OOC: I may have to NPC Sora if it comes down to it until we find someone suitable since the person did kinda disappear on us. I removed his name so if someone applies for Sora that's fine. Riku turned as he felt the Darkness swirl and open up and Demyx emerged. Things were getting more curious but in a way ...despite the oddity of the scenario, he was almost glad Demyx showed up because he could Dark Portal. He studied Demyx a moment. He knew of him and what had transpired though Riku had made sure to be incognito and silent throughout many worlds he had ventured to. Demyx didn't seem to really be of the same caliber as members like Saix and Xaldin, who he didn't really care for one bit. However, could he be actually trusted? Then again, Axel who was more dubious was trusted after a time...so in fairness Riku figured he ought to give the new arrival his fair shot too. "Demyx, I'm Riku and well, yeah...I guess you can stay. I don't really see why not as long as you aren't going to harm anyone here. Sora should be here in a bit." He pondered a moment. "You said the whole Organization is back and something is living in Darkness? Care to elaborate a bit more?"
Sorry to say but I do disagree here with you. You are working there for money and paid to act a certain way and perform your job adequately. You did the right thing filing a complaint so that it could be discussed but your take on 'rules' is way too simple. Rules are not made to be broken. They were put there obviously because someone was being a reject and causing problems in the first place. Thus the rule was set to prevent further trouble from transpiring or someone might be losing a job. Most likely it also means that some customers complained. Sure, some rules are worth breaking because they are in the way of logic etc but really, the way you see rules does make you appear to be reckless to your manager or anyone who you might have to work for. There are better jobs in which you can do more free talking etc, but the store isn't yours. You are paid for your time. If you don't like the job, you can always look for another that is more to your kind of way of thought but no matter where you work, there will always be some sort of guideline because a job is responsibility you are being paid for. I've quit jobs for the reason they were so tight-assed about stuff. It may be what you have to do too instead of fighting issues there if you can't talk to them about loosening things up a bit.
Xigbar lofted a brow. "Things did go against how it was planned but well, that's the way it goes. I hope you find the Keyblade wielder then." Xigbar frowned as the portal closed. Something seemed awkward about it. "Something is really not right here. But ah well...for the moment." He turned and wandered off to go find Xemnas. Demyx, you step into the blackness of Darkness. It whirls around you and you just lurk there even as the portal closes, which is quite irregular. You can't at first seem to find the point to go to Destiny Islands, where you figure the Keyblader just might be. You then hear a voice after a moment that is low, chuckling softly. "Oh...why not?" the voice says as if deciding it should allow you such a thing to do. Then a portal opens up and light filters through. You can see Destiny Islands, the beach now where Kairi, Riku and Sombre are.
Well we've heard both sides of the coin. I do think Ghetto downplays the area a lot because the Extended RPG area is just as creative in every sense as the Creativity Zone material is. Also, no one there can spam since if they aren't role-playing there they can't post in the area or it would be deleted. It's actually more controlled in a way than the Creativity Corner is and they too are making a story. However, Pika...I have to say that I do see also why it wouldn't be right to do. It's like saying the RPG there is more than other RPGs and well, it's not really. We don't -have- to play in Extended. We choose to and we choose to do the extra work because we want a quality RPG that tells a story and is like a novel. Do we really need a 'reward' to do what it is we want to do? Really, I do see the comparison you are drawing on but in the end there's no way to just say -one- RPG section merits points because it would cause problems and soon others from other RPG areas would be pressed to want the same thing. We make the area what it is. We all do the work. It's our ingenuity and all but it is also for our imaginations and for something for us to do with each other. I don't really think it's right some people say it's 'just RPG' and does nothing for the site, because it does. However, I don't like really thinking that just because I asked some time ago along with others for an extended RPG section that it meant it should get special privileges other than what we talked over with CtR before which is the rules regarding the area. The whole reason the area was even allowed was because those of us who wanted more storyline RPGs that ran slower with longer plots was because they get lost amidst all the other RPGs where people post tons of times throughout the day. It saved on having to always look for them and also made it so that group of RPGs had some set rules to being allowed in that sub-section. So, originally we who wanted the sub-forum were not out to make posts count and didn't care in the least about that necessarily. We just wanted an actual area for it, just like others had anime sections, cross-overs etc. So, though I see in a sense where you are coming from, I have to disagree that we -need- a post count and that it merits one over the other RPGs. The purpose for the sub-section is what I just said and I think this distracts from it. There are plenty of other areas to get post count. We do this for our own entertainment and I don't think anyone requires awards to role-play. The quality role-play in the way we choose to have it, regardless of the section it is in, with good friends should be enough.
