Gavin

[quote name='Dagger']Dude, you think Harry Potter needs [i]advertising[/i]? :p (Or is that another joke? :animeswea I daresay our senses of humor are dangerously incompatible. I shall have to tread carefully.) ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]No joke this time Dagger :p, I genuinely did assume there'd be a lot of advertising over this. But maybe that's because I'm not the Potter addict I used to be, seeing as they killed off my favourite character in the last book.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I also nominate [B]Shy[/b] for much of the same reasons Charles has already offered. Josh, for those of you who don't understand why I'm giving him this vote, and if you don't then you obviously suck :p, and should go to Otakupedia right now and educate yourself, has been one of the finest members this site has ever had. Despite holding several senior staff positions, Josh was always approachable and more than willing to lend a helping hand in whatever manner he could, I know this first hand as certainly I wouldn't be the writer I am today without his help. Professionally Josh has created some of OtakuBoards most memorable events, from introducing and overseeing the [B]Nifty Fifty[/B] to [b]The Legionnaires[/b], a mass RPG who's quality and scope has yet to be equalled and was for it's time and immensely audacious project, which was a lot of fun to participate in. Nowadays, despite standing down and assuming a role of less responsibility on the board, Josh is definitely someone that new members should aspire to be like.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Is it out already ? Weird, I'd have expected more advertising giving it's being almost heralded as the end of a literary era. I suppose I ought to reread the series again to get in the mood/remember what the hell was going on. Not going to bother downloading it either, BitTorrent was never really co-operative and I'd much rather have the physical book in my hands. [[b]Edit[/b]] Ah so it's being released tomorrow, and I just happen to be going to a great book store to get a few Star Wars novels. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Konata']I could be wrong, but I think Retribution was referring to those people (the 9/10 fraction) who would introduce themselves, maybe post in one or two topics, and then leave. Since there's usually a lot of them, at any forum.[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Ah fair enough, I probably should have made that assumption myself. On a side note, I actually did a little investigation on how many registered accounts there are with zero posts attached and it's a staggering 1328 people, compared to the 30 people with post counts between 1 and 10.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Been meaning to post in this for a while. [b]The Boss [MGS3]:[/b] OK, so technically she's not a villain in reality, but you have to admit, all that time you did think she'd turned she was an awesome villain and easily the coolest out of the Cobra Unit and all the other enemies you fought in the came. Ocelot included. [b]Jack of Blades [Fable]:[/b] I kind of see Jack as the Darth Vader of Fable, immensely evil and powerful, but at the same time oddly charming and even non-threatening towards the player character on their meetings. Given his status in the game as well, as an almost hero of the people makes him an even more interesting character. [b]Kane [Command & Conquer series]:[/b] Any villain who believes in his own mythology that much is cool in my mind, not even including his rhetoric and alien hybrid technology. [b]Darth Sion [KOTOR II]:[/b] So he was a walking corpse who's tendency for self-conversation reminded me of Gollum, his backstory and motivations for the game, aside from ?WIPE OUT THE JEDI? made him cool in my mind. Malak was just too obvious, Nihilus despite looking awesome didn?t have enough development and as for Traya... well if I?d had a lightsaber and the option early enough she wouldn?t have been an issue.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I imagine if people saw me, they wouldn't really be sure what kind of stereotype I fit into, because really IRL I'm not that clique-ish. I'm built like a guy who plays heavy contact sports, and I do, but I'm also a gamer and a major geek as well. Generally I wear a pair runners, size twelve or thirteen [UK], yes I have big feet but you know what they say about that, jeans and whatever coloured t-shirt I happen to take off my clothes rack that day. Along with it, depending on the weather is a hoodie or jacket, though I never wear the hood up, you just get looked at like you're a complete tool or a druggie, which I'd rather do without. Hair wise, I've got longish brown wavy/curly just left as it is, as any attempt to tie it in any way makes me look slightly retarded, though it is washed every morning, along with the rest of me. I generally have a goatee, though after about three months I'll get sick of it, shave it off, feel my face get cold and decide to grow it again. Overall I imagine people see me as a fairly normal person, though if I had to fit in a particular clique, I suppose I look more like a gamer on account of my glasses, hair and goatee. That said, my brother takes great pleasure in referring to me as "the Hippy".[/SIZE] [quote name='Retribution'][size=1]This is a really good idea for a thread, but this portion of it is heavily impractical. It requires buying an entirely new outfit, assuming the stereotype you are and the stereotype you hate are polar opposites (which logically, they would be), which isn't gonna happen.[/size][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Agreed... _> Yeah, I agree with Alex on something, so what ? :p[/SIZE]

