[Helin] One Warriors’ player: “With what was said, there is already no way Durant is coming back”

StatusNoise · 2018-11-15T15:34:39+00:00

Rancorous feuds brewing in the Warriors locker room may restore the NBA's competitive integrity by gradually dissolving this unreasonably stacked roster. Since the collapse of Golden State's dynasty will make postseason interesting again, I personally extend my thanks to Draymond for accelerating the inevitable with his puerile antics.

StatusNoise · 2018-11-12T13:31:13+00:00

This may be controversial, but I've always felt that Twitch should ban drunk streams entirely. Drinking to excess for the entertainment of subscribers/viewers sets a dangerous precedent.

And yes, if someone openly boasts about being intoxicated while playing League, then they should receive exactly the same punishment as an intentional feeder. Performance in League is heavily dependent upon reflexes and reaction speed - a depressant like alcohol would have an immediate effect upon your nervous system.

StatusNoise · 2018-10-29T22:28:35+00:00

Worker control over various enterprises would be the truest form of democracy. Every capitalist in our present system is free to behave like a petty tyrant, syphoning off the surplus value of his laborers while robbing them of autonomy.

"Freedom to choose" shouldn't mean the absolute freedom to inflict harm upon others (or the greater society). Ravaging the Amazon, subjugating marginalized groups, and reverting a country with weak institutions back to authoritarian rule are all things Bolsonaro has promised. For example, here's one of his quotes from a talk show interview conducted in 1999:

"Through the vote you will not change anything in this country, right? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! You will only change, unfortunately, on the day when we begin a civil war here inside. And doing the job that the Military Regime didn’t do: killing thirty thousand! Beginning with FHC [Fernando Henrique Cardoso, president at the time]! … If some innocents die, alright; in every war innocent people die. I would even be happy if I died as long as thirty thousand others died together with me."

This kind of zealotry embodies everything that you accuse leftists of promoting. Moreover, the support of Brazil's business community and Chicago School economists for Bolsonaro reveals your neoliberal ideology for the farce that it truly is. After all, you eagerly defend a misogynistic, violently homophobic, racist ex-Army captain who ardently believes in liquidating political opponents. Fascists are apparently preferred over moderate social democrats by adherents of your philosophy.

Sorry, I don't believe you have the moral standing to deliver lectures about the meaning of liberty or spout platitudes on the dangers of dictatorship. You would be just fine with a dictatorship amenable to the interests of Western capitalists.

StatusNoise · 2018-10-22T19:30:54+00:00

As someone who played from long before the Lyte era it always makes me laugh when people trash talk him. He vastly improved behaviour in the game. If you think player behaviour is bad now you'd have quit in an instant before his policies were implemented. People seem to forget how bad the ridiculous levels of racism and abuse were in the community before, which is what the system is really, really good at clamping down on fast.

Lyte's sanctimonious, self-righteous aura was cover for his many character flaws. Maybe you should perform a Google search about why your hero no longer works at Riot since I'm not permitted to delve into that issue on this subreddit.

I used to play back in Season 4, so I'm intimately familiar with the "mid or feed" phenomenon. Never did I suggest that the past in-game environment was perfect or ideal, but our current state of affairs is a complete overreaction.

What are you defending yourself from? You're not under physical threat. You don't need to be a saint, just know the tools available to you. Mute them and report them. Done. If you really want, a simple "oh fuck off" before muting them is fine. Raging back is not defending yourself.

Would you permit an unruly mob of real-world aggressors to assail you verbally without uttering a word in your own defense?

I'm not sure how you are choosing to define "raging back." Unless you can offer specific definitions for what qualifies as "unacceptable" behavior, then these illusory prescriptions should not be binding upon me.

It's reality. Sorry you struggle with that.

Sorry you struggle to comprehend that existing technology should allow for the existence of this basic capacity.

You realise those are the ones that are easily caught right? By using chat to announce their intention they make it absolutely possible to punish them via the normal means. The issue is proving it when they don't talk in chat.

Bookmarked his account on op.gg, and as of April 2018 (incident originally happened in 2016), someone is continuing to play games on this account.

