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Moguta

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    MAGFest 2017 (see you next mission)

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Moguta

    EDIT: Rooming situation resolved.  Splitting the hotel room in Alexandria with a friend.

    Anyone still need a room for MAG?  Or have space in a room?

    I currently have a room in the Holiday Inn Alexandria, two queen beds, and a quick 10 minute drive from the Gaylord.  Planning to Uber back and forth rather than deal with the headache of MAG parking.

    Mass Effect: Andromeda

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Definitely, Taucer.  I'd be sad if you didn't start out with some aliens in your crew. Let's hope the ark-ship wasn't entirey an N7 human military endeavor.  But the entire idea of an ark is to preserve species and biodiversity, so I think it's more than likely we'll see some Milky Way aliens.  :)

    Mass Effect: Andromeda

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Johnny Cash is almost the polar opposite of what I think of when I think of Mass Effect music.  :<

     

    Agreed.  Of course, I had great love for the Blade Runner-esque electronic music of the first game.  Hope more of that comes back!  On the other hand, if we get a Firefly-like musical soundscape, I doubt I'd be dissapointed either.  :)

     

    The "ark-ship" theory sounds most plausible.  And it'll be great to explore a galaxy that it appears humanity hasn't even stepped foot in before -- not just being new to the galactic community a la Mass Effect 1.

    I want to build you a computer

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Just ordered a computer piecemeal this Sunday.  Feels nice to make yourself a strong yet quiet gaming desktop for $1.2k.  (Of course, that's not including a monitor... but I'm still waiting for the G-sync / Freesync / 4k issues to work themselves out before I grab a new display.)

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Moguta

    An important thing to realize is that this "equality" goal GG participants have, on either side, is perceived relative to the person. So "equality" on its own is really just something each side claims is their goal/resolve... even though their means to get to that end are polar opposites. Maybe that's where they get their idea of their being superior to the other side. :whatevaa:

    Very good point. I agree, "equality" is such a difficult term to precisely define (obviously the mathematical definition doesn't apply), I can easily see it leading to the dual-sided "we're the victims of inequality" mindsets you're talking about. That why I like the term "equity". It acknowledges that strict mathematical equality is impossible, and "equity" brings with it the idea of fairness, which seems a lot more negotiable than inherent, righteous, god-given, fight-to-my-death equality.

    To tangent a bit:

    What worries me most is how willing social groups are to antagonize one another, and not to attempt to heal that rift, but instead to pile on and drive it wider. Many of the most ardent GamerGate supporters are men who already feel antagonized by feminism, some by women in general. Why does anyone on the SJW side think that dehumanizing their opponents will help this? By enlisting the support of fellow men, SJWs arguably further antagonize and isolate this group. Doesn't anyone think this might make some of those men more dangerous, not less? Really, when's the last time that a group became better socially-adjusted after being cut off from society, rather than immersed in it?

    To be clear, I'm not implying that SJWs deserve any of this potential danger. What I'm saying is that their actions seem unwise given their stated goals. And there's a large difference between "unwise" and "deserving".

    SJWs need to check their members when they dehumanize their opponents, just as GG "champions" need to effectively discourage their own side's death threats and dehumanizations. Otherwise we'll just see an expanding rift of vitriol between sides which become ever more certain that they've been the ones attacked.

    It's also worth noting that "ethics in gaming journalism" isn't quite all the GG movement is about. I was talking to a gay male acquaintance, and came to realize he saw Zoe and Anita merely as crying wolf and milking the reflexive "protect females" reaction. He didn't want anyone's head, he was just concerned that they were getting undue favor simply because of their gender. He sent no death threats, no venomous insults. He's a minority, possesses a grad degree, and yet is lumped into "sad white misogynists".

    Are we to believe that all women, simply by being women, are full of virtue, honesty, and credibility? That would just be stupid. (And super-patronizing.) At the same time, I think the GG crowd has been overly vicious in implying the opposite. Basically, we need to treat whatever comes out of someone's mouth with appropriate skepticism, man or woman. And remember we're humans all: flawed.

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Here's a meta-irony for you, then:

    Often, those fighting for equality fail to realize that they've really already achieved it: they have become equally as convinced of their opponents' lack of humanity & worth as vice versa.

    That does seem highly ironic. I must wonder, was there never a time when those fighting for fair treatment saw their opponents as simply misguided, incorrect about that particular issue, or just paying too little attention? Or does the passion that propels the most fervent reformers also inevitably dehumanize their opponents? Maybe it's naivete speaking, but I can't outright exclude the possibility of sympathetic social justice revolutionaries. Ghandi and Dr. King come to mind, though I'll admit I have no idea how they privately viewed the people who fought their efforts.

    Do you think that many equality fights have been totally won? Sure, African Americans are equal in legal rights, but there still exists subtle job discrimination and the economic discrimination of centuries without any substantial wealth. And women still have to fight for the choice to bear their own baby or not. (See: Texas and abortion ballot measures this last election.)

    Perhaps you didn't mean to imply that they'd already achieved full equality. After all, there still have been significant gains, such as suffrage, discrimination laws, greater workforce acceptance & reform. I'd agree that those are at least most of the way to equality. And maybe that's all you meant.

    Equipped with the knowledge that many people tie #GamerGate issues to their identity, we can certainly try to approach the topic with a more disarming, more sympathetic tact. Perhaps it's our duty as good human beings to acknowledge that others' concerns are valid (because they exist even if they aren't necessarily rational), and attempt to build bridges upon what values we share.

    Tropes vs. Women / #GamerGate Conspiracies

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    http://www.vox.com/2014/11/1/7136343/gamergate-and-the-politicization-of-absolutely-everything

    [...]

    What could have been a conversation about improving the medium has become a war of identity; if you think that's a good thing, I question your sanity.

    Thanks for the link! Glad that at least one outlet is covering this in a reasonably analytical fashion. One of the most insightful moments was realizing that we weren't so polarized in the past. I wonder how those upward swing in polarizing attitudes correlate with the rise of personalized internet news, or with the proliferation of negative attack ads (after studies revealed their edge in effectiveness).

    And I couldn't agree more with your bold final point. Gender equity is a noble cause in my book. But I find myself needing to step ever so carefully when discussing a viewpoint that deviates even slightly from "poor Anita/Zoe/women", while witnessing dehumanizing language casually thrown at anyone affiliated with #GamerGate. It's frustrating. Can people not even contemplate a scenario in which their opponents are not pathetic incarnations of evil, but living breathing people who may actually have a point or two?

    Most Expressive VGM

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Magic Pengel has some super moving songs like

    and
    that sound more like compositions for their own sake than soundtrack. And it's not that well known, to boot.

    For passionate, building orchestral,

    from Medal of Honor is a beautiful choice. And not like this is popular either, but
    too.

    Games you almost passed

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Moguta

    Just about every sandbox game ever. Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3... Kinda amazed that I was focused enough to beat the Skyrim main quest. With every other game I get distracted by all the shiny sidequests and mods I can add to the vanilla experience.

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