by NCSoft out of hand.) It's feeling very, very close kin to the fight to keep Firefly on the air, and how passionately we as fans fought for that show--to the point that once it had become obvious that the show was gone, many fans joined their energies to local, domestic and international charity efforts. Because if they were going to keep fighting, then damn it, they'd keep fighting for something that would matter.

To this day, there are Browncoats giving to charity by selling merchandise, by showing up in costume for live auctions, by writing stories, songs, and essays no longer just about the show, but all of it started with that passion, that sense of unity and understanding, we had gained by seeing Mal Reynolds in that moment in Serenity Valley, knowing all hope was lost, and fighting anyway.

Because sometimes we have to fight forces bigger than us. Because sometimes, even if we lose--maybe especially if we lose--it's still important to fight. Even lost causes teach us things about ourselves, our fellow beings, and the importance, sometimes, of following our hearts.

Doesn't make these last moments any less depressing.

To that end--and it's not that I don't know why this is happening--I've been finding it very, very hard to log in to Second Life. I'm dragging my feet on even going in just long enough to clear emails and IMs. There are three reasons for this (in simple terms, loss, heartbreak and viewer dysfunction being those three reasons), but that doesn't make the struggle any less painful, either.

Now, Kouse's Sanctum--among others--starting their Advent Calendar offerings on December 1st will help with this. Far be it from me to pass up the opportunity to own such gorgeous holiday-themed things--especially since I lost all my other holiday stuph when my seasonal folder holding all of them evaporated.

And, weirdly, once City of Heroes can't be logged into--once it's firmly out of the hinterland of maybe-we-can-save-it into let's-see-what-we-still-have terrain...it might be a little easier to log into other games. Right now, I'm too frustrated, upset, hurt and angry to deal with anything but Minecraft, and even Minecraft I'm playing solo.

In the meantime, people are still pondering where they want to be when the servers kick everyone out of the world:

[Help] Uncyste Scinn: I vote for Pocket D. Everyone needs to act happy and party it up so it doesn't hurt so bad.
[Help] I L L Y R I A: No, no Pocket D for me. I will end my time atop the statue of Atlas when the servers go dark

It is a big enough statue. Wonder how many of us can crowd on top as the world dissolves?

[Help] Ben Alternating: what time does the servers shut down on 11-30?
[Help] Luminary Eclipse: 11:59:59pm PST

Some are saying this is actually not midnight on November 30th, but midnight on November 29th, because NCSoft is calling the shots from Korea. I honestly don't know, but I know people--possibly including me--will be gathering about an hour before midnight...just in case.

[Help] Alice Malice: I still think the hill in Talos sounds like a better place for a last stand, but so long as we are taking out Rikti Drop ships, I am there
[Help] Aerianne Connor: There's always last-minute evac at Portal Corp, I suppose.

Not my fave, but as things go, I suppose it would be better to hang out at Portal Corps than in Mercy Isles:

(from the City of Heroes album; residents of Mercy Isles being evacuated...willingly or not)

At least at Portal Corps, they're used to evacuations. Rikti raids have happened so often over the past eight years that their employees move like clockwork towards the safe zones.

By contrast, those lined up to be led to evacuation vessels in Grandville seem puzzled, angry and scared, alternately. And who can blame them? Living in the darksome maddened star of the Mercy Isles, in the single most fortressed and over-protected (armaments-wise) city in the entire chain; living, essentially, in the heart of Lord Recluse's domain...and they have to leave? Where are they going to go?

It doesn't help that many of us, months later, are still asking that question. Where are we going to go? And what game, for the rest of our lives, will not be held up to the increasingly distorted glow of City's nostalgia?

reminiscing other times of life

We grieve for everything we lose. In the end, our memories can become treasured bits of knowledge gained, experiences which we are grateful to have had, in spite of the cost.

That doesn't make it hurt any less at times.

Do you really like bacon? Do you have more money than you know how to spend? Do you like scarves? Are you in Europe?

If the answer to these four questions is yes, then go look at the bacon scarf by artist Natalie Luder. It's 100% silk crèpe de Chine, is digitally printed with a black border (which is then hand-hemmed by the artist), and retails for around $170 (US; local currency conversion might be necessary). There's a list of shops still carrying it at the bottom of the article.

Libraries are important. Libraries are also losing funding. At least one six-year-old thinks keeping libraries open is more important than her allowance fund. I know $11 seems like a tiny amount, but seriously--she just donated her entire savings to the Seattle Library.

Seen in that light, that's huge.

And there's a crafting blog out there that's come out with one of the most disturbing culture/craft mash-ups ever: Barbie the Weeping Angel. I am stunned at how good that looks, and also not entirely sure I could make my own version and leave her out anywhere visible.

[14:25] jxxxx Jxxxxxxxx: Get 2500$L Just Pass 1 Survey [phishing link removed] Click, Login And Get 2500$L !!!
[14:25] Exxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: NO NO No.
[14:25] Cxxxxx Dxxxx: let me jump right on that....
[14:26] Axxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: This is getting onto every group
[14:26] Dxxxxxx Mxxxxxx: people like you [Jxxxx] account user is why I hate people
[14:26] Exxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i know. i see at least three now
[14:26] Emilly Orr: Welcome to my mute list.

These days, I seriously don't have the patience. Where it practically took personal threats of harm a few years back to make me mute someone, I no longer have the energy to invest. I'd rather just block them and move on.

[14:26] ⒾⒸⒺ (4xxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx): scammmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...yes. There are gentles on the grid who see an offer like this and don't immediately think it's a scam?

[14:27] fxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx : go away just click close chat ! click close and leave it realy works! :D
[14:28] Emma Krokus: if you have clicked and logged in, change your password right now

Though, on the off-chance that someone WAS foolish enough to click the link, this is always good advice. If it seems at all suspicious, and you've done something boneheaded like click on a phishing link and enter your SL info...pull up the main SL site and CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD IMMEDIATELY.

[14:28] Jxxxx Jxxxxx: Didn't I read somewhere that websites with a .tk are usually hacking websites?

