James

[color=#507AAC]Adam, I'm basing my numbers off the webstat. Considering that it's what the webstat is designed for, I assume it to be accurate. But as I said, it's just a ballpark. I know that our numbers fluctuate all the time.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]My Otaku will be invisible while we work on it. It should be back up soon. ^_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]It might be the server in your area, who knows. If it's only happening in your area...then it does sound like it's a local problem rather than a problem with the boards specifically.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Kipcha, please edit your original post rather than double posting. I recommend reading our rules. ^_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]It's just unrealistic to Moderate PMs. We already have our hands full in terms of taking care of the main forums. PMs are sent frequently and Moderating them would effectively double the workload. Plus, if an attachment didn't show up until someone checks it...it means that you may not see the attachment for hours or days. So it's an issue of being realistic (what we can realistically do) as well as a software issue -- the software really does not exist to Moderate PMs.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Remember gokents, when I mention the religious right I am not referring to Republicans. Some Republicans happen to be a part of this movement, but it would definitely be the minority of them. So please do not misunderstand me on that point.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Well, I'll be blunt. I could very well take any disagreements I've had with you and use them to say "I dislike you". But that wouldn't be the truth. I mean, everyone has disagreements on any number of issues. But should it affect their relationship? I don't know you as well as some others here, Ginny...but I've always found you to be a very pleasant person. I'm glad that you're on OB and I think you really add so much to our community, just by being here and posting. You're great to talk to and you always have something friendly to say to people. The fact that you can make beautiful art is just the icing on the cake, as far as I'm concerned.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]What you're really talking about here though is the topic of abortion. Admittedly it has been mentioned and partly discussed...and it does somewhat relate to politics. But the current abortion laws are unlikely to be changed. I'm not here to convince anyone to change their view, I'm just saying that for the laws to be changed, we would have to accept a different Government role. Yes, our basic laws are based on religious morals. Of course they are. Murder, rape, etc... I'm not talking about any of that though. Nor am I talking about abortion. I'm talking about civil rights legislation (of which abortion is not included at the moment because abortion IS legal...and that decision is not likely to be overturned, so we're not stifling something that already exists if you get my meaning). Whilst I do agree that there are some major problems in society (teen pregnancy being a major one), I do not accept the argument that society is going to hell in a hand basket. The religious right frequently uses this so-called argument to propel biggotry and religious fundamentalism. It's a scare tactic. Ultimately, I think we are really essentially agreeing here. The question of abortion is one that I don't want to discuss anymore deeply myself because in past threads I've already explained my view multiple times. And in this thread, I've provided a basic position on the subject. I'd really rather not go into anymore detail, because ultimately that [i]would[/i] be very off topic. We're discussing the differences between Democrats and Republicans, remember. [/color]

[color=#507AAC]Wait a second...you're missing my point. I never said you were off topic. lol Also, people seem to bring up the point about society being based on certain values as an excuse to trample on civil rights legislations. This is what I was talking about. Are you implying that because our system of laws is based on these principles, that we must all adhere to a strictly Christian way of life? That our laws should adhere to these values to the letter? If you are, then you're living in a dream world. We live in a secular society. We seperate religion from the powers of state -- as we should always do. The religious right tends to believe that the Government should be enforcing divine laws and such. That's rubbish. It's merely an excuse to peddle one particular set of beliefs and to establish a very specific "one size fits all" moral code. In reality, that doesn't work. When some people (one of them being a notable Republican) starts saying "I'm here to do God's work", it makes me sick. Am I saying that all Republicans are like this? No. And I never once implied it. What I am saying is that Government as a whole is not in a position where it should dictate our morals or family values. Morals and values are to be dictated by individuals and families -- just as with religious practice. I have no problem with people having a viewpoint on abortion or any other issue. The problem I have is the moral soapbox that some in Government like to place themselves on. It does not work in a modern, secular society. It worked under the Taliban perhaps, but not in our Western world. I think you'll find that you and I agree on many issues -- I consider myself conservative on a lot of key points (national defence, finances and such). But any suggestion that the Government can tell me what morals I should or should not have is bogus.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Hey hey, you're getting WAY off the track of what I said, gokents. I was talking about some Republicans (note that I said "for the most part). I did not mean to imply that all Republicans are the same, because of course they are not. I am simply saying that regardless of what you think society is based upon, we cannot have Government handing down our morals. It's just not right. My contention regarding civil rights legislation was unrelated to what you're talking about here.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I honestly don't want to get into a habit of closing these topics. But it's nearly Christmas...can we delay the mutilation talk until the new year? lol[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Shift [/i] [B]Yes James, it is possible, and I have written a hack for it, but I wont share anylonger. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#507AAC]That's fine. Considering that we still had a load of hacks to get done anyway, it doesn't make much difference. It would probably still have taken six months to arrive. [/color]

