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[Naturegirl1999]

Alright, you guys need to stop the synthetic discrimination, could be the difference between rogue servitors or determined exterminators down the line...

I agree. Nonbiological intelligences are still intelligences even if their body isn’t made of proteins. We should treat AIs as compatriots not tools

[Yoink]

'Member this?

An actual WTF: My house just got raided by a gang of armed thugs looking for my drug dealer housemate. Fun times!
He had an idea they were coming and legged it beforehand, just after I'd come out of my room and heard something was going on, so these guys just roamed around shouting threats, terrorizing my other housemates and looking for drugs or money to steal. Also they smashed his TV... pretty sure that's the second or third TV he's lost since he's been here. The first one was just to an angry girlfriend, though.

They didn't really bother me, though. I was just chilling in the kitchen drinking a beer and washing some dishes.
One of them said something along the lines of, "nah mate you look like some old school stoner from the 70s," when I mentioned that I barely knew the guy. That was pretty funny/flattering, really.

My door was open so I'm guessing they did have a look in here, but they haven't touched anything.
I'm guessing they were repelled by the general mess and disarray, not to mention the smell. Practically a biohazard in here.
Not the usual sort of excitement I'd expect on a Saturday night, but oh well.  

And here I thought he was just dealing pot...

Well, I just received a letter (or, to be precise, a letter and a bunch of documents) written in nigh-incomprehensible legalese, filled with terms like "director of Public prosecutions" and "victim liaison" and "committed for trial" "indictment", from the state government of my home state.

At first I was thoroughly bewildered, thinking perhaps I had been mistaken for someone else, but then after skimming the text a couple of times I read "in relation to charges of 1x Burglary and 2x Armed robbery ... in Nambour, Queensland".
Now there's only one armed robbery I've ever witnessed, so I was pretty sure I knew what it was about, even though the accused's name was entirely unknown to me, but the date given for these charges was in November last year, so I was further confused.

After a quick, uncertain (on my part, being unfamiliar with this sort of thing - they were quite helpful) phonecall to the number given, I can confirm that that was in fact a typo and it was supposed to say 2016 and that this case is indeed that of one of the dudes who invaded my house that one time, probably the ringleader.

Wild. Also pretty wild that the prosecution of it is still ongoing, but that probably just shows how ignorant I am of the legal process - apparently it was heard before a smaller, regional court first, but due to the severity of the charges/matter/whatever the appropriate term is, it was bumped up to the Brisbane District Court.


Funny how this notification is accompanied by various offers of support, counselling etcetera what with it being a violent crime and all. Maybe I could have used that years ago when it went down, but then at the time I was already so worn down and stressed due to my living situation that the incident barely even registered as a danger - hence why I chose to chill in the kitchen drinking beer and washing dishes while most of it was happening.

[Magistrum]

Wow, what a blast to the past. I remember thinking you were just an alcoholic then coming to the realization that you are a chill alcoholic.

[hector13]

I do believe that is what this picture is for.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also, holy shit that it takes upwards of 3 years to prosecute this nonsense.

[Yoink]

I do believe that is what this picture is for.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

That actually does sum it up perfectly, yes.
The "holy shit" is accurate, too. I'm pretty sure the guy in question was caught quite soon after it happened (read: the same night), but I could be wrong.   

Wow, what a blast to the past. I remember thinking you were just an alcoholic then coming to the realization that you are a chill alcoholic.

I haven't updated my sig in a long time, but now I'm sorely tempted...   

[TamerVirus]

The wheels of justice are exceptionally slow
Went out to California in 2018 to accompany someone who had to deal with a legal matter that happened in 2006

[Eschar]

Why do certain people believe that killing video game NPCs, like DF dwarves or even enemies in FPSs is immoral? It makes no sense, they're just some data inside RAM.

Hurting one, from the game's POV, is (usually) like substracting a number from another number. But only an idiot would think that using a calculator is immoral.

We had a thread about this a while back in the Dwarf Mode subforum. The OP was asking if playing DF was therefore immoral. The thread crashed and burned, and I think the Toad shut it down.

[Magistrum]

Oh, that was a while ago. Dude was pretty pissed. Explaining to him that it isn't that far yet only made him angrier. Good times.

[Tack]

'Member this?

Holy crap. For some reason in my mind it barely registered as an illegal thing. But yeah now that I think about it that's absolutely violent crime.
I wonder which of the housemates ended up reporting it? I somehow doubt it was the drug dealer.

Good to know you're being given offers of counselling three years from then.

Why do certain people believe that killing video game NPCs, like DF dwarves or even enemies in FPSs is immoral? It makes no sense, they're just some data inside RAM.
Hurting one, from the game's POV, is (usually) like substracting a number from another number. But only an idiot would think that using a calculator is immoral.