Well...sort of. The basic problem in a nutshell: there is a small island chain off the coast of New Zealand called Tokelau. It's home to 1,400 people...and a free domain registration site. It's not, per se, that this domain service sets out to defraud. But, because of the sheer tonnage of criminals that use the service--because of the free domain name service--it's gotten a bad reputation that it doesn't seem likely to lose any time soon.

Add to this the fact that they run an URL reduction service side by side with domain registration, and the .tk extension pretty much drops into toxic web terrain. Some of their users are legitimate; but since the vast majority aren't, this leads to image problems. This particular avatar was decanted in 2008, so they really should know better. But more than that, the profile is confusing. From the bio:

Louis Henri was born at Versailles, the eldest son of Louis de Bourbon and Louise Françoise de Bourbon, the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV and his favourite, Madame de Montespan.

He was the great-grandson of Louis de Bourbon, le Grand Condé, who died in 1686, and was addressed to as Monsieur le Duc, this style applying specifically the head of the House of Bourbon-Condé.

He was Louis XV's Prime Minister (Premier Ministre) from 1723 to 1726.

And from their RL bio:

The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma.

They're also a member of the Caledon land group, which could indicate either land holdings in Caledon, or land holdings in an allied nation.

So seriously, what gives? Was their account hacked? Was this someone else discovering this account was open to claim? Was a friend over at their house who decided it would be fun to rook people? I don't think anyone knows.

Also:

[14:31] Dxxxxxx Mxxxxxx: why should anyone have to mute an individual account prolly hijacked by this piece of crap anyway, when LL does nothing to take care of cleaning up this mess?

It's a good question, but an inaccurate one. The problem is that Linden Lab is not responsible for chat in world--that's even in the ToS officially. While they can--and do, frequently--act on complaints of griefing and harassment, all they really can do officially is boot the avatars they discover directly, and otherwise leave warnings on their blog about hacking/phishing attempts.

Which they've done more than once.

[14:37] Mxxxxx Yxxxxxxx: scammers are busy this week... must be trying to get money for the holidays, lol
[14:37] cxxxx Nxxxxxxx: ?
[14:38] Emilly Orr: There's at least one spammer hitting all the groups they're in, and likely more than one. It's been irritating.
[14:38] Mxxxxx Yxxxxxxx: that russian one and now there's one that looks like it might be from Turkey

And now this one, who seems to be either part of a Versailles roleplay group, or just interested in French history. Confusing.

All I can say is to reiterate: if it seems like an absurd sum of money, it's a scam. Don't click the link, just drive on by.

cameraman, swing the focus, in case I lost my train of thought

This is both a lovely gesture for Hurricane Sandy victims, and a marvelously easy make-ahead holiday gift (since we are steadily closing in on Winter Solstice activities). The only thing I'll add--behind mentioning that the entire blog is a joy to read--is that this recipe can easily be made vegan-friendly.

How? By substituting flax seed for the egg. Bob's Red Mill, as well as many other health food stores, carries both whole flax seeds, and flax seed meal. If you're not sure you'll use that much flax seed meal before it goes rancid (ground meal lasts about a month, whole seeds keep around a year), then just get a package of whole flax seeds and a coffee or spice grinder. Grinders retail for anywhere between five and fifty dollars, overall, and trust me--a five-buck grinder will do just as good a job as a fifty-buck grinder.

Then just add one Tablespoon of ground flax to 3 Tablespoons of lukewarm water, stir, let sit for a minute or two, and you have a vegan egg. This will work for both recipes requiring whole eggs, and recipes requiring egg whites.

(Also, according to another blog, you can use ground flax to replace flour in baked goods, to lower the carb content. I did not know that.)

Another easy holiday craft--and this one's a favorite of my cousin, as it happens--is the tied, no-sewing-required, fleece blanket. What you'll need besides two large enough/long enough pieces of fleece? A ruler and sharp scissors.

No, really, that's it. Between 1 1/3 and 2 yards will make a baby-size quilt, or a lap quilt; go larger if you need to, the process is the same. I can assure you they're very warm (Miss Neome got given one two years ago; she still uses it, and occasionally I steal it from her and use it, so yes, warm and snuggly indeed!) and generally colorful, home-brightening gifts.

What else has crossed the dash this morning...Oh! Kickstarter things!

The Morbid Anatomy Anthology is now fully funded! Also, Lindsay Porter's felted 80's kitsch projects are now half-funded, with over a month to go. And--my personal favorite--the "tweedpunk" game, Sir, You Are Being Hunted is fully funded and will become a reality!

And Qarl Linden's mesh deformer project still needs makers of mesh objects to send him products for testing. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help him do this!

Also, found by random happenstance today, there's a certain web address that used to lead to a protest/petition site that sent signed petitions directly to the Lindens. Now, five years later, it's a Japanese site that seems to be selling crab online:

If such people send him the finest crab, etc. according to the special day, you will be more special day that day.
If you use the mail order of crab, the Internet You are a good idea.
By using the Internet, it is possible to examine a lot of delicious crab can be.

But, being as it's badly translated from Japanese, it's hard to tell.

Reuters today noted an intense drop in stock prices for NCSoft. They went from ₩213,000.00 to ₩174,000.00, a loss of ₩7,500.00, or 4% of their total profits. Gosh, maybe they shouldn't have cut down City of Heroes where it stood. They might have been better off.

...Jerks.

I understand what I am still too proud to mention to you

There's at least one more entry--or a group of entries with the same theme--on City of Heroes waiting in the wings. Mainly, because I took exhaustive pictures and chat captures of the summer event, and was in the process of deciding what and which to go for, when the announcement came in.

And frankly, all that exuberance, all that sense of joy and amazement, that I wanted to share just got sucked out of me. It was a gut-punch of epic proportions, and any former resident of There.com, the Matrix MMO, or other games that have crashed and burned will understand. I keep circling back to posting it then shaking my head and backing away.

At some point I will be posting it, if only out of stubbornness because I took all the images. But it may take time.

In the meantime, some scattershot things from today.

(from the fashion album; Caverna Obscura's October group gift)

There are reasons to belong to pay groups. Here's one.

At the last Nomine sale, on a whim, I picked up the Red Panda skin. It's not been my best whim, not because I don't like the skin--I do!--but because it didn't come with ears and a tail, and I've just been too lazy to look into making my own.

