Mnemolth

Well, if you really want real-time chat, IRC is good. Cos, in IRC you can also share files and such, but that would just be private between people and not solicited or asked for in publicly in the channel. IRC also has litany of controls that makes things easier for mods. Of course, nothing is 100% gauranteed but you can do a lot worse. How to get a chat going? Well the easiest way to do it would be to use the services of IRC networks already available. Then simply create a channel, in Dalnet, Efnet or where ever (I suggest Dalnet due to extensive services available). How to keep pesky newbies from bothering people? There are a dozen ways to solve this problem. One way would be to grant 'voices' to members who have achieved a certain level of posting (or just became a member of OtakuBoards, but then you [i]may[/i] have people signing up and then going straight to the chat to cause havoc, and you'd end up with the same problems). People without voices can't 'speak'. They can join the channel, and see everything, but they can't talk to the channel. Another way would be even more simple. You create a special thread/forum on this Board accessible only to people with a certain level of posting. On this thread you give instructions about how to get on to IRC, as well as a 'key'. This is like a password. Everyone entering the channel has to know this 'key' or else they can't get in. Of course people can still pass this 'key' around, but hopefully people who can get into the channel are mature enough not to do this. How to get people there? Well its easy. Most people should use mIRC client to get on IRC. There are a half a dozen free popular clients out there. IRC can be a little intimdating though. So you may want to use some basic Java IRC client applet embedded on the web page to make life easier for them. Heck, if you are technically inclined you can even install your own IRC server, then marry this Board's database to the client's allowed onto that server so that only members can log on. But this may be getting a little too technical. For installing your own IRC server, you can check this out. [url]http://www.networkmagazineindia.com/200109/workshop1.htm[/url] Requires a about half an hour or so of work (if you're NOT planning to run your own IRC server, and most of this time would probably be dedicated to writing instructions to show members how to log onto IRC), but not that much technical proficiency. Only trouble is, if you don't install the Java applet (since many people may not have Java enabled in their browser; remember Java is NOT Javascript, two totally different things!), people would have to download so IRC client like mIRC, and then install and set it up, and at the end of the day, who will go through all that trouble? So....yeah....it might not be worth the hassle. Good thing is people who eventually get to that channel really want to be there. Bad news is people may not be bothered.

Angel is really no match for Buffy. Well ok, it may be now, but that's just because Buffy has become such a pale imitation of itself. Highschool Buffy is great, everything else you can pretty much miss out on without actually missing out. Now Buffy (the show) is so angsty, or alternatively smug, that it just doesn't have the bite it used to have. And its more and more plot driven as well, whereas before, plot was really just a means to have some fun. As for Angel, it could never achieve the heights that Buffy managed to in its first few seasons. Angel is practically all plot driven. I liked Buffy when it was a smart show in the guise of a fun airhead. Now its almost the other way round. I only continue to watch due to misplaced loyalty.

You want someone to write you a poem so you can give it to a girl you like at school to tell her how you feel about her? I see.... Is it me, or does anyone else feel just a tad bit sad?

