While We Wait: Part 4

[Symphony D.]

How about "supernova" in the context of White Dwarfs that got too big?

"Look at me, I like pointing out additional circumstances at every opportunity to appear witty!"

 

[Daftpanzer]

Personally, I find the cult to be, alas, shameless fun and amusement.

I strongly agree! I know that when I joined, nothing stopped me jumping right in and modding an agonisingly over-complex NES without actually playing anything first. I knew some names from the Stories and Tales, but I can't say I was in awe of anyone here. Of course I later gained respect for other mods by realising how time-consuming a task it can be.

teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all the earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom.

@das, may I put that quote that in my signature? Also I don't know what you look like (if you have a physical form), so will be offering worship to a giant statue of a polar bear, I hope thats OK

My Theory

All Mods of NESes create new universe per NES. Failed universes go Supernova. Successful ones survive. Most branch from differant chances of the world, different astorids causing different land masses, moons, planets and such. We are all GODS in out games. MOD is short of GOD and whole worlds can be freezed to the Mod's liking.

I think Charles has a great point!

My theory is similar: You don't get something from nothing. This universe started as a single point of energy and, if you have metaphysical leanings, you might say a point of consciousness also. You might also call this thing 'god'.

The thing is, nothing was created separate from 'god'. 'god' had to build things out of itself, because its not like there were any external materials lying around. And I would say, any state of consciousness, however great or small, is part of the a greater collective consciousness on 'some' level, all connected together 'somehow'.

The reason NESing is fun, is the same reason 'god' had fun creating the universe we live in. It also explains why there is suffering in the world. Our NESes are full of wars and tragedies and challenges, because it wouldn't be fun otherwise. We don't have NESes about carebear land.

Like players in NESes, we have freedom of action within set parameters and rules. I believe that morality is a human invention, and 'god' is totally beyond morality and judgement. We have free reign to torture murder and kill, though we might find that contempt of others ultimately leads to contempt of ourselves, and weakness. Preying on other people also leads to dependency on them, which is also weakness. Strength comes from being able to stand up independent of others, and/or being able to cooperate honestly with like-minded people for common goals which strengthen both parties.

So, we have creations creating more creations, and endless games within games. The fun for 'god' is seeing what we do, what choices we make and how everything evolves over time. For great justice.

 

[LightFang]

Stop, stop! You did it again! I don't EVER want to hear the word "supernova" in the context of anything that is not a Blue Giant Star. I expect it from Charles--I expect better from you. It's like saying "Lulz and the lasers big banged the planet rofl " and it makes me want to beat your face in.

That's what it said in the book, exactly. That doesn't make it right, only that those exact words are used in the book. In the future I'll add [sic] when mentioning it then, sheesh.

 

[Birdjaguar]

For that matter, how do all of you (other mods) feel about das' cult of personality? Iggy? Bird? Fulton?

Yeah, but part of that is the whole mystical tradition we've built around the moderating business. It's all connected: hero worship of moderators, veneration of moderating, elitist exclusion of some from moderation.

Honestly, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm just making this up as I go along. I don't see why new players can't.

I think that what attracts players to Mods like, Iggy, das, NK, Thre Farrow etc. is that they are all determined to create a good game for the players. Each has his own way of doing so. das' expertise with alt history, NK's maps etc. But on those foundations, they all build great fun. I think players count on them to sustain their games for more than a few updates, and that is important to a great game.

As NK said "I'm just making this up as I go along." That creativity and the willingness to persist with the very hard work it takes to manage a good game.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Oh yes, Abaddon, I am so intensely jealous of the blind praise das receives. I too would love to bask in the adoration of people who routinely prove themselves to be slothful, complacent, incompetent, and unmotivated--so much so that they view any example of effort, skill, reliability, or brilliance, no matter how mundane in factuality, to be "godlike." Truly, I am a shade of emerald right now. If you look carefully enough at the western horizon, you might even be able to see a faint glow...

The only benefit to being "respected" to such a level is that people listen to what you say. The thing is that it's that "nod your head and say yes" type of listening, not "I understand what you say and wish to intelligently articulate an opinion on it."

That's just plain beyond the grasp, by nature or intent, of most people here. Your "respect" and "admiration" are generally worth precious little to me as a result, as I can shovel just about any kind of crap in front of you, and so long as it's shiny enough, you'll think it's mana from heaven and sing my praises until kingdom come. Just as is done for anyone else who shows some basic degree of capability.

It's not real respect, it's just brown-nosing, shameless flattery. It's also quite disgusting to the people who receive it if they have a shred of self-decency about themselves, because it's so fake and stupid. So, really, it's idiotic behavior, and I'm quite fine with mocking it. If you'd like to try moar at being a troll, feel free.

It's unfortunate that when you see genuine respect you choose to take such a negative view of it.

Well, how did you feel about das' "cult of personality" when you started modding a long, long time ago?

For that matter, how do all of you (other mods) feel about das' cult of personality? Iggy? Bird? Fulton?

Personally, I find the cult to be, alas, shameless fun and amusement. I'm sure if das wanted one, he could sprout an alter-ego and have himself worship himself

Do I have a cult of personality?

 

[Symphony D.]

It's unfortunate that when you see genuine respect you choose to take such a negative view of it.

... because it wasn't genuine, yes. There's a line between respect and being a fanboy. Calling somebody godlike crosses over it.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I'm pretty sure that most people are joking when they make references like that.

 

[Symphony D.]

I'm pretty sure that most people are joking when they make references like that.

With the idolization of people that goes on these days, I wouldn't be so sure. And if it's a joke, it's not very respectful, is it? The only time you see overstatement like that is really for specific instances ("Man, you totally owned that guy! You're the bomb, dawg!") or for familial/intimate situations ("World's best dad!"). To see it as a continual pattern is just weird, and strongly hints at fanboyism ("Nuh uh, Xbox roxors Wii! What kind of name is that anyway? They called it that because its quality is like piss! rofl!").