How'ver, I thought, today would be a good day (as I have since discovered, this was wildly in error on my part) to make the ears, so I flipped the skin on, then realized there were some texture fur packs I hadn't unpacked yet. So I rezzed those out. In the process, I discovered I hadn't yet unpacked the October group gift from Miss Ewing.

(from the fashion album; Caverna Obscura's October group gift)

This is it. It did need a little adjustment--probably less on ladies that aren't as freakishly short as I currently am--but it was all simply done, and this is very nearly out-of-the-box wearable.

(from the fashion album; Caverna Obscura's October group gift)

It flutters enticingly when I spin, and the details are to die for. The fact that this is pretty much just a monthly thank-you to her customers (because you still can't get IN to Caverna Obscura's group if you don't buy at least one outfit) is stunning. And it even manages to go pretty well with the skin!

(from the fashion album; Discord Design's "Leah" braided bun in Cast Iron)

Speaking of, because Miss Kallisti Burns sent out a box of her "Leah" hair around the same time, that got unpacked as a potentially good cover-up for the lack of panda ears. This is the style in "Cast Iron". It's mesh hair, but it's unrigged mesh hair, which means it's fully adjustable and modifiable.

(from the fashion album; Discord Design's "Leah" braided bun in Cast Iron)

Absolutely lovely from the back, and, as with most Discord designs, worn over a tattoo-layer hair base.

(from the fashion album; Discord Design's "Leah" braided bun in Cast Iron)

The amazing thing to me, though, was in adjusting it--this is it with the braids moved down very close to the top of the scalp. This results in a very tight-braided look, sleek and stylized.

(from the fashion album; Discord Design's "Leah" braided bun in Cast Iron)

But if you adjust it up a bit, so that the braids hold a little loft above the head? Suddenly it's a vastly different style--a loose, flattering, casual braided bun. The same hairstyle with two completely different looks? I don't think that happens with prim hair.

To get into the Caverna Obscura group, you still must buy at least one outfit, then send the transaction details to Elvina Ewing in a notecard to request to be added to the group. But for things like this, it can be worth it.

"Leah", meanwhile, retails for L$180 per color pack (six different shades each pack), or you can buy the whole lot for L$900), and she was originally developed as part of the "I Heart Rouge" fundraiser to save CodeBastard Redgrave's sim. Because that happened at the end of Septus (and because, for me, the end of Septus was just insane), I never got around to sending out a blog entry on the event, which is now over.

How'ver, "Leah" is in the store now in all colors. And Miss Burns also has her Flickr stream for more up-to-date info.

Last thing I want to talk about--I missed telling anyone (who didn't already know) about the closing of the Innsmouth H.P. Lovecraft Festival, but because a dear friend invited me to the closing party, I got the Cassiopeia eyes! And believe me, they WILL be blogged, because omnomnom they are gorgeous.

Okay, maybe "omnomnom" was the wrong sound effect when discussing eyes. Still, we were also discussing Lovecraft...

In the MEANtime, go off to that entry if you want pictures of why I fell so sweepingly in love with them, and look for eye posts to come!

keep all the roses, I'm not dead

First off, go here. Then start haunting Malfean Visions because those are AWESOME and must take over the grid.

[Help] Xeyu: Ahhhh damn, the best MMO just cant die, it cant.

All things pass.

From Mr. Noddington Schmooz's profile:

If you want to make yourself smaller and tell yourself you're "properly sized", you go right ahead. Knock yourself out. And then shut the hell up about it, okay? Do NOT try tell me that I am a giant because I stand 6'10", or preach to anyone that you're doing it right and they're doing it wrong.

The problem is that you are attempting to use Earth-standard measurements in SL, and the two are not the same. According to the Lindens, average height in SL is 2.1m (or 6'11"). People my height are the norm. Coming into SL and telling people they are too tall would be like going to Pandora (from 'Avatar') and telling the Na'vi that they are too tall: no they're not. They're the norm. By their standards, you're short.

In a nutshell, then: shut up about your height (and SERIOUSLY shut up about everyone else's height). Besides the fact that nobody but you cares about how awesomely perfectly proportioned you are, you're incorrect. You may be Earth-normal height, but in Second Life, you're short.

This is beautifully put. In my defense, I have never told people they're too tall. I have had fights with avatars around me that I am not a child, I'm just short. Weirdly, I hear this a lot from the tall folk around me.

I wouldn't mind, save that most of the time I'm called a kid, or worse, a creepy pedophile, I'm not even dressed in Lolita gear. I get called a child, labeled perverse, and occasionally bounced home when I'm wearing a Tiny, or dressed as a neko whatever, or even just in a blouse and a simple skirt. In fact, most of the time folks get outraged? Is when I'm not in a child form, when I have recognizable adult characteristics--read, "cleavage"--and makeup appropriate to an adult female.

People, I'm 5'5" in RL. My ENTIRE family, barring one cousin and a now-deceased aunt, is (or was) at least 5'10", with many of my uncles clocking in between 6'2" and 6'4". 5'6" may be the average, but I grew up feeling short, so in SL, I gravitate naturally towards an avatar that's between five feet and five and a half feet tall.

I fully acknowledge, this in SL is woefully short. I fully claim this lack of stature. Interestingly, a friend's gone the other way--she's short in RL, so she tops six feet here, because she's tired of craning her neck the other side of the screen. All in how we're wired, I guess.

One thing that really improves any social outing is half a dozen people yelling "Hooooo!" (pretending to show support for the music, but in reality attempting to draw attention back to themselves, where it belongs) or spamming up the public channel with shouted graphics to say "Good song" or "Applause" (for the exact same reason as previously noted). Or showing their knowledge of the song by 'singing' the lyrics as it plays.

Chances are excellent that if you've done that in a public place where I am, you're on my mute list. Congrats!

P.S. -- It's also awesome when you have shoes that make walking noises and pace around the club. Thanks ever so for sharing.

P.P.S. — If you use a gesture that includes the word "Hoogasm", congratulations! You're retarded.

