Blarghagh

So, essentially what I'm seeing here, if you're a fan of a genre or medium and like good quality, that makes you a racist misogynist because you are a meritocrat. That seem about right?

He was supposed to be a fighter, which was then changed to rogue briefly, and later changed back to fighter.

I have one Heroes of the Storm beta key left to give away if someone wants it.

I just started playing WoW again because I'm an idiot. Then Gorth, that beautiful, beautiful man, gave me one of his backer keys of PoE. Then another friend gave me Rayman Legends, which I never got around to playing. Then War for the Overword, which I backed and forgot about, came out. And now Blizzard invited me to the Heroes of the Storm beta. What am I playing now? Nothing. I've got decision paralysis.

I changed that picture into a link. If it contains profanity that we normally censor, it shouldn't be posted in a picture either.

True, it wouldn't load a couple of hours ago. And a couple of hours before that, and two days ago, and during launch. Dunno what to tell you. Couldn't get anything done for three days because connection kept timing out. It's running like a beast now.

Um, our servers have been overloaded for a week. It's actually downright pleasant now.

Since when is the number of lines of code a factor in how complicated it is?

There's a storm brewing. This morning I had to step off my bike and walk for a bit because the wind practically blew me over. Now all my doors and windows are creaking.

Yeah, this thread is entirely off-topic and I'm not sure if was appropriate before that. I'm closing it before it derails further.

Jeeze, I said Prometheus was awful when it just came out and people fought tooth and nail to prove me wrong, telling me I just didn't get it and didn't appreciate mystery. It's weird seeing all these messages now. XD

Regarding that, I'd just like to once again point out that I'm a volunteer moderator and my views do not neccesarily reflect those of Obsidian. All I'll say is that I feel you're being deliberately obtuse. If you think I answered your question just to stir the pot as it were, that's a very presumptuous thing to do. You put your thoughts out there and I answered them just as you did mine. Nothing more and nothing less. Your interpretation, when I read it, seems the very definition of equivocation. This is not a game "addressing [trans] issues", it is a backer who tried to hard to be funny and hit the ground with all the grace of a sack of doorknobs. At the end of the day, the call is up to Obsidian. I find the content moronic and puerile. Reductive. Simple. Base. It's not going to stop me from playing the game or buying another Obsidian product. Do I think it is wise for the studio to reconsider the content? Sure. Given the realities of development, it's unclear how much of this was just detritus sneaking in through the cracks of a busy rush to whatever the deadline was to have backer content in the game. /shrug That is not what I meant, I simply meant that your reading seems to see more things that are offensive than seem to be here (in the way I see it). I did not mean your post was meant as deliberately creating controversy here on the forum, trolling if you will. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I can jump in and explain to the best of my ability. The main reason is because the implication is the man was so disgusted or shamed that he slept with someone he thought was a biological female that he killed himself. That he found them so repulsive once he knew they were not who he thought, that he would rather die than live. That's pretty harsh and in real life, when these things happen, people actually do die. Namely the transperson who is the victim of a murder. It happens and more than you'd think. Some people know friends who were murdered due to this very issue. Imagine, for a moment, that the "joke" was about race. A man somehow doesn't realize that the person he was sleeping with was of dark skin so he kills himself when he finds out. It would never really get in the game, I'd imagine. And while race and gender are not the same thing, the implications here are enough that Obsidian isn't capitulating by reconsidering the content. It doesn't even matter if a backer put the content in there. If you're working on a project (and I say this as someone who has worked on big projects with Kickstarter backer content to put in game) and you have hundreds of things to input and it's you and one other person or whatever, you might miss a few things because you have a lead or a producer who is saying "We gotta get the backer data in by the next build!". Just because it got in doesn't mean it got in because it was approved necessarily. So, let's review: we have a scenario in the game that isn't necessarily about offense but is also about respectfully approaching a real problem within society and we have no indication that the content was given a stamp of approval outside of whoever's job it was to proof and do the data entry. The content itself has vulgar implications that do the studio a disservice and do a disservice to many customers. There's nothing "pro" about it. That's, I would suggest, a deliberately dishonest read of the content. I am aware of the danger that transgendered people are in, but I feel the limerick makes the transphobic subject of the limerick look like an idiot and a drama queen, and rightfully so. It reflects existing transphobic attitudes... and then mercilessly ridicules that attitude. Nowhere does the limerick imply it is horrifying, simply that the character is an unreasonable idiot for being horrified. Having a transphobic character doesn't make the limerick transphobic. At worst, it could be accused of as "triggering" for transgendered people who live through those real life issues - that may be considered in poor taste, but in no way can anyone with an open mind consider it to be offensive. I, personally, feel your read of the content is what you suggest mine is - deliberately dishonest, trying to create controversy. I can understand that people try to be more sensitive about transgendered issues but that doesn't mean adressing those issues in this manner is transphobic. Insensitive behaviour and discrimination are not the same.