[quote name='James'][color=#606060]One thought that occurred to me is that people always like to do surveys and talk about themselves - what if a new introduction forum included a list of questions that new members could answer? (Stuff like favourite colour, favourite TV shows, top five songs, etc). This way they are creating some non-spammy introduction threads and we are all simultaneously learning a lot about our new members at a glance. The added benefit would be that by answering these questions, new members would be creating points of discussion for their intro threads - if you liked the same band or style of music, for instance, it would give you something to comment on (rather than just "Hi and welcome!" type stuff). Although some past ideas were not successful I think they have to be taken in context as well. Newbie Lounge was really just a place to dump intro threads of all kinds - there was nothing interesting or innovative about it. If it were given some basic structure and turned into a kind of game...I think that could make a difference.[/color][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]That's fairly similar to what I was thinking myself, and it would probably cut down on the "[I]Hi !! I love Naruto, Sasuke is teh sex !![/I]" kind of threads. Probably the other thing that we need to try and eliminate this time around if we do an Introduction Forum as opposed to Newbie Lounge, which screams all kinds of everything welcomed, is the in-jokes used by greeters. I wasn't aware that was part of what brought down the old forum until I read the Otakupedia article. [/SIZE] [quote name='Retribution'][size=1]An intro forum wouldn't be too useful, to be honest. A new member registers, says "Hello" and we say "Welcome!". Nine times out of ten, nothing new or original will be brought by the new member. I could see it getting pretty repetitious.[/size][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I disagree Alex, I think that having the new Introduction Forum as James has suggested it, where new members fill out a kind of survey would definitely create more original posts than just "Hello I'm new here on Otaku[b]Boards[/b]." After all Alex, we were all new here on OB at one stage and I think each of us has brought something new and original to the site, which is still the case today or so I'd imagine.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Dbzman26'][FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="2"]Here's an idea, let's make the cuss words be only viewable by people of certain ages. Like, for example, if you were 13 years or younger, you couldn't post or read any cuss words. And say you were 14 or older, you could. How about that? Also, where can I post my idea's about the ********** signature size Bull****.?^^[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]That fact that you 're supposed to be 13 or older to join Otaku[b]Boards[/b] in the first place kind of invalidates that idea. And as the Creative Works category is the only one with swear words enabled, and the fact that they have ratings for it already seems a better system. If you want to complain about signature size, make a thread about it here in Suggestions.[/SIZE]

[LEFT][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=Black][SIZE=1][b]December 6th[/b] At 6 AM this morning the choppers arrived, two of them, by the looks they'd been civvies and converted for military use, a pair of anti-personnel machine guns had been welded to the sides. They were manned by two troops who, like me, looked to have been recruited into the resistance only recently, there was still that lingering fear in their eyes, where as veteran troops had only a kind of cold deadness. I got my orders for the day at oh-seven-hundred hours along with my next dose of the serum. I was to accompany three other squads into the town to set a thermal explosive at it's centre, or as close to zombie central as we could get. Fire made sense, burn the host body and the virus dies as well, at least hopefully it does. You hear people muttering that this thing is like a plague from Hell itself, and that we should be in Church praying, looking for deliverance from the Lord, I say solder a cross to your gun and have a priest or your barrack's chaplain bless it and you're good to go. We took three modified minibuses, my unit as it had seen the least combat was relegated to carrying the bomb between the vanguard and our cover unit in the rear. Place looked eerily normal, despite the occasional body and broken shop windows, reminded me of better