Topics

556

Creativity / Insect Comics (6 of 7)

« on: March 20, 2011, 06:33:43 PM »

It's about spiders.  And a man.  They call him spider man.

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#2

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This comic is not a joke. It is a stern warning.

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The result of much research.

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A comic about eating.

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Weight loss plan.

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557

Creativity / Comic - Dear Steve Jawbs

« on: March 08, 2011, 05:13:39 PM »

A comic about things.  Or is it?


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558

Creativity / Mass Effect Comic "Medical Results"

« on: March 03, 2011, 02:47:10 PM »

Ideally, every comic title would be a pun but I just can't manage that.


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559

Creativity / Mass Effect Comic "Medical Supplies"

« on: February 16, 2011, 12:41:38 AM »

For comedic effect, read "supplies" in a fake chinese accent and it sounds like "surprise"


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560

Creativity / Comic - Pseudonymity

« on: February 07, 2011, 02:03:03 PM »

A comic on the subject of pseudonymity.


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561

Creativity / Comic - This is not a valid activity

« on: January 24, 2011, 07:53:47 AM »

I made a comic.  It's about u guys :) ¹


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¹ Cutesy text used ironically.

562

Drama / Mail Bag: Infringed Copyright... of a dog

« on: January 14, 2011, 02:11:31 AM »

I just got this and it literally blew my mind.  I was physically stunned.  Like the guy hit some kind of stupidity pressure point inside my brain.  

Subject: Infringed Copyright I would like to bring your attention to this forum thread http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=141279.0. The thread is actively encouraging the theft of images, and specifically the user ‘Placid’ has stolen mine. My image is copyrighted, a factor which ‘Placid’ admits to in the thread yet continued to find a way around the image protection. I would ask you to remove this thread with immediate effect and warn your users such behaviour is illegal, as far  as i am concerned copyright infringement will not be accepted.   Regards   Simon Turner

Yes, this guy is for real.  He edited the description on the flickr page (emphasis added by me):

13/1/2010 - I would just like to say thankyou to everyone for all their lovely comments, and for getting this explored, its a very nice feeling to know others appreciate my work and my gorgeous little puppy. Sadly however someone has already stolen the image and is using it on a forum where they knowingly steal images. It is illegal to use this image without my permission, please look, appreciate (if you like it) and leave in place!

I feel kind of sad for the guy because he must never get any traffic, yet checks the brown townytics frequently enough to notice a referral from the Blockland forums inside 6 hours.  

You are bringing legal threats into a group of minors playing a game of cut and paste.  If you really want to persue this you could file a DMCA request with tinypic.com, who is currently hosting the image.  Note that people don't like being told what to do, especially when it is this ridiculous.  They'll just repost it somewhere else because they know that you're powerless to stop them.   You seem like an utterly unpleasant individual.  Please don't punch me.

Legal Note:  That is an actual picture of the dude from his flickr account which is (of course) copyrighted.  Luckily, I am a certified e-lawyer.  Watch this: I am reproducing the image here under the terms of fair use set out in 17 U.S.C. § 107 for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting and research (into noobs).  

563

Drama / Mail Bag: More Child Defense in the Name of the Queen

« on: January 02, 2011, 01:03:59 AM »

The desire for oppression and censorship appears to be some sort of disease that British people have.  I used to think it was funny and something to be ignored but the spread of real government censorship of the internet in first world countries has turned this into a real issue.  I have decided to just unload on anyone who suggests that communication should be universally monitored.

To be clear, she's right - creep Bear is in the game.  But it's about as offensive as Chris Hansen, Admiral Ackbar or a Catholic priest.  Really, yaranaika is much worse.  Actually a Catholic priest is probably in the same category as yaranaika. 

I searched her name and found the picture on facebook.  It's not guaranteed to be her but it is suitably British and handicapped looking so it probably is.

