DOCSLIB.ORG

My Simming Memoirs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
My Simming Memoirs My Simming Memoirs The Dream, the Hope, and the Reality By Chas Hammer; President, Trek Online (Retired) Copyright 20041 Orion battling Taurus, The Symbol of Trek Online2 Dedicated to the members of Trek Online... past, present and future. 1 The first edition of my memoirs was published in 1997 to coincide with the first anniversary of Trek Online. I published a greatly expanded second edition between 2003 and 2005, which I made available on a simming website I maintained. In preparation for my retirement, I converted the web document into a pdf in 2014 so that my memoirs can be preserved after I disappear; in doing such I edited Chapters 1 through 3 to correct based on knowledge gained in subsequent years. I also edited Part 6 to reduce my ramblings. I corrected for grammar and clarity throughout the remaining chapters, but didn’t make any drastic edits beyond the first three chapters and Part 6. In this pdf version, I maintained the fonts and images used on the website, including the comic sans font. Comic sans rules! Besides, my simming adventures are somewhat like a comic – never to be taken too seriously – so it’s an appropriate font for my memoirs. 2 Uranographia by Johann Bode (1801) 1 Introduction Even after all these years, I'm fascinated by simming and the fundamental question, why do we sim? What possesses us to sit in front of a computer for hours on end and construct an imaginary world? For me, it was fun. But there was more to it. When I ran Trek Online, I was entering the adult world. Life doesn't provide young, intelligent, but socially awkward people finishing school and beginning a career with too many outlets,3 so I simmed. I used my pent up creativity and energy to create a club that brought entertainment to hundreds of people. But it almost didn't happen. When I discovered simming in December of 1994, I didn't like it. Too many rules and stuck up people. I was unlucky, I suppose, for having come across a club that didn't suit me. Fortunately, months later, I came across a free spirited band of simmers. My creativity was let loose and I was hooked. I was able to gallivant across the galaxy and play a dashing hero. Surprisingly to me, though, what I most enjoyed was the out of character aspects of simming - the unsung behind the scenes grunt work and management. There I was able to play boss, politician, and diplomat, and I learned about my talents and limitations. I soon realized I could do a better job than my simulated bosses, and after the club I was a Vice President in collapsed, I started my own club - Trek Online. Given the unfettered nature of simming, everyone's imaginations go overboard. Clubs like Trek Online became republics. Disputes become wars. Leaders engage in great power politics. I'm guilty of this, but I – and I think others – do it because it's a harmless way to explore our desires and sort out what to do with our real life. Most people who write about simming tone down these aspects to seem less crazy, but I've embraced them in my writings here. If nothing else, it makes the reading more interesting. My memoirs are a celebration our imaginations, online hobby, and the tremendous amount of work that sustains it. But above all else, I wrote these memoirs for myself. By writing, I've remembered much that I forgot and have forced myself to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses. It has helped improve my real life. As a simmer, I hope you embrace the craziness and borderline delusions of our world. Those who don't usually won't last very long. But at the same time, please don't get carried away. I've seen too many good people have their ego become dependent on simming. I was lucky because I loved to partake in the craziness, but I wasn't swept away (most of the time). 3 Unless you’re tremendously good at, say, sports or music or computer programming. 2 Because of that, I and my little band of self-described revolutionaries were able to build a great club in our day. Trek Online became renowned for its quality, professionalism, and wacky spirit. Many lasting friendships were born in that club, and even a marriage or two. We pushed the boundaries of simming by experimenting with new styles and focusing attention on the importance of management, communication, and community. We were at the forefront of the revolution that broke down the old hierarchy of rigid miltaryesque sim clubs and replaced them with open, dynamic, member run communities. We worked tirelessly to bring clubs together in the Simming League with the goal of eliminating ego trips, wars, and nasty power struggles. Today, every club that elects its leader, has a constitution of some kind, focuses on