James

[color=#707875]The biggest problem here is that there's an oversimplification of the truth. We know that in the case of Iran/Iraq, Reagan was between a rock and a hard place. No matter what he did, he would have been criticised. At the time, I'm sure that he felt it was better to oppose Iran than Iraq, given the idea that nobody wanted to see a hardcore Islamist dictatorship in the region -- particularly one that was aggressive and hostile to other countries (like Saudi Arabia, which is just one example). Obviously we know what happened with Iraq, in terms of what it became. But I don't think it's that simple to predict the future when you're there in that situation at the time. Moreover, it's very easy to look back with 20/20 vision at these scenarios. But to be in a position of incredible pressure, having to deal with such situations...obviously it's very different to our luxurious reflection 20 years later. In regard to the economy...surely there are no doubts that the American economy was doing relatively well under Reagan. Deregulation in particular is something that can't be quickly or simply evaluated. There are pros and cons to deregulation; we've experienced it here in Australia. Generally speaking though, deregulation does allow for increased competitiveness in the market (as opposed to having everything over-regulated and stagnant). I'm sure that deregulation has had its casualties, but oversimplifications aren't going to adequately describe the impact. In general though, we have to remember that we're talking about politics. Again, no matter what your political beliefs are, it's obviously not constructive to sit there and be happy about someone's death. There's nothing mature or admirable about that. I would personally feel a greater sense of respect for this discussion if it were actually clearly focused on specific issues, without any hostile/emotive rhetoric (from either side).[/color]

[color=#707875]I think that this is a good idea, but I'm not aware of the programming difficulties, given the current system that we have in place. So I'd have to refer you to Adam or Justin on that front. But it's definitely an idea with merit, in and of itself.[/color]

[color=#707875]You must have been reading our minds, Cloud. We have something along these lines in the works at the moment. No doubt you will see the results soon. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]I think that's a pretty cool game idea, Chibi. Perhaps the game mechanics could revolve around attempting to get yourself fired from various jobs. So if you're working in an office, you could pee in the watercooler, set booby traps for other office staff, see how many photocopiers you can crash in sixty seconds, spraypaint on the walls, empty garbage bins all over the carpark, etc... I think that could be quite fun. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Homosexuality isn't a trend; it's just that people have become increasingly tolerant of those who are in minorities over the years. So let's be clear about that point. In terms of euthanasia...I do think this is a very difficult issue to deal with. It would be difficult to create an effective and legal euthanasia system, because obviously one has to ensure that a) the patient is suffering from a terminal, non-curable illness and b) that the patient is [i]suffering [/i]to the point where drugs/medication cannot help the symptoms/pain and life is nothing but physical pain and discomfort. Under those circumstances, I would support euthanasia if the patient wanted it. I say that because I imagine how I'd feel if I were in that situation. I imagine how I'd feel if I were suffering with an incurable disease, where my every waking moment was full of unbearable physical pain. In that situation, I would probably see euthanasia as quite a legitimate option. So I would not rule it out. However, it's not really something you can put in the hands of doctors. It has to be the patient's decision. In cases where the patient cannot decide...I don't know. I assume that you would simply be cautious and avoid administering euthanasia because there's no complete confirmation; you can't be [i]sure [/i]that this is what the patient wants. So it's definitely a difficult issue. I don't think that euthanasia is necessarily something that one can rule out entirely -- that [i]would [/i]be inhumane, especially for those who are in very extreme circumstances. But by the same token, I think it would probably be irresponsible to just open the gates and let it become legal without very stringent guidelines.[/color]

[color=#707875]Well, two people have already been chosen by Adam to my knowledge. I'm not sure if they have been informed though; no doubt I'll make an announcement when I find out the details of that. Adam asked me to recommend a third person to him, which I did. But I have no idea if he is going to choose that person or somebody else. Afterall, where OtakuBoards is primarily my responsibility, theOtaku.com is something that Adam is more involved in on a day-to-day basis. So he has a much better idea of the kind of numbers he needs and the kind of skills he's looking for. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Well, I think that it will be taped by the media; that's hardly the Reagans' preference. And we know that they've been quite secretive about Ronald Reagan over the years, in an attempt to protect his privacy. So although I know you're not saying that they are camera-addicts or something...it's probably important to point this out anyway. I don't think that DeathBug was trying to dictate how someone should feel about someone else's death...I think he was simply stating that it is inappropriate to be happy about someone's death simply based on an ideological difference. I agree with that. Politics is politics and whether you agree or not, we are all human beings. And that can't be forgotten.[/color]

