05-13-2003, 10:52 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-13-2003, 10:56 AM by the Langolier.)
The first definition in www.m-w.com for fool is "a person lacking in judgment or prudence".
In that case we can make this word mean whatever we want. Do you prefer "To behave in a playful or comical manner.", or how about "To engage in casual, often promiscuous sexual acts", or even:
"a person who habitually reasons from obviously or demonstrably incorrect premises and cannot be persuaded by evidence to do otherwise; it is not generally used in its other senses, i.e., to describe a person with a native incapacity to reason correctly, or a clown. Indeed, many fools are capable of reasoning all too effectively in executing their errors."
So, pick any word you wish in its stead.
In most cases people will rationalize the purchase of what they desire, however irrational that desire is.
Who are you to say what is an irrational desire to someone or not? Not everyone is as blessed as you to have your opinions/desires. If someone has a desire, be it a fast car or biting their toenails, if they find pleasure in it then there is nothing irrational about it. A person's decision may appear irrational to you, because you would not make the same desicion, but it is their decision.
Most people wouldn't know a rational though if it bit them, and probably would die from the shock of something so foreign to their experience.
I'll just ignore this. Here comes my favorite:
Games are pastimes! As in "something that amuses and serves to make time pass agreeably" (same source). Anyone who spends money in order to avoid having to spend time in a game is more than a fool, he is an idiot. In case those braniacs never figured it out, there are no other returns from a game than those obtained by playing it.
People can find different returns from the same game. Some people find it in doing hours of MF runs in order to get the best items, simply because of the excitment of identifying rare and powerful items in the game. That is fine. Some people, such as yourself, find it in "playing the game" (which I assume you mean completeing quests, developing characters, etc.). That is fine. Some people purchase items so they don't have to do the hours of MF runs to find the good items. Exactly how does this mean they are not playing the game? I would never consider hours of MF runs to be playing. Anyways, after they get these items, what do they do? They play the game. Perhaps this is nothing but dueling. Perhaps it is killing a thousand hell cows in a row. Perhaps it is pking other players. That is simply the aspect of the game they choose to play. Now, if someone bought $100 worth of items, then uninstalled Diablo, it would be pretty hard to argue that they are not a fool. I am inclined to believe, however, that most (if not all) people did not do this, and actually used the purchased gear.
I love to develop my characters. But I do find it is very thrilling to see an item drop with gold text, especially exceptional/elite items. When I don't find such items, I load up my little modification, and go kill quill rats in act 1 and watch elite uniques fall from the sky. I identify them, drool over their stats, and dream of the day I can find it on my own and use it. Then I drop it and move on. You can't do this on realms. Although I would never pay money to get the same feeling on the realm, some people will. Based on: "Anyone who spends money in order to avoid having to spend time in a game is more than a fool, he is an idiot", I would call anyone who purchased a hamburger at a fast food joint a fool for not preparing it themselves at home :)
If those returns don't work for someone, then they should find something else that interests them. If they can't find anything that interests them, then they should kill themselves and quit wasting the air that a relatively *intelligent* being (like a slug) could be using.
This really didn't add anything to (positive) your post. Anyways, the "returns" again can be however a person chooses to play the game, and I can garuntee that they do work for them, even if it is for a limited time. Godly items can definitely add to a person's returns when they duel when the items cause them to win much more often. They get to sacrifice true skill for better items - but winning is winning some would say. And a dedicated dueler wants to win.
So, if one is going to spend the money to get games, then the only reasonable justification is for the enjoyment of the gaming experience. But, the gaming experience is the "doing" not the "having". Anyone who does not see this has a severe (but fairly common in our society) maladjustment to the world around them.
Again. To YOU, the gaming experience is doing, and not having. That does NOT in any way mean that is how it is for other people. Besides, people can "have" and "do" it at the same time. You can easily have the best items around and still "do" (play) the game by dueling, cowing, pking, or even going through the game act by act.
Fools every one. Chasing a worthless goal in pursuit of what they threw away when they spent their money.
You went for a hat trick! Just because items on ebay may be worthless to you, that doesn't mean they are to everybody. You are judging other peoples decisions based on YOUR values. You think it is foolish to buy items on ebay - so be it. Don't buy them (as I am sure you do not). This doesn't mean that other people feel the same way. If they wish to buy something that brings them joy, that is fine, and I don't see anything irrational or foolish about it. Even if they do end up spoiling their own game, they don't see this fact at the time they buy them, so it is still a rational decision.
