James

[color=#707875]Inuyasha, you can visit the OtakuBoards Information Center (and the Posting FAQ inside it) to see how to customise your text. Secondly, what you're posting here is pretty much off-topic. It would have been better to PM a Moderator/Category Moderator with your question. And that brings me onto my third point; the rules. We expect every member to read 'em, or run a pretty significant risk of being banned at some point along the line. You can find the rules in the Info Center as well. And finally, I urge you to clean up your post quality. "n e one" should be "anyone" and "ur" should be "your". I know it seems like a minor thing, but it's for everyone's benefit here. We are always encouraging people to put thought and effort into their posts. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to PM a staff member.[/color]

[color=#707875]If TSW had followed a specific game in the series....maybe I'd hav enjoyed it more. In any case, it'll be interesting to see where Square Enix goes with the FFVII story. It's one of my favourite games largely due to non-game elements...atmosphere, music, story, etc. And as you can see, I've already made an avatar of the "new" Cloud. ~_^ He was too dark though...so I adjusted it a bit. And I've got a snazzy pink Cloud banner in my random image thing...wee. Maybe there's such thing as liking FFVII too much. X_X[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by lea2385 [/i] [B]why are geisha's expensive just to drink tea with? [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]Well, there are lots of reasons. But to make sure that I don't blabber on too much...Geisha are expensive because they are experts in their craft. Geisha are extremely intelligent; informed on world events, political issues, art, music and culture. Geisha usually speak more than one language too -- it's not uncommon to find that a Geisha will speak four or five languages and be completely fluent in each one. Geisha also train for most of their lives. They train in the delivery of the Tea Ceremony, they learn how to walk and move, they learn various social mannerisms, they learn various traditional dances...and they often learn how to play multiple musical instruments. So, that's a quick overview. Geisha do tend to be expensive, but if you can afford to spend a few minutes drinking tea with one, I think you'll find that you will enjoy it...and it will be a very traditional Japanese experience. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Jenna, it sounds like your professors are doing the right thing. There are some journalism professors who do teach very leftist viewpoints...and when that happens, it becomes a problem. It's a problem because you're learning a political ideology and not a [i]skill[/i] of journalism. It depends on the format. If you are reporting news, you cannot inject any opinion into the piece. It's very possible to do this and it's interesting to see the ways in which news itself can be spun. I've noticed that as far as raw news reporting itself goes...Fox and CNN spin things equally, just in opposite directions. And that's simply bad journalism, no matter what side of the fence you're on. But then there are opinion shows and whatnot. Fox in particular is made up mostly of this type of program. I get a different version of CNN to what America gets, though CNN International has many of the same shows. CNN International is just as biased though, unfortunately.[/color]

[color=#707875]I agree with you on that point. Colin Powell doesn't seem to be a greedy/dirty political type. I mean, you know...he doesn't have that history really. In terms of the European thing...well, I'm sure most Americans don't think all that much about foreign policy. But nevertheless, the Government has to. So obviously, in terms of having your cake and eating it to...Powell is probably a good candidate there. [/color]

