Other Random question of the day: The Discussions

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

AlexneushoornTheGreat wait, as opposed to using what? I was unfamiliar with the term AC adapter, but wikipedia says it's basically just another term for battery charger.

Oh, a YouTuber I know has a lot of video game consoles that use AC adapters, basically power connectors that use huge box things for a head, and those box things take up a lot of room in an electric outlet compared to a smaller plug. That's what I was referring to.

 

[Idea]

Oh, a YouTuber I know has a lot of video game consoles that use AC adapters, basically power connectors that use huge box things for a head, and those box things take up a lot of room in an electric outlet compared to a smaller plug. That's what I was referring to.

Sure, but again, as opposed to what? Like what would be the alternative you have in mind?

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Sure, but again, as opposed to what? Like what would be the alternative you have in mind?

This is what I'm referring to. This takes up less room in an electric outlet compared to a box thing.

 

[Idea]

I see

 

[Scoundrel]

View attachment 1029372
This is what I'm referring to. This takes up less room in an electric outlet compared to a box thing.

But that doesn't convert AC energy though?

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

But that doesn't convert AC energy though?

Well, the YouTuber I know always refers to plugs with huge box things for a head as AC adapters, and seeing as he's more knowledgeable about electronics than I am, I just figured that plugs with a smaller head huge AC energy too.

 

[Idea]

Risotto about your answer on random question of the day: How so?

 

[Risotto]

Risotto about your answer on random question of the day: How so?

Red massively misrepresents the Lokasenna as Loki "calling out the Aesir on their failings and sins and how they like to heap blame on him while they're just as bad as he is". The wording on this, and the fact that it's prefaced by Red talking about how the myths paints the Aesir in a negative light as they break their oaths, cheats their way out of debts, etc, makes it seem like Loki is pointing out great character flaws in the Aesir.

But the Lokasenna is mostly a flyting between Loki and the rest of the gods. The failings of the Aesir Loki "calls out" is things like the women being promiscuous and the men being cucks. The only thing that comes close to being anything like what Red implies is when Loki says that Odin often gives victory in battle to the unworthy. But Odin readily admits to this (which contradicts a later point in the video where Red says that Loki serves as a scapegoat so the Aesir can maintain their perceived flawlessness).

Also, Red doesn't include the context of Loki's flyting. The Lokesenna starts with him getting thrown out of a feast for murdering one the attendants out of jealousy, then getting bitter and using his status as blood-brother to Odin to get invinted back in. At which point he rather passive-aggressively makes a toast to all the Aesir except for Bragi (who, earlier in the poem, objected to Loki getting let in again) on the basis of him being a coward. This results in Bragi insulting Loki, Loki insulting him back and another one of the god steps in to defend Bragi only for Loki to insult that god and yet another god to step in and so on and on.

While it's true that Loki ends up chained up at the end up the poem, but given the context and content of the Lokasenna I don't think it's a reasonable claim to say that's because, as Red puts it, "he told The Aesir a truth they didn't want to hear". I mean, at one point in the poem he boldly admits to killing Balder.

Edit: Also,Red stresses that Loki is never "proved wrong" about his accusations but also fails to address that most of the myths referenced in Lokasenna are lost to time and only referenced in Lokasenna so it's kind of hard to judge how accurate his claims were.

Edit: Furthermore, I know Red willfully misrepresented the content of the poem because in her video on the Eddas she gives a much more accurate summary of it.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Idea The YouTube channel Animeme, a channel dedicated to animating memes once did a video on the Actual Advice Mallard meme, and one of the memes featured in the video was this one:



I don't exactly get the idea behind separating the period and comma size from the text size myself either, but given the idea behind the Actual Advice Mallard, you'd say that it does the job?

 

[Idea]

Idea The YouTube channel Animeme, a channel dedicated to animating memes once did a video on the Actual Advice Mallard meme, and one of the memes featured in the video was this one:

View attachment 1036124

I don't exactly get the idea behind separating the period and comma size from the text size myself either, but given the idea behind the Actual Advice Mallard, you'd say that it does the job?

