Sabrina

[FONT="Tahoma"]That post was fun [COLOR="Indigo"]Indi[/COLOR]. :catgirl: The "You're cuter than me." bit just made me giggle. Now to keep this from being spam, though it still will be... kind of... I present Isen! [URL="http://fantasystock.deviantart.com/art/Chartreux-Blues-93805057"][U]Nap Time![/U][/URL][/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]As much as I find the idea of any war distasteful, I have to reluctantly admit that if the other side sees things differently and is unwilling or incapable of coming to the table with a solution for peace (that does not include genocide of another nation) then I accept that on some level, the wars are necessary. As Raiha pointed out here: [quote name='Raiha][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"] Because these countries do not allow free speech, a war of ideas can not be fought on any level. [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]It's a little hard to find a working solution when one side has already decided on no compromise. I'd love to add more to this, but truthfully I don't know enough about it to do so. o_O From the discussion I've read so far, it's quite clear that I need to know more about the history of that region, the religion, etc, etc, and so on. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][quote name='Crimson Spider']Yes, they can. Same-sex couples can't get married. Homosexuals have every right to marriage that you or I have (I am assuming you are not a homosexual).[/quote]The problem with this statement is that they do not have every right to marry that you or I have. Every means that [I]all[/I] is possible, in other words, the greatest possible degree of being able to be married. If one possibility is closed, then it's not every right, it's every right EXCEPT this choice; which in this case is same sex marriages. After watching you in action, I'm in agreement with [COLOR="Indigo"]Indi[/COLOR] as to the usefulness (or lack of) of the current discussion. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Right now it reflects how I like the character Yutaka from Lucky Star. Probably because I can relate to her in so many ways.^^ Yes I really did ask this question here: [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InDK9qwVDhU"][U]Video[/U][/URL] shortly after I started watching Anime. XP Anyway, I also sway to music like my profile picture of her shows and I try to see the positive side of things instead of negative. So she just seemed perfect to make a banner/avatar set of. ^_^ The custom title is something my mother once told me stood for her maiden name. Whether or not it's the true meaning or something else, I'm not sure. I've always liked it though so it became my custom title.[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]I hope you don't mind me tossing a little suspicion your way [COLOR="Indigo"]Indi[/COLOR]. =P Or rather to your character. Obviously I have no idea how the mix up happened since whether it was a system error or someone altering the record wasn't clarified. However my character is convinced that someone did something and that it's not a system error. Whether it was a glitch or someone really did is of course undecided at this point. I just thought it would be fun to include that he thinks someone is up to no good. Considering what he saw at the station, I'd say that fits. =P[/FONT]

[CENTER][IMG]http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9613/sabavixi1.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Once the guests had finally left; Viktor had helped Misha put everything away before they both got cleaned up. Now the two of them were lounging in the living room to Viktor?s quarters. He was lying on his back on the sofa, with his hands under his head. Viktor closed his eyes and propped his feet up on the cushions. His hair was still slightly damp from the quick shower he had taken and the moisture couldn?t be good for the expensive fabric, but he was too lost in thought to notice. For once Misha said nothing about his careless manner but instead leaned back into the plush chair across from the sofa and waited patiently for Viktor to explain as like he said he would. What Viktor told him was something that if not for how level headed he knew he was, would have had him thinking Viktor was pulling a prank on him. Aliens and conspiracies? It was all just a bit to fanciful for him to think he was actually kidding. ?[B]The real problem Misha is that I think we were left behind to die.[/B]? ?[B]Don?t you think you?re overreacting to what you saw?[/B]? Misha looked unconvinced. ?[B]Even if you learned about something you should not have, don?t you think it?s a bit of a stretch to think they would silence everyone? It was probably an error in the shuttle?s system, glitches do occur.[/B]? Viktor sighed. He swung his feet off the couch and stretched his arms up above his head before settling back down in a sitting position. ?[B]Yes they do occur, but I don?t believe that I?m overacting. And I don?t believe that this was due to an error. I think most of the others understand this, but unless some of them have more extensive technological knowledge, I wonder if they realize the only way we could have been left behind is if someone altered the computer records of the shuttle.[/B]? ?[B]I don?t understand, I thought you said that some of them forgot their identification cards. Doesn?t the system of the Von Braun use those to keep track of the passengers?[/B]? Viktor frowned slightly, ?