BruceVC

Geez why you shouting, ....sorry for asking and being interested

But I thought you studied computer science\programing? Or is this dissertation part of that ?

I appreciate your posts and always have because I fundamentally support the principle of debate which requires people to not share your opinion. So an echo chamber on this forum of everyone agreeing with me ideologically would be boring, I would not learn anything new and most importantly it would destroy the principle of debate and unfortunately I would be forced to leave this forum to find another " Off Topic " section on another gaming website to have these type of debates So I am not being patronizing when I say I dont think I have ever agreed overall with anything you have ever said yet I appreciate your posts. But I mean our ideological and economic discussions, I have agreed with you on other topics and in the gaming section So just to comment on this particular post when the article suggests Both Moscow and Beijing have no illusions that the West is already deploying Hybrid War tactics to discredit and destabilize a government that isn’t even formed and hasn’t even started working. The West doesnt need to undermine or malign the Talibans ability to govern because they have no experience, understanding or interest in even remotely implementing some kind of legitimate Constitutional Democracy or similar government that will address the real rights and aspirations of Afghan citizens. Russia and China dont understand or care about nation building so its irrelevant what they say. Only the West can nation build and even then its not guaranteed but their are successes like Japan, SK and Germany after WW2 So of course Afghanistan is going to fail under the Taliban but not because of naysayers from the West but because of the Taliban and their medieval and anachronistic views and policies This is basically 90-95 % guaranteed

Elerond what dissertation did you do?

OMG !!! That sounds terrible, the people who create studies like that should be prosecuted for defamation of character or something similar? I am glad you let them know you werent happy, let me know if you want me to complain as well. But I will need to read and review the questions and study myself just so my views are based on the study and not anecdotal opinions

I was going to respond how ridiculous anyone is to believe anything that the " new " Taliban say but you did mention the word rhetoric so their is no need Here is the future for Afghan women, personally words and grandstanding arent as important or relevant as actions....that is what really matters https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/world/asia/bombing-school-afghanistan.html

https://www.looper.com/61380/uncomfortable-love-scenes-video-games/ Some members may be aware that I generally support Romance in games but really only in RPG. Romance is just part of party or companion interaction but its not as important as things like quests, party member quests, combat, lore or the narrative Anyway this link made me laugh because it discusses the worst Romance implementations in games ...and some of these these are hilarious because they so silly

Melk do you know I have never played Skyrim but its been on my Steam game library since its release....2011 But I have always had every intention to play it and I will. That is why I replayed Morrowind and will be replaying Oblivion, just to get back into the " Elder Scrolls " mood Anyway I have started preparing myself for my Skyrim experience, I have downloaded 254 Mods and I sometimes review them and remove some of them. So I am committed

That study sounds interesting but what was the outcome or data that you agreed or disagreed with? What was the study saying or not saying because personally I believe gaming has been a life saver for me during the lockdown especially for my mental state because being single, living by yourself and being prevented from socialising can be very tough

Moderators were soft in those days ....not like you Mods nowadays, you guys are like steel But I suppose the huge salaries you receive also helps encourage emotional temperance?

What happened, go into details if you want ? It sounds like a good story

No worries Wormie, your advice has been very useful. You dont need to be an expert on the DS franchise to share anecdotal information because that is what I was also looking for Its interesting how even you are learning new things, the game definitely has complexity I am going to be a Pyro, I will keep you guys updated because I am going start on DS tonight after work or tomorrow in the afternoon....I tend to not work Friday afternoon

True but if you read Hurlshots post the kids in his school are wearing the masks correctly so it can be done But I am not sure I understand your point considering the debate we having? Do you personally think kids must wear masks at schools in most of our countries where the virus level is high and spreading like SA, USA, Mexico,Russia, some EU countries, the whole of South America and most of Africa?

I wanted to say, you know what I really like about your post ? When you mention " he bonfire are not close but neither not far away to became frustrated. You just need to explore as much as possible to not miss any shortcuts, which you can and should open " Thats all I ask from any " hardcore " game like DS, I dont want to get frustrated by being sent too far away when I die and I am more prepared to explore and find meaningful shortcuts and learn about the appropriate strategy to fight bosses so I appreciate you not spoiling anything Thanks Bartie, that is also useful information. I literally know nothing about the DS franchise and I know its easy to research and review guides but I also dont want to spoil the surprise of learning in my gaming journey But now you make me ask a question, I was going to become a Pyro after reading your endorsement which sounds perfect for me. I generally play magic users all the time who have some combat skills But then you mention you shouldnt play magic-only on your first playthrough so based on also what Wormie said about the best initial class being " sword and shield " what class would you recommend Oh and I also generally dont replay games like his . If I complete DS1 I will move onto DS2 so if I will probably only play DS1 once what would your class suggestion be ?

