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Topics - Sandtrap
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181
« on: March 05, 2015, 08:22:51 AM »
 And it has over 12,000 models.
182
« on: March 04, 2015, 04:48:21 PM »
Right. This seems serious enough but not quite serious to fit in serious. So I'll roll the dice and see what I get here.
More specifically this question is related to the christian faith aspect of religion. The bible is a human-centric creation, placing humans at the heart of everything, the world was made for them by god to do as they please and so on and so forth.
Now, let's say that by chance, we make first contact. There's an actual starship hanging up in the skies and a species obviously not from this world show up out and about.
Now, I ask, how do you suppose the christain faith would handle this?
Because there is nothing in the bible whatsoever that could likely even be remotely attributed to describing or hinting at a xenobiological life form, therefore rendering the idea of alien life forms to christians as not possible. But, let's give some benifit of the doubt here, and say that the christian population is accepting to these strangers from a strange land.
And they try to say, I dunno, convince said aliens of the christian faith.
My two questions are,
1. Does it not seem a little rickety that the bible is so human-centric and neglects the possibility of other life forms beyond our planet?
2. What do you suppose would happen if said aliens called it a load of bullshit?
Genuine questions here people.
183
« on: March 04, 2015, 08:38:01 AM »
Just some musings here I suppose. I know there are some people here who cross back and forth between here and there, but if I understand things well enough most of our community is centered here. I've mused on showing up over there again, but funny enough, I enjoy the quiet here.
In the sense that it's not just an endless mob of names you no longer recognize. But at the same time the place just seems unfriendly and uninviting these days. Discouraging. But at the same time I miss that. More along the lines of missing the folks I got to know over there.
Although I'm curious.
Any of you folks call other sites home? Or is this place really all you care to stop by and visit?
184
« on: March 04, 2015, 07:32:03 AM »
So. What do I do when I wake up this morning and find that I don't go to work today because machines are broken down? What do I do when I've got fuck all to do and I really wanna talk but it's all depressive bullshit? Instead, let's ask questions.
More specifically, questions about you folks.
What's your estimated yearly income?
Is part of your income still generated by parents/family?
Realistically speaking, what's the most amount of money you ever imagine yourself having in your hands at one time?
What's the lowest amount of money you think you could survive off of, on your own with no backup or external funds?
To what extent and how much do you value money?
185
« on: March 01, 2015, 10:48:02 AM »
Lol I'm just kidding, of course there's no other wood carvers on this forum. But on the offchance that there is, any of you ever encounter this issue of sorts before?
I'm sitting in my room and I hear a noise. Like clicks. I figured it was mice. But it didn't stop at noise made and it sounded too obvious. It pissed me off, and I looked around and listened until I found it.
One of my carving blocks of wood clicks.
One could wager that it was either shifting, or there's a REALLY FUCKING LOUD bug inside of it. But turning it around, or upside down doesn't stop it from clicking. Bugs tend to orient themselves with gravity and trees don't have a habit of turning themselves upside down either.
So. Any guesses here old chums?
186
« on: February 28, 2015, 11:02:54 PM »
 Thar be salt.
187
« on: February 28, 2015, 12:44:54 PM »
Right then. Figure this is the most appropriate place.
Since this place started up, a general, broad minded goal that sits with the founders, mods, and some community members is expansion. Growing and gaining more members in the community, because if we don't rather than grow, over time no doubt we'll see a decrease in activity.
So, of course, people have started pitching in efforts to make this place more noticeable. Brute's got his game reviews here, people are posting reviews here and no doubt in the back rooms with the mods things are being discussed for the future. But I'd like to point out something we're missing here.
Any good community plays, and grows on its strengths. It needs direction and drive.
So ask yourselves, what is this community? What are it's strengths?
We're not a gaming forum. We're not an art hub. We're not a review hub. We aren't a writer hub. We're a discussion board, with the sole intent of basically being a coffee lounge. People come here to relax, piss some time away, and do random shit and talk random shit with faces they've since become familiar with.
The point is, this place isn't unified. It's not unified in any goal, and it has no drive in any particular direction. These reviews, while being nice and all, aren't ever really going to get off the ground because we're not a review site. We're not contenders with any big shot sites out there.