good management, encourages communication and feedback, allows its simmers to move freely from sim to sim, or enjoys a common community with wacky inside jokes and traditions is, in part, echoing the spirit of Trek Online. I hope that you'll read parts of these memoirs (I doubt anyone will read everything... but if you do, please let me know and you may win a prize), gain a new appreciation for simming, learn a thing or two, and above all else, enjoy my ramblings! We've created a fascinating imaginary world for ourselves. =/\= Admiral Chas Hammer President, Trek Online President, The Simming League Commanding Officer, USS Orion, USS Vindicator, Viper Flight, New Horizons Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, and I linger on the shore, And the individual withers, and the world is more and more. Alfred Lord Tennyson 3 My Simming Memoirs Part 1: The Dawn of Simming Sunrise, by Claude Monet (1872) Chapter 1: Births "There were ship subjects being mixed with government subjects being mixed with Trek Talk subjects." - Jim Midyette. Describing the early simming situation on Prodigy in 1992. The birth date of Trek Online is subject to debate. This is fitting as Trek Online’s essence was linked to debate. Trek Online came into conceptual being on August 31, 1996, was given its name on September 3, and held its first official sim on November 5. Complicating matters, the club on Prodigy – called Trek Online – merged with a club on AOL, called the UFP/SF, which also began in the summer of 1996. Regardless, Trek Online listed August 31 as its birthday because that was the day I decided to establish the club. However, as a compromise, the club always held its birthday party during the month of September. 4 Both Trek Online and the UFP/SF were born during a flurry of simming activity – a moment I term the "Lost Generation.” Not lost because it failed to produce, but lost because it never had a chance to reach its fullest form. To understand the moment is to understand the balance Trek Online sought to achieve throughout its existence. It is hard to imagine a world with computers but without the web, but that was the first half of the 1990s.4 If you wanted to go online, you were limited to bulletin board systems (BBS), internet relay chat (irc), and online services. All three required a degree of computer savvy – not to mention a computer and modem; which bordered on luxury in those days. Of the three, online services were the easiest to use – install the program from a floppy disk, create an account, and soon you were online, able to browse the message boards, chat rooms, games, and other offerings of the online service. The three main online services in the United States in the 1990s were America Online (AOL), CompuServe, and Prodigy. All charged by the hour. In 1995 for example, AOL charged, if memory serves, $20 a month for the first five hours, and a few dollars for each additional hour. That hour limitation wasn’t per individual, but per account, with each account having up to five screen names. If there were multiple family members on an account, each had to share the five hours. In other words – it quickly got expensive to be online! Based on my limited experiences during the early and mid 1990s, and talking to those who were active at the time, this economic reality – the limited time one had online – shaped simming of the era. A chat sim easily took up 4 hours of your monthly allotment. Message board and E-mail sims were not as taxing; still, it took several minutes to sign on, download the messages, sign off, and sign back on to post/send your message once you wrote it – all multiplied many times a month. E-mail too could incur its own costs – overwhelmed by the popularity of E-mail, Prodigy, for a time, limited its members to 30 free messages a month, with a five cents charge for every additional message over the monthly allotment.5 Those who simmed tended to be those who were the most serious about the hobby, and they often remained with one game for an extended period as one simply couldn’t afford to serve with multiple sims, or explore to find another game. As a result, sims were of a high quality. Players developed tight bonds. Characters were refined. Plots could take months to unfold. Yet, on the flip side, because the sim had a monopoly on a person’s online time, it could impose strict rules – and when I say rules I do not simply mean rules relating to discipline and attendance, but elaborate regulations concerning your character, your ship, your storyline, etc.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Third Age of Avatars Bruce Damer, [email protected] Damer.Com | Digitalspace.Com | Ccon.Org | Biota.Org | Digibarn.Com