I have to admit, I really like the way Mr. Schmooz thinks. Now, granted, I never minded groups of people "Hoo!"-ing, but in general, that was due to it being typed in chat. It started getting seriously on my nerves, though, when I'd go to a DJ-ed event, or a dance, and there would be sixteen people all gesturespamming the multi-Hoo--you know, the one that goes "Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-HOOOOOOOOO" really loudly?

Yeah. That's when I started muting gestures in most sims.

He has a store, too! Eminently practical soul, I'm quite impressed.

Work on the haunt is slow, but the build is up! Now to begin to creepify it. This will require much sound work, picture work, and poking scripters. Muahahahaha.

In the meantime, I leave you with the awesome hexaflexagon, and the beyond creepifying trailer for the Silent Hill sequel, and just to wrap things up on a fun note, a new rap song from Jack's Films on YouTube. It's a lovely, lyrical song about atrocious grammar. Enjoy.

when the diamonds fall, they burn like tears

[Broadcast] Lucki: WHAT IS IT ZOMBIE? WHAT ARE YOU ATTACKING?
[Broadcast] Lucki: ...TIMMY FELL INTO THE VOID AGAIN?
[Broadcast] Literal Lass: Come for the interdimensional dance party, stay for the damage!
[Broadcast] Literal Lass: All right, dance floor, I give, you have beaten me.
[NPC] War Witch: No comment.

(from the City of Heroes album; the deathing at the D.)

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to adequately explain this. But about three weeks ago--you know, back when I had hope--some of the game developers behind City of Heroes had taken to hanging out in the D. Because they're mourning the loss of the game just as much as we are.

[Broadcast] Achaica: am I just not cool enough to see what's going on? :(
[Broadcast] Taren Knight: sometimes
[Broadcast] Dan the Dangerous: it really is the end of times, all rules have broken down
[Broadcast] Kana Illusory: this is lame
Light the Path has defeated Litany of SiIence
[Broadcast] Achaica: you mispronounced "awesome"
[Broadcast] Litany of SiIence: (( Might I be able to get a team so I don' die? ))

And me responding to another player asking a question (that I didn't save in chat):

[Broadcast] Literal Lass: (( Alexia: Noooo one knooooows. And seriously, that's true. Just mysterious spawning....things....that kill people. Which we can't see. Or defeat. Except occasionally through pets. Maybe. ))

(from the City of Heroes album; the deathing at the D.)

I didn't get a lot of good pictures to explain what was going on, but basically, one of the developers (Tunnel Rat, as it turned out) had dropped by, rezzed a bunch of things that could one-shot kill folks, turned on damage in the D, then left. It took people a bit to figure out what was going on. We had two things on our side:

• Pets could both see AND injure the random balls of energy;
• The hospital was just off the dance floor, so no one got booted from the zone if they got killed; and
• There's no XP loss in the D itself, because there's (supposedly) no deathing; the hospital's in zone because of holiday events. So, no matter how often we died, we didn't get XP debt.

At this point, folks were banding together, trying to find ways to kill things:

[Looking For Group] Celerin: All we have so far is 'Unaffected' though.
[Broadcast] Lucki: It's probably a bluff.
[Broadcast] Achaica: I'd call it "Lord British"
[Broadcast] Achaica: combat log says "poison gas"
[Broadcast] Achaica: it's apparently stronger than all of pocket d
[Broadcast] Lucki: Poison gas and soul burn is whats attacking our pets--but it doesnt say what our pets keep missing
[Broadcast] Literal Lass: I'm seeing Radiance Jump 2 and Light the Path defeating pets and people both
[Broadcast] Lucki: Whatever it is keeps moving around now and then like a person
[Broadcast] Lucki: MAYBE ITS A GHOST.
[Broadcast] Literal Lass: The D is HAUNTED!

(from the City of Heroes album; the deathing at the D.)

Some high-powered healers realized if they got on teams, they could just spam healing and keep people alive that way. It worked--after a fashion.

[Broadcast] Achaica: the DARKNESS
[Broadcast] Jessye Jaymes: Why did you use magic missile?

Ah, fellow geeks who speak my language. Always fun.

[Broadcast] Literal Lass: We're fighting the nothing. How existential.
[Broadcast] Lucki: Neverending stoooreeeee~
[Broadcast] Mind Spike.: Anyone know whats going on in here , i just logged on and pocket D is both on fire and damaging?))
[Broadcast] Literal Lass: One minute, I'm talking to War Witch, the next I'm on the dance floor getting hit by blue flame.

It got chaotic, I won't lie. We weren't exactly used to this.

(from the City of Heroes album; an angel statue in Founders' Falls.)

This is nothing to do with the deaths on the dance floor. This is a random image I'd planned to toss into a future entry. This will now exist as my brief comment on last week's Doctor Who (which is forward from this post, because I post-dated this post, so to be specific, it was "The Angels Take Manhattan").

Which I can't even discuss without major spoilers in ALL directions, but damn. Good, painful, intense, beautifully written, magnificently acted...but I did mention the painful, yeah? Yeah.

[Broadcast] Glacier Sagittarius: I have a feeling it's Dampening Field, the invisiable force that's normally in the corner by the red bar window.
[Broadcast] Glacier Sagittarius: Pets sometimes attacked it
[Broadcast] Achaica: pocket D is already drunk enough. you can tell because we're picking fights with nothing at all.
[Broadcast] Achaica: someone is enjoying omnipotence

(from the City of Heroes album; the unused design for upper-level Nemesis officer warhorse mounts. Steam-powered, of course.)

Another shot that has nothing to do with the deathing, but I have tons of these, and I'm going to toss up more--this was another dev in the D who came in, rezzed out these unused mount designs, and left after partying with us for a few hours. Essentially, these were planned from nearly the first, but, between one thing and another, never got implemented.

(from the City of Heroes album; the unused design for upper-level Nemesis officer warhorse mounts. Steam-powered, of course.)

As can be seen, you could sort of 'cheat' a sit on the back of the mounts by first flying up to about horse shoulder level, then choosing a sit-on-bench or sit-on-chair emote from the list. It mostly worked.

(from the City of Heroes album; another angle.)

The vents in the muzzle vented steam on occasion, and there was an ornate stovepipe 'tail' that spewed smoke, in addition to the flame-jet 'mouths' each warhorse had.

