Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Yeah ditto for me to what others have said — Push Square is really the only ‘social media’ that I engage with, and a little of PSN obviously. I’ve been told I should use Reddit, but I worry that it would just pull me into endless rabbit holes. I tend to exist on the other end of the spectrum from @Jimmer-jammer in that my misapprehension of the popular social media platforms has worsened over the last several years. I think it started to really tank when I watched “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix. I even have started to steer away from using Google and its associated products when I can avoid it. I know it comes across as ‘tin foil hat’ conspiratorial, but it feels like that the monetization aspects of these platforms has overshadowed any and all moral principles.

I think some of the entities have tried to curb their platform to make them less toxic and have put up guardrails (like I think Tik Tok and others will send you a warning message if you’ve been scrolling endlessly on it for too long) but at the end of the day most platforms make money by keeping your eyes on the screen and its ads and they do so by computer algorithm driven bait which results in echo chamber creation and effectively discarding truth, equity, and balance in favor of enslaving the commodity of your attention and ideals. Most of these outlets can too easily manipulate the populace and although freedom of expression is a good thing, the Wild West of social media is a deceptive illusion of freedom. And I don’t mean the debate about censorship of loose cannons spreading open lies or the muzzling of dangerous falsehoods - rather I mean that the way some social media presents the world to its patrons paints unrealistic impressions and tends to drive people toward more and more extreme stances.

I mentioned this when discussing the recent election but the ‘illusory truth principle’ can be escalated very, very quickly when it sends these messages in a steady constant stream of 10 second intervals. In one engaged afternoon a person can essentially be brainwashed.

Also, there’s some solid data that says the most productive communication and exchange of ideas occurs with face to face interaction. There’s no substitute for breaking bread with our peers and it’s just a much better way to form views about the world and our fellow humans.

All this being said, I really enjoy interacting with the users here on Push Square. It’s a nice way to connect with a relatively niche community that I otherwise could not find in the ‘real world’. Also, the engagement is not manipulated (that I know of) by AI driven individual profiling and steerage toward certain articles or discussions. I know users will often complain on the front page about “click-bait” articles and headlines, but these aren’t nefariously fed to us through a prism which excludes other conflicting ideas.

I apologize for being so negative but like so many other inventions, what started as something good and useful we turned into a weapon and a way to profit. And I understand that social media and internet interactions aren’t unique in their attempts to constantly maximize engagement for profit. Nearly every industry uses misleading advertising or an addictive component of their product to keep you coming back, be it the food industry, the car industry, tech, all forms of entertainment including sports, movies, and music, etc, etc. But the difference is the nature of how social media changes how humans interact with one another rather than just how one spends their own time. I’m pretty laissez-faire with how other people want to entertain themselves, but I’m not a fan of exploitation of the fabric of society.

Some interesting and variegated opinions there ,chaps. I'd say social media is a platform that can be used for good or ill, depending on the user and their intentions. Just to change the subject slightly now, and, perhaps lighten the mood somewhat, I will now divert matters back to gaming-related discussion.

I am planning to take an extended break from gaming after completing Elden Ring, if I can complete it. It's been a long journey, but that would be the last of the Miyazaki-helmed video games in the Souls/Soulslike series that I complete, and the remaining games out there that I am interested in are limited, I want to savor them.

@Th3solution How are you, my friend? I hope life, work, and travel are all treating you well as usual, and wish you all the best with your current endeavours. What are you playing atm?

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Doing better than I deserve, buddy. I’m done with 2 out of 3 DLC in DS2 and maybe 1/3 of the way through the last one. I’ve been splitting some time with a narrative adventure Sci Fi game, Deliver Us the Moon. Otherwise, the occasional few hours of Balatro as well while watching football. How’s it coming with your Elden Ring run and your music and reading pursuits?