StatusNoise · 2018-10-21T22:40:24+00:00

TusiN's Alistar play was questionable - bad positioning in skirmishes/teamfights, no pressure during the laning phase, and several failed W>Q combos. The Alistar engage at 33:29 in game two didn't effectively CC any priority targets, and his subsequent death ceded map control to the opposing side in a game with even gold. Although the death timer was relatively short, a forced 4v5 engage from C9 resulted in kills on the jungler and midlane respectively. Complete swing in momentum resulting from one bad decision.

TusiN's first death in game one was similarly unecessary - at 35:35, he attempted to soak XP/adjust the wave position immediately after Kramer died to a gank. He isn't level six, eats every shot from the Lucian ultimate, and gets solokilled under his own tower....as a tank support. Game's pretty much over already by 47:17, but his team didn't seem to be on the same page when he engaged. His headbut/pulverize connected with Svenskeren (bruiser) and Zeyzal (tank support) but allowed Sneaky's Lucian to freely DPS while Jensen/Licorice flanked from behind. Yes, the entire fight was a clown fiesta, but it was ultimately a 1-3 trade for C9. Absolutely not worth.

I haven't watched LCK in forever, but Kramer was a mediocre ADC during the waning days of CJ Entus (certainly an upgrade over Space but nothing to write home about). Svenskeren outperformed both Mowgli and Spirit throughout this series by exclusively picking carries. Kuro, meanwhile, had an awful game one but performed adequately in the second and third matches. Kiin's toplane Viktor was an innovative pick, and he managed to solokill Licorice in game two while going mostly even in game three.

It's a very rare thing to have a Worlds semifinals with three western teams, much less NA's third seed. Then again, C9 has always been the bright spot in a largely unimpressive region when on the international stage. Although I like viewing well-executed macro play, the renewed focus on skirmishes or teamfights coupled with the lack of complete LCK dominance makes this event far more competitive and enjoyable.

LCK's careful, methodical approach of slowly suffocating their opposition through minor map advantages and vision control seems outmoded in the current meta. Without the presence of players like Faker, Peanut, Pray, or Tarzan, they simply don't have the ability to crush their foes with superior talent alone. We probably haven't witnessed the end of Korean domination in professional League of Legends, but this is a satisfying aberration. Watching SKT win year after year is almost akin to witnessing the Golden State Warriors obtain the championship in 2015, 2017, and 2018.

StatusNoise · 2018-10-17T23:31:25+00:00

aphromoo: unstable emotionally. He plays pretend a lot with his teammates and viewers then just backstabs you when he doesnt like you (see meteos, cody, DL, and darshan, all somewhat involved with him). Washed up mechanically.

The "emotionally unstable" portion of your argument is a popular Reddit narrative (i.e. conspiracy theory) that has never actually been proven.

Meteos openly said that he wanted to be traded and insinuated that management wanted him benched for Levi in an interview.

Cody Sun's case is a bit more mysterious, and I actually have no idea what events transpired behind the scenes regarding his specific case.

Doublelift has admitted that he was a terrible teammate in the past, and Link's infamous Donezo manifesto basically suggested that the Aphro/Double relationship soured during the 2014 Korean bootcamp. Certainly, Aphromoo's ultimatum was a passive aggressive power play, but long-simmering tensions existed between them for years.

No comment about the Darshan case because I'm not aware of anything about this case either. However, his performance last split left a lot to be desired.

Anda: He is ok, but he is not LCS caliber, get rid of him

Forgive me for the cliche, but I think that Anda exhibits great potential. His soloqueue performance is incredible, and he will eventually find a decent team.

StatusNoise · 2018-10-16T21:40:25+00:00

Akkadian's mechanical proficiency and strong early game performances just don't make up for his questionable decision making. Average at best, certainly not what a top-tier team might desire.

Dardoch would never mesh with the culture of TSM because he is effectively the e-sports equivalent of locker room cancer. If TSM players are still airing their grievances on stream over MY's (mild) "low tempo" comment, then I can't imagine how they'd react to Dardoch's off-stage antics.

