MTG Salvation

Just my two cents, but I absolutely hate this change. I didn't like it when it was forced upon Marriland (also recently acquired by Curse) and I think I possibly like it less here.

I especially hate underscores in my username, which is (effectively) forced upon me by Curse. Even more confusing that my user name needs them but they don't display.

I started playing about a month before Legions was released (I was 28 at the time). I played at a competitive level until just after the release of M13, for a few reasons:

1. My competitive nature doesn't deal with losing well.
2. My financial side needed to win to continue to justify the continuing expense.
3. Players at my LGS were using early intentional draws as a way to close off prize support to only those they deemed "worthy" - and I didn't make that short list. When I complained about it, I was (rudely) told to grow up.

Now, all I do is play Type 4 (and make a ton of cards for it), an occasional Cube game and the occasional boredom-killing foray into FNM, when I can borrow a deck from a friend... Oh, and I do have people at my job who play; I'll occasionally throw down a game with them.

I can bring us back OT. I'm going to say my piece and leave it at that...

A close female friend of mine once told me that the only way to truly and guaranteed insult a man is to challenge his sexuality. After much observation, introspection and analysis, I have determined her statement to be largely accurate.

The homosexual slurs... I toss them around a LOT. BUT! Context! My core group of friends and I are overwhelmingly in our late 30s to early 40s and all hetero males. We know each other for well over twenty years, and slinging insults at each other has been part of our friendship for years. When we do it, and we all do to varying degrees, it's in two contexts - we are gathered at a private location, and we are insulting the individual it's directed towards with language chosen to elicit the greatest reaction from that person due to his own biases for his life. We keep trying to outdo each other and make each other laugh at dumb **** all the time, and those kinds of jokes are a part of what we do. We have been friends long enough to not take each other seriously in such discussions on any level.

However, in public, I generally refrain from making those kinds of comments. In my professional life, when I hear kids say various slurs at each other, I generally ask them if that was really necessary; mostly, they realize what they said was wrong, and, if it was especially harsh, I will make the kid apologize. But it's not the words so much as the intent that concerns me, regardless of who speaks it.

You can ask me to not use such words in public. I say, whatever; I've lived through years of being called many different names far worse than that by nearly all I encountered. I have empathy but little pity. Some people are just jackasses; ignore them and move on, you can't fix stupid. And I agree that we should teach away from hate. But there is a time and a place.

Where I draw the line is people invading private conversations with this PC garbage when they're the outsider. They may not realize there is context to the conversation they cannot possibly know and really should shut the hell up and mind their own business, especially when said conversation is amongst adults. And if anyone wants to think less of me for it, fine. If I cared what random people thought about me, I'd never have made it to my teenage years, let alone out of them.

tl;dr: Yeah, it's not good to use certain words in public, but there is a limit to the thought policing and sometimes you need to let things be because you don't know the whole story. If you have problems with that, I direct your questions to the nearest brick wall.

I usually use song lyrics for my screen names. I choose my screen names based on how likely they are to keep people from talking to me; the more likely a name would lead to people talking to me, the less likely I would use it. This was especially important back when I was on a lot of chat rooms and would invariably end up with someone looking for a relationship in which I was not interested.

"god of cyanide" comes from the Meshuggah song "New Millenium Cyanide Christ," at about 3:30 in:

"Disciples, come join with me to save a failed humanity
Follow the god of cyanide into the new eternity!
Behold, a sacrificial race, a cleansing, worshipping of pain
The new millenium Christ, here to redeem all from lies!"

I don't know what my custom title is now, but I'll probably be changing it, whatever.

I play this format pretty much exclusively now.

I'm working on custom cards for it, actually. The main project link...

Note that these editions of the cards are a few months old and many have changed. I plan on updating the pages in the next month when I finalize all but the artwork.

There were a lot of issues with the guild packs. Very sloppily done.

I opened a Simic guild pack with double Biomass Mutation and double of each uncommon - I think it was Tower Defense, Urban Evolution and (I think) Sapphire Drake. Obviously I was -4 commons, including no guildgate.

Quote from travelsonic

So far as the word retarded goes - yes there are a lot of uses that are not derogatory. In aeronautical engineering, aviation [being an aviation nut myself ], automotive uses, even to talk about slowing down the pace of something like a game.

Not to go off on a tangent, but this is why I HATE the 'End the R word" campaign that is out there - because it acts so ignorantly to the fact that if you target the BEHAVIOR of using words derogatorily towards others, you're doing something really effective, but if you target the WORD, well, you not only remove all the non-derogatory uses [which don't suddenly cease to exist], and stigmatize those using it in those non-derogatory ways, but those using it derogatorily will only *forehead slap* MOVE ON to ANOTHER word to use derogatorily. After that, if you keep only targeting the word, it is rinse and repeat, and you never get anywhere in actually accomplishing something. You just play this stupid cat-and-mouse game and go in circles.

At some point though doesn't the question of 'But what's the point if another word can be used' become 'so what? I chose to use that word n it's proper non-derogatory use because I felt it fitting'? I mean, if the word is being used in an obviously non-derogatory context that is grammatically correct, who gives a damn if another word can be used? It doesn't change that is being used non-derogatorily, and grammatically correctly too - at some point it has to become a "well, if you are complaining about these uses that are obviously both grammatically correct and not derogatory [like what I mentioned above], you're gonna have to grow a thicker skin" just IMO.

The most intelligent and sensible post in this thread.

People need to grow a set. Not everything is about you.

If you get offended by a word I used that was clearly not used in an offensive manner, that's all on YOU. Instead of telling that person, "We'll ensure your irrational sense of offendedness is respected!", it should be explained why that person shouldn't be offended by the word.

And we wonder where individuals get "special snowflake" syndrome. You do something wrong, we validate you, and then you're shocked to learn that, in fact, your **** DOES, in fact, stink, just as bad as everyone else's.

Quote from genini1

The rares in Simic aren't worth much but all of the rares in Boros see play and are 5 dollars plus and well worth the 25.

But it doesn't bother you at all that two GATECRASH decks have a combined total of 3 of 14 rares from its block? Most of those cards rotate out too soon, and their value is mostly gained from the reality that no more Innistrad block packs will be opened. Most of those values will drop precipitously after the next rotation.

Were I opening one of these to play at FNM without knowing its contents ahead of time, I would be absolutely disgusted and would never do it again.

Pathetic lists. Nice Gatecrash decks with nearly all Innistrad block rares.

The decks are lousy losers with no value outside of Thragtusk, really. The inclusion of so many Innistrad rares also drags the value down appreciably.

Another great idea from Wizards that, like the rest of them, just gets worse with time.

$24.99? Barely worth $4.99.

Quote from Valarin

How does a "no thank you" button do that?

All it would do is engender bad feelings and bitter flamewars.

So does the "Debate" section of this (and most) sites.

My opinion hasn't changed.

I think it's a great idea.

There are quite a few people here who could use some readjustment of what passes for their "social graces" that wouldn't be covered by infractions.

People need to accept the reality that all this "feel good," "don't hurt anyone's feelings" garbage enables the entitlement of people to act like jackasses.

You know how you get a jackass to stop being one? Repeatedly point out where and why he is a jackass. Either he straightens up or he leaves you alone, because you've shown him that you won't stand for his poor behavior.

I have to say that this is one of the most ridiculous threads I've read through, with the whining and all.

Insulted by the mere presence of reminder text? It's not there for you; grow a set and ignore it. There are plenty of judges who will have a little less work to do because of those words.

If you want incoming players to stick around, not frustrating them over rules minutiae that must be searched for in a 120-page document is crucial. If I was that new guy, I'd probably give up after a while due to the obscurity of the rules and the demands of mastering a 120-page rules booklet TO PLAY A GAME.

Just FYI, I thanked that particular post because I fully and seriously endorse the course of action in the infracted post.

You can do what you will to me at your leisure.

I do believe that, despite the cries of "violence isn't the answer," sometimes, it just is. In real life, people offer that kind of advice fairly consistently... because some situations call for it. (My last two roommates owe me ~$2500 in unpaid rent, and most of the advice I was given was to beat it out of them with my fists, since I'm likely never going to see a penny of it otherwise. I was even offered assistance with said beatings.) (Edit: NB: Haven't beat it out of them, haven't seen a penny.)

I'm just saying... Violence can be suggested. It's up to the individual to figure out what to do with that suggestion. If we're going to go forward assuming that the average poster can't discern how to act in this situation, then perhaps there's no point to discussing anything non-Magic-related here, ever, ever again.

Quote from kingcobweb

Because it's still not an immediate punishment when people do something wrong, and it still tries to categorize posts into neat little boxes.

No matter what the point system or whatever is, it's still going to hit a proverbial box somewhere along the line... I'm just saying, you have to categorize at some point.

In any case, I largely concur with Bitsy. I think the one issue this site will always have will be unevenness of moderation, but it's to be expected with so many moderators. But, overall, you all do a commendable job that deserves way more respect than many users give you.

"People of the Lie" - Kreator