    A Third Age of Avatars Bruce Damer, [email protected] damer.com | digitalspace.com | ccon.org | biota.org | digibarn.com Ò Started life on a PDP-11 fresh out of high school (1980), programmed graphics, videotext systems, dreamed of self replicating robots on the moon, designed board games, built model space stations. Ò Worked at IBM Research in 1984 (Toronto, New York), introduced to Internet, optical computing. Ò At Elixir Technologies 1987-94, wrote some of first GUI/Windows-Icons Publishing software on the IBM PC platform used 100 countries. Ò Established Contact Consortium in 1995, held first conferences on avatars (Earth to Avatars, Oct 1996) Ò Wrote “Avatars!”in 1997. Hosted and supported 9 conferences until 2003 on various aspects of virtual worlds (AVATARS Conferences, VLearn3D, Digital Biota) Ò Founded DigitalSpace in 1995, produced 3D worlds for government, corporate, university, and industry. Evangelism for Adobe (Atmosphere), NASA (Digital Spaces, open source 3D worlds for design simulation of space exploration) and NIH (learning games for Autism) Ò Established DigibarnComputer Museum (2002) Ò Virtual Worlds Timeline project (2006-2008) to capture and represent the history of the medium Ò The Virtual World, its Origins in Deep Time Ò Text Worlds Ò Graphical Worlds Ò Internet-Connected Worlds Ò The Avatars Cyberconferences Ò Massive Multiplayer Online RPGs Ò Virtual World Platforms Ò Virtual Worlds Timeline Project and Other Research History of Virtual Worlds The Virtual World, its Origins in Deep Time So what is a Virtual World? A place described by words or projected through pictures which creates a space in the imagination real enough that you can feel you are inside of it.
    [Show full text]
  • Afterword: Omissions,Additions, and Corrections
    Afterword: Omissions,Additions, and Corrections The astute reader will notice that I’ve omitted a few online services. Some were so short-lived or of so little consequence that they would be meaningless to most readers. Others are beyond the theme or time frame of this book. Some of the omissions: ᭿ ABI/INFORM (Abstracted Business Information), a database of abstracted information from selected business publications, hosted by ORBIT, Dialog, and eventually UMI/ProQuest ᭿ Data Courier, a small online service hosted by the Louisville Courier- Journal (the owners of which bought ABI/INFORM under the company name “Data Courier”) ᭿ EasyLink, Western Union’s now-defunct email/FAX/mail system ᭿ Easynet, a front end for more than 700 database services ᭿ EasyPlex, a specialized CompuServe email service ᭿ E-COM, the United States Postal Service’s electronic messaging service (EMS) ᭿ Freenet, free BBSs in cities such as Cleveland and Rochester that used the same software and were designed to serve as community centers ᭿ Info-Look, a gateway to online services hosted by Nynex ᭿ Internet Relay Chat (IRC), the first implementation of real-time chatting via the Internet (Jarkko Oikarinen, 1988) ᭿ Knowledge Index (KI), a subset of Dialog databases ᭿ The Microsoft Network (MSN), more an ISP than online service that started after Bill Gates decided that the Internet was going to be important, after all 177 178 Afterword ᭿ MIX, the McGraw-Hill Information Exchange, a CoSy-based service for educators ᭿ NABU Network, a Canadian online service that operated
    [Show full text]
  • Game Development Essentials
    Game Development Essentials: An Introduction Third Edition Chapter 1 Historical Elements how did we get here? Key Chapter Questions ■ What are the significant milestones in the history of electronic game development? ■ Who are game development pioneers, and how did they contribute to the industry? ■ How did the game industry evolve from coin-operated electromechanical and mainframe computer games of the 1960s to the console, personal computer, online, and mobile industries of today? ■ What factors contributed to the video game slump of the early 1980s? ■ Why did certain game companies and titles succeed during game development history—and why did some fail miserably? Before the Arcades Big Stock Photo Big Stock Photo The first electronic games were played at military bases and universities. The Arcade Phenomenon Computer Space JN The Arcade Phenomenon Pong Atari Interactive, Inc. The Arcade Phenomenon Asteroids Atari Interactive, Inc. The Arcade Phenomenon Galaxian Namco Bandai Games America Inc. The Arcade Phenomenon Pac-Man Namco Bandai Games America Inc. The Arcade Phenomenon Donkey Kong Nintendo Nintendo The Arcade Phenomenon Tron leighjevans (Photobucket) The Birth of Console Games Atari VCS/2600 Atari Interactive, Inc. The Birth of Console Games Mattel Intellivision Mattel, Inc. The Birth of Console Games ColecoVision Mattel, Inc. The Video Game Slump & a New Golden Age Nintendo NES Game Boy Nintendo Nintendo The Video Game Slump & a New Golden Age Sega Sega Master System PlayStation Sega Sony Computer Entertainment America The Video Game Slump & a New Golden Age The “Big Three” Console Wars PlayStation 2 Sony Computer Entertainment America Xbox GameCube Reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation Nintendo The Personal Computer Revolution Mainframes & Text Adventures Will Crowther Colossal Cave The Personal Computer Revolution Apple II Apple Computer, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Interactive Media