I don't mind the idea for platinum membership but it wouldn't be anything special and would just be more a way of saying someone's been around for some time, obviously longer than premies. I also don't think rep should be any kind of factor in it but instead make it so members with 2500 posts become platinum if it's going to happen. 100 rep is used for premium and rep would just be ridiculously hounded after more than it is. It's far better in my opinion to just go with a large number of posts, be it 2000 or 2500 or something to mark a platinum member if it should happen. Yes, there may be some post whoring, but there are mods/admins etc who can deal with it if it becomes too much a problem. That's why we have a delete button and also warnings and bannings if it gets too out of hand. People all know the rules by now.
1. It depends on if it is legal to trespass and enter a building. Some areas are restricted. Most places are illegal to trespass on. So if you go, realize you are probably breaking the law and could get caught. 2. If you decide to do it any way, despite the large chances it's probably illegal, realize that the building may be locked up and abandoned for a reason. There could be structural damage as Kitty mentioned but also it may have something else wrong with it such as having molds in there or may be bug infested etc. I'd bring a flashlight, cell phone in case there's problems, and some of the other things people mentioned. Also, if you notice things aren't safe in there such as bad stairs etc, it's a good sign to not keep exploring.
I don't believe any word to be a 'swear' word but that's just me. If someone is frustrated they say an exclamation word. That's more an accurate term for any 'cuss' word out there. They are used as exclamations to draw someone to pay attention. I consider someone saying 'drat' to be just on the same wave length as someone saying the F word in the same instance. Most 'cuss' words are simply that way because some people consider them profane but most are just about body functions any way, which are natural. I don't think there are 'bad' words but there are words to use at the right time and place. Having said that, there are people who go through life making up other words to use in the place of naughty words that some people find offensive. Can they always do it? If they really set their mind to it, yes. I don't have to use words that people find offensive and are classed as curse words. I do use them though because I don't find them so serious and it's not like I am 'cursing' anyone so I find the term 'curse words' to be lame. But some people can master not using the words. After all, there aren't 'that' many of them and all languages have a ton of other words we can use instead as substitutes. A vast majority of people though have probably used a narty word at one point or another. If we count gestures as well, there isn't probably a person alive that hasn't expressed some kind of vulgarity or profanity out there unless the person is a vegetable and has been their entire life.
OOC: Soranspartanti - You could read back to the opening sequence of this and have your characters wake up where they are supposed to be. The Org members wake up appearing over their tombstones in the Proof of Existence area. Basically, since you don't seem to want to read through things, just have them wake up there and go ask people what is going on in character. (Twilight Town) DiZ shook his head as Roxas went off in his stubborn haze "It seems his personal needs at this time are more important to him than anything else. Perhaps he should be followed. His trip down Memory Lane will be short, I assure you." "Screw him. He's annoying the crap out of me." Diz smirked a bit. "You have a fine temper yourself. We can walk in the direction he is going since I know well where it is he will head. Hopefully I can share some things with you here and now as we go, Repliku and Namine. To begin with, the Nobodies have returned but not by a benevolent force that means to give them a generous second chance. All of them, save for you, Namine..and Roxas, ended up returning to The World That Never Was. They are sealed there by a force that I believe means to use them for quite a nefarious purpose." ON TWTNW Demyx goes to dark portal. Please declare to where you intend to Dark Portal. Xigbar looked at Demyx and shrugged. "Dude, what is your problem? Seriously, you are acting really trippy. Chill out, man. We've got to figure out what's going on and all and wandering of isn't going to help you any. Besides, are you running off to leave the Org or are you running off to your room? Think a moment."
