Pipstickz

Very cool use of clickables, reminiscent of Cutler's Astral Plane, but of course it did not have spoilers and used original (I think? <<) artwork. All in all, there was only one thing that I didn't like as much with this, and that was getting a certain item over and over again.

[quote name='DARK DEMON' timestamp='1355910857' post='128490'] [font=comic sans ms,cursive][color=#006400]Off-topic (a little) :[/color][/font] [font=comic sans ms,cursive][color=#006400]I've always noticed that everybody who wishes happy birthdays get a + rep. Then after a while someone comes and gives everybody neg rep, bringing it back to 0. [/color][/font] [font=comic sans ms,cursive][color=#006400]I mean, why?[/color][/font] [/quote] It's easier to rationalize giving a negative (or positive, for that matter) rep in the name of balance. Lots of the time it's about context, not content.

Harpy Bipthday

[quote name='nadrolski' timestamp='1355725428' post='128348'] Scyther! [/quote] Pokemon Snap

[quote name='Nimrodel' timestamp='1355713765' post='128344'] Anaerobic and parasitic cover [/quote] Giant praying mantis aerobics class

Research and connections Cauldrons and other similar types of items (essence extractor, etc.) Creatures with no stats (unless they're meant to be permanent collectables, but I don't think so) Story mode (doubtful but always worth a try) Adventure Log? Spell pages and inner magic That's what I came up with off the top of my head.

[quote name='DARK DEMON' timestamp='1355642587' post='128295'] [font=comic sans ms,cursive][color=#006400]Silence spell [/color][/font] [/quote] Overreactions

[quote name='Ackshan Bemunah' timestamp='1355617714' post='128288'] windmill battery [/quote] Structuro-spousal abuse?

[quote name='DARK DEMON' timestamp='1355388750' post='128091'] horseshoe [/quote] Corner Gas

In past years, those who win have had others accept rewards for them, with a prepared thank you speech or something, if they could not attend (I think...). Seeing as it's a celebration of players, I would agree with Max that the more players that can attend, the better, because huge gatherings are always the most fun. Personally, I probably won't be able to attend no matter when it is, but I'd just like a decision to be made because I can be somewhat flexible with my schedule, so I might be able to pop in for a bit. Don't worry Ackshan, you're important too.

[quote name='Ackshan Bemunah' timestamp='1355188708' post='127958'] hold on [/quote] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAdgJJH3ZBI&t=1m54s"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAdgJJH3ZBI&t=1m54s[/url]

[url="http://storenow.net/my/?f=5708"]http://storenow.net/my/?f=5708[/url] It's going to be a lonely holiday season... You can thank MSPaint for the high quality piece of art that this is, it did most of the work, I just came up with the obviously hilarious idea. I'll be here all week, also.

Giving random people citizenship (usually meant to be a long term commitment) to lower viscosity (a short term solution)? Please no. I would suggest gathering a group of high AP fighters and a group of non-fighters, pairing them off or grouping them together somehow, then having the non-fighters put up defense rits with a decent amount of VE so the fighters get more AP and can take a step, then the non-fighters follow. Having some Tribunal citizens go through first would make it even easier. A large amount of tea to distribute wouldn't hurt, either.

[quote name='Change' timestamp='1354907264' post='127807'] Fly [/quote] Everybody's dream

To expand on Tipu's post a bit, I would quite enjoy an actual incentive for war, along with a structure rather than the long forum wars or the just plain fighting things that are a bit silly if you ask me. I think something like a scoreboard or points system would be neat, where if a land or alliance attains a certain score/the highest score, they get a communal reward, something easy to share and just valuable enough that it's worth fighting for, but not so valuable that it wrecks everything. I would like to see spell docs, but perhaps there is not enough to make this a repeatable "contest". Maybe a changing reward every time would be better. The war would not have to be all fighting either: for those less inclined towards that, there could be a debate part where each side argues their position, but thinking about it, that could get a bit silly. I've also always thought a land control system would be very fun, where rather than fighting for points or something, you fight over certain scenes by completing certain goals. It could be a limited time contest where whichever land holds the most scenes for the longest wins (would probably require a limited number of people allowed per land, so there is no issues with one land having twice as many as all the others, as well as the option to not participate), or something that's just on all the time, and whichever land controls the territory gets a bonus by walking on it or something.

[quote name='awiiya' timestamp='1354775984' post='127581'] How is the Council being unfriendly "the point"? How is their "scapegoat" status making it easier for them to govern? How is the fact that they're so unlikeable making them want to do their job when they get no praise at all? How is it making us happier and more likely to remain in MD? I'd argue it's making us unhappy, and more likely to leave. I'd argue it's also making their job not very fun, and since I doubt they get paid, it also makes them more likely to do less and care less. Awi [/quote] No, their job is not easy and it should not be easy. If it were easy, Mur would still be doing it, no? The Council gets power in exchange for their effort. They get the reins, but they have to hold tight to make sure they don't slip and fall away. If everybody hates the Council so so much, they would all quit the game, leave it all behind, but people keep showing up. We're lucky we have any say at all, really. Do you think a relatively young world of warcraft player could be acknowledged by the greater community? You can forget about whoever it is that makes the decisions in that game, I assume. MD is what we make of it. We're given the surface of the pond, but the fun is exploring the depths, and the Council can't take that from you by making the superficial decisions that just need to be made.