[color=#707875]Interesting thread, BlueYoshi. I like your comments about DeNiro; they're pretty spot-on in my view. ^_^ I've mentioned it on myOtaku, but I think that one of my more recent favourites would have to be Uma Thurman. As I mentioned on myOtaku, I never used to see her as much of an actress. I think there are a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, there are two movies of hers that had stuck out in my mind; Batman & Robin and The Truth About Cats & Dogs. Obviously neither of these movies could be considered her best work. In Batman & Robin, I thought she was pretty awful. She had the right look for Poison Ivy, but her dialogue was pretty poor and in the context of the film, I didn't like it. Having said that, I tend not to blame her so much; I think it was just a bad film in general, with poor writing and directing. The Truth About Cats & Dogs is one of those sort of no-brainer, mildly entertaining movies that follows some pretty standard conventions. And of course, Uma plays a "stupid" character in that movie, which is obviously completely deliberate. But these two movies in particular somehow became films that I identified Uma with. And that was a negative thing. When Kill Bill came along, I recognized several things about Uma. Firstly, the role was designed for her. And it shows. Not only does she deliver the dialogue perfectly, but her reactions and responses to certain situations are amazing. Remember the part where she [spoiler]realizes that she's lost her baby?[/spoiler] In my opinion, her expression there was stunning. And the part where [spoiler]she's being buried alive in the coffin, in Volume 2[/spoiler], we really see a very realistic reaction to such a scenario. When she [spoiler]freaks out as the torch goes out[/spoiler]...I just had the sense that it felt very real. And that not only made her character more believable, but it also served to make the situation [i]feel [/i]more realistic and tangible to me. As a member of the audience, it almost felt like I was in that situation myself. Based on the strength of Kill Bill, I saw Pulp Fiction...some ten years after it was released. ~_^ Uma's part of the movie was my favourite, by far. Her excellent delivery of lines in the restaurant is one great example...and again, in general, I think the character suited her down to the ground. So I was glad that I actually decided to go back and watch that movie, because it reinforced the idea that Uma is more talented than I'd ever given her credit for. And I'm glad that my first thoughts were proven wrong. I hope that Kill Bill had the same effect on others who perhaps hadn't liked Uma as much in the past.[/color]

[color=#707875]I was referring to Chiimaru (and those who are obviously totally misunderstanding what we're talking about here, because they haven't really read our comments).[/color]

[color=#707875]I think it's ridiculous to hope that [i]any [/i]President would die. Whether or not you like the man (and nobody here knows him personally to my knowledge) is really irrelevant. Obviously he was an important man who left a significant legacy on America. And now that he has died, it's important to be respectful and reasonable -- there's no need to be petty on any level. The only thing I'll say is that I'm surprised this would be a shock to anyone. We already heard a warning about his health yesterday and we've heard repeated warnings about it in recent years. I think most people expected that this was coming. I guess we can only hope that he died peacefully.[/color]

[color=#707875]I just want to repeat...[b]again[/b]...that this is not a position on OtakuBoards. We are advertising a position for a moderation spot at [b]theOtaku.com: Fan Art[/b]. If you do not actually read the information presented either in my announcement or in this thread, then you are not exactly providing a good first impression. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Scary stuff! Perhaps we should use this guy to warn spammers on the boards... ^_^; But pretty well executed for your first piece of Flash. It'll be cool to see more stuff from you. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]I think you are continuing a good trend here...I like the last two, as I mentioned on AIM. I think that animation would be the next logical step, as Charles mentioned. However, if you make that step, it will be critical to keep your image sizes down (memory-wise) and to ensure that the text doesn't flash on and off too quickly or slowly. So there are some new design considerations involved there. But it's definitely worth considering. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Just to note; we are not looking for OtakuBoards moderators in this thread, we're looking for moderators at theOtaku.com: Fan Art. [/color]