[color=#707875]Good stuff, Drixxy. You have my vote (even though I'm not an American...but hey, with your new immigration "controls", that won't be a problem ~_^). Actually, I'll vote for you if you let me be the Governor of California. Yes, yes...I know you don't have that power yet. But you will by 2020, I'm sure. When that happens, I'll have someone make bullbar out of Arianna Huffington, which I can attach to my enormous new Hummer (with the OB logo on the side, of course). Ahem. ^_^;;[/color] [quote][i]Originally posted by The Original:[/i][b] I'm sorry if I didn't more properly define what I meant; I was trying to say that while Gore was more popular in many parts of the country, Bush (at least in my opinion) altered the polls a lil' bit.[/b][/quote] [color=#707875]I don't think that Bush edited any polls...people always say that about politicians. But I don't really fall into those conspiracy theory type things. Besides, a lot of polls at the time would probably have been taken by organizations that would be considered "liberal". If anything, most people would tell you that they had an anti-Bush slant. But I don't know. I think most of it is made up by people who have an axe to grind. In any case...I think Mr. Powell would definitely make a good President. He'd be conservative AND palatable for Europeans. lol As for Hillary...I don't have much else to say about her really. I tend not to get into all the backstabbing stuff, because I find most of it useless. And I don't really care. If I were voting in Hillary's electorate, I'd be more interested in her specific policies and ideas. Even with all the political coverage I read/watch...I rarely hear what Hillary has to say about specific things.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Double_B_Daigo [/i] [B]We obviously have different thought on what a fan is Mal, so i'm not gonna argue with you, as much as i want to. All i have to say on the subject is that if you fell into Fandom with a character and series, you shouldn't want to change them and it gets me angry to see them do just that and call it a FANfic. They may not get things right, but atleast they gave it a try instead of taking the easy way out and changing what the entire series is about. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]Aside from the fact that the vast majority of fan fiction is horribly written and ill-conceived, I still don't think you have much of a case here. If people aren't allowed to change character personalities AT ALL, or explore possibilities within these characters, what's the point? That's what fan fiction is all about! It's about exploring these possibilities with existing characters. If everyone tried to stay true to the conventions of a series, I think you'd see a great deal of fan fiction die out. That's just not how it works for most people. And you are mostly raising complaints about yaoi...I just don't know why it's anything to get upset over. If you don't like it, don't read it. That's what it's all about. And that's why your complaints are totally illogical to me. Surely you should be more concerned about people writing their fiction [i]well[/i] and providing depth and meaning to what they say...rather than whether or not a particular character is a "homo" or whatever. People get so defensive over this, but really, there's no reason to. You don't own the anime. Who cares if someone wants to write a stupid, ill-conceived, illogical fan fiction piece? [b]Most[/b] fan fiction is like that anyway. I don't think I've ever seen ANY fan fiction that I really enjoyed -- or at least, that was very well written. There are exceptions...but they're just that; exceptions.[/color]

[color=#707875]I strongly dislike Ann Coulter. Not only is she blindly conservative (in the extreme), she also throws up some of the most redundant points I've ever seen. She annoys me. In terms of media bias...I think that generally, most news has more of a leftist tilt. This was particularly apparent during the war in Iraq. CNN in particular can be very silly and obvious with their leftist bias. In terms of Fox...I don't let them off the hook either. They are the conservative version of CNN -- and thus, they are no better. They have as much or more of a conservative slant as CNN has a liberal one. Having said that, I tend not to generalize about TV channels too much. Sometimes there are shows that are very even...and sometimes not. Fox is overwhelmingly conservative -- which I often don't mind, because I can see through it. So I take their "reporting" as it is and I disregard their frequent spin. Same goes for CNN. So, I personally don't know if I've found any one station that is particularly "in the center". Fox and CNN certainly aren't. If I had to choose the "most fair", I might choose Sky News Australia. They're pretty good and pretty fair mostly...but depending on the person who is on at the time, that can change.[/color]

[color=#707875]Well...I don't know what this has to do with showing your support for Bill Gates. o_O The number of threads in this forum only relates to the popularity of discussion. We obviously have more GameCube/GBA/PS2 gamers on these forums than Xbox gamers. So there's nothing anyone can really do about that, at the moment. In terms of your grammar...you know that we try to maintain high post quality here. If you know your grammar and spelling is bad, I urge you to take your time to improve it. Don't rush your posts, in other words.[/color]

[color=#707875]I can only say one word at this point: Wow. I preferred the original MGS to MGS2. So, having read a lot about this "remake", I'm very excited. Quite a lot has changed, too. All-new in-game movies, extra bits and pieces within the game itself and of course, the entire MGS2 moves list, fully implemented into the MGS universe. Very cool stuff. It's also interesting to note how far some developers are pushing the GameCube. In my opinion, this game is looking as good as MGS3...if not better. It's great to see developers starting to really push GameCube titles further than anyone has seen so far. In any case, this is just another game that I have to add to my "must purchase" list. Apart from Animal Crossing and F-Zero GX (both of which come out here next month), there are the numerous other first and third party exclusives to pick up. Ugh, my poor wallet. V_V Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on this game. Silicon Knights continues to prove itself as a great game developer...I'm very impressed by what I've seen of this game so far.[/color]

[color=#707875]So you're some guy in Texas who lives by Bushido? ...Do you also wear a kimono? o_O;; I agree with DeathBug to a certain extent. You can find honorable people almost anywhere. You can find honorable people in business, in public service...anywhere. I'm not sure that honor itself is devalued by the average person...but maybe the mass-media itself devalues honor. I don't know. I know that I've met a lot of people who aren't honorable -- and the contrast is great. But luckily, I've also had the opportunity to work with and be friends with people who are very honorable. So from my personal experience, I value honor, regardless of whether the world itself is going down the toilet or not. Hm...that seemed rather rambly. Oh well.[/color]