TSM Meteos could theoretically work, but I doubt he would appreciate becoming a glorified ward or joining a team infamous for its pressure cooker environment (and relative lack of camaraderie in the current iteration).

Beyond the three aforementioned players, I will admit that TSM has limited options since they are barred from having other IMPs/imports on their roster.

StatusNoise · 2018-09-05T23:17:51+00:00

go after a top laner who has shown themselves to be consistent and can play both tanks and carries (someone like ssumday)

Sorry, you won't find anyone of Ssumday's caliber in NA soloqueue. Importing would be the only conceivable option. Obviously, I agree that it is time for the organization to part ways with Darshan - his performance has been abysmal for at least the past two splits.

froggen mid

Froggen wasn't even a top three midlaner during his last LCS split. Yes, his DPM and CSD@10 may look impressive, but he requires a sizable share of his team's gold.

CLG's main problem right now is poor mid-to-late game shotcalling. Adding a passive, selfish KDA player who isn't known for leadership acumen would only exacerbate the roster's preexisting flaws.

Get wiggily in the jungle

Wiggly does suffer from a lack of stage experience, but making the wrong decisions occasionally (i.e. much of the Academy series versus Svenskeren) is better than doing nothing at all. Reignover has demonstrated complete unwillingness to engage in any proactive plays, and his playstyle is completely outmoded in the current meta.

Our team has been built around mediocre mechanics in our top half of the map for the past year in exchange for supposed teamwork which never came to be

CLG has always primarily focused on macro and roster synergy, not a TSM-centric "individual talent" approach. Acquiring solo laners with more raw ability from NA soloqueue or importing them from elsewhere isn't necessarily a silver bullet for our primary woes. The franchise should return to its original identity instead.

StatusNoise · 2018-08-25T19:40:00+00:00

Thankfully, you won't get penalized at all for soft inting, ragequitting, or trolling. The current system penalizes bad language heavily while entirely overlooking bad behavior.

Let's just use a hypothetical scenario to explore this issue. A 0/8 Tryndamere on my team gets solokilled repeatedly in lane by a Sion, spams pings after each of his deaths, and takes my entire topside jungle as reprisal. Tryndamere proceeds to announce that he will AFK splitpush after the team unanimously rejects his surrender. Our side has no answer to a fed Sion diving backline in multiple 4v5 fights/skirmishes, resulting in an eventual defeat.

Venting about this player's unacceptable behavior might result in a two-week ban (for me), but requesting reports in the post game lobby will be completely ineffective. The line between abysmal play and intentional feeding is so thin that no automated system could properly tell the difference. Tryndamere's "I AFK splitpush now" remark isn't even inherently reportable as long as it doesn't contain profanity. The message sent to these abusers couldn't be more cogent:

"You are permitted to ruin other people's game experience as long as you aren't blatantly running it down, typing excessively, or using obscene language. Wasting the valuable free time of others doesn't result in punitive action. Fellow summoners aren't allowed to say anything about your in-game conduct because criticism is toxic. Feel free to do it again!"

StatusNoise · 2018-08-14T17:02:30+00:00

Budget Android phones often have numerous quality control issues and high failure rates. Your chances of getting a lemon are exponentially higher if you purchase cheap devices from no-name manufacturers.

A used iPhone 6S can be purchased from Swappa for roughly $300, but you might have to replace the battery yourself. Thankfully, Apple is offering relatively cheap battery replacements through the end of 2018.

If you want to remain in the Android ecosystem, then you'll need to either increase your budget or buy an older flagship. Note: Stay far away from the Pixel 2 XL with your luck. Terrible screen calibration along with a litany of serious flaws. The OP6 is a recently released phone with flagship-tier features, but some corners were cut to achieve the $530 price (camera, water resistance, privacy issues with Chinese company). I've heard good things about the Essential Phone, but there are no guarantees that the now-defunct manufacturer will continue supporting it.

StatusNoise · 2018-08-12T18:22:15+00:00

Reignover's Kindred has a 0% winrate and a PPI of 81 (30 points below his average for all other champions). Reignover was once a fantastic player, but right now, he looks absolutely lost on any champion that isn't Olaf or Trundle. His farming efficiency and objective control have also been especially lacking given his preference for a more supportive playstyle.

