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    1. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here. Please just try to provide fair warning of...

      Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      7 votes
    2. Who here has some sort of 'developmental disorder'?

      It's been a while since we had one of these. probably for good reason since clogging the site with 'do we exist' threads like this is counterproductive 'Developmental disorders' comprises autism,...

      It's been a while since we had one of these. probably for good reason since clogging the site with 'do we exist' threads like this is counterproductive

      'Developmental disorders' comprises autism, ADHD, Tourette's and more. (Here's a wiki article for them.)

      I'll start with my asperger syndrome which was very strong autism when I was a child.

      17 votes
    3. What's good about nationalism?

      This is a question I've been thinking about a great deal in the context of changing global power dynamics. Rising authoritarianism, militarism, fundamentalism, and other ailments of our times are...

      This is a question I've been thinking about a great deal in the context of changing global power dynamics. Rising authoritarianism, militarism, fundamentalism, and other ailments of our times are getting in the way of dealing with universal threats to humanity, like climate change, pandemics, and even asteroid impacts.

      But nationalism has such a grip on people's psyches... Parts are nostalgic, and parts are about tribal sense of belonging and purpose. Tonight, I watched a Chef's Table episode about a young Russian chef on a mission to make Russian cuisine great again (not his words). The interesting thing is that Mukhin essentially acknowledges that he's helping Russian cuisine become great not by denigrating other nation's products, or clinging to an idealized version of his home food, but through intentionally discovering what is worthwhile elsewhere and at home. It got me thinking about what's been lost in a globalized world, what could be found in isolated places, and what it would take to let people bridge local interests and universal values.

      I'd also watched Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins over the weekend. Ivins' writing on Texas state politics as a microcosm and foreshadowing of current U.S. concerns is essential. Then I read Citylab's old story on the paralysis of New York subway system development.

      It occurred to me that the U.S. has become fractally parochial, with increasingly local or corporate interests thwarting any exercise favoring broader national or regional goods. The original framing of the nation in the U.S. Constitution has significant flaws because of the original tension between sovereign state interests, and the federal system. We're not learning from the rest of the world very well, either.

      I'm curious about whether Tilders think there's such a thing as positive nationalism, capable of both unifying localities and maintaining or growing what's good about a culture in the face of potentially hostile competing nations.

      • Do you think there are positive aspects to nationalism, and if so, what?

      • Do you think nationalism has been, on balance, a positive or negative force in your country in the past?

      • Do you think nationalism is, on balance, a positive or negative force in your country right now?

      • Do you think your country could have a positive version of nationalism in the future?

      • Is it necessary to exclude or mitigate influences from elsewhere in order to maintain the original nature of your national culture?

      If I may ask, please include your nationality when responding.

      11 votes
    4. What are all the different ways in which we can appreciate games?

      I know my question isn't worded great! If anyone has a better edit after reading all of this, let me know! I have a half-formed idea in my head and I want to brainstorm a bit. Here's the idea:...

      I know my question isn't worded great! If anyone has a better edit after reading all of this, let me know!


      I have a half-formed idea in my head and I want to brainstorm a bit.

      Here's the idea: games as a whole have a ton of different aspects/lenses through which we can enjoy and appreciate them, and I want to know what they all are. Here are some examples to show what I mean:

      Aspect Description Examples
      Narrative We can appreciate a game with a good story To the Moon, The Walking Dead
      Exploration We can appreciate a game that lets us explore a digital world The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft
      Movement We can appreciate a game that lets us move in compelling ways Forza Horizon 3, Mirror's Edge

      I feel like there are dozens of these we could come up with if we get really specific. The diversity of gaming experiences and genres really lends itself to a broad swath of these aspects. After all, the appreciation someone gets from playing something like Katamari Damacy is very different from that which someone gets from, say, ARMA 2.

      I think later it might be interesting to try to apply some sort of analysis or taxonomy to this, but right now I just want to brainstorm. What are all of the different reasons we can like games? Be as specific as you can, try to cover lots of different titles and genres so that all of gaming is represented, and feel free to critique or edit my examples as well (e.g. I think it might be worth breaking up "Narrative" into "Plot" and "Characters", for example).


      Aggregated List So Far

      I'll keep updating this as we go. For entries that didn't follow the table format (which I didn't intend to be prescriptive but it looks like it caught on!), I've tried to incorporate them as best as I can, but if you feel I've misrepresented something let me know! Again, I'm mostly just interested in brainstorming at the moment, and then I think we can have a secondary thread later for analysis/synthesis.

