Do you use Facebook, fictionpuss? No I'm not asking you to friend me or anything. (Nothing personal, just the less my lives overlap, the better)
I'm just wondering if you know of this little aberration known as FARMVILLE.
It's simple enough, like Sim City, but there's something kind of wrong about it. Every so often, some destitute Aesop's Fable cast out wanders into your farm. Black sheep, ugly Ducklings, Pink Cows (WTF?!?), and you're supposed to take pity on them and take them in.
Is this where people are driven to keep their self esteem up? Really, does this make them feel good about themselves, masturbatorially accepting the cast offs of the fake world to assuage their guilt at being horrible otherwise? People who do this remind me a LOT of these "1 and only 1 good deed a month" Christians we see around. The kind who hold up a line at a grocery store letting a bluehair in ahead of a line of 10 people. You know, the ones who nearly get you killed when they decide they're going to let some schmuck into traffic, then act all haughty when you tell them how bad they nearly fucked themselves and everyone else in pursuit of their little ego boost.
Explain this shit, because I'm feeling too sane for it all of a sudden.
Hey Richter,
I wish I could give you the time for a proper and full response right now, I'm just so busy all the time lately, so please accept this token gesture.
I hadn't heard about FARMVILLE, but from your description I'm reminded of another facebook app - VOLUNTEER SUPERSTAR. It's where you get to list, in order of preference, all of the charities and organisations you would contribute time and effort to if only everything wasn't so hectic in our modern lives now. Your friends contribute "sympathy votes" to your causes - we all know how much it hurts to be helplessly tied up in our lives while there is still suffering somewhere on this planet.
Every month the person with the most "sympathy votes" wins an all expenses paid VIP day out where they have a celebrity makeover and get to see some of the good work their cause does. It culminates in dinner to discuss current issues with someone important like Bono or Alex Baldwin. They even get to experience what it's like to volunteer for an hour. But it's all funded via advertising, so it's a win/win - without the combined effort of all those people involved on that Facebook app, none of this good work would get accomplished.
Meaning can be found wherever you look for it, so maybe you should just chill and spend more time on Facebook, and maybe then you'll get it? Childish games like FARMVILLE may seem frivolous at first, but they do an important job teaching the fundamental life-skills of how to start fitting real compassion into our frantic schedules. Eventually a fraction of those people will be able to level up towards something significant like VOLUNTEER SUPERSTAR.
This is our world now, where we make a real difference, one Facebook app at a time. TWEET ME BACK.
:asplode:
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 03:15:44 PM
This is our world now, where we make a real difference, one Facebook app at a time. TWEET ME BACK.
:facepalm:
I find both concepts to be revolting in the Pinkest possible way. It's like those fucktards who tell you to "VISUALIZE WORLD PEACE". Hell, why DO something for a REAL person, when you can PRETEND or just WANT IT?
Makes me puke.
You know where it's going to go next?
Toll booth confessionals, to absolve you of your driving sins
Pink Cancer awareness dollars, so you can show support every time you spend.
We're going to have people workign as Pardoner's again, but they'll have doctorates, take insurance, and charge co-pays
Absolution and Rigteousness packaged and hit out like drugs. Like watching the hard - charging housewives and pious bachelors emerge from bible study (all bright, tall and thinkign they're holy) to join the rest of the congregation.
FUCK YOU ALL.
YOUR BELEIF MAKES ME SICK
YOUR SLACK AMKES ME SICK
THE SANITIZED PABLUM LABELED FUN, AND THE CLUMBSY MISDIRECTION YOU CALL "NEWS MEDIA" MAKES ME SICK.
YOU'RE DRINKIGN FROM A VENTI CUP OF SHIT AND HAPPY BECASUE YOU'VE BEEN TOLD IT'S YO MILKSHAKE!
Good Lord, they broke Richter.
TGRR,
Has never seen Richter type that badly.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 03:35:37 PM
I find both concepts to be revolting in the Pinkest possible way. It's like those fucktards who tell you to "VISUALIZE WORLD PEACE". Hell, why DO something for a REAL person, when you can PRETEND or just WANT IT?
Makes me puke.
You should check out POSER POKE, which is a Facebook App you can use to "poke" people on your friends list whom you suspect of not caring about certain issues enough, even though they might write frequent status updates about them. It collates all of the anonymous pokes and uses statistical filtering to determine who is posing and who isn't - it has a reported 100% accuracy so far. Posers have a "stinky tomato" gift of shame to place on their profile for a week.
Oh, dear lord. Fictionpuss is on a roll.