[B]The system is designed to keep track of everyone, and the ID cards only tell them who it is. ID card or not, it should have had an accurate record of the number of people who came over to compare to the number who came back.[/B]? ?[B]That takes us back to the possibility of a glitch in the system. The Von Braun is also having issues with the navigation systems too.[/B]? Misha pointed out. ?[B]I don?t buy it.[/B]? Viktor shook his head. ?[B]Everything for this trip would have been checked and rechecked to make sure all was in order. It?s a bit to pat for the system to suddenly have a glitch.[/B]? He leaned forward. ?[B]The station was deserted; the power was not operating correctly, we were locked in and then the shuttle conveniently has a glitch that doesn?t notice nine passengers aren?t onboard?[/B]? He stood up. ?[B]Are you also telling me that every single one of the personnel from the Von Braun didn?t notice someone was missing?[/B]? Viktor started pacing a bit. ?[B]When you consider that there were only sixty people on the shuttle to begin with, I find it a bit hard to swallow that absolutely no one noticed at all.[/B]? He stopped and looked directly at Misha. ?[B]Someone knew and took steps to cover it.[/B]? Misha stood up as well, ?[B]That still doesn?t mean someone was trying to silence everyone.[/B]? ?[B]Oh I know,[/B]? Viktor sank into the sofa and crossed his legs. ?[B]I think it?s also possible that someone was being sent to deal with us. If you consider all the conspiracy theories about people vanishing?[/B]? He smiled grimly at Misha, ?[B]The best we can do now is to lie low and hope no one realizes we didn?t get left behind.[/B]? He grimaced, ?[B]I only hope that the security personnel assigned to Ms Wells isn?t the one responsible, otherwise, they already know that I somehow made it back to the Von Braun.[/B]? ?[B]That?s why you didn?t mention the young miss.[/B]? Misha surmised. ?[B]Yeah, once I thought about it, I realized that mentioning I was touring the ship with her would bring attention to the fact that she?s back as well.[/B]? Misha was turning to sit back down when the lights in their quarters changed and a deep red hue flooded the room. Both of them looked at one another and then immediately made for the closest computer terminal to figure out what had just happened.

[FONT="Tahoma"][QUOTE=TimeChaser]And who would that be? Nobody has 100% knowledge of everything. The point I attempted to make was there is a clear difference between the supernatural and the natural. Science uncovers what drives the natural world by observation and consistent experimentation. Intelligent Design cannot do this, because there is no way to test the claim that a supreme being designed anything. Once you've made a claim for the supernatural, you can't go any further, therefore your exploration stops without successfully proving anything.[/QUOTE]I thought that was a given, who it would be. Plus I think you are missing my point. Whether or not God really exists isn't the issue. It doesn't stop us from learning more about how things were created. Right now supernatural and natural are seen as two seperate entities since our understanding is too limited to put the connection together. ID is saying that the connection is there. It's our job to study science and get to the point where we can see it. Whether that connection is real or not. I'm not sure where the confusion is since believing in a creator doesn't exclude or require that we instantly toss out evolution or science. I think people get too caught up in the idea that only one can exist instead of looking for truth in both. You say nobody has 100% knowledge of everything, so doesn't that fit into what I said about accepting (for me) that God might not exist just as for you (and others) accepting that it's possible he does? I'm not here to prove anything, I'm saying we still have a lot to learn and I'm not going to toss out the possibility or existence of God just because our own knowledge is too limited to really know one way or the other. My claim to the supernatural is where I want to be at some point, so for now, I'm relying on science to get there. Does that make sense? I am not stopping my exploration, I'm saying I think that's where it will eventually lead.[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]I'd say this fits at times. XP [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/7/128678700193560306.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] This one reminds me of a Dr. Who episode I saw a while back. o_O [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/6/128678185676351782.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][quote name='TimeChaser']Intelligent Design does not provide clear answers. It basically says, "Everything we see in nature was designed by some omniscient being (God), and we cannot hope to understand the mind of this creator." This explains nothing and grinds scientific investigation to a halt.