@Th3solution Elden Ring is going well, but I've been told I'm getting a bit obsessed with it 😂, so today's a break day from the game. Four major storyline-related bosses to go and then I'm done with it. But, yeah, upgraded my Greatsword to the maximum level of +25 for the final bosses, and have a good summon available so, yeah, feeling confident for the gauntlet of the endgame. On the music and reading front, I recently saw Julian Lage live, he was amazing, potentially the world's leading guitarist right now (jazz guitarist) he did a solo show that I attended and was suprisingly well-animated for someone restricted to sitting in a chair with an acoustic guitar on their lap for the entirety of the show, I'd highly recommend seeing him live if you like jazz mixed with other genres such as rock or are a fan of guitar music in general.

On the reading front, I'm reading Chekhov right now, got into him 'cause Dr. Cornel West said he is a Chekhovian Christian, in terms of his personal philosophy and worldview, so I thought it mighr be worth diving into his (Chekhov's) work! Very rewarding reading journey so far.

@LN78 The entire stereotype of ‘foaming mouth activists’ just makes me laugh these days considering the ‘anti-woke’ lot are the ones chasing ghosts they’ve created.

@LN78 Never before but it was an interesting one. Definitely feels like a time warp back to 2016 in more ways than one.

(Funny seeing Grummz eviscerated too, what an absolute bellend and I have no idea why anybody listens to him)

@LN78 Watched about twenty minutes during my morning coffee, and as someone who is sick and tired of mouth breathing troglodytes (I almost made the mistake of calling them "Neanderthals'", which would be wrong, as research indicates that the Neanderthals were way more intelligent and sophisticated than this lot) on the internet screaming about anti-woke and all that bulls**t, it was very nice to see such a proper take-down of this Kern ***** (of whom I've never heard and hope to never hear of again).

Will absolutely pick up the rest of the video in the afternoon, time permitting. Thanks for sharing

@Th3solution Idk if this will work for you (and I haven't completed it yet) but my more recent experiences with a couple of the bosses in Elden Ring's endgame have suggested that my muscle-memory has definitely improved for Souls/Soulslike games after playing Rise of the Ronin, so , as a fellow Souls player I would definitely recommend RotR to you as a gateway to making your future Souls experiences significantly easier/more manageable - Idk if it would work for you, as I say, but as it worked for me I will definitely recommend it to you.

Maybe you could ideally squeeze it in at some point in between Dark Souls 2 (your completion of that game) and Dark Souls 3.

Edit: I don't think that the skills acquired from RotR would be transferable to DkS1/2 but for the faster combat of 3/ER they are definitely transferable imo. The speed of RotR is just a notch above the pace of those games, but you have the option of NPC assistance for most boss fights, so by the time you return to the Souls games you should find yourself having a much better time, on the other side, as it were.

I dread to think what Nioh 2 will be like when I play it! (Apparently that's even more hardcore than RotR)

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Thanks, will definitely keep it in mind. Time management being my biggest obstacle, I’ll have to see how things unfold. I’m going to need a mini Souls vacation when I finish DS2. That said, I’m been more impulsive recently with my free time so all options are on the table. 😄

@LN78 We’ve got Trump being elected again, a return to GamerGate style nonsense and the vibes of BlueSky are basically supplanted from Ellen circa 2010s. Might be 8 years ago but nothing’s changed really.

@LN78 Excellent video. I think he hits the nail quite squarely on the head when assessing these people, which was evidenced in particular with the Monster Hunter thing at the end there. Also, it has always seemed ridiculous to me that a huge corporation in a capitalist society would have any other agenda than "MOAR CA$$$H!!!".
(I also chuckled quite often and especially when he insinuated, in nicer words than mine, that most of these guys should be happy that tastes are diverse enough to allow for someone to find ugly people attractive)

Here is a random question I hope someone knows the answer to...
Can an employer in the UK make employees join a WhatsApp group and expect them to read all messages/content outside of their paid and contracted work hours? Or would said employees be within their rights to refuse to read them unless at work and being paid for it as it could be classed as training.
Not gonna affect me personally but will be hitting some people I know and I'm thinking it seems a bit unfair that people even have to acknowledge their jobs when they're not there.

@sorteddan I guess it depends on whether said employee is salaried or hourly and what their contract specifies. I think it also matters what the nature of the messages is.

I do think it’s a little strange regardless, but I know some jobs do require people to be reachable outside of work, just to communicate contingencies in the business and give urgent updates. For example, if a person is a manager, they need to be available in case one of their reports has an emergency and can’t come to work, the building catches on fire, etc.

As far as just using What’s App to convey training material, that seems especially weird. If the company had its own proprietary training app or website, and the person is salaried and given the option to do it at home or at work, then that would be something else, since it’s completion would be considered expected and if one couldn’t finish it while at work then you’d need to do it after hours. In my experience salaried positions are less about being “at work” or “not at work” and more about “get this job done, and as soon as it’s completed then go home.”

@Th3solution Actually, this upcoming game has made me rethink playing Sekiro after all - I might give it a go. What do you think of the trailer? (Apparently it's Sekiro-inspired. so it might be worth playing Sekiro first, in order to enhance the experience).

@Jimmer-jammer How are you doing? Playing anthing good to wrap up your gaming time for the year? Also, have you seen the game in the link above before? Did you play Sekiro? I would imagine you may be interested in this if you did.

To me it looks like a cross between Sekiro and the OddWorld games, which I used to love back in the day, well ,ExOddus anyway.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I have noticed that game before, mainly because it borrows from the nickname people use for me here on the forums. 😂 I’m honored that they’ve apparently included nine of me in this game.

Regardless, I don’t usually like 2D games as much as 3D, so I rarely engage with them. I’ve heard great things about games like Salt and Sanctuary, Balsphemous, and Ender Lillies. I should probably try one of these games at some point, just to see if it sticks. The last couple 2D games I’ve attempted haven’t really clicked with me (Child of Light, Death’s Door). They were okay but I never finished either of them.

@Th3solution I see, hopefully you will try Sekiro or Nine Sols at some point to see if they gel with you, based on what I've played of Sekiro (my current game) so far, the parry system is quite unforgiving, and like Jimmer was saying in the PS5 Thread, you either master it or you die, so maybe it wouldn't be the most suitable game if parrying isn't, as you say, your strong point. How are Balatero (sp?) and Dark Souls 2 going for you buddy? Gonna have a busy time as usual over the festive period in the States? Hopefully an Orange Santa won't come down the chimney with a lump of coal for you, whilst simultaneously demanding all your taxes at once. 😉

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Keep me updated how you get along with Sekiro. I’m definitely curious about it and I’ve been put off by what I’ve heard about the parry system and the related difficulty. Apparently the last boss is an absolute whopper to beat.

Speaking of, the only gaming I did over the last two weeks was trying to dust off DS2, which I just feel like will never end. Granted, my game time is limited but the DLCs are longer than most full release games. I’ve beat all 3 main bosses in the DLC and have all 4 crowns, and so have Vendrick’s Blessing where I now don’t go hollow if I die (provided I’m wearing one of the crowns) but there’s one last optional boss that I can’t seem to beat. I posted my frustrations over on the Souls thread.

The holiday season is in full swing though, and I’ve started my usual split personality regarding it. I really enjoy many aspects of it — the music, the food, the general spirit of positivity it tends to encourage at its core. But I also dislike many things about it, namely how busy it gets, all the parties and shopping and gifting. Ugh. Also the fact that it falls right at the end of the year makes it a royal pain because simultaneously there’s all the scrambling to button up all the fiscal stuff. I guess it’s why many companies wisely choose to end their fiscal year at a less busy quarter. Unfortunately, orange Santa and the feds term things on Dec 31, so taxes and many other burdens need to be wrapped up. Income taxes aren’t technically due until April, but they are calculated based on everything done Jan 1-Dec 31, so a lot of the preparation needs to be completed over the next couple weeks, as well as enrollments and decisions for things like insurance and whatnot.

"Never read IGN review" There, fixed it