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 03:58:23 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 03:35:37 PM
I find both concepts to be revolting in the Pinkest possible way. It's like those fucktards who tell you to "VISUALIZE WORLD PEACE". Hell, why DO something for a REAL person, when you can PRETEND or just WANT IT?
Makes me puke.
You should check out POSER POKE, which is a Facebook App you can use to "poke" people on your friends list whom you suspect of not caring about certain issues enough, even though they might write frequent status updates about them. It collates all of the anonymous pokes and uses statistical filtering to determine who is posing and who isn't - it has a reported 100% accuracy so far. Posers have a "stinky tomato" gift of shame to place on their profile for a week.
You're joking. Please.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 03:58:03 PM
Good Lord, they broke Richter.
TGRR,
Has never seen Richter type that badly.
Thinking about it long and hard, I may have to hurl. My co workers, they'll ask, and I'll have to tell them it's the world that's sick, not me. That will not go over well, so I'm switching to tea, and taking 5 away from writing rants.
Quote from: Richter on October 28, 2009, 04:21:54 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 03:58:03 PM
Good Lord, they broke Richter.
TGRR,
Has never seen Richter type that badly.
Thinking about it long and hard, I may have to hurl. My co workers, they'll ask, and I'll have to tell them it's the world that's sick, not me. That will not go over well, so I'm switching to tea, and taking 5 away from writing rants.
Don't try to teach them, Richter. Look what they did to Jesus and MLK and Gandhi and Curly.
Quote from: Richter on October 28, 2009, 03:54:31 PM
You know where it's going to go next?
Toll booth confessionals, to absolve you of your driving sins
Pink Cancer awareness dollars, so you can show support every time you spend.
We're going to have people workign as Pardoner's again, but they'll have doctorates, take insurance, and charge co-pays
Absolution and Rigteousness packaged and hit out like drugs. Like watching the hard - charging housewives and pious bachelors emerge from bible study (all bright, tall and thinkign they're holy) to join the rest of the congregation.
FUCK YOU ALL.
YOUR BELEIF MAKES ME SICK
YOUR SLACK AMKES ME SICK
THE SANITIZED PABLUM LABELED FUN, AND THE CLUMBSY MISDIRECTION YOU CALL "NEWS MEDIA" MAKES ME SICK.
YOU'RE DRINKIGN FROM A VENTI CUP OF SHIT AND HAPPY BECASUE YOU'VE BEEN TOLD IT'S YO MILKSHAKE!
Well as you point out, cheap absolution (at nearest market value), is not a new concept. It's as old as sacrificing that annoying virgin in the name of whichever god you think is punishing you for whatever sin. It's about minimising effort and maximising payoff.
The ones who take it further are the ones with the most to fear. And maybe the fear that if you don't help out at the soup-kitchen then someone will go hungry is enough of a fear to spend an evening a week doing so. But it sure isn't frightening enough for most people.
So while it makes me sick too to see token gestures of activism "Sign my guestbook to make a real difference", I do have an eventual hope that as these things are online they can be collated and counted and at some point in the not to distant future when we start performing more democratic/governance functions online.. taking just a few seconds out to record your opinion may be able to have an actual impact.
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:24:08 PM
"Sign my guestbook to make a real difference",
:cramstipated:
HOW DOES THAT FREEDOM™ TASTE, KIDS?
WHAT? YOU WANT
MORE SLACK™?
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:14:19 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 03:58:23 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 03:35:37 PM
I find both concepts to be revolting in the Pinkest possible way. It's like those fucktards who tell you to "VISUALIZE WORLD PEACE". Hell, why DO something for a REAL person, when you can PRETEND or just WANT IT?
Makes me puke.
You should check out POSER POKE, which is a Facebook App you can use to "poke" people on your friends list whom you suspect of not caring about certain issues enough, even though they might write frequent status updates about them. It collates all of the anonymous pokes and uses statistical filtering to determine who is posing and who isn't - it has a reported 100% accuracy so far. Posers have a "stinky tomato" gift of shame to place on their profile for a week.
You're joking. Please.
Of course, isn't that the point of the "Hey XXX" letters where you exagerrate some element of reality into fiction, in this case non-existent bolded Facebook Apps which sound frighteningly plausible?
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
Of course, isn't that the point of the "Hey XXX" letters where you exagerrate some element of reality into fiction,
I wasn't.
Is that bad?
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:28:09 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
Of course, isn't that the point of the "Hey XXX" letters where you exagerrate some element of reality into fiction,
I wasn't.
Is that bad?
