James

[color=#707875]Not necessarily. The flood control won't really be affected by that, because sometimes you think your post has gone through and it hasn't. Or it has, and you [i]think[/i] it hasn't. So yeah, it does happen unfortunately. That's why the edit button is so useful. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]You [i]still[/i] haven't justifed yourself, Harry. lol You're sounding more and more like one of those 15 year old skateboarders than a responsible adult. I'm surprised that you have no regret/worry about hitting a child. [/color]

[color=#707875]I'm the same as Semji, in the sense that music is very important to me. I don't go a single day without listening to music, it's always with me wherever I go. In terms of tastes, I find that within the last few months, my tastes have shifted very suddenly, in the sense that I've become bored with a lot of artists that I used to like...and I've been seeking a lot of new things. Anything that I haven't heard before, or that doesn't sound familiar. I've always like electronic music. And I don't think I'll ever stop liking that. There are a few reasons for that. One is that electronic music (which is far too broad a term...but basically I mean "techno", though what I listen to generally isn't classed as such) speaks to me in a very personal way. Lyrics in certain songs are great...but lyrics are not what drive me, musically. For me, it's rhythum. It's the way the music physically affects my body. I mean, if I listen to a deep, rhythmic tune...it makes my entire brain rattle. And not in terms of being too loud, just in terms of the vibration/beat. It's like a pleasurable sensation, basically. And with electronic music (including all of its sub-genres), I find that there is unlimited variety. And there is a constant and consistent evolution, thanks to technology and the increasing freedom that it affords to individual artists. People can now create their own instruments, rather than relying on something that exists. And by doing so, you avoid having something that ever sounds familiar. I like that aspect to some of the more experimental groups/artists out there. And moreover, music will become increasingly "electronic" in general. It's already been happening over the last few yeras, and it will continue to happen to varying degrees. So, I think it's sort of unavoidable that I'll continue to like "electronic music" in general. Of course, I'll probably still enjoy classical music. I don't listen to it frequently as is, so it's not something I tend to get bored with. And I've always liked it to some extent. My feeling is that my specific tastes will change a lot in 10 years or however long. Not through maturity so much, but more through boredom and familiarity. If I get bored of a song, it's very hard for me to go back and enjoy it with the same passion. Hearing a song that I like for the first time is one of the most incredible experiences I can have. ~_^ So yeah, that's my silly, longwinded answer. ^_^;[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]I'm not even saying they aren't going through any wrong treatment maladjusted. Oh yeah James, gays have been treated like the rubbish of the world for two centuries and were treated like objects in a slave trade throughout the 1600's-1800's. --; And with that, I'm not condoning gay bashing at all. I'm just saying these are two different issues from two different times. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]Yes, they have been treated like the rubbish of the world for two centuries. Even more than that. To make an ignorant comment like that only [b]proves[/b] that you know very little about opression of gays. In addition, gays are facing similar civil rights issues to blacks during the 1960's. It's a very important comparison, because both groups are minorities. Both groups are born into their relative minority. Yet one has greater civil rights than the other. The point is that, regardless of whether you want to compare minorities to each other, it doesn't excuse inequal rights under the law. Nothing excuses that. To even begin justifying it is only prejudiced. You might not condone gay bashing, but you're doing a good job of ignoring history and dismissing equal rights for gays as being unimportant.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]Having a history of being enslaved and THEN being racial outcasts as bad as it was in the '60's and '80's is a whole lot worse than what gays have experienced through the 90's. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]What about the gays who are slaughtered in Africa? Or the gays who are mutilated in the Middle East? Do [i]not[/i] even go there with your argument.[/color]

[color=#707875]I thought that the last name was an invention in the movie...and not an official Nintendo thing.[/color]

[color=#707875]The point is that they were inappropriately punished. Once again, an adult punching a child isn't right (legally or morally, by most standards). And, pbfrontmanvdp, I'm not going to "lose it" with anyone. Harry did what I asked, and that's fine for now. I only ask that he respect our rules. In terms of this specific discussion...I've made my opinion about it clear. I don't intend to "lose it" with Harry merely because I think what he did was childish. lol[/color]