What about solar power, wind power, water power etc that we have today? People can run houses now fully off the grid if they want to and also using wind power, if you generate more than your house needs for power the electric company will pay -you- for donating that energy to the grid which helps power other homes etc. Countries are also working on making more wind fans etc for power generation in the oceans though some rich dorks complain it ruins their views of the coast line. Which it doesn't but they feel the need to gripe any way. There are also other methods being researched including an oil made from bacteria that may be used instead of fossil fuels that emits apparently no carbon. Hydrogen cars emit only water vapor though they need to work on making them more efficient in mileage, and electric cars have potential too if they could get stronger lasting batteries. There are also companies that use waste materials from dumps as energy which helps lower garbage. These specialized places take work and inventiveness to make happen. But it is through invention that we can hope to be better off and help our world at the same time. Without these advances we can't do much at all and if we just stop people will be dependent on oil or we will reduce to wars over things not improving. So again, technological advances really is the only way to get us out of this mess we are in and we also have to ignore these corps that try to bind us and stop voting for politicians that want to promote dependency on oil as if it's the only thing out there.
Nice topic. :) One of the reasons I did fight, along with other people, for having a Help with Life full section instead of just the little thread we used to was because I could see that people do, as you say, need a vent now and then and not just that but some actual help. Also, we have a lot of people that do care to help each other out through their problems and I believe that in helping others, we also learn more about ourselves and can do more to help ourselves not fall too hard when life hits us bad. I am glad really that we all do have a place to come to in order to debate things, discuss latest issues and also get help with life problems etc. A lot of us take it as a great thing because as you mentioned, there are several sites out there that block this sort of thing because it's not 'forum related' and people don't want to deal with the implications of opening up such an area, especially on say a game site. If this section ever was to go bye-bye, there'd be one very sad Repliku. There are risks to letting places like this whole discussion area exist on a site but I tend to think it is well worth the risks. Of course, someone has to monitor it and make sure things don't get ugly and so these sites that refuse to have areas like this one must take some responsibility. Sometimes it's just easier for them to not allow such places to exist for that reason. It takes a lot of work to keep these areas clean. Not just of topics, mind you, but of actual members of a site who might be really rude or rotten to others. To have an area like this requires that someone or some people rather are there to make sure the areas are used for what they are designed to be used for. We all kind of admit there are jerks out there who will come in and attack others for saying things that are personal views or personal problems. Those are mainly the biggest threats to having an area like this on a site, in my opinion any way. However, with their removal from harming others, I do think that even if we disagree, members are more caring about the topics we all touch on and it makes us not just 2 dimensional. In real life out there often we all are 2 dimensional to others unless the people are close to us. That's when people can divulge secrets about themselves, worries and joys etc. It's because then people actually care so it's just fine to help friends out etc and get help back. It's also fine to do many activities with friends etc that you wouldn't with an acquaintance because of the closeness factor. On the internet, I believe many of us are more cognitive because well, there's no front necessary to maintain here. We type and if someone wants to judge you, he/she will but you can always find somewhere better if you don't fit in. Also, when it comes to censorship, you can find where you fit in too by exploring around. Some people really do feel that talking about private issues such as religion, politics, feelings etc is faux pas and taboo. If I go to those sites, I follow the rules but also if I want more, I know I can find it. That's a luxury on the internet that in real life takes longer to find than just using a search engine and a few clicks. We can almost always find things easier on the internet and people that are mentally more like us no matter what our demeanors are like. Also, if one site isn't enough, we can be members of several. It's just easier in some ways to explore your personality online than it is in real life. We get judged no matter what we do but a lot of people fear more doing something wrong in life than online because you can easily walk away from a chat place or forums. In real life we have far more repercussions. This same mode of thought goes into why we have so many idiots too, unfortunately, like script kiddies and people who harass others. They do it because it's easier to get away with. If someone told you in real life you were so many cuss words etc, you might punch them or screw up their lives by telling others what a jerk the person is. Online, people deal with it different since we can't go to their house and smash their computer, though some people really make the thought tempting. So, we get the good and the bad with more freedom of expressing our deeper thoughts and attitudes. In a way, I think it helps people to also deal with real life and tolerance easier as long as they don't allow themselves to just always be caught up with life online so that they are forsaking their lives outside of this world. I see the reasons for sites setting restrictions on some sites but mostly it is out of a desire to either keep a site focused on a genre topic, because some people are too lazy and don't want to deal with troublemakers, and/or because some people feel expression will degrade a site of its purpose and don't really care so much about others. I will continue though to be glad that sites like this one exist where we can do more because we all meet some fascinating people here and the friendships are real, despite what some people say.