[color=#707875]Well, by and large...American console game developers aren't nearly as good as either Japanese or European developers. That's simply been a fact over the years, for a variety of reasons. Having said that, I think there are a select few American developers who are really pushing the barriers in various ways. In the PC field, the majority of the world's truly amazing developers are American. In the console field, the same is true with Japan. But as I mentioned, in recent times, we've seen some truly amazing stuff coming from certain American studios. I'll give you some of my favourite American developers: 1) Retro Studios. Yes, they've only made one game -- Metroid Prime. And yes, Nintendo was very heavily involved with it. But what's the result? A truly superb masterpiece. Retro was primarily involved with the game and they were truly the driving force behind it. Metroid Prime is an example of a truly amazing video game...far better than many other releases this generation. 2) Silicon Knights. They're not "American" as such (they're Canadian), but what a stunning development house they are. Eternal Darkess is, like Metroid Prime, a game that experiments and breaks rules. It's also one of the deepest, most plot-driven games I've ever encountered. ED is far, far more plot-driven than most Final Fantasy games I've ever played. 3) EA Studios Canada. Yeah, another Canadian developer. SSX is their forte. I've never really liked snowboarding games at all...but the SSX games are really superb titles. Nothing realistic about them, but they display amazing track design, gorgeous visuals and great attention to detail. 4) Naughty Dog. I always felt that the Crash Bandicoot games were very dry, boring things. Very uninventive. But Jak & Daxter proved that while Naughty Dog isn't really an "innovator" like Nintendo, it nonetheless knows what it's doing...and does it very, very well. Jak & Daxter is singlehandedly better than most Rare platformers I've seen in recent years. Right now, that's all I can think of. My brain is fried...no sleep in ages. ~_^ In terms of Square-Enix, you are right. Square-Enix often produces good games with excellent art. Gameplay wise, Square-Enix is no better than the vast majority of developers (well, [i]Square[/i] isn't, in general). How anyone can adore Final Fantasy and ignore Zelda or Mario is beyond me. While Final Fantasy is generally very good...and plays quite well, Mario and Zelda are really the epitome of sublime gameplay and game control, in many ways. I mean, if you play something like Kingdom Hearts for ten minutes...then you go and play Super Mario Sunshine or The Wind Waker, you [i]immediately[/i] see the enormous difference in quality there. Kingdom Hearts is quite pretty and all...but compared to the latter two games, it's just...flat. It doesn't move like silk. Its camera is pointless. It just lacks refinement. And it shows. In terms of gaming "in general", and if you include PC gaming...American developers are still very much up there with most Japanese developers. I think the main difference is just that the Japanese really created video games (or at least, made them what they are). And Japanese companies like Nintendo have consistently brought about innovations that have become standard in the industry. Although, in terms of game companies not being recognized...I could then start talking about Australian developers. Some of the most innovative and revolutionary games were developed here, but published by American labels. As a result, American labels get the credit. A game like Super Smash TV is one of those games -- it was developed right here in Melbourne, by Beam Software. But it's always called "Midway's Super Smash TV" or whatever. *shrug*[/color]

[color=#707875]Having only just seen the second page...I'll tell you one thing. You're young. You've had some kind of love over the Internet. I won't deny that your feelings for her are very real (afterall, it's possible to make friends on the 'net and have a very real connection), however, the fact remains that you're both kids who live far from one another. Unless you can wait several years 'till you're old enough to do something about it...there isn't much point. Either you'll be waiting years and years, or you will simply be waiting for something that will never happen. At your age, it's best to go out with someone local, I think. There is plenty of chance to find love yet...you have plenty of time. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]I don't really have a favourite...but a few that are notable. Sephiroth is notable because he is so unpredictable...and basically, he's so psychotic. lol You almost feel sorry for him during certain parts of the story, because he's quite a tragic character. I also think Edea is notable, because she's female...but she is also very cool. She's beautiful and very graceful...that doesn't necessarily make her a good villain, but yeah...she was cool for some reason. Perhaps the fact that you don't hear her talk in any cutscenes (which is true for all the characters), only adds to her mystery. She just gets that nasty look. Other than that, I don't know. I thought Kuja was utterly laughable -- what a dork. He was a guy who wore red feathers and a pink g-string. Regardless of him as a personality, I still thought he was a dork. [/color]

[color=#707875]I'm not sure if Nintendo will have any bundles occurring over the Christmas holidays...unless you're talking about Toys R Us bundles. It was Nintendo who chose to drop the price though; they've also done it in Australia. It's an aggressive move to push sales up over the holiday period.[/color]