These are just some wayward thoughts of mine on the issue of growing the community. Look at Halo Archive. They have a direction. Their entire community has a drive and a push in the same direction and they've grown large because of it. The last time I checked their place out, they had about 500 members. They've skyrocketed since.
So, again, I'm just making a wager here. If we ever really want this community to grow, or really, stay alive in the coming years, we have to play to our strengths.
I'm not dissing the reviews in fact. Because if people enjoy writing them and producing them then they should. And they should post it here if they want to. What I'm getting at here is that this is a community of people from all walks of life. All diverse, different minded, different experiences, and most importantly, different skills, and different likings.
The point I'm trying to drive here, is that we should play to that. The wider we expand our range of subjects, the wider we expand the community to fit into a true sort of digital coffee lounge where people can post whatever thy feel like, the better off we'll be.
But most importantly, the more we make this place our home, and our center of sorts, with refferals and paper trails leading back here, the better chance we'll stand of gaining new members.
But it needs to be thought about because let's face it, if you put up a board, right now, and called it the art board, chances are activity would be slow, regulated to only a handful of members who post in it. And ultimately, it would be taken down.
So here's what I am trying to get at right now. There's got to be a way to sort of passively direct attention to ourselves, make ourselves inviting as a coffee lounge community, without trying failed attempts at being something we're not.
I know, that this year, right now, I'm undertaking a lot of projects. And what I thought to myself was, I'm going to make this place my home base. My content, the stuff that's suitable or allowed her, will be centered here. And I wager that's the way to go about things.
If we've got a community that allows people to come here, and show off their works, show off their thoughts, their ideas, their creations, that's how we'll succeed.
I'm bordering on sleep depravation right now and I'm going in circles. Probably missed at making my point as well. But the bottom line here is.
TLDR:
The wider we make the community, the more accessible we make it to posting all kinds of content, and the more people that use this place as a center and an anchor of sorts, with refferals in other places, other communities, linking back to here, the more we'll be able to grow.
Play to the strengths of what makes this community. People from all walks of life, some of them, able to create and do some pretty special things. Nurture that and have a community that fosters it and provides a welcoming home for it, always.
188
« on: January 24, 2015, 01:47:32 AM »
It's been fun folks. I'm heading out, don't be sad. Things are good here. You folks are good. Keep shit fun. And I tip my hat to you all. And I go. It's been a good run.
189
« on: January 23, 2015, 11:19:55 PM »
190
« on: January 23, 2015, 03:18:41 AM »
Well folks. It's been a fun ride and a long one at that. Had a lot of good days, and I had some bad days along the way. But it was a ride in itself. I'm proud to have shared it with any of you in whatever capacity I did. I've already ever said my goodbyes in the times that I needed to.
So all that's left to say here is adios. I wish you people and your lives well, and I go off to find mine and fix it, and make something better of it. As a mild partaker in old western traditions from my province,
I tip my hat you folks.
Have a good one, and take care out there.
191
« on: January 22, 2015, 11:35:19 AM »
Actually mugged. There's cop cars outside the bar this morning and they're doing some investigating.
A dude walked in there last night, and ordered everybody to get down on the ground and toss over their wallets. And he did it with a knife. Holy shit the folks in the bar must have been drunk off their fuckin' socks to let that happen.
This is the third time our town's going to be in the newspaper and not for anything good yet again.
Fun fact about my town by the way. Every week in the winter there's a new funeral card for somebody who's died.
192
« on: January 17, 2015, 09:36:02 PM »
And I'll keep it simple. All I ask is that if you see me walking into a drama/slappy fight on here, or it looks like I'm getting dragged up in shit. Notify me. Right there in the open. Slap me upside the head and turn me around the other way.
You folks can say or believe what you want about my treatments. But one thing is clear and if it wasn't obvious by now it's that I'm depressed. And this, right now, is the real danger. It's the real threat to me and I'm trying really hard to curb it.
My emotions are sitting on a tripwire right now and it doesn't take much to set me off or put me into a downward swing. And you might suggest taking time away from here. Believe me. I've tried that. I just fall downwards faster.
I'm fighting this as much as I can and I know I can turn all of this around. But I can't do it alone this time and I need a bit of help to watch out for me when I slip up. So if it looks like I'm walking into a drama fest or getting wound up in a slappy fight, then slap me upside the head and knock some sense back into me.