    Interactive Media Pr isc illa Gran tham, Esq. Sr. Research Counsel National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law 1 Objectives After this session, you will be able to: Explain the concept behind the terms interactive media, Web 2.0, and Social Media; Identify different types of interactive media; Differentiate between various kinds of interactive media; and Summarize the ways in which interactive media are utilized. 2 But What Does It Mean? Interactive Web 2.0 Media Social MdiMedia A new model that utilizes user participation 3 Web 2.0 • Phrase coined in 2004 @ conference addressi ng st at e of W eb f oll owi ng dot-com crash. • Implied improvement over the old web • Democratization of web 4 Emphasis on people’s interactions with Internet Web sites harness collective intelligence of contributors/users Company can provide better service & build customer loyalty by observing Internet habits New Web Model 5 Media: Traditional v. Interactive Media = An instrument of communication Media in which users Interactive Media = participate & edit content of communication 6 Media 7 Interactive Media: “Hybrid Media Technology” – can combine anyy(p,, format (print, web, disc, video, audio, etc.) that allows users to interact w/ content. 8 Interactive Media Model: USER’S INPUT PROGRAM’S OUTPUT 9 Media v. Interactive Media 10 Encyclopedia v. Wikipedia Encyclopedias Wikipedia • Difficult to keep current • Updated constantly • Expensive to produce •Free and purchase • All contributors must cite • Inconsistencies / published sources Inaccuracies in info • Content must have • Bias & lack of expertise neutral POV of authors • No limitation on topics • Editorial choices • Anyone can edit an • Past allegations of article racism and sexism 11 Information being communicated: How the Internet works 12 Information being communicated: How the World Wide Web works http://www.commoncraft.com User can watch video online User can purchase & download on Kindle User can share video via Twitter or Email Written overview User can download transcript of video Download Fact Sheet [PDF].
    [Show full text]
  • Participate in Creating Their Own Content Through Message Boards and Online Chat Areas
    Media Selling, 4th Edition Chapter 20 – The Internet By Vincent Thompson and Paul Talbot As an advertising medium, the Internet is complex and measured differently from traditional media. Also, online advertising buys are often difficult to execute and to implement. So why are marketers switching billions of dollars to the Internet? Because the Internet is one of the most disruptive innovations of our time and represents the most fertile environment ever for marketer-consumer interaction. Disruptive technologies transform societies – the way people live, think, and conduct business – and the Internet has been as disruptive and transformative as movable type, the telegraph, airplanes, and the computer have. The History of the Internet Most historians agree that the birth of the Internet occurred in 1969 when computer scientists from the government and universities linked large mainframe computers together with the objectives of sharing data and distributing information over a network. This groundbreaking work came from a desire to ensure the safety of government data during natural disasters or war and to allow university researchers the ability to share information. Prior to this project, networks were set up like phone systems with information traveling through vulnerable centralized hubs. With the invention of the distributed network, information could be simply routed along any of the networks’ many connections until it found its way to its final destination. Aiding in this concept was the use of packets. Packets allow small chunks of digital data to be sent into the network independently and then reassembled at their final destinations. Once the initial computers at UCLA and Stanford Universities were connected in 1969, other Universities followed suit and with each addition the network gained more power and provided more value to its users.i Over the next five years scientists developed cornerstone technologies such as e-mail, the ability to access the network remotely, and the ability to host multiple chat sessions.
