Profile for Arancaytar

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Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #58
Oh, in the US they have... other concepts of what constitutes nudity or immoral photos?

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Where is BSC? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #18
I have a manually saved archive for General, before the second purge. Presumably, RC still has the first one. Since it's General, and before 2003, RC's stuff is what you want...

Actually, I've been wanting to get that part, make some sort of navigation system for both, find a host with large webspace offers and upload the whole thing. However, merely restructuring the links on these over 1000 pages would already take unreasonably long. I'm not on vacation right now. :P

[ Wednesday, October 27, 2004 13:09: Message edited by: Her prow was fashioned like a swan ]

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
What makes a good quest? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #19
To immerse you in the world, there obviously has to be an objective. The longer a single objective lasts, the better (a long arcing plot of fulfilling one quest appears more structured than thousands of tiny side quests strung up after each other). Also, some games hide their quests, or make the knowledge of what exactly you have to do a secret in itself. Great idea. Go MYST. :D

Just because the term "quest" is used, it doesn't mean it has to be a straightforward, generic mission like someone walking up to you and saying "do this, kill that, go there, get the other and bring it here, and you get 5000 gold". It can be far more subtle and original.
But entirely without one, the game is impossible to play.

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Golden Country in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #12
I usually write in complete sentences too, Wham. It is fitting for discussions, and for most kinds of fiction or roleplaying as well. On IM, I do tend to, well, loosen up. :P

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #17
OOC: In a roleplay, [OOC], or Out Of Character signifies a text that is addressed by you - the player - directly to the other players; a commentary on the story. [IC], or In Character, signifies a part of the story.

Still OOC: I will probably join over the weekend. I'm pressed for free time this week...

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Ghost Stories in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #4
Reminds me of that Magical Girl Hunter thing a while back. Probably all the spiritual superpowers, and the two crazy people going on shooting sprees.

Though this one is far more scary, and the plot far less easy to follow. They both have 46 parts, anyway.

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
(Yet another) Failed Scenario... in Blades of Avernum
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #11
Your signature is adequate reply for your post. :)

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EncyclopaediaArchivesMembersRSS [Topic / Forum] • BlogPolarisNaNoWriMo
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
I have a love of woodwind instruments.
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Good-bye in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #24
quote:
Anyway, ADoS said he's going on a mission, not to college. (hmm... two years? A mormon, then?)
Yup. You seem informed. ;)

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #51
quote:
I would be VERY sad.
Well, that doesn't count! :P

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
(Yet another) Failed Scenario... in Blades of Avernum
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #9
Edit: Kelandon beat me. :P

[ Tuesday, October 26, 2004 09:24: Message edited by: Of Silver were her lanterns made ]

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EncyclopaediaArchivesMembersRSS [Topic / Forum] • BlogPolarisNaNoWriMo
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
I have a love of woodwind instruments.
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
When did you start spidweb'ing? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #2
Another "When did you start" topic? I see it's that time of the month again... :D

I came here in May 2003 to ask a technical question on Avernum 3, and I just sort of stuck around. Took part in some BoE designing discussions because I was then working on my first BoE scenario (still working on it, btw, though a bit infrequently - every 2-3 months for a day or so). Also some of the debates on General, and then I saw the roleplays. Well, and that's why I'm still here. :)

Edit: Oh, it's about the games. Well, I got E3 on a Shareware CD around Spring 2001. So that makes it 3 and a half years for me. BoE must have been in August 01, because I started playing around with the editor when school was starting. Then, perhaps in October, I got the idea for my first scenario. Which happens to be still unfinished, after 3 years and 9 nine days (and, probably, around 2 hours or so). Slowly catching up with Rhapsody in Blue in terms of longest development time. :P

[ Tuesday, October 26, 2004 08:06: Message edited by: Her sails he wove of Silver fair ]

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Where is BSC? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #3
He was posting an awful lot as little as a day before that realization struck him (over 10 posts a day I think), and he didn't post a single post once it did. I see your point, but believe me when I say I wouldn't be so worried for no reason whatsoever.

[ Monday, October 25, 2004 13:27: Message edited by: Her sails he wove of Silver fair ]

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Where is BSC? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #1
Now that I brought it up on Polaris, I remember again he intended to go to the States for a while (I don't know for how long). So maybe he just got very, very unlucky with his internet connection and he'll be back in a month or two.

I hope.

