John

[QUOTE=RiflesAtRecess][font=arial][size=1]1. What's the dumbest thing you've yelled out in public? 2. Ever get burned by fire? How? 3. How'd you find out about your favorite band?[/size][/font][/QUOTE] I'll answer these since apparently 2006DigitalBoys is too good to post a new set of questions for the rest of us. How dare he. 1. I've never really gotten a kick out of yelling things out loud to people I don't know. Now, I'm not saying I don't get a kick out of [i]other[/i] people doing it sometimes, I just don't do it myself. :D 2. I've been burned by a wide variety of kitchen implements, large and small, but never because of fire directly. 3. I don't know that I've got any band I'd call my favorite, but of my favorite[b]s[/b], the most interesting story is probably Pavement. My freshman English teacher, Mr. Heide, was right out of college when he took the job at my then high school, and he had an interest in music that's pretty rare here in the Midwest. He liked it so much, in fact, that our first unit was over music, and had nothing to do with English whatsoever. For part of the unit, he put us in pairs and had each pair research an assigned band or artist. My friend and I got Pavement, a defining indie rock band of the '90s if you're uninformed, and immediately laughed at the name because we were stupid little mongrels with no taste in great band nomenclature. We did the research for the band, but of course, in what I now consider one of the greatest tragedies in my education to date, he couldn't require us to listen to the band because that would mean we'd have to either illegally (gasp!) download some of their stuff or buy an entire album, which wouldn't happen. So we spent the next few class periods recording facts about the band and still missing the pristine sounds of their music. Well, about a year later at a different school in a different town, I was bored and lacking of music I felt like listening to when I remembered that band with that name that I used to think sucked, and wondered if they were actually any good. So I downloaded several songs and gave them a quick playthrough in the background of my computerdoings before deciding that it really just wasn't interesting me (in my defense, I think I was actually distracted with something noteworthy at the time) and left them for dead in my music library. So a few months later still, I had my library on shuffle while I was doing things, and this cool music came up a few times; I still didn't think much of it, either before or after I saw that it was Pavement. I think it was on the second or third time of this in the same amount of days that they came up again and I just stopped and listened to the music for a few minutes, and I swear something was awakened in me. I went to my meager playlist of them and became well-familiar with the songs on it. I had about four, and they suddenly weren't enough. I alerted our very own Shinmaru of this ultra-cool band, asking if he had listened to them. He had, and as a matter of fact had an album up his sleeve. The very album with my two favorite songs of the ones I'd heard on it, in fact: [u]Brighten the Corners[/u]. He sent, I listened, and... kept listening. And then stopped listening to most all of my other music and kept listening to this album almost solely for the next three or four months, at least. I still love it, and Pavement--and, by proxy, Mr. Heide--became the gateway to entire worlds of music that I'd never dreamed of and which currently constitutes most of my music library. So public education isn't all that bad. :P My questions: 1. What's the best thing you've ever seen? 2. Do you have a job? 3. Talk about something that will entertain us, the masses. Don't you fail this one.

I think what most people are forgetting is that Mafia is a game of odds, not certainties, and the odds will pretty much always be in favor of any one person being innocent. Despite this, someone must be convicted (if we the townspeople want to win, at any rate), so we'll have to be going against the natural odds and just shooting for the best we can manage. Given this, it is obvious and unnecessary for someone to defend themself by saying that they are innocent--this is probable for all of us. Rather, they should defend themselves by saying that they are [i]less[/i] likely than someone else (or anyone else) to be the Mafia. We don't have a whole lot to work off of, but given what we do have, Aaryana_Mom does seem like a slightly more likely candidate than anyone else so far. On another note, let's not rely on either of the other positions in the game. Remember that either (or both, heaven forbid) of the deaths could've been of the Priest or Detective, so it's not necessarily certain that they exist at all in the game, nor should be relied upon. The fact that White didn't mention the Detective at all in the last round's results disturbs me somewhat; at least before he'd say "the detective is still confounded" or something of the like. [quote name='Sandy']But for now, just keep on doing what you're doing... That is accusations, right? *sheepish smile*[/quote] No, accusations take place in the Town thread, after a few days of discussion (I think White set this round at only one day), which takes place here. People will PM you with their accusations when that time comes, and you'll allow the first accuser who PMs you to post his accusation in the town thread. People will debate it a little bit, then the accused will post in their own defense, and the vote will be taken through PMs. If they're found guilty, they're executed and the next round starts. If they're innocent, you move on to the second accusation PM you received, and then the third if it's also necessary. I think if all three accused are found innocent, then you just move on to the next round without convicting anyone.

I've also got a problem with public speaking, but for the life of me I have no idea why. I always feel completely confident in what I'm going to say and how I'm going to say it, and I'm comfortable with the idea and confident in myself. But whenever I get up in front of people, despite all these feelings remaining perfectly intact, my body goes wobbly and my brain scatters. It can be frustrating, but I manage. But my recommendations to you? One, make sure you've got your speech finished (and by finished, I mean with the final touches and everything, no more revisions) at least several days before you have to present it. Two, even before you've got it completely fleshed out, you should have been practicing giving your speech out loud. Full volume, not reading off a page, and preferably in front of other people (that can seem kind of awkward and unsettling, but that's exactly what you need to prepare for). If there's nobody around, use a mirror at least.