This is NOT a movie thread. That's why its not in that forum. This is NOT a thread people under 15 should participate in. You may have an idea of what we are talking about but that is highly unlikely. This is NOT a thread that 'sensitive' people should participate in. It deals with subject matter that can be very confronting. This is NOT about the movie, so please don't start in about how much you like or hate it. This IS about some of the social issues the movie touched upon. I will now make two quotes. Read them carefully. Here are a few movie reviews that might help you understand the quotes better. [url]http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,4267,102483,00.html[/url] [url]http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/reviews.php3?id=183[/url] [url]http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1999/10/101502.html[/url] Once again, I need to reiterate, this is NOT about the movie. The movie reviews are only a guide to give you some understanding of the the issues involved. "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We are all a part of the same compost heap, we are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. You are not your bank account, you are not the clothes you wear. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your bowel cancer. You are not your Grande Latte. You are not the car you drive. You are not your f*cking khakis. You have to give up, you have to give up. You have to realize that someday you will die, until you know that you are useless. I say let me never be complete. I say may I never be content. I say deliver me from Swedish furniture! I say deliver me from clever art. I say deliver me from clear skin and perfect teeth. I say you have to give up. I say evolve, and let the chips fall where they may. This is your life. It doesn't get any better than this. This is your life and its ending one minute at a time." "I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who have ever lived -- I see all this potential ...and I see it squandered. God damn it an entire generation pumping gas and waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy **** we don't need. We are the middle children of history man, with no purpose or place. We have no great war, no great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars -- but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very p*ssed-off." Questions you might consider (but are not limited to). Have the above comments lost their potency after 9/11? Are they still valid? Do you subscribe to such a philosophy? If so, why, and if not, why not? Your replies should probably start off with a definition of what you take the two above posts to mean. This way everyone knows what you're talking about because the meaning can vary from person to person.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Transtic Nerve [/i] [B]lol, he's only like 12, I guess you can't expect much... anyway, there should be rules against kids on the internet... not because they could see porn, but because they are just incredibly stupid... [/B][/QUOTE] You of course were never a kid and never stupid....you were born smart and charming, right?...:rolleyes:

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mystic's Knight [/i] [B]There isnt...get over it bubby. Its glitchy software and nothing more. :-D [/B][/QUOTE] ....misunderstood...again... see the big green fella with big teeth? He's there to make sure people realise I was trying to be ironic. Yes! Emoticons are actually good for something! :D Anyhoo... Here's an idea! :) Since everyone seems to be saying that post counts don't matter, why don't we just reset everyone's post count back to zero? Everyone would be a newbie again. Wouldn't that be kewl? ;)

First they lose their Lounge, and now they lose their post counts... gee... of course post counts don't matter..:rolleyes: dear o dear ...almost makes you think there's a conspiracy! :D