At the face of it? No. It seems like advice for people who don't want to write more, whereas reducing the font to make something longer would require you write more.

What could be the case however, is that there is an underlying assumption that it is mandatory to write in 12-point font (for the text), and the actual advice is to increase just dots and commas font to make it less noticeable. That would explain why the dot/comma are suggested for a different font size.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

At the face of it? No. It seems like advice for people who don't want to write more, whereas reducing the font to make something longer would require you write more.

What could be the case however, is that there is an underlying assumption that it is mandatory to write in 12-point font (for the text), and the actual advice is to increase just dots and commas font to make it less noticeable. That would explain why the dot/comma are suggested for a different font size.

Ah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Perhaps that's what the creator of the video was going for when they put that meme into the video.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

For today's question, I also have an example of my own, which I will list here as to not clog up the main thread with discussion.

Anyway, three concepts that movies/TV shows/video games have ruined for me are werewolves, knights and Arthurian legends. The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has ruined all of these things for me, with Sonic Unleashed ruining the concept of werewolves for me and Sonic and the Black Knight ruining the concept of knights and Arthurian legends for me. Both of these games have given me a burning hatred for werewolves, knights and Arthurian legends. I am not a fan of Sonic not wearing gloves and losing his trademark speed in his werewolf form, and I am certainly not a fan of Sonic using a weapon in combat, so usually when I see things related to werewolves, knights or Arthurian legends, I am reminded of Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight, and as a result, the Sonic franchise has ruined the concept of werewolves, knights and Arthurian legends for me. I know it sounds rather petty, but that is just how it is for me.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Idea By rightful, I mean as in that the game developers purposely add creepy and unsettling elements to an evil route in their game because the evil route is not the recommended route of the game.

One example I can give on the matter is when you do a Genocide playthrough in Undertale, whenever you manage to kill all of the monsters in an area of the Underground, creepy and unsettling music will play as you make your way to the area boss, and upon killing Flowey after reaching the throne room of Asgore's castle, creepy and unsettling sounds can be heard, and regardless of the choice you pick when encountering Chara, you're provided with a creepy and unsettling vibe. To me, these are all signs that Toby Fox intended for the evil (Genocide) route to not be the recommended route to take in the game, and if you do decide to take this route, the creepy and unsettling elements are likely there to judge you for taking the route. At least, that's the vibe I get from game developers that do this when adding an evil route to their games.

 

[Idea]

Idea By rightful, I mean as in that the game developers purposely add creepy and unsettling elements to an evil route in their game because the evil route is not the recommended route of the game.

One example I can give on the matter is when you do a Genocide playthrough in Undertale, whenever you manage to kill all of the monsters in an area of the Underground, creepy and unsettling music will play as you make your way to the area boss, and upon killing Flowey after reaching the throne room of Asgore's castle, creepy and unsettling sounds can be heard, and regardless of the choice you pick when encountering Chara, you're provided with a creepy and unsettling vibe. To me, these are all signs that Toby Fox intended for the evil (Genocide) route to not be the recommended route to take in the game, and if you do decide to take this route, the creepy and unsettling elements are likely there to judge you for taking the route. At least, that's the vibe I get from game developers that do this when adding an evil route to their games.

I can't really comment on that specific example... Though yeah, a game designer can do it if they want to and I don't think it's inherently wrong to do so, but neither do I feel they have any obligation to do it. Naturally though, execution is a big factor here. In some games it might be the whole point of an evil route that you're taking the "wrong path", and it might gel with the themes and nature of the game very well. In other cases though the creators may just be being hollier-than-thou and end up shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

I can't really comment on that specific example... Though yeah, a game designer can do it if they want to and I don't think it's inherently wrong to do so, but neither do I feel they have any obligation to do it. Naturally though, execution is a big factor here. In some games it might be the whole point of an evil route that you're taking the "wrong path", and it might gel with the themes and nature of the game very well. In other cases though the creators may just be being hollier-than-thou and end up shooting themselves in the foot.

