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Thread Games / Re: Line association
« on: January 03, 2013, 06:05:16 am »
8th grade dance
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Thread Games / Re: The rhyming picture game
« on: January 03, 2013, 06:04:01 am »
I see the screenshot of your cool diablo game
But even he could not survive this massive flame
But even he could not survive this massive flame
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Thread Games / Re: The corrupt a wish game
« on: January 03, 2013, 05:57:10 am »
The forum works perfectly, but your cable/dsl/FIOS lines are permanently cut, leaving you without access.
I wish everyone a happy new year!
I wish everyone a happy new year!
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Thread Games / Re: The what would you do game.
« on: January 03, 2013, 05:54:38 am »
Sally Ride, Norman Schwarzkoph, and Luciano Pavarotti.
What would you do if the RA/CC were a FaceBook page rather than on a forum?
What would you do if the RA/CC were a FaceBook page rather than on a forum?
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Off Topic / Re: I'm Pregnant!
« on: January 03, 2013, 05:18:06 am »
I know that this is INCREDIBLY late, but congratulations Tyred!
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Off Topic / Re: We are having a baby
« on: December 10, 2009, 02:16:41 pm »
Finding out that your wife is pregnant is a little different than getting a strike, although if your knew the circumstances, you would actuality find a lot more similarities! haha (inside joke to myself)
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Off Topic / Re: We are having a baby
« on: December 10, 2009, 03:51:54 am »
haha, Patty is great!
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Off Topic / We are having a baby
« on: December 08, 2009, 05:43:59 am »
No really, my wife and I are pregnant with our first, due in July. If you ever get a chance to see an ultrasound of a 7 week old fetus, it is simply amazing... you can see it's little heart twittering, and it looks like it's holding a balloon (it's the yolk sack coming out of the umbilical cord). Right now, he/she looks something like
Just thought I'd let everyone know before you saw it on Facebook
Just thought I'd let everyone know before you saw it on Facebook
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Serious Discussions and Debates / How to find a job in a tough economy
« on: December 08, 2009, 05:36:24 am »
So everyone here knows that the entire world is in a deep recession, some places are in more of a depression. However, even in the Great Depression, where unemployment reached 24.9% in the US, there were still jobs available in some areas. This is more of a discussion than a debate, so either post your experience in finding a job, or suggestions for those looking. (this is in response to a PM by GPH).
I'll start out with a job suggestion: start a blog. You don't have to be hired by anyone, if your posts are interesting enough and your adds effective enough, you could make hundreds of thousands of dollars. I would steer clear of politics though, write about something that you are good at or knowledgeable about instead.
I'll start out with a job suggestion: start a blog. You don't have to be hired by anyone, if your posts are interesting enough and your adds effective enough, you could make hundreds of thousands of dollars. I would steer clear of politics though, write about something that you are good at or knowledgeable about instead.
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Serious Discussions and Debates / Re: Discussion: How severely should illegal downloading of any kind, be punished
« on: December 07, 2009, 10:05:16 pm »
Again, I am not speaking about legal definitions, which can change at any time (see Brown Vs Board of Education). The question asked what we thought, so I answered as such.
With my paper example, the author of the original research paper put months, perhaps years of research and writing into the project; you are effectively using that hard work without permission for your own benefit, which I conclude to be piracy or theft. Same goes with illegal downloading of anything... you are using another person's work/investment without permission. Question: You spend years developing a killer app and put it on sale for $5.00. Everyone lobys the app, but some don't feel like they need to pay you for your work. They hack into your computer, copy the source code, and distrbuite it themselves for free. Now, instead of making 100,000 sales for $5.00 each, you make 10. Would you say "hey, they copied my program! Oh well, let me get started on my next application, which I can release in another year or two", or would you be on the phone with the police, accusing them of stealing your work and livelihood? You tend to think of things differently when you're on the other end.
And 1420r2d I did not judge you as a person, just your perceived attitude. I understand your situation and know what it's like to literally have nothing to your name, but there is a reason that I played a free, web based MMO called KOC when I was in college
By the way, if you want to talk current law, read the No Electronic Theft Act, which atually defines several criminal offences for "electronic theft", including "Any person who infringes a copyright willfully for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000". It looks like the law already is on my side
With my paper example, the author of the original research paper put months, perhaps years of research and writing into the project; you are effectively using that hard work without permission for your own benefit, which I conclude to be piracy or theft. Same goes with illegal downloading of anything... you are using another person's work/investment without permission. Question: You spend years developing a killer app and put it on sale for $5.00. Everyone lobys the app, but some don't feel like they need to pay you for your work. They hack into your computer, copy the source code, and distrbuite it themselves for free. Now, instead of making 100,000 sales for $5.00 each, you make 10. Would you say "hey, they copied my program! Oh well, let me get started on my next application, which I can release in another year or two", or would you be on the phone with the police, accusing them of stealing your work and livelihood? You tend to think of things differently when you're on the other end.
