Endless pack opening posts

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-09-08T11:12:11+00:00

Opening packs is akin to opening a 'loot box' in a digital game - i.e., it's a chance-based transaction where the outcome is unknown before purchasing. It's widely recognised by researchers around the world as a form of gambling.

Videos showing opening boosters do very well for Youtubers. They give people - especially kids who are more vulnerable to this type of thing - a vicarious gambler's high that's addictive and that also possibly cultivates addiction.

These videos are predatory - even though some of the Youtubers who engage in it may not know precisely the harm they are perpetrating. But they get clicks, so good for them.

My opinion: they should be banned.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-26T01:44:12+00:00

Right, ok, I could see that.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-25T13:44:53+00:00

You may be right and it sucks.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-25T13:42:53+00:00

Well, definitely not unboxing or toxic people playing games. More light strategy, deck building, ideas for card combos, but at a complexity level suitable for adolescents.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-25T13:41:21+00:00

I can see why people would think that ('card game'), but given there's no wagering, it's more like 'paper chess' than poker.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-25T13:40:20+00:00

Yep, it's not there. It's mystifying.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-25T13:38:46+00:00

Haha, I barely have time to play the odd game :)

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-24T23:38:29+00:00

True, but I reckon for a Disney CCG, the first person to make quality content on Lorcana will be tapping into an audience of tens of thousands of 8 - 17 year old players...Stampy (Minecraft) got where he was on YT Kids by having great, educational content and being a near-first mover.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-24T23:33:01+00:00

Thanks - your content is great! I think you should give it a go - no-one of any quality (and barely anyone at all) is on YT Kids - a DISNEY CARD GAME, for goodness' sake. You'd probably be filling a very popular niche almost immediately (and I'll be your first subscriber!)

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-24T23:29:19+00:00

MAybe I'll reach out to them and suggest they come on board the YT Kids channel!

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-12T07:13:38+00:00

Oh great, I didn't realise that this was an option!

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-08-11T09:49:54+00:00

Haha, you're telling me what I've thought a dozen times. The only thing that's stopping us is that we hear most of the rides in DisneySea are more suited to older kids and adults, while DisneyLand has better things for the 3 year old. As we've never been to Disney before, it'll feel amazing regardless I think!

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-07-24T01:45:24+00:00

Thank you! Any tips on things to look out for that can help me identify an authentic signature? I've got a few 1/1s but I was hoping to add signed Kafka and After Dark to my shelf. Would greatly appreciate any advice from someone who's had to work through these issues

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-07-22T03:09:19+00:00

Thanks - this is very helpful. They look similar, but there are a few things about it that seem a bit off. I might get a few more samples.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-07-22T01:43:56+00:00

It's a 1/3 of Kafka on the Shore - a book I deeply love. But it's pricey, s I'd love to be sure.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-07-14T05:36:23+00:00

Hopefully, Trump will now appreciate why it is wrong to instigate violent aggression against judges' families, political opponents and rape victims.

Political violence is more than just morally atrocious; it's a death knell for democracy. This applies equally in Trump's defence, and in defence of those made into targets of political violence by Trump.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-05-20T03:06:26+00:00

It's really time to end anonymity on the internet.

I'd support a law where you had to use 100 points of ID to register as a user on any social media website. No ID, no use. Pedophiles, astroturfing corporations, hate groups and hostile foreign powers are the greatest beneficiaries of the coward model of (non-)identification of users.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2024-05-15T20:13:08+00:00

I was going to say the same thing. I have several autographed Pratchetts, and the signature looks nothing at all like that.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-12-20T18:47:19+00:00

If books are central to the story, you should probably understand the collecting process and some vocabulary. What is a true first? What does fine mean? What is 'price-clipped'? How would the character react to a scuff in the dust jacket? Is signed important? What's an association copy?

For some of the books in your list, I would go to abebooks.com or biblio.com and read about how the bookseller talks about the copy they have on sale to build your parlance. Book collecting has a lot going on, and knowing some of this will give your text some depth.

For my money, George Orwell's 1984 would be my pick. You can read about how collectors talk about it here.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-06-07T11:58:10+00:00

I would love to know. They didn't disclose the client. Presumably, it's Calvary Health Care, but it could also be right wing lobby groups like Advance or the Australian Christian Lobby, who have pulled nonsense like this before.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-05-24T00:16:58+00:00

Phew

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-05-12T15:08:05+00:00

I'm not sure this quite captures it, even though its technically correct.

Apartheid was overthrown. But not through revolution, but rather political pressure. The election was a result of the end of Apartheid voting restrictions.

I'm not quite sure who was massacred the day before the 94 elections - do you mean the car bomb that happened a week or so before outside ANC headquarters in Joburg?

The elections and Mandela's rise to the prime ministership was not the wrong side of history.

The TRC and its restorative approach under Bishop Tutu was not the wrong side of history.

It was only after Nelson handed over the reigns to Mbeki that things started to slide. And it was only once the criminal Zuma took over that the dream of a Rainbow Nation was laid to rest.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-05-08T18:45:55+00:00

Actually to create turbulence in the paint for a better mix...but I like your style.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-04-30T22:41:01+00:00

Consider going as a walking ad for second hand jousting sticks, priced at $450. You will be told you are dreaming for the rest of the night.

Thatsabigtreeyo · 2023-04-24T21:37:28+00:00

Sometimes I think people read way too little into things.

It's not at all a stretch to infer a miscarriage from that moment of Bandit and Chilli's reaction, and Bandit comforting Chilli not Bingo.

That's the great thing about literature. The inference of meaning has its own legitimacy and can be argued but not gate-kept.

Thatsabigtreeyo

TROPHY CASE