Because those don't help me. They don't help my mental state which is fragile right now. I'm trying to help myself here and so far I've been holding up. But I need a bit of help here to cover my blind spot when I slip into a shitty mood and I do shit which'll make things worse for me.
I'd bet 10 bucks this'll only cause more trouble. But I know there are some folks here who will keep an eye out on me and I appreciate it if you do because I don't have any other options here.
193
« on: January 16, 2015, 04:31:11 PM »
194
« on: January 16, 2015, 05:07:54 AM »
Gentlemen. I started and made this thread because I'd like to share something with you. This year, I'm going to start a project that represents something significant in my life. I'm going to be the owner of a big section of land soon, 130 acres to be exact, and I'm going to build my home on it, or I'd like to start and try this year. So, this thread is going to be a bit of a journal as I post updates and musings on what I'm going to be doing throughout the year, and it's going to be something I'd like to share with you all. Part of this will be fun, and, on occassion, mildly informative. So, without delay, I'm going to take you folks on a field trip picture by picture with me, free of charge, and walk you through the area that I'm going to call my home and my life in the years to come. Starting now, on Monday, Janurary 19th, 2015, is a chapter of my life that I'd like to share with you all. So, let's begin. Ride starts here. From the entrance to the property, this is the east side. The fence you see running along there is part of the property. That's the farming field that's been rented off to nearby farmers and used as a source of income for the property. This is from the west side. This is from the south side. As you can see. No fucking neighbors. And this right here gentlemen, is facing north. The driveway and entrance to this nice little patch of home. As you roll in through the driveway on the left is this house. This house is a project I've undertaken in little bits and pieces of time and helped my Uncle with. This house that we're working on is going to be my mother's retirement home. If you push a little further along, this is the backyard to the old house. Although it's all under snow, the majority of that free space is a garden. So if we push along north here on the other side of the garden, you get the old barn here, which as weathered as it looks, is still impressively intact inside. That barn was built a good solid 60-70 years ago. They don't build stuff like that anymore. Speaking of they don't build these things anymore. Say hello to my Uncle's still functioning Mercury from the 30's or 40's. Another with the barn. Beside is another handy area used for critters at some point. More barn area. If we push further along north here past the barn we get into this area. Pushing north further now. A little farther north, if you look to your right, you get another patch of forest. Nice thick stuff too. Turning around on the trail you get a view of the main homestead. End of the fence here folks. Now we're pushing along into free homestead territory and something special that I'll show you in a bit. Further along north here. It's all just bush and young growth. This place was originally a rocky field but it was decided at some point to just let stuff grow. I swept the camera along so this is a continuation of the first picture above. End of the camera sweep and from here on out we're pushing north-west. We're going to be running along something soon that makes this property very, very special. Further along north-west, we get my home site. The trees in the left corner of the picture that you see is going to be my home site. Those patch of trees in the middle ground are actually a corner so my home will rest at a bit of an angle to recieve the best possible sunlight exposure in the winter. And now I show you what makes this property so special. On the corner of the trees behind my home, if you turn and look, you get this. This, my friends, is a lake. Out of the trees and along the lake side, we're at the very corner of that patch of trees I told you I was going to build my house. This is what lays beyond my corner further north-west. If we round the little corner of my home site, out westwards is a stream that runs from the lake to a lower marshy area on the property. The space between the trees there is a beaver dam and beyond that is the farming field I mentioned earlier. The marshy swamp area. Along the lake here, and now heading west. In the lake. At what appears to be the beaver dam which is completely buried under snow and ice at this point. There's a hell of a lot of trees sticking out from under the snow and this is a low spot in the land so I assume this is the only place they'd build a dam. Turning around now and going back home from the beaver dam. On the way back home, looking at the farther northern area of the property as I'm still alongside the lake treeline. Back at the corner of my home site. I plan to plant a sturdier treeline here eventually. Back home now. And now for the educational bit. For you young folks like me, assuming you cord firewood or you might sometime in your future, and for you old folks who've been doing it wrong all these years, this is how you properly cord your firewood. And this last part that I can't help but mention. This was some enginuity that me and my Uncle put together. That white tank in the back is the water heater for the house. It's brand new and recently installed, and it makes scorching hot water. Too hot in fact. So what we did, with a bit of planning, we routed a pressure release system that vents the excess heat from the water heater into the wood stove there, effectively warming the house even if you don't have a fire. In an emergency, this could be used as a substitute for having no firewood. And that, gentlemen, is the end of the tour. In the coming months when the spring thaw hits, I'll have my strength back and then I'll really get rolling along with this. So until then. I tip my hat you. EditFor any that are curious, my house is going to be a little different. That, is going to be my house. The structure I'm building will be a form of protection for the motorhome AKA "The Snail." It'll be a shed with a large door on the front so that the motorhome can roll out of it to travel if I ever decide to go for a trip. The shed itself will be build approximately six inches away from the motorhome on all sides that there's room to park but enough space to trap heat. Windows will be set up alongside the the exact same position as the motor home's and effectively act as double paned windows. I also have plans for the interior of the motorhome as well but for now the exterior protection is most important. Edit: Rough estimate for majority of materials so far is give or take, 1500-1700 dollars. Edit: Decided to put the bulk of the project on hold. But will make the protective roof covering, and build it so that it can be dissassembled for later when the house itself goes up.