[/quote]This is where I wonder if I understand Intelligent Design well enough or not. Anyway, my thoughts here are why are you saying it grinds scientific investigation to a halt? Whether or not we can understand the mind of our creator is really irrelevant if you think about it. The way I see it is simple. Intelligent Design (and what I've been taught could be different than what's up to be stuffed into schools) is suppose to indicate someone who already knows all of the science, as it were, behind how things would have been created. It's not meant to put an end to it. My second understanding is that to explore and understand the universe and how it works, is to become closer to God. The theory isn't meant to exclude science at all. I don't buy into the idea that they aren't compatible. (science and religion) I think what really hinders us when it comes to understanding how it came to be is our own ignorance on the matter. We've got a long ways to go before we figure out all the secrets of the universe. Just as I'm willing to accept that I could be wrong about God existing, I think others need to be willing to accept the possibility that someone who already knows and understands the science that we are still learning about, could exist. Oh and just to be clear, I do see that the principal behind Intelligent Design is flawed, but the overall idea I think on some levels is sound. So what I'm trying to say that I believe science and religion can and do mix.[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]o_O This thread has gotten huge. So if I repeat anyone or miss stuff I hope you keep that in mind when you read my post. Now originally the question was whether or not being gay or lesbian was wrong. Based on my religious beliefs (yes I used the word religion) it is. Now before anyone attempts to clobber me over that statement I want to address what I see as a bit of a misuse of the term "civil rights". It has been said many times that denying gay marriage is a civil rights issue but on many levels it's not, or rather it's not the main issue in my opinion. Civil rights are a class of rights ensuring things such as the protection of peoples' physical integrity; procedural fairness in law; protection from discrimination based on gender, religion, race, etc; individual freedom of belief, speech, association, and the press; and political participation. (borrowed from wiki) What we really have here is a fight over legal rights that can be obtained from a marriage that is recognized at both a state and federal level: [B]Tax Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Filing joint income tax returns with the IRS and state taxing authorities. [*]Creating a "family partnership" under federal tax laws, which allow you to divide business income among family members.[/LIST] [B]Estate Planning Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Inheriting a share of your spouse's estate. [*]Receiving an exemption from both estate taxes and gift taxes for all property you give or leave to your spouse. [*]Creating life estate trusts that are restricted to married couples, including QTIP trusts, QDOT trusts, and marital deduction trusts. [*]Obtaining priority if a conservator needs to be appointed for your spouse -- that is, someone to make financial and/or medical decisions on your spouse?s behalf. [/LIST] [B]Government Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Receiving Social Security, Medicare, and disability benefits for spouses. [*] Receiving veterans' and military benefits for spouses, such as those for education, medical care, or special loans. [*] Receiving public assistance benefits.[/LIST] [B]Employment Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Obtaining insurance benefits through a spouse's employer. [*]Taking family leave to care for your spouse during an illness. [*] Receiving wages, workers' compensation, and retirement plan benefits for a deceased spouse. [*]Taking bereavement leave if your spouse or one of your spouse?s close relatives dies.[/LIST] [B]Medical Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Visiting your spouse in a hospital intensive care unit or during restricted visiting hours in other parts of a medical facility. [*]Making medical decisions for your spouse if he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to express wishes for treatment.[/LIST] [B]Death Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Consenting to after-death examinations and procedures. [*]Making burial or other final arrangements.[/LIST] [B]Family Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Filing for stepparent or joint adoption. [*]Applying for joint foster care rights. [*]Receiving equitable division of property if you divorce. [*]Receiving spousal or child support, child custody, and visitation if you divorce.[/LIST] [B]Housing Benefits[/B] [LIST][*]Living in neighborhoods zoned for "families only." [*]Automatically renewing leases signed by your spouse.[/LIST] [B]Consumer Benefits[/B] [LIST][*] Receiving family rates for health, homeowners', auto, and other types of insurance. [*] Receiving tuition discounts and permission to use school facilities. [*] Other consumer discounts and incentives offered only to married couples or families.[/LIST] [B]Other Legal Benefits and Protections[/B] [LIST][*] Suing a third person for wrongful death of your spouse and loss of consortium (loss of intimacy). [*] Suing a third person for offenses that interfere with the success of your marriage, such as alienation of affection and criminal conversation (these laws are available in only a few states). [*] Claiming the marital communications privilege, which means a court can?t force you to disclose the contents of confidential communications between you and your spouse during your marriage. [*] Receiving crime victims' recovery benefits if your spouse is the victim of a crime. [*] Obtaining immigration and residency benefits for noncitizen spouse. [*] Visiting rights in jails and other places where visitors are restricted to immediate family.