[quote name='awiiya' timestamp='1354774632' post='127577'] Yes - actually. If they laid out their reasoning and logic on a silver platter we could then respond to it and give them a notion of how WE THE PEOPLE OF MD would like things to go, and would have a better understanding of how the organism that is the Council decides. If I could understand them, I would better like them. This goes back to my statements last summer - the Council does not have a personality, and thus, is easy to hate and misunderstand. When we had Mur, we dealt with his highly subjective reasonings because we could relate to him and know him. The Council has no such benefit. It feels sterile, corporate, and distinctly unfriendly. Awi [/quote] Yes, the Council is unfriendly, that is the point. If Mur were still making decisions, and he made a terrible, ridiculous decision, who would oppose him? After all, he made MD, he must know best. Look at all the smart things he's done in the past. But the Council? Anybody can rip into them as often as they like, and they don't even get a slap on the wrist, while someone speaking against Mur, I would draw Curiose's case to your attention, as it is the most obvious of them all, if I remember correctly: [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/topic/10810-day-of-absurdly-blind-justice-log/"]http://magicduel.inv...nd-justice-log/[/url] The Council are a scapegoat for the decisions that either need to be made or would have been made by Mur. I would much rather call a faceless group stupid than somebody I (try to) know, somebody I admire, etc.

[quote name='Seigheart' timestamp='1354768150' post='127561'] Why do you assume I am not "accepting it"? I quit the TKs because I stopped caring about it enough. I really don't care what happens to it now, I just don't get the Council's decision to completely override the majority of those who voted's opinion. The problem with the Council being so called "anonymous" is that there is no one to check to make sure they are being partial and unbiased. I know that MD elections are based on more than votes, but I want to see what they scored each vote by, and their own judging values, because, frankly, I don't believe that they even paid attention to it. LS won when he put his name forth because of all the... wait, what has LS done for MD besides been a professional AFKer in MD for the past year? I don't trust the Council to be unbiased and partial. NOTHING in my entire experience with them has shown them to be just that. [/quote] So what exactly could they tell you that would make you believe that their decision was fair? They could lay out all their reasoning and logic on a silver platter and you'd still have no reason to believe that was the reasoning they actually used for the decision. Sure, the Council is stupid, but good luck challenging their decision. It's made, get over it. Lightsage will do a fine job.

[quote name='DARK DEMON' timestamp='1354683866' post='127458'] villain...? [/quote] [url="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=antihero"]Wrong[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBmt11czaI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBmt11czaI[/url] Speaking of advent calendars...

I don't believe there are any legal problems with a secret santa (as long as there are no WP in the mix), just get a list of people, use a random number generator of some sort (Dice!) and assign recipients before you know what gifts will be given to them, to be sure nobody accuses you of giving an advantage of some sort to anybody. Let me know if you need anything, I'd be happy to help organize it. Edit: Oh right also secret santa has been done before just fine.

[quote name='No one' timestamp='1354142858' post='126779'] You are really confusing me with your reason for chosing Zentao but someone can read this kind of complicated stuff. Sorry. Fist of all, due to all these "noobs" that "know better" there was quite a flood of WP and rare creatures. And this is another reason I choose not to choose a noob (A month old player). Also: we don't need a puppet of the old leaders, we need someone who don't need "a little guidance" but obey the limits & rules. [/quote] The TKs are supposed to sponsor quests higher than what has already been sponsored, and based on what is in stock. If there are lots of Tainted Angiens in TK stock, lots of Tainted Angiens will be sponsored. If there are lots of morphs in stock, morphs will be sponsored. If there are lots of pimps in stock, pimps will be sponsored, it's just a matter of finding a quest that needs pimps to be sponsored, or auctioning them off. This is how I understand it to work, from some time in the TKs myself, and reading what has been said by different people since then. About WP, Mur caused a flood of WP too, with active days achievements. Yes, WP used to be more rare, but the WPShop also used to only have four items. Things change. TK sponsorships are supposed to be special and better than what anyone else could do alone, that's the whole point. As for being a puppet, I highly doubt Seig will care to put in the effort to run the TKs again, and I assume it would be easy to tell if Fang were doing it. Both of them quit of their own accord, meaning they chose to be done with it. It would make no sense for them to do it again.

Honestly, I expect little change either way it goes, as there is little reason to change an operational system. Whether Zentao or Lightsage (as we seem to have developed a two-party system, sorry other candidates) wins, the TKs will still sponsor quests and do everything they're supposed to. Zentao didn't put herself forward until she was poked and prodded, perhaps this could foreshadow similar indecision in the future, but it's a problem to work through if she does win. Lightsage looks like change and that's great and all, but change isn't what the TKs need, it's stability with a calm head who actually listens. Technical knowledge, market knowledge, personally knowing people, these all sound good on paper, but have little to do with TKs in practice. A month old player could run the TKs with a little guidance and would probably do a better job of it than anybody has in the past. So, to sum it up, I actually had to think about it for about an hour while editing and re-writing this post, and I actually managed to convince myself to change my vote. [u]I vote Zentao[/u] because the reasons for voting Lightsage don't make sense to me unless I ignore my brain, while the possibility of a leader who won't say "I'm not changing my mind unless Mur/Council tells me to", and one who already knows how TKs works, is too good to pass up.

[quote name='SkyArmy' timestamp='1353904711' post='126410'] Faffa [/quote] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5hrUGFhsXo[/media]

[quote name='Seigheart' timestamp='1353901522' post='126402'] I'd like to see Most Evil Villain removed as well. We don't have anyone to fill the role besides the obvious. I'd like to see this event lean more towards recognizing outstanding service to MD, its community, and each other. [/quote] "Villains" help too, just not in the most helpful of ways, think [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29#Grey_hat"]Grey hat hacker[/url]. In some cases they put more effort in than the people they're villainizing.