195
« on: January 14, 2015, 10:12:09 PM »
Yep. One of these hasn't showed up here in a while. Call it attention whoring if you will. But distractions are nice. Ask whatever you feel like and we'll see what kind of answer I can give.
196
« on: January 10, 2015, 08:05:58 PM »
Hello gentlemen. I have an idea. And it's one that I'd like to share with you. This here is a picture I made in G-mod. I'm brushing off the rust on my skills and at the same time I'm learning new tricks. So. This is a little project of mine that I'll undertake in my spare time. Requests from you folks. If you have an idea, particularily around game characters, you can drop it off here and I'll see if I can make a picture for you. It's not only limited to game characters though. There's occassionaly movie characters or likenesses you can create in Gmod. If you have the resources, any option is open really. Funny shit, spooky shit, random shit, epic shit, you name it. So. If you want to see it done. Then throw me a bone and I'll see if I can make it. I'm not going to overtime on this shit because I need room for my own creativity too. But maybe once, or twice a week I'll take a day and make a picture from here. If there's no possible way I could make said idea then I'll let you know. So. It's a lot like random drawing requests really. And to that I say. Shoot.
197
« on: January 10, 2015, 06:03:34 PM »
Did we ever know when the very first hinged door was ever made? Is there a museum out there with "the first ever hinged door" on display?
198
« on: January 09, 2015, 12:23:57 PM »
I wrote a wall. Surprise big not. Spoiler So. Let's get this straight and in the clear. Why did I make this? I made it for me. I'm writing this for myself because by now, I know that I enjoy writing. And by now, I've become accustomed to share what I write. So why am I sharing this? Why am I sitting here, right now, feeling the need to share what I'm thinking about myself?
Is it sympathy? No. No, in fact, I don't want sympathy. If anything, this winter has shown me something. And it hasn't even shown me anything new. It's shown me what I've forgotten. I don't need or want sympathy because looking for sympathy will destroy you. You'll crave that feeling of being noticed, cared for, and paid attention to. But you'll always come back down to the reality, that in the end, you're the one doing it alone. And it will always be that way.
Is it attention? Yes and no. I'm used to sharing my thoughts now. It's an automatic reaction that's come with loosening my own reservations and constrictions. So why am I sharing this, with everybody? Why not just talk to a friend in private? Why not just keep my personal business in the background like I used to?
The sad fact is, the company I keep is in no shape to hear what I have to say. The company I keep are in the same boat I am. Wound up in their busy lives, wound up and constricted in their problems and woes and the last thing they need, is to listen to ramblings from my head. And most of all, half of them can never, ever respond.
How do you approach someone who's just emptied what's really on their mind, and they've shown you something ugly? How do you reconcile them? You don't. You can't. And it hurts me. I search for someone to listen and talk back to me but the reality is, I will never find that. I will never find anybody who can say anything back to me and fix things with speech because the ugly truth is, I have to go through with all of this alone.
So I'm writing. I'm writing because I'm in pain and I have no other way to set it loose.
I'm not even fighting my treatments anymore. It's like they're a part of my life now. It's like waking up, miserable, and tired, is normal. Eating shitty food, and losing weight because you don't want to eat or do anything is normal. It's so normal, that it's not even there anymore. It's not a worry. It's not a bother.
