Comments on: Should Home’s Default Questions Be Rewritten?

By: cthulu93

cthulu93 — Sun, 15 May 2011 01:14:25 +0000

But in my opinion make for the most interesting and informative discussions.Yes it is a bit ironic that “Uncle Jesus” regards religion as detrimental to the progress of mankind but like i’ve said before,there are all kinds of ppl on home.As long as you don’t take things to personal and have fairly thick skin these types of convo’s can be very thought provoking.

By: keara22hi

keara22hi — Sun, 15 May 2011 00:38:03 +0000

I am the person in the 1930’s mafia suit and we were having a very interesting conversation. OIivia Allin was in the pencil sketch outfit, and I am fairly sure “black suit guy” was CountEdmundDante. I think (not sure) the topic was whether or not certain victimless crimes should be legalized. And Uncle Jesus had views that were decidedly secular. A good time was had by all -- even though I walked over, blatantly eavesdropped, and then asked if I could add a comment.

But I got a good chuckle out of your comment, Travis-Travis. Discussions like that -- with that group -- are not for the faint of heart.

By: cthulu93

cthulu93 — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:35:24 +0000

I’m sure,but i was referring to Home in general.The more i think about it Age could be a problem in the above situation as well.If i tell a jk meant for some1 that told me they were 35 and it turns out they were 12 and their parent/s happened to look at the screen as i told it there may be a problem,more so for the 12 yr old than for me but could be a problem.But then if we acted worried about every low probability situation we would never do anything would we?lol.

By: Travis-Travis

Travis-Travis — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:30:12 +0000

“For example, what would you expect that this group in Central Plaza might be discussing? From outward appearances, it you wanted to be included in the conversation, what would you say? Maybe a programmed phrase like, “That’s really interesting. Do you mind if I listen?” would be a great ice-breaker. It sure beats using “I have no keyboard” any day of the week.”

Oh, you don’t want in on that conversation. My friend in the picture, Uncle Jesus, was making black suit guy wish he didn’t log on that day.

By: Keara22hi

Keara22hi — Sat, 14 May 2011 20:35:22 +0000

I don’t think a lot of the females in here are so sensitive to male humor anymore. And most of us can give as good as we get.

By: cthulu93

cthulu93 — Sat, 14 May 2011 20:10:52 +0000

Correction:Well when it comes to gender there are some things i might not say in front of a female that i’d say to a male and vice versa.

By: cthulu93

cthulu93 — Sat, 14 May 2011 20:08:04 +0000

Well when it comes to gender there are some things i might not say in front of a female that I’d say to a female and vice versa.Knowing anothers gender can give you a clue about their world outlook.I realize this is not a foolproof thing and there may be some females I’d talk to the exact same way as a male and the other way around but these are usually ppl i’ve known for awhile.If i’m meeting a female for the 1st couple of times there are things,usually in the jk department,that i wouldn’t say that i might with a male.Age and location are usually irrelevant to me,except pertaining to time zone,but it would feel odd if a guy all of a sudden was really a girl if i had just told a slightly sexually suggestive jk.If Sony really cared about sexual harassment this could be a problem.As for feeling compelled to give up any info. i don’t think any1 should feel that way but if your playing boy when your really a girl can then the girl feel offended by a sexually suggestive jk that a guy told thinking he was talking to a guy?I don’t think she should but some do.

By: keara22hi

keara22hi — Sat, 14 May 2011 17:29:33 +0000

The only valid reason I have heard voiced for any age identification online is for Sony to enforce the age limit on Home. I wish they would set that bar a bit higher (if I had a young teenager in my family, I would not want them in Home -- not without supervision) so I would like to see 16 as the minimum age.

As for revealing any personal information at all, why should anyone feel compelled to? This is not a dating service. If you are not looking for someone to ‘hook-up’ with, why would you want to give out information that could be potentially dangerous such as location, age, and gender? It is so easy to have interesting conversations in Home without knowing any real life facts about the people you are talking with.

By: TeknoVampyre

TeknoVampyre — Sat, 14 May 2011 15:49:32 +0000

What you all are forgetting is that people can be whomever they want to be online. I’ve had some “Friends” claim to be a lot older/younger then they really were -- if you’re to trust someone telling you a second time they’re older/younger than they were the first time. There’s no perfect solution to age or even gender identification online, and probably never will be; otherwise it would be implemented everywhere.

By: keara22hi

keara22hi — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:08:26 +0000

I downloaded all of Roy Orbison from iTunes and burned my own cds. Sounds great in the truck!

By: backarch

backarch — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:56:15 +0000

WOO HOO!!! (ok, fine, i’ll be blaring moody blues out of mine)

By: Terra_Cide

Terra_Cide — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:09:03 +0000

Quite frankly, I’m having more fun now in my thirties (that’s in my thirties, not thirty) than I have ever had in my entire life thus far.

If they think that is old, then they should reserve their spot in the retirement home now while they still have the bare intellectual capacity to do so. I, for one, will be having AC/DC blaring out the sound system attached to my wheelchair/walker once I get there.

