Istari

[quote who="wraithstalke" reply="30" id="2831270"] Quoting Istari, reply 15 Quoting goodgimp, reply 14Because turkeys carry tiny bits of Jesus in their waddles, each and every one. Goodgimp, your avatar freaks me out, and that makes everything you say roughly 25% weirder and scarier than it normally would be. Looks like Buddha crossed with Teal'c to me.[/quote] Mix in some Android 19 from Dragonball Z and I think you have a match.

OK, now for my late late 2 cents. Firstly, piracy is wrong. When you invade those ships at sea and take all of their valuable cargo, that is called STEALING! If you are a broke-ass stiff with a shit and empty life and can't make ends meet, go ahead and download or copy all of the digital media you can. Is it right? No, certainly not. Are there worse things you can do to entertain yourself? Damn right! If you are a guy without a job, you're probably too broke to have a girlfrie

[quote who="goodgimp" reply="14" id="2831051"]Because turkeys carry tiny bits of Jesus in their waddles, each and every one.[/quote] Goodgimp, your avatar freaks me out, and that makes everything you say roughly 25% weirder and scarier than it normally would be.

There are some good points here so far. Personally, I would say that this kind of thing would work better if it was determined by a combination of DnD and 4x combat tactics. Meaning, something along the lines of successful hit on a maximum dice roll, and a failed defense on a minimum dice roll. This could even work with the current mechanics by rolling against dodge to hit, and then damage Vs defense to see if any harm is inflicted. In some situations, the lucky hit might also have to

What if the caravaner's wife was pregnant and travelling with him, and then her water breaks? You'd feel pretty selfish about banning caravan teleporting then wouldn't you? You're such a prick. Why don't you ever consider the needs of others? You know her water probably broke because you forced her and her husband to have to travel on a rocky path first, rather than just teleporting them and having the road form behind them for a smoother trip on the way back. But noooo, teleporting should on

Happy Thankstaking everyone! I'll take that turkey AM_Shark. He looks like he's wise to the deal, and we can't have him rousing the others.

NOOOOOOOOO. Not another polling thread about polls for polling polls! Polling leads to trolling. Trolling leads to thread-jacking. Thread-jacking leads to the Dark Side. Therein thread-necromancy ensues.

@sagittary If I were to look at a screenshot of a fantasy/sci-fi strategy game I play and automatically start thinking about economy and number of weapons stacked, I would have to then research the different methods of suicide, choose the most embarrassing one and subject myself to it. OK, that's going a bit far, but for this kind of entertainment, for me it's more about the feel of it. Does it immerse? Is it deep and rich? Does it scale to epic? Is there a plethora of avenues

Ever since it was announced as the spiritual successor to Master of Magic, Elemental: War of Magic has been anticipated almost as much as the second coming of the Messiah, and with expectations to match. This statement was a double-edged sword, no, a double-edged +5 Keen Adamantine Great Sword with Massive Criticals. That single statement was a complete marketing campaign in and of itself, and drew the masses of reclusive super nerds out of the cryostasis they had placed themselves in, frozen

[quote who="pfk2" reply="274" id="2829687"] --Snip-- [/quote] That was a very interesting read. I take my hat off to you sir/madam. [e digicons]k1[/e] I know little to nothing about the particulars of the laws involved and the legal processes, and that was an eye opener. Thanks.

Mana comes from the mana mines. Deep underground caverns where Gnome slaves labour away relentlessly, chipping away at the walls for mana crystals. These crystals are then eaten by the Gnomes, and the resultant processed product harvested from their faeces is mana in the usable form for spells. The shards were formed when the Titans developed chronic constipation, as they used to process their own mana crystals. Unfortunately, the shard defecations caused all the Titans to implode due

[quote who="DrJBHL" reply="271" id="2829152"] the focus should remain the purpose and intent And hers reflected mens rhea. Her intent was to take something and not pay for it nor the fines and damages levied on her. The claim that there was no theft is nonsense. End of story.[/quote] I think I see what the problem is here. It seems that you've come into this sub-conversation half way through. I am in no way defending the actions of the lady in the O

[quote who="DrJBHL" reply="269" id="2828869"] That is an outdated definition in that it predates the concept of taking without loss or otherwise does not account for the possibility. Most other definitions of the word theft include the clause of depriving the owner of the possession or carrying away of the goods (physically). Nothing outdated at all. Goods (music) was taken w/o payment and propagated onward. Theft and receiving stolen goods. Period. I won't ar