[/LIST] When it comes down to it, whether or not a couple has sex has absoutely nothing to do with it. The "rights" being fought over are ones meant to make raising a family easier as well as making it easier for a couple to simply support themselves. Marriage, tossing out the sacred bond bit, is a commitment to take care of your spouse and whether or not you can or will have children is not necessary. There are millions of couples out there who for whatever reason can't or don't have children. So to attempt to deny these legal rights over the idea it's for people intending to have children is a bit ludicrous in my opinion. Otherwise, we'd be doing that to all the straight couples who have no kids. In the end, I'm not 100% sure where I stand on this. I still think it's wrong, but at the same time I wonder if it's wrong to continue to deny them the same legal rights I would have if I were to get married.[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][B]Current color.[/B] Dark brown. [B]Have you ever dyed your hair?[/B] Nope. I've thought about maybe getting highlights, but I like how my hair looks so I've never done it. [B]Length/ Style.[/B] I like to keep it a few inches past my shoulders. Just long enough to do something with it but not so long that it's a chore. I've had longer hair in the past but it was kind of a pain to take care of.[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Personally I think this could be a lot of fun. ^_^ I'm not too worried about the time restriction for theOtaku's chat. If it's on official event and set up for a certain time, then it is possible to ask Adam to remove the restriction just for that time frame. Like he did for the celebrity chats that have been held there. However, I think AIM would be a much better format since it has a lot more flexibility with the actual chat window. If you get very many people in at theOtaku's chat, then the conversation can scroll quicker than you can even read it, so it's very limited in that respect. So I say we find a time or a day, and use something like AIM. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]I always start feeling like this after the semester has been going for a while. XP [CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/5/128676679923442869.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]The only cleaning I don't care for is dishes. Which is rather ironic since I love to cook. So I clean as I go, that way it's not a huge mess when I'm done. Still, even if it wasn't possible to clean as I go, I'd still take the time to make stuff. It's just too much fun experimenting with different recipes. ^_^[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][CENTER][IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/2/128674450667363966.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [I]*laughs wildly*[/I] :D[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Well since the draw initially was a Lucky Star Caramelldansen video followed up by watching the actual series, I'd say it was the one that grabbed me from the start. :catgirl: There have been others that I've also liked immediately, like Lovely Complex and Case Closed. I'm sure I'll run into others as well since I haven't seen a whole lot of anime just yet. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][QUOTE]I think the problem is that people are confusing this bailout situation with the general idea of a Government bailing out an individual business that is failing.[/quote]No I see the difference, my statements so far have been to general to truly pinpoint what I think. So I'll clarify that here and now.[quote]Yeah, but I don't think you are differentiating between this situation and situations where Governments (State or Federal) bail out specific enterprises. Also the financial irresponsibility here is [i]not[/i] just the fault of individual banks. It is also the fault of those in society who have borrowed irresponsibly (including potentially millions of average Americans) as well as Congress and State Governments, which failed to appropriately regulate the financial system in the first place. So it's easy to say that this is just a case of Government bailing out failed companies. But the reality is far more complex than that.[/quote]I see it as being similar since the irresponsibility is far more widespread that just an individual company. I may not have specified who, but the fault is more than just the companies in general. As you said, it includes those who have borrowed money when they couldn't afford to pay it back. So the responsiblity goes both ways.[quote]And as I mentioned, this is not a typical bailout situation. This area of the economy (banking) is partly presided over by the Federal Reserve. So they have some responsibility in this as well, where perhaps they wouldn't with an individual company.[/quote]This is where I disagreed with the first bail out, it didn't do enough to keep the harmful practices from happening again, and in my opinion, it still doesn't.[quote]Yes absolutely. You're totally right here. And any new regulations should perhaps involve penalties for those executives who take ridiculous and unlawful risks with people's money. The problem, though, is that a bailout isn't about saving corporate executives. It's actually about preventing a new depression - it's about stopping thousands of average Americans from losing their homes. It's [i]far[/i] more fundamental than simply bailing out some corporate bigwigs.[/QUOTE]I never said it was only about corporate bigwigs, I said it showed unnecessary favoritism towards those who were key to the disaster in the first place. Obviously they are in a position to have more influence on keeping the market stable so therefore, a greater degree of responsiblity should fall on their shoulders for their part in this. [quote]I think the reaction is fundamentally right, because I also disagree with blank check bailouts (though this does not seem to be shaping up that way admittedly). The problem is that the reaction you're displaying here is somewhat misdirected.