For the entire duration of the event? I understand that they should show that they're able to run entirely different events with a high level of competence, but what makes it necessary to make it last from here on out? After all, either of the contestants might have had a lot more up their sleeves than they've revealed so far, and won't get a chance to show it now.

[quote name='lostvoice']Ouch! Really? :animedepr[/quote][QUOTE=DeadSeraphim][size=1][color=indigo][font=arial][b]joke /dʒoʊk/[/b] [i]?noun[/i] something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.[/font][/color][/size][/QUOTE] So yeah. ;P

[quote name='Generic NPC #3']My first kiss was the worst experience of my life.[/quote] ...But your first kiss was with me! ;_;

So, coincidence or not that it was two girls killed consecutively here? And perhaps also notable that they both spent a lot of time at the Art Studio. I'm still trying to see if these things work together somehow.

If anything, Initech from [u]Office Space[/u] should be suing this Interlink company for infringement of their ****ty name rights.

[quote name='monipo1928']Try not to stutter(Girls hate it),Get clamy hands and sweat excessively(Girls also hate it)[/quote] Girls do love them some gender stereotypes, though! [QUOTE]Girls will take that as a sign of weakness.[/QUOTE] I do have to agree with you there. Girls will often kill and eat their mate if they detect imperfection or weakness in him during the mating dance.

[quote name='MissWem][color=DarkRed][font=Arial]Excuse my ignorance, but is that a bear trap?[/font'][/color][/quote] That's how they did it in the old days. :d

[img]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6522/beartraptw0.jpg[/img] Couldn't help myself. :D But seriously, if you're looking for an easy way out of this, you won't find one. If you want to, then just plain ask her out. If she says no, the worst that'll come is just gaining a little more experience in life.

[quote name='James][font=arial']It's really no different from getting used to an analog stick for the very first time - yeah, there's some adjustment required, but it feels very natural once you're used to it.[/font][/quote] Natural, sure, but does it actually feel [i]better[/i] than an analog stick? That's what the Wii is about, so I'd expect it to be able to hold up.

[QUOTE=2006DigitalBoy][color=DarkOrange][b]Pears & Brass[/b] - Combining blues and rock into what I would describe as [b]Tool [/b] meets [b]Wolfmother[/b], P&B is a brilliant and dark rockin 3-man band with a heaping helping of talent. The CD that I have, [b]The Indian Tower[/b], is comprised of 11 tracks, 2 being acoustic. Most P&B songs revolve around 2 or 3 complicated riffs being played throughout the song. The guitar and bass are both quick and heavy, and the riffs are guaranteed to be stuck in your head after a few listens. A few go-around with this CD and you'll be humming them everywhere you go. The singer has a great voice, although you can rarely understand what he's saying. I searched all over google but I couldn't find any lyrics sites with this band, but I know that one of their songs is about a graveyard outside the city where the local trees have become sick of people burrying their dead there so they use their roots to fling the bodies into the air and break them to pieces, letting the plants carry them away. Now that's cool. The entire CD has a bluesy vibe to it especially in certain tracks. The 2 acoustic tracks are both brilliant and chillingly creepy. This CD deserves a listen from any rockers out there looking for a new, funky, great band to listen to. [/color][/QUOTE] I got ahold of this album a few days ago and am listening to it for the first time right now. I'm not even going to bother getting through the whole thing, it's pretty ****ing great and that's all there is to it. lol If you like the bare blues rock elements of this, then I strongly recommend digging around at your local record store for an album from Spooky Tooth. They were a great band, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had some influence on these guys.

Before deciding not to use one of Aaryana's banners, James should consider just how ****ing hilarious it would be if he did. :P

In case nobody checked my profile, my AIM name is nofuturist. Hit me up and I'll be glad to talk. Just so long as you bring offerings of baklava.

In thinking about it, I've revised my logic a bit. So before voting time arrives, let's consider a few things: 1) If you're on the fence about anything, you should vote innocent anyway. The bare odds that he's mafia are very low, so presumption of innocence applies here automatically. 2) Like Allamorph said, if Tekkaman was Mafia, he probably wouldn't have raised so much attention to himself, something which applies to all the positions of power in this game, really. (Not to say that the people who aren't posting very much are [i]much[/i] more likely to be a special player. Most of 'em are just lazy bastards, we all know that. :P) 3) When Tekkaman made the argument about him killing Delta, it was obviously only a "what-if" situation, not a confession. Much like OJ what's-his-face *badum-pssh!*.