(from the City of Heroes album; another angle.)

And on occasion, people danced on them.

Also, after all that (and the chat captures anyone who's been reading along has already read through), I present to you why Champions Online remains, in my opinion, the lesser experience (on at least a social-game level):

vakarcs@tomika72: ddddddddddddddddddddddddd
the blaack panther@sharrief1: nice boob
the blaack panther@sharrief1: bbboobbas
the blaack panther@sharrief1: i love bboobs
Annika Ember@EmillyOrr: Ugh.
the blaack panther@sharrief1: i need a girlfriend
the blaack panther@sharrief1: i need a queen
Annika Ember@EmillyOrr: And you're looking for one in the Powerhouse??

To explain: the Powerhouse is in the main section of the city, and it's where people go to test out new powers, and see if they want to keep them if they've got choices between two. Mostly, though, it's a noob paradise, because most of the higher-ups just pick their poison and move on to other missions.

the blaack panther@sharrief1: big tiiiittes

Believe me, there was more, but I think those two short passages convince to illustrate the point. From quirky "Neverending Story" and D&D gaming references to..."i love bboobs". Yeah.

my airplane lands on your soul's runway, without lights

There's a status update for subscribers of City of Heroes. It seems to indicate subscribers will be refunded for time still playable past the closure date of the game. How'ver, there's been some worried rumblings that some initial contactees were offered time in other NCSoft games, over a straight cash-back option. I'm still trying to run down which is accurate.

(In the interim of holding this for publication, we've hit the supposed payout date, with an additional codicil that payments, while transferred, will arrive between seven and ten days from the 26th of Septus. So we're checking again in a week or so, and see if it's actually gone through.)

In the meantime, apparently Linden Lab is converting to an app company. I have no words for how vastly and wholly disappointed I am in this development. I also think it's worth noting that immediately upon release of their "Patterns" video--AKA, "Look, we're better than Minecraft, 'cos we build with TRIANGLES!"--they disabled comments nearly instantaneously after posting, if not as the video was being posted. What is Humble so afraid of, that people might say? Or--potentially worse--what did viewers initially respond with, that made the Lab close down comments so quickly?

To be fair, I also think the Modem World blog's article on the two new LL offerings is on target. And I don't think Linden Lab is diversifying to eradicate SL. What I do believe, though, is that Linden Lab is either uninterested, or incapable, of fixing the Marketplace problems. If the latter, they managed to break code they can't fix, and that's bad, but it does happen. We can all hope for a solution, but at this point things look pretty grim anyway.

How'ver, the first theory is far more damaging if true, and unfortunately, ties into a long-held tin-foil hat theory of my own: that the Lindens are involved, either as an entire company, or just as upper management, in disinvesting the ability of their customer base to sell things. I'm still not entirely sure why they would want to do this, frankly--but with the Marketplace debacle getting close to moving into its third goddamn year of being broken, I feel I can state substantively that that's the single largest cause behind customers closing down their businesses, and/or leaving the grid permanently.

Personally, I'd prefer to just be straight-up told that they're closing down Marketplace and removing user content--as shocking as that would be--than to have them continue the fiction that they're trying to repair what they broke, when it's fairly obvious at this point that they're either unable to...or refusing to. Either way, it's depressing as hell in an already depressing month.

ice and silence and dark skies, as we go 'round another year

[Looking For Group] Apocolyth: so if u could please blame the sh_t hgeads who were designingnthen game that got the funding kut ohhh and the marketing was carp too biut oh well

Please, please please, Apocolyth--you're entitled to your opinion, but for the love of all gods, spell-check exists for a reason.

[Looking For Group] Apocolyth: ok guild wars 2 here i come lol cya chumps

Let me get this straight: not only can you not manage to spell even simple words correctly--single-syllable words like "crap", "but", "cut", and the immortal "you"--but you're also upset with the development team behind City of Heroes, and not NCSoft themselves--the ones who actually cancelled the game. Moreover, you're jumping to Guild Wars 2, which is again owned outright by NCSoft.

Have you lost your tiny little mind?

[Looking For Group] Novamaiden: (there goes a really good reason not to try guild wars 2)
[Looking For Group] Eddie Warren: concurs

I third that conclusion.

[Looking For Group] Particle Force: ((Doubt we would run into him. Takes brains to download the client.))

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

[Looking For Group] Sizzlestick: I just got a warm fuzzy feeling by the way nobody responded to Apocalyth's trolling =)

Yeah, even I only responded here, not in chat. We must be growing up, or something.

[Looking For Group] Apocolyth: yea the devs totllu screwd up this game

Oh, you're making my fingers twitch with the urge to viciously spell-check you.

So, just to graze on this again...I'm back to watching the "compileTRUTH" analysis videos, one of the ones currently concerning a blogger known only as "M" (and his blog, The Tutorial).

(from the Slender album, because I'm likely going to need one)

Let's talk about that. For those who don't know, a "tulpa" is a created thoughtform that can then act independently of the user's will. While the creation of a tulpa (in Sanskrit, "nirmāṇa" or "nirmita") is considered the act of a sufficiently advanced, and spiritually purified, being, the reality is that anyone who concentrates hard enough on it, with enough fervency and drive, might create one:

"Once the tulpa is endowed with enough vitality to be capable of playing the part of a real being, it tends to free itself from its maker¹s control. This, say Tibetan occultists, happens nearly mechanically, just as the child, when his body is completed and able to live apart, leaves its mother¹s womb. Sometimes the phantom becomes a rebellious son and one hears of uncanny struggles that have taken place between magicians and their creatures, the former being severely hurt or even killed by the latter."
     --Alexandra David-Neel, from 'Magic and Mystery in Tibet', published by University Books Inc., in 1965

That's a quoted extract from a longer work used in support of an experiment conducted by two artists in Los Angeles, on the validity of created thoughtforms. Which is all well and good if you're planning on "creating" a mischievous invisible rabbit, or a housekeeping brownie...but what if what you're concentrating on is dangerous?

What if what you're concentrating on has aspects that can rearrange memories; has the ability to appear and disappear from photographs and film; has not only the will but the ability to injure, terrify, and destroy?