[color=#707875]Spirits Within wasn't horrible...but it wasn't great. I think people were expecting too much though. Hironobu Sakaguchi is a [b]game[/b] director, not a movie director. Shame, that. Anyway...while this news made me want to cry and cry and cry when I first heard it (lol), I'm starting to warm to the idea. Obviously, I would have LOVED a FFVII 2 video game. My god how I would have loved it. lol I want it so much that I'd buy shares in Square Enix just to have it. Ahem. Anyway...a movie isn't as good as a game might be, but at least it's [i]something[/i]. I really enjoyed FFVII's story...and a full length movie that produces an expansion to that story, while simultaneously being utterly gorgeous is a good thing in my book. At first I didn't like Cloud's more gritty look...but it suits. It's realistic, as opposed to chibified. And his hair looks awesome. Seph also looks pretty nasty, based on that small picture. In any case, I'll definitely buy it when it comes out. It's not a game...but it might still be a lot of fun to watch.[/color]

[color=#707875]If you're truly interested in Japanese culture, go to Gion Kobu, within Kyoto. And visit an Ochiya (at least I think that's what they are called...I forget). In other words, visit a Tea House and have afternoon tea with a Geisha. That's an experience you'll be able to talk to your grandchildren about; but it's very expensive, so be careful. Oh and, while you're in Kyoto...you have to take a photo of yourself standing in front of Nintendo's headquarters. You know, because it's cool and stuff.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Double_B_Daigo [/i] [B]I never said i was against it. I never said i hated those who read it. I never said i hated those who wrote ORIGINAL ones or ones using real or possible gays as there characters. But you also have to take in that the person reading it, never knowing what Trigun is, would probably know that it is by a fan, but they couldn't know that it is using straight characters. Turning Vash gay is changing a large portion of his personality. So, that person reading it might not know that Vash is really straight. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]I still personally don't see why it matters. Firstly, people might take Vash and put him in fan fiction where he's still heterosexual. In that case, they may still change his personality somewhat. Would you be as offended in that case? Taking Vash and "making him gay" doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean he's girly, it doesn't mean he isn't a womanizer (or the opposite of that...whatever it's called) and so on. It just means that he's homosexual rather than heterosexual. The problem is that you're stereotyping homosexuals -- assuming that by making Vash a homosexual, you're fundamentally changing his personality. Not so. Vash's personality might even be identical, but his [i]sexuality[/i] might change. It's like giving Vash different coloured hair or different clothing. In the grand scheme of things, it's pointless to worry about that difference. The personality of any character doesn't necessarily change whether they're gay or straight. Moreover, I don't know why anyone would be "against" this type of fan fiction. You may [i]dislike[/i] it, but why be actively against it? Maybe it's because they're taking your precious character and making him gay...which you find offensive, because you find homosexuals offensive in some way. If a fan fiction writer were doing anything else to that character, you would definitely see far less complaints. And it's that point which aggrivates me. You yourself may not be the extreme example, but some that I've seen are. They use these reasons to cover the fact that, essentially, they don't want their beloved character to be a feminine gay guy. It annoys me because it's basically a nice way of being prejudiced, but also, these people do not [i]own[/i] the character in question. The fan fiction writer owns that character as much or as little as you do. I mean, really. I wish people would just use basic logic here. A fan fiction writer has as much right to make a character gay as they do to change his clothes, his hair or any aspect of his personality. If you aren't a fan...here's a hint: [b]don't watch/read it.[/b] That's the best you can do. But why try to justify your opposition in these ways? It seems pointless to me. Either you oppose these animes because they drastically alter the personality of the character (I'm sure some do and I'm sure some don't), or you oppose them simply because they're "degrading" [i]your[/i] character by making him gay. The latter is no excuse at all...nor any justification. The former is far more acceptable and realistic; but in both cases, one always has the option not to watch whatever they dislike. Still, I can understand why you would ask what the appeal of a particular anime is. That's fine...as long as yaoi fans are not attacked for it or told that they're wrong. I know you're not doing that, but some on here do. And that in itself is wrong.[/color]

[color=#707875]I think parents simply need to watch their kids. And I don't think that kids should be using chatrooms until they're about 13 or so (which is the legal age for chats and message boards that use the COPPA system, or similar systems). In any case, parents can also block their kids from entering certain chats...they can keep a log of what their kids are seeing, etc. That's all important. It's also important to remind kids about the dangers that can be out there. In terms of chats in general, I used to visit them a bit, but these days I much prefer message boards. They are cleaner, allow you plenty of time to write out your thoughts in an extended way (rather than just a one line thing) and they are more easily controlled. [/color]