[b]Gokents:[/b] Er...dude....there's a link in my post. Just look over it again. It has almost all the stats you care to see for the 2000 election. :D And its not from one person, or another. Or a tv station. Its the 'official' records. The real deal. So if someone is overly skeptical and paranoid and thinks I'm pushing some party line, this is what's in the record books, this is what historians will look at when they comb through what happens in past elections. If you look at the first table or chart, you will find Bush and Gore columns, along with the other candidates, and their total tally of votes are at the bottom of the column. Bush got 50,456,002 votes or 47.87% and Gore got 50,999,897 or 48.38%. Now I don't mean to be rude, but sometimes I get the strange feeling you don't read my posts. I know they are a bit on the long side but.... :) [b]Sara[/b]; Yes, well, turnout is always an issue in a system where voting is 'voluntary'. This is not a problem specific to the US, other countries, such as the UK, have also experienced the same level of voter apathy in recent years. The turnout often falls below 50%...which just goes to show the level of political cynicism out there. One solution would be to make voting 'mandatory'. Basically pass a law that forces everyone of legal age to vote. This kind of system is quite rare. Australia is one country that uses it, so maybe you should ask James or Delian who may have had direct experience with it. ;) I think you're fined something like 50 or 100 bucks if you don't vote and don't have a valid excuse. The fine is not so important, because I'm sure people can handle that, but its a very good encouragement for people to vote, and it ends up getting practically 100% turnout. Of course, in the US, there may be constitutional issues with such a law, and even if there were not I doubt anything like that would get passed. There are two general problems. 1) In a democracy there is an argument that people should have a right to CHOOSE not to vote. Also, what do you do if none of the candidates appeal to you? Well 'technically' you have to vote, but in practice, because voting is completely secret and private, you can simply make an 'invalid' or 'informal' vote, ie cast a vote that does not count. In mandatory voting systems, the percentage of 'invalid' votes usually vary between 2-5%. 2) Ignorant, un-informed and dis-interested people will vote, and may overwhelm the votes of the more informed and considered people. The fear here is if you force people to vote, then those who don't care might end up determining who wins, and that might not be appropriate. I find the second reasoning a little dubious. I also find the argument that 'voluntary' voting favours conservatives to have some merit. If you think about it, if you are warm and well-fed you are probably more likely to give a damn (maybe to ensure you continue to be warm and well-fed?), whereas if you are cold and hungry, you probably couldn't give a rat's a**. But I don't really want to get into that, lest I be accused of being a left leaning hippie tree hugger. ;) [b]isawis[/b]; The only solution I can think of to the problem you see is if the people [i]directly[/i] vote for the President. And that's not likely to happen. Why? Because it would mean those people living in small States like Wyoming, will have less of a say. One-person-one-vote sounds like a good idea, trouble is it weakens the position of smaller States (whose positions are already weak). Remember, the US is based on a [i]federation[/i] model. States play an important part in that model.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by gokents [/i] [B]You do realize there is a difference between showing bias, and telling the truth. If gore had won floridas popular vote he would have won the state. If he simply got more votes in the country, that doesnt mean he got the popular vote. You really need to account for the electoral system that equalizes the say of a little state like rhode island and a huge state like new york. Gore lost, just as you said we all know, and its over. But what bothers me is how you managed to dodge the points made in my last post. If you ask me, nothing illeagal or wrong happend. Gore just did the ultimate job of getting a bunch of loud mouth politically active people to scream and whine about him and his losing the election. Oh well, gore lost. Too bad. [/B][/QUOTE] Well, you got one thing right there, nothing illegal or wrong happened. But then the rest of your post made no sense. At least not to me. :D First, there is no such thing as the 'popular' vote for Florida. You either win by having the most votes out of all the candidates for that State (and thereby the electoral votes) or you don't. It makes no sense talking about 'popular' votes when it comes to States. The winner [b]is[/b] the one with the most votes, ie the 'popular' vote. Second, the electoral system favoured Bush for the 2000 election. It was his best friend. I'm not sure why you're bringing it up to argue that Gore didn't win the 'popular' vote. You've got it the wrong way round dude. :D The electoral system [b]does not[/b] equate a little state with a huge state. I don't know where you got this idea from but its completely bogus. It [b]does[/b] give smaller States a greater say than by just one-person-one-vote principle since a State with 10 times the population of another State does not get 10 times the amount of electoral votes, but certainly [b]does[/b] get more, a whole [b]lot[/b] more, just not as much as 10 times. But this probably confuses people. So I think we should forget this altogether and concentrate on the fact that bigger States have more votes. Rhode Island in no way, shape or form, comes even close to being equal with NY. I dunno what the exact figures are but I'm pretty sure NY has a heap of more electoral votes that RI. Actually....hang on for a sec...NY has 33 electoral votes, whereas RI has a measely 4. That took me like 10 seconds to go to Google and do a search. [url]http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/2000presgeresults.htm[/url] Take a look and all your questions will be answered. :) Of all the votes cast in the 2000 election, Gore was the candidate with the most votes. Half a million more than Bush. That makes him the one with the 'popular' vote. That is the definition of popular. That you are the person more people like than anyone else. There is really no point arguing against this. Cos this is fact. What you need to do in a political argument is use those facts to make your case. Because they are very open to different interpretations. And that is all well and fine with me. What I don't like is when simple undisputable facts get all tangled up with the arguments being made. Once clear waters become muddied, and everything turns to crap. Then what dresses up as debate is pure opinion on top of unadulterated mis-information. Its a way of leveling the field by lowering it. Its like saying all politicians lie. This cheapens all politicians and in so doing really only favours those who really are big fat liars. Cos they can then turn around and say, ok, I lied, but don't be such an idealist, everyone lies, all sides are the same, all politicians are the same, blah blah blah. Now, if I were a Republican I would just say to the Democrats, get over it. We won, you lost. You may have won the popular vote, but we won the electroal votes, and that's what counts, so you can kiss my ***. :D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Rick Hunter [/i] [B]Also contributing to the fact I'm not a big fan of Miyazaki Hayao's works this movie didn't appeal as much to me. I'm more of a Shoji Kawamori fan. [/B][/QUOTE] Somehow I'm not too surprised. :D Miyazaki deals mostly with recurring themes of innocence and identity, culture, tradition, myth and memories. The guy has humanist leanings. His work certainly has much broader appeal. Kawamori is more about plot and mecha. I guess his style is what more people would regard as 'anime' in the West. His audience is essential the mid-teens to early twenties.