[color=#707875]Okay, I assumed it was an AOL problem because every member who has come to me has said they've used AOL. But yeah, I don't know what the deal is. Hopefully it'll be cleared up soon (a lot of you seem to be able to access the site again, thankfully).[/color]

[color=#707875]This would be better suited as a message in your signature. Thanks.[/color]

[color=#707875]Yes -- he made it clear that he made that part up. The kids only swore at him. He was the first to use violence.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Magdalena [/i] [B]And what is a child going to learn on this site that may be "objectional" that isn't on TV? And anyway, I'm sure the [b]kids[/b] got what was deserved, plus they think they were tough lil yungings by disturbing the elderly, no? [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]Firstly, your initial point is ridiculous and dismissive. OtakuBoards [i]isn't[/i] TV. lol Comparing a message board with rules to "TV" is pointless. I'm not even going to bother getting into that one. Your second comment...once again, I fail to see how there's any logic there. A 14/15 year old is a child. Sure, they did the wrong thing -- and I fully agree that they should be harshly punished. But it's not up to some adult to come in and [b]punch[/b] them in the face. That's child abuse, any way you look at it. If you advocate child abuse, that's fine by me. But that's what it boils down to. lol[/color]

[color=#707875]Have you even read our rules, Magdalena? I'm not offended by it, but we have young kids on here. And moreover, I'm always having to cater to a great variety of tastes on the site. I have a responsibility to those people -- you don't. If I want the avatar to be removed, it'll be removed. Secondly...the police are highly irresponsible if they didn't charge Harry (presuming he actually hurt the kids, which I'm assuming he did). Once again, punching a child isn't appropriate. And if you think it is, I don't konw what planet you're living on. lol Dismissing it as "kids are such punks" just shows indifference.[/color] [quote][i]Originally posted by Harry:[/i][b] What's objectionable from the original post?[/b][/quote] [color=#707875]Read the post of mine on the last page, with the spoiler. Highlight the spoiler and you'll see. Please...don't give me a headache today. lol[/color]

[color=#707875]You're not -- why is your avatar still there? And you didn't edit out the objectionable stuff from your original post. Please do these things immediately if you want to remain on the site. Secondly, you [i]can't[/i] justify what you did. What you did is called [b]child abuse[/b]. You do [b]not[/b] punch children. For the police to even consider that as acceptable is very irresponsible. And I didn't say "a simple humiliation". ~_^ I've dealt with similar situations before, and I've never needed to resort to throwing punches to fix the situation.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Harry [/i] [B]Actually this was like the 3rd skirmish I have had with them. And I did humiliate them before. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]So? I don't think that lowers the seriousness of what you did. Please take the rest of my last post into account, also.[/color]

[color=#707875]It doesn't matter. An adult singlehadedly loses a lot of dignity by hitting a child. And no matter how nasty they were, they were kids. A 15 year old is definitely not an adult rival. As I said earlier, there are better ways of fixing the situation. In particular, if you'd put a little thought into it, you probably could have humiliated them quite well without resorting to a punch in the face. lol While I'm here, I'll remind you of two things. Firstly, your avatar is pretty inappropriate for OtakuBoards. I'd like you to remove it. Secondly, your original post was pretty crude in a few respects. [spoiler]Jerking furiously while on a forum? I don't think many parents want their kids seeing that, but hey, you've already demonstrated that you aren't responsible with kids lol[/spoiler] Basically, I think I've been pretty leniant with you, Harry. I've let a lot slip. But you're starting to push the limit a little. I urge you to take my recommendations into consideration.[/color]

[color=#707875]There are plenty of people I'd like to punch. lol But whether or not you felt good doing it is irrelevant. I'm sure Cloricus would feel great if he could punch George W. Bush, but if he really did it, it wouldn't exactly be a noble gesture. lol[/color]