[color=#707875]Why is it the Government's fault? o_O That doesn't make sense to me. It's not like anti-anthrax safety systems are part of common workplace safety.[/color]

[color=#707875]Cyan looked at his watch. As he did so, the light blue plasma screen came to life. It displayed the time at the bottom, with the date and a small clouds-with-rain-behind-it icon on the side. The time was 5:06am. As he walked outside, he felt a sudden rush of air. The wind lashed at the wet cement and pounded against the side of the enormous black defense building. The landing pad ahead was dotted with pulsating white lights, which blinked calmly despite the blankets of rain. Cyan was wearing a black cloak with a thin hood. He walked out into the rain and stood on the tarmac. Once again, he checked his watch. At first, Cyan thought that nobody had arrived. But finally, he saw several dark figures approaching. Pyret, Quietus, Excalibur, Arano, Archer, Themos, Angelus and Deep. They were walking in a tight-knit group, except that both Arano and Quietus were walking somewhat seperately. For his part, Arano was wearing no cloak. He didn't seem to notice the harsh weather. Quietus, while still wearing a cloak, seemed nonetheless disinterested in the group behind her. Cyan also noticed another figure emerging from the shadows; a young man with striking red hair and an elaborate black cloak. The hood on the cloak was sitting neatly around his neck, and as a result, hair was matted lightly around the sides of his face. Finally, the entire group stood in front of Cyan. Cyan smiled, as the rain continued to sweep across the expansive landing area. "It's good to see that you all made it," said Cyan. "I had hoped that none of you would be late." "No, sir!" said Angelus enthusiastically. Cyan smiled politely, while Arano snickered to himself. Cyan pointed to the man standing toward the back of the group. "You," he said, "with the red hair. Who are you?" The man stepped forward and brushed a strand of deep red hair from his face. "My name is Toshiro," he said, "but my callsign is Loki." Loki extended his hand for Cyan to shake, but Cyan remained still. "Loki, do you have permission to be here?" asked Cyan. Loki smiled awkwardly and reached into the pocket of his cloak. He then produced a small datacard and handed it to Cyan. Cyan's left iris changed from a blue-grey colour to a stronger, vivid blue. His eye was adjusting zoom properties as well as adjusting to the dark environment outside. This was necessary, due to the tiny size of the datacard's text. Cyan read for a brief second and then handed the card back to Loki. "That's fine," he said. "I just had to make sure that there were no security breaches at this time. It's too early for any problems..." "So, what are we here for?" Cyan looked across the group. The voice belonged to Arano, who was standing slightly seperate from the group. He didn't look at Cyan, but rather, his eyes seemed to focus on a point on the tarmac. "We are awaiting the arrival of Venus," said Cyan. "Venus?" asked Archer, who also seemed to be wondering why they were on the tarmac at such an early hour. Cyan nodded. "Venus is one of the Sygnosis X transport vessels. She's very slender and we use her mostly for transport purposes only. Great vehicle." Quietus smiled from underneath her dark hood. Her milky skin contrasted heavily against it. "Are all of your ships named after planets?" she asked, with a slight tone of sarcasm in her voice, though Cyan couldn't particularly pick it. "Yes," he said. "For instance, we have three heavier craft that we use for combat...Mars One, Mars Two and Mars Three. And we have a larger interstellar vessel called Mercury." "Where do you keep all of them?" asked Angelus. "All of these vessels are kept underneath the Sygnosis X headquarters. We have several large docking bays down there," said Cyan, as he periodically checked his watch, which was tracking the movements of Venus. Just as Cyan had finished speaking, several Reploids in the group looked skywards. In the distance, over the dark silhouette of Novus Concordia's cityscape, several blue lights became visible from within the clouds. The lights grew larger and larger, until finally, a sleek white shape could be seen. As it came closer, the Venus' curved shape became more and more apparent. It was a long vehicle, with barrel-shaped sides that were indented with various shapely extractor vents. The rear of the vehicle curved gracefully into a long, sharp tail, with a single white light at its end. The front contained a long, thin window that wrapped around the nose of the ship like a large panoramic visor. After several minutes of watching the Venus effortlessly glide through the sky (despite the growing storm), its light, almost delicate fusion engines could be seen. They were sitting on the underside of the vessel and were moving independently of one another, carefully changing the alignment and position of the Venus as it approached the tarmac. Its engines were almost silent and emitted a soft blue glow. As the Venus' underside gently kissed the cool surface of the tarmac, Cyan turned and began to walk toward it. He