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@Plisken
Good to know. Ask me questions.
AMA (YYW)
Posts
Total:
664
Why won't you answer my question?
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@Vaarka
>How do you feel now that you no longer have the most posts on the site?
>How have you been? We need to catch up some time :3
>Why won't you answer my question?
It's not that I "won't" answer your question, it is that I have been thinking about "how" to answer it -- and I am still thinking, though I'll give you my thoughts now.
I never regarded having the most posts on the site as being a particular accomplishment. I had a reasonably good debate, voting, and posting record on DDO, but my overall favorable reputation mattered more. To the extent that having the most posts had "any" value, that value was reinforced by the fact that I never engaged in post padding (e.g., senseless posts in the "Record Attempt at Most Posts" thread) or any other nonsense meant to artificially inflate my record.
Even still, "what" I said in relation to both the breadth of topics on which I wrote, and the depth of my competence to speak on them is what made the fact of my having had the most posts meaningful. I could and did move seamlessly between politics, philosophy, psychology, literature, science, art, and music. I also learned a lot along the way, both about myself and about others.
That set of interactions enabled me to meet many interesting people, make a lot of friends, and do so in a way that I think reinforced DDO's function to cultivate the intellectual interests of its members and challenge one another to communicate more effectively and do so while expanding out knowledge bases.
Here, I think DebateArt -- regardless of how the site came into being -- has a lot of potential. While we all (or at least some of us) have some familiarity with what was going on in the background when DDO was attacked and when and why DebateArt came into being, there is absolutely no question that this is an objectively better, more functional, and more well designed site on nearly every technical level. So, there's at least some of the necessary preconditions for not only continuity with DDO, but improvement.
That said, the site's long term viability is something that I'm not exactly sure about. I think there are about seven possible reasons why this site could have been created, three of which are probable, and four of which are only possible. I think that there was a specific goal in mind and that this site was a very, very effective way to build the kind of relationship needed to cultivate that relationship. I also think that the site's creators will also probably see at least some return on their investment in the short term -- if their goals are what I think they are.
But at this point, I'm basically irrelevant. I'm functionally indistinguishable from a church mouse here. My name, after all, is "coal" -- an increasingly obsolete power source. I may have been part of what fired DDO, but I doubt that I will ever serve such a function here. To be sure, it feels good to occupy that position. I am here without all of DDO's baggage, and that is a good thing.
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@coal
That was a well thought out response... I don't even know how to comment on it lol.
How have you been though? Hangouts don't really happen much anymore, so we haven't talked in ages. We need to catch up some time, especially now that I've finished my first semester of Uni :3
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@Vaarka
>How have you been though? Hangouts don't really happen much anymore, so we haven't talked in ages. We need to catch up some time, especially now that I've finished my first semester of Uni :3
Indeed. How's school going? What did you major in? How do you like it?
Do you have a roommate? boyfriend/girlfriend?
What is your favorite class, and why?
How did you do this last semester?
Do you think your major is a good fit for you?
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@coal
Indeed. How's school going? What did you major in? How do you like it?
School is going well, I passed all of my classes, including math which means I'm done with it for now. Majoring in anthropology, and taking an intro course to compsci to see if I like it. If I do, might minor in it or something.
Do you have a roommate? boyfriend/girlfriend?
Yeah, roommate is super chill and probably one of my closer friends. I got really lucky with him because I know some people who aren't even on a speaking basis with their roommates. I had a girlfriend for about six or seven weeks, and it unfortunately ended. Still working on getting over that, but it's been over three weeks now and I'm starting to slow down severely on the whole "thinking about her, randomly checking her social media to see if she's active" thing. We seem to be at a stage where we still want to be friends and it kind of works, but time will tell.
What is your favorite class, and why?
I enjoyed my anthro class and my environmental science class. Both kinda catered to my interests.
How did you do this last semester?
Did decent, not as well as I was hoping, but I didn't fail anything. Got mostly B's I think.
Do you think your major is a good fit for you?
So far I think so. I'm fascinated by history and culture, and how people lived and worked back then and now. idk what my future will look like with this as my major, but if I'm really lucky, I'll be able to travel around and write stuff. If not so lucky, I may be able to still land a decent job that I'll enjoy. If it's really going downhill, might try to switch majors or something. Radiology is an interest of mine, but my uni doesn't really cater to it so if I decide to go that route, I'll have to look into transfer
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@Vaarka
Anthropology? Must be one heck of a university. What would you like to do with a degree like that?
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@Swagnarok
Travel lmao
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@Vaarka
I'm glad to hear you're doing ok, bud. That said, you'll need to do a bit more to get into medical school than a B average. I have a friend who is a radiologist, though. Good job to go into.
I hope you're liking school, too. That's a critically important thing. Liking school, and fitting in. A good roommate helps a lot along the way, too. I'm glad you and he are getting along well.
I'm somewhat sorry but not surprised to hear about the girlfriend, though. High school romances rarely last past thanksgiving, though I know breakups are hard.
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@coal
Yeah ik I need to get better grades for med school. I don't think I'll major in it, might minor in it, or even take some classes at a community college after I graduate so I can focus solely on that. We'll see how the future pans out.
School is nice, even if I don't like doing work. My roommate and I get along great, and I get along decently with my suite mates. Every Thursday we get together and watch That 70's Show (one of my suitemates has very poor vision so his parents got him a massive flatscreen, makes for great movie nights), and I think that's how we all make sure to bond.
Ah, you know how those go. You date a girl, you question everything, you're not sure if you're ready for it, you slowly start to get used to it, you become really happy, you start wondering if you got lucky and found the right girl, then something goes south and completely screws it up. Thankfully, we were able to make it a mutual break-up (albeit one we were both crushed by), and after a few weeks to try and move on, we've decided that there were other problems along the way that we didn't see while together, and that it'd be best if we could just stay friends. The whole friend thing is still a little rocky, considering it's only been a few weeks, but we seem to be talking to each other again which is nice.
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@Vaarka
It's really difficult to transition from "ex" to "friends". But, still it's worth a try.
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@coal
But at this point, I'm basically irrelevant. I'm functionally indistinguishable from a church mouse here. My name, after all, is "coal" -- an increasingly obsolete power source. I may have been part of what fired DDO, but I doubt that I will ever serve such a function here. To be sure, it feels good to occupy that position. I am here without all of DDO's baggage, and that is a good thing.
Is that why you chose coal? Very interesting.
Coal as a power source probably isn't going anywhere for the next half century, at least. Growth in the 3rd world, dependent upon cheap sources of energy, will make sure of that.
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@coal
I'm aware, and it sucks. We have hung out a few times at random since, including when it snowed. I'm hoping we can keep longboarding without a problem at the very least lol.
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@Swagnarok
Not to mention, when the world runs low on oil, coal will be used instead.
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@Earth
Yes.
This AMA will remain open indefinitely. Political questions are always encouraged, but other questions are welcome too. If you're on here and you were on DDO, please let me know who you were. I'm sure you have many distinctive qualities, but I don't have time to sort out who everyone was.
Do you still like the idea of UBI? Thoughts on Macron? Also, if you remember me, honest opinon?
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@Earth
Remind me again of your DDO username. I remember that you at one point told me this, but I have since forgotten. Sorry... it's not that you're not important, so much as it is that I have a lot of stuff on my mind like all the time.
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@Earth
>Do you still like the idea of UBI?
Yes.
>Thoughts on Macron?
Not a fan.
>Also, if you remember me, honest opinon?
If you are who I think you are, I'm fond of you :p
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@coal
Geographia
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@Earth
That's what I thought. And yeah, I like you a lot :)
How exactly are you irrelevant?
How long will DART last? (Inasmuch as it is stable.)
Favorite gift you have received this year?
Best vacation spot in your life? Most ideal vacation spot?
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@Dk-McDan
omg a John Wyck fanboy... nice.
Loved the movies, and love Keanu Reeves.
Will reply later... just wanted to address your profile pic.
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@coal
That's actually a character from Red Dead Redemption 2, not John Wick lol.
But now that I think about it, the resemblance between the two is uncanny.
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@Dk-McDan
Red Dead is cool too, but not as much as John Wyck. Have owned the game for a while now, but have not played because of COD. Though now that the devs have seemingly fucked COD beyond repair, and BO4 looks... like Michael Condrey trash, I'll probably go to Red Dead and play it.
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@coal
So I would assume you are referring to the first Red Dead?
I can't say I've had the pleasure of playing the first game, but can tell you that Red Dead 2 is a beautiful game nevertheless. I would highly recommend it.
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@Dk-McDan
No, I mean the new one. Red Dead Redemption.
It's been... years on end since I played the first Red Dead.
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@coal
Have you ever read any of the works of bell hooks?
If yes, which ones? What did you think?
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@coal
Will you be genuinely surprised if this thread becomes the most visited on Dart?