Well I suppose OB software may be a little screwy, but I have noted that someone did edit their own post and the little 'edit' message did not show up. In the vBulletin admin panel there is a capacity to turn that on or off depending on the status of the person. As for my example, well the last one that prompted this thread was on the Newbie Lounge. [url]http://209.123.85.4/~otakub35/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17339[/url] If you follow the thread you can tell something is amiss. I don't remember exactly what I said but it was along the lines of "What? LR has friends?? When did hell freeze over??" It was done in a very jocular manner. And then I introduced myself. But I'm not so concerned about the appropriateness or otherwise of the content, I'm more worried about the fact that my first paragraph was taken out, and as you can see (well at least at the time of this post), there is no 'edit by xxxx' tag on it. And if you wish to verify, I think you can ask Lady Asphyxia or maybe Havoc. Just to make sure I'm not imagining things. ;)

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by gokents [/i] [B] Its written by bill sammon, the full title is: At Any Cost, how Al Gore [i]tried to steal[/i] the election. Its not the greatest, but it gives the really story from an independant with sources from both sides. [/B][/QUOTE] Now if then went on to write a twin book called: [u]At Any Cost, how Dubya [b]stole[/b] the election[/u], now then it would be an independent account showing both sides of the story. :) Look, its clear to everyone that Bush was very very [b]very[/b] lucky to get into the Whitehouse. There hasn't be a President who has won office but lost the popular vote in around 100 yrs! You're gonna tell me that doesn't matter? Of course it matters! :p And if you run a race, with a total of over 100 million votes, and you beat your rival by over half a million, but still lost the election because you're short of a few hundred votes in a State, you reckon you wouldn't have a few sour grapes as well?? Mystic: And as for politics being a little screwed in the US, its the same everywhere dude. In Oz, in the UK, hell, even in Japan. :D

I've had at least two 'moderation' edits to my posts. Neither of which I think was against the rules. But no, that's what not what I'm b*tching about. The thing is there was not an 'edited by xxxx' message on the posts. So I had no idea who did the cutting, and what's worse, anyone else reading the posts would have thought they were intended in that form. Messing with posts [b]without acknowledgement[/b] is kinda severely frowned upon by most Boards. I dunno the policy here. I think any moderated edits should be explicitly stated as 'edited by xxxx', and preferably (tho not necessarily) with a time stamp and a reason stated for the moderation. I noticed in some posts that's the case, so I'm not sure what is going on. I also think the same should apply to any edits, even edits of our own posts. This alerts people to the fact that a post has been altered and its not in its original form. And this should apply for everyone without exception. We're all the same right? :D But then again maybe I'm being too 'political'...:rolleyes: Bleh...whatever...I'm beginning not to care at this point... [size=1](Still here tho so I guess I must...oh well....)[/size] :blah: :blah: :blah:

Yeah I have a sixth sense. Its allows me not to take myself too seriously. Its called common sense. Dunno why tho.....its not all that common...;)

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by wrist cutter [/i] [B]Harder? Personally I'd rather have one less thing to worry about when I'm studying for an exam, rather than one more. [/B][/QUOTE] That's why one has priorities. There's a time and a place for everything. :D Have you ever seen a [EDIT][b] straight male [/b][/EDIT]college graduate with absolutely NO experience with girls trying to find a date on a Saturday night? Its not pretty. ;) This EDIT wasn brought to you by OtakuBoards resident TN, aka Traumatised Neurotic. :D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by wrist cutter [/i] [B]You didn't ask for it but I'll offer this tip anyway: Don't fiddle around with girls until you're at least out of college. Or high school if you don't plan on going to college. [/B][/QUOTE] Hmm....that's great advice...if you intend to be a monk or a priest. :D Cos if you graduate from college without ever having had a girlfriend, then really, you're making your life [i]much[/i] harder than it need be. ;)

