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Field	Value
Displayed name	Or else o'erleap.
Member number	335
Title	Law Bringer
Postcount	14579
Homepage	http://www.polarisboard.net
Registered	Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00

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Author	Recent posts
Quick Question in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Thursday, March 6 2008 13:12 Profile Homepage #91 quote: Originally written by Henry Plainview.: I should explain, I work at a supermarket in a town reknowned for the rudeness of it's people. I can see why! —Alorael, who sometimes has problems answering simple pleasantries. "How are you?" can require hours of soul-searching. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Is it old? in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Wednesday, March 5 2008 12:47 Profile Homepage #45 quote: Originally written by Xel'Raga: To tell the truth, I have never seen the magical history tour, but I can guess what it is. quote: You're just saying that because you were intimidated by his massive codpiece. For some reason, the word "Codpiece" amuses me, anyway thats probably stuffing or an infection, either way I don't think it intimidates too many people. Actually, it's neither stuffing nor an infection. It's a codpiece. —Alorael, who thinks you have perhaps confused the garment by that name with its contents. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Quick Question in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Tuesday, March 4 2008 20:14 Profile Homepage #76 Why do people say, "Bless you!" when they hear a sneeze? Or "Break a leg!" before a performance? Linguistic rituals are part of life. —Alorael, who wishes you a blessed broken leg. Gesundheit! Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
E. Gary Gygax passed away in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Tuesday, March 4 2008 13:42 Profile Homepage #7 I don't think this marks the end of P&P RPGS any more than elves and orcs fantasy died with Tolkien. Gygax played a crucial role in creating the games that we all play (or we wouldn't be on these forums, would we?), but he was just the first, not the last or even the best. I never knew him personally, not even in the way one can know a journalist or blogger. I've played things he had a hand in, and while they were good I wouldn't go back to them. So farewell to a luminary of RPGs, but this doesn't change anything, really. —Alorael, who of course acknowledges that P&P gaming is "under attack" from CRPGs and especially MMORPGs. You know what, though? Like radio and TVs, or like books and movies, the old format isn't going to die. Especially not when the new one can't do everything the old one can! Yet, anyway. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Quick Question in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Monday, March 3 2008 19:29 Profile Homepage #56 quote: Originally written by Kinggolden: quote: Originally written by Xel'Raga: Arctic? The Arctic Wolf. Eats invisible n00bs by the horde. FYT —Alorael, who claims responsibility for that particular addition to the meme pool. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
A few exploits in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Monday, March 3 2008 15:51 Profile Homepage #6 I think there's some difference between an exploit in the engine's setup, like getting bonuses from items that aren't really being wielded, and cheating, which is doing something that definitely should not be done. —Alorael, who doesn't think either one is better and would hate to have to draw that line. He just thinks there is a difference. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
A! in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Monday, March 3 2008 13:03 Profile Homepage #13 quote: Originally written by Randomizer: quote: Originally written by Consensual Rhododendrons: —Alorael, who will leave you with the thought that Scottish jokes are okay because the Scots aren't here complaining. So... where are they, anyway? Driven away by the jokes? The Scots were too cheap to pay for internet access. just kidding Khoth is too sensible to spend time on General. —Alorael, who takes this entirely seriously. This is the internet, after all. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
A! in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Monday, March 3 2008 10:58 Profile Homepage #7 There are more Scots than Jews, and there are probably more people we'd call black than both combined. (I have no idea how prevalent the term "black" is in Africa.) Jews are actually quite fond of self-mocking humor as long as it's delivered by Jews. That sort of dichotomy in what is acceptable when done by whom seems to be a common theme in minority groups. —Alorael, who will leave you with the thought that Scottish jokes are okay because the Scots aren't here complaining. So... where are they, anyway? Driven away by the jokes? Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Geology Lecture in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Saturday, March 1 2008 23:34 Profile Homepage #86 quote: Originally written by Lepus timidus: To put it simply: If you don't think you're responsible enough to handle a gun in a safe manner, then don't buy one. It should be a decision made between you and your conscience, not the state and the individual. To put it simply: If you are not responsible responsible enough to handle a gun in a safe manner, the state should not let you buy one. And the greatest safety for the greatest number of people comes about when no one is allowed to buy a gun. The safety of many can trump the rights of a few. This isn't speaking legally here. This is morals. In other words, I don't buy that this is a personal decision. It is a state decision whether or not guns should be personally available. You're coming down on the libertarian (or anarchist, when I feel hyperbolic) side of things, and I disagree. You can't just say it's a matter of personal decision when that's the very matter under debate. quote: So what you're saying is that the liberal ideology