[color=#707875]Um, guys...you do know that bypassing the censor with special text is against the rules, don't you? Just checkin'. As far as confronting him goes...I guess I'm still not clear as to why you'd even want to do that. It seems to me that this guy is not really worth anyone's time -- let alone yours. As a male, [i]I [/i]don't understand that kind of behavior. The whole "guys aren't as open" type thing is a bit of an excuse I think. It's not like men can just make up excuses for their awful behavior and say "well, it's because I'm a guy and guys are like that". It's not about guys or girls, it's about good behavior versus bad behavior, in my opinion. I have never understood the whole cheap pick-up line thing, or the various tricks that people apparently use to get women to sleep with them. The whole thing is just way out there for me -- it's not something I'd even consider doing. And I find it completely petty anyway. So that's coming from a male...and I know there are many other men who feel the same way. Maybe that helps to provide a little perspective on the male end of the situation.[/color]

[color=#707875]Nice work. ^_^ The first one definitely has a sad/depressing tone to it...I think you've been able to capture the facial expressions pretty well there. With further development (possibly a digital clean-up), I think you could have something very nice there. The second image is my favourite, if only because it's the most developed of the three. I think it demonstrates that you're able to work fairly well with proportion and things like that. The shading on the clothing is quite good, but again, with more development you could probably finesse that a little bit by having softer shading and more prominent light/dark spots. The final picture isn't bad for a five minute sketch; it's definitely good to practice whenever you can. Again, the thing I notice most is that you're worked with proportions quite well, even on a very short sketch. I think that's one of the most critical elements with fan art like this; no matter how beautifully something is rendered, a problem with proportion can throw out the entire image.[/color]

[color=#707875]Ani_Freak, I think you are doing just fine. Your English is quite acceptable. [i]Nobody[/i] has perfect English, really. Even those of us who might be better with English in general (or more comfortable with it) will still make mistakes. The thing with this site, is that we try to encourage people to post in a way that is at least readable and thoughtful. We don't mind if you have spelling mistakes and stuff like that. It happens to the best of us. It's just that we'd rather see posts that have some thought behind 'em, rather than posts that are "all leik dizz & r [email="h@rd"]h@rd[/email] 2 reed @ timeZZ!!" So I think that's a pretty clear distinction. In terms of why people would want to be Mods...I can't answer that question. But I can tell you that whenever I ask someone to be a Moderator here, they usually don't see it coming and they are usually very humble about it. I can also say that from what I know of our staff, all of them take the job quite seriously. They know that they were asked to assist the boards and they understand that this is a significant responsibility here. But at the same time, we're all human. And OtakuBoards is just a message board on the Internet. I don't expect people's lives to revolve around it and I don't expect people to always behave perfectly. On balance though, I think most people are doing a good job and they aren't letting their positions get to their heads (afterall, if they were like that, I would not have chosen them in the first place).[/color]