times, of an almost previous life. Plan was to open up the main gas lines, set the bomb at the centre with a timer and then get the fuck out of there before we were poisoned, caught in the inferno, or consumed by the hoard. Plan didn't exactly go according to plan... About a hundred meters from the target we came under heavy fire, which made no fucking sense seeing as zombies don't use guns. Our rearguard were taken by surprise, and a petrol bomb finished them off in an inglorious blaze. We tried to get some cover, but apparently the survivors in the town had taken it personally that we were ordered to exterminate them, can't really blame them, but we they fired on our troops, that changed things. Since we were carrying the explosives, we'd been given heavier arms, including a Steyr AUG with an M203 attachment and two grenade rounds for if the shit got really out of control. I figured it did and suggested to squad leader we use it on the civvies and get the mission completed. He popped the air vent of the bus and unloaded the first round in the direction of the enemy fire, half a second later the hail of enemy fire died down, along with most of the building they were in. I think it went through all our minds, that we'd just killed some real people as opposed to the undead... in those seconds of combat though... I honestly don't think it made any difference. I smashed out the rear window of the bus, without the rearguard we had to ensure the bomb got to where it was intended... The rest of the mission went as textbook as a mission could go, we encountered only sparse resistance from the zombies, cut open all the gas lines and set the bomb. It had to be left for about six hours to get as much gas penetration as possible, we'd gotten back to the barracks and had a beer by the time the explosion went off. It was like a sun had been born, a bright flash and then firestorm that wiped out most of the town... civilian renegades included. The service for the lost squad took place at 8PM, as their vehicle hadn't been recovered, it was more of just a mass with a remembrance of their sacrifice, the ultimate one we could make, though in their case it hadn't been voluntary. Squad leader came up to me when I was with Jenny and told me I'd been promoted for quick thinking, apparently now I'm a Corporal with all the privileges and responsibilities that go with it. I think it's probably only because the guys killed were all veterans and they need men to fill the gaps...[/LEFT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Metalcore501']Thanks guys ill, go out soon and get some scissors![/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Make sure you steralise them first though, on the off chance that you cut yourself again, wouldn't want an infection down there of all places.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Dagger']I can't say I get it, but each to his own. :whoops: ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Heh. Honestly on the whole labelling thing, I don't know if it's the sign of a rather mechanical mind, which I apparently have, but I normally find it easier to deal with concepts that have a set name and parameters.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Dagger']Just wondering--and perhaps this is for both of you--why does something have to have a name & a specific definition in order to be real/valid/recognizable? ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Perhaps I should have added a smiley to my last post, it was just a joke Dagger. :p[/SIZE]

[quote name='Sandy']Heh, more like bisexuality, asexuality, pansexuality, transsexuality, transgenderism and hermaphroditism, just to mention a few... ;P[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Of those six Sandy, three at max fall into somewhere between men loving men and women loving women. As for the other three, well asexuality falls completely out of bounds, and hermaphoritism and transgenderism are social movements. [/SIZE]

[quote name='indifference'][COLOR="Indigo"]Honestly, I think that goes both ways. Sometimes I think people who believe in the Bible don't understand the viewpoint of those who think its nothing more than a book. It's a lack of understand on both sides in my opinion. ;) And being one of those who does not believe in the Bible or any other religious text for that matter, I find it hard to understand why people are relying on an ancient manuscript that on many levels is disputed over whether or not it's actually true. But that is a discussion for another thread yes?[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I definitely understand what you're saying Crystia, and I think it's the crux of the whole debate. There's an utter lack of understanding on both sides of what drives the other half's arguments. Those in support of homosexuality see the Bible to be an out of date document written by zealots centuries ago that has no bearing on modern society, while the religious see them as being the letter of right and wrong on the world given by it's creator. I think if both sides just took a second to have a breather and really try to understand the other side's arguments there'd be a lot less volitility about the argument.