This is a good post to summarize how you feel about volo leaving, I know at the end you and him use to argue about certain points but he did use to generalize about things you didnt say and for some reason he became fixated on you and your views on BLM\Antifa which I never thought was fair and accurate to you because not once can I ever recall you saying things like " its okay for Antifa to kill and attack white people " ....or other things he accused you of But yes for me I just want to make sure he is okay in RL, I asked Gorthfuscious in November 2020 if he had heard from volo and he said volo had logged on so at least he was well back then. But I would still like to know nowadays if he is okay

Do you think kids should wear mask in schools in countries that dont have high level of vaccination and have a high virus load like SA and the USA. In the UK for example masks are optional but they seem to have achieved high levels of vaccination and hospitalizations are down so you can understand their ostensibly controversial health decision This debate for me is not about who is right or wrong because of hubris or from a personal perspective, its about the most effective way to end this terrible, insidious global disease So the question of kids wearing masks should be about the science and the direct impact to the virus spread in all our countries ?

Of course I read the article, I would never waste your time by not reading the article and yes I did Google this particular link. That doesnt mean its not credible and I only posted it because of the exact part of the article you posted The article as you posted it clearly says " However, the presence of high viral loads in infected children does increase the concern that children, even those without symptoms, could readily spread the infection to others." Which is why I stated in my post "and how its very likely they can and do spread the virus " .....you will notice I used the word " likely " on purpose So in fact you doing what you accusing me of.....not doing reading properly and not comprehending So there is no issue and their should be no confusion, the article clearly states that there is a risk of kids spreading the virus. I am not sure why you still questioning that point ?

Gromnir dont feel guilty about Volo leaving the forum, its not your fault ....volo didnt even say goodbye and I was disappointed he left. I use to like volo and appreciated some of his comments. I didnt always agree with what he said and how he repeated certain things but he made debatable points at times But you raise an interesting question, who is the oldest active member on this forum? Is it indeed Amentep ...I would be interested in knowing?

Oh stop being so sensitive, of course we enjoy and value your opinion and views....even if they wrong and dont follow the science But you raised something about the WHO and can we question what they say? Firstly I support the WHO because they part of the UN and they one of several institutions that operate within the auspice of all the good work that the UN does like the World Food Program. Some people question the validity and purpose of the UN because they think the UN is just about the UNSC and the reality of veto outcomes, but the veto system does actually work and is necessary Anyway the point being the UN is about many things and almost all of them are about helping countries in times of crisis and disaster so I do support the WHO But they have said several things during this pandemic I dont agree with so its okay to question them on some things, we dont need to automatically believe everything they say about the virus when its been 18 months since the lockdowns started and Corona became a reality. We can see for ourselves the reality of the virus and how to stop the spread and their are proven methods that work So I am still not sure what you saying when you say " kids dont need to wear masks in schools according to WHO " ......you are welcome to say that as long as you not suggesting that kids dont need to wear masks in schools. This is a relatively easy point to understand and that point is " can kids spread the virus and should they therefore wear masks " Yes, yes, yes they should wear masks, you dont need to believe me but here is a good science based article which I would encourage you read to understand the risk to kids and how its very likely they can and do spread the virus https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-outbreak-and-kids

No idea, what do you mean? You little tease....now Im blushing

This is a good point and an even better analogy, I am going to use this is going forward in RL discussions The earthquake example is a simple way to explain the speed of vaccine creation

Congratulations, its always nice to lose some weight and feel good about ourselves

You sound surprised ? Dont be, this is the new Taliban and they said they respect human rights.....I heard they cant wait to see their first LGBT marriage

@213374U Yes thanks Elerond, 2133 you wrong about that one Im afraid. Children can and should wear masks at schools especially where their is high virus load. Its common sense but we all acknowledge you cant expect kids to keep them on all the time or really expect them to

Thanks for sharing Wormie, very informative I think I am just going to start playing DS1 and then once I understand more about the mechanics I may have additional questions. What in your opinion is the easiest class for newbies to start on ?