The first thing is that why does it matter if your sister is gay? Also, if she smokes, sooner or later she'll get smart and quit. You shouldn't break ties with her over such things as they are just parts of her personality and definitely not who she all is. She's still your sister and more than some things she does. I hope that helps you in getting along with her more because as alone as you feel, I'm sure at times she feels just as alone. I'm sorry to hear you are losing two of your good friends and none of your other friends appear to be talking to you. Perhaps you can keep some contact with them over the internet or phone. It seems you might want to try and go out and meet some new people and if you can, be a bit more social. Perhaps join a club, sport, group of some sort to allow you to meet new people and do something productive to help make friends and also get out there and be part of something. The walls are closing in around you but there's still a door there to get out of the predicament here. Losing friends really sucks but it becomes part of life as you grow older and you also meet new people. You never of course have to forget your old friends. I had to move in 10th grade and I hated it, but did manage to keep ties with a very good friend and we now met up again and hang out so it can work to do that too if you are able. I hope your dad will be okay and it's not anything life threatening. I bet he's going through a lot now too as it seems your sister is. Your dad and you might be able to take this time to hang out more and do some things because it's quite possible that your whole family seems to be kind of going through pain and loneliness about now. Maybe if you try doing some things with him it will show him you care and also you spend some quality time together. Did your dog get taken to the vet? If not, if it is serious, that may be the best option here. Again, I hope that it's not serious. It seems though right now you are feeling very lonely and displaced and there are ways to help that out. Your family as a whole seems to be going through so much and you might feel less lonely if you try to be there with them and perhaps all of you can come up with some activities to do. Also, as I mentioned earlier, getting out and doing something with new people like doing a sport or joining some club, getting into some public sort of event etc might help you feel more a part of society and life. A lot is coming down on you but this is when you would want to reach out and do more rather than isolating yourself and letting this negative emotional energy take over. I hope things work out for you and this helped you at all. It really is a crap situation you are in with so much going on. One of these problems is certainly easier to deal with than a bunch of problems all on top of each other but if you work at each thing individually it may help you in the long run.
I'd tell her that in High School some things at first might take getting used to but it can be better than her previous school years. There is certainly more to do with clubs and groups, more people to meet and if you meet some bad ones, you'll also meet some new good people too. I'd also say it's the chance to be more yourself than in former school years and that you can still keep the former friends you have but there is now a bigger pool of people you can meet too and former students that you didn't get along with will be more busy having to adjust too so that's a good thing and gets them off your back. It does take some adjusting to get used to it but if you put it in the right perspective to her, it might make all the difference and it can be fun too at times. Good luck with helping her and I hope she will be alright.
