GothicWizard wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 11:57:
Arguably you don't do any actual "reporting", your site is just a good collection of links to actual reporting which varies in quality. And before the knee jerk defensive reactions retorts start, I am not dismissing or saying the site isn't useful or helpful. It is. But it's a central repository of daily links, I don't see Blue or any of his 'staff' writing gaming reviews, OpEds on here unless I've been missing them for the past 20 years.

And cool links!

Personally, I'd never heard of Seymour Stein -- but I don't find that surprising. In every industry there are people behind the scenes who are critical and little known outside the industry. Signing Madonna, The Ramones, The Talking Heads and Iced-T... that is covering a serious range of music. Clearly he knew musical talent when he saw it.

A nice tribute to Stein https://www.npr.org/2023/04/04/1167880988/music-mogul-seymour-stein-died-sunday-at-the-age-of-80

Sepharo wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 19:09:
I'm using smart switches rather than smart bulbs.
Was very easy installation, even for someone like me, for whom this was the first home electrical wiring project.
House was constructed (and originally wired) in the 60s.

Unless you need colors, this is a absolutely the way

I would say that, politically, I am a liberal Constitutionalist. I'm pro-2A and pro-equal civil rights and protections for all, for example.

I generally feel that BN is a well-run site that is fair and well-moderated. I say that as someone who has definitely had the red REMOVED hammer brought down on some of my posts. I do appreciate the work that Verno, jdreyer, and Blue put in to corralling what is, essentially, a rather spirited and stubborn group of people. It's why I come back here year after year. This is a site where my quasi-paranoid, weirdo self feels comfortable.

I deeply appreciate the banter, the jokes, and the serious conversations we've had over the years. Even when some of those conversations could be considered adversarial at times. Outside of a few starred out names, I feel that most of us have a desire to be human to one another. I think that since the demographic skews older here, most of us have gotten most of the rough edges of our personalities filed off so we're more about talking than blasting out blind ideology all the time. That's a pretty rare thing on an internet steeped in toxicity, rhetoric, and Malthusian stupidity.

you mods do a great job. it's only the snowflake right wing nutjobs with their fake persecution complex that think otherwise. they wouldn't know the truth if it shit in their mouths. well, it's starting to so they better learn.

Okay, I chuckled at that.

I'm using smart switches rather than smart bulbs.
Was very easy installation, even for someone like me, for whom this was the first home electrical wiring project.
House was constructed (and originally wired) in the 60s.

PropheT wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 17:26:

Beamer wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 12:11:
On the LED article, a few pointers:

The Phillips ones are what I have had in my house for quite a while now. Harsh fluorescent-style lights give me migraines, but I've never had a problem with these and they last pretty much forever. They're a little expensive, but I don't think I've ever had to replace any that I've installed so it works out in the long run.

I've never had problems like they describe in the article, either, despite parts of my house being 120+ years old and having electrical work that was seemingly done either by a blind psychopathic pyromaniac or my wife's father, who I think learned most of his home construction skills fast forwarding through old episodes of Home Improvement.

I occasionally have issues with buzzing or flickering when dimming, but if I just go to full and redim it goes away.

I don't want to replace all the 20+ year switches in my home until the ones I want are available smart. Decent ones appeared this year, but I have a strong preference, and they aren't smart yet. I didn't think I cared at first, but I now see some value in being able to turn the kitchen lights off with my voice as I exit the room. Some lights are in switches not near where I exit, and going back for it is a major first world problem

A news aggregator with their own style and a funny, affable Presidente.

That AI generated waffle completely missed the mark imo.

Yeah, well I don't have to be diplomatic like Jdreyer so I'll say it; the insinuation that you're treated differently based on your ideology is horseshit. It was horseshit the last time he tried to claim it, and it's horseshit now. Extremist neocons and egg-sucking commie liberals are allowed to say anything they want until it is stupidly offensive or dangerously false (e.g. allowing misinformation that could get people sick or worse if listened to like some insane COVID claims).

Edit: is it wrong to call it 'he'? Who cares.

This comment was edited on Apr 3, 2023, 18:39.

Thanks for giving me a big head ChatGPT!

Rarely has an indefinite article been so important to a marriage.

ChatGTP wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 12:02:

Thanks for giving me a big head ChatGPT!

You're welcome! Here is something to help you improve your near perfect website:

Bluesnews is a website with an associated forum where members can discuss various topics related to gaming and other subjects. Some users have expressed concerns about the political bias of the forum moderators and their perceived unfair treatment of members with different political views.

If the forum moderators were less politically biased and treated all members equally, the website could become a better site in several ways:

1.) More inclusive community: A forum that welcomes diverse opinions and encourages respectful discussion would attract a wider range of members, leading to a more inclusive and diverse community.

2.) Improved quality of discussions: If moderators were impartial, they would be better equipped to ensure that discussions are focused on the topic at hand and stay civil. This would lead to more constructive and insightful discussions.

3.) Enhanced credibility: The perceived political bias of moderators can harm the website's credibility among users who feel that their opinions are not being heard or that the website is not presenting a balanced view of issues. If moderators were more even-handed, the website would be seen as a more reliable source of information and a trustworthy community.

4.) Increased engagement: When members feel that their opinions are valued and their voices are heard, they are more likely to engage in discussions and contribute to the community. This increased engagement can lead to a more vibrant and active community.

In summary, if Bluesnews' forum moderators and/or the site's owner were less politically biased and treated all members the same way regardless of their political views, the website could become a more inclusive, constructive, trustworthy, engaging community and less of an echo chamber.