[/quote]No misunderstood, my reaction that is. I look at my previous posts and they were too vague. I still disagree with bail outs, but then that's because it speaks of a failure to review and restructure regulations as needed to keep this kind of thing from ever happening. I think you're mistaking our genuine anger over the sheer level of stupidity that has been happening in both the cooperate and federal side of our country as a misunderstanding. Not that some people aren't, it's just that it's easy to only rant about how frustrated we are instead of being more concise with our thoughts. [quote]But suggesting that this is "just another example of Government bailing out failed business for taking stupid risks" is an enormous oversimplification.[/quote]I still think it's not an oversimplification, but rather a symptom of a huge problem that people have been overlooking since it was lining their pockets.[quote]The reaction of many in the public reflects their misunderstanding of the issue. I'm sure that even some of the people who could stand to lose everything are still arguing against the bailout, because they aren't aware that not doing so will directly target them. So bailouts are painful, of course. But Governments have to be responsible when they bear some of the blame. And the Federal Reserve has to play its role. What would be truly irresponsible is to do a bailout and then do [i]nothing[/i] to reform the system. Then I'd really be down in the trenches arguing against Government waste.[/quote]Ironically, I fully understand this since my funding for school and living could be lost if things are allowed to fail and yet I'm still not in favor of it. Unless, like your last bit here says, serious reform is enacted. This is what worries me more than anything. I don't want to see this bail out go through if nothing is going to be done to tighten up regulations and responsiblity, on all sides. [/font]

[FONT="Tahoma"][QUOTE=James][font=franklin gothic medium]So anyone who thinks that this bailout sets some new precedent as far as Government involvement is incorrect, especially about American economic history. So there's a lot to consider here. It's not just a case of "OMG the Feds in our pockets! Nooo!" There's a reason why very sensible economists and economic conservatives are considering these types of measures. [/font][/QUOTE]I didn't see anyone saying that this was a new precedent, far from it. This site isn't as comprehensive as I would like but many of us are well aware of our government's tendency to step in and "bail" failing companies out. [URL="http://www.propublica.org/special/government-bailouts/"][U]Government Bailouts[/U][/URL] On the contrary, what worries me the most is that in spite of having repeat instances of financial irresponsibility, we keep landing in the exact same situation of turning to the government to "fix" the problem. Only the ticket price of said "save" keeps getting higher and higher. I object to this not because I don't want the economy to be stabilized, but because I think this kind of stupidity has been allowed to go on long enough. We need better regulation that keeps companies from engaging in reckless behavior in the name of making profit. I don't know enough to go into full detail, but I assure you, this isn't some shock reaction, this is me and many other Americans saying we've had enough of this kind of nonsense. I do agree with the principle behind keeping things from collapsing, but it's bloated with unnecessary favoritism towards those who were key to the disaster in the first place. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]There were a number of problems with the original bailout bill that was turned down. One, as Sir Allamorph already pointed out, the money doesn?t exist. Two, it would benefit those responsible for the financial disaster in the first place. And three, the one that bugs me the most, they want to use the tax money of citizens like myself who were not irresponsible, to fix the mess of those who were. I just don?t agree with that kind of solution if there isn?t going to be some change in the regulations to keep it from happening again. The regular American doesn't need to be bailing out people who were financially irresponsible in the first place. The way I see it, if we bail them out, sure it might give the illusion of security, but it would also be setting us up for further hardships down the road. Because the original problem would still exist.[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][CENTER][SIZE="3"][B]Lazy Days[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] Phaidra finished with her writing before closing the thick book and putting it back in its drawer in her desk. She would have preferred to use one of the recorders that she was accustomed to from her studies, but that kind of technology was not allowed to cross over to Earth. It took her longer to carefully write things out and then apply the necessary seal so that only she could read it. It also had a ward on it that would keep humans from being able to see it at all. Another reaper could actually see the book, but it would appear empty to them. Only she could undo the seal. She had a separate one for the research she was helping Nathan with. That was just utterly fascinating to her, getting it to actually work and