Actaeon

I apologize again for making a factual statement without checking first, Slarty. I am not alone among my peers in feeling as though the internet has always been, but most of my fellows are probably smart enough not to behave as if they know what they're talking about unless they do. Terms like "internet" and "web" were once specific and well defined, but I admit that the lines are quite blurred to me. I would have said that, if something can be kept up to date remotely, it possesses an element of the internet, whether or not all the data is actually hosted on a server. Regardless, I did not intend one example to make or break the point. The issue at hand is whether and how much progress has been made in recent years. I asserted that, from a day-to-day life perspective, it has been more a matter of superior implementation than brand new ideas.

I should probably refrain from making statements about "the early 1990s", as I was not a terribly aware creature during that period. To me, the internet yields itself to nothing better than the storage and access of knowledge. I see form a bit of research that the idea didn't really come up until late 1993, and that Interpedia never got off the ground. However, I was under the impression that Encarta started some online distribution in that range, and that some private or payed databases had approached a size to be considered encyclopedic. If that is not the case, then it speaks to the innovation of the last decade.

From what I've seen, the last twenty years have taken mostly existing technology and built an impressive infrastructure for it. Our access to the internet has become drastically faster and more mobile, and is practically taken for granted across the generational and financial spectrum. There were internet accessible encyclopedias in the early 1990s, but Wikipedia blows them away with accessibility and content generation. You could shop online, but it wasn't putting whole nationwide chains out of business. DVDs only came out in 1995, and now they're swiftly being replaced by online streaming and distribution, along with music, periodicals and (*shudder*) books. I was under the impression that our economic crisis was less a function of declining technological progress, and more a symptom of the United States' declining role in that progress. I am not, however, an expert, and thus look forward to the continuation of this thread.

It's a separately hosted site, like elgooG or lmgtfy. I particularly enjoy it once the searches start stacking up.

http://mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google_gravity/

I have a tendency to shoot landscapes devoid of people, so in an attempt to compensate, as well as give the impression of an active social life: Clavicle |Cowboy | Photographer

I have also noticed that most areas that seem, to me, distinctly "suburban" are largely residential with very centralized commercial centers. No corner drug store or butcher in the suburbs. That could be a vast generalization, though.

Originally Posted By: Earth Empires Originally Posted By: Actaeon I also wonder if one of the "recommend a game to play after Avadon" threads could be made into a sticky. good idea but there are n+1 options as normal games and many as flash-games. I suppose I meant more along the lines of "I've finished Avadon... what Spiderweb game should I play next?". That limits the pool of options, aquatints new community members with the other series (which are referenced often enough to cause confusion in a non-player), and hopefully helps Jeff's bottom line a smidge.

How quick is the learning curve on this for someone who's already quite familiar with D&D 3.5? Obviously this one is already in progress, but the next time you start from scratch, I'd be interested.

What ever happened to Chrome OS?

After several years in Boulder, I have come to appreciate small town life even more. The absence of chain stores and restaurants, the easy walk to everything (grocery store, dentist, vet, etc), the tendency to run into people you know in the store or on the street... I'm spoiled, though. Proximity to Aspen gives me access to a range of arts and culture to rival most small cities, without having to live there. I'd probably be more down on rural life if it were otherwise. Although the public land would probably win the day, even so. Edit:

Aren't all the Geneforges already in more or less the modern engine? Other than the action point system, I mean.

The second question is, admittedly, not terribly well thought out. Experience helps some, "urban" can be Rome or it can be Pittsburgh. Small towns range from Maycomb, Alabama (or a nonfictional counterpart) to Aspen, Colorado. Perception plays a huge roll, and polls are helpful for measuring perception. If Slarty had designed the poll, I'm sure it would be more complete. As it is, I will rely on the forum itself to explore the nuances of the terms.

It is possible that such a poll has been conducted before, but as the demographics of the board are plastic, I see no harm in posting this. There is, I'm told, a innate desire in most human beings to move to the city, a place that, they say, is full of possibilities. I don't see it, but I suspect I'm the odd man out. So I'm curious. Where have you ended up? Is it where you would have chosen for yourself, given a choice?

If you want to get that technical, it is well to remember that all presents are really slightly in the past. If you have posted in response, you have already finished reading the thread, as well as your own post. "Currently" might more accurately refer to the moment your post is being read. However, unless we discover the technology for psychic paper, or a quantum wave function as per Alorael's post, it would be rather difficult to accurately reflect that.

Each of Spiderweb's games comes with a sizable free demo. Try downloading the earliest game (whose graphics you can handle) from each series, and seeing which strikes your fancy. I also wonder if one of the "recommend a game to play after Avadon" threads could be made into a sticky.

It actually used to be that way for any trip across the Atlantic. I think they got rid of it altogether, though. Maybe someone sued them. I suspect that's why they stopped offering "Creed" as an alternate search for "the worst band of all time". You can still use "the answer the life to universe and everything" as an actual number in the built in calculator, though.

Actually, I agree entirely. As the even more shunned minority that prefers Wheel of Time to Song of Ice and Fire, I think Martin makes it hard for readers to root for the heros, either because they're homicidal maniacs, or they're liable to die in the next chapter. I would not, however, council someone against the series until they'd had a chance to assess that for themselves. Cormac McCarthy's work is blacker than Martin's, but also widely regarded as brilliant.

I think "lots" might be overstating it for the sex, but the violence is pretty substantial. And I did not mean it as a necessarily negative thing. While most older fantasy rather glosses over the brutality of medieval warfare, Martin wants us to see the faces of the dead. It's harsh and unflinching, and that's precisely what has set the series apart.

So long as you don't get too attached to fictional characters or mind lots of violence and sex, you should enjoy it.

Don't be cross, Amanda, Amanda, don't be cross, For when you're cross, Amanda, I feel an albatross Around my neck, or dank gray moss, And my eyes assume an impervious gloss. Amanda, Dear Amanda, Don't be cross. Do not frown, Amanda, Amanda, do not frown, For when you frown, Amanda, I wamble like a clown, My mouth is stuffed with eiderdown, And I spatter coffee upon your gown. Amanda, Dear Amanda, Do not frown. Don't clam up, Amanda, Amanda, do not clam, For when you clam, Amanda, I don't know where I am. What is it that I did you damn? Shall I make amends for a sheep, or a lamb? Amanda, Dear Amanda, Do not clam. Please be gay, Amanda, Amanda, please be gay, For when you're gay, Amanda, The stars come out by day, The police throw parking tags away, And I want to kick up my heels and bray. Amanda, Dear Amanda, Please be gay. -Ogden Nash

Yet, for some reason, my attempts to make "Narg" the top choice for favorite character in one of their polls was fruitless. All the rebel votes went to Bella. Edit: Also, kudos for the double spoiler. I'm resisting the temptation to see how many of them you can nest before the universe implodes.

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba (All right, so Alorael, Lilith, and Student of Trinity probably aren't, but a forum of three people would just be sad.) BUT if we managed to lure those three to some strange new satellite board (Despolaris Vale), the rest of us going begin the long task of catching up to them.

Originally Posted By: Excalibur I always hate it when the world ends on a Friday! I wonder which day of the week would be ideal? Sunday, I guess, since we'd get a weekend in first, and most of the people predicting it would be off at church, anyway.

Ah. Right. Contributing to the theme. Try first of each series, and find out what suits you. It's nicer to visit them in roughly chronological order, and easier to progress with the engine rather than losing features as you go along. Edit: At the risk of making an enemy of Tyran, I must also throw my personal support behind Geneforge. It's the game that brought me here.