There are plenty of sites out there that will allow you to make quizes. The two ones I can think of at the top of my head are [url]http://quizilla.com[/url] and [url]www.selectsmart.com[/url] Personally I prefer quizilla.com since you can customize it to suit your own tastes. But even then its limited. My personal preference would be to write your own quiz code. Its really easy. Here is a place with step-by-step instructions - [url]http://violetiris.com/quizes.html.[/url] Of course you would need to find a place to put up your quiz website, though that's easy enough, plenty of free web hosts around. Or if its all too much of a hassle for you, I'm willing to write the code and do all the 'programming', as long as you have all the questions and answers, and all the points for each alternative answer, AND you have all the pictures for all the 'results'. After that is all done, I'll zip up all the files, and email them to you, and you can just unzip them and upload to the web host of your choice. Here's an [URL=http://falkor.anu.edu.au/~ely/obquiz/obquiz.php]example[/URL] of a quiz I made for OtakuBoards. Or if you'd like I can even host them, and I don't even have banners or annoying popups. :) I think I should be able to handle this. I shouldn't think there would be too many people willing to spend the time making the questions/answers and result pics. What's the catch? None. Not really. But read below: Oh, maybe you need to be an OtakuBoards member and have more than 30 posts or something. Not sure. *shrugs* I would ask that you link back to my [URL=http://falkor.anu.edu.au/~ely/animequiz/index.html]Anime Quiz[/URL] but that's just a request, not a demand. :) Oh and the second thing is I take no responsibility if my web host decides to cut me off, and your site along with me. :D But no need to freak out, remember I will email you all the files anyway, and you just need to upload them to some free web host if I lose my web service. No biggie. Hmm...yeah...that's all folks. :) PS: If you do request me to do your quiz, DO NOT expect me to respond immediately and have everything up and running in 2 minutes!! I know I'm a paragon of selfless perfection but even that is beyond me...;)

Er...that's exactly what I mean.... If I didn't like cookies, and let's face it, some of us are a little paranoid, then every time I go to the front index of OtakuBoards, I'd be greeted with an annoying popup dialogue telling me what I already know. Dunno about you, but after a while that would kinda get on my nerves...:D

Well, from memory, I'm sad to say that there really isn't really that much of a story behind the use of the term 'cookies' for Web browsers. Its a computer science term to describe a piece of data that resides in some software but is not used by that software. The software actually acts as a kind of middleman, and passes that data onto something else that uses it and responds appropriately. Which is essentially what a cookie does. It sits in the browser, but the browser doesn't actually use it. The web servers do, and they respond to the browser according to the data that the browser passes to them. So all Netscape did was use a well established computer science term. Of course, if you were then to ask me where did this computer science term originally come from....well then that's a much tougher question. I don't think anyone knows. I think someone wrote a book somewhere where a person in the story ate a 'magic cookie' and could see the dreams of all the other people who had eaten the same magic cookies. This useless piece of information was brought to you by the Master of Useless Pieces of Information. You are not worthy. :D

Ermm....yeah....its for secretive people like me with a lot to hide...;) ...although I think the admins and mods can probably see who's on. I guess that depends on what hacks are installed....

Well in my opinion it doesn't belong in the CB forum because I'm not talking about the movie as a fan, I'm not talking about it as the series, its just a movie I saw that I thought I'd share my thoughts with the anime community here. If I put it in the CB forum, its likely to be read by CB fans, and really what I wanted to say was, if you've never seen this movie, go out and watch it, its a lot of fun, and really, what's the point of that message if I'm preaching to the converted? ;) I'm treating this as a one shot movie affair, I haven't compared it with the series, I don't know anything about the series. So yeah. I figured I'd place it here. And if I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will come along and move it. :D Besides, the thread you mentioned is old, and I heard somewhere that you're not allowed to revive threads over 30 days or something?? Hmm....not sure...