	Subject: Regarding an avatar face of a bear called 'creep Bear' Hi, im writing to you out of concern for the safety of my son and other children who play your game. Today, my son told me about a bears face that has been put on your game and when it is attached to an avatar and played in a server, the name          comes up as 'creep Bear'. My son, who is only 9 years old, typed this into a search engine, as he has no idea of what the word means or just how dangerous it can be.   I really think you ought to remove this bear and all associated material from your site. It is irresponsible, and not to mention dangerous, for children who play your game and the parents who pay for it in good faith.   I'm sure that as a business in the gaming industry, this is not the sort of material or publicity you want for your game.  I look forward to hearing from you very soon.
	If you are worried about your son being exposed to dangerous new words like "creep", I recommend you disable the chat entirely    To disable the chat:        * Start the game        * Click "options"        * Select the "Advanced" tab        * Scroll down until you see the value for "Chat line time (Milliseconds)" under Gui Options        * Set this value to 0        * Click "Done" However this does not remove the names that appear over players.  Players choose their own name and they are not built into the game.  Perhaps you should not let your son search for words he does not know unsupervised.
	the name does not appear in chat, it hovers over the head of the avatar face that has been placed on your site by another user. I suggest if you make a game aimed at children you at least regulate who uses it and what names are being used for the avatars that are put on there for other players to use. Perhaps you shouldn't let other users use such offensive names. If offensive words can be regulated in-game, then so can names. If your attitude to such things is so ignorant, then i have no choice but to inform others to not buy ur game or allow their children to use it. I will inform the police that you are allowing such offensive material to be used in your game and you are not willing to do anything about it. Im sure both they and the media will be interested, as your game is supposedly aimed at children. I do not allow my son to search for anything unsupervised, this one time he did, he did it out of complete innocence, looking for a picture of the bear that is being used in your game. Im just grateful for parental controls, who knows what damage such material can do to a child, with words like that. My son will not be playing your game again and i will certainly not be recommending it. It is disturbing when such things are allowed on a site that should be for children.
	>the name does not appear in chat It will appear in the chat if the person types something. >it hovers over the head of the avatar face Your name appears over your avatar so that you can be clearly identified.  It is not possible to have text floating over your head that is anything other than your username.  That is how the game works. >regulate who uses it How would I do that exactly?  Require photo ID?  Are you going to send me a copy of your son's birth certificate so I can approve his heritage? >If offensive words can be regulated in-game, then so can names. I'm glad you phrased it this way because offensive words can't be regulated.  There are just too many spelling permutations and alternate interpretations of words.  It's not technologically possible to determine if a phrase is offensive.  The only thing that is possible is exact word matching of the most common permutations to placate the hyper sensitive. >If your attitude to such things is so ignorant, then i have no choice but to inform others to not buy ur game or allow their children to use it. Quite the opposite of ignorant, my opinion is informed by over a decade of internet use and running a community of over 10,000 users for several years now.  You on the otherhand have problems with basic technology vocabulary, have no concept what kind of filtering is and is not possible, and have no sense of perspective as to what is truly offensive and worth complaining about. >I will inform the police that you are allowing such offensive material to be used in your game and you are not willing to do anything about it. This statement is ridiculous. >I do not allow my son to search for anything unsupervised, this one time he did Right, so you don't let him, except for when you do.  Got it.  It must be my fault. Your entire complaint seems to be that the word "creep" was communicated via the game.  Exactly what sort of Orwellian nightmare state do you envision where this is made completely impossible?  Just give me a hypothetical explanation of how the system would work.
	well im sorry but if a massive gaming business like Blizzard can regulate 12 million users in 1 of its mmorpg, then im pretty sure you can do it with 10,000!! why not give them a ring and ask them for some tips you are ignorant if you dont accept that in this day and age, a simple word can't cause problems. and my own opinion is also from informed use of computers and the internet for over 12 years i really do think it's in the best interst of yourself and the users of your game to take into account concerns about such things, maybe by not allowing the use of such names in the first place.
	>well im sorry but if a massive gaming business like Blizzard can regulate 12 million users in 1 of its mmorpg, then im pretty sure you can do it with 10,000!! World of Warcraft costs $60 + $15 / mo + $40 expansion every year.   A year of warcraft costs $280.  Blizzard makes over a billion dollars a year.  You paid $20 for Blockland.  Comparing us doesn't even make sense - but I'm pretty sure you can type "creep" into the World of Warcraft chat just the same. >you are ignorant if you dont accept that in this day and age, a simple word can't cause problems. If a single word causes you major disruption then that is your problem.  People are allowed to say what they want.  You need to learn how to deal with this without appealing to the government for censorship. >my own opinion is also from informed use of computers and the internet for over 12 years And yet, you don't know the difference between a website and a program, the difference between user names and text built into a program, how chat works in a multiplayer game (pro tip: it is not centralized and cannot be moderated), or how to use a browser that has built-in spell check.  I guess you haven't been using computers the same way I have. >maybe by not allowing the use of such names in the first place. You're dodging the question here.  How would I detect that the name was offensive?  Filter for "creep"?  What about "p e d o" or "ped-o" or "P3DO" or "ped0"?  Can you produce a list of all offensive words for me so I can filter them?  Give it a try.