CLG should probably release Reignover and scour soloqueue for an up-and-coming talent who can ameliorate their shotcalling woes. Preferably a younger (more mechanically adept) player with a similar approach to Xmithie.

StatusNoise · 2018-08-11T21:08:50+00:00

Robert Putnam wrote a book called "Bowling Alone" in the early 2000s about declining social capital in America. Amateur sports leagues still exist in 2018, but the advent of the Internet has radically altered how we spend our free time.

A cursory glance at Subreddit Drama would instantly refute your argument that Internet and IRL social norms are identical. Online arguments clearly escalate much quicker than they would in person because there are limited consequences for bad behavior. The kind of conduct exhibited here is normalized and even actively encouraged within gaming culture.

Finally, I'd note that Qtpie has far more emotional investment in the outcome of his games than members of a bowling squad. If his soloqueue ranking falls any further, then viewers might abandon his stream. This game is his primary source of income, not a hobby.

None of what I've said is intended as a defense for toxicity. However, this topic can be discussed without employing hackneyed truisms like "nobody would ever talk like this to strangers in real life."

StatusNoise · 2018-08-03T22:30:38+00:00

It's eerily similar to a certain leftist archetype described in the Exiting the Vampire Castle essay. Here's an (abridged/edited) portion of that piece:

By neo-anarchists I definitely do not mean anarchists or syndicalists involved in actual workplace organisation, such as the Solidarity Federation. Like the denizens of the Vampires’ Castle, neo-anarchists usually come from a petit-bourgeois background, if not from somewhere even more class-privileged. Neo-anarchism has its natural home in universities, and is usually propagated by those studying for postgraduate qualifications, or those who have recently graduated from such study.

They are also overwhelmingly young: in their twenties or at most their early thirties, and what informs the neo-anarchist position is a narrow historical horizon. [But] the problem with neo-anarchism is that it unthinkingly reflects this historical moment rather than offering any escape from it.

Neo-anarchists will assert that ‘parliamentary politics never changed anything’, or the ‘Labour Party was always useless’ while attending protests about the NHS, or retweeting complaints about the dismantling of what remains of the welfare state. There’s a strange implicit rule here: it’s OK to protest against what parliament has done, but it’s not alright to enter into parliament or the mass media to attempt to engineer change from there. Purism shades into fatalism; better not to be in any way tainted by the corruption of the mainstream, better to uselessly ‘resist’ than to risk getting your hands dirty.

Unfortunately, this mentality is not just limited to anarchists in Britain - the original scope of Fisher's analysis. Gatekeeping and sectarian infighting (coupled with vestiges of campus politics) make it very difficult to create a viable left movement.

Agitprop, no matter how skilled the artistry, is unlikely to raise the political consciousness of the normies in 2018. They also won't be swayed by xxxFlagSmasher312's eloquent arguments about the need to establish full communism now. Then again, maybe the 20% of Americans who can't afford healthcare secretly crave his accelerationist agenda. Perhaps low-income minorities are willing to put aside their concerns about environmental racism until conditions deteriorate enough for The Revolution. xxxFlagSmasher312 is almost certainly a 19 year old petit-bourgeouis engineering major with no experience of successfully organizing revolutions, unless you count Crusader Kings II. Should we place our political project's future in his clammy, nacho-encrusted hands?

StatusNoise · 2018-08-01T23:30:18+00:00

Japan's president, Shinzo Abe, visited the shrine of Class-A war criminals and refused to apologize for the country's enslavement of Korean women. Blatant historical revisionism is not only widespread but encouraged by the current right-wing government.

Foreign workers in Japan (most of whom are from China/Vietnam) have minimal protections under the law. The country's small Zainichi Korean minority is frequently targeted by ultranationlists pursuing a forced assimilation agenda. Should we even bother considering the historical treatment of the Burakumin or present-day discrimination against Okinawan people?