Well I'm gonna put this in the Lounge and someone can move it to the CB forum if they feel the need. I didn't put it in there because I'm not a CB fan. Never seen it before, and this post is really just about my impression of the feature film, like any other anime feature that I've seen on the big screen with big sound. We've got a little festival going here this weekend. I'll be watching Spirited Away tomorrow. The movie is hip, snappy and funny. That pretty much sums it up. I liked the beginning and ending credits, they were nice. The soundtrack was not too bad, the whole retro thing kinda worked. Yay for platform shoes! :) I can see why CB has been popular... But best of all I like the action sequences. Those fight scenes really bite. I dunno about CB the series, but if you like your action well choreographed, your music with a funky beat, I'd say check out CB The Movie. You can do far worse. :D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Desbreko [/i] [B][color=indigo]Lol...see what I mean? I've got the mind of an adult trapped in the body of a child. (Which is not exactly a bad thing, but it could be better). :whoops:[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Or it could be worse. You could have the mind of a child trapped in the body of an adult...*glances around* Why is everyone staring at me?? :D

I've made my points two to three times before, but if I need to reiterate them once more the so be it. [b]"Fact: The Newbie Lounge Generates Spam. It has fallen far behind other forums in terms of quality."[/b] ...and by quality you mean intelligent and articulate discussions, right?....hmm....what were we talking about again? ;) I guess it would be nice to paint me in some lunatic corner rallying for a spam-for-all lounge. Unfortunately, I've never advocated such a thing. What I have said is that rules are needed, and in fact, the [i]same[/i] rules that apply to the rest of the Board should be applied to the Newbie Lounge. [i]How[/i] those rules are applied to a particular post, though, should take into account the [i]context[/i] of that post. It is just as important to consider the [i]intent[/i] and [i]tone[/i] of a post as much as its contents. And please don't jump the gun and imply that I advocate preferential treatment for the Newbie Lounge. To bring it back to earth, if you make a post about Digimon in the Cowboy Bebop forum, that would be inappropriate. Not because the post itself is inapprorpiate but because the context is wrong. Put it in the Digimon forum and all's well with the world. :D The same applies to the Newbie Lounge. Only there the context includes such notions as tone and intent, not just content. The Newbie Lounge is a place to welcome new members. Welcome is the key word. The test to see whether the Lounge is working or not is [i]not[/i] what bits of information you can get from the people posting there. Its whether they feel welcomed or not. That's why friendliness is so much more important, and that's why it should be given much more weight in the Newbie Lounge than perhaps elsewhere. Remember, this is a place whose primary function is to greet new members. [b]"Fact: We learn nothing of the member in their first post, that can't be learned from their profile, signature or posting habits. Why do you think so many questions are formed in Otaku Lounge regarding real names, and locations? Yes, members are uncomfortable posting it initially. So, what's the point of the forum? They can post the same "Hi, I'm new" comment, at the start of their first post in any other forum."[/b] Otakuboards is a friendly place. Why can't people be welcomed everywhere? Well, OB may be a friendly place, but I'll let you in on a little secret. ;) Most people, myself included, get rather bored of greeting new members. Oh its fine, until the tenth, twentieth, thirtieth one. Then we run out of things to say, then we get bored. Its not our [i]thing[/i]. Being always cheerful pretty much regardless of who the poster is and what they have to say wears most of us down. Our enthusiasm is not indefatigable (sorry for the big word). So if there is a bunch of people with boundless energy who are willing and able to do that task, why not leave them alone to do their job? [b]"Fact: The Newbie Lounge places a bad impression on new members. It influences poor posting habits."