We had a thread about this a while back in the Dwarf Mode subforum. The OP was asking if playing DF was therefore immoral. The thread crashed and burned, and I think the Toad shut it down.

I mean if we want to talk moral philosophy, then killing/torturing video game characters is immoral, if only because it's a reflection of the player. If we go highest possible level, say you went to West World and killed and raped a bundle of robots- would it be immoral if they're just a bundle of data?

Take it a step down, and they're perfect machines and they have no feelings of fear or anger or lust, just the knowledge of the programs needed in order to portray these. Immorality comes from a person inuring themselves to those emotions by practicing on machines.

When you get all the way down to ASCII games, it's just an exceptionally washed-out version of the highest level thing. Strategy games foster a certain... "dismissiveness" which is an immoral trait, if not exactly an immoral act.

[IcyTea31]

Yeah, the argument can be made that murdering fictional creatures is unvirtuous, even if it has no meaningful consequences. In my opinion, though, virtue for the sake of virtue is pointless posturing; the argument becomes not "games are wrong" but rather "I'm better than you because I don't play games ".

[Kagus]

Had a bit of a WTF moment today when I learned that not only was there another DOOM movie released just last year that I had no idea existed, but the main character's name is Dark. Joan Dark.

Like... Nevermind how silly that is, or how silly it is that they're still using Dr. Bertruger, or how the lead managed to deliver one of the worst "Die! Die! Die!"s I've ever heard just in the trailer...

But that's the name of the protagonist in a different game. If you're going to try and do a DOOM game movie again, it seems like kind of a cardinal sin to put the protagonist of Perfect Dark in the place of Doomguy.

Oh sure, that was "Joanna Dark" and not "Joan" (which also made it marginally less ridiculous/blatant), but no. Just... No.


But I wouldn't really expect the people behind this mess to actually know that much about games at all, so it's not too surprising. Also I like that they managed to find a chick who not only looks smaller than the weapons she's wielding (understandable enough, given how massive and unwieldy they made the things look), but who also looks smaller than the helmet she is wearing.

[MaxTheFox]

I will rethink my stance on the subject if (when?) video game AI advances to the point where they can be considered people (but only for those games with said sapient AI). I would probably have a breakdown if I accidentally killed one...

Until then, I will probably keep going on rampages without remorse if I feel like it.

[Naturegirl1999]

I will rethink my stance on the subject if (when?) video game AI advances to the point where they can be considered people (but only for those games with said sapient AI). I would probably have a breakdown if I accidentally killed one...

Until then, I will probably keep going on rampages without remorse if I feel like it.

How do we test sapience? We tend not to test whether other humans have sapience

[TamerVirus]

Your mindgames ain’t gonna work, synth

[hector13]

I will rethink my stance on the subject if (when?) video game AI advances to the point where they can be considered people (but only for those games with said sapient AI). I would probably have a breakdown if I accidentally killed one...

Until then, I will probably keep going on rampages without remorse if I feel like it.

How do we test sapience? We tend not to test whether other humans have sapience

'Member this?

Holy crap. For some reason in my mind it barely registered as an illegal thing. But yeah now that I think about it that's absolutely violent crime.
I wonder which of the housemates ended up reporting it? I somehow doubt it was the drug dealer.

Good to know you're being given offers of counselling three years from then.

Why do certain people believe that killing video game NPCs, like DF dwarves or even enemies in FPSs is immoral? It makes no sense, they're just some data inside RAM.
Hurting one, from the game's POV, is (usually) like substracting a number from another number. But only an idiot would think that using a calculator is immoral.

We had a thread about this a while back in the Dwarf Mode subforum. The OP was asking if playing DF was therefore immoral. The thread crashed and burned, and I think the Toad shut it down.

I mean if we want to talk moral philosophy, then killing/torturing video game characters is immoral, if only because it's a reflection of the player. If we go highest possible level, say you went to West World and killed and raped a bundle of robots- would it be immoral if they're just a bundle of data?

Take it a step down, and they're perfect machines and they have no feelings of fear or anger or lust, just the knowledge of the programs needed in order to portray these. Immorality comes from a person inuring themselves to those emotions by practicing on machines.

When you get all the way down to ASCII games, it's just an exceptionally washed-out version of the highest level thing. Strategy games foster a certain... "dismissiveness" which is an immoral trait, if not exactly an immoral act.

How is it immoral? They aren’t real. They may be designed to act as simulations of humans, but that doesn’t mean they are humans.

There is a vast chasm of difference between going on a murder spree in GTA and going on a murder spree in real life.