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That's a joke... I say, that's a joke, son in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, November 13 2006 13:05 Profile Homepage #64
quote:
Disappear 73%
Suicide 67%
Natural Causes 67%
Disease 33%
Gunshot 33%
Drowning 33%
Stabbed 33%
Cut Throat 27%
Bomb 27%
Suffocated 27%
Posion 27%
Eaten 27%
Accident 20%
A self-induced natural death that isn't any form of accident or animal attack is an amuzing paradox. Apparently, I am going to die in the woods from a self-induced heart attack. :P

[ Monday, November 13, 2006 13:14: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Postorial Race... in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, November 13 2006 10:24 Profile Homepage #88
quote:
Originally written by Nioca:

quote:
Originally written by Slippery Salomon:

Next stop, 600. :D
Alright. Next stop for me: 700.
Any bets on when Nioca is getting Canned? If 700 posts on a slow month, mostly including personal conversations, IBTL posts, and other random junk aren't grounds for canning, I don't know what is. Or was that part of rules suspended for this month?

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Renovations... in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, November 13 2006 10:14 Profile Homepage #41
These boards did have avatars, until Jeff turned them off "to save bandwidth".

And if you want HTML turned on, take a look at PPP archives of Nethergate forums. There are some threads of people going HTML-crazy there, including huge brightly colored signatures, scrolling posts, and any other "fun" you can think of withing the limits of CoC.

About PM systems, I actually prefer UBB, because it's the only board I've seen that gives you private threads for your PMs, making conversations much more orderly than quote pyramids that grow in email-like systems. And with up to 50 threads of up to 21 messages each, there is also more storage capacity here than on any large public board I've seen.

The only problem with UBB is that it has a habit of eating threads, especially when they get too large. Whether the problem is serious enough for Jeff to move the boards depends on whether useful threads in game sub-forums start getting eaten.

Just don't expect avatars, enabled HTML, or more PM space for non-moderators from a new board system.

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
I?! I?! Richard fhtagn! in Richard White Games
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 10 2006 11:58 Profile Homepage #9
quote:
Originally written by Slippery Salomon:

This was bound to happen. Call Homeland security.
Huge Snakes are on their way! As is their escort of easily offendable townspeople led by the protagonist's pet dog.

[ Friday, November 10, 2006 12:46: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Favorite way to die in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 10 2006 11:52 Profile Homepage #7
The next thing you know, we'll be forming an exploratory committee to research the approaches towards selecting the most suitable venue for appointing the designated official, or at least authorized, topic starter with the limited privileges of opening up the discussion of the topic in question in the venue agreed upon in prior deliberations. :P

[ Friday, November 10, 2006 11:53: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
November Posting Stats Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Poll in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 10 2006 11:17 Profile Homepage #142
quote:
Originally written by Student of Trinity:

Just what was it that turned Spalmon into the monster he is today? I don't seem to remember him being particularly prolific. At times, downright laconic, in fact. Now he wouldn't know a lacon if it bit him. So what dire event was it, that threw him over the edge?
When the duty called, and the very life of the boards was in danger, a few members fulfilled their civic duty and rose up to the occasion, sacrificing our reputations, and abandoning our dignity in favor of prolific spam necessary to return these boards to their former glory. All hail Spidweb!

For Nioca: [/sarcasm]

quote:
Originally written by Guardian Magma:

*shakes head*

EDIT: Salmon, why you need other accounts anyway?
My guess is that he is trying to get two different accounts onto the top 10 spammers list. :P

[ Friday, November 10, 2006 11:21: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
That's a joke... I say, that's a joke, son in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 10 2006 11:01 Profile Homepage #30
For the first quiz I got same result as everybody else (Tweety).

For the second one I got:
IMAGE(http://www.bbspot.com/Images/News_Features/2003/01/os_quiz/palm.jpg)
Changing a couple answers turned it into:
IMAGE(http://www.bbspot.com/Images/News_Features/2003/01/os_quiz/slackware.jpg)
These are the same two answers (although in opposite order) that I got from this quiz 3 and a half years ago.

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
1994 Backwards Is 2006 in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 10 2006 10:55 Profile Homepage #58
My experience was similar to Kel's, possibly because I went to the same college.

Student-led classes and discussion sections ranged from some of the most enjoyable classes I've had to a discussion section led by an undergrad who once said "I am not sure what to do, because I usually skipped my discussions when taking this class". A lot of them were simply average.