[color=#707875]You're an adult man who punched fourteen and fifteen year old boys? No excuse for that my friend, none at all. It would have been quite easy to get rid of them (or even make them clean up the mess) without actually punching them and potentially causing serious damage. I don't think you're any better than them, for what you did. Punching kids certainly isn't noble.[/color]

[color=#707875]There was no IP ban whatsoever, relating to this member. If he's an AOL user, he would have had that message (as many AOL users have been having). I've received a lot of emails regarding this issue and I can confirm that it's a problem with AOL. I don't know the nature of the problem, so I can't comment on when it will be fixed. You'll have to email AOL about that.[/color]

[color=#707875]It's hard to say what my favourite Nintendo soundtrack is. Super Mario Bros. 3 had great music, as does Super Mario Sunshine. Lately, I've really been enjoying the Metroid Prime soundtrack. It just blows me away...it's so cool. ~_^ Oh and, Luigi's Mansion. The way that they managed to squeeze out different versions of one theme is funky. lol[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Naru [/i] [B]I liked the animatrix but it was kind of hard to relate it to the movies. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]How on Earth do you figure that? lol The Animatrix could not have been anymore related to the movies if it tried. o_O [/color]

[color=#707875]Nope. I'm talking about business ventures, rather than name changes. In particular, Nintendo's post-card ventures. [/color]