In that case we can make this word mean whatever we want. Do you prefer "To behave in a playful or comical manner.", or how about "To engage in casual, often promiscuous sexual acts", or even:
"a person who habitually reasons from obviously or demonstrably incorrect premises and cannot be persuaded by evidence to do otherwise; it is not generally used in its other senses, i.e., to describe a person with a native incapacity to reason correctly, or a clown. Indeed, many fools are capable of reasoning all too effectively in executing their errors."
So, pick any word you wish in its stead.
In most cases people will rationalize the purchase of what they desire, however irrational that desire is.
Who are you to say what is an irrational desire to someone or not? Not everyone is as blessed as you to have your opinions/desires. If someone has a desire, be it a fast car or biting their toenails, if they find pleasure in it then there is nothing irrational about it. A person's decision may appear irrational to you, because you would not make the same desicion, but it is their decision.
Most people wouldn't know a rational though if it bit them, and probably would die from the shock of something so foreign to their experience.
I'll just ignore this. Here comes my favorite:
Games are pastimes! As in "something that amuses and serves to make time pass agreeably" (same source). Anyone who spends money in order to avoid having to spend time in a game is more than a fool, he is an idiot. In case those braniacs never figured it out, there are no other returns from a game than those obtained by playing it.
People can find different returns from the same game. Some people find it in doing hours of MF runs in order to get the best items, simply because of the excitment of identifying rare and powerful items in the game. That is fine. Some people, such as yourself, find it in "playing the game" (which I assume you mean completeing quests, developing characters, etc.). That is fine. Some people purchase items so they don't have to do the hours of MF runs to find the good items. Exactly how does this mean they are not playing the game? I would never consider hours of MF runs to be playing. Anyways, after they get these items, what do they do? They play the game. Perhaps this is nothing but dueling. Perhaps it is killing a thousand hell cows in a row. Perhaps it is pking other players. That is simply the aspect of the game they choose to play. Now, if someone bought $100 worth of items, then uninstalled Diablo, it would be pretty hard to argue that they are not a fool. I am inclined to believe, however, that most (if not all) people did not do this, and actually used the purchased gear.
I love to develop my characters. But I do find it is very thrilling to see an item drop with gold text, especially exceptional/elite items. When I don't find such items, I load up my little modification, and go kill quill rats in act 1 and watch elite uniques fall from the sky. I identify them, drool over their stats, and dream of the day I can find it on my own and use it. Then I drop it and move on. You can't do this on realms. Although I would never pay money to get the same feeling on the realm, some people will. Based on: "Anyone who spends money in order to avoid having to spend time in a game is more than a fool, he is an idiot", I would call anyone who purchased a hamburger at a fast food joint a fool for not preparing it themselves at home :)
If those returns don't work for someone, then they should find something else that interests them. If they can't find anything that interests them, then they should kill themselves and quit wasting the air that a relatively *intelligent* being (like a slug) could be using.
This really didn't add anything to (positive) your post. Anyways, the "returns" again can be however a person chooses to play the game, and I can garuntee that they do work for them, even if it is for a limited time. Godly items can definitely add to a person's returns when they duel when the items cause them to win much more often. They get to sacrifice true skill for better items - but winning is winning some would say. And a dedicated dueler wants to win.
So, if one is going to spend the money to get games, then the only reasonable justification is for the enjoyment of the gaming experience. But, the gaming experience is the "doing" not the "having". Anyone who does not see this has a severe (but fairly common in our society) maladjustment to the world around them.
Again. To YOU, the gaming experience is doing, and not having. That does NOT in any way mean that is how it is for other people. Besides, people can "have" and "do" it at the same time. You can easily have the best items around and still "do" (play) the game by dueling, cowing, pking, or even going through the game act by act.
Fools every one. Chasing a worthless goal in pursuit of what they threw away when they spent their money.
You went for a hat trick! Just because items on ebay may be worthless to you, that doesn't mean they are to everybody. You are judging other peoples decisions based on YOUR values. You think it is foolish to buy items on ebay - so be it. Don't buy them (as I am sure you do not). This doesn't mean that other people feel the same way. If they wish to buy something that brings them joy, that is fine, and I don't see anything irrational or foolish about it. Even if they do end up spoiling their own game, they don't see this fact at the time they buy them, so it is still a rational decision.