[/SIZE] [quote name='Sandy']So they accept us gays as [I]people[/I], but still don't accept us as what we are - men loving men, women loving women, and don't even get me started on everything that goes on in between![/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]You mean like mean like men loving women and women loving men ? ;) I'm just kidding Sandy.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Desbreko'][color=#4B0082]It seems odd to me to consider N64/PS1 games as oldies, but I guess they're two generations back now. I still think of SNES/Genesis era and older games.[/color][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]You think that's bad ? Some of my older cousins in their late 20s still see the Commodore, NES and SEGA Master System as being the "old" gaming systems. For me the most enjoyable old games are multiplayer rounds of [B]Goldeneye[/B], [B]Mario Kart 64[/B], [B]Diddy Kong Racing[/B] and [B]FIFA 98[/B] on the Nintendo 64 with my siblings, brings back great memories of when we were a younger. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Aaryanna'][COLOR="goldenrod"]Oh and I've discovered fan subs so I've been checking out new shows that way. I'm all for watching anime without all the commercials. ^_^[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]It's one of those great pleasures in life isn't it ? To be able to just watch anime when you want, though for the life of me I still can't watch DBZ in it's original Japanese, I simply refuse to accept that Goku, a grown man sounds like that. On the same point, I thank God for fansubs so I can watch Naruto without the irritating English voice-overs.[/SIZE]

[quote name='indifference'][COLOR="Indigo"]Also I forgot to mention. Another thing I've done when I'm coming up dry on ideas is to keep notes on dreams I've had for a while. At the end of a week, I'll often find something useful out of the wacky dreams I've had that helps me to start feeling creative again. [/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Actually that is a good one. I've had some of my best story ideas in dreams. Another good one is to toss ideas back and forth between a friend who's a writer as well. I do this with Josh all the time, and from it I've gotten some really good material.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Japan_86'][COLOR="DarkRed"]3. My best friend who got me the job there works graveyard at Mcdonalds. One time, a really drunk man came by. All he ordered was some water. As soon as he received it, he threw the water cup at my friend, spilling water all over his shirt.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]A friend of mine who works for McDonalds had nearly the same thing happen to him except that he was behind the main serving counter and it was a chocolate shake as opposed to water. True to form as an Irishman he jumped the counter and punched the guy right in the face leaving him sprawled out on the floor. My buddy just took off his cap and threw it to the manager telling him he quit. As you might imagine he was bought a lot of beers by his co-workers and friends.[/SIZE]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]I don't understand them, that is true. Which means there's basically a mutual misunderstanding between us. Which is increadibly frightening to me.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I don't see why it's frightening to you DB, I mean to core message of the Bible has always been one of love and peace, though admittedly it has often been perverted to other uses by those in power, i.e. Crusades and Inquisitions, that said, the former was as much of a political and economic decision as a religious one. There are of course rules to be observed, but that is the case with any system of life and law. [/SIZE]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]And why, exacly, do you do just as the bible says? Do you have no mind of your own? I mean, I'm not saying anyone is stupid for liking the ideas of the bible, but it's just a book with some good ideas. It's dangerous to trust everything you read, yaknow.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [size=1]The very fact you don't understand the significance of the Bible to people is why you don't understand their viewpoint. These people have faith that the Bible is the Word of God, and as such is His belief on the subject of life and how we are to live our lives. And before you say "but it was written by men", the Bible was supposedly the work of God through others, much like the Qur'an.[/size] [quote name='Nerdsy'][color=deeppink]As for me? I love homosexuals. Can't get enough of them.[/color][/QUOTE] [size=1]That explains the pink font Nerdsy :p[/size]