[color=#707875]I think there have been quite a few high quality RPGs running over recent months; I've actually mentioned several of them in my previous myOtaku updates. And I've provided little summaries as to why I think they're good/high quality. Right now, I think Adventure Arena is in a slightly better position than it's been before. It used to be the case that you'd see [i]nothing [/i]but awful RPGs...and you'd get the very odd RPG that had some thought put into it. These days, I would say that maybe 40% of the RPGs that are created have some kind of serious work put into them. Bear in mind that for a lot of younger and newer members, this may not mean getting into full-blown histories and using graphics and so on. It often takes some time to build up to that point. Often, people have to start somewhere fairly basic and build themselves up over time. In terms of what it takes to make a good RPG, you'd really have to define what "good" is. I've seen some RPGs that began with fairly limited sign-up threads, but which sprouted and became massively long epic stories. Whether or not the writing quality or structure is "good" doesn't really matter -- obviously the participants are having a lot of fun and they're sticking with it. And that's what is critical; fun. If your RPG feels like a chore, then it's not a "Role Playing Game". It should be fun and interesting. As long as you have something fun going, then I don't think it matters what your concept is or your setting or any of those things; that stuff will just come down to personal taste. Interestingly though, RPGs have changed a lot over time on OtakuBoards. They used to [i]all [/i]be almost nothing but dialogue...and most used to use the play-written structure, which is obviously a lot easier and more simplistic than a flowing novel-like narrative. But that began to change when more and more people started to write their posts as if they were chapters right out of a novel. Once the "top" RPers began doing this, most others followed suit. I think that this is very beneficial, because it ensures that people build up skills in writing that type of content. And I have no doubt that it helps with people's English. In fact, I would recommend regular RPG participation for [i]anyone [/i]who struggles with English at school. It's a fun way of experimenting with words and building up new ideas. In terms of my own experience with RPGs...well, there have definitely been times where I've had to quit during the middle of an RPG. But whenever I join an RPG, I'm very selective in the first place -- I only join if I feel that I can provide a strong commitment. Sometimes I can't. And most often, this is because of other commitments that are more important and take up my time. Now, I [i]could [/i]still post and post shorter, lower quality posts. A lot of people do that when they run out of time. We always see the "Sorry about that post, I had to do homework!" type of thing after posts. But...I really refuse to do that. Sometimes my posts won't be so good because I'll have a lack of ideas or something. But there's no way I'm going to post short, pointless junk in someone else's RPG simply because I don't have the time. I would rather pull out entirely, than simply contribute hollow junk. I think the latter is a lot worse. As far as taste goes, I'm not quite sure what tastes I have. I tend to avoid joining the "realistic" RPGs, like Piro. I generally don't find them interesting. If I'm going to write a story, I tend to want to write about something a bit more far out. But even in something like Maverick Hunters, where the main characters are all synthetic people...the situations and emotions that they deal with are still "realistic". So it's not as though I'm necessarily writing about something totally unreal and bizarre. It's just that I like to have unique and fantastical settings. While I'm on this subject, I think it's great to note the way attitudes surrounding RPGs have changed. Piro mentioned that his RPG died and that it's coming back now. This is good; people tend to get the idea that once an RPG dies, you can NEVER post in it again. But we have no rules about that. A good example would be Maverick Hunters, again. Sometimes that goes for a couple of months without any activity. And then it'll get a flurry of posts. And then no activity, and then a flurry of posts. And so on. I think that's totally fine though. It means that there isn't any pressure to constantly post -- if you want to add to it a bit at a time, now and then...that's fine. There are no particular rules that dictate how one should approach an RPG. In a similar vein, I know that some upcoming RPGs will be pretty unconventional compared to what we're all used to. One of them in particular (not made by me) is going to use a chapter system like Kill Adam. But it will be even more rigid and organized than Kill Adam. I hope that we see more RPGs that try to do something like this -- something a bit different. Conventions do build up over time, but people forget that they have almost [i]complete [/i]creative freedom in Adventure Arena. You want to use HTML? Go for it. Want to embed music in the page? Go for it. Want to span your RPG over multiple threads that might be seperate, but have one broader intertwining story? Sure thing. All of that and a whole lot more is possible. In Kill Adam 2, I'm going to be demonstrating some basic ideas about how people can expand the uses of Adventure Arena. And again, I hope that it influences people to do something unique, or to say "that gives me an idea that I want to try on my next story". I definitely encourage people to get involved and go all-out. It's always great to see unique stuff in Adventure Arena. [/color]

[color=#707875]I don't think that things are any different really. People who join the boards and immediately start spamming and writing posts like "omg how ru pplzzz!!?!!??" are probably going to be banned on the spot. But that's no different to anything we've done before. It could simply be that you've been visiting while we've had a [i]lot [/i]of those members. Afterall, nothing about it is totally linear -- some weeks we'll get a huge amount of spammers, some weeks we will get a huge amount of awesome members who respect the rules. A big part of the problem is definitely when members step in and "play mod". But there's really nothing I can add to that, because I think we all know that it's a problem. As the guy who actually runs the site, I look at a [i]lot [/i]of closed threads and things like that. So I frequently keep staff in check and make sure that they're as courteous as possible in any given situation. And honestly, I haven't discovered staff snapping at members. And if they do, it's often because a member has repeated an offence and hasn't listened to warnings or advice from staff. So, I think it's a bit difficult to take a quick snapshot and say "this is how the site feels", because things change on a day-to-day basis. I'm pretty satisfied with where we are right now, though.[/color]