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:26:36 +0000

Agreed!

By: NorseGamer

NorseGamer — Mon, 02 May 2011 07:26:42 +0000

That’s probably the biggest challenge: nearly every suggested improvement HSM has recommended would require a core client update, because they all deal with enhancing the social aspects of Home, rather than the gaming aspects. And the problem with that is that quantifying the potential profitability of such an update — particularly to justify the cost involved — would be a bit more difficult than, say, launching a new game.

What I’m personally curious about is whether or not a lot of social enhancements — new dance moves, new emotes, improved clubhouse functionality, etc. — could be offered as for-purchase options. If so, not only would it make it very easy to quantify the profitability, but it would likely be quite a gold mine for Sony.

By: deuce_for2

deuce_for2 — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:00:43 +0000

With the quality work you guys are all doing, I am sure your articles are being passed around somewhere at Sony. What Keara is calling for would require a core update. Not a complicated one, but it would involve the core. Hopefully those guys are either reading this or someone is sending them a link. I am sure in the coming months your profile will get high enough to appear on their radar. You all are doing great work. Keep it up.

By: backarch

backarch — Mon, 02 May 2011 00:07:25 +0000

i used to think that bimbo mentality was for the most part ‘on tv’ or just in the movies. two months ago, as i stood at a counter waiting for the teller, i actually heard two ‘barbies’ having a loud discussion beside me.
barbie 1:i mean i like her, but she wants to move in with us and help pay the rent.
barbie 2:is that a problem?
barbie 1:its just thats shes so old, she’s thirty.
barbie 2:oh, god, really? i see what you mean.
being 47, i REALLY felt like bonking thier heads together, or at least finding out thier names so in ten years i can ask them how it feels to be ‘old’. ugh.

By: cthulu93

cthulu93 — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:42:41 +0000

Many of the true pervs don’t give their real ages anyways,any1 that is into that kinda thing won’t have any problem coming up with an age that will work for them.They make up whatever story/bio that will catch them prey so i’m highly doubtful that a perv would give their real age to a youngster.On home,and many other places on the interwebs,we only have the other person’s word about their info so avoiding older ppl for fear of predation seems odd to me.I’ve heard many young ppl say that if any1 over 18 was on home they were weird,i guess they think you should retire after age 17 from gaming,lol.I’d like to see these same kids,online,in 5or10 years so i could remind them that they are past their own retirement guidelines.

By: NorseGamer

NorseGamer — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:33:17 +0000

One of HSM’s primary goals is to offer feedback to Sony and other developers which, in some oblique way, might help shape Home and improve the immersive depth of the experience.

In order to do this, it means putting together a Sony-positive and Home-positive fanzine which could contend with professional, commercial publications that actually pay people. And *that* requires a commitment to mature and literate journalism from a team of writers and artists who understand how corporate America works. Only then can we possibly hope to earn the reputation of being a go-to source of intelligent and reasoned feedback.

One of my favorite quotes: “If you cannot say what you mean, you can never mean what you say.” The downside to a lot of fan projects (and even on the Sony forum itself) is that there’s usually a lot of badly-punctuated, overly emotional and poorly-reasoned background noise to have to wallow through for the occasional pearl.

HomeStation’s goal is to try to deliver nothing but pearls. And if we can do this consistently, then hopefully we set ourselves apart from the self-important chest thumping, whinging, caviling, vituperation and other nonsense that drowns out the good ideas.

What impresses me the most about this team — because the credit goes to them — is that they all produce truly outstanding articles like this one, for free, out of a genuine love of Home. Judging from the truly *substantial* audience numbers HSM is generating, as well as whom some of those registered users are, it appears that we’re on the right track.

It would be immensely flattering if an HSM team member, as a result of his or her work with HomeStation, some day ended up working with or consulting with Sony or another developer. Lord knows, there are a lot of people on this team with some pretty outstanding credentials.

I absolutely love the brilliant simplicity of Keara’s idea in this article. And the logic behind it is outstanding. I’ll admit that I hope this is something that eventually filters its way into Home.

By: Burbie52

Burbie52 — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:23:47 +0000

I agree with both of you on this point. I think that we need to be very careful about what we do and say around younger people we encounter in Home. I have a couple of younger friends (under 18 and both female) who feel they can come to me when they have questions or concerns and I am glad to be there for them and I think they value my experience. But when it comes to girls and men that can be a very different ball of wax. I think that in most cases men should steer clear of under age girls just for their own safety. Even if nothing untoward is going on, that doesn’t mean her father will feel the same way if he gets wind of it and that can cause no end of issues for everyone involved. Although there are predatory females in our population as well, they are probably few and far between, so pose a much smaller risk

By: deuce_for2

deuce_for2 — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:18:47 +0000

Excellent points! Sony needs to get you on staff officially. All this free advice they won’t notice. If they pay you, there is a better chance something might change.