This may be the territory we find ourselves in now. We as humans are incredibly gullible, overall--we believe fervently without rational proof needed. We are loyal because we liked the color tones of something, or the name, or connect that product with a friend or a love. We get confused in virtual worlds because we can see ourselves taking certain actions, and we think we, ourselves, have taken those same actions.

I've already discussed placebo effects on the blog; and in a sense, this is sort of a psychological placebo effect. Enough people believe at least partially in the Slender Man to, perhaps, bring him to some form of reality--even if it's only a reality that's visible in that affected person's head.

I don't believe--as M clearly seems to--that Slender Man is a virus. (Though, there are similar aspects, and as Laurie Anderson said, language is a virus when analyzed with the right tools.) I don't believe he's "catching", I don't believe I can get "infected" just from reading about him, seeing images of him.

But I do think the potential aspects--of Slender Man as a created thoughtform, as a tulpa--bear further exploration.

Finally, I believe courtesy of Mr. Drinkwater, this excellent selection of librarian tattoos (and as a reverse of the images, a gathering of tattooed librarians). I'm all for either. Because librarians are cool.

I'm not the killing type

Some enterprising gamer put together a list of all the questions so far answered on the City of Heroes AMA. There's a lot of good there, a lot of pain, but it's worth the read even if you don't play--because, yet again, it perfectly demonstrates how active, and interactive, the development team at Paragon Studios was with their community and customers.

Of course, the biggest example I have is from experience with Second Life, where asking a Linden for any form of redress is about as effective as kicking a brick wall. But even jumping over to a near competitor, Champions, the difference is striking. Part of their "Whiteout" adventure pack had several glitched missions. They were all annoying to get through, but part three did us in, and--because the main enemy to fight never spawned--trapped us in the endgame space, where we had to simply log out.

Before we logged out, three of us sent in a support ticket explaining the difficulty. It's now one full week later, we've heard nothing. We likely won't hear anything, either, based on folks who've sent support tickets to Cryptic in the past.

Essentially, we had to log back in, return to the "Whiteout" mission sets, and do section three over again from the very beginning, and hope that the end boss did actually manage to spawn. We did this, but it was two hours we didn't need to spend, on a mission that was still glitchy.

I contrast my experiences in Champions and Second Life (as well as a host of other games) with my experiences in City of Heroes. It was a rare occasion when I didn't hear back within the hour of a support ticket going in. Those rare occasions were generally always on me, having to log out before that first hour wrapped up, and in each of those instances, I was sent email within two hours, at the latest.

I never had an unresolved problem. I never had to wait days, or even weeks, for a reply. And while I have nearly always been a subscriber to City of Heroes, I don't think that's even it, because for over a year now, I've heard back from sim owners--sometimes, even multi-sim owners--in Second Life who send in requests for support and hear nothing back. So it's not a money issue, it's a caring issue.

Meanwhile, I've been on this long and meandering journey (for about three weeks now) investigating various YouTube feeds concerning the Slender Man mythos. I've been concentrating mainly on the MarbleHornets videos, because they're the most comprehensive work so far (at 66 videos to date).

There's been other interesting developments I've discovered along the way. Like YouTube user "totheark" began commenting back on the MarbleHornets videos. While some of the Marblehornets videos are disturbing enough, "totheark" seems to be communicating in some cryptic, unbroken code.

And then there are the ones that just don't seem to sync up with the main storyline: like "Operator":

Lakes
in
Stillnesss
will

Take
Every
life
of the
Night

The description on that one, by the way?

\\\yes\\\

So what does it mean? It took me a week to realize, I was slow on the uptake: the capitalized letters form an independent word: LISTEN. And once I did, I realized that the sounds directly traced back to the missing audio from one of the early MarbleHornets vids.

What's been so fascinating to me in all of this (and, to date, I've watched the total output of MarbleHornets, DarkHarvest00, EverymanHYBRID, and TribeTwelve [with TribeTwelve's videos, so far, being my favorite], as well as about a third of the videos on the compileTRUTH channel), is that the Slender Man is, start to finish, a wholly invented urban legend. Yet, at this point, there are countless blogs devoted to the happenings in the mythos, several video feeds solely dedicated to him, and at least one (though I think fan-produced, not commercially released) actual film devoted to the Slender Man.

I'm fascinated enough to continue watching. There are some really inventive, arcane minds putting these various feeds together, and there's a definite liking for puzzles. Some of the puzzles I get, some take me longer (the bit of coding regarding prime numbers and the sequences from Base 64 notation, for instance, sent me researching for three days before finding out what that one said), but it's still enough to keep me watching. And to keep me unnerved.

T'is the season for unnerved, after all...or at least, it will be soon. I'm just getting the preparations underway a few weeks early.

time has no time for us anymore

[Broadcast] Hostillian: For the record, Lord Recluse was going to conquer Paragon. Just an FYI for all of you.

Well, at least we know.

Skipping from City to random Champions conversation...

[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: Would anyone be able to sell me Fire Flight Travel Power?
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: You can't sell travel powers.
[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: Uh... Fire Flight is a standard power.

So, this is the breakdown for the uninitiated. In Champions Online, there are travel powers, essentially different ways superheroes can use to get around the city. Things like flight, super-jumping, super-fast running...In Champions they get occasionally more arcane: things like traveling around as a puddle of ooze, or dissolving into a stream of black scarab beetles and using their multiple legs to move you places. There's also a fire flight power, which is what it says it is--flight, while on fire.

[Zone #3] Network@-The-Mighty-One: I will sell you that Flight tp, just give me your name, bank details.. credit card.. etc..
[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: For gold yes

He still seemed to be missing the point. It's a travel power, it can only be unlocked at a certain level, or purchased from the C-Store with the in-game token currency, the Zen.

[Zone #3] Gloom Beast@misterhammermk1: I"m gold, just got the mission to come here, and it's empty
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: There's no gold in this game.

Now, this was a fairly random comment, with something that doesn't make much sense as a response. But just to differentiate: there are two levels of player, since Champions went free-to-play: silver (which is everyone who doesn't subscribe) and gold (which indicates the subscribers). Gold, obviously, gets more benefits--they get a monthly Zen stipend, they get certain for-pay abilities for free, they have more costume options and more travel powers available.