[quote name='James'][color=#606060]Goodbye topics aren't spam. Sorry for the confusion, Konata; there's nothing in our rules forbidding either goodbye threads or introduction threads.[/color][/quote] [SIZE="1"]Ah my bad, I was nearly sure introduction and goodbye threads get locked when they're created. [/SIZE] [quote name='James'][color=#606060]As for your suggestion, it isn't without merit. OtakuBoards did have a Newbie Lounge (as has been stated) but it became horribly spammy. However, it wasn't regulated at all...I can't really remember if it even had a Moderator. There is room to consider a specific place for introductions in the future, definitely. We'll see how it goes. Just because an idea didn't work one time doesn't mean it should always be avoided in the future![/color][/quote] [SIZE="1"]That would be my feeling on the issue as well, OB has grown a lot since the Newbie Lounge was deleted and I think as a community we've definitely gotten to the stage where people could post in an Introduction Lounge without spamming. As well as that it would probably give new members a chance to get to know people in the community in an area where they're comfortable.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I worked in Dunne Stores a while back, which is just a national supermarket chain and my worst customer experience definitely came from there. Now I'm a stockroom boy, which basically means it's my job to help unload those big truck containers of all the stuff customers get on the shelves, "I work in back, I see no smiles" to quote Bruce Almighty. So when my manager Tommy polite asked me to give the stackers a hand for a while because they were short staffed I said fine, loaded up a trolly with them and went out. Now to cut a long story short, I'd been out maybe three minutes when this old lady shuffled up to me, I knew right then it wasn't going to be good. She asked in a rather haughty tone where we keep the sugar-free tinned peas, which until that moment I hadn't realised existed. I politely told her that I was unsure, and explained that I do not normally work out in the main shop floor, but that I believed they would be with the other tinned peas on the isle next to us. She got rather angry claiming she had been there already and there were none, to which I replied then that I was sorry and would ask one of the other staff who were responsible for stacking where they were kept, or if they were out of stock. This only got her more worked up, as apparently I'm supposed to click my fingers and make her day, she stormed off and returned two minutes later with Michael, the store's general manager, claiming that I had been rude to her. I explained to Michael as calmly as possible what happened and lo and behold he reveals that we don't carry sugar-free tinned peas at all. At this point I wanted to strangle her. Anyway the old bat just got a look of utter indignation and said she would not be treated like this again and vowed never to come back. If not for the fact Michael reminded her she had a basket of items, I imagine she might have tried to walk out with them. I was happy just to get back to unloading trucks.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]You're in the right forum for this Konata, but unfortunately Otaku[B]Boards[/B] already had a Newbie Lounge which fulfilled nearly the same function as the Introduction Forum you've suggested, and over time it simply decayed into mass spamming. As for the Goodbye Forum, well most people who've left normally leave their goodbye message in their signature as Goodbye messages are considered spam. Personally I'd support an Introduction Forum if it could be prevented from going to hell with spam and had a dedicated welcoming committee. I have to admit on the few other boards that I've joined, I have found that an Intro forum where you're welcomed does make you feel much more welcome in the community. [[b]Edit[/b]] Seems Des beat me to it.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Sesshomarufan']Metal Gear Solid (series): The games are great every time. The story always has more plot twists in it than a soap opera and the excellent story sets the stage for an epic experience. The game that stands out from this series would be MGS 3. [/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Agreed. [B]Snake Eater[/B], despite it's easily ridiculed name, has to be one of the most epic games I've ever played in the entire sense of the word. What really did it for me, aside from the really well developed story and characters was the music score. For me, really well timed and executed music can make a game that much more than it would be be without. To give an example, the KOTOR series would really do better if they happened to add a plot longer than 25 hours for a first place, and 13 for veterans and included more orchestral music.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]That's my big worry as well, like how in Lethal Weapon 4 Gibson finally used the "I'm too old for this ****" line, which kind of brought the whole thing to a close, as he'd always been the young hothead against Glover?s veteran permanently near retirement. I mean just compare LW 1 to LW4 and you can really see the difference. My biggest issue with Die Hard 4 was that nobody made mention of Nakatomi Towers, the crisis with the Airport in D.C. or the Simon Says plot. Seriously, if you found out you were faced by a man who had nearly single-handedly brought down three previous terrorist plots, would you really want to mess with him ? No you wouldn?t.[/SIZE]