That's a fair point. I'm personally not a fan of games where the plot changes depending on the choices you make throughout the game and also affect the ending you get when you beat the game. The Honor system in Red Dead Redemption 2 is a big reason why I quit the game only about an hour or so into the story, because I don't like that your choices throughout the game affect the ending you get when you beat the game. Sure, it might gel with the nature and themes of the game, depending on the game itself, but I don't like that some game developers such as Rockstar have this holier than thou attitude when making the endings for their games. When I play a game, I want to make sure that I get a satisfactory ending regardless of what I have done on my journey towards that ending, and when my choices end up getting me a bad ending, especially when I play a game blind without any outside information, that just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Idea]

That's a fair point. I'm personally not a fan of games where the plot changes depending on the choices you make throughout the game and also affect the ending you get when you beat the game. The Honor system in Red Dead Redemption 2 is a big reason why I quit the game only about an hour or so into the story, because I don't like that your choices throughout the game affect the ending you get when you beat the game. Sure, it might gel with the nature and themes of the game, depending on the game itself, but I don't like that some game developers such as Rockstar have this holier than thou attitude when making the endings for their games. When I play a game, I want to make sure that I get a satisfactory ending regardless of what I have done on my journey towards that ending, and when my choices end up getting me a bad ending, especially when I play a game blind without any outside information, that just rubs me the wrong way.

That's fair enough. I think a counter-argument though is that if your choices don't affect the gameplay/plot/ending, then one could argue and/or feel that they don't matter at all. This isn't limited to the likes of morality of course, but it can be linked to it as well. Sometimes it may also simply be a matter of tone - a goodie two shoes approach might be more suited for a lighter tone whereas an "evil" route might call for a darker tone, depending on what actions and choices exactly define which is which.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

That's fair enough. I think a counter-argument though is that if your choices don't affect the gameplay/plot/ending, then one could argue and/or feel that they don't matter at all. This isn't limited to the likes of morality of course, but it can be linked to it as well. Sometimes it may also simply be a matter of tone - a goodie two shoes approach might be more suited for a lighter tone whereas an "evil" route might call for a darker tone, depending on what actions and choices exactly define which is which.

Yeah, I think that's also a fair assessment. If a choice doesn't have any effect on the gameplay/plot/ending, then there probably wasn't much of a point of adding the choice in the first place. Some games like GTA IV have a lot of multiple choice scenarios where the choices you make during missions can open up optional missions or grant you access to other features in the game. For example, if you choose to spare Dwayne Forge during The Holland Play, you gain a new safehouse and an option to become friends with Dwayne. Or if you choose to kill Francis McReary during Blood Brothers, the next mission becomes much easier to complete. While GTA IV doesn't have a happy ending regardless of which ending you choose, I still feel that it matters which ending you choose because the Deal ending is much darker and sadder than the Revenge ending.

I think it honestly depends on the game whether having your choices affect the gameplay/plot/ending works or doesn't work. I also think it's a matter of opinion whether it works or not. For one person like myself, I don't like games where your choices affect the gameplay/plot/ending because if you're doing a blind playthrough of the game and you end up getting a bad ending on your blind playthrough, you're naturally gonna be mad. Sure, one might argue that getting a bad ending on your blind playthrough due to the choices you made is a good motivation to push you to get the good ending on your next playthrough, but in my opinion I find it better to get the good ending on your blind playthrough the first time regardless of the choices you made. Again, that might ruin the purpose of having the choices in the first place, but that's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make.

Another person might say that the ending of the game shouldn't matter and that it's the journey towards that ending is what truly matters. As a result, that person doesn't care about whether their choices affect the gameplay, plot or ending and instead use the accomplishment of a bad ending on their first playthrough as motivation to push themselves to get the good ending on their next playthrough as I mentioned earlier.