[/b] And your 'hard-hitting' evidence for this would be...? Has there being a rampaging legion of spammers coming through the Newbie Lounge recently that I'm not aware of? According to James, "In fact, this site's activity has significantly increased as a direct result of our pursuit of higher quality posting. Our own results suggest that most people are sick and tired of the spam infested mainstream forums. And that is partly why OtakuBoards has become a place of high quality RPGs, intelligently humorous/silly discussions and whatever else." So it would seem then that OtakuBoards is now a better place than it was before. How is it then that in the same breath you can say that the Newbie Lounge is to be blamed for the decline in post quality? Because it makes common sense that if people are exposed to 'poor' quality posts when they are new, then it will influence their posting habits. Maybe so, but if this 'commone sense' is not borne out by the facts of the situation, then I suggest there is something wrong in the 'common sense'. [b]"Fact: People are free to be themselves in other forums. I mean, why not? As stated, they are not being themselves in Newbie Lounge."[/b] Really? And when did I suggest they were?? If you go out on the town on a Saturday night, and get completely wasted, you may be letting your hair down, but that ain't the [i]real[/i] you. At least I hope not. ;) The Newbie Lounge provides people with an opportunity to be silly for the sake of being silly. No one is going to make a snide remark or cut them down for being a little juvenile. In that sense, yes, it is a refuge. It is not a place to 'vent', it is a place to have fun. Of course the other forums are fun too but the Newbie Lounge allows some members to have a different kind of fun. You don't like that kind of fun? Fine. Don't go there. But closing it down and ruining it for everyone else is going a little far, don't ya think? [b]"Fact: These are recreational boards. All the forums are recreationally based."[/b] See previous paragraph. Also are you saying that every forum is the same. Because they clearly are not. They differ in style, in tone, and in content. Look, at the end of the day, all this is, as James' countrymen would put it, just a whole lot of 'w*nking'. Boards have owners, they have people who run them, and they are the ones that decide. And that is the way it should be. Because if the Boards 'fail' they are the ones that would have to pay the 'price'. The Internet is not a democracy. But this is a Suggestions/Feedback forum, input was asked, and so I have given my two cents worth. And I have been strong in my opinions because this whole thing smacks of elitism, and that always boils my blood. Because elitism is really just another way of being intolerant. There is a bunch of people that have put a lot of time and energy into doing something that they thought helps the community. Whatever your opinions about their actions, they have been tireless in their efforts. Yet, instead of acknowledging their contribution, instead of rewarding them, you not only publicly diss and humiliate them, you take away one of their main sources of fun on these Boards, you plan to remove their playground. And you do this despite the fact that they have readily admitted they may have gone too far at times. You do this regardless of the fact that they are willing to do some changing. You do this, even though, as many have pointed out, they are not harming or hurting anyone. If the Newbies Lounge doesn't matter, if its by and large ignored, why are people so insistent on removing it, and taking away the fun and joy that it gives to some of your fellow members of this community? There is no compromise. You give them nothing and you take everything away. You treat them like garbage. You treat them as if they don't count. And you are older and wiser and you should know better (yes James I do think age matters on occasion, but let's not get into that whole agist thing here). I mean they are happily playing in their little playground, you come along and post a topic like this, and you rip their playground right under their feet. While they're still in it. Where's the decency in that? If some of you would just take a deep breath, step back and just think about what you're doing and how you're doing it, you may find it as distasteful as I do. But that is about as likely to happen as Harlequin is to break out into a song and dance number. ;)

I hope you're not talking about javascript. I hate those bloody annoying pop ups. And besides, I think you'd just be confusing people. Not everyone is as brilliant as you are with the computer, ya know? ;) No, my suggestion would be a simple FAQ posted, stuck on top of this forum. Something that answers all the basic tech questions (as opposed to rules related stuff). You want to keep the FAQ small so people will read it. You can put stuff in like how to make banners show up in the sig, how to post up images, attach files, cookies, use the search button, whatever. The basics. This way everyone would have a one-stop shop for one simple tech questions. They then wouldn't need to post threads that would be closed down by mods who, for the thousandth time, would be telling someone how redundant their topic is. Saves a lot of hassles. But of course then you'll have to find someone to write that FAQ, in simple, precise, easy to understand English.... *points at Sara* Tag! You're it! :D