I'm still jittery from the last death, a second one right now would send me up a tree once and for all. :eek:

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #40
Most of the people online also soon conclude that, based on some phrases you utter here. Only here it's not as visible when they walk away shaking their heads. ;)

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
school of magery in Blades of Avernum
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #5
No, those are for the outer gates on the entrance to the school. There's another stone that will open the glowing gates in the library, and you'll find it the following way:

Go down all those levels till you come to a hall where a small side passage to the Northwest breaks off (I forget which level it is). Go down the side passage until you meet three Vahnatai. Talk to them, and they will tell you about a stone that the chief Spider has (you'll have met the Spider they mean already, it's further up). Go back to the Spider, as about the stone and it'll tell you to get some gnat eggs. To get to the eggs, you'll have to go through the passage the spiders are guarding (the chief spider will tell you the password), and fight your way through the Chitrachs until you get to a pool in the Northeast. Get some eggs, bring them back to the Chief, and he'll tell you where to find the opening stone.

Once he has told you, you can search another room to the north, and you'll find the stone.

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EncyclopaediaArchivesMembersRSS [Topic / Forum] • BlogPolarisNaNoWriMo
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
I have a love of woodwind instruments.
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Work Experience in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #19
I am trying very hard not to picture you in a debate, but I fail. I see you're having fun though, and I'm sure you're getting some experience as well, and that's what matters, eh? :)

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Good-bye in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #12
And you don't stay sane if you remain on Spiderweb for three years. :)

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
What makes a good quest? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #6
quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

I've been musing on the difference in reactions to VoDT and ASR. Some people worship ASR and loathe VoDT. Some people worship VoDT and hate ASR. I think the difference may be that the ones who liked ASR care more about choices, plotline, moral dilemmas, and deeper meanings. The ones who liked VoDT care more about exploration and combat. VoDT is an unashamed dungeon crawl, whereas ASR is more plot-driven. The Exile and Avernum Trilogies tend to lean more towards the VoDT style of design, whereas Geneforge has so far tended more towards ASR.
Agreed, but still some hate Geneforge and preferred ASR over VoDT. TM for one.

I'm also sure you can classify all those quests into categories, but these might not have been the best ones. Let's see---

Person oriented:
- Kill a person/monster
- Rescue/kidnap a person
- Protect/escort someone to a place

Object oriented:
- Retrieve/steal an object
- Destroy an object/intercept a message
- Deliver an object/message

Place oriented:
- Travel to/explore a place
- As you said, "clean out" a place
- Destroy/sabotage a place

However, the combinations are almost endless. There's bound to be something that hasn't been done before... for example I'm sure the party has never been hired to intercept a message before. Usually it's the bad guys who do the intercepting.

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #27
The point he was making was, I believe, that friends are easier to replace in cyberspace than in real life - there's a point too; you can make contact with more people. But you can't apply the cheapness/scarcity of 'resources' to social life. I wouldn't waste friends just because I could find new ones. That mentality gets nobody anywhere; and eventually, a reputation gets to spread on the web too. And if nothing else, it makes character qualities deteriorate. :P

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #23
And if this topic inspired that realization (as it did to me), then I'd say it was a total success, one the like of which we rarely see in Spiderweb General topics nowadays. I for my part am glad to see the occasional bits of wisdom among all this Exile vs Avernum, How To Spell Vahnatai, and What Are You Currently Wearing. Go General! :)

Alo, I can sympathize with that feeling - I have had horrible premonitions and foreboding before when online contacts didn't call for a long time, and that was before this happened...
By the way, her husband has been arrested and made a confession. They had a quarrel, and he says he lost control of himself. It is even more sad because they had only just married and moved to Canada from Chile - he had joined the board on her behalf, and they appeared such a happy couple.

I haven't seen much use in goodbye topics before, but I see your point. I suppose it depends on how well you know the member, and that is a matter of perspective.

spy, I'm glad to see I'm not unilaterally hated here. :D I agree an online community is more comfortable because it allows more personal freedom and sovereignty in how and when to make social contact. On the other hand, maybe it loses some of its closeness: Since the day I have been able to set up an IRC client, I've always looked for the chatroom of a community I was in. Simply because, while this medium allows for long, rambling thoughts and arguments (a specialty of mine), the instant messenger offers more immediacy, closer to a real conversation.

Maybe worthy of note: With many people, I get along better in AIM conversations than on this board.