But I am fighting my depression. I'm trying. And what's horrible is that I know I'm depressed. And it seems sort of redundant doesn't it? If you know that you're depressed, then shouldn't you be consciously able to curb it?
No.
I have mood swings now. And I don't even see myself slip into them. And some mornings, I wake up angry. I wake up sad. People start talking to me and I'm inches away from telling them to be quiet because I don't want to hear a word from them. I don't want to hear them talk and I don't want to be around anybody or any noise.
And I don't know how they don't see it. I look in the mirror and I can see it on my face. It's right there in how tired my eyes look and my mouth slanting down into a natural frown because I've spent more hours of my life frowning than smiling.
I can't smile anymore. Not by myself. Around a friend, or a family member, I can laugh and smile. And then it dies. When they're gone, it dies. It whithers and collapses in on itself and it dies. And that's how I know I'm depressed. Because everything is passing me by.
I don't know what day it is. I don't care. I can't remember anything other than a few days back. And everything is just coasting on by and I'm here. And for little moments, something normal comes back to me. A smile. A laugh. And then it fades, dies, and pulls me down with it.
And I'm fighting it. Talking to anybody who will listen because I've changed. I'm more open now. I've even talked to the doctor. And he can't put me on anything because I'm already on too much. And that's my life isn't it? Fighting. There's always trouble coming over the hill. Something bad. Something nasty. Something you'll have no choice but to go through or fix because you have to.
Some days I sit down with people in my restaurant. A group of older men in their 50's and 60's. Dropouts. Workers. People like me. And I realize how much I must look like them. I am young but at the same time I feel old. Feel like I've seen too many bad things. Just like the 60 year old who looks like he's been in more fights than you can count on two hands. Just like the 50 year old who looks tired because he works and he never stops because he's supporting a family on his shoulders that was dropped on him when their father died and their mother didn't care.
I saved my brother in law's life on Monday. He got stuck, out on the roads. In -54 weather. You might ask, was it celcius or farenhiet? It doesn't matter at that point because it's the same. He got stuck out on the roads any my sister called to tell me he wasn't home.
So I went out there, and I saved him. Pulled him out and we went about our business. I do that because I care for my family and because I believe that I can do my best here for them when they need somebody. I'm intelligent to some degree. But I can't function in a city. I don't enjoy society and what it has to offer me because I want to achieve my dreams by building them myself.
I stay here because one day, if I'm still alive to see it, my mother will die and I will inherit her restaurant. My sister's older husband will die, and she'll need someone to back her up all the way. And I will. And my little niece will need a father figure, someone she can trust because she no longer has a father.
I will never give up. No matter how miserable I am I will not lay down and let this claim me.
But all the same every day I'm slipping. My friends can't and won't back me up because they can't. Everybody has lives to live and this one is mine. I search for a singular friend out here I can grow close to but I realize that it will never happen.
When I stare out at the older men who I sit with and call company, fighters, workers, dropouts. They're alone. They always have been.
It's a discmforting thought. Always being able to talk to friends across the internet that makes the world small but only enough so that you can talk. But that's my life isn't it? Bullshit. Doesn't mean I'll give up.
But I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I don't know where I'm going or how I can get there. I wake up and I don't want to move. I go through my day, weak, and tired, and there's nothing. Nothing but this feeling hanging over me all the time. And in little moments, in brief little moments when I have my head on straight, I can be happy. I can think straight. I can fight.
But they whither, flicker, and then finally die like a sputtering candle. I'm going to keep going though. It's all I've ever done. I've tried a lot. And a lot hasn't worked. And maybe, after I'm done writing this, another mood will roll around.
And I'll collapse. I'll fall deeper down the hole and there isn't anything or anybody that can or will help me but myself.
Every one of you people here.
No matter who you are, good or bad, asshole or other.
You don't know how much you stand to lose and I hope none of you ever have to ever go through this.
199
« on: January 06, 2015, 11:12:36 PM »
Yeah. I think I'm going to call it a night.
200
« on: January 05, 2015, 03:46:34 PM »
I did a little bit of adding today folks. Since I started writing miscellaneous stories two years ago, I've just added everything up today. Finished or unfinished, I am the author of exactly 60 short stories, all of which span 1891 pages in total.