is based on the fear and mistrust of your fellow man? That your fellow man can't be trusted with anything 'dangerous' without State supervision, much like a toddler can't be trusted with a kitchen knife without adult supervision. That you're willing to punish and deprive the collective merely because a few bad apples might misbehave? Just grand. Conservative ideology is based on the belief that people are good, kind, and righteous? That's probably largely reasonable, but it's those few bad apples who misbehave who manage to make things go very, very bad. Supervision has nothing to do with it. Society has its toddlers, and the state is responsible for making sure there are no knives left lying around. —Alorael, who would find the issue much more complicated if he thought the right in question were in fact necessary or even useful. Besides hunting, guns aren't helpful to anyone. Self-defense is outweighed by avoidable offense, and fighting the good fight against the government is both implausible and impractical. The sacrifice is minimal and the benefits are enormous. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Geology Lecture in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Saturday, March 1 2008 22:21 Profile Homepage #84 The two ideas you separated are not, in fact, separate. Yes, any weapons are better than none if you need to fight the government. But the benefits of that ability when weighed against the harm done by the proliferation of guns shows that a good law, not simply the one on the books, would severely restrict or ban firearms. Your reasoning that a gun should be a personal decision, not a legal one, is very nice and leads to anarchism. Anarchism sounds nice and works out really terribly because trusting the collective consciences of the people is a good way to end up with very bad things. —Alorael, who doesn't think there's much benefit in arguing about what the current law is. He also doesn't think there's any sane way to argue that there should not be laws regulating individuals on behalf of the state. The real question is what the best laws would be, and that's where this debate deadlocks. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Quick Question in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Saturday, March 1 2008 10:04 Profile Homepage #44 quote: Originally written by Xel'Raga: Aloreal.. Your prayers were doomed from the start. —Alorael, who can only assume false accusations against ADoS since the image is quite reasonable and his post has not been edited. All you complainers should consider yourselves sternly warned. Say nothing of replacing images at the source. That's crazy talk. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Geology Lecture in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Saturday, March 1 2008 01:35 Profile Homepage #79 Arguing in circles again, but what chance does any militia have today against a military that has firearms of a caliber not available to civilians, to say nothing of armored vehicles, aircraft, bombs, and missiles? —Alorael, who also would like to point out the last few pages of discussion. Self-defense is good, but there's a cost to giving people the opportunity to defend themselves. That cost may well be requiring far too many people to perform self-defense against guns. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
AAAAAAAH!!! in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Friday, February 29 2008 13:09 Profile Homepage #92 As you move up the ladder, you have fewer little things to turn in all the time and more major things hovering over your head for a long time. You also get more self-determination in how to approach your problems. Depending on how you think of these things, that can be either liberating or terrifying. —Alorael, who personally just thinks that relief from the daily grind that peaks in high school or maybe college is a very welcome thing. Then, of course, you eventually hit the 9-5 world (or maybe 8-8, if you're chained to your lab bench) and the grind comes back in full force. At least it's a very different grind! Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Can I stash stuff anywhere? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Thursday, February 28 2008 21:49 Profile Homepage #3 The ground keeps stuff safe, too. As long as there aren't too many items in one zone, and the limit is a huge number of items, you can dump your things just about anywhere. —Alorael, who recommends somewhere near the teleportation pylons. That's always convenient. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Geology Lecture in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Wednesday, February 27 2008 22:02 Profile Homepage #64 The field is probably relatively distant from the main school building(s), so it's a safe place to clump. Clumping means people can be counted and checked off, meaning no child gets left behind (in a good way!). That said, it's a terrible evacuation plan in case of malicious intent rather than fire or spontaneous toxic fumes. —Alorael, who also would recommend picking a direction and running indefinitely in case of quickfire containment breach on school grounds. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Quick Question in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Wednesday, February 27 2008 12:58 Profile Homepage #19 quote: Originally written by The_Other_Guy: quote: Our rituals are few and harmless Actually you're not really "in" until Alorael takes a snipe at your head and leaves you either dead or insane, which is where the phrase "leave your sanity at the door" actually originated :D :P This is an in-joke about a gimmick. One may refer to our dear Olar as any particular section of his name. Such as, oh, Olar. —Alorael, who isn't quite sure on what basis Ull has determined that Spiderweb's esprit de boards is an intrinsically bad thing. One, it's not so strong that it drives everyone away. Two, as long as nobody feels alienated when asking for help with games, it's probably not a bad thing. Not everyone needs to like the crowd, but a distinctive flavor is more likely to make people stick around, and sticking around is more likely to sell Jeff's games. These boards are just a collection of gimmicks. A collection of marketing gimmicks. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Simulated Reality in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Wednesday, February 27 2008 12:48 Profile Homepage #16 quote: Originally written by Diprosopus: Kinggolden, I believe you may want to familiarize yourself with the Meditations on First Philosophy to learn why your mind exists. It is odd that you would deny the existence of your mind, considering that you quoted Descartes. Perhaps you ought to reread your Descartes before dropping his most clichéd line. :o Diprosopus, you may want to read that post again. He doesn't doubt his own mind. He doubts your mind and my mind. We are, to him, unverifiable, and therefore he has jumped to solipsism. I also think SoT's exercise is fundamentally different from going about doubting everything that is not certain. We claim knowledge about all kinds of things that aren't knowable in a Cartesian sense, but what do we mean by knowing? That's an important and different, though related, problem. How about another epistemological question to go with SoT's exercise? Suppose you have a favorite pen with a distinctive appearance. You walk into a room and see your pen lying on the table. You pick it up. Yep, it's your pen all right. Only it's not: someone has taken your pen and secretly taped it under the table where you can't see it, then placed a copy on the table. Do you know that your pen is in the room or not? What does that say about the difference between knowledge and belief? —Alorael, who returns briefly to the original simulated reality questions to add that we've already simulated reality. Not very complicated reality containing any intelligence or much size, obviously, but what else is a first-person shooter running with only AI-controlled characters? Or, for that matter, what else is Conway's Game of Life? Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Simulated Reality in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Tuesday, February 26 2008 18:43 Profile Homepage #6 The odds say that we're virtual people. —Alorael, who thinks quantum mechanics are just a way to reduce processor requirements. The downside, however, is that the universe isn't intelligently designed. It's bureaucratically designed by the convergence of the needs of researchers, entertainers, and crotchety politicians. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Why did the Avernites not teleport outoff Avernum? in The Avernum Trilogy
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Tuesday, February 26 2008 18:32 Profile Homepage #6 It only took four brooches to teleport up. Teleporting well takes all five. —Alorael, who suspects that teleporting at all is prohibitively difficult and that establishing a permanent portal is even harder. And it's quite possible that the Empire has some way of watching for teleportation to the surface. Fort Emergence requires the creation of the Portal Fort with its teleporter to just below the surface, but actual access to sunlight is a good old hole in the ground. Or ceiling, depending on perspective. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Congratulations Jeff in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Saturday, February 23 2008 13:24 Profile Homepage #35 quote: Originally written by Iffy: Jeff is one of the best things that has happened to the gaming world. Nope. Jeff has had pretty much no effect on the gaming world besides his own games, sadly. Jeff just makes great games and, alas, nobody imitates. —Alorael, who doesn't wish Jeff any trouble with competition. He just wishes there were more good RPGs on the market. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
AAAAAAAH!!! in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Saturday, February 23 2008 10:36 Profile Homepage #36 You know better. You really do. —Alorael, who is mostly reminded of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diprosopus], actually. It seems fitting somehow. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
How long to wait for Key? in Tech Support
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Wednesday, February 20 2008 21:40 Profile Homepage #14 quote: Originally written by Spidweb: New... registration keys are always free. False advertising! —Alorael, who thinks a mistake may have been made somewhere. Please don't ban him. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Geology Lecture in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Wednesday, February 20 2008 13:18 Profile Homepage #44 And from a non-crazy standpoint, I think getting really angry and deciding to shoot someone is easy because killing with a gun is easy. Point at the center of mass, pull the trigger, and things are bound to go wrong for the target. A knife doesn't take any more skill to use, but it takes more skill to cause quick death instead of slow, messy death or just plain slow and messy. —Alorael, who doesn't think rushing a man with a gun versus a knife is just a matter of psychology. Move threateningly towards a gun-toting crazy and he can shoot you. Move threateningly towards a knife-waving crazy and he can't do anything until you're close enough to do something back. Granted, fist against knife doesn't give you good odds, but you can assemble enough people to swamp Mr. Knife. Assembling when someone has a gun is a very bad idea. Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Is it old? in General
Or else o'erleap. Law Bringer Member # 335	written Tuesday, February 19 2008 17:58 Profile Homepage #8 In that case, I'll add that while movies can be improved by nostalgia, very few movies are improved by nostalgia enough that bad movies become passable. It only really helps the movies that were worth seeing again anyway... @_@ —Alorael, who couldn't resist ending his paragraph with that little visual flourish. It seems like the fin du jour. @_@ Posts: 14579 \| Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00

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