then moving on to the next logical step. She hadn?t bothered to send any of that back to the faculty of the school she had been training at before coming to Earth. The actual concept was Nathan?s and therefore, publishing rights on the research would require his permission. There was also the fact that they weren?t quite finished tweaking the process, though in her opinion, it was pretty close to being finished. Then, once she had added a few notes to that one she put it away in favor of using the computer she had bought. Both she and Sarvel had no assignments for the rest of the day so Phaidra was planning on putting her time to good use. Within moments of her turning the device on, Sarvel looked up from her position of lying in a spot of sunlight pouring in from the window to the study. She stretched as she got up and wandered over to hop up onto the desk. ?[B]Don?t you think one was enough?[/B]? She asked Phaidra who was opening up a document. ?[B]I never said I?d actually publish it.[/B]? She pointed out. ?[B]You said that last time too.[/B]? Sarvel took a moment to get comfortable. ?[B]We don?t need the money or the attention.[/B]? ?[B]What attention?[/B]? Phaidra folded her arms across her chest. ?[B]No one cares about a cookbook.[/B]? She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly and frowned. ?[B]You were the one complaining about the calls I got wanting to know more about what I did for catering.[/B]? Sarvel snorted. ?[B]Just admit it, you wanted to do it.[/B]? ?[B]Fine, so long as you admit you wanted me to get more fish recipes.[/B]? Sarvel narrowed her eyes and then sighed. ?[B]Fair enough.[/B]? She got up and hopped off the desk to wander back to her patch of sunlight. ?[B]I still think it?s a waste of time.[/B]? ?[B]No more than taking time to visit the forests and streams after a storm.[/B]? Sarvel stiffened and then lowered her head. ?[B]You?re right, I?m sorry.[/B]? She looked back at Phaidra. ?[B]I forget that you find that kind of thing relaxing.[/B]? Phaidra smiled. ?[B]I know.[/B]? She watched for a few moments while Sarvel settle back down before she went back to working on writing up another one of her recipes. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][quote name='SunfallE][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I did talk to Adam in regards to this earlier this week. Unfortunately with the NYAF this weekend and Adam having his own panel and interviews to conduct, the timing was horrible. So that kind of made coordinating anything a bit of a pain. [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]I forgot about that. A busy scheudule would make it hard to set anything up.[QUOTE=Gavin][SIZE="1"]You all have no idea how sheepish I'm feeling right now, really. I'm more than happy to give my reasons for closing the thread, and honestly Sabrina, I'm really grateful you're the one who posted the thread, otherwise it could be someone calling for my sacking. :animeswea[/SIZE][/QUOTE]I wouldn't feel sheepish, I just wanted more clarification so I'd understand it better. It may have been clear to those of you who are moderators, but it wasn't for me, at least not at first. I certainly wouldn't ask for someone to be fired over a clarification of what happened. That would be silly. o_O Anyway...[QUOTE=Gavin][SIZE="1"]If it sounded like I gave a false "go-ahead" in the planning thread then I do apologise, as that was not my intention at all. I fully support the event as an idea and when it is actually ready to go ahead, with everything that needs to be in place for it to work ready too, then I promise I will be there in the thick of things. Unfortunately the mandate of my job is to make sure that events are actually ready to reach a board-wide level and in this case I didn't feel that it was. As Boo pointed out, as long as the old record is in place, I think any attempt to actually break it is futile, I'm not trying to be a Grinch and spoil everyone's fun, I just feel that it was sort of pointless to try when there was no chance in succeeding. I know that a few weeks ago Drizzt did plan on using yesterday as the target date for trying to break the record, but I don't think that actually qualifies as enough planning for this event. I think Drizzt needs to take several other things into account, such as other members timezones (for instance I'm working off GMT), the actual active numbers we have on OB at the moment and whether or not that number is actually larger than the previous record which we'll hopefully roll-back to. [/SIZE][/QUOTE]I think the comments in the other thread are what got me confused, but then I don't fully understand what goes behind the scenes for running events, and the comments here have cleared up that confusion, so thank you, I appreciate it.[QUOTE=Gavin][SIZE="1"]As I said, I'm more than happy to address people's concerns and questions to the best of my ability, I am admittedly new at this job and thus bound to make mistakes sometimes but I genuinely feel in this case this was not one. Hopefully that answered all your questions Sabrina, if not, feel free to reply here, PM me or IM me and I'll try to answer them better.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]I didn't think to use pm's or AIM to simply ask you directly, I'll keep that in mind should I ever have questions I need an answer too again. :catgirl: Oh and thank you for the info on the counter Dessy. I guess until that's resolved, this idea is kind of dead in the water. [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][QUOTE=Boo][size=1]The idea is fun anyway, so a remake would be a good thing. It might be best to first make sure the counter is back to something matchable, though, and then announce the thing in a bigger way than just a thread somewhere. Besides, did anyone even speak to Adam and get a reply? Was that not part of the big plan?