So at the end of the day, I think the answer to yesterday's question depends on the person, it depends on the game, it depends on the themes and nature of the game, and so on.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Idea The question came to mind after a conversation I had with a good friend on Discord. I asked my friend if she wanted to do a roleplay with me so I could warm myself up for my return to roleplaying after I come out of my RP hiatus, but my friend told me she lost all interest in roleplaying. I then went on to talk about how all of my friends I used to roleplay with like 5 years ago have all lost interest in roleplaying and are now adults with adult responsibilities while my interest in roleplaying never faded. And because all the old roleplayers my age have disappeared, I'll likely have to roleplay with people at least 10 years younger than myself, kinda like Michael de Santa having to work with younger criminal blood due to all the old criminals having disappeared. In other words, I feel like an old man trying to be hip with the kids if I, a 24 year old tries to RP with a 14 year old.

My friend then told me that such a line of thinking is wrong, and she told about her being 34 and how she loves playing games about dinosaurs that are also being played by elementary school gamers. My friend said that just because you're playing a game alongside people much younger than yourself doesn't mean you're cringy or trying to be hip, but that it just means that you're enjoying an activity that makes you happy.

But no matter how much my friend is encouraging me to try and RP with people much younger than myself, I still have my doubts about it because I think the biggest problem I have with roleplaying with people much younger than myself is that a 14 year old roleplayer has much more differing interests, life experiences and viewpoints of the world around them compared to a 24 year old roleplayer like myself. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to relate to younger roleplayers and that younger roleplayers won't be able to relate to me because of our huge age gap and not being able to understand each other as a result of that age gap.

For example, in Avatar: The Last Airbender, I think that Zuko was the first character that Sokka could genuinely relate to because they're much closer in age compared to Aang. During the Boiling Rock arc, you see Zuko and Sokka having a conversation about things that they both go through as teenagers. You wouldn't see Sokka having a conversation like that with Aang because Aang is still a kid at that time and doesn't really relate to the things that Sokka has to deal with as a teenager. That's exactly what I'm struggling with here, and no matter how much my friend tries to reassure me that trying to RP with younger roleplayers will be good for me, I still can't help but have my doubts about it because of my fears of being unable to relate to younger roleplayers and vice versa.

 

[Idea]

AlexneushoornTheGreat firstly, if your friend is 34 I struggle to see how it might be that "all the roleplayers your age have disappeared". They're not the main demographic, but there are certainly a number of people over 30 on the site. In fact according to the results in this poll it's over 20% of the site.

Setting that aside, I can understand your worries and I know many share those worries. I doubt I can change your mind since it's ultimately a framing about you feel. From my perspective though, even if I can't relate to everything about a person I can still enjoy their company the same way I would enjoy anyone else's, and all you really need for that is a few points of connection, for example a shared interest in whatever you're roleplaying about. Naturally though, a compatible personality such as relative maturity will also go a long way in making them someone you can talk to in something closer to equal footing, and from your part a level of basic respect rather than dismissiveness (I am not accusing you of being dismissive by the way, just that if we're trying to avoid falling into the pit traps of "being hip with the kids", engaging with the other person more seriously and with respect is key in my view).

One more thing to consider is that, if you think about it, the idea that you don't share a lot of common experiences is almost universal. People who live in different countries, socioeconomic conditions, etc... Just by being slightly different or by slightly different timing, two individuals will have completely different experiences. Relatability isn't about the differences, but about the commonalities, whether we're talking about characters or people. Like with any group, nothing really guarantees two people will click, but that's just how it is with anyone.

Now, I am not saying you need, should, or that it would be better or even necessary equal to roleplay with someone of a younger age. Ultimately, your preferences and needs as a person and roleplayer will play a big part in deciding that, and I can't know them. Plus, as I mentioned in the beginning, even without younger roleplayers there does seem to be plenty of people in your age group. But I leave these two cents to hopefully help you come to a decision.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Idea Well, I wasn't aware my friend was in her 30s until she ended up listing her age when remodeling her Discord server a few months ago. Normally I don't really feel at age being around people older than 30 on the internet, but in my friend's case I make an exception because of how easily approachable she is and because I feel like we have a sibling like bond.

