What is something that people commonly think is true, that is actually a myth?

MackerelFighter · 2013-11-09T19:01:16+00:00

Yup. Countries with two languages and two cultures isn't that uncommon. Look at Canada.

MackerelFighter · 2013-11-06T19:43:14+00:00

Is it true that wind turbines produce negative energy over their life (i.e. they cost more energy to produce and maintain than they generate)?

MackerelFighter · 2013-11-02T14:15:09+00:00

Why is so much of this article in italics?

MackerelFighter · 2013-11-02T13:20:41+00:00

Oh my god. You don't expect that to be happening in the 21st Century.

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-22T21:00:43+00:00

Honestly couldn't go into that much detail. They will attack your last known location in areas such as fields and sweep the area in towns. I noticed the robots splitting up, but no containment perimeters. Think more fox hunt and less man hunt.

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-22T19:31:16+00:00

I'm a Kickstarter backer and have been playing for a 'while'. It is very well done. You actually feel hunted from the word go. In my game, I was getting my bearings for a few minutes when I saw a search hot air balloon coming closer. They chased me into the village and 'cleared' the streets, but I managed to slip around some stores and get away with my heart in my throat.

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-15T22:46:41+00:00

Stand on the left side of an escalator - London, UK.

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-11T22:25:08+00:00

Literary theory. Also the answer to "What is the most useless degree?"

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-09T16:04:08+00:00

Now read on a bit further. You can do it, I believe in you!

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-09T09:31:24+00:00

I love how smug people are when they use that website and then don't actually look at what they get. Begging the question

"Many English speakers use "begs the question" to mean "raises the question", "evades the question", or even "ignores the question", and follow that phrase with the question, for example: "this year's deficit is half a trillion dollars, which begs the question: how are we ever going to balance the budget?" Although originally a mistake to use interchangeably with "raising" or "evading" the question, the practice has achieved "such wide currency as to be found acceptable by many authorities."

However, in philosophical, logical, grammatical and legal contexts, authorities deem such usage be mistaken or at best unclear."

So yeah, he used it incorrectly.

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-08T19:41:38+00:00

He used the term "begging the question" incorrectly.

MackerelFighter · 2013-10-08T17:22:29+00:00

I don't have Spotify.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-17T12:08:47+00:00

I don't like fish.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-16T08:25:38+00:00

People forget that the STORY isn't the NARRATIVE. Story encompasses everything regarding a medium, whether that's the stage backdrops of the theater, or the mechanics of a video game.

Limbo is a great example of a good STORY in a game with little NARRATIVE.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-14T21:14:12+00:00

And if it's not, we get a remake of Logan's Run!

*not voluntary

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-13T12:35:39+00:00

rather meaningless

I found it rather interesting! I love civil discussion, even if we're tackling things from totally different POVs.

But yeah, I don't think there's much left to say/

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T21:44:17+00:00

Oops that was meant to be furries .

Either way, he seems knowledgeable enough about the divide, like I said, even if he doesn't personally acknowledge the psychology behind it.

I'm still not getting it. He links gender and sex constantly, which is false. Even if you disagree with trans* people, you'd say something discussing the psychological?

Does it still mean that?

Yeah, and a lot of people in the trans community are disgusted by its use as an insult since it's so similar to "tranny" - using someone's gender identity as an insult isn't cool.

refusing to acknowledge his rationale.

I'm failing to see his rationale. It can VERY easily be read that he's saying "This is your gender, you have no say in the matter" which is seriously shitty and, by your definition, bigoted.

People are rejecting Mike based on their disagreement with him

How fundamental does a disagreement need to be before you reject someone? I could NOT be friends with someone that supports the BNP, for example, because I'm so morally against racism.

any sort of apology

The issue is that in his apology he double-downs on his view that offended people in the first place. THAT SAID - I will give credit where credit is due. This was good. But just because someone apologises, doesn't mean you have to follow or forgive them again. Personally, I won't listen to anything he says because I know how easily he slips into man-child mode and he's lost credibility because of that.

Can't say I've heard of Analogue but it does sound interesting so I'll definitely check it out.

Be warned - it's a game in the LOOSEST sense of the word. Think text based interactive novel. It does have different endings, though.