    [Show full text]
  • Stephen M. Cabrinety Collection in the History of Microcomputing, Ca
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt529018f2 No online items Guide to the Stephen M. Cabrinety Collection in the History of Microcomputing, ca. 1975-1995 Processed by Stephan Potchatek; machine-readable finding aid created by Steven Mandeville-Gamble Department of Special Collections Green Library Stanford University Libraries Stanford, CA 94305-6004 Phone: (650) 725-1022 Email: [email protected] URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc © 2001 The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved. Special Collections M0997 1 Guide to the Stephen M. Cabrinety Collection in the History of Microcomputing, ca. 1975-1995 Collection number: M0997 Department of Special Collections and University Archives Stanford University Libraries Stanford, California Contact Information Department of Special Collections Green Library Stanford University Libraries Stanford, CA 94305-6004 Phone: (650) 725-1022 Email: [email protected] URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc Processed by: Stephan Potchatek Date Completed: 2000 Encoded by: Steven Mandeville-Gamble © 2001 The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Stephen M. Cabrinety Collection in the History of Microcomputing, Date (inclusive): ca. 1975-1995 Collection number: Special Collections M0997 Creator: Cabrinety, Stephen M. Extent: 815.5 linear ft. Repository: Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives. Language: English. Access Access restricted; this collection is stored off-site in commercial storage from which material is not routinely paged. Access to the collection will remain restricted until such time as the collection can be moved to Stanford-owned facilities. Any exemption from this rule requires the written permission of the Head of Special Collections.
    [Show full text]
  • Implementation of an Instant Messaging Tool
    International Journal of Innovative Research in Information Security (IJIRIS) ISSN: 2349-7017(O) Issue 07, Volume 3 (October 2016) ISSN: 2349-7009(P) www.ijiris.com Implementation of an Instant Messaging Tool Almahdawi Raghda Salam*, ** Ma Guang Zhi* * School of Applied Computer Science & Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology ** Diyala University –College of Engineering Abstract -- Instant messaging (IM) becomes a vital part of our daily use in social media and internet network. The growing of communication needs reliable and fast technologies and tools. As a result, companies are implementing various IM applications such as QQ, We Chat, What Sapp, MSN Messenger, and Skype, allowing user to send and receive messages with many others at same time. Therefore, designing and implementing an IM tool to meet the user’s and organization’s desires is very significant. In this paper, IM software based on TCP and UDP protocols has been developed with visual C++ and WinSocket. The aims of this paper are to improve IM service and enhance session control. The developed IM tool has been tested with one server and several clients. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of in terms of authentication control and communication reliability for server and clients. It is observed that the proposed study can be applied in large-scale real-time worldwide communication systems. Keywords— instant messaging tool, Architecture of messaging tool, Detailed design of server model, detailed design of client model, detailed design of message protocols I. INTRODUCTION Instant Messaging enable individuals to exchange text messages and track availability of a list of users in real-time [1].