      Aspect Description Examples
      Narrative We can appreciate a game with a good story To the Moon, The Walking Dead
      Exploration We can appreciate a game that lets us explore a digital world The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft
      Movement We can appreciate a game that lets us move in compelling ways Forza Horizon 3, Mirror's Edge
      Empathy We can appreciate a game for who / what it positions us as, and the degree to which it gives insight into that position. Benefits for the player range from novel emotional experiences to genuine moments of learning. Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, The Beginner's Guide
      Escapism Sometimes you simply need a break from real life and to escape into a fantasy world for a bit. Videogames are a highly effective way to do this IMO, since you are actually granted agency as an actor in them, which you don't get in most traditional escapist mediums like novels, movies and shows. Almost every game with a story, to varying degrees
      Catharsis When you manage to deeply emotionally connect with any story (regardless of medium) and it reaches its climax or denouement, it can often help you break through the emotional barriers you have set up over time, which then allows you to safely release your pent up emotions. Surprisingly, I find games to be somewhat less effective at this than novels, but it still happens with them often enough to be a major component of my enjoyment of them. Gris
      Emotional Challenge Sometimes the opposite of catharsis is great too. Getting to experience emotionally challenging things, like a truly mind-bending or depressing story, in the relatively safe environment of a game can be incredibly fulfilling. Although, those sorts of games often require me to be in the right frame of mind to experience, so that I don't have a breakdown afterwards, and as a result I don't seek them out all that often... I can only handle so many existential crises per month. ;) Disco Elysium
      Intellectual Challenge Whether it be from difficult puzzle elements or strategy mechanics, intellectual challenges presented in games can be incredibly gratifying to solve and overcome. Europa Universalis, puzzle games by Zachtronics
      Eureka Moments This goes hand in hand with the above two, but also applies to most games. Those moments when you finally figure something out that you were struggling with beforehand, or a major plot twist is revealed, can be truly glorious in games, and IMO they tend to occur more often in them than most other entertainment mediums. Portal, Portal 2, The Talos Principle, The Witness
      System We can appreciate a game that lets us explore a well crafted system of interacting logical parts. The player can learn the rules of the system by observation and experimentation, and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to achieve goals. Stephens Sausage Roll, Factorio, The Witness, Antichamber
      Competition We can appreciate a game for fostering a competitive spirit among peers, to test themselves against each other as teams or individuals Dota 2, Rocket League
      Cooperation We can appreciate a game that allows and encourages two or more people to work together towards a common goal A Way Out, ibb and obb, Portal 2
      Audio experience We can appreciate games that use music or sound in interesting or resonant ways Bastion,Metal Gear Solid III
      Visual experience We can appreciate games that use visuals in interesting or resonant ways Tetris Effect,Super Hexagon
      Effort We can appreciate games that adequately convey the effort required for the task happening on-screen Don't Look Back, The Witcher 3, Dishonored
      21 votes
    5. What is something cheap to create but expensive to purchase?

      I was having a conversation with a friend today about the economics of art and the potential cost of purchasing an idea. It got me thinking, what are some other things relatively cheap to create...

      I was having a conversation with a friend today about the economics of art and the potential cost of purchasing an idea. It got me thinking, what are some other things relatively cheap to create but expensive to purchase?

      19 votes
    6. What is your default sort for Tildes?

      Pretty much self explanatory: what did you set for your default tildes.net post sort? I currently have it set to top activity in the last three days, but I'm not sure if that's the optimal way to...

      Pretty much self explanatory: what did you set for your default tildes.net post sort?

      I currently have it set to top activity in the last three days, but I'm not sure if that's the optimal way to find posts that are likely to have ongoing conversation. On the other hand, filtering to just the past day often eliminates too many posts.

      12 votes
    7. How rigid/fluid is your gender and/or sexuality?

      The following questions are aimed at gender identity, gender expression, romantic orientation, and/or sexual orientation. To cut down on wordiness, all the questions below will just say...

      The following questions are aimed at gender identity, gender expression, romantic orientation, and/or sexual orientation. To cut down on wordiness, all the questions below will just say "identity", but know that I'm asking about any and all of the different parts that make up our gendered, romantic, and sexual selves.

      You don't necessarily need to answer regarding all axes or focuses: choose the ones most salient or meaningful to you and your experiences. Furthermore, these questions are open to all, including people who don't identify as LGBT.

      • How would you describe the rigidity/fluidity of your identity or its different parts?
      • Do you experience short-term changes in your identity?
      • Have you experienced long-term changes in your identity?
      • Does your identity have any elements that are unchanging long-term?
      • How does the fluidity/rigidity of your identity affect you? Are there advantages? Disadvantages?
      • Are you certain in your identity right now, or is it unclear to you at the moment?
      • If you are certain, do you think that certainty will persist, or might things change in the future?
      • If you are uncertain, do you think a more definite identity will coalesce for you at some point?

      As always, the questions are just jumping off points and don't need to be treated like a quiz. Also, just to be clear, I am asking this purely out of curiosity and am in no way trying to assert that a more rigid/fluid identity is better/worse. Likewise, I'm not trying to cast judgment on anyone still questioning or engaging in self-discovery. Your process and your identity are valid wherever you're at and however you feel. I'm simply interested to hear what your experiences are, whoever you are.

      27 votes
    8. The new name of this group is ...

      ... exactly the same as the old name. Yep, "lgbt" won the vote from this thread. That may not be a surprise to many people, but this has still been a worthwhile process to go through. There were...

      ... exactly the same as the old name.

      Yep, "lgbt" won the vote from this thread. That may not be a surprise to many people, but this has still been a worthwhile process to go through. There were some concerns expressed about the name, and it was only fair that we gave everyone a chance to have a say.

      Of course, not everyone will be happy with this outcome. I saw a variety of voting responses which made that clear. At one extreme, I saw a couple of responses with "lgbt" marked as #1, and all other names marked as #N/A. At the other extreme, I saw a couple of responses with the other seven names ranked from #1 to #7, and "lgbt" marked as #N/A. Someone else marked any name which even included as "lgbt" as #N/A. So, there are definitely strong opinions for and against "lgbt".

      But the vote was convincing. Nearly half of all people (43 out of 87) put "lgbt" as their first choice, two-thirds of people had it as their 1st or 2nd choice, and more than three-quarters of people had it as their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice. As I checked the results occasionally throughout the period of voting, "lgbt" consistently had about 50% of the first choices. And, counting all the ranked votes, "lgbt" got a final score of 6.98 out of a theoretical maximum of 8. The next closest names - "lgbtq" and "lgbtplus" - were scored at about 5.5 out of 8.

      Here is the published result on Survey Monkey, and a screenshot of the detailed count.

      22 votes