[color=#707875]I will add, however, that we won't take any steps to restrict discussion of something like yaoi. Of course, anything [i]sexual[/i] (in terms of sexual imagery and/or discussion) will not be allowed. And that's been a part of our policy all along. But non-sexual manga and such will be allowed, as always. So it's worth clarifying that. But yeah, the underlying point is that we won't be degrading the rules that currently exist. It's my hope that we'll have less rules with v7, because we will no longer have category-specific rules. So it should be a lot easier to understand. I'm also thinking of creating a little "top 10 site rules" or something...something that is extremely easy to follow. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]I hope people don't ignore this game. And yes, there are more impressive shots elsewhere (some of the latest shots are simply breathtaking). But yeah, I'm quite pleased that GameCube is becoming more of an RPG related platform lately. Tales of Symphonia is another big release that I'm really looking forward to. Hopefully this will spur even more RPG releases on the console. I sure hope so, anyway. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Incase you haven't heard of it, Baten Kaitos is Monolith Soft's new GameCube RPG. When I first heard about it a while ago, it came as a surprise...Monolith Soft and GameCube? Woo! Moreover, this game has some serious talent behind it, which I'll show you below. First, this is some background on the game:[/color] [quote][i]IGN:[/i] We attended Monolith Software's year 2003 product unveiling in Tokyo today expecting to see the latest in the Xenosaga series. While we got that, we also got something unexpected: a look at what should be one of the year's biggest GameCube RPGs, Baten Kaitos. This Monolith Software-developed RPG set for a December Japanese GameCube release through Namco takes place on a continent that floats in the sky. The people of this land have evolved so-called "Heart Wings", which while not seen under normal conditions can be made to appear through great concentration or when under tension. The world of Baten Kaitos is also populated by life spirits from another time, another place and another dimension. When a life spirit from the world of Baten Kaitos and one from the alternate world meet, it's possible that they will connect. Unfortunately, only a few people can communicate with these so-called souls of the dead. So far only the game's two main characters (and the obligatory cute side kick character) have been revealed. Kalas, a seventeen year old male character, is the game's main character. He's out on a journey for revenge against those who killed his father and brother. Kalas was born with only one wing and so must make use of a mechanical wing to balance things out. It turns out that Kalas is one of those very few who can communicate with the spirit-kind, and at some point in the game a spirit will take rest within him. At the other end is Xelha, a seventeen-year-old female character who serves as the game's heroine role. Xelha is simply out to stop an evil plan from taking effect. However, there may be more to the character than meets the eye. The veil on the story opens up when these two characters meet while on their travels. Talk of floating continents, spirits and characters with wings evokes pretty thoughts in us, and sure enough the game seems to have fantastic art direction. At the product unveiling today, Monolith unveiled a couple of exciting trailers, one produced via computer graphics and the other through in-game footage. Both showed off rich, color-filled visuals used in the environments and for the characters themselves. Characters walk on clouds, across ice bridges, and one scene seemed to show the characters traveling through a candy land. The pictures on the media page should hopefully convey the amount of care being put into the creation of the Baten Kaitos world. In addition to the two trailers, Monolith also shared video footage of the game's battle system in motion. Battles make use of so-called "Magnus Cards" which are used to select your move. In order to do an attack or cast a spell, you must have the appropriate card in hand. To attack while in battle, you select cards one after another and your characters carry out their moves accordingly. Everything is card based -- you even need a card for fleeing from battle. Despite the reliance on cards, the battle system seems to be quite fast, with characters constantly in motion. You actually select your next card before your current action is up, with the top of the screen (shown in the screenshots on the media page) displaying the moves set to come out next. We can't wait to sink our teeth into a few play sessions with this system. It certainly seems like a new experience as far as RPGs are concerned. Still not excited about Baten Kaitos? Then check out this list of developers who are participating in the game's development:[b] Producer: Tadashi Nomura - previous work on Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Director: Hiroya Hatsushiba - previous work on Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile Director: Yasuyuki Honne - previous work on Chrono Cross and Xenosaga Movie Producer: Mikitaka Kurasawa - previous work on Onimusha and Resident Evil Scenario: Masato Kato - previous work on Final Fantasy and Chrono Cross Music: Motoi Sakuraba - previous work on Star Ocean 3[/b] At the unveiling, Monolith and Namco brought this all-star cast out and had each share a few comments with the audience. Given the quality of the games these guys have worked on in the past, it's probably okay to up the expectations for Baten Kaitos to high levels. Video cameras were a strict no-no at today's unveiling, meaning we don't get to share the videos we saw with you. For now, the awesome pictures included on the media page linked below will have to do. Stay tuned for more as we learn it. [/quote] [color=#707875]I'm pretty excited about this RPG. The talent behind it is really heavyweight stuff...and the concept seems interesting. The battle system also looks to be pretty interesting, too. Here are some of the latest shots: [img]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/baiten_030721_bg14.jpg[/img] [img]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/baiten_030721_bg13.jpg[/img] [img]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/baiten_030721_bg04.jpg[/img] If you want more shots, you can obviously go to IGN or something like that. I didn't want to put too many in here. But, I do want to put one more thing here. [url]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/baiten_030721_bg10.jpg[/url] That's a link to some really cool Baten Kaitos art. ~_^ So what do you guys think about this game? Especially those of you who are Final Fantasy goers...are you interested in something outside the FF sphere? ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Well, you certainly have more civil rights than a gay person. So, that does put you in a different situation at the very beginning. Secondly, I would say that fundamentalists on the religious side try to force people to their way of thinking just as much, if not more. When people see outspoken gay people, they get the false impression that gay people are trying to acquire "special rights" that go beyond what they're entitled to. That's not the case. They are only trying to secure [i]equal[/i] rights to everyone else. The only reason that you don't see black people marching in the streets and "putting it in everyone's face", is because by and large, they have been afforded equal civil rights. It should be obvious that the quest for equal rights has to start somewhere -- whether it's a parade or a protest (and both of those things often intersect anyway). Having said that, I do disagree with a lot of the parades that go on. A taudry parade isn't the right way to secure rights in my opinion. It only discredits you to the wider public. However, that shouldn't be used as a basis through which we can dismiss gay rights or the rights of anyone else. The desire for equal rights is as real and serious as it was for other minorities in the world. As for marriage...I can only go back to what I was saying before -- the legal, constitutional argument that goes beyond any religious debate. If a gay couple can marry (or have a legal union), it doesn't affect [i]you[/i]. It doesn't impede your rights or force you into thinking that it's acceptable. If you want to have a prejudiced attitude toward a group of people, that's okay -- but the Government and the legal system should not sanction that. It should sanction [i]equal[/i] rights on a singular basis. By targeting a specific group of people and denying them the same legal rights as yourself, you are forcing your beliefs onto [i]them[/i]. [/color]