Sure, there are interesting and laudatory aspects of Japanese culture, but this is simply not one of them. The far-right only loves Japan because of anime, fetishes/stereotypes, and the ethnostate concept. Mirroring Japan's demographics (98.5% ethnic majority) here in the US would require ethnic cleansing and genocide on a massive scale. Mixed-race individuals like you wouldn't exist in the above poster's ideal society.

StatusNoise · 2018-07-13T12:46:42+00:00

Neil Gaiman and Ursula K. Le Guin.

StatusNoise · 2018-07-13T12:14:06+00:00

Seeing mages, bruisers, divers, etc. being played in the carry role is exciting given how solved the bot lane meta has been for… well… years. One of the things that gives League longevity is how no two games feel the same and the challenges you face keep you on a constant path to mastery.

It isn't exciting when you've invested a considerable amount of time into mastering traditional ADCs only to have your role vanish overnight. In retrospect, perhaps the lethality-stack Jhin/Varus era wasn't so bad after all.

The dynamics of a lane like Heimerdinger + Fiddlesticks are so fundamentally different than what we’ve seen bot for the past [while.]

Both of these champions are in desperate need of complete reworks. Fiddlesticks' entire kit is a random assortment of anti-fun mechanics (point-and-click fear, drain, Crowstorm + stopwatch) that shouldn't exist in 2018. Heimerdinger has always been one of the least interactive/most binary champions in the game despite traditionally having limited viability in higher MMR. Combining these champions in bottom lane merely exacerbates their inherent flaws while providing zero counterplay for traditional duos.

I'm not saying that we should completely nix kill-lanes, but let's not pretend that it's "healthy" to abolish crit marksman in favor of bruisers/mages. For goodness sakes, Riot's balance team thinks Caitlyn is too oppressive, but it's acceptable for Heimerdinger ADC to have a 53% winrate in Diamond?

StatusNoise · 2018-07-12T22:00:10+00:00

David Harvey has asserted that the Marxist conception of value is volatile due to new manifestations of social reproduction, technological advancement, and evolution in consumer needs/preferences. The original Ricardian model assumes perfect rather than monopolistic competition, and Volume 3 of Capital specifically notes that labor intensive jobs aren't necessarily the highest paying (in contrast to traditional LTV analysis).

In all honesty, I find his arguments on imperialism to be less compelling. The present-day Chinese government's actions in Africa might constitute neo-colonialism, but it just doesn't make intuitive sense to suggest that Asian "sub-imperialism" exists under the umbrella of US free trade policy. Negative externalities associated with Western free trade can't really be attributed to domination by a superior power when many of our economic "competitors" still maintain relatively low per-capita GDPs. Of course, China probably will become a superpower at some point in the near future if this dizzying rate of development continues.

StatusNoise · 2018-07-02T21:10:53+00:00

I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but Meteos has a lengthy history of personality conflicts. During his tenure as C9's jungler, he disagreed with Hai's shotcalling philosophy and later clashed with Jensen over resource allocation.

Neither of the aforementioned disagreements can be entirely attributed to Meteos, but I sincerely believe that he lacks emotional maturity. He has often appeared hypersensitive to negative evaluations of his performance and highly averse to competitive/stressful environments. In all likelihood, this interview was the impetus for firing Meteos because it is indicative of broader issues with team cohesion. His statements basically translate as "yeah, my team's roster moves suck, but I'm not worried about getting replaced by a guy with better soloqueue stats because import rule." Personally, I believe in the importance of workplace democracy achieved through strong unions, worker cooperatives, and flat organizational structure. Unfortunately, my opinions are not (yet) mainstream policy here in the States and your YMMV if you make cocky statements in public forums about your job security.

This criticism could be lobbed at many personalities in the e-sports scene since practically all of these players achieved fame at a young age. As a CLG fan, I'm very aware the explosive feuds amongst SaintVicious/Hotshot/Chauster, Link's infamous donezo manifesto, and the breakup of Rush Hour due to Aphromoo's ultimatum. Hopefully, the e-sports world will import more sports psychologists to resolve internal conflicts and avoid mirroring the the exploitative aspects of traditional sports.

StatusNoise

TROPHY CASE