James

[color=#332e1d][font=franklin gothic medium]I always hear that argument. But I think it's a total cop-out. I mean, why should Toyota spend billions of dollars engineering new cars? Couldn't they just hand that money over to Africa? Don't buy those new shoes. Give the money to Africa. By all means, I support helping out Africa, but you've got to get serious here. We can't let the world stop spinning at the same time - and the issues in Africa are far, far more complex than just giving them millions of dollars. In fact, throwing money at the problem hasn't worked terribly well for many years. Instead of throwing money at it, leaders should smarten up and spend more time trying to understand the problems and listen to the various groups there. In the meantime, I see nothing wrong with the quaint and unimportant pursuits, like trying to understand the birth of our solar system and species.[/font][/color]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]There's nothing to apologize for. You are agreeing entirely with what I just said, lol.[/font][/color]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Yup. Considering the time it takes to design a skin, I really want to make sure that the skins that get through manage to stay around for quite a while. When the time comes and things are finalized, I will no doubt provide a ZIP file for artists to download and tinker with. However, I still have to decide how I'm going to go about the process. I have considered asking for specific types of designs and having people essentially compete so that the best design is chosen. On the other hand, I am interested to see if people can come up with a theme that I hadn't considered before. Regardless, it must be noted that even if a dozen people submit skins, it's only likely that one or two will be published. When it comes to something like this, I'm going to have to be incredibly selective about what gets used. But hopefully that will spur people to try harder as well. And I'm sure the satisfaction of having their skin made official would be worth it. ^_^[/font][/color]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Do not forget that NASA landed [i]two[/i] probes at opposite sides of Mars. They said it was akin to "threading a needle from a mile away". If they can do that, they can probably hit a comet. They've done it before, anyway - they've flown a probe into the tail of a specific comet. So it's not unreasonable.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]I don't think it's a question of God being the only viewpoint, it's simply that partly because of this, people immediately condemn any symbol that is contrary. In some cases, the use of such symbolism is designed to be a particular commentary...so it's not always just there as a hollow symbol. However, I do think that most of the time, it's probably used in a rebellious context. And in western society, which is primarily Christian, Satan represents rebellion against the status quo.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]If OtakuBoards were different - if we were attracting people via different subjects (if we were a general film site rather than an anime-centric site), it's quite possible that we'd have no language filter at all. But I feel that we do have some responsibility, especially to parents, to ensure that we're maintaining some kind of general standard in terms of quality. However, as has been said, I have no desire to censor people's artwork or concepts. As long as appropriate warnings are given, I generally won't care what people post here in terms of creative works. Censoring artwork or creative writing at OtakuBoards would contradict the idea of having creative forums in the first place, I think. Again, though...OtakuBoards is just one of many choices. There are many places on the Internet that are far more flexible and open and there are many places that are far more closed and restricted. As long as we maintain a good balance, I think we'll be attractive to a broad range of people. But I think that's true of most community-based sites anyway.[/color][/font]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1']So for the fifth or so time, I'll add that an image file containing all graphics for OB which could quickly be switched with the OB mule would be a relatively easy and 'cost-free' method of skinning. Distribute the OB graphics folder, and wait for the skinners to get to work.[/size][/quote] [color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]I agree. But as I've said, it is impossible to do that until I know what the physical changes to the site will end up being. It's useless to distribute a folder with the current graphics set, because it could change within months. And that would be a disservice to the person who spends hours working on a beautiful skin.[/color][/font]

[color=#332e1d][font=franklin gothic medium]Joyce Meyer once scoffed at the idea of studying salmon who swim upstream to mate. She said something like "why do we waste money studying that? No need to study it - it happens because God made it that way!" Does that strike anyone else as dangerously ignorant? lol Obviously, if life were that simple, well...we'd have no technology to speak of. Studying things (whether you're studying an animal or something in space), provides knowledge. And that knowledge is usually translated into something functional. Experiments in space have indirectly led to advancements in medical technology, for example. And obviously, researchers will "think" something and they'll experiment to find out the truth. People "thought" that there might have been water on Mars and only recently, evidence of long-gone water was actually discovered there. So, I never understand the mindset that says "why bother?" Well, okay, let's just live in a dark little box and never attempt to learn/discover anything about the universe. I just don't know how so many advances can be taken for granted in such a way. As Baron accurately said, the article itself states the reasons why the mission is being undertaken.[/font][/color]