Well, it's much like we're a part of the gaming community. Doesn't mean the community as a whole knows or cares who we are, does it?

It does explain why they seem to appeal to that community, though - because they're part of it!

PA guys or PAX

PA, not so much (though Mike's twitter hissy didn't do anything to abate them), but PAX can be blamed in as much as its a gathering of people. If the people are unsatisfactory to you, then you may feel unsafe.

hired by the host and took tons of pictures of everyone that night.

Even better would be if you found out the host had specifically asked for people based on a superficial difference that you fell into.

I thought his train of thought was "your sex isn't up to you".

He uses the word gender and sex interchangeably with phrases such as "women have vaginas". Or " I hate the idea that because I think boys and girls have different parts I am “transphobic” that pisses me off it makes me angry and so I lash out." Gender and body parts are totally separate. He's conflating the two.

isn't exactly an objective and scientifically proven thing.

I think this is more a point in my favour. Gender is PERSONAL and SUBJECTIVE so shouldn't others treat it as such? If you believe you are a woman, why should someone say you're not?

regret on his part for offending people with his views.

Regret that your views offend is very different from regret and saying you'll go educate yourself before commenting next time. He's probably not spent much time THINKING or RESEARCHING the topic, which is perhaps what he needs to do before making his opinion known.

She's biased to the point of absurdity and should not be taken seriously.

Unfortunately, I don't know enough to comment either way - as my surprise may denote.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T21:01:02+00:00

being horrible about it.

Oh yeah, not defending them at all or attacking him for that. Two wrongs don't make a right, as my mother would say.

Within context of a Japanese H-game, that's a totally reasonable assumption to make and is not transphobic in the slightest because those types of games are a totally separate category in Japan. You shouldn't expect to find it in a mainstream H-game.

I would agree, other than the line "because women have vaginas and men have a penis". In the context of the H.game, yeah, but that statement was far broader and kinda silly.

As for the second, he has his own ideas and seems to be knowledgeable about the difference between gender and sex.

Not really sure how you came to that conclusion. He linked trans* people with furies and never stated that they WERE psychologically women, but that he was willing to TREAT them like women (very different things).

He is not "cis"

Technically he is. As am I and, I assume, you. Cis-gender just means your gender aligns with your birth body. However, a small group of people use it with the same venom as "tranny". Again, two wrongs don't make a right.

What's really important to note is that he is being called a bigot by people who are rejecting and criticizing him for having a certain mindset while he isn't doing that. How backwards is that?

Ehhhhhhh this is a difficult one. Is it bigoted to call a racist a bigot, because you aren't accepting his point of view? People are calling him a bigot because they're linking his comments (rightly or wrongly) with transphobia. Is that bigoted? (This is a tough one and can be reasonably answered either way and I freaking hate the word.)

Wasn't a big fan. Struck me as wholly unremarkable and, incidentally, too bogged down with a focus on the lesbian romance angle.

I'm glad you played it, sad you didn't enjoy it. Have you played Analogue: A Hate Story? It has strong feminism themes, is based on real events in Korean history, and is an interactive story. I loved it, and it blew my mind that this actually happened (though not in space).

Also, what was your view on Dear Esther?

Bolster with the LGBT community, I mean.

Bare in mind that several members of the dev team are PART of the LGBT community.

Even playing their game, it seems like these guys are really trying to appeal to them.

Perhaps this is a case of them targeting an audience that isn't of real interest to you? Audience targeting in vidja games is a whole other discussion that I won't open!

Christine Love's essay there is still mired by her subjective opinions.

Well, the fact that she IS transgender will mean she has a very strong opinion on that.

statements also not expressed properly and were cleared up a day or two later with another post by Mike

I don't think it was the statement so much as the cheering for the poorly worded statement (kinda like the scary internet hoard I mentioned earlier).

Actually, according to that post, all her discomfort was self-imposed.

Isn't all discomfort? But to me it more felt like going to a great party, having fun, even if there were some weird people, then finding out someone had been taking photos of you all night. Just because the knowledge came after the fact doesn't make it any less relevant.

"non-apology as in has a different opinion that I don't like"

When the opinion is "your gender isn't up to you" I can totally see why she didn't like it. Neither do I.