I don't know about you folks, but I'm going hunting for some leftover christmas eggnog. Fucking hell that's cool.
Cheers folks!
Talk about cool shit you like.
201
« on: January 04, 2015, 10:03:17 PM »
A question for all of you. No doubt, at some point in your life, you've heard these two statements or something similiar no?
"I hate life," and my favorite, "The world is sick."
It's only something I actually thought about a week or so back. People have forgotten something. Or, rather, they've let something else obscure their vision. What they've let obscure their vision, is our fake reality. Our concieved ideas, our societal norms, our laws, our customs.
These things are all constructs. Constructs aren't bad. However. People have let constructs dictate their life. And most of all, blind them to what sits right under their feet.
And let me prove it to you.
You've all watched the news no doubt? Always something depressing on. Wars. Riots. Conflicts. Fights. Disasters.
And most people will shake their head and say, "Huh, world's going to shit, look at that."
That's wrong. So wrong in fact that upset people, angry people, depressed people, tend to say that they hate life. Life's been cruel and harsh to them and they just don't want to put up with it anymore.
But they're wrong. And they've confused which reality they live in. And it all comes down, to people. Let's sit down and think about it here.
Take a forest. A forest does its thing. It grows. It harbors plants, animals, and a complex system of intermingled species all supported by the environment around it and the weather that sustains it. This forest, it's natural ecosystem, and the weather and environment around it, is life.
Things die in said forest, animals are killed for the purpose of survival for other animals. At it's core, this is life. People often say, life isn't fair. They're wrong. Life is unbiased. Life doesn't point a finger at somebody and say, "Hey you, here's cancer."
It's luck of the draw. Pure unbiased luck. And it happens to everybody. Every person, every animal, everything. Some animal in the forest may be sick. And it'll slow down and get caught by predators and die. That's shit luck. Plain and simple.
So. What does this mean?
In our concieved world, our society, our cities and towns, life works differently. Life is out to get you and give you the middle gfinger every step of the way. But it's not actually life. It's people.
Let's say you get hit by a car.
That car was being driven by a person. Maybe they hit you because they were speeding and couldn't slow down in time. Maybe you crossed the street while the light was green. Maybe they were talking on their phone. Maybe they were late for work so they hammered on the gas peddle. Who can say?
Either way, your current woes assuming you're still alive were just delivered to you plain and simply, by a person. And in fact, it doesn't matter what the reason was for the driver hitting you. Because you were a part of the very same construct the driver was.
The driver was driving on a road built by people so that people could drive on it. He was either supposed to be going this speed, or he was illigally speeding against the law. If he was talking on the phone he was so absorbed in texting or talking that he plowed into you. He just couldn't miss that fucking text could he? How about late for work?
Son of a bitch, if he's late for work, he'll get some pay docked off his paychecks.
And you. You woke up, were maybe headed off to work just like the driver. You walked along the sidewalks and took crosswalks. Walked when the light was red. All a big part of our pre-concieved view on the world.
It's not neccessarily a bad thing. However, people have forgetten that out there, beyond cities and towns, there's a functioning world beyond them. It's the planet we walk on, the air we breathe, the environment, the seasons. This world that we live on is life itself.
There's bad luck. But it isn't biased and it does not selectively choose a target.
People do. Although likely 9 times out of 10 our hypothetical driver was never gunning for your ass, you can bet that after the accident your insurance and his insurance company will be gunning for his ass. The insurance company, led by people.
If you want a simpler example, take third world countries.
The environment may be harsh and unforgiving. Unsuitable for the best crop growth or settlements. But that's life. Not all areas of our planet are hunky dory.
But the pre-concieved way of life in some third world countries is that some asshole with a gun, or a better gun than yours, or a small army, will come and fuck your shit up, steal what's yours, kill you, fuck your wife and beat your kids and then kill all of them or do whatever they decide.
That's not life.
That's people.
And we forget that. And lately, that's what I've been using to try and keep myself going. At night in my town, when all the various assholes of whatever flavor you can think of go to sleep, I walk.
When all the lights have gone out, I walk outside in the cold, with the stars, the wind, the snow, and the howls of coyotes and some days even wolves. I walk across the world I was born on, in a life where some of the cards I've been given were shitty.
But those shitty cards, are far less troublesome than the woes and pains I've ever been given by people and their choices.