[QUOTE=Jake of Bodom]The awesome part is, as I submit this post, the whole mother-*******, piece of ****, *****-faced thing will be automatically censored. Ah, the irony. [/QUOTE] [color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]I think that this is a relevant issue, considering that I am personally against censorship (even though I run this site, which contains a language filter). It's important to understand that originally, OtakuBoards catered to slightly younger users. Today, the majority of our members are between 15 and 20 years old. So things have changed in that sense. I felt - as did Adam - that we wanted OtakuBoards to be a place of quality. Although I personally don't care about swearing, I do occasionally see people who are using swearing as every second word in their posts. And obviously that comes across as being, well, ignorant. But moreover, I can understand that there are people who simply don't want to be hit with constant swearing when they're browsing the site. What's [i]most[/i] important is that here, we do not censor concepts. Look at our RPGs - why do we have a ratings system? We have that system so people can post a wide range of subjects. The ratings system ensures that people are forewarned about what an RPG may include. This, in turn, gives members the freedom to write about any subject. The same is largely true of discussions. Although we don't rate discussions or anything - and although we expect people to be civil toward one another - we certainly don't censor opinion or concept. And that's very important, I think. This relates back to the idea of censorship in film and music. Of course, I am against censorship in any artistic medium. However, I think that there's a responsibility that comes with one's actions. If an album or a movie has explicit content or something like that, it doesn't hurt to have a rating to advise potential viewers/listeners. In that way, the art can remain pure, but people can choose to ignore it if they want to. At the end of the day it definitely comes down to choice. Just as you can choose not to go near M-rated RPGs at OtakuBoards, you can also choose not to go near explicit music or films. But those films/music/RPGs still have the right to exist so that people [i]can[/i] choose to view/listen to them if they want. As far as the Satanic thing goes, I think it's easy to misinterpret that much of the time. I don't think anyone is really saying that they advocate things like murder or whatever - Satan is just a symbol of rebellion and opposition to the status quo (the status quo being God, presumably). Of course, I can't - and wouldn't want to - speak for bands in general who use that symbol. But generally speaking, I am not so sure that Satan is always used to "rile up the religious". Of course, the religious - but most particularly the more extreme religious - probably [i]should[/i] be challenged. Who wants to live in a society with only one viewpoint, afterall? I think it's worthwhile to challenge the status quo and traditional beliefs now and then. Without that, many changes in society would never have taken place. It's important to reflect on these things now and again.[/color][/font]

[color=#332e1d][font=franklin gothic medium]Signature length is a very tricky subject. Even with 500 characters, people can still make pretty large signatures by spacing things out. At the end of the day we'll never be able to completely stop that by controlling images and characters alone. The only way to really stop it is to kill signatures entirely, which I don't want to do. 500 characters is really a compromise. It lets you have [i]something[/i] reasonable in your signature, without going overboard. However, I do recognize that this version of OtakuBoards does interpret vB code as being part of the overall character count. Therefore, even with fewer letters/words, lots of colour/font/URL formatting will reduce the overall amount of content that one can have in a signature. I am not inclined to raise the limit much at this point, but I will bump it up by another 100 characters for now. That should provide you with some more space for entering vB code, while still having reasonable space for actual visible content. So as of now, the character limit is [b]600 characters[/b].[/font][/color]

[font=Georgia][size=3]Proteus made his way back to the command center. Upon entering, he noticed that the HUD surrounding Havoc's face had become markedly more complicated. Status windows and three dimensional maps were tiled on either side of primary navigation display. At the same time, Warlock ran past Proteus toward the hallway. No prompting was required; Proteus immediately sat beside Havoc and pulled up his own weapons-based HUD.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Warlock is manning the turret?" he asked, as his fingers fluttered over a nearby keyboard.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Yes," replied Havoc. "Where's Iota?"[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Havoc held down a nearby green button with his gloved finger. "Where are you, Iota? We need to be on battle readiness."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"I'm headed toward the second turret," came the quick and staticky reply.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]The HAPC slowed down as it approached the mouth of the aquaduct. As they came closer, the water below grew deeper and ran faster. The rushing water soon became audible from within the HAPC's interior. It was no doubt made louder by the cavernous interior walls within the aquaduct's entry tunnel. From their respective HUDs, both Havoc and Proteus were given clear views of the vehicle's surroundings, via small, durable cameras embedded in the outer skin. As the lighting levels dropped, the HAPC's sophisticated cameras automatically adjusted their settings, so as to maintain visibility. Both Havoc and Proteus noticed that the walls of the aquaduct had at first seemed aged and corroded. They'd seen expansive cracks and water damage all over the entrance. But now, the walls seemed noteably smoother, as though they had been built - or retouched - somewhat recently.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Warlock and Iota were each manning roof-mounted turrets. The first turret was accessed from a small entryway just behind the command center. It was a front-mounted turret and was intended to be used to cover the front 50% of the vehicle's surroundings. The second turret was similar to the first but had several key differences. Firstly, it was located at the rear of the vehicle, with the aim of covering the remaining surroundings. Secondly, the physical weapon itself was quite different from the front-mounted turret. Where the front-mounted turret was a larger and more versatile weapon, containing a grenade launcher (itself capable of firing multiple types of grenades) and a high-powered buster cannon, the rear turret was far smaller and lighter, containing a high-powered machine gun with armor-piercing titanium bullets. Despite the HAPC's size, it had always been designed with the intent of mobility in the battlefield. To that end, the twin turrets had an attack and defend relationship; the front turret's heavier and more varied weapon set were useful for attack purposes (especially firing on buildings and larger battlefield units), the rear turret's smaller and higher-speed turret was intended primarily for defence and support. The primary turret would get the HAPC into a dangerous area and the secondary turret would pick off any remnants who may want to follow it as it leaves.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Generally an HAPC crew would consist of at least six. Two would be used for navigation and weapons support, two for manual turret control and two for firearm support. In that aquaduct, though, there were only four reploids. Each reploid would have to do more than their share; Proteus and Havoc would have to make up for the lack of firepower, while Warlock and Iota would have to be particularly accurate with their own weapons.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]As the HAPC made its way through the enormous serpentine aquaduct, Havoc noticed odd readings on his HUD.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Proteus, look at that," he said, pointing to the upper left portion of his HUD.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"I can't see anything," said Proteus, as he fiddled with his camera.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Look up toward cell 400 B, top right of your forward camera view. Can you see that piping?"[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Proteus adjusted his view accordingly and there he saw it, several smaller pipes running along the upper walls of the large aquaduct piping. Some of the smaller pipes dipped in behind the concrete walls at various intervals, while other pipes periodically breathed steam into the aquaduct.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Are those new?" asked Proteus.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Havoc rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I doubt they'd have been built all the way back at the beginning of the city."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]The pipes grew more complex as the HAPC continued into the darkness. Several pipes ran all the way up to the ceiling, where they snaked away into shadows. The HAPC's night vision systems were working well, but its thermal imaging system was becoming confused. The aquaduct itself was relatively cold, but large patches of ceiling glowed a vivid crimson in the thermal imaging windows. The smaller pipes also eminated a deep red glow. Proteus' thoughts were confirmed by Havoc as he spoke.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"They must be ejecting steam into here," he said thoughtfully. "There must be some kind of exhaust system we don't know about. None of our schematics show anything this elaborate."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Maybe we are getting closer to Prime's base," suggested Proteus.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Havoc nodded. "Yeah, we must be. I just hope we can sneak past without much trouble."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]It was as though Havoc's words were immediately debated, as several dozen red dots appeared within the thermal imaging windows. At first they were small and moved lethargically, but within seconds they grew in size and number; they then began shifting around the screen at higher speed. Havoc activated various camera filters in succession, hoping to identify the objects. But he saw nothing on any except the thermal camera.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Shit," breathed Havoc as his hands moved even faster over the various keyboards and panels in front of him. [/size][/font][font=Georgia][size=3]"Whatever they are, there's a lot of 'em."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Finally, Havoc noticed tangible movement on his night vision camera. He zoomed in to take a better look. What he saw was unusual; it [i]looked [/i]like a large spider. At the very least, Havoc decided that it had ten legs, which moved rapidly as it crawled along the exhaust pipes. The machine's body appeared to be a small disc with rounded, dome-like sides. A small weapon barrel of some kind appeared to be attached to each disc.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Their weapons look quite small," remarked Proteus, as he zoomed in on one of the strange objects.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"That's true," said Havoc, "but it looks like there are hundreds of them out there now. If they number high enough, they could overwhelm us or concentrate their collective firepower on one spot."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Proteus raised an eyebrow as he prepared the HAPC's hull defence systems. "Death by a thousand paper cuts?"[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Hopefully our gunners are quick enough," replied Havoc.[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]Proteus nodded. "According to the map we're still several kilometers from Warlock's friend's warehouse. The exit is just up here."[/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3][/size][/font] [font=Georgia][size=3]"Hopefully we don't run into Prime too soon," said Havoc, "we can't let anything stop us now. That warehouse is our last chance to make things right."[/size][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]thelozt, please don't double post. You may want to read our rules page for further information on that. Instead of double-posting, simply edit your previous post with the new information. Thanks.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Well, I'm not really sure how much of this is unexpected. Freedom of speech isn't really absolute; it comes with responsibility. Generally speaking, I think that there are people on both sides who blow things out of proportion. The Patriot Act is really only taking laws that apply to organized crime investigation and shifting them over to terrorism-related investigation. If you read the act, a good chunk of it only relates to provisions for information sharing between organizations. So that side of it gets blown way out of proportion. I doubt that the loudest critics are experiencing any true violations of their civil liberties. But by the same token, I think it's essential for society to maintain a level of freedom and expression, even during times of crisis. We get told that people are anti-American if they make any criticism, or that they are pro-Saddam or something. Obviously that's rubbish. We get told that people like Marilyn Manson are responsible for school violence and that these people should be physically censored, whether or not their words are considered offensive. I think there is a tendency to censor first and ask questions later - all too often, people complain about being "offended", without realizing that they too have a responsibility. Part of that responsibility, in my view, involves being selective about what content one consumes. If something offends you, nobody is forcing you to listen to it or watch it. Living in a free society doesn't just involve free speech itself - but exercising the responsibilities related to it. In reality, I doubt that people want to give up core freedoms. At the end of the day, what are we really talking about? We're talking about waiting longer at airports, we're talking about a more flexible legal system that provides law enforcement with greater opportunities/freedom to investigate potential criminals. Even if you disagree with that flexibility, it's important to understand that such flexibility does come with various counter balances - the approval of a judge, warrants, etc etc. So, although there is a greater level of freedom under some circumstances (for law enforcement), it is important not to ignore the various in-built counter balances. To say that law enforcement is given all the freedoms of some kind of despotic regime is just inaccurate more than anything else. Generally speaking, my feeling is that the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. No, civil liberties aren't being eroded in the way that many would have you believe. But yes, there are various groups (particularly non-government groups) that are constantly pushing against freedom of speech with the aim of censorship. Those groups in particular are a problem, should they gain any kind of success. As for 9/11, I don't know what I can tell you. Of course, the intelligence on it was bungled. But really, in all honesty, it's so easy to look back retrospectively and have 20/20 vision. Before those attacks occurred, nobody suspected that something so outlandish would happen. And we've all heard the various reports about how things were mishandled and so on. People make mistakes, what else can really be said? Does this make today's security measures any less valuable? I don't think so. I don't even think that the two subjects are related, really. [/color][/font]

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1]Tolerance, hm? Whatever happened to [i]accepting[/i] human beings? Ahh, I'll stop preaching now. [/SIZE][/QUOTE] [color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Just out of my own curiosity, how do you seperate those two words? I choose not to say "acceptance" because there are still people around who believe that the Earth is flat and only 2,000 years old. Such people will never accept anything to the contrary; I would doubt whether many of them are even capable of it. I instead say "tolerance", because I think that it's possible to treat people equally and to tolerate differences between each other without necessarily accepting someone else's religion/political beliefs/whatever. Clearly, homosexuality isn't the same as either of those things, but still, I think a general "tolerance" is all one can realistically hope for.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Frankly, if someone rejects you from an RPG because of your title and nothing else...it wasn't worth being in their RPG in the first place. This just means that they don't care about the content of your posts at all, which probably means that their RPG won't be so great anyway. Honestly, it comes down to what you say - what is contained in your posts. Nobody with any intelligence at all is going to reject you simply for being new. In fact, many members (like myself) strongly value newer members and the things they can offer (in RPGs or elsewhere). If your spelling is reasonable, if you seperate things into paragraphs (which simply makes your posts easier to read - that's the only reason for having them), you should be just fine. Ignore those who care about titles and instead focus on people who care more about the content of your posts than the other stuff.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Sometimes I wonder how worthwhile any of this is. Obviously it's largely there for amusement, but it'd be nice if some of these "fanboys" actually listened to it. I guess that's what makes them fanboys though; they [i]won't[/i] listen to it. As far as the sequels thing goes, I think it was worth putting in bold. It comes down to a matter of hypocrisy. I don't think one can say that sequels are bad as a general rule. Obviously franchises are built around the idea of sequels. And for many of us, when we play a great game and finish it, the first thing we are hoping for is a great sequel. Having said that, I think many people aren't against sequels as long as they bring something new to the table. Therefore, you could consider that there's a difference between a "rehash" and a "sequel". Unfortunately people tend to use "rehash" incorrectly a lot of the time, I think.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]At the moment I have a ton of half-finished stuff sitting here for OtakuBoards. My commitments with other network stuff are such that I really haven't had time to finish anything. I suspect that OB will be destined for a larger update later in the year. At the very least, I'll be able to re-assess things once the new myOtaku has been completed (which shouldn't take too long now). In regard to skins, it's a very big job. I may hold a public competition here, but the voting wouldn't be open to the public; I'd have to personally choose what can be used or not. I only say that because I want to ensure total consistency with the site's design. I also want to ensure strong quality. The big problem with doing this is simply that some of the updates planned for OB will change it structurally. For instance, the area at the top of the navigation bar that lists your PMs and your username; when planned revisions go through, that area will be redesigned. It won't just feature a new graphic, it will actually be structurally changed. At the moment it's impossible for me to provide an accurate idea of what will be different, because all of those changes haven't been worked through yet. So it's a difficult problem. But having said all of that, it might be possible to make a few small changes and still use the same dimensions and stuff for new skins. That would keep OB fresh for another few months, at least. And it'd give skin makers something to do during summer. Anyway, all I can tell you is that I'll keep the idea in mind. Right now I just can't promise anything, but once myO is done I'll be in a better position to know how I want to go forward with OtakuBoards.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]I've always been naturally good at English (and naturally bad at math), so language has always been something that hasn't required a great deal of effort from me. However, it does depend on the language. In primary school (elementary school), I learned Japanese for two years. In my state, it is compulsory to learn Japanese as a second language in most primary schools - a few schools do teach alternatives (like Greek or Italian), but generally I think Japanese is predominant. The problem I had wasn't with the language, but the way it was taught. We had a Japanese teacher who spoke fairly broken English (her name was Mrs. Toyama from what I remember) and her actual teaching methods were good. But, probably due to our age, we spent little time learning the core language...and more time making paper hats. We learned a lot about the cultural and artistic aspects of Japan and our focus on language was not as high as you'd imagine. When I reached high school, it was very different. I did half a year of French and Indonesian. Later on (for the next three and a half years), I took Indonesian ([i]Bahasa Indonesia[/i]). The key difference is that things moved at a faster pace. We were expected to know significant things week on week. So in the first week, we had to know how to count to fifty or one hundred. In the second, we had to know how to introduce ourselves and ask "how are you?", with the varying responses to that. And so on. Indonesian was relatively easy to pick up because it uses the English alphabet, with one key difference. In Indonesian, there's no "ch". Instead, "c" makes a "ch" sound. To make a "c" sound, you use "k". So "computer" is literally "komputer" in Indonesian. Due to English influence, there are many common words. I guess it's like German in that sense, based on what Sara said above. The major difference isn't so much to do with alphabet or words, but to do with grammar. That's always the toughest part. Indonesian's grammar isn't nearly as complex as English (though I'd argue no language has such complex grammar with so many exceptions to the rules), but nevertheless, it's like learning to talk backwards...because the grammar is often so contrary to what you learn in English. With Indonesian, a simple example would be subject and object in a sentence. You'll never say "I'm going to the cinema with a friend." Instead, you'll say "My friend is accompanying me to the cinema." So, you never make yourself the subject of a sentence. That's just one example. I found Indonesian easy to pick up, but...once I stopped learning it, I began losing it immediately. Now I barely remember much of what I learned, other than a few rules and phrases. I know how to count up to any number pretty much, I can remember certain words/phrases (lucu is "cute", pengatahuan is "science", bioskop is "cinema")...but because I don't use it regularly in speech, I just lose it. So I think the key is using a language frequently. Not only practicing with yourself, but also conversing with others as much as you can (even if it's limited). This continually reinforces it in your mind. Now that I have no use for Indonesian, I can barely remember it. But if I went to Indonesia and had to use it, I'd probably start remembering everything pretty quickly.[/color][/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#332E1D]As has been said, I think even many devout Christians would have a problem with this insane behavior. It's like being born with black hair and blue eyes...and then having your parents send you to a doctor for shock therapy because you happen to have slightly unusual physical features. Articles like these make me wonder how far we've come from the dark ages, honestly. Oh well. Things like this do unfortunately happen. It reminds me of a documentary I recently saw about the concentration camps in North Korea, for people who speak out against the government. It's kind of amazing to think that such things continue to occur in today's world. What's particularly bad about this thing, though, is that it's happening in a country where you'd think people are generally more sane and educated. But yeah, as has been said, one can't judge all Christians based upon something like this. Obviously, you have varying degrees of fundamentalism going on. Most Christians - at least the ones I'm friendly with - are reasonably tolerant people. It's usually only the highly vocal ones and those in the minority who are extremely predjuce and backward. I guess that at the very least, this should be a good reminder about tolerance...and that in many cases there's still a long way to go.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Wipeout is awesome. It's a very unique type of game - playing it well is akin to finding the perfect racing line...if you were wearing ice skates. It has a technical nature about it that straddles the border between the likes of Mario Kart and Gran Turismo. I can think of no other games that really achieve such a combination, although perhaps F-Zero comes close. I'm a big racing game fan and I enjoy all sorts of takes on the genre. Gran Turismo is really the undisputed king of racing simulation. If you love cars, if you enjoy the technical aspects of tuning and the pursuit of driving precision, it's really for you. Sometimes that very much appeals to me; I racked up dozens of hours on GT3. I haven't played GT4 much lately, despite the fact that it's a superior game (and easily the best racing simulation game created so far). In terms of non-realistic racers, even there, the field is so wide open. Do you really compare Daytona USA to Mario Kart, for instance? I personally think they are two very different types of games. And I love both equally. Daytona USA is really a passion of mine and I was really disappointed that so few copies of the Dreamcast version were released in Australia. So far I haven't picked one up and I haven't yet bothered to consider importing from Europe or anything. But that's definitely a game I'd love to own. Mario Kart has always interested me though - especially the original game. The latter versions were good (I think Double Dash and Super Circuit were my favourites), but the original was really special. I'm hoping that Mario Kart DS really hits the spot. I guess that overall, I prefer the wackier racing games. I love games like Daytona, Mario Kart, Wipeout and F-Zero. But as a car enthusiast, I usually make sure to pick up at least the new entries in the Gran Turismo series. Every now and then I enjoy getting into the nitty gritty of racing, which that game really allows me to do. But usually it's just for quick fun - so usually I prefer the crazier stuff.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Marriel, please don't double post. You may want to check the rules about that, just as something to remember in future. I like Baron's post. I'm kind of similar. In high school I was always popular, but not like one of the bad kids who became popular that way. My schoolwork was always pretty good and I never had much trouble with anything like that. But I just sort of knew everyone and I was able to mix with any group at any time. I could sit down with the nerdier kids and chat and then I could go and sit down with the most popular kids and it was no problem. My friends were kind of all over the place, but mostly I'd say none of them were really nerdy or anything. Some of us played video games and stuff, but usually our leisure time was about going to parties and stuff like that. Still, playing games didn't suddenly make anyone an outcast, lol. So yeah, I don't know what group I'd fit into and I don't think Australia has the same kind of group classifications as America. On the one hand I always did relatively well academically, I played video games and spent time online and all of that nerdier stuff. But on the other hand I played some sport (hockey was my thing) and socialized, etc etc. *shrug* In my school, there were kind of the [i]really[/i] nerdy people and then "everyone else". I guess some were more popular than others, but we didn't really have all of the distinctions that American high schools often seem to have. Although obviously there are even exceptions in America, which is good. I think the atmosphere is a lot better when people feel free to mix with one another, without any boundaries.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]It's interesting that you mention wanting something "new", especially when I think about Alan's "80's but worse" comment. lol I think it's obvious that a lot of Jpop/rock fans get into the music via anime. I suppose that is somewhat true of the west as well (for example, I've discovered some groups and songs from films that I enjoy). So I guess it works both ways. In terms of Japanese music, I have very little interest in Jpop/rock. From the stuff I've heard of various bands, it's either by suited to being in some kind of TV show (which probably means I won't have a great deal of interest), or it sounds like a mediocre attempt to replicate something western bands were doing fifteen years ago. But having said that, there are some great contemporary Japanese artists who are experimenting with music as much as western musicians. One of my favourite Japanese groups in recent times has been Denki Groove - they produce electronic music and some of their stuff is quite good. Some of my favourite tracks from them combine more traditional Japanese instruments with very modern electronic riffs and such. In terms of lyrics...I don't require lyrics to enjoy a song. Music is music, I mean, a particular beat or melody can lift me up out of my seat and carry me away. It's like classical music; these pieces can tell a story without uttering a word. I like the non-literal aspect of such music - it doesn't [i]need[/i] to say anything in particular, it can just provide you with a feeling/emotion. Or, it can just encourage you to dance or tap your fingers. ~_^ Still, I think it depends on the kind of music. A large part of the reason I like Marilyn Manson is for the lyrics. But if I didn't like Manson's voice or if I hated the music, the lyrics would be largely irrelevant to me. What matters to me is not only the content of the lyrics, but how they sound. If the sound attracts me, then that's all I really care about in the end - what the lyrics actually say are just a nice bonus on top.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Beautiful, Alex. Thank you very much. I should create a seperate thread so that Guild members can vote on which hall they want, especially considering that this is really an OB-centric Guild. So yeah, I encourage people to go through the photos and start thinking about what they'd like.[/color][/font]

[color=#332D1D][font=franklin gothic medium]I've been in Lion's Arch for a few days now, so we are now starting to get into a position where we can consider the Guild Hall. I'd definitely like everyone to visit the Guild Hall sites and choose their favourite. We really do need a proper listing with images on here though, so that all the members can vote for what they want.[/color][/font]

[color=#332E1D][font=franklin gothic medium]Hey, slow down there! That's an awful lot of posts. ~_^ You may want to read our rules page first (located on the left navigation menu). Please ensure that you read them thoroughly. Also, you may want to check out the "How to post in Play It" thread at the top of this forum. Finally, please continue any discussions related to G4 [url="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=46382"]in this thread[/url]. We only require one thread for each subject at a time. Double (and triple) posting is against the rules, which you'll note if you read our rules page. Please take note so that there are no problems in the future.[/color][/font]