And 1420r2d I did not judge you as a person, just your perceived attitude. I understand your situation and know what it's like to literally have nothing to your name, but there is a reason that I played a free, web based MMO called KOC when I was in college
By the way, if you want to talk current law, read the No Electronic Theft Act, which atually defines several criminal offences for "electronic theft", including "Any person who infringes a copyright willfully for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000". It looks like the law already is on my side
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Serious Discussions and Debates / Re: Discussion: How severely should illegal downloading of any kind, be punished
« on: December 07, 2009, 06:49:44 pm »
I believe that the question was "how severely should illegal downloading of any kind, be punished", not "how is illegal downloaing punished now". While current law holds that illegal downloading is just copyright infringement, punishable only by civil courts, I stated my belief that illegal downloading should be a criminal offence. I believe that the civil definition is outdated, and defines taking something that you did not create, own, or otherwise have any claim to, as something other than theft.
According to common sense alone, downloading something that you did not have permission from the owner to download is theft, even if you still have your own. If I were to copy someone else's research paper and turn it in as my own work, would I not be accused of stealing someone else's work? Am I not using someone else's work without permission for my own benefit?
Which is why, according to my beliefs (as the original question asked), I regard illegal downloading as a criminal offence, punishable by jail time (although in small amounts). As I stated before, I believe this punishment fits the crime, and will act as a severe deterrent for others thinking of presuing a similar action.
In reguards to comments made:
Regarding your communism reference: I thought it was obvious that I was referencing 1420r2d's communist Avatar and attitude that he should get whatever someone else has because he wants it, not because he worked for and earned it. I know we're in a tough economy, but that does not excuse his attitude and actions. (By the way, even in an economy such as this, there is work available, it just may not be the work that you would prefer. If you still can't find a "job", go out and shovel someone's driveway, cut some grass, do something on your own)
According to common sense alone, downloading something that you did not have permission from the owner to download is theft, even if you still have your own. If I were to copy someone else's research paper and turn it in as my own work, would I not be accused of stealing someone else's work? Am I not using someone else's work without permission for my own benefit?
Which is why, according to my beliefs (as the original question asked), I regard illegal downloading as a criminal offence, punishable by jail time (although in small amounts). As I stated before, I believe this punishment fits the crime, and will act as a severe deterrent for others thinking of presuing a similar action.
In reguards to comments made:
Quote from: Trerro
Are you also the kind of person who says pushing someone out of your way is the same as beating them for 5 minutes with a baseball bat (they're both physical attacks), or that lying about being a few minutes late to work is the same as cheating on your wife (they're both dishonesty)?Pushing someone is still assault, lying about being late to work is obviously still lying, just different degrees. All actions mentioned deserve some sort of punishment, again depending on the degree of the action. I think we would all agree that downloading a song is not the same degree as breaking into someone's house and stealing their TV, which is why I believe that 1 day of jail or community service is sufficient for that type of theft.
Regarding your communism reference: I thought it was obvious that I was referencing 1420r2d's communist Avatar and attitude that he should get whatever someone else has because he wants it, not because he worked for and earned it. I know we're in a tough economy, but that does not excuse his attitude and actions. (By the way, even in an economy such as this, there is work available, it just may not be the work that you would prefer. If you still can't find a "job", go out and shovel someone's driveway, cut some grass, do something on your own)
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Serious Discussions and Debates / Re: Can a free MMO work?
« on: December 04, 2009, 04:53:57 pm »
I think that KOC was a great model, supported by advertising and free for everyone. To make that work, however, you need MILLIONS of hits per day, and it's hard to keep that interest going for a long period of time.
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Serious Discussions and Debates / Re: Discussion: How severely should illegal downloading of any kind, be punished
« on: December 04, 2009, 03:51:20 am »
You're right, I'm entitled to whatever I want, right? Isn't that the motto: from each according to his ability, to each according to his need? I shouldn't have spent all summer when I was 17 working at the supermarket, scraping together every dime I earned to buy a 10 year old car with 140,000 miles on it. When my boss came rolling in with a brand new Corvette, I should have just taken the keys from him and driven off... I had the need, he had the ability, right?
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Serious Discussions and Debates / Re: Discussion: How severely should illegal downloading of any kind, be punished
« on: December 02, 2009, 03:59:07 pm »Quoteand when people see others put in jail for the same activities they are doing, most will stop because a free song or two isn't worth potential jail time.
going slighty off topic here (sorry out this) but as far as im awear, crime and punishment have been going on for a long time, and if everyone in the world decided that they didnt want to go to jail or what not so they dont do the crime (they all wouldnt have to decided at the same time) crime would seize to exist, therefore the punishment would eventually be removed and/or people will start doing crime again..and so on...
sorry bout going off topic, but i needed to say that
Look at what happened in Katrina: the authority was gone, so the population reverted to theft, murder, and general lawlessness. People were no longer worried about the consequences of their crimes, so they went out and did pretty much whatever they wanted. Yes, there is still crime when authority is in place, but the crime is at a much much lower rate than it would be if there were no consequences to their actions.