So. When you;re feeling shitty.
Don't say fuck the world.
Fuck stupid people.
202
« on: January 04, 2015, 04:01:44 PM »
203
« on: December 26, 2014, 11:04:23 AM »
Yep. One of these. Don't care though. I am aware that talking about shit helps and right now I need to do a little bit of talking.
A friend of mine up and asks me last night how my christmas was.
And I thanked them for even asking.
When they asked why, they brought something to my attention. I'm aware of it now, thankfully. But it's bad. I thanked them for even asking me because I didn't expect a friend to do that for me. And that's bad. That means I'm starting to close up to shit and people. My perception's been changing and I didn't even see it. That's a defensive tactic I used as a kid.
Hate people. Dislike people, shut yourself out and go cold so that anything they say or do has little to no effect. That's bad right now. That's a bad fucking sign of depression and that means I'm just kind of sitting around teetering over the edge of the start to the point of no return.
And frankly, I no longer know what to do. If I turn my attention on one side, to one problem, I get hit in the back by the others. And even shittier, I've noticed that I've switched sides.
People influence each other right? I used to make folks laugh and have an easy going presence. I don't talk anymore. And watching folks around me when they talk to me, they see me, and they hear me, their mood goes to the shitter. Where I could normally smile of my free choice because I could, and turn the day around, I realize that I can't make myself laugh. I can't even fucking smile.
I'm temporarily aware of all this mess and I don't know what the fuck to do to fix it this time.
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« on: December 26, 2014, 12:33:27 AM »
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« on: December 25, 2014, 02:17:20 PM »
Well. Come on over and sit down and let's talk about a day wasted. So. What have you folks done so far? Any nice loot?
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« on: December 24, 2014, 11:49:39 PM »
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« on: December 24, 2014, 11:21:43 PM »
1 Hour to go until Christmas up here. Technically I can say I'm alive. So. I'll deliver on that old bet of mine.
But, that's not my job. I wrote my little herp derp up already.
Anywho. Merry Christmas folks. Hope you have fun. Hope you get lots of loot.
I'm packing some shit into my truck in the morning and going for a trip since there's no Christmas on my end this year. It'll be a nice day I think. Have a good one folks.
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« on: December 24, 2014, 02:49:59 PM »
Okay. I'm going to pitch an idea here. Just an idea is all. What is this community? It's a loose affiliation of people from all walks who talk and post in all different manners. With a group of people like this, shit is bound to break out. Shit flinging contests and arguments that suck the whole forum into a petty, useless drama fest that spreads to other neighboring sites.
What is this site? This site on paper is a relaxed, easy going community that wants to grow and just do it's thing. And for the most part, this is true. But there is an issue here that I don't believe we can avoid at this point any longer.
Cue "Mod Bias."
Now, the mods have done a good job so far. They've done the best they can but they're only people. And they're trying to live up to the mantle of "an easy going community." And to do this they try to play fair. Negotiate with people and work things out. This isn't a bad thing. But this is a simple fact of life.
People are fucking assholes. People are fucking stupid.
And inevitably, arguments and shitstorms start up again even after the mods, people who just want to keep the peace spend fucking hours of their day trying to reason with two fucking cinderblocks for people who don't know when to shut their traps or use some common sense.
So what do you do? How do you maintain an easy going community, yet live up to the mantle of easy going and relaxed, while keeping the zest and randomness of the flood alive in some sense?
You streamline the rules. You build a new system that doesn't drag the mods into the ring with the offenders. Because so far that's what happened. The mods get dragged into the fighting ring with the offenders and play a boxing match with each other when they have to pick a side.
And that's not fair. So. Here's the idea.
You have two categories. A light category, and a heavy category. And here's the really important catch.
This rule set does not ovverride our standard set of rules but is designed specifically around arguments and fights between other users.
Light Category
This category is for people who break the rules, but they aren't assholes about it. Maybe they posted something that was against the rules, or let the wrong thing slip, just a simple mistake on their part. Maybe they started a debate with another user that turned into a mild back and forth volley. And they just didn't drop it.
Case and point. We'll just call them Larry and Jenny.
A little while back, Jenny and Larry got in a fuss. From a technical standpoint, Larry really did nothing horrible. But Jenny kept at it. Kept on pushing. By rights, Jenny was the offender. But at the same time, Larry kept the fight going. Defending himself. Kept on sparking the fire.