Thread pruned. While I don't believe this lymerick was transphobic myself, the actual transphobia in this thread such as suggesting killing trans people or telling a transwoman to man up is absolutely out of line and will be removed and subject to warnings. Don't let it happen again.

Please, elaborate on your complaint. I want to know exactly why you think this is transphobic. As far as I can tell it makes the straight guy look like a ridiculous drama queen, not insulting the transvestite or transgendered person - it looks like a more pro-trans sentiment than an anti-trans sentiment to me. Also, as someone who knows transvestites and transgenders and knows that these are by far not the same and in fact would find being compared incredibly insulting, not even attempting to differentiate the two in your complaint to me seems heterosexist and transphobic by itself, which is an irony of sorts.

Continued from here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/70851-journalism-and-bias-in-the-gaming-industry/page-28 For the uninitiated: The 'Gamergate' controversy was sparked in early 2013, as the release of Zoe Quinn's "Depression Quest" was criticized from gamers who believed that the game had received a suspicious amount of attention in relation to it's quality and scope. Eron Gjoni (Zoe's ex boyfriend) wrote a blogpost accusing Quinn of having had an affair with Kotaku journalist Grayson, prompting the critics to conclude that the attention and success of "Depression Quest" was due in part to unfair bias and nepotism in the industry. Several articles from both sides of the issue has highlighted inconsistencies in the stories of both Grayson, Quinn and Eron as well as the many other examples that have followed. Gamergate is wideley seen in the public, as a culture war over the diversification of gaming, artistic recognition and social criticism of video games and the gamer social identity. For the posters in this thread: Many bloggers and populists have tried to steer the discussion into areas they feel are the underlying issue - ranging from simple bias, to widespread misogny or misandry. I would however prefer that we keep this discussion as objective and clean as possible and so I will be keeping an a extra close eye on this thread. This certainly does not mean that you may not discuss any issue you feel, but rather that you should be thoughtful of how you discuss it with those you disagree with. Especially in regards to these three guidelines: Discrimination: Obsidian has a zero-tolerance policy with regard to racial, ethnic, gender, religious, disablement, and/or sexually discriminating remarks. Harassment: We ask that the users of this board treat one another with respect, even when opinions differ. Personal attacks that are intended to cause unwanted attention, embarrassment, or harm will not be tolerated. In addition, Obsidian does not tolerate disrespectful and/or slanderous posts about its competitors, developers and publishers. Such posts will be subject to editing or deleting, with its posters censured or banned. Objectionable Content: The use of abusive, vulgar or profane language, even if hidden through the use of symbols or other characters is not tolerated. Intentionally posting workarounds to our language filters are prohibited. Posts may be edited or deleted at any time by the moderation team, and depending on the severity and frequency of said posts, the poster may be censured or banned. Any posts in violation of the Forum Guidelines will either be removed or modified and authors of such posts will receive warnings and/or have their content placed under moderated review.

New part coming up in a few moments. EDIT: New part up here: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/73293-journalism-and-bias-in-the-gaming-industry/ Sorry for the delay, the forum is extremely slow for me right now.

I defy you. But yeah, the admin worked his magic and fixed it.

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm not going to get into the mockery of the democratic process that US politics has become.

Oh, guitar! That explains it. That's how I got my lady.

There was very little shaky-cam in The Kingsman? There were a lot of quick cuts and fast panning shots though.

I always think it's funny that I have apparently absolutely no handle on what's attractive to a woman (not that you represent all women, of course) because I can't imagine how any living creature can find him attractive. His head is ridiculously big and round. Like an ogre. I am so distracted by it whenever he's onscreen that it ruins my suspension of disbelief.

na na NA NA! na na NA NA Na Na nah!

Nothing except the sheer volume anyway.

Indeed. I can't count the amount of times I've heard "I don't like cars but I still watch Top Gear", and I agree with it. I don't see a car show, I see a bunch of car obsessed people who make me laugh. Maybe they did the right thing by firing him (which sounds about right, if he really punched a producer over his food having gotten cold) but if those guys are out then the show might as well call it quits.