Note: There have been several fake complaints since I posted the last one.  I considered that this might be a troll but it's pretty convincing, if it's a troll - congrats.  In the future I'll probably ask for confirmation of game ownership immediately.

564

Creativity / Mass Effect 2 Comic "Worn Down and Dirty"

« on: December 04, 2010, 04:28:16 AM »

I like to think that I make up for my unoriginality with characterization. 


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565

Drama / Mail Bag: Paedophiles! Incest! Rape!

« on: November 23, 2010, 08:18:21 AM »

Some woman named Mel Pedley has been emailing me.  She is worried that her two children would forget each other if only they knew how and that Blockland may be providing them with incest instructions. 

I would love for this to turn into a classic like the 7-legged spider but I'm afraid I'm not that clever.  However, she will almost certainly see this thread which should be interesting.   

	Subject: Internet child grooming You appear to have 1 or more suspected paedophiles on your servers. http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=135521.0 In the United States, 18 U.S.C. § 2422 makes it a federal offense to use interstate mail etc. to entice a minor to loveual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense. I also note that Virginia's Attorney General has taken a strong stance on this issue. I can only assume, therefore, that you will deal with this matter quickly and effectively. If this does not happen, I will have no recourse but to take this matter further and begin contacting the relevant authorities. I look forward to your comments. Mel P. -- Black Widow Web Design Ltd www.blackwidows.co.uk info@blackwidows.co.uk Tel: 0151 280 7092 Black Widow Web Design Ltd. is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 05464296. Postal Address: 53 Woodhall Road Old Swan Liverpool L13 3EE
	Where is the crime here exactly?  I'm not seeing it.
	> Where is the crime here exactly?  I'm not seeing it. Did you check the screenshot in the linked post? > > http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=135521.0 Two of your users were encouraging others (including minors) to take researchographic photos of themselves. They were also inciting others to: - commit rape - commit incest (complete with instructions)* This is being propagated by your service. As neither the service nor the server concerned is clearly labelled as adult content or unsuitable for minors, you (as the service provider) have a duty to ensure that these kinds of infractions are dealt with quickly and effectively. Judging by the previous posts about one of these users, this is not the first time s/he has indulged in this kind of activity. Yet they appear to go unpunished - implying that you are endorsing this behaviour. Is your upstream provider aware of this? Do they allow adult content to be propagated via their service? I am all too aware, through long experience, of the kinds of topics that are available via the Web and other Internet services. I have no argument with most of them as responsible adult providers usually clearly label their content before allowing admittance and go to great lengths to try and protect minors. As a professional web developer, I have worked on sites that I certainly would not want my children to see and, again, I had no problem with this. However, it is very evident that your service attracts a significant number of minors, so you do need to address these issues. From what I have seen, they are being ignored and that's not on. I do sympathise with your situation but the bottom line is that it is your problem and you must deal with it. *Emphasis added
	The conversation in the screenshot appears to be a joke.  Are you autistic?  That's a serious question, I don't want to be mean if you have some kind of socialization disorder that prevents you from understanding the context of a written conversation.  Right now it just looks like you're being deliberately oblivious to harass me for some reason. On a technical note, the conversation is not taking place on my server.  The game allows people to create their own servers.  I cannot control what people say on their own computers nor do I want to.  It is not my place to police the behavior of everyone who happened to buy my product.
	> The conversation in the screenshot appears to be a joke. Your subjective opinion is immaterial. The users in question are addressing minors in a manner that breaches US federal laws via your service. > Are you autistic? > That's a serious question, I don't want to be mean if you have some kind of > socialization disorder that prevents you from understanding the context of a > written conversation. Insults won't help. Since it is patently obvious that you are still refusing to take any responsibility, I have no option but to take the matter up with the authorities.
	I already explained this once but I guess you missed it:  They are not communicating via my website.  Blockland itself is not a website.  It is a computer program.  Users connect directly to each other via a UDP connection.  In this configuration it is not technologically possible for me to intercept and censor chat in the kind of totalitarian regime you seem to be proposing. And what are you going to do exactly?  Ring up the FBI and explain that you found a program on the internet that allows users to communicate via text?  Good luck with that.
	You have the ability to: a) terminate the accounts of users who are acting inappropriately or b) clearly label the site & the associated software as unsuitable for minors. You appear to be disinclined to do either.
	You have the ability to tell your children to not follow incest instructions they find on the internet.  Are you disinclined to do that? I didn't realize that open text communication was categorically inappropriate for minors.  Maybe you should start harassing Crayola for not building censorship into their crayons or Post Cereals for making Alpha-Bits with out any kind of warning label about what sort of words you can make.  Maybe you should blind your children so they do not read anything inappropriate when there is not an authority figure there to protect them.
	> You have the ability to tell your children to not follow incest instructions > they find on the internet.  Are you disinclined to do that? <snip pointless comments> My 10 year old son knows exactly what do to when he sees this kind of inappropriate behaviour being targeted at minors. He took a screenshot and alerted me immediately. With my assistance, he reported the incident in your forum. Not only have you failed to even respond but you have allowed the report (which does reference potentially serious & criminal activity) to be abused and laughed at. One of the posters is even one of the offenders. This negligent inaction and the entire thread (which incidentally also breaches your own forum's TOS) has also been also been collated to be passed onto the relevant authorities.
	So you reported the fact that people laughed at you on a forum?  What is the relevant authority for that?  You seem to know a lot more about this than I do.