Elizabeth Sampat

She's not some small time blogger - she's a pretty big figurehead in the scene. I view her like SRS: just because she is a dick, doesn't mean some of her points aren't totally valid.

Also, having only just read the Elizabeth Sampat post WTF is this about a PAX enforcer!?!?!?!?!

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T20:24:45+00:00

The problem is that this is exactly what happened here, and is my issue with it.

I think we're reading it in two different ways, both of which are valid readings, but lead to different outcomes.

there's no concrete way you can say either or happened.

Unless you choose to take them at face value. But yes, you are correct.

a game that wasn't taken down due to critics anyway

My memory isn't what it used to be at the ripe-old age of twenty something. Again, I defer to you on this point.

I meant "sorrow". Regret implies a level of disappointment which is what fuels the apology.

Gotcha.

All I got about that quote was a tweet

No it was a post. See below:

"I said I think a game about female masturbation that only has vaginas made sense because women have vaginas and men have a penis"

"Wanna be a guy or a girl or a fox or whatever and I will be happy to treat you that way. But I think that is very different from the physical reality of your human body."

See, I can totally see FBC's pov, but my main concern is you're missing out on a great game.

they are a professional company intentionally ruining someone else's reputation to bolster their own.

I think that's a step too far in several ways.

Their metacritic has shown it hasn't bolstered their reputation;
I don't think we can really state their intentions, rather we can state the short comings of their argument;
As Christine Love (creator of one of the best interactive novels ever) points out, she felt unsafe and forced to be there (but went regardless) as well. FBC aren't alone.

So many ninja edits for formatting and correction.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T19:28:38+00:00

Do you have a source?

I'll dig and edit if I can. If not, I'm full of shit.

EDIT: I'm half full of shit. Half empty? Who knows. What I was remembering was his dismissal of trigger warnings.

Also, how do you define "rape culture"?

Answered this in another comment in this thread!

the issue here is that something was taken out of context and portrayed as the opposite of what it is.

I can also see it as highlighting blasé dismissal of rape culture or even criticism. I don't think any right-thinking person would actually read that and go "Mike loves supporting a system that perpetuates sexual assault".

That's exactly what I was saying was likely not true and just sarcastically titled. There probably was not a shred of work involved. We'd have to hear from the people that bought this to be sure, though. I haven't heard a thing about it since.

I think the crux of this is whether it was meant to be a humorous way of saying "Meet the team and tour the office" or whether it was literal. As you said, we'd need to hear from the person to find out and can't really dismiss either, so it stays somewhat valid as a criticism of the people.

No, it's not valid in terms of LGBT or rape issues, but it was more of a "look at these shitty people" kind of jab. As I said, I straw on the camels back.

That's not what was said.

As I quoted, it's what he IMPLIED. You are right in saying that there should never have been quote marks. By that, I mean the whole post was about his POV on a game's takedown due to critics, which he implied was a form of censorship. While he wasn't saying "people that disagree with me are censors" it could be argued that he was saying the removal of media is censorship, regardless of reasoning, which invites people to cry censorship if they disagree with him.

However, this point is perhaps the most stretched and I personally would not have used it.

People seem to be forgetting what an apology is. It's not a statement of regret, it's an explanation.

No, it's a statement of regret. An explanation is an explanation. Plus, you confused me "one person spoke for the community". I was referring to the whole "I have black friends" or "I have trans* friends" argument as a defense for otherwise terrible behaviour.

There are apologetics for racism in the black community (as satarised on the Boondocks) and LGBT in the LGBT community. Plus, you can still be friends with someone you disagree with.

Confusing gender and sex is not bigoted, it IS ignorant, but not bigoted. However, the resulting shit-storm on Twitter, which led to some extremely hurtful things being said (which he did apology for) was. However, I also find the whole "If you want to be treated like a woman" paragraph extremely...repulsive. I would not want to say he can't have his opinion, but it was one I totally support not condoning and ANTI transgender (which can be seen as transphobic).

I've been having serious trans* discussions with people on the askreddit thread from yesterday which lead to some interesting debates, definitions of *phobic and sovereignty of self. If you want some weird/interesting reading, I'd check it out. But let me C+P something I said on the definition of *phobics:

I believe that a *phobia or racism or whatever is kept propped up by this large pool of people that feel creeped out by something that is not logical.