:x
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:29:34 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:28:09 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
Of course, isn't that the point of the "Hey XXX" letters where you exagerrate some element of reality into fiction,
I wasn't.
Is that bad?
:x
Look back on what you wrote. You made fiction, but it's the same sentiment.
Isn't it all too plausible?
You grabbed them meme underlying them, but can you smell the filth behind it yet?
This is good shit. GOOD.
We are living in the Strange Times.
A question; has anyone done a crazy-ass biblical-style interpretation of the PD to figure out exactly when Bureaucracy ends and Aftermath begins, and would the Strange Times be an indication of the end of Bureaucracy? Because if they haven't, I'm saying we need to Lo5 it to match up with December 23, 2012.
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:29:34 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:28:09 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
Of course, isn't that the point of the "Hey XXX" letters where you exagerrate some element of reality into fiction,
I wasn't.
Is that bad?
:x
Being aware of your surroundings can be hazardous if you live in a sick society. Being UNAWARE can be WORSE, because our culture will still drive you mad, but you won't see it happening until it's too late.
Quote from: Richter on October 28, 2009, 04:34:13 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:29:34 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:28:09 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
Of course, isn't that the point of the "Hey XXX" letters where you exagerrate some element of reality into fiction,
I wasn't.
Is that bad?
:x
Look back on what you wrote. You made fiction, but it's the same sentiment.
Isn't it all too plausible?
You grabbed them meme underlying them, but can you smell the filth behind it yet?
Well as I said earlier in the thread, I don't think the "filth" is anything new.
People used to pray, and now we blog. Church groups and coffee mornings used to be a primary form of information exchange, now we post funny pictures on forums.
What is new is that we have a chance of combining and amplifying these otherwise lost wishes and desires and thoughts into something concrete. The question I have is will this be better than what came before it? Because it's coming soon - gosh darn, there's plenty of money to be made in doing so.
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:55:08 PM
Well as I said earlier in the thread, I don't think the "filth" is anything new.
I think you're mistaken, FP. I'm old enough to remember a time when things were different. Still crazy, but not AS crazy.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:57:33 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:55:08 PM
Well as I said earlier in the thread, I don't think the "filth" is anything new.
I think you're mistaken, FP. I'm old enough to remember a time when things were different. Still crazy, but not AS crazy.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag... I see people expressing commonality of values in different ways, with little more effort than dictated by community minimum. Why go to Church when you can buy a prius, if it's more effective at informing your neighbours as to your beliefs?
Unless you are referring to a filth that I am too deeply mired in to see.
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 05:14:55 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 04:57:33 PM
Quote from: fictionpuss on October 28, 2009, 04:55:08 PM
Well as I said earlier in the thread, I don't think the "filth" is anything new.
I think you're mistaken, FP. I'm old enough to remember a time when things were different. Still crazy, but not AS crazy.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag... I see people expressing commonality of values in different ways, with little more effort than dictated by community minimum. Why go to Church when you can buy a prius, if it's more effective at informing your neighbours as to your beliefs?
Unless you are referring to a filth that I am too deeply mired in to see.
Just wait, FP...you're fairly new to this, at least by some standards. The longer you look, the more you'll see, and you can't ever, ever UN-SEE it. The rabbit hole is deep, and the characters aren't as benign as Lewis Carrol portrayed them. There's some really awful shit down there, FP - there's some laughs, too, don't ever forget that - and you have to decide whether or not you really want to look.
But you already made that decision. You can't un-decide it. Buckle up.
The craziness has, indeed, ramped up at an astonishing and kind of entertaining rate, and it's continuing to do so.
Quote from: Nigel on October 28, 2009, 05:23:49 PM
The craziness has, indeed, ramped up at an astonishing and kind of entertaining rate, and it's continuing to do so.
Someone tell Warren Ellis to get out of the director's studio, please.
Good luck. Alan Moore stole the doorknob.
Quote from: Richter on October 28, 2009, 05:31:57 PM
Good luck. Alan Moore stole the doorknob.
Somehow, the horrormirth pic no longer carries enough weight for my response.
Don't forget the Facebook Causes (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/) application, where you can let your friends know that you are doing SOMETHING about IMPORTANT STUFF. Do you want to help cure breast cancer (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/62792/86469043), stop animal abuse (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/369264/55417244), stop global warming (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/24), or keep CHRIST in Christmas (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/41415)? There's an app for that.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on October 28, 2009, 05:33:23 PM
Somehow, the horrormirth pic no longer carries enough weight for my response.
Here's one I made, but I'm not sure if it will help. (http://imgur.com/CV6Sb.gif)