566

Creativity / Comic - The Other Side

« on: November 08, 2010, 12:28:20 PM »

In the interest of equal time, I present the other side of the argument shown in the previous comic.


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567

Drama / Brilliant PM from sssddwxg

« on: October 30, 2010, 02:07:06 AM »

Subject: Question

for great banning :D but  :nes:for the fails i really liked the ion cannon and really all of your weapons and maps along with kalphitars ARE YOU HAVE A FAIL WAR??? coz its annoying that everytime i see one of your addons or kalps addons they are failed [MOVED]

568

General Discussion / V19 Public Beta 1

« on: October 30, 2010, 12:02:25 AM »

If you have had some problem with v18, try this and post your results.  

When you reply:

• Post what operating system you are using
• Post if the game worked or not
• If you have a problem describe the problem completely
  
• If there is an error message, post the exact message and what you were doing when it happened
  
• If you post something handicapped or unhelpful I am just going to ban you.

<links removed, no longer relevant>

569

General Discussion / V18 Known Issues

« on: October 28, 2010, 05:11:30 PM »

Known issues with V18

• Escape button does not work the same as it used to.  - I added it to global action map by mistake.
  
• Can't run dedicated server and client out of the same folder anymore - due to cache.db file being locked
  
• Window may become unresponsive during "Building Cache Database" phase - this can be exacerbated if you have a very large add-ons folder.
  
• Macintosh version may place cache.db directly on the hard disk rather than in the Blockland folder - you may or may not have permission to place files there so the mac version may not work.  The bug does not happen every time.  I am investigating.  
  

570

General Discussion / Need people to download/archive/upload things

« on: October 25, 2010, 03:08:20 PM »

Is your time worthless?  Do you OCD?  Do you want to help out with Blockland v18?  Now is your opportunity!

Here's the deal:  v18 features a high speed file download system.  To facilitate this system I need every add-on that exists.  

I need some volunteers to:

• Download all files from the add-ons board
• Put them all into a single archive
  
• Send me a PM when your archive is ready
• Upload the archive via FTP to the address I give you.

There are 3 relevant sections of the add-ons board:

• Add-Ons
• Maps - done by blitz9100
  
• Music - done
  
  I already have all RTB files so it is not necessary to do that section.  Each section can be done by a different person but I don't need 100 people to do this half way.  I need one person to do each section completely.  
  
  Only attempt this if you have the bandwidth and time to download, archive and upload 1GB+.  If you can do this, pick a section and reply.