[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: Subscribers
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: There are resources, Questionite, Zen, and recognition.
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: holy crap... a technicality nazi, and he still gets the context wrong

He does seem to be, yes. But I'd also point out that beyond the simple subscribers notice, there is gold in the game--of a sort. Beyond the Zen (which has to be purchased with large amounts of Questionite, earned through missions, or from the cash shop, for actual RL currency), there are various forms of "recognition" points--for those who play City of Heroes, that's similar to the various forms of "merits" handed out--as well as Questionite (earned through completing boss-level fights), and the three trade currencies.

[Zone #4] Core@Ashlocke: Gold, Nilver and Loppers

Yeah, that's the somewhat amusing thing. There are three listings for in-game coinage: G coins (which are called gold, and are gold-colored), N coins (which are silver) and L coins (which are copper). Rather than make it something simple and understandable--gold/silver/copper--they went with gold as gold, silver as N coins, and copper as L coins. Hence, gold, nilver and lopper. Well, what else are we to call them?

[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: gold as in gold sub, as in NOT silver, was the context
[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: So i guess no ones selling me FireFlight
[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: Because it's not possible.
[Zone #4] Deep Cut@preachmore: u cannot sell travel powers apart dark speed wich is a device

Well...yeah. Because Dark Speed is a device that makes the hero run fast, it's not a travel power, per se; it's a device assist.

But DarkFire still doesn't quite seem to understand.

[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: I reckon somebody would if they could, but you can't trade powers.
[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: i'm trying to get questionite
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: By that response, would seem like you were 100% oblivious to gold being a subscription term, hence the correction would be moot anyway

I suppose that's sort of fair, at least--why bother to separate out what he's trying to say, when what he is saying, understandably, is wrong in the first place?

Still, now it gets even more confusing: he's trying to buy a travel power he'd have to pay Zen or subscribe as a Gold player to get, with gold or Questionite? Really? Does he even know how Questionite is given out in the game?

[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: most of the surveys you have to pay for anyway
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: Half of them put a nice virus on your computer.
[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: I did one free one but didn't get any zen
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: the surveys are a joke
[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: yesh

On that, at least, we're in agreement: the current survey structure through Peanut Labs seems to be less than reliable. Think this through: Questionite in game currently goes for between 165 and 180 Questionite, per Zen. It's vastly inflated, which is odd, because Questionite is occasionally annoying to get. One would think there'd be a switch in priorities--more Zen given per Questionite, because Questionite can really only be earned by completing a series of daily missions, most of which require either time or moderately high levels to beat.

Unfortunately, that's not the case, because regardless of how annoying it can be to earn, Zen can only be "earned" by being a Gold subscriber, or by paying actual RL funds to get it. So, Zen becomes the premium acquisition.

Bring this back to Peanut Labs. Peanut Labs goes by the perimeters given by the game. The only other game I've dealt with that uses them was Runes of Magic. And, in Runes, it was fairly clearly stated up-front which offers would give what amounts of diamonds, but I only remember a couple of times where an offer said they'd pay out, and then didn't.

Contrast this with Champions Online, who seem to have given Peanut Labs no controls to operate within. Thus, there's a lot of offers that are bugged--id est, that say they're going to pay out Zen, and never do. There's even more offers that are thinly disguised (and sometimes not so thinly disguised) attempts to gain as much personal information as possible from the player--while still never paying out Zen for the cack-handed attempts. At this point, when the surveys are discussed in world, seasoned players generally advise new players not to do the surveys.

[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: You have to give them answers they want to be given the zen

True, which is the case with most surveys, but in the case of Peanut Labs, it's not even that. It's still more that the "surveys" offered are actual scams, and they won't get you Zen, they'll simply get you hacked.

[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: Not every offer actually gives you the zen it's supposed to. Which sucks.
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: they put it that way so u have to pay...more
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: But they only give you 3-5 zen...
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: 3 zen?
[Zone #3] DarkFire@mattcus1: still better than no zen
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: For videos, yes.
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: ANd that's worth 3 zen to you? Do you know how many 15 second videos you'd need to buy a costume pack?

Again, let's break this down. A standard speciality costume pack costs 475 Zen. Watching video offers (mostly advertisements for services or commercials for products) gains you 3 to 5 Zen per each video watched--and that's if you get an offer that pays out.

Assume that all video offers pay out that 3 Zen standard. You'd have to watch 158 separate videos (and all videos run between 30 seconds and a minute and a half on average). That works out to, what, about two days of video time?

It's cheaper all the way around just to buy the damned Zen.

[Zone #4] Network@-The-Mighty-One: play the video, turn the volume down low. (not on mute or it won't count) and play C.O.
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: i really don't get why companies are "trolling" for advertising schemes
[Zone #4] Network@-The-Mighty-One: It makes you want to buy points
[Zone #4] Network@-The-Mighty-One: Which they then make money
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: you only watch an ad by choice, for a few coins, and they're the bad guys?

In a limited sense, yes. Because Cryptic/Perfect World Entertainment put no restrictions on the types of offers they wanted to be associated with their game, they get a mish-mash of advertising vids, surveys wherein the survey taker must pony up financial info, or actually purchase something, just to finish the survey, and outright graft for player info.

Peanut Labs is not an ethical company. But they do (reasonably) curtail their obvious bids for player data if told by the hiring firm paying their service fees. So yes, I do think Perfect World is at fault for not specifying these controls.

[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: Okay, wise guy. How many videos are up at a time? 5, maybe 6? A day.

That's the other problem. We can't simply take a day, watch thirty videos, then get on with our lives--pushing aside the simple time sink that would be, they never put that many videos up at one time, because they want to drive players to the payout offers, over the 30-second commercial ones.

[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: That's 32 days.
Accounting for a standard five videos per day, yeah. Again, it's far cheaper to just buy Zen in the cash shop.