[color=#507AAC]I say 30,000+ because at peak periods we've had over 50,000 in a day. I think we used to average somewhere around 65,000. But that was when we had gaming sections as well. So yeah, the numbers do change over time...but luckily they've remained pretty strong over the years generally.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Hits? Interesting question. lol I don't want to get into specifics (I'm not sure if Adam would like that or not), but I can give you some ballpark figures. In terms of hits, theOtaku.com receives several million per day. Of course, hits do not relate to individual visitors. theOtaku.com averages anywhere between 25,000 and 30,000+ [i]unique visitors[/i] per day. So that only includes individual people and doesn't include someone who visits over and over again in one day. OB is another matter entirely. I have no idea what this site's hits/visits are on a daily basis; the best you can do is look at the Currently Active Users list, to get an idea of how many members/guests we have browsing.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I can't even begin to list the people that I'd love to meet. Adam, Break, BabyGirl, Semjaza Azazel, Final Flash, NeoCactuar, Warlock, Medra, DeathKnight, Crazy White Boy, Transtic Nerve, RicoTranzrig, Justin, Sara, Ginny, Lady Katana, ShyGuy... And that's not all. lol I could go on forever. There are just so many people I'd like to meet and get to know! I couldn't possibly list them all here. If only the Otaku Awards could be held live from Los Angeles...hmm...that makes me wonder...*books a plane ticket to L.A.* :drunk:[/color]

[color=#507AAC]The question of abortion is one area where I can't agree with Republicans (for the most part). You can't have a "moral Government", in my opinion. Who within the Government decides the morals? How are they enforced? How do they choose what is moral and immoral? This is why I have no time for people who try to strike down civil rights legislation based on their religious beliefs. We are always told that we can practice religion privately and we can use it in a personal way, as long as we don't interfere with public policy and such. Yet, the reverse happens. However, if someone tries to enact a civil rights law, the religious right weighs in and claims that they are shoving their beliefs down everyone's throat (even though the laws often have absolutely no affect on the people who try to strike them down -- they only do so because they think that everyone should live THEIR way). Republicans tend to behave like this when it comes to issues of social policy. I don't necessarily believe that abortion is moral or whatever...for me it's a case by case basis. But there is no way I would ever try to make it illegal. [i]That[/i] is truly when you have Government controlling your life. [/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Trumen [/i] [B] Like James, he was a newbie on the boards but he was responsible and rule abiding so he moved up fast. -Thomas J. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#507AAC]It's always interesting to read the rumors and stuff. Do you want to know how I [i]really[/i] got this job? I started working for theOtaku.com years ago, originally doing some writing for Absolute GameBoy and Absolute SEGA (which didn't end up lasting very long). I did actually have an account on v1, but I rarely ever posted. When we moved to v2, I had already spent some time working in a senior role at theOtaku.com and Adam decided to give me an Admin position on the boards. Of course, during the course of v2, we had a very different system. Rather than just one Admin, we had about four or five. I even appointed a couple during my time on v2. We very much had a "group management" strategy. But due to the fact that our security was comparitively low at that time, when we moved to v3...we decided to have only two Admins. Adam and myself. And since then, that's how it's been. So that's the [i]real[/i] story, for those who are interested. ^_^ As for what happens in the future...who knows. Adam spends a great deal of time and money to keep theOtaku/OB alive. He spends hundreds of dollars per month on all of these sites. In fact, some will remember that we used to have a banner advertisement on v3. But because people complained about it, Adam took the ads down. The result is that OB now earns [i]no[/i] revenue at all. It runs at a 100% loss. And Adam absorbs that loss himself, so that people here don't have to put up with banner ads. I don't know many site owners who'd do that. ~_^ I am personally amazed at how long this whole thing has lasted. I don't think either Adam or I ever had any notion of how long these sites could survive. But here we are today...as strong or stronger than ever. theOtaku.com is blossoming in ways that I don't think anyone could have expected. And by early 2003, you will find theOtaku.com to be even more impressive. I don't know when Adam will decide to call it quits. If he ever does, it's likely that he will sell theOtaku.com to someone. I think it's more likely that OtakuBoards will survive longer than theOtaku, because Adam does not need to maintain OB whatsoever. So it's just a financial cost. Still, I don't think anyone has to worry. Both sites will be around for a while yet. I was indeed planning to "retire" my job at OB after the launch of v6. But things have changed since then. For one thing, I was planning to devote more of my time to ShineGet.com. But that site is not going to go forward, because by about February of next year I just won't have the time. Instead, you'll see me getting back into theOtaku.com, like I used to. I'll continue to run OB for the forseeable future, but I may end up hiring someone to run the site from day to day if I become less active (and I probably will within the next couple of months). So that means that I'll be running the boards in the long term, but from day to day you may have a different Administrator. Who knows at this point. Anyway, that was a long post...but I thought I'd clarify the rumors and such. ^_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Welcome back, Shinji. Enjoy your stay. ~_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I'm not sure if what you're asking for is really possible. The thing is, it's really important to leave closing/deletion in the hands of Moderators. Afterall, Moderators are here to [i]moderate[/i] discussions and activities on the boards. As Juu said, we leave some closed topics there as examples of what not to post. If you see a topic that is closed, you'll often see a reason why. And even if you don't, at least it tells you clearly that creating a similar topic will get it closed. I can understand that you'd want a thread of your own deleted after it is closed. But at the moment, we do not plan to change our policies on this issue.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I think it's only natural that anime will be replicated in different ways by different markets, because of its increasing popularity. Does this mean that anime is only TRUE anime if it's Japanese? No, not at all. That's like saying that you can't paint a Cubism-based painting if you're not Spanish. It makes no sense. It is my hope that we will see anime influencing many other areas of cinema/cartoons/comics in the future.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Ginny is correct generally, except for her comments about Mario 64/Zelda 64 (these games were based soley on the principles of gameplay and movement in a 3D environment -- graphics/audio well and truly took a back seat, even though they were noteable on their own). As far as the general topic goes, I don't think FFX is too easy. The only thing I dislike about it is the pacing. Sometimes you'll fight a damn hard boss, only to find that the next boss is easier than anything you've fought thusfar. That seems to me to be a bit unbalanced. But generally speaking, Final Fantasy X provides plenty of challenge. The bosses are often not a pushover...and those stupid sphere puzzles (whilst incredibly arbitrary and thus highly annoying) are nonetheless, confusing at some points.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Mitch, yeah...queer does have a meaning. But I was referring more to how it is used today. Over time, I think the meaning of the word has changed. And it really has become a slang term in a sense. I really believe that you can't legislate intelligence or tolerance. The more you legislate, the more you are playing into the hands of those who are intolerant (as they will merely complain that you're stifling their creative speech and such). The only way that these stupid phrases will change is through cultural/social change. Unfortunately, it takes a lot longer than a legislative change, but it's the only way to really ensure that people's behavior actually changes over time.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I made a quick image that shows a few of the areas within the anime. Mind you, this is only a [i]few[/i] areas. But at least you can get a feel for how beautfully designed the environments are (and how much, in some cases, they resemble real RPGs).[/color] [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=318439[/IMG]

