TRPG General Chat

12:37 AM

@trogdor The bot on SFF chat is called "Obie". It stopped working for a while, so one of the users changed his name to "Obie", and his avatar to Obie's avatar. When the bot was fixed, people complained about his name, so he changed it to "Obie 2.0".

trogdor

lol

so it is named after Obie Wan Kenobi?

BESW

> plottery, n. the art of making plots; see also plots, throwing

Adeptus

@trogdor I think it comes from OneBox = OB = Obie

trogdor

ah

the science fiction fantasy SE?

wouldn't that be arqade?

Adeptus

12:55 AM

15

A: The many memes of scifi.stackexchange

Meme: Obie, aka: Obie the Interrupting OneBox Scope: SFF Chat room (Mos Eisley) Originator: Mike Edenfield May 27, 2015 6:58 PM. Cultural Height: Ongoing Background: Richard was attempting to tell a knock-knock joke about an interrupting cow named Gerald, but was thwarted by the system's ques...

trogdor

mk. seems weird to me, but wtv

BESW

1:37 AM

@trogdor Arqade is for video games; Science Fiction & Fantasy is for anything in that genre--books, films, etc. It's more of a trivia Stack.

trogdor

I get that, but one boxing doesn't seem attached, in particular, to Science Fiction/Fantasy

BESW

Ah.

Also, I'm quite sure Obie is Old Ben Kenobi.

trogdor

yeah that was what I was guessing

Shalvenay

3:57 AM

hey there @nitsua60

SirTechSpec

4:10 AM

Arghhhh, had a dozen people helping me move this weekend and forgot to check in. I was like 3/4 of the way to Fanatic. :/

Guess I'll just have to keep trying XD

trogdor

4:23 AM

you'll get it eventually

Miniman

@SirTechSpec Or you could set up a server with no purpose beyond accessing the site once a day.

trogdor

4:39 AM

lol

you could do that

but where is the fun in that?

Miniman

@trogdor I mean, I'm not advocating not accessing the site yourself. Just suggesting that if you really want the badge, having a reliable backup to ensure you don't miss a day because of life or some crap like that seems sensible.

Of course, it'd be tricky, because just visiting the site isn't actually enough to guarantee that you'll count as having visited.

16

Q: Is there a minimum level of activity required to get the "Enthusiast" badge?

I just got my Enthusiast badge on SuperUser (Woot! indeed), but haven't received it on ServerFault, despite me thinking I've been visiting both sites every day since I came back off holiday in mid August. I've got both Google Chrome at home and Firefox at work to open all four sites at startup -...

I should point out, this isn't how I've gotten my 716 days - I really do visit the site this much. Because I'm a crazy person.

Adeptus

I'm usually busy on weekends, so I won't be getting any of the "visit everyday" badges for the foreseeable future.

trogdor

@Miniman I didn't take it as meaning that at all XD

I have one gold badge myself, and it so happens to be fanatic

partly because I wanted it, but also because I had already decided I wanted to be on this site as often as possible anyway by the time I was gunning for it

Miniman

5:29 AM

@SevenSidedDie Bloody hell, I didn't realise before I started how scattered the rules are for something as fundamental as making an attack.

Looking at my answer, I'm inclined to think maybe I should've voted to close instead of answering.

BESW

5:48 AM

GRAMMARHULK is back!

HULK HOPE YOU ALL BEEN PUTTING IN OXFORD COMMAS AND CORRECTLY USING YOUR EN DASHES WHILE HULK GONE!

Tweeted by GRAMMARHULK on July 25, 2016 at 5:23 AM in reply to GRAMMARHULK

Miniman

@Adeptus Thanks for pointing that out, I totally missed it.

Adeptus

No probs

Miniman

At some point, I'll have to go through and add page numbers, just so it's "the complete guide to making an attack for dummies/people who don't want to read the entire PHB just to learn how to do one thing why aren't all these rules on the same page I can't even".

Handsome Unlimited

6:20 AM

howdy. completely new at SE. how much research is expected from people before their question has earned a downvote? i realise its not something you could easily quantify

Adeptus

@HandsomeUnlimited Welcome! Generally, expected research is at least "I've read the book"

Handsome Unlimited

for example, the question about whether AC is affected by piercing damage in 5e is (in my mind) a question that shows no research at all, but has been upvoted several times.

BESW

We've got a pretty low bar for that.

Handsome Unlimited

which is fine, by the way, if anything it's an indication that i haven't got the right idea of what sufficient research is

BESW

If the passage is confusing and the asker can tell us what's confusing them, that counts.

Adeptus

6:24 AM

@HandsomeUnlimited I think in that case, it's assumed the asker has read the book but has misunderstood. As Miniman said, the combat rules are scattered throughout the PHB, so it's easy to miss something

BESW

If the information is across multiple pages and the asker only found one page, that counts.

Handsome Unlimited

ok, awesome, thanks for the explanation

BESW

It's not a trivial question!

Handsome Unlimited

so... was it in poor form for me to downvote that question?

BESW

You may find this useful:

8

Q: Can we have a RTFM equivalent in the Vote to Close options?

Often enough we get really low-quality questions that are obvious that the asker has not read the rules at all (vs. asking for clarification). What does "+6 to hit, Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4)" mean in a creature's stat block? is an example of this. Generally these questions seemed to be looked down on by ...

feature-request status-declined vote-to-close

@HandsomeUnlimited We don't police voting. There are trends and guidelines, and if you vote because of the person instead of the question that'll cause patterns which raise flags.

But a big part of the way the Stack works is letting everyone vote according to their own conscience.

You shouldn't be asked to justify a vote unless it's part of a pattern of preferential voting (like downvoting everything posted by one user).