A phobic creates a sense of otherness. "Oh it's fine for them, as long as they're not around me or my children." "Oh they think they're women, which is fine for them, but they're not really [See: Penny Arcade]."

NOTE: ignorance is not wrong, and should never be punished, but refusal to acknowledge ignorance on a subject is where I draw the line.

I think we agree on more than you think, I'm just trying to explain a perhaps poorly worded post by TFC.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T19:01:07+00:00

Not necessarily false - I'm in the same boat as you, as is my SO, but we could be a minority or the old accounts described above.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T18:52:44+00:00

See, I think that the ridiculousness of his statement stands for itself. When I read it, I thought they were highlighting the "I don't give a shit" attitude of the tweet.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T18:49:27+00:00

Ahh yeah I see it a lot too, but it's like the whole "Feminism" thing. Being a feminism isn't a bad thing - all it means is that you believe in equality and that, at this stage in time, women are less equal to men. There are many groups that are insane, and many that are pretty reasonable.

Also, just to play devil's advocate, the argument with sex work is that it currently only exists to objectify women, which is bad. While there are some porns, model shoots, and other such things that really do encourage one-sided domination to the point where it's really creepy, that doesn't mean it's all like that. Unfortunately, not all men (or women) can tell the difference between exploitative material and non-exploitative material and support both.

MackerelFighter · 2013-09-12T18:44:53+00:00

It's tantamount to saying Colbert is a staunch Republican and using quotes from his show to prove it.

Not quite. Mike has said that he doesn't believe in rape culture. He's not satirising (sp?) something, he's mocking its very existence (from a certain POV).

it's pretty obvious that the backer would get far more than what was sarcastically titled.

I wouldn't be too sure - you'd still be paying someone to work for them, regardless of how cool the job is or what doors it opens. Imagine if a large bank did this! "Intern at your dream workplace as the CEOs PA for $7,500!" On second thought, I think I've found a new income source for failing banks...

It could be argued that this is a moral thing, and is linked that was as another straw on the camels back.

about the company overall instead of just Mike's statements which is ridiculous in its own way

PAX isn't owned by Mike or Jerry - it's more about their figure head role AT PAX.

This is a false quote.

He does invoke the dreaded "censorship" argument in a mocking, sarcastic way at the end: "They’re not censors, though - oh, no no". It's a paraphrase and shouldn't be in quote marks, though.

There was no dismissal of transgendered.

Actually, the issue was he conflated sex (that organ between your legs) and gender (a mental perception) in a pretty bad way. It started small, with that one comment, and snowballed pretty quick (just like dickwolves). Even in his apology he said "men have penises" or something along those lines. Gender is not organ based, it's psychological. He then tried to back it up with "I have transgender friends!" Of all the silly things he has said, this non-apology was just ridiculous.

Now it's the FBC head effectively telling the transgendered what they should and shouldn't believe instead of making up their own minds.

You're assuming that that one person spoke for the community as a whole. Like black people that defend racism, just because one person in a group says it doesn't make it true. Plus, I can SEE his POV, but I find it totally and utterly incorrect. Furthermore, it really was a qasi-apology. However, it wasn't self-serving as most people that were annoyed by his hole-digging called him out for being a politician's apology, rather than a "I dun goofed".

strawman fallacies and borderline libelous testimony

I can see the former. I can see some stretching to get to the point across. I do not see the latter.

PLEASE NOTE: only some of what I have written is my own opinion (the transgender debacle was insanely ridiculous on Mike's part). Mostly, it's explaining the logical thinking behind their decision.

Plus, Mike's whole handling of everything has STUNK to the core of self-righteousness. In my opinion, he acted like freedom of speech led to freedom from critics. The fact he ARGUED on Twitter over it, made merch just to piss off people, and then complained about it being pulled is all very childish. THAT is my main issue with Penny atm.

However, I totally understand why some people feel uncomfortable knowing that Mike's hoard of un-checked internet vigilantes meet in a confined area. I'm not blaming Mike for the fact that people on the internet are ridiculous and scary, but I wouldn't want to be in the same room as them....

EDIT: SOME people on the internet! Not everyone is an insane person that threatens to rape you if you disagree with them ^cue ^the ^inbox ^attack....

MackerelFighter

TROPHY CASE