This ended up in a huge debate and negotiation that took hours between all the mods. Not only were the mods debating among each other, but they were trying to work out a resolution between both parties. It was a mess. Larry was unfortunately a vocal member and somewhat of a contributor. If you swung the hammer on Larry as well as Jenny, Larry would stir up a shit storm. Likewise, Jenny would have too because both believed they were right.
And if you warned or banned one of them?
MOD BIAS.
Better watch out for those words folks. Those are dangerous words.
So. What's our light system and how would it deal with a case of Larry and Jenny?
3 strikes, 3 sets.
1st: 5 Minute ban
2nd: 10 minute ban
3rd: 15 minute ban
1st: 30 minute ban
2nd: 40 minute ban
3rd: 50 minute ban
1st: 1 hour ban
2nd: 3 hour ban
3rd: 5 hour ban
So. you ask the question. Why minutes? Why hours? Because this is a light category. It gives people some time to chill and relax. It's like a time out. These times aren't overly long and they start simple. But they increase to let people know that they're walking on dangerous ground.
So. How would this help with Jenny and Larry?
Jenny was the instigator, and Larry just wouldn't drop it. You give them both a slap. It's just a slap is all.
What if Jenny was the instigator and Larry decided to drop it? Jenny gets a slap. Simple, plain, and fair. If two people, no matter who they are, the offender or the defender, start up something that goes out of hand, they're both in the wrong if they keep it up. And you slap them both for it.
Heavy Category
This category is for people who don't give a fuck. These are the heavy offenders. This category is entered when somebody uses up all their strikes on the light category. For the sake of balance and fairness, whenever somebody lands themselves in the light category, and gets to the end of the road, they have a timer.
Like they do now with warnings. A warning is placed on somebody and stays there for a certain length of time before reseting back to zero. However. With this set this has the ability to be abused. What if somebody who doesn't give a fuck coasts through the light list and then simply waits for the reset, and then comes back to their normal self once the timer rests?
You give them three chances. One pass through the light list, a timer reset down to zero, they have two chances left. Once those chances are blown through, the offender is automatically moved to the heavy offender list.
So what happens with the offender list?
1st: 1 day ban
2nd: 2 day ban
3rd: 3 day ban
1st: 1 week
2nd: 2 week
3rd: 3 week
1st: 1 month
2nd: 2 month
3rd: End of the road. Permanent ban and server blacklist. However, this can be appealed if a user wants to come back and they can make a convincing enough case that they aren't going to be a sack of shit anymore.
The heavy offender list has no timer. There are no resets because once you land in here you're an asshole. What's the heavy offender list for?
Generally, the same stuff as the light list, except taken to extremes. Either somebody does little things and eventually lands themselves in this list and they realize that they're walking the green mile, or they land themselves here automatically because of the harsher actions they've taken on other users.
The entire point of this sytem, or a sytem like this, is solely for the arguments that are generated between two users. And as some people bring up, there are legitimately people that don't care whether or not they have access to this place.
And you know what? Fuck them. If they don't care, then we shouldn't care either. This site was built because one person cared enough to do so, and cared enough to invite everybody in for the party. The mods do their job and signed up because generally they care about trying to keep things tidy and easy going.
But the fact is, some people are assholes. And you know what you do with assholes? Give them a chance. Give them a chance, and if they can't smarten the fuck up or at least tone it down, then you take them out back and old yeller them.
Because with them around, you can't keep a relaxed, friendly, stable community. You can't create a welcoming environment for new people. But at the same time, you don't want to go full totalitarian state on this place.
Which is why these rules are only to be used concerning arguments between users outside of the Anarchy forum.
So. There you go.
What do you folks think?
.
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« on: December 22, 2014, 09:09:27 AM »
That's right. Supes vs Cyclops in an eye laser based staring contest. Who wins? Get in here you fucking comic book nerds.
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« on: December 22, 2014, 08:02:23 AM »
Flesh and bone and nerve we are
Bound in form and locked we are
Leading lives of which we see
Our world around us oh so real
Nerves and flesh of which we feel
Remind us that we're here to stay
And here I am to say
that I watch the sun hold the dark at bay
Good morning to all of you fine gentlemen and ladies. What are all of you up to today?
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