[color=#707875]Yup, Undefeated is correct...signature is the best place to advertise your own threads. This is what I do in my signature at the moment (or at least, I provide links to thread I've made or have participated in).[/color]

[color=#707875]Yeah, I think the only real problem here is that the randomness isn't necessarily very humorous. As far as copying a style...well, DW certainly didn't invent the whole randomness thing. I've seen it done plenty of times before. But again, as has been said, everything tends to come from something else. My latest RPG is inspired by Kill Bill and Kill Bill is inspired by various other movies. So even potentially unique work may still have influences from certain places. The point is not necessarily whether there's an influence, but whether or not the actual outcome is any good...and if there [i]is [/i]a deliberate influence, you have to ask whether or not you're living up to the subject matter that your work is based on. In this case, I just think that the randomness is kind of pointless and there isn't much of a solid storyline. In DW's stuff, I tend to feel that the randomness can be a bit overwhelming at times...and it can take away from the possibility of a good story. But DW [i]does [/i]tend to include a relatively solid story and he does tend to focus on keeping things running along a certain track...rather than letting things get so out of control that the reader is totally confused. So, I think it's probably a good start, but it's something to work on.[/color]

[QUOTE=Werline][font=Arial]undefined[/font][size=3]undefined[/size][color=black]undefined[/color] What i like is rap battling. It involves a lot of skill and provides the opportunity for some very funny stuff. Unfortunately, the rap battle forum on this site was closed thanks to some ****** named Charles. I didn't even think his raps were all that good.[/QUOTE] [color=#707875]We never had a rap battle forum (thank god), just a thread. I haven't seen it lately, but I'm sure that Charles closed it for good reason. Charles is the Administrator here, so he is able to close such threads if he feels that it's necessary. I don't accept [i]any [/i]flaming/abuse of either staff or members, Werline. It's simply not welcome here.[/color]

[color=#707875]Amazing stuff, Solo. That was very cool, I loved it. ^_^ Very funny. Hehe[/color]

[color=#707875]Yeah, this is a pretty nice picture. Nice colours and nice proportions. The shading is also really effective, especially on the hair and clothes. The only thing I don't like is his bottom lip. It looks like it's been stung by a bee or something. I can sort of see why you've done it that way...but I think it'd probably look better with just a line and some shading underneath, to show the shadow that the lip casts. At the moment it just looks a little odd to me. But having said that, it's a minor thing. Great picture -- it'd look pretty darn cool as a CD cover, that's for sure. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]I think that celebrities are more humanized today than ever before. They've lost the mistique that they had in the 50's and 60's, for example. Today we see them at their worst; alcoholics, drug users, the list goes on. In terms of my personal feelings...I don't find myself getting very star struck. I've met and come across various people over the years that would be considered famous. And sure, for a moment it's something you notice, because you are familiar with their face. But I'm not the kind of person to go completely crazy over a celebrity. Not only are they normal people, but many of them have done things that they shouldn't be too proud of...so that doesn't really raise my admiration for 'em. Of course, everyone is different. For example, I would rather meet Shigeru Miyamoto than [i]any [/i]Hollywood celebrity. But having said that, my reaction would probably just be nervousness in that case...I'm not the kind of person to totally fall to pieces in the presence of people like that. So I don't know if I'm similar to others, or different. I just don't find the whole celebrity fascination interesting. I really couldn't care less who is dating who, or who had the wardrobe malfunction. I just don't know why people can't get over it; who cares? If I'm going to be fascinated by stuff that shallow, I should probably be evaluating my own life more seriously...because there are so many more things out there than celebrity gossip.[/color]