[quote name='Charles']There's not much tweaking to be done, honestly. Shy or whoever can be "Event Director" and either pass or void events and then oversee them.[/quote] Then we'd basically be stuck in a perpetual incarnation of OB Idol 2, but with no end and no winner. And frankly, that'd get pretty tiring pretty quick. Perhaps it has only to do with the person put in charge of the event, but traditional events seem to have much more magnitude than ones moderated by members. It just wouldn't be the same.

I missed voting! Sorry Mr. Stephen. ;_;

[left] [quote name='"Split Keyblader"'] So do you think that our culture has a lot of sex related themes.[/quote] [center][img]http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/662/pshawjv9.jpg[/img] [/center] But seriously, James put it pretty well. Societal behaviors tend to go in cycles, and right now the cycle of sexual obsession is on the rise. We're certainly not at the peak yet, particularly in America, but we're on the way there. [/left]

Give us some info on how the accusations are supposed to go down in the Town. Do we just throw 'em out there, and the first three accusations are the official ones for that round, or what? How will we resolve which player to execute? Things like that.

[center][center][img]http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8240/smokingti9.jpg[/img] [size=4][b]HA.[/b][/size] [/center][/center]

[QUOTE=Sandy]Really, why can't "spur-of-the-moment" -games and carefuly planned events exist side by side in a same forum?[/QUOTE] On the other hand, why [i]should[/i] they? Forum games fit well in the Lounge anyway. And if we did move them to the Events forum, I think we can all agree that the place would quickly lose its class. It's a slow-moving, deliberate forum, and if people were simply allowed to put their forum games there, it'd overrun it and quickly redefine it as the "Games Forum". And chances are, many or most of the games would end up too spammy and get closed, like they do in the Lounge. After that it'd just be the butt of a new series of OB in-jokes, lol.

[QUOTE=Ikillion][color=#d2b43b][size=1][font=Trebuchet MS][url="http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/"]Yes there is[/url] My friend showed me this site today and after seeing how many problems that the Wii has caused (Be it that this people were flinging their Wimotes at very high speeds), is there any thoughs of showing restraint when you play? Some of these people have broken labtops, Televisions, and even windows. After seeing this it really makes me think of being more careful when I actuall get my Wii, and not go swinging it around like a madman with it. Any thoughs?[/font][/size][/color][/QUOTE] Geez, and I thought including a wrist strap on the Wiimote seemed like a little too [i]much[/i] safety precaution. What the hell else do these dolts need, Krazy Glue?

I think getting member input for new event ideas is great, and even having the member who thought of it playing a strong role in the management of the event as well. The Scavenger Hunt has shown us that much, at least. Where I see the problem come in, though, is pretty close along the lines of what's already been said. If we let people just come in and start their own events (even if they're preapproved by the Event Master), the effect will end up being strongly diminished, and the whole forum will turn into a grounds for slightly-dressed-up forum games. And DeadSeraphim has already summed up nicely why that's a bad idea. Also, the Event Master position was created with a certain line of thought in mind, when it comes to event structure. While user input has always been welcome, it just feels much more like an official event to be taken seriously and participated in when it's presided over by forum staff. Don't know if I can properly articulate the reason why, but it simply ends up feeling more complete that way. Since James seems to have the intent of sticking to his philosophy of one large event at a time (something which I agree with), and I don't think it's a great idea to let members start and run events by themselves, I think the best idea for gathering member input on creating events is to simply put more emphasis on the fact that if you've got an idea for an event, then hey, share it with the EM. If they like it, they can let you be the main tool in its construction, just like White in the Scavenger Hunt. And simply making a thread on possible events would be a great thing. We'd get greater productivity, event refinement, and much more member inclusiveness, but not at the cost of structure or officiality. Everyone wins.

[QUOTE=Shinje][color=#c00000][url="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=54015&page=1&pp=15"]MAMA[/url] MAMA, or Members Against Mods and Admins, was a group of dissenting older members who got together out of a mutual understanding that the post quality of OtakuBoards was in a decline. MAMA initially formed as a secretive group, a bit like the [[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_Brethren"]Exclusive Brethren Church[/url].] It was, however, exposed by some of it's members in the post-quality themed Suggestions and Feedback thread, "The Complaint" much to the chagrin of it's more secretive members. Other members participating in "The Complaint" were a little perplexed in regards to how a movement title MAMA could be advocating a return to quality when it was taking potshots at the staff. In reailty, MAMA only seemed to target newer, younger moderators and their perceived inability to be online as often as they should or enforce the rules as stricly as they should. MAMA regarded some of these newer moderators, actually listed in the initial post of the thread, as being inferior to the moderators of old. (See old members: Safer Spehiroth, Babygirl, GinnyLyn) Eventually "The Complaint" was closed and MAMA died off afterward. It should be noted that MAMA's confrontational name was a big reason why the movement failed to gain any serious ground, and ended up in the dustpan following the closure of "The Complaint."[/color][/QUOTE] Remembering that thread still makes me giggle. :3 I'm a very uncomprehensive writer, and awfully lazy to boot. So someone hit me up with an article about the Razr incident.