Professor-taught lectures ranged from a database class that was so good it almost convinced me to go to grad school in that area to intro EE classes that were so bad that I've never taken an EE class after those two. Overall, I've had far more bad experiences with professors than with grad students.

PS The best teacher in CS department, whose main job was teaching introductory classes, was a former high school teacher. He did very little research, but was one of the best teachers I've had and his introductory classes got a lot of students interested in the subject.

[ Friday, November 10, 2006 10:56: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
So, this duck asks the bartender for a drink. in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, November 8 2006 12:32 Profile Homepage #17
not.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Notice: ermarian.net down for maintainance NOW in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, November 8 2006 12:29 Profile Homepage #67
quote:
Originally written by chasm of Sar:

I was wondering, why is there a stat for current post count but not for total post count? To discourage spamming? Or to encourage spamming in blissful ignorance?
http://endeavor.ermarian.net/list/members/current/posts/

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Postorial Race... in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, November 8 2006 12:24 Profile Homepage #20
Is betting for this month's race still open? If so, what odds are you giving for the front runners? I'd guess Nioca at 2.5:1 and Salmon at 2.5:1, with greatly decreasing odds as we go down the list. I personally prefer to bet on one of the black horse candidates currently in 10th-15th positions. You can never rule out a possibility of that bicentiple post (as long as the admins can't ban the contestant before the posting is complete).

[ Wednesday, November 08, 2006 12:25: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
1994 Backwards Is 2006 in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, November 8 2006 11:59 Profile Homepage #18
I also prefer to delay the celebration until 2008. A large portion of this victory was due to scandals that will be long forgotten by then.

And California voters once again prove why direct democracy is a bad idea:
If you vote to raise taxes you are a fiscal liberal.
If you vote to limit spending you are a fiscal conservative.
If you vote to limit taxes and raise spending, you are a fiscal idiot.

We somehow managed to pass every single bond, including another 20 billion for roads, while defeating every measure with word "tax" in it, including campaign finance reform (funded by 0.2% corporate tax) and support for alternative energy research (funded by taxing oil companies). If that alternative energy research was a bond, rather than tax, it would have passed with overwhelming majority, just like stem cell research bonds did a few years ago, even though bond money has to be repayed double by all taxpayers and this tax was directed just against oil companies.

EDIT: And we also passed Big Brother law (mandatory lifetime GPS tracking for all sex offenders), and just barely defeated parental notification proposition and the tricky emminent domain proposition whose nastier provisions would make zoning, environmental protection, and many other laws too expensive to enforce.

[ Wednesday, November 08, 2006 12:05: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Personal Flair in Blades of Avernum
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 7 2006 15:11 Profile Homepage #12
A single random sentence isn't enough to distinguish characters. For example, taking a random sentence out of 8 posts on this board is unlikely to tell you who made each post.

If you want to give your characters personality, I'd suggest thinking of them like characters in a novel: Who are they? What do they like/dislike? How do they relate to protagonist and people around them? This will help you a lot more than unusual speech patterns. In fact, you should make distinguishing speech patterns only for a few characters that really need them (a foreigner with strange accent, a little kid with simple vocabulary, an excentric wizard who never uses a simple word if he can find a six-syllable word to use). If you try to give distinctive speech pattern to every character, you risk turning them into caricatures.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Twist or No Twist? in Blades of Avernum
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 7 2006 14:55 Profile Homepage #20
quote:
Originally written by Nioca:

Do you think a scenario should have many plot twists throughout the course of the scenario?
No.
A plot twist can greatly enchance the story if done well. However, the more of them you put in, the harder it is to make them good. You can have an exellent plot twist that makes player rething everything that happened before. (Movie "Sixth Sense" is a good example of this.) However, if you try to throw a plot twist at every corner, you plot will become meaningless and lose all connectivity.

Aside from that, I'll just repeat everybody else's advice to make sure that the twists make sence in hindsight and there are enough subtle hints to make player realize after the fact that the plot was there all along.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Jeff Vogel's View From the Bottom #6 in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 7 2006 14:14 Profile Homepage #28
quote:
Originally written by Terminal Being:

Ten years ago internet users were probably just about as bad as they are now. Go back to before September 1993 and the average intelligence was much higher.
The internet population didn't change overnight. I'd guess even in 1996 a large proportion of users still accessed internet from college or work. If you want to blame something for massive influx of kids, it would be a campaign to connect libraries and schools in late 90s.