[color=#507AAC]Homosexual is not an offensive word. It's a factual word. Just like heterosexual or something else. To actually [i]legislate[/i] a word like that out of use is overzealous at best, in my opinion. Words like "***", "queer", etc were all designed to be offensive...so they are different. They have no factual meaning, they're just insulting slang. So yes, there's a difference here...and I think this is really majorly overzealous of Great Britain. Still, I can't think of a time when I've used a specific word that has offended someone (maybe the word "fanboy" LOL). But yeah...I generally don't use stupid slang words when I talk to someone. Not only because they're often offensive, but because they aren't very intelligent.[/color]

[color=#507AAC][i]A young woman with long, dark hair made her way down a corridor. It was white and sterile with few noteable structural details on the walls, ceiling and floor. The ceiling was glowing softly, casting a white light throughout the seemingly endless network of corridors. The woman was flanked by several men in white coats who were muttering amongst themselves nervously. But she didn't seem to notice; rather, the expression on her face was one of determination...determination and a sense of satisfation. This was familiar territory and the woman's expression indicated that she was in complete control of the situation. As the group approached the end of the expansive corridor, the very faint outlines of a door became visible and almost instantly, the door folded itself open to accommodate the group. Behind that doorway was an enormous, octagon-shaped room. The walls were puncutated with various computers and medical devices. And despite the small teams of surgeons and nurses working in the area, the room itself still gave a sterile and lifeless impression. In the room's center lay a single operating table. And on it lay a single figure. The woman approached and stood next to the figure. She ran her hands over its cheek gently, causing clear-blue mechfluid to streak over the soft silicon skin. One of the nearby doctors approached and stood on the other side of the table.[/i] [b]Doctor:[/b] Dr. Karman, I'm happy to see you finally. [i]The woman pressed her finger to her lips, motioning for the doctor to lower the tone of his voice.[/i] [b]Dr. Karman:[/b] Is he alive? [i]The doctor nodded and pointed to various sockets that had been plugged into Proteus' armor.[/i] [b]Doctor:[/b] Yes. Barely. We have spent the last hour refitting much of his silicon skin. We also had to repair several organic membranes within his body and we are now adding fresh mechfluid to what little he has left. He will not be able to function until he has at least 50% of his mechfluid restored. [b]Dr. Karman:[/b] How much did he lose in the incident? [b]Doctor:[/b] Around 85%. [i]Dr. Karman looked over Proteus' severely damaged armor. Several sections had been torn off by the continuous thud of heavy weapons fire. The silicon skin was visible underneath. His face looked more peaceful than it had done before. And his fibre-optic hair was partly covered with light blue mechfluid; some of it was matted down over his forehead. Dr. Karman sighed. Even though she had wanted to destroy Proteus for his failure to infiltrate Hunter HQ, she also felt somewhat attached to him. He was one of a kind; the only reploid in the world with ACM technology. And even though, in many ways, he had failed Dr. Karman's interests and goals, she was nevertheless intensely proud of her creation...[/i][/color]