Technological advances are easily more important as part of the fossil fuel problem is going to be resolved BY the use of technological advances. Without technological studies and all, we would not be where we are today and I'd say more the enemy of problems is bureaucracy, corporate protection and money that is used corruptly to keep inventors from exploring other energy options than fossil fuels. Now that people are genuinely caring more about such things (though not everyone because idiots still want to depend on oil and it's even a major fight of this election we have coming up) we can fight and do more to try to remove the excess carbon dioxide. However, without technological advances we'd have no way of researching that so in the end, we need to depend on people's inventiveness that is natural and has been there since early hominids if we are to rise above this and not all fall into a great state of chaos and destruction.
Even if we go here, the point is that with technological advances in other departments than just 'helping people not to starve' new changes transpire. Many of the benefits given from the space program, the energy resources would change as we do and could still be used. That change isn't going to happen if science isn't supposed to explore new power methods etc and we just focus where you want everything to, which is just to benefit poor starving people. Most discoveries happen to make life easier and improve chances of survival. Many things we have go to other people of poorer countries. We don't want to just make it so they aren't starving but also improve their way of life. Fossil fuels are an issue that needs addressed in -all- ways of life and it is being looked into with more seriousness. It does, however, take time and we can't change the mistakes of the past but have to move forward to get the work done. The space program is hardly responsible for us using fossil fuels because that's what we were all raised to be dependent on. We've done it for years and it has been our 'power source'. We've been stuck with it because no one wanted to explore other methods until recently and even then when we were all warned of its potential of not being around for several more years, oil corporations and those affiliated to them have kept us dependent on them. It doesn't mean the programs that must use oil are bad. It means that we have to make something new as an energy source. Most of those things that I listed have little to do with oil and if they do, they are equipment that are powered by electricity, which if electricity the way it is sent to people on the grid...well that would change in a heartbeat. Right now we hope on inventors to come up with another power source that is reliable for our cars, jets, etc as well as what the grid for electricity will provide people with. You can now make a home with solar and wind power and have a support generator and have no need for using oil but for a dependable vehicle. The problem is that it costs so darn much to do. The deal though to get back on track is that if we just sat around worrying about others all the time, we'd never get anywhere and also some of the marvelous creations that happen out there would never be around. We'd still have starving people, whether you want to admit it or not. We'd also have nothing to make -ourselves- stable enough to CARE about the conditions of others. We give so much each year to tons of places because we -can-, PAW. You take our living conditions away that we have and no one gets anything because we will only worry about ourselves. So, all in all, it comes down to this. Take science and other projects away that benefit our lives and help us have the time to understand our world and where we live, you take away the ability to help other people. Inventions that are from these programs get studied and people come around with new ways to better other things too, to include aiding those in poorer living conditions. We have a luxury those poorer countries do not and if we didn't, we'd be the same as them...so that won't help anyone at all. If that is gone, so is a large quantity of benevolence to aid others because we are going to be struggling ourselves too much and I'm sorry but in the really real world, you have to take care of #1 (you) before you go and take care of other people. Otherwise you put your own survival into question and that's just not how it will be able to work.
I'm glad this was posted. So far, it's going along with the theories that some of us have come up with for some time now. I can't wait for the two games to be released!
I don't see why not. Sounds like a great idea.
Yeah, what Trigger and others have said is true, which is why I don't really see a reason to raise Premium standards. The same thing is just going to happen repeatedly and well, I think if someone can get 100 rep and 1000 posts well...they've been around long enough to be considered 'regulars' on the board, which is what Premium really means.