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Good-bye in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #5
I really hope this place is still there when you return, and I hope I'll still be here. I like constants in life. :P

I said goodbye on Polaris already, but for the sake of completeness, a Spiderweb goodbye too. Don't forget to pick up your sanity at the door when you leave; I think you'll need it. :)

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #18
MMmmhh. Only a day ago, I learned on the Santharian forums (the one I linked to in my signature; it's a small world creation and roleplaying project) that one long-term member there had died a week ago - she was stabbed to death in her apartment. :(

It has made me reconsider this question under a new angle: How closely is real life related to the reality on an online society? Obviously, events in the real world will have an impact on this virtual reality, but for what events is this true? And in some cases, what *are* the immediate consequences for the society - in case of the death of a member, it's not exactly a very direct process that leads to the other members learning of that.

In this case, the announcement was made by the admin, who was emailed by another member, who had been contacted by the mother of the deceased: A complicated chain that might not even have held if her mother hadn't known about her online friends. In that case, we would have been forced to wonder what happened to this member who had been posting regularly as little as a day ago.

This is only one, the less important part of the question, though. The other part is the reaction of the other members. Would an 'online death' affect you the way it would in real life? If, for example, you saw someone posting here (in this case likely my father, who's also around somewhere on these boards) that I'd been flattened by a car, or jumped off a bridge, what would your reaction be? Disbelief? "Good Riddance"? :P

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #12
quote:
Originally written by No 2 Methylphenidate:

Communicating on a board has one distinct advantage over talking person to person: you read and write at your individual convenience.
Nobody calls when you are in bed or in a hurry. It is always you who determine the moment, when you look up what's new the board. In addition, there is no danger of being obliged to do anything.
This allows more openness - you do not run the risk of spill-over of political disagreement into a neighbor dispute.

You have not yet experienced the joys of Instant Messenger, have you? The thing is likely to go off whenever I'm in a hurry or in bed - of course you can ignore the call, but the immediacy is no different from a phone call.

As for being obliged to do something... once you become an active member of a community, there's a powerful drive to contribute to the welfare of that community, probably motivated by the drive to increase your social status and reputation. It is that which keeps people awake at freakish hours of the night updating their BoE websites or answering questions on the forum, and motivates them to spend hours compressing and emailing files that somebody cannot download. I am familiar with that feeling of duty, and I've recognized it in many members on occasion.

quote:
I feel I know Arancaytar, or whatever he's calling himself these days, pretty well and consider him a friend, even though I have never seen him, and I'm sure he feels the same (hopefully!).
I'm quite comfortable with being called Arancaytar or Aran still. I've just joined the great crowd that changed their board names regularly. That said, I'd like to confirm that I feel the same. :)

quote:
PS, We should all get together and have a party that lasts like a week.
That would be a large party... and there would likely be some people there I consider immensely disturbing. :P Nonetheless, it sounds like a good idea, only probably impossible to implement. There's hardly a time throughout the year when everyone of us has time to go travelling to the other end of the world, and a lot of people are still in school and can't set their own vacation days.

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
favorite monster in The Exile Trilogy
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #3
Dryads are a whole lot cuter than Gremlins, you know. It isn't fair to throw them both in one pot. :D

Oh, and this is a double topic. Seeing as this is the one that got replies, I'd suggest that the mods delete the other.

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EncyclopaediaArchivesMembersRSS [Topic / Forum] • BlogPolarisNaNoWriMo
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
I have a love of woodwind instruments.
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00
Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
Profile Homepage #2
I've had conspiracy theories on occasion, when I thought everybody on every board I had ever visited was just a simulation intricately arranged by scientists, in order to manipulate and research my personality. Now, I know the truth.

You, sirs, are all figments of my imagination! There, how does that sound? :P

I don't know about the argument 'observation implies existence'. It may be assumable, for the sake of argument, that something only exists once you can observe it, but how's this: Observation is defined as hearing/seeing/reading/being informed about it in any medium whatsoever.

So once I read a post made by Alorael, for instance, I know a board member by the name of Alorael exists and posts, though I don't know anything about him as an actual person (not having seen him personally, or any authentic pictures). The fact that Alorael and Thuryl exist as SW forum accounts does not rule out the possibility that they are identical to Sir Motrax of Exile, or their posts generated by artificial intelligence, respectively.

It helps to solve the question if you separate the 'forum identity' from the 'person'. Once you do that, it becomes clear that the 'forum identity' must exist by observation, while the actual person you have no information about.

That doesn't apply, of course, to members who are veritable fountains of information about their real lives. But even that can be faked. You didn't know, for example, that I (Arancaytar) am not really a 17-year-old male, but Sarah-Maria Schwarz, a 21-year-old university student with the rather disturbing hobby of crossdressing on internet forums. Or did you? :P

[ Tuesday, April 05, 2005 23:34: Message edited by: The Neutral Republic of Aeruillin ]

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The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki!
"Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft.
"I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik
Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00

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