[quote who="DrJBHL" reply="264" id="2828526"] Theft is a criminal act in which property belonging to another is taken without that person's consent. The term theft is sometimes used synonymously with Larceny. Theft, however, is actually a broader term, encompassing many forms of deceitful taking of property, including swindling, Embezzlement, and False Pretenses. Some states categorize all these offenses under a single statutory crime of theft.[/quote] That is an ou

[quote who="Fuzzy Logic" reply="252" id="2827457"]"If there is nothing physical, it does not have any value" "If I can't afford something, then I have to take it" We are all talking to the hand here. Just close the thread and ban the fuckers.[/quote] You are having a conversation with yourself. Your comments make it clear that you have either not read, or disregarded the points being made, and so you have responded in the against

[quote who="tazgecko" reply="251" id="2827443"] Quoting Istari, reply 249I am Poor Joe Lives-Alone. I have a set income and set expenses. This makes my budgeting very easy. Unfortunately, I have no money after my necessary expenses. However, I really like music. I have a friend who has agreed to copy some music for me, free of charge. If I did not obtain the music in this way, I could not obtain it at all. In this way, though I have most likely broken the law, I have not actually caused

It seems I need to be more plain here. I ask you a question based on a specific example, and you respond to the general case. Please keep the parameters of the hypothetical in mind when responding. [quote who="Jafo" reply="256" id="2827474"] " If you define loss of control here as the IP owner not being able to prevent Joe from obtaining a copy of their music, the argument becomes moot, as that form of control yields no benefit, and the lack of it bears no loss."

@JAFO I still think you are missing an important distinction. The distribution medium called Kazaa is taking control away from the IP owner. Remove this distribution medium, and all the users of it become disabled, irrelevant and otherwise unable to effect the same potential for loss. But lets move away from Kazaa for a moment and go back to Poor Joe Lives-Alone. I am Poor Joe Lives-Alone. I have a set income and set expenses. This m

@JAFO I don't think we are actually disagreeing on anything. Theft of IP does occur and does cause loss to the IP owners. My argument was to prove that it is not always and by necessity the case that a person 'taking' a copy of an IP without paying for it is committing the act of thievery. The loss of control is caused by the mediums for distribution. The single taker I have described in my example is not the cause for loss of control or any injury for that matter. Generally s

[quote who="Jafo" reply="240" id="2827120"] Istari ....there IS no requirement to demonstrate in Law that someone 'might' or 'might not' purchase a song and that such determination may sway the actuality/determination of 'theft'. The argument that the 'pirate' was never going to be a purchaser therefore the artist/company loses nothing is both absurd and irrelevant. It is the act of 'taking' that defines theft, not the act of 'what he might not otherwise be doing'.<

One time, I consecutively played through a very long game of Elemental over three sleepless nights, where I destroyed all the AI players early on, except one. The last one I toyed with. Letting him make new settlements, then demolishing them. Letting him build up armies, then slaughtering them. Making all types of treaties, and then breaking them, only to make them again, and then break them. Wedding my offspring to his, and then sending them to their death. This torment went on for ov

While I don't agree with standing in the way of people fairly profiting from their creations, the issue is not nearly as clear cut as some would believe. As has been stated, to classify this action as theft, there must be a proven loss to the person or people who hold the rights to the property, as a direct result of the actions of the alleged thief. In this instance, there is no physical loss to the owners, as no physical property has been taken. So, it must now be proven that by tak

[quote who="Fuzzy Logic" reply="209" id="2824591"]I am an artist. I make my work available for people to download. My work is protected by something called intellectual property law. If you believe that law has no value, then you advocate the stealing of my work. How can you expect me to respect you, when you do not respect the value of my work. To me, you are not just amoral, you are a criminal. You would steal my work and claim you have done nothing wrong because you don't agree

[quote who="scharchuk" reply="184" id="2822865"]I'm just thinking of the irony of this discussion on justice when we're at war with a people who practice the very system that some on here want so badly and even removed them for it. i.e. The Taliban in Afghanistan. It all comes down to the fact that they want Sharia Law instead of the more humane legal system we have now where everyone is equal under it.[/quote] I never really grasped what that means. Everyone is equal. What does that

[quote who="Heph_" reply="28" id="2824434"] Because Poe wrote on both.[/quote] Get your hair cut!