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Gaming Platforms: the Commodore 64
    A History of Gaming Platforms: The Commodore 64 gamasutra.com/view/feature/130406/a_history_of_gaming_platforms_the_.php By Matt Barton,Bill Loguidice Summary The Commodore 64 (C64) is perhaps the best known 8-bit computing platform ever designed, rivaled only by the Apple II in terms of popularity and longevity. Within a few short years after its introduction in 1982, the Commodore 64 dominated the low-end computer market, receiving a steady stream of software and peripheral support that lasted through the decade. In 1985, Commodore followed up with the lesser known Commodore 128 (C128), a technically superior machine that failed to win over the massive base of C64 fans and developers. History The Commodore 64 (C64) wasn't Commodore's first foray into the home computer industry. In 1977, Commodore had earned some recognition with its ground-breaking PET, which went through several iterations over the years and was quite popular in schools. The PET was followed by the VIC 20 in 1981, the direct ancestor of the C64. The VIC 20 was a smashing success, eventually selling millions of units and establishing Commodore's reputation for making highly capable computers at prices that rivaled the era's videogame consoles. “Why buy a videogame when you can have a computer?,” asked Star Trek’s William Shatner in a famous series of print and television advertisements. 1/14 The legendary Commodore 64 Still, although the VIC 20 was a great value for the budget-conscious, its limitations were onerous for many enthusiasts. They wanted a more powerful machine and were willing to pay extra to get it.
    [Show full text]
  • Superstudio – a Manifesto for Digital Landscape Architecture
    152 Hypergraphic – Superstudio – A Manifesto for Digital Landscape Architecture Paul CURETON Abstract Hypergraphic – Superstudio is a marriage of discrete terminologies aimed at forming a manifesto and pedagogic grouping. Such formation arises from what is to be argued as a representational crisis in Digital Landscape Architecture. Drawing (Digital & Analogue) involves an imaginative and speculative activity – of seeing possibilities (CORNER, 1992). It is theoretical, abstract and also tactile – it arguably mediates between the conceptual and productive (AMOROSO & HARGREAVES, 2012). Given the role that drawing plays within wider information design, paradoxically it has received little attention and research in Landscape Architecture. Given this lack of critical attention, it is worth forming new methods and new insights in this area leading towards a transdisciplinary digital landscape – for effective information systems. Such unification of disciplines (NICOLESCU, 2002) is not without context and is applicable to Digital Landscape. Hypergraphics (or Hypergraphy) as process, was developed by the Lettrist movement in the 1950s, Lettrist’s worked towards a critical synthesis of visuals and writing, from poetry to cinema. Hypergraphics, a form of post-writing, supplements the means of expression through an ensemble of communicative signs (ISIDORE, 1964; FORD, 2005). Lettrism continued its experimental activity in the form of Psycho – Geography (GUY DEBORD 1955) and its criticism of the undertows of the then Parisian urbanism. Adopting such design methods arguably provides efficient communication of complex landscape sites. Founded by Natalini & Toraldo di Francia in 1966, Superstudio concerned itself with such political questions such as ‘What is Architecture?’ (RINGEN, 2004). Superstudio sought a form of architectural practice focused upon conceptual, cultural and theoretical criticism of the built environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Virtual Worlds Virtual Worlds
    Virtual Worlds Loosely based on “Designing Virtual Worlds” by Richard A. Bartle and other sources (see refs) Virtual Worlds •Features – Characters/Inhabitants • Represent users –Rules • Underlying automation allows users to effect changes –Real-time • Immediate feedback from action –Shared • Multiple users can interact – Persistent • The world doesn’t “turn off” when all users leave Birth of virtual worlds PLATO 1 PLATO (U. Of Illinois 1961) • Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations on CDC* mainframes – US response to the apparent technological superiority of the USSR * Control Data Corporation PLATO • 1960-61: 2 users at the same time • 1963-69: 20 users at the same time, “anyone” could design new learning modules using TUTOR, bitmapped display, “applets” • 1975: 150 locations connected PLATO • Communication Features – Provided through shared memory – Personal Notes (email) – Talkomatic (Instant Messenger) –TermTalk(shared screen) • Multiplayer Games – Flight Simulators (“Airfight” 1973 => MS Flight Sim) – Role-Playing Games (“Avatar” ~1975-79) 2 Avatar Avatar Map PLATO • Influential but not direct impact – Fast network and superior graphics not available to most people! – A terminal cost about $12,000 3 Birth of widespread virtual worlds MUD Original MUD (Essex U. 1978) • Motivation (for Roy Trubshaw) – Make single player games like ADVENT and ZORK (DUNGEN) multiplayer (thus Multi User Dungeon) – Interest in language parsers and interpreters • Development (on DEC 10) –Engine: Written in MACRO-10 (1978), later in BCPL (fore-runner of C) – World: Written in MUDDL (Multi-User Dungeon Definition Language) Original MUD • On the „Internet“ (1980) – New Packet Switching Service pilot program with BT: EPSS with contact to and from ARPANET. –Direct Dial-up (extra modems donated by enthusiastic users in the BBS community) – 36 players maximum in a single world (36 bit words, 1 bit used per player); New worlds were spawned for more players 4 AberMUD (U.