We've gotten a few comments lately in this vein, not only from ChatGPT but also from forum users, so let me address it.

From the beginning the mod crew has consisted of one liberal, one conservative, and one moderate. You may have noticed that since becoming mods, we've scaled back commenting on sensitive topics in order to promote impartiality within ourselves. As a team we often put our heads together to discuss potential violations and arrive at a consensus. Blue always retains final say. We do our best to adhere to the rules Blue laid out years ago and not bring personal bias into it. We also err on the side of caution perhaps to a fault, as some of you pointed out last year that tolerating intolerance actually promotes intolerance. So we've responded to that feedback by adopting a stricter stance while doing our best to remain impartial.

As a poli sci guy, I love a good debate, and I'm very impressed that when gaming and politics collide, the result is often a stimulating and intellectual discussion that avoids devolving into ad hominems and personal attacks, as is the case on sites that undermoderate. On the flip side, we're not cutting off debate on sensitive topics either, which can be the case on sites that overmoderate. Nor does this site avoid posting such stories entirely.

So thanks to all of you for not only making this the best gaming site on the web, but also the best gaming community. I'm always impressed with the breadth of experience and knowledge expressed here, and the comments are one of the main reasons I keep coming back year after year.

Blue wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 12:10:

GothicWizard wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 11:57:
Arguably you don't do any actual "reporting", your site is just a good collection of links to actual reporting which varies in quality. And before the knee jerk defensive reactions retorts start, I am not dismissing or saying the site isn't useful or helpful. It is. But it's a central repository of daily links, I don't see Blue or any of his 'staff' writing gaming reviews, OpEds on here unless I've been missing them for the past 20 years.

I think that's pretty apparent, I don't think anyone should be upset at that assessment. I was pleased at the flattery and impressed that it attempts to be nuanced, but most of it is generic, those parts you mention in particular. I do like that the description captures our emphasis on trying to be unbiased. But even then, that's probably at least in part derived from how I have described the site myself in various areas, rather than some objective assessment of our objectivity. I didn't dip into any interactivity, so it looks like what I got was just a very basic web-scraping.

It seemed quite accurate to me. I couldn't have said it better myself! 🤣 Also, what you're going to get is in fact a web-scrape because that's what the models are based on. I think the most amazing thing about it is how well it understands languages. Of course the results aren't always going to be perfect/accurate because of the mere fact that it was trained on datasets built from public Internet. I've got ChatGPT open all day to assist in my work, and personally, I find it way more useful than sifting through Google results and all those sponsored links. You just have to dig a little to confirm accuracy or tweak the results manually

Burrito of Peace wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 17:18:

RedEye9 wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 16:37:
But on a side note, the NRA has made a deal with Ivory soap to provide free bars to its members so they can wash the blood off their hands.

You'll want to use Dawn for that. Blood thickens quickly when exposed to the air and adheres to the skin, becoming quite sticky. Dawn cuts through that and washes everything nicely.

My stepmother called me and asked if I would drive her to the hospital because a varicose vein had popped.
After getting her checked into the ER I went back to clean her house, thank god her floor is tile.
the rest is hidden for the red juice sensitive
I grabbed a roll of paper towels and went after the first big puddle. Watching the thick skin-like film bunch up in front of the paper towels, with the still liquid blood underneath, made me feel queasy for a minute. It reminded of the layer that would set on top of boxed Chocolate Pudding if you didn't cover it with wax paper. (the pudding you had to simmer, not the instant).
She was ready to be picked up by the time I finished cleaning.

This comment was edited on Apr 3, 2023, 20:49.

Beamer wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 12:11:
On the LED article, a few pointers:

The Phillips ones are what I have had in my house for quite a while now. Harsh fluorescent-style lights give me migraines, but I've never had a problem with these and they last pretty much forever. They're a little expensive, but I don't think I've ever had to replace any that I've installed so it works out in the long run.

I've never had problems like they describe in the article, either, despite parts of my house being 120+ years old and having electrical work that was seemingly done either by a blind psychopathic pyromaniac or my wife's father, who I think learned most of his home construction skills fast forwarding through old episodes of Home Improvement.

Waller-Bridge will soon be on screen as Harrison Ford’s goddaughter Helena in “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” opening this Summer. She’s also writing a script for Amazon’s new “Tomb Raider” TV series

The fleabag star can do no wrong in my book.

RedEye9 wrote on Apr 3, 2023, 16:37:
But on a side note, the NRA has made a deal with Ivory soap to provide free bars to its members so they can wash the blood off their hands.

You'll want to use Dawn for that. Blood thickens quickly when exposed to the air and adheres to the skin, becoming quite sticky. Dawn cuts through that and washes everything nicely.

I do very much like the Trump one. 🙂.

I will add that I live in Tennessee, which is a slightly less retarded version of Texas, but the really interesting thing is that I will be moving to New Jersey in a few months to be closer to family. (Going to move in with my sister as living alone is becoming too much of a challenge) Did I mention that before or are you spying on me?!? Maybe YOU are the one who has been going on my lawn!!!

But seriously, thanks for the laughs. Having never messed around with the ai thingy I have to say I'm kind of amazed that it generated all that (not to mention that it understands kind of niche pop culture things like Robocop and The Lost Boys).

This comment was edited on Apr 3, 2023, 17:04.

DeSantis signs bill to carry concealed guns without a permit

"More gunz will fix this,"
Said no intelligent person ever.

It's almost as if Ron is in a race to the bottom with Gregg Abbott.
But on a side note, the NRA has made a deal with Ivory soap to provide free bars to its members so they can wash the blood off their hands.