[/size][/QUOTE]True, we don't have to go for the literal date of so many years. That might have been part of the problem, not enough planning to get things rolling. I can certainly mention it to Adam the next time I see him online. But before I do that, the issue of getting a more accurate record needs to be addressed. [QUOTE=James][font=franklin gothic medium]I think Gavin was pretty clear why he closed the thread. I personally wouldn't mind it staying open (given that the thread could be used for the members involved to plan for the record and to discuss it with each other). But as has been pointed out, we really need to find a way to roll back that "most users ever" record, otherwise it's just not going to happen. If you want the thread to be re-opened, I would suggest sending a PM to Gavin himself. If you intend to use the thread for ongoing discussion about how to break this record, then I personally don't see a problem, but it's really Gavin's choice at this point. So yeah, you might be better off making your case directly to him. Other than that, as has been said, I think the reason for the thread closure was pretty clear.[/font][/QUOTE]What confused me was Gavin telling them in the other thread that the convention center was the right place and then turning around and closing it after telling them that. But since the day in question is already over with, I suppose that is besides the point now. Now I know the question has been asked about fixing the most users ever record, but has anyone actually looked into that? Obviously as a regular member I have no way to do that and I don't even know where to begin. Plus I assume that's something that only administrators can do. At this point there's no need to re-open the thread since the original thread is still there so I'll take my concerns to that thread from this point on. I guess you could say that I'm just sad that it got shut down since even if breaking the record was unrealistic at this point, it would have been nice and useful to see if anyone was even interested in the idea... but I'm done here. Thank you for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it. :catgirl: [/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Okay, I'll admit it, I'm confused. I've been following this thread here: [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=59536"][U]3 years coming.[/U][/URL] since it seemed like a fun idea, even if the original record itself is inaccurate. So when I logged in and went to check, I saw that this: [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=59600"][U]3 Years Coming: Official Attempt Thread[/U][/URL] had been closed. This is where I get confused. According to the guidelines in that forum, you can create any event you want. And though it still says threads will be moderated, an announcement said that was lifted, so I assumed the sticky just hadn't been updated yet. So though the event wasn't official, why close it? I know reasons were put into the closing post, but I still don't see that as a genuine reason for what looked like some silly harmless fun. If it had been left open, it would have been fun to see just how many people showed up. Plus, Gavin is wrong about there being no planning, the original thread was posted on the 11th and got lots of replies. It wasn't some spur of the moment, lets do this today deal. So my question or confusion stems from the original poster getting lots of feedback and even the forum moderator saying that the convention center would work the best and yet they closed the thread the member created? Honestly, this just confuses me to no end. I was looking forward to seeing how many people actually posted and tried to be a part of it. I'm sorry to be a bother, but I don't know where else to ask this. So I hope this is the right place.^^[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"]This is what I have on my desktop: [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/wallpapers/view/164191/nightwish"][COLOR="Indigo"]Nightwish[/COLOR][/URL] It's a wallpaper I made a little while ago. ^_^[/FONT]

[FONT="Tahoma"][quote name='Rachmaninoff']Just as expecting people to know older members who don't even post anymore is too.[/quote]I agree with that. I've only been here six months so quite a few of the people done in this thread, I don't know, at all. o_O Anyway, I'm going to try doing a few more here: This would be Adam if he was a cat. He prefers dogs so I just see him getting rid of the opposition, and if he were a cat, he'd be booting the dog. =P [CENTER][B]Adam[/B] [IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/9/23/128667070912776726.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] This would be The13thMan since conversations with him tend to have both sides wondering just what the other person actually meant. [CENTER][B]The13thMan[/B] [IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/9/23/128666736611636400.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] This is Lrb, but I'm not sure why. Maybe some post I've seen by them since I joined? I just know when I saw it, I thought of them. Don't know if it's accurate or not. [CENTER][B]Lrb[/B] [IMG]http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/4/3/nhewazlikew128517458048437500.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT]