I Was An Xbox Live Celebrity, For One Night Only
Comment by: The Forgetful Brain
Nominated by: puresewas1de
I think one of the keys is anonymity. And the fact that every Xbox comes with a microphone (even though a lot of the harassment you got, came by way of message).
There's a massive portion of people out there who upon discovering this absence of any tangible repercussion, get a thrill out of saying whatever they can to try and damage others.
It also often seems to focus around the most popular online game at the time.
For a while the crown was held by Halo 3, now it seems to be Modern Warfare 2. I mean, you can encounter it anywhere there are people that are anon, but when playing random matches of MWF2, I've rarely gone two rounds without hearing dollops of racist, homophobic or misogynist banter.
However, once you put an identity to something, often a lot of that subsides.
Example: Before my Xbox RRoD last week, I was playing with a Clan I joined composed almost entirely of professed gay gamers. Once we got into matches, when our opponents asked what our Clan tag meant, and we said honestly what it was, about 85% of the time they would say, "Oh... that's cool," and quit with the homophobic language.
But of course, you would still get the folks that would just hammer it even harder.
I don't know. Anonymity is a bit of a strange beast, and the internet age has seen a massive rise in people testing the boundaries of this.
Not to mention revealing how many men out there just want to anonymously show people their dong.
Thanks for that one, ChatRoulette.
Oscar Winning Film Features Xbox 360 Time Travel
Comment by: Aces_Over_Kings
Nominated by: smithy cat
I was there for 2003, gone by 2004. Yes, they should have all been wearing DCUs and not ACUs.
But we often had occasion to communicate with, escort, and request assistance from EOD. I remember remarking to some of my squadmembers that they were the most independent, busy, grizzled dudes I'd seen.
In my experience, they literally had a two vehicle traveling (explosive) circus. They had a badass little robot, protective suits, and more explosives than I'd want in any vehicle of mine. And considering I had a constant desire to travel heavily armed, that's saying a lot.
They frequently had to travel in their small teams from one unit to the next as various elements radio'd in requests for assistance. And anyone who knows how long it takes to plan medium to large-scale ground movement in the Army can gather that they couldn't wait around for some fresh LT to crown himself convoy commander and publish a 5-paragraph operations order.
From what I saw, they were mobile, exposed, and had balls of steel. They deserve whatever credit and attention this movie gives them. And I'd rather see it win best picture than Up or Avatar. I want a Best Picture to not only be top-notch entertainment, but to leave me thoughtful and reflective for a time afterwards.
I'll forgive them a gaming console oversight.
Well, You Always Need an Extra Button
Comment by: BubbleF**kingBuddy
Nominated by: cokefan999
Hexagon button makes Cammy K.O. Sagat in one hit.
Hexagon button buys Jason 5,000 ballons.
Hexagon button turns Haze into Halo 3.
Hexagon button brings Big Boss back to life and makes a sequel to Zone of the Enders.
Hexagon button put the Mew under the truck.
Hexagon button gives you a free copy of Duke Nukem Forever.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy Nixed on Xbox 360 Live
Comment by: Marcelo
Nominated by: AOClaus
I still haven't read anyone in the comments who can explain the difference between a gamertag that labels you as gay vs. a gamertag that labels you as a Star Trek fan or a USC grad or a Marine or anything else not having to do with sexuality.
If being gay is really irrelevant and unimportant to you, there should be no difference, and all such tags ought to be equally disruptive of your experience.
The truth is that ALL custom gamertags are unnecessary. If all we need is some identification, then all XBL needed to do was assign us a number. At the point that XBL users place value on IDing themselves using other things besides random number generation then why shouldn't gay gamers be able to use their sexuality as an inspiration for their tag? Other people use all sorts of other inspirations for their ID's and no one bats an eyelash. What is it about gay gamertags that make them so damn "unnecessary" and objectionable?
Instead of "Why do people need to proclaim their sexuality," the statement needs to be, "Who cares if people proclaim their sexuality? And if someone wants to ask why people need to proclaim their sexuality, the answer should be "I dunno, why do you feel the need to proclaim whatever the crap it is you proclaim in your gamertag?"
Twin Galaxies Founder Retires
Comment by: Outkastprince
Nominated by: D-K
There is a potential Walter Day retirement screen coming up.
If anyone is interested.
First Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Screens, Details
Comment by: Decoy_Doctorpus
Nominated by: octaslash
Things that we're actually good about Tomb Raider.
1: Tombs.
2: The raiding thereof.Lara Croft is, and has always been, a giant awkward pair of norks glued onto an interesting concept to make it sell. Dropping the Tomb Raider name won't help. Dropping Lara, or a few cup sizes, just might.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy Nixed on Xbox 360 Live
Comment by: MrGone1980
Nominated by: Quipp
One big reason. If there was a part of yourself, say, the fact that you avidly collect magic cards in secret (fucking dork!), and the public reveal of this piece of information is something that in almost all venues of your day-to-day life was frowned-upon, snickered at, and sometimes (or often, depending on where you lived) a call for horrific inexplicable violence, you'd keep that shit pretty quiet.
Then imagine an area where your public self interacted on a daily basis - say the job you work at - all of a sudden proposed an embracing of this once secretive aspect of your personality, and even publicly stated it would punish anybody who disrespected this trait, you might find yourself being more open with it. In certain situations, you might find yourself avidly talking about it...this feeling - let's call it, "freedom" - tends to have that effect. All of a sudden, you don't have to relegate this secretive part of your self to internet forums and special rooms in the back of comic book stores. You might seek others openly who may have this secret. You might even wear a shirt once in a while proudly stating your interests...although maybe not in the wrong part of town. Or maybe you will! You are, after all, starting to feel more confident about something that society has taught you to feel guilty, ashamed, or even self-hating about.
sorry, horribly long-winded analogy, and also probably insulting to homosexuals, since my angle was a humorous one, but I think it somewhat helps to service as an explanation. apologies, but I had fun.
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