I am not saying that kids are dumber than adults, but a lot of annoying behavior online is due to 9 year olds acting like 9 year olds.

quote:
—Alorael, who thinks MMORPGs would be vastly improved by strong AI. Among the other benefits, a Dark Lord run by a human-hating artificial intelligence trapped in a game would be a very scary villain.
Especially when that human-hating AI decides to take over the world by hacking into systems controlling all our infrastructure and equipment from power grids to military satellites. :)

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Spiderweb Art Movement. in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 7 2006 13:59 Profile Homepage #72
The spamful rebirth of these boards
Is quite a beauty to behold.
The multitude of useless posts
Is a nice break from quiet mold.

With lots of flaring debates,
From voting polls to ethics threads,
There is not a moment left
Of silence Aran so dreads.

All kinds of different picture threads
Our bandwidth can consume.
Even after the spamfest's done,
Not soon will quietness resume.

More surveys came in last three weeks
Than we've seen in three months before.
From our dreams to ice cream tastes
All you want to learn, and much more.

And necroing of older threads
Makes boards look even more alive.
The eerie glow of un-death
Brings new light into our lives.

Someone asked for posts on this thread.
You’ve asked and now you've received.
Although I very greatly doubt
This is the sort that you've conceived. :P

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Global warming is getting tired, as a threat. in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, November 6 2006 12:42 Profile Homepage #41
quote:
Originally written by chasm of Sar:

...
Zevo:
quote:
The problem with waiting until you are 100% ceratain that global warming is happening is that at that point, it will be impossible to do anything about it. The planet's climate is a massive system that takes centuries to change.
Interesting to note that various models on climate change indicate that small changes to the system can have drastic and (relatively)swift changes. (Like the Ice age article cited earlier?)
...
Like Ephesos said, "swift" on geologic timescale is a long time for humans. What I was trying to say is that once climate change becomes so drastic that it's impossible to deny (like forests growing in Antarctica), simply cutting down our emissions will not be enough to bring things back to a level that can support our current population and way of life. Anyway, I am not very knowledgable on this subject, so I'll leave the discussion to the experts.

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Learnin' me my letters. in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, November 6 2006 12:29 Profile Homepage #20
1. UC Berkeley
2. Yes
3. No
4. No
5. No
6. Yes

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
A new lofty position in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, November 6 2006 12:27 Profile Homepage #20
Congratulations! All hail the wise benevolence of The Big Brother!

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Do you play music when playing Avernum? in The Avernum Trilogy
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 3 2006 18:45 Profile Homepage #12
I prefer silence while playing games. (Or doing anything else for that matter.) I turn on my PC speakers only if I want to listen to something online, or if I want to hear what sounds a game has. I might have radio in the background if a game is particularly mindless or a radio program particularly good, but it's a distraction, rather than enhancement of playing experience.

[ Friday, November 03, 2006 18:45: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Is there a way around my editing blunder? in The Exile Trilogy
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 3 2006 18:32 Profile Homepage #8
quote:
Originally written by How:

quote:
Originally written by Drakefyre:

If you use the editor to leave town, you can then use it to return to the start.
I don't understand what you mean. I'm not in town now. I'm in the beginning of part 2 below many waterfalls. Could you explain?
In Exile/Avernum terminology "town" refers to any area that is not part of the overland map, including dungeons, caves, etc. If you have a button to enter/leave combat mode, you are in a "town" if you don't have such a button, you are "outdoors".

PS You can scroll the screen by using "look" command and clicking on the border of play area. This way you can see what is attacking you. And, as Alorael said, if you aren't in combat mode any breath, firebalt, or similar attack will hit all party members.

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Some Games Have Too Many Sequels in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 3 2006 18:10 Profile Homepage #53
quote:
Originally written by Imban:

quote:
Originally written by Zeviz:

On that note, where can I find Gold Box games everybody keeps talking about in these threads? I tried downloading Pool of Radiance from some abandonware site, but it didn't work even in DosBox.
That's odd... gimme a bit.