    [Show full text]
  • Asked Concerning the Proposed Exemption.39 Item E- 5 Concludes
    COMMENT OF THE MUSEUM OF ART AND DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT Item A. Commenter Information Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment Represented by Alex Handy Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic 3400 Broadway Univ. of California Berkeley School of Law Oakland, CA 94611 Rob Walker (510) 282-4840 334 Boalt Hall, North Addition [email protected] Berkeley, CA 94720 (510) 664-4875 [email protected] The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (the “MADE”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza- tion in Oakland, California dedicated to the preservation of video game history. The MADE sup- ports the technical preservation of video games, presents exhibitions concerning historically- significant games, and hosts lectures, tournaments, and community events. The MADE has per- sonal knowledge and experience regarding this exemption through past participation in the sixth triennial rulemaking relating to access controls on video games. The MADE is represented by the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the Uni- versity of California, Berkeley, School of Law (“Samuelson Clinic”). The Samuelson Clinic is the leading clinical program in technology and public interest law, dedicated to training law and graduate students in public interest work on emerging technologies, privacy, intellectual prop- erty, free speech, and other information policy issues. ITEM B. PROPOSED CLASS ADDRESSED Proposed Class 8: Computer Programs—Video Game Preservation ITEM C. OVERVIEW 1. Introduction For future historians, video games like Minecraft and Second Life will say as much about 21st century America as Dicken’s Oliver Twist does about 19th-century Britain.1 That is, if these games actually survive into the future.
    [Show full text]
  • My Life at AOL
    The first inside story of the world's largest Internet company. My Life at AOL Buy The Complete Version of This Book at Booklocker.com: http://www.booklocker.com/p/books/992.html?s=pdf Chapter One: Is This a Career for You? My job was so free of interest, it would have made a great loan. It was thus I found myself one Sunday in the summer of 1988, sitting on the sugar-maple carpeted floor of the one- bedroom Alexandria, Virginia high-rise apartment I shared with my sister, thumbing through the copious classified ad pages of Sunday’s Washington Post. I was looking for that job description that would save me from my mind-numbing gig as a proofreader at a large D.C. law firm. I'd seen the ad and it looked bizarre but intriguing: "Writer/Producer We're Quantum Computer Services, an innovative leader in providing interactive online services to the home computer market. We're searching for a creative, flexible individual to sharpen our competitive edge in the educational/entertainment market. As Writer/Assistant Producer, you will write promotions and program online events, new services and newsletter material; coordinate a monthly events calendar; maintain live data base areas; and develop and produce online contests. You may qualify if you're a real self-starter with natural promotional talents who loves details…thrives on deadlines...communicates clearly...and has a B.A. in Communications, Journalism, or Advertising. Some computer experience is a definite plus. If you have the spark we're looking for, let us hear from you now in writing..."; My Life at AOL Copyright 2000 Julia L.
    [Show full text]