Repliku sighed. This was just going to be long and drawn out. Roxas was even more temperamental than he was. Namine stepped forward though to get some control, so he hoped that Roxas would listen. He really had a lot of pent up anger. Of course, Repliku wasn't fairing so much better after being called 'copy'. It was as much fun as being called 'fake'. Really, anymore Repliku wasn't sure whether to hate 'real' people more or 'Nobodies' who made like they had so much of a reason to exist but could exploit others. Life was so confusing sometimes. Perhaps it was better to not hate any of them but just steer clear of some. Xigbar looked at Larxene a moment. It in some ways took a lot for her to come back over towards him and he knew it. She had pride and did not like to be seen as weak. He gave her a shrug. "It's a somewhat long story but sure, I can tell you the abridged version, no problem." He turned and went over to a window looking up at the broken Kingdom Hearts that stood so serenely in the sky. "Our focus was to get as many Hearts as we could. Roxas however, felt drawn to his Somebody possibly because of the Keyblade. He left the Organization. He was then captured by someone, who we came to realize was Riku and Ansem the Wise, going by the name of DiZ...Darkness in Zero. They restored Sora's memories which is a year after the events you faced him at, once Roxas was rejoined with him. Then Sora, we realized, had to be used since we no longer had Roxas. However, crap didn't go all the way according to plan, after a time." "Sora wasn't that hard to manipulate to do what the Organization wanted him to. He relies on his Heart a lot. However, with Riku operating in the background, though we were led to believe at first he was finished off by Roxas and consumed by Darkness because he took on the form of Ansem... well it became more difficult. Sora and his friends took out members of the Organization and the fight came here with all of the other side's forces coming together, to include the King and Riku, as well as DiZ. Maleficent also came here. We were each defeated as Xemnas prepared his plan, but in the end it can be assumed that Xemnas failed. The Kingdom Hearts we had made was broken by Ansem the Wise, and it is after this point that I am sketchy on since I died around then. But we can safely presume none of us stopped the forces. Ansem the Wise was killed by the explosion of his contraption he used but the others, with Kairi and Namine too were not. As for Axel, he had left the Organization in pursuit of Roxas. At first he was given a mission to find Roxas and bring him back to the Organization. If Roxas could not be brought back, he was to be killed. He carried things out to the point where he had to fight him to the death and Axel chose instead to fake his own death and then lost Roxas. DiZ placed Roxas back into Sora with Namine's assistance and Axel decided to try to restore him by capturing Kairi. He intended to use her, turn Sora back into a Heartless and get Roxas back, which then he may have let Kairi once again heal Sora, I would presume since he did not seem to hate the boy either. This is what I believe his plan was. Saix cut his plan short though and took Kairi. Axel therefore was marked as a traitor and ended up assisting Sora in crossing over to our world but took his own life in doing so. That about sums it up though I'm sure other members would go into it more."
Actually, for all the smack the Chinese have said and done, this should be turned down. Sharon Stone is an actress and has a right to say what she wants since she -is- has tried to help Tibet for years and cares about their situation. She is also an American citizen and we have freedom of speech. The Chinese already revoked her movies saying the new one or two cannot be released there. They should have no way to be able to serve her anything as in owing money. No more happened to the Dixie Chicks for slamming our country in the UK and no one expected it to. Their record sales were hit and people spoke out against it. That's what freedom of speech means. There are some repercussions for things but a lawsuit is just stupid. Yes, it was a poor thing to say at the time but really a lot of people don't get how bad the Tibet scenario is and it is really rotten. I feel very bad for those who suffer in the quakes and the losses of life but the Chinese government has been killing and tormenting people in Tibet for years now and no one has done crap about it. She had a right to say what she felt even if it was stupid and she said the remark before we had a tremendous understanding of how devastating the quake really was. She already has apologized quite a few times since and despite what people think, she did not have to. The Chinese need to grow up and stop with the BS. She's just an actress. I don't get why people are being so hard on her because many people have been very frustrated with how the Tibet people suffer needlessly because of the Chinese government that until recently refused to talk civilly at all. She saw her error and suffers in the pocket book. A lawsuit is just idiotic.
It's okay, J.D. Just see your mistake so you don't repeat it again. Yes, some people do 'repwhore' or whatever but at the same time, it's really not worth mentioning. Basically any post that is considered to be -asking- for rep or asking for derep is considered against the rules. Discussing what rep is in itself is not against the rules but what you did borders on and was found to be against the rules. There are older posts on rep so you can browse those for information if you want or PM a Mod or Admin for assistance if you are confused. Reading the rules though of the site is the best way to prevent yourself from breaking them. If in doubt, PM a Mod or Admin.