Handsome Unlimited

6:29 AM

oh absolutely. i was only asking then because i was worried i had misunderstood what i should be using the downvote for

BESW

I'd personally consider it a little overzealous.

But there's a wide range of opinions about that.

Handsome Unlimited

sort of like if you were at a murder trial and you were convinced the guy was guilty, but then everyone else votes innocent... sure, you might still vote guilty but the fact everyone else is voting differently is a good signal that you need to reevaluate why you're voting that way, and if you missed something that everyone else picked up on

BESW

Some folks feel downvotes should be reserved for the most egregious violations, to preserve their power as a punitive tool.

But for me, I look on voting as the primary tool the Stack uses to sort posts by usefulness/quality.

Handsome Unlimited

would i be out of line to say that i think a downvote doesn't need to be a punishment at all?

BESW

I'd agree with you totally.

So I see voting as best implemented with the full granularity of the system: up, down, and not.

Handsome Unlimited

6:34 AM

yeah it sort of seems like the entire system is based around that

BESW

Yup. A primary goal of the Stack is to be a well-sorted collection of actionable solutions to problems people actually face.

Voting is one way it accomplishes the "well-sorted" bit (also, tags).

Hey, Fate folks, check out this in relation to this. What should I do?

trogdor

wait, so does that mean we have been doing it wrong, or just that one guy has an oppinion?

because there are, to be frank, a lot of guys having differing and not always useful opinions on fate and how it should work XD

BESW

That one guy is Rob Donoghue, the co-author of DFRPG and Fate Core.

trogdor

ah

still just an opinion :P

BESW

I think it's an example of how Fate is very resilient so long as you don't futz with the fate point economy.

But I feel it maybe deserves a mention in my answer.

trogdor

6:50 AM

if they didn't intend for people to spend multiple free invokes from the same aspect,... they really shouldn't have worded it the way they did T.T

BESW

yeah, well, in DFRPG they accidentally said that being On fire doesn't have any narrative meaning unless someone spends a fate point to compel it.

trogdor

as I recall, at least, the rules on free invokes came after normal invoke rules, and looked suspiciously like an exception to the normal rule

@BESW yes, that is also silly

eimyr

8:42 AM

yo

BESW

lo

eimyr

what's new?

@BESW Is there anything heppning to Botch?

BESW

I've got a banner.

That's all I know.

eimyr

a banner?

Is it big and green?

can you show?

BESW

9:02 AM

It's not "perfect," but I don't have the extra hours to spend right now on polishing it up from "pretty good."

eimyr

I really like it.

BESW

I physically arranged all the pieces and scanned them as a single image, then applied a few actions to punch it up.

eimyr

So you took out your crayons and drew the bits IRL?

BESW

Yup.

eimyr

Admirable

BESW

9:07 AM

(I bought crayons for playtesting Surgadores.)

eimyr

I imagined you'd simply have some. I think crayons are really important to have even if you don't use them.

How much would you usually charge for a job like that?

BESW

Yes, but roaches like to eat crayons.

eimyr

That is, if you're willing to share such a detail with any degree of accuracy.

BESW

Hmm. Including meeting time (working with the client to understand their vision and including them in the brainstorming process), and for a single-application use...

I'd've invoiced it at about $250.

But that includes a "I know the client and I know they aren't going to make trouble for me" knockoff on the hourly.

Unknown clients get a few hours grief time tacked on.

eimyr

Is that tax-included or the ridiculous USA way of not telling the customer how much to pay?

BESW

9:15 AM

Guam doesn't have a general sales tax.

trogdor

yeah, we are lucky enough to be spared that

BESW

The money that would normally be taken through sales tax is instead acquired through taxing the company directly. So prices are increased accordingly on the tag, not at the register.

eimyr

It sounds sane.

BESW

(Some specifics purchases, like hotel rooms, DO have a sales tax at the register, but it's not widespread.)

eimyr

I live in the world of VAT, income and profit tax. Not telling me the final price is the ultimate sin and I avoid companies that advertise sales with (VAT excl.) annotation.

BESW

9:21 AM

@eimyr Eh, it's more like the accidental side effect of a crazy hacked-together set of compromises about how to impose Federal tax laws on a non-state member of the United States.

eimyr

Anyway, your quote does sound quite hefty. I wonder whether there are cheaper avenues for people who would accept a lower quality banner at a smaller price.

BESW

Oh, yes. There are definitely cheaper folks.

eimyr

Especially looking at a generally cheaper markets.

BESW

This is a case of hiring the wrong guy for the job because he's the guy you want anyway.

eimyr

E.g. I'd happily order one in Poland instead of the UK, I'd expect similar quality but for at a reduced hourly reate.

BESW

9:26 AM

My specialty is print media, so it takes me longer to do digital-destination work because I'm unfamiliar with the standards and conventions.

And my niche is working with the client closely to make sure their vision is communicated in a multicultural context.

So my hourly rate includes services this job isn't taking advantage of, and it's taking more hours because it's outside my expertise.

eimyr

I do get it.

BESW

eg, for about the same rate I'd do a full tri-fold colour flyer if the client provides the content.

eimyr

makes sense

meanwhile in my past experience such flyers are about twice as expensive as small banners or logostype work

BESW

Aye, that'd be more likely.

eimyr

heh, as a matter of fact I had a video edited, polished, added title screens and overlays with full voiceover for something in the same ballpark

that's amazing how the price can vary depending on not the type and amount of work needed, but by who does it and how it fits that person's expertise.

BESW

9:40 AM

You also get MUCH lower prices if you're hiring someone through a design company; freelancers charge between +50% and +100% because we lack job benefits and security.

eimyr

10:01 AM

I see.