AgoraBoard

^{Eaux bleues ceased to exist.}

So hard to find good help.

Morocco mole wrote:

The Nudest in Agora: "After exhaustive surveys, the World Census calculated which nations have the greatest acreages of flesh on public display."

I'm coming for your Nudity stat, Nemonicus

Morocco mole wrote:

*Cheerfully serves them coffee*

Finally awakens enough to drink the provided coffee and finds it covered in cobwebs. A spider skitters across the outside and then out of sight.

Uh...I think my drink might be a little cold. Can I get another?

Godhand90 wrote:

I can see that this region is equally split between walls and coffee. The question is how many cups of coffee does it take to build a wall around the Agora?

Six thousand four hundred and eighty nine, give or take a few based on uneven landscape variables.

Harteath wrote:

Rocks are for wussies. Put a lit firecracker in one of those suckers and let the malicious entertainment ensue.

...I feel like the snow would put out the firecracker...?

John Constantine wrote:

That is unfortunately very true. Tribalism tends to flare up in moments of crisis.

I worry about travel, but you are correct about safety and having a support system, especially as this event seems to spiral out of control.

Large gatherings are now banned, which is surreal, and yet Chase has seen fit to tell me that its call centers will be fully staffed so I don't have to worry about going out in public. -.- As soon as I pay off this loan, I think I will refrain from banking with them again unless these people are teleworking. There is nothing moral about trading someone's health for your own, or forcing someone to do so.

Has a mini heartattack.

Ah...you mean the bank. Chase bank. Okay. That makes much more sense. They've been bothering me too, I don't have a loan through them though, just an account. The Los Angles Times says Chase Bank is asking its employees to work from home and try out a test run of their contingency plan for possible quarantine measures.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-03/jpmorgan-chase-coronavirus-work-from-home

Harteath wrote:

I made a bunch of cookies to give out to neighbors earlier, but few of them actually accepted any because of this whole Coronavirus mess. Now I have a bunch of cookies laying around, and I'm not big on eating them. I just enjoy making them. _{^{and eating the dough.}} I'm going to be mostly alone this week too, so I have enough cookies to feed a small army, but no small army to eat them.

You could wrap them in small baggies and hand them out later or to friends/family who will appreciate them. Or the cookie jar thing. That too is a good idea.

Neutrality Foundation wrote:

Uh...I think my drink might be a little cold. Can I get another?

*Freshens their hot coffee*

Nemonicus wrote:

Friends and neighbors, tomorrow is Atena 21st, Nasias d’Anoxi (Birth of Spring).

In recognition of this occasion the Tajini Hut will be charging their usual prices with no discounts.

*Throws open the shutters on the hut with a clatter and begins to brew a fresh pot of coffee*

Janisport wrote:

As the poll ended in a stalemate, I'm simply going to dismiss the issue

A wise choice. The current laws regarding intellectual property are out-dated and should be reformed to reflect the new digital paradigm. In the past couple of decades the enforcement of copyright laws has been unevenly enforced and has targeted some who within the boundaries of fair use. While I believe in the 'ownership' of intellectual property I also think the rules need to be re-evaluated to more specifically spell out what is and what isn't permissible.

Crack down on internet piracy: Good luck with that. It'll be like trying to sweep back the sea when the tide comes in. Increased enforcement of anything will always ensnare some innocents in the process. Much of the global digital piracy comes from countries who are not participants in the copyright infringement treaties and are outside of legal jurisdiction. In frustration the nations which are will probably come down harder on those within their reach and punish offenders more than fits the crime.

Abolish copyright laws: Speaking specifically about artistic endeavors, I feel that artists should be allowed some protection of their creative efforts. To simply toss away copyright laws would be too drastic change in the way our economies work and would have far-reaching effects that perhaps we had not even conceived of.

Strengthen Intellectual Property laws: With what aim in mind? Would you have our legal system spend a dollar to save a dime? In the old days farmers would plant extra crops with the practical knowledge that there would be an unspecified yet predictable loss of a portion of their efforts to foraging animals.

Dismiss: At least until we have gotten though this current age of unchecked greed and self-serving stupidity.

Janisport wrote:

Ownership is a spook

I've long said that I'm no communist. I like my stuff but am willing to give a fair portion to the common treasure to help the community as a whole. I am a democratic socialist who believes in a strongly regulated market economy. Anarchism may be attractive to you youngsters, it certainly was when I was your age, but there is a limit to how freely a community should be able to conduct itself. This new age of libertarianism seems to be 'freedom for me but not for others' which is selfish and ultimately destructively futile.

Janisport wrote:

Personally I don't consider myself to belong to any ideology, nor do I see why I would need to, I can certainly agree and disagree with some ideas but choosing to identify yourself with a collection of ideas is not only unnecessary but is also a negative influence that can often cloud a person's judgement.

The joke I posted is from a rather hilarious ideology that's mostly a joke but comes from an obscure philosophy that I consider to have some merit. It's called Egoism and its foundations were laid by the man that's drawn like a ghostbuster, Max Stirner (A.K.A Johann Kaspar Schmidt). His philosophy essentially boils down to this, all abstract concepts, ideas, social constructs, indeed society itself, are like spooks (ghosts) in people's minds that make them behave in ways they wouldn't otherwise and keep them from serving themselves.

In its most extreme form it can get pretty crazy, i.e depicting Max as a home invader that would more than happily open your fridge without asking and steal your milk

“I do not step shyly back from your property, but look upon it always as my property, in which I respect nothing. Pray do the like with what you call my property!”

― Max Stirner

I feel like I can see some merit in this with land, to an extent. Beyond personal land that you secure to ensure your safety from the elements (like a house) and the minimum of what you would need to grow food/material to sell (like farm land you personally care for), the land seems like it would be free for all, though it's definitely not. But people should have the right to their own property that they've worked on. Whether that be physical or intellectual property, if you put in the work it should be yours to do with as you see fit (*so long as you aren't infringing on someone else's rights).

Morocco mole wrote:

"So you won't complain when my fist invades the space where your nose is?"

Ah, the downfall of so many utopian experiments...lol

Gates of Horn and Ivory wrote:

Ah, the downfall of so many utopian experiments...lol

His utopia relied on my stuff to support it. He wasn't an idealist; he was a scavenger.

Brocklandia wrote:

The good ship Ideology has never survived an encounter with the iceberg of praxis.

Praxis: practice, as distinguished from theory.

Does some minor errand clearing.

Ahem. 95.29.

Magloire wrote:

Ahem. 95.29.

Fixed.