Pool of Radiance loads up in DosBox fine for me, except I can't actually choose anything in the character creation menus. Bleh.
That's the same problem I've had in all (2 or 3) versions I've tried. After fixing the config file I got as far as creating the first character, but then I am dumped back into first menu, with "create a character" as the only option again.

I guess I'll try Thuryl's suggestion next.

EDIT: Andraste, I don't know how good DosBox is, because my only experience with it so far hasn't been very successful. You can adjust the amount of CPU it takes, so theoretically it shouldn't be a resource hog.

EDIT2: Just to clarify, I have a PC. The reason I am using DoxBox is that many old games no longer work with Windows XP. However, if there is a Windows port somewhere (unlikely, but you never know) that could also be good.

[ Friday, November 03, 2006 18:21: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Humans Only in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 3 2006 15:28 Profile Homepage #54
quote:
Originally written by Come the Rivers:

...
-Alorael, who maintains that all actions are taken with self interest. Ablation of guilt is self-interest. Obligation is either a moral obligation, which improves self-regard, or external obligation, which is undertaken so others will think better of you or reward you.
...
You are simply re-defining self-interest to include any possible action any creature might take. :) The term "self-interest", as defined in common usage, is somewhat ambiguous, but your definition is so broad that it becomes meaningless. If you want to define self-interest that way, let's rephrase the question: is physical gain (wealth, power, harming your enemies) a stronger motivator for people than compassion, guilt, and other such things?

quote:
Originally written by Dikiyoba:

I think the average person you are likely to meet is inherently good, actually. Humans are in no way perfect, and they do a lot of bad and evil things, and there are some truly twisted people out there, and that people's goodness gets lost sometimes when they are put in truly desperate situations, but I still think people are good overall.

Dikiyoba.
Well said. I should have probably added something like this to my overall "nobody is pure good or pure evil" post.

PS And for the quiz I got:

Citizen    65%
Altruist   50%
Loner     50%
Pacifist   40%
Conqueror 35%
Guardian   35%
Hedonist   20%
Miscreant  20%
Destroyer  20%
Narcissist  0%
Congratulations. You are a Citizen. You probably believe that no one is above the law, and that the law is what makes life easier. You probably dislike chaos in all of its forms and, odds are, your dwelling is neat and tidy. Combine this result with your second to get your answer.

So the result is Citizen/Altruis/Loner, which looks pretty accurate. The 0% Narcissism looks like the only 0 reported so far.

[ Friday, November 03, 2006 15:32: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Global warming is getting tired, as a threat. in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 3 2006 14:15 Profile Homepage #14
The problem with waiting until you are 100% ceratain that global warming is happening is that at that point, it will be impossible to do anything about it. The planet's climate is a massive system that takes centuries to change. We've been pushing it in one direction from the start of Industrial Revolution. So even if we start now, it will take a long time to stop the current trend. If you wait until you are 100% certain (I guess the polar ice caps melting would be a good indication), it will be a little late to start working on slowing down the process.

[ Friday, November 03, 2006 14:16: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
No tag backs! in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, November 3 2006 14:07 Profile Homepage #104
I guess I'll try the "using different posts to reply to different parts of conversation" method. :) (This forum really needs threaded view option.)

About playground surface, I didn't realize that the only alternatives are rubber and concrete. If that is the case, rubber is obviously better. You don't need any equipment to break bones falling onto concrete. However, what happened to the ground? The stuff that was there before they've installed the playground equipment. The surface onto which the kids are most likely to fall when climbing trees, steep hills, and whatever else they climb when not on the playground. The main problem with playground surfaces that you can't get hurt on no matter what you do is that kids will never learn that falling from tall things hurts a lot and might break their heads later, when they try to do the same things they did on the playground in a place where ground isn't covered by rubber.

EDIT: Almost forgot about my Zamiatin reference. Don't worry, I am not making a third post in a row for it.
quote:
Edit - Is it a good one? I was unfamiliar with the reference so I looked it up. Does it belong on the list of future purchases at Powell's?
This book made me think a lot about what kind of future world I'd like to live in, because the motivations for building that kind of society are the same as motivations for building "bright socialist future", or motivations for banning tag in schools for that matter. I'd recommend reading it instead of "1984", because while "1984" is simply a parody of Stalin's USSR, "We" is an actual Utopia-that-doesn't-look-too-appealing kind of dystopia.

[ Friday, November 03, 2006 15:58: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00

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