asryn

Just a minor thing, but perhaps the time of the awards ceremony could be posted clearly a bit further in advance? I had hoped to attend, but didn't see the announcement until later that evening after the festivities had ended.

Happy Birthday! Hope it was a great one.

Happy Birthday, Pample. Hope you have a fabulous day.

Option 1 penalizes far more random people than it does people abusing the system. Let's assume that in the normal course of gameplay, 10 mp3 would reach the cap in any given week as a result of regular battles and progress in the game. Whoever happens to be fighting them when this happens would be penalized. If there happens to be someone running around capping newbies, maybe 5 extra people will be capped. So in this scenario, 10 players get penalized just for level-appropriate fighting and 1 troublemaker gets 5x the penalty. If no one happens to be causing trouble in any given week, 10 random players will still get penalized. I'm picking numbers out of thin air, but you get the idea. Unless this kind of abuse is way more common than I think it is, the vast majority of people penalized by this system would be people playing appropriately. I know MD isn't supposed to be fair, but that seems like a pretty significant negative side effect to me.

Happy Birthday, Ailith! Hope you have a fabulous day.

[quote name='awiiya' date='17 December 2009 - 08:47 PM' timestamp='1261111648' post='50508'] No, today is the generation of the specialist. Everything is at such an advanced state, if you spent your entire life learning a little about a lot you would hardly get far. It is often only possible to reach the cutting edge of success by being a specialist. Awi [/quote] Hmm, yes and no. I agree that most progress is made by those who know more than a little about their topic of interest. I would argue that the real cutting edge of success is often on the borders of disciplines, though, and that is more true today than it has ever been. Think of all the recent advances in biotechnology that required knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, and business to make happen. If your knowledge is too narrowly focused, you lack the ability to see those broader connections and to synthesize the resources and insights of multiple fields. How many opportunities have been lost because those who knew a lot about a little didn't even know enough about other things to ask the right questions of those who held other pieces to the puzzle they are trying to solve?

Angelfish

I have more than 100 active days now, so it would appear that I am no longer eligible for the Rookie award. I do appreciate the regard of those who nominated me.

Happy Birthday, Tara! Saturday is usually a quiet day around here; perhaps we can celebrate more next week.

[quote name='dst' date='28 November 2009 - 12:11 AM' timestamp='1259395916' post='48599'] Thank you asryn. But can we see the solution also? Just for pure information. [/quote] So I considered that, but given the nature of the quest it seems a bit spoilery. Since part of my goal was to encourage exploration, I would prefer to let people discover these things for themselves. However if those who participated have any specific questions feel free to contact me, and I will do my best to provide either answers or hints as seems appropriate.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the scavenger hunt. I have finally finished tallying the results, and they are as follows: 1st place, with a score of 193/200 - dst, received a wishpoint 2nd place, with a score of 184/200 - Handy Pockets, received 2 silver coins 3rd place, with a score of 182/200 - Freezeblink, received 1 silver coin The highest scoring mp3 was Yoshi with a score of 178/200, and the highest scoring mp4 was Freezeblink. Please contact me by PM if you would like a shiny new angien egg, and I will respond with the CTC. Congratulations to all the winners! I hope you all enjoyed the hunt, and perhaps even learned something about the lands in the process. Travel safely, and keep your eyes open. You never know what you might come across on your journey.

[quote name='CrazyMike' date='24 November 2009 - 08:02 PM' timestamp='1259121720' post='48418'] The point that I have always been trying to make is that different people have different levels of sensitivities. [/quote] I actually don't disagree with that, Mike. There are a lot of things which affect how we interpret language - judgment, culture, experience, preference. That's why I think warnings are appropriate before punishment. All I am saying is, can we as a community please err on the side of avoiding offense, and set the bar for public discussions at a level where everyone can feel comfortable?

I voted to choose a specific PL moderator, but I think using the forum mods could work fine as well.

Ok Fenrir, apparently that is what you intended to say. So I will stop wasting my breath on that particular line of reasoning. I see two problems with Mike's proposal. One is that PLs are used for other game functions - notes from quest creators, sparring ground warnings, etc. We don't want players to be able to edit or remove those on a whim. Nor do we want people to be able to otherwise meddle with what is written, otherwise there is no point to the logs at all. The other is the point that I made earlier. When Pample calls Fenrir an idiot, she is insulting only him. Comments like the one in Phantom Orchid's log insult an entire group of people, as well as anyone who cares about them. Had I come across that comment in someone else's log I would have been offended by it, even if the log owner wasn't. Honestly it is the fact that these types of comments get scattered around so lightly that I find most upsetting, much more so than if they were just being directed at me personally. So I really think there needs to be some way to address offensive comments even if they are not in your own log. As far as I am concerned people can use whatever language they like in private conversations, PMs, etc. But player logs and papers are public, and I think the language used should reflect that. If people want to call each names, or make negative comments, that's fine. I'm not saying it has to be all sweetness and light, just that we are intelligent and eloquent enough to find ways of insulting individuals without offending whole communities of innocent bystanders at the same time. Anyway, I like the idea of giving someone editing power, but I would prefer to see some type of moderator. It works in the forum, why not in game? It would be a much smaller job - just someone whose name could be posted as the person to contact if you see something inappropriate, who could step in and make changes if needed. Can't imagine it would be needed often, but I do think it would be worthwhile.

[quote name='Fenrir Greycloth' date='23 November 2009 - 11:34 AM' timestamp='1259004873' post='48255'] Zleiph I never said that saying it was right. I was merely pointing out that it is up to the person being called a name to be offended. If they are black and called a N!!!!!', it only affects them if they are sensitive about being black. If I am called a cracker, I laugh it off. It's a word. They make themselves look stupid when The person doesn't react negatively. Names are just that, names. We are not in the 1960s anymore. These words do not have the same effect anymore.Their meanings have changed dramatically, if you don't agree with me on anything. You have to agree with me about this. [/quote] *takes a deep breath* Fenrir, I agree that words do change with time, but that is not the same thing as saying that their history is irrelevant. The ability of a word to harm isn't something that disappears overnight, or even over decades. What you appear to be saying here is that if someone is offended by a word or phrase, it is essentially their own fault for being too sensitive, since in your mind the words themselves are now harmless. I am willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, and assume that their intentions in choosing those words are benign unless they give me a reason to think otherwise. But it is not up to you to dictate how people should react to hearing them, and what they should and shouldn't find hurtful. Words can be hurtful for any number of reasons, even unintentionally. They can create mental links to unpleasant memories, they can demonstrate subconscious biases, they can hide in joke form sentiments that truly are harmful. Just because you aren't trying to offend doesn't mean your words can't be offensive. The effects of words are defined by the one listening, not the one speaking. The language people use in private conversations doesn't particularly concern me. But MD chat and player logs are public spaces, viewable by anyone. The types of words we are discussing are upsetting to many people, myself included, and the fact that someone knows someone who isn't bothered by them doesn't make that any less true. Surely we can agree to err on the side of civility and avoid speaking in ways that are likely to hurt people? There are enough other words in the English language, even insulting ones when needed, that I really don't think that is an unreasonable request. Your statement above essentially said one of two things: either you are telling people how they should feel, or you are telling them that their feelings are irrelevant. I hope that isn't what you intended to say, but that is how it sounded to me.