So if it is genuine, it's on the low end of good choices, and this is the Internet, so interpreting it as bad is not hard. Particularly when it's Luckymoose who loves saying things like "The Confederacy was OK," and "Global warming is some future kid's problem, not mine!"

 

[Neverwonagame3]

I largely agree with Symphony D here.

 

[Birdjaguar]

... because it wasn't genuine, yes. There's a line between respect and being a fanboy. Calling somebody godlike crosses over it.

Respect is in the eye of the beholder. Your standards for what constitutes respect are yours and yours alone. The fact that people don't measure up to your standards doesn't mean they can't hold people in respect. You choose to differentiate between 'respect' and 'fanboy'. That is an artificial distinction you choose to make. Your objection to 'godlike' is again just your objection to a choice of words. The way a person chooses to express respect should not diminish the respect offered. IMNSHO, I suggest that when anyone offers a show of respect, in any fashion, however poorly worded or misplaced, the appropriate response is "Thank you".

You have very high and demanding standards. Few will live up to them. You can force everyone to live up to them to gain your respect, and have few friends, or you can accept that for most people, your standards are out of reach and learn to respect them for what they can do well and say thank you more often.

 

[Thlayli]

The relative popularity of a mod is linked to one thing, and one thing alone: Consistency.

Das is the most consistent moderator in NESing history on a long-term basis, and therefore he is also the most popular.

 

[Symphony D.]

Respect is in the eye of the beholder. Your standards for what constitutes respect are yours and yours alone.

My standards are based on years of experience in utilizing the medium on which we are communicating. Were it not for the fact that it is relatively well-known that das is widely liked, the most likely interpretation of a statement like "Godlike? He is a god," is actually deadpan sarcasm.

I am also not alone in my standards of categorizing excessive overstatement of one's attributes to have negative associations, otherwise the words and phrases "sycophant," "flattery," "suck-up," "brown-noser," "teacher's pet," and so forth would not exist in the English lexicon. Perhaps my judgment was wrong, and it was simply a joke as Lord_Iggy suggests. However, that does not reduce the oddity of its usage, or the fact that when it comes to complimentary accolades, there is distinction between "enough" and "too much," and that the typical human response to such excess is disgust or disdain.

If you do not perceive this distinction, that makes you the one with interesting standards. That's not to say they're wrong, but I am certainly not the one in the minority here.

 

[das]

@das, may I put that quote that in my signature?

I'm afraid you will have to ask the zombiefied version of H. P. Lovecraft for permission first.

 

[Birdjaguar]

If you do not perceive this distinction, that makes you the one with interesting standards. That's not to say they're wrong, but I am certainly not the one in the minority here.

In the NES forum, my standards are quite simple: unless otherwise indicated, I pretty much accept what anyone says as genuine. If I get it wrong, I get it wrong. There are worse things in life than being wrong.

 

[Abaddon]

I call someone here godlike for whatever the hell I like, how you choose to interpret it is your own problem not mine.

 

[Neverwonagame3]

You should not exaggerate that much- in modern language, godlike is comparing a person to omnipotence. Words lose their impact too quickly nowadays.

divine: appropriate to or befitting a god; "the divine strength of Achilles"; "a man of godlike sagacity"; "man must play God for he has acquired ...
divine: being or having the nature of a god; "the custom of killing the divine king upon any serious failure of his...powers"-J.G.Frazier; "the divine will"; "the divine capacity for love"; "'Tis wise to learn; 'tis God-like to create"-J.G.Saxe
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

 

[Birdjaguar]

I call someone here godlike for whatever the hell I like, how you choose to interpret it is your own problem not mine.

I support Abaddon in this, especially since it is a NESing forum where we all get to play all kinds of roles. There are other places in CFC where it would be less appropriate. Hyperbole is just fine in my book.

 

[Daftpanzer]

I'm afraid you will have to ask the zombiefied version of H. P. Lovecraft for permission first.

I know a little about H. P. Lovecraft's books from my elder brother who was (and still is) into role-playing games. Lovecraft seems to have been a big inspiration for lots of roleplaying stuff. Though It seems to me that he was a little too pessimistic about everything.

 

[Luckymoose]

I wish I receive respect sometimes, but it all just comes crashing down when you let people down. Everyone has a unique 'ability' as a mod, das has the ability to attract everyone to a single point for a short, albeit amazing on average experience, Daft has the ability to keep groups of people eager for his masterworks for months on end. It's not just the elite who get this 'flattery', any mod should and needs to receive respect if they provide a fun gaming environment for the players. That was off topic.

 

[das]

You should not exaggerate that much- in modern language, godlike is comparing a person to omnipotence. Words lose their impact too quickly nowadays.

I agree with that wholeheartedly, for the record. Word inflation is widespread and detrimental to human communication, and we must all do our part to combat it.

I know a little about H. P. Lovecraft's books from my elder brother who was (and still is) into role-playing games. Lovecraft seems to have been a big inspiration for lots of roleplaying stuff. Though It seems to me that he was a little too pessimistic about everything.

Well, yes, but that's arguably a requirement if you want some sheer cosmic horror.

das has the ability to attract everyone to a single point for a short, albeit amazing on average experience

Well-put, actually. That seems to be my main strength more than anything else, at least until I reclaim my update speed/persistence. Ideally it should allow me to carry out new experiments that would be somewhat more difficult for many, though not all, others to make into viable NESes (then again, it's not as though there haven't been some fairly promising experiments lately that failed or stagnated not through lack of popular support but due to the disappearance of their mods, and/or sheer laziness).