But aside from that, maybe you're right in that relating with a 14 year old when you're a decade older than them can be easy when there are a few points of connection such as a shared interest in the thing you're roleplaying about, a compatible personality such as relative maturity from the 14 year old's side and basic respect from my own side and trying to find relatability in the commonalities between each other rather than the differences. But my fears of being unable to relate to the younger crowd are just so big that I just don't know if I am able to try roleplaying with the younger crowd like my friend is encouraging me to.

Perhaps it would be better if I continued to try and roleplay with people within my own age group, but as I've experienced during 2022, trying to find people to RP with within my age group is harder than fossilized triceratops turds because of my niche interests, my narrow age limit and the fact that 90% of the people I try to RP with ghost me within a matter of posts, and that's not exactly encouraging me to keep looking for new roleplaying partners either.

 

[Idea]

Perhaps it would be better if I continued to try and roleplay with people within my own age group, but as I've experienced during 2022, trying to find people to RP with within my age group is harder than fossilized triceratops turds because of my niche interests, my narrow age limit and the fact that 90% of the people I try to RP with ghost me within a matter of posts, and that's not exactly encouraging me to keep looking for new roleplaying partners either.

Yeah, I don't think age has much if anything to do with that.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Yeah, I don't think age has much if anything to do with that.

I know that it doesn't have anything to do with age. But as I've said, I find it hard to really find anyone to RP with in the fandoms I enjoy because most of the people who currently RP in the Sonic fandom are generally 14 year olds and given that I'm a 24 year old who struggles to relate to the younger generation, that's not really a viable option no matter how much people try to encourage me to RP with younger users. But on the other side, I can't really find anyone to RP with within my own age group because of the problems mentioned above. So it's a loss on both sides of the coin.

 

[Idea]

most of the people who currently RP in the Sonic fandom are generally 14 year olds

I can't say either way, but I get the impression that's quite outdated. Once upon a time Sonic was one of those cartoon/game staples and many people were attached to it mainly in a younger age, sure. But I'm fairly certain those statistics are over a decade old, and Sonic isn't gone but I don't think it's quite the hit with people that young as it used to be. So the actual demographics of people who would RP it would likely actually skew older, people attached to it out of nostalgia or who are simply long-time fans of the franchise.

That is all just speculation on my part of course, but I do not think your assumption there holds true.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

I can't say either way, but I get the impression that's quite outdated. Once upon a time Sonic was one of those cartoon/game staples and many people were attached to it mainly in a younger age, sure. But I'm fairly certain those statistics are over a decade old, and Sonic isn't gone but I don't think it's quite the hit with people that young as it used to be. So the actual demographics of people who would RP it would likely actually skew older, people attached to it out of nostalgia or who are simply long-time fans of the franchise.

That is all just speculation on my part of course, but I do not think your assumption there holds true.

That's a fair assessment. But even if most of the people who engage in Sonic RP are around my age group, I still struggle to find people within my age group who enjoy Sonic RP because Sonic is a pretty niche fandom from what I've been told, and given that there's all sorts of different branches within the fandom, that also makes it difficult to do a Sonic RP with people because each Sonic fan likes a different part of the fandom.

You have Sonic fans who only RP in the game world, fans who only RP in the cartoon world (Either the DiC Entertainment cartoons, Sonic X, Boom and maybe even Prime now that that's been released), people who mainly RP in the Pre-Super Genesis Wave Archie world (This branch of the fandom mainly holds my interests), people who mainly RP in the Post-Super Genesis Wave Archie world, people who mainly RP in the IDW Comics world; There's just so many different Sonic fans that each have their own preferences when roleplaying about Sonic, and so many of those preferences don't match up with my own that it's just very hard to find someone to do Sonic RP with. As someone said before, I'm looking for a unicorn when it comes to finding the right RP partner, and if I wanna find that unicorn, I have to search high and low, but finding that unicorn is like trying to find a needle in a haystack; Next to impossible.

 

[AlexneushoornTheGreat]

Idea Not gonna lie, I didn't know you were a guy. All this time I thought you were a girl, so your answer to today's question surprised me. XD