[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: Yea i sure have the patience and time to watch those stupid videos
[Zone #4] Network@-The-Mighty-One: Because it -WILL NEVER- be fixed. They are focusing on PWE games and they are updating sto.. Why? because STO makes money.
[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: Hands up anyone in this conversation besides me that was part of the Beta.
[Zone #4] Network@-The-Mighty-One: This game doesn't make as much money as STO. e.g. why they don't really give two craps about this game atm.
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: Who cares if youve been playing since beta?
[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: Well, anyone who cares about accuracy in the context of what it was before PWE?

I find this fascinating--remember, these aren't the new players to Champions, these are established players, some subscribers even. Yet while in City of Heroes, there's a built-in respect for people who beta-tested the game, in Champions, that seems to be the set-up for instant contempt on the part of the player base, or at least scattered bits of the player base. Why?

[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: CO has has bugs forever, even before PWE took over
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: people just tend to notice the bugs more, because they never get fixed to it's everwhere and not just in few places now

Can anyone say, Second Life? I knew you could.

[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: Here's a thought: if you hate it so much, go play DCUO. All you're doing here is polluting bandwidth.
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: No one said u have to buy em, duh
[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: Well I think our trolling has kept Shen from his delightful game of Fanwankery: The Sony Edition.
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: Well i would suggest every player that wants CO improved write a letter and send it a copy to PWI HQ and Cryptic head office, writing a letter still has more impact to date
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: They dont listen, skrcarkden
[Zone] Nicole@sngl8: Wait, what's this "writing" and "letter" thing?
[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: Well, they certainly don't listen to people complaining in Zone about it.

Rarely if ever.

[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: Im opening your eyes, not complaining
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: and Im telling you my opinion
[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: No, you're suffering from confirmation bias.

It's possible, but it's more likely he's just saying Cryptic and Perfect World are as disconnected as the Lindens are.

[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: No you're complaining bro.

That too.

[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: Well just one person sending a letter def won't mean much
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: The freedom of speech, ever heard of it?

Okay, again, for the folks in the cheap seats--it's a privately-operated virtual server running a game. There ARE no "free speech" issues, because there is no free speech preservation for a video game.

Okay? Okay. Moving on.

[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: Nicole, it's an ancient method of transfering data wherein one person scratches graphite onto a piece of paper, and then sends it to another, who reads the scratches.
[Zone #5] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: but if lots of people do it, they might take more notice

True, which is what we're hoping with City of Heroes. (To that end, more fun news--today, we gave the entirety of the Paragon Studios former staff dinner out. And there's more activities in-game planned for later in the week, and the week after.)

[Zone #3] Demon Princess Lucretia@Aesirgard: You're free to your opinion. Just like I'm free to point out when you're ignoring everything that contradicts it.
[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: Yes the freedom of speech allows all people the right to voice their opinions freely, but you lost your credibility when you started comparing Champs to DCUO.
[Zone #2] Janie@kagetsuwamono: Only the truly ancient, or anyone over the age of 20, remembers writing letters.

Well, I guess I fit both at this point--hells, I was ancient at age eleven--but come on, has letter-writing fallen that much out of favor? Why?

[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: why? is it bad to compare
[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: The reason why CoD and ME's fanbase age average is 12-14 is because they're susceptible to the aggressive advertising. That includes - but isn't limited to - bribing reviewers, hiring employees to -
[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: - censor bad comments left on their videos, giving their employees the right to lash out at consumers who complain.
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: COD Has a...meh community
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: like idk. its like all the retards are gathered in one game

Well, but that's mostly just the player base. What "Deeplove" is talking about is actual employees that are hired to run interference for Call of Duty's shortcomings.

[Zone #5] J.C Deeplove@Fishtoad: In short, they control the media that is centered around their game and effectively lead what they believe is a fanbase.
[Zone #3] Shen@Disarmed: That is corruption, my friend

Actually, no, that's closer to aggressive marketing. Corruption would be when they started killing players who spoke out; but it's still possible to say negative things about Call of Duty, or the studio employed to run it.

[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: HELLO GUYS
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: DO U SPEAK MY LANGUAGE?
[Zone #3] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: No
[Zone #3] Dragonstorm@Crashbang: I can't read caps

Brilliantly well put, Dragonstorm. Kudos to you.

[Zone #4] Light cygnus@frodo56140: DO you have any problems?
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: yeah i have a problem
[Zone #3] Dragonstorm@Crashbang: yes, a keyboard that cant spell

Eh, I think that's more user error, really. Don't blame the keyboard.

[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: dragonstorm nobody does da proper engalish in internetz
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: righting proper grammar is for english homewor

"Homewor"? "HOMEWOR"??? You're too lazy even to end words properly??

[Zone #3] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: you don't write grammar, you use it

EXACTLY.

[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: i dont talk like i type

Thank God.

[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: fingers and vocal cords not same thing

I give up. Because obviously she's missed the point of the entire conversation BEING WRITTEN DOWN, WITH NO ONE SPEAKING...

[Zone #3] Skcarkden@Skcarkden: who said anything about you talking? when it was all written

HA! I wasn't the only one to notice that!

[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: bunch of grammar grandmas

I'm sure you meant that as an insult, dearie, but I take it as a mark of pride.

[Zone #3] Blackjack@Inspektor_Herring: Is there a superhero based on semantics anywhere?
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: wat is semantics
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: alt tab and google it for me
[Zone #2] Reaper@ReaperOxide: This is a chat, not a phone. You can at least try.

Yeah, because at this point, she's sounding almost too lazy to breathe in and out.

[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: no reaper
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: I won't.
[Zone #3] she-woman@blackdarknesz: No.

So...not just lazy, but actively embracing being stupid? Go her. Proud day for the advancement of feminine intelligence, people.

And then, one day later:

[Zone #3] Azarath@Akizia: Oh no...shes singing again
[Zone #3] Azarath@Akizia: someone shoot her
[Zone #2] Storm Hawk@kbit08: She's singing for YOU!
[Zone #3] Azarath@Akizia: I have the gun if someone has the bullets

I'd insert something in here about how violence against women begets little beyond more violence, even in the virtual sense, but...she's a really, really bad singer. It's hard not to agree.

And...

[Zone #1] Rough and Tumble@Cronicle: It is getting wto wheere a redheaded Cyber girl cna't get a dany descent girl talk in this game!!*pouts*

Well, if that's how you talk normally, I don't imagine so. More from the trenches later.