gestured for the others to follow. Even to Cyan, who had known the Venus for several years, it remained a highly impressive vehicle. Not only was it like a moving piece of art, but it was also such a great comfort. The Venus had been used in various military rescues across the world and it had even been taken into very risky battlefield situations. It had even suffered significant damage in the middle of a skirmish. And yet, with several months of repair under its belt, the Venus looked and felt entirely new again. Its engines were as quiet as ever, its interior was as spacious and silent as ever and with everything it did, the Venus exuded a sense of grace and composure. To Cyan, the Venus was almost like a mother. Perhaps that concept wasn't so odd, considering that both of them were machines. The side entry door gently slid away into the wall, producing a rectangular opening. Soft white light poured through and cast a glow across the black tarmac. Cyan stepped inside, followed by the new recruits. The interior deck was more spacious than it had appeared from the outside and moreover, everything seemed extremely luxurious. Touch-screen monitors were mounted just about everywhere, white leather chairs mounted on brushed aluminium pods were littered around the deck. And, as the new recruits noticed, the ceiling was capable of becoming completely transparent at the touch of a screen. It was a beautiful, graceful atmosphere -- quite odd for what they assumed as a military vehicle. "Make yourselves at home," said Cyan as he gestured toward the chairs. "If anyone wants to dry off, there are several changing rooms in that direction," he pointed to his left. "If you'll excuse me," he added, "I need to visit the Command Center for a moment." [center]| | | |[/center] A tall, slender Reploid in completely white clothing was sitting in a chair in the very center of the room. His face was pleasant, almost serene. Sitting in front of him was Cyan, who was surrounded by various touch-screen displays. Cyan turned his chair around to face the Reploid. The Reploid cocked his head slightly and smiled. "Are you okay?" he said in a quiet voice. Cyan nodded. "I'm fine, Yang," he said, "I just hope we can do this..." Yang smiled once more and stared intensely at Cyan. His eyes were engaging and very much focused on the subject of his attention, however, his fingers continued to move rapidly over a control panel, which sat on the right-hand arm of his chair. "It's definitely not an easy thing," said Yang softly. "But, you know that we needed these recruits. Even though we're facing a bad situation...I'm sure we'll be fine." Yang smiled again and turned his attention to a small monitor, which extended from the side of his chair and was angled to sit just over his lap. Yang, who was Sygnosis X's very own pilot, was always a great comfort. Not just a comfort to Cyan, but to virtually anyone he came into contact with. Unlike his brother, who had a tendency to be more direct and "realistic" (though sometimes pesimistic), Yang was a perennial optimist. In many ways, he was the glue that held Sygnosis X together. He was a mediator and a friend to everyone -- particularly Cyan. Cyan looked up at a monitor which sat near the ceiling. It showed the recruits sitting in the main deck. An hour into the journey, and most of them were already discussing their experiences in a group. Cyan noticed that a couple of Reploids were choosing not to participate, but he didn't mind. He was surprised that the recruits had come together so soon. It was a promising sign. Again, Cyan looked at his watch. 7:45am. Only two more hours until they reached New Hokkaido...[/color]

[color=#707875]I'll direct you guys to [url="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30112"]this thread[/url]. It's a bit old, but it became quite a significant discussion. It might be better to post in there, rather than repeat the thread here.[/color]

[color=#707875]o_O;; Apart from the fact that AOL would [i]never[/i] send someone to communicate with you on AIM...lol...I don't really know what the point of this is. And I don't know how this actually constitutes any sort of real discussion. At the moment, we are trying to encourage intelligent discussion in this forum. If people start making topics where they do little else but copy and paste large blocks of text and then offer very little in the way of substantive comment, do you think we are coming any closer to achieving our aim? No. I mean, if you guys want to discuss this via IM or something...that's okay. But I urge you to be more careful about posting things like this on OtakuBoards. This is really contrary to everything we are trying to encourage. If someone else had posted it, you can bet that they'd probably have had this closed a while ago. I'm disappointed both that the thread exists in the first place and also that it wasn't closed. Please take more care in the future.[/color]

[color=#707875]The point is that people don't [i]have[/i] to use it. It's just there if you want. So if it's a pain...don't use it. lol[/color]

[color=#707875]Well, at least PT censored "***". That's nice. ^_^[/color]