RZ1029

Donation button or humblebundle style 'pay what you want' with a minimum donation to keep from getting screwed over by transaction fees. (Say $0.50 USD for instance, which would result in about $.20 actually going to the modder if they're using a completely standard paypal account, or more if they establish themselves with Paypal as a business account.) However, this requires dedicated management of the community (which Nexus does well, Steam does not) in order to ensure nobody is scraping someones mod and reposting for profit. I'm a huge fan of the Humble Bundle system because it allows for reasonably priced mods (lets face it, most 'cool weapon mods' that every has 20 of are NOT worth $5 a piece) while still ensuring a modder can expect their efforts to be repaid to some level or another, depending on the quality and popularity of the mod, and those that want to give theirs away can still do so or funnel earnings towards charities they support. I dislike ads because they are ugly, bulky and most ad delivery systems are outright crap to have to deal with on a poor internet connection (I had awful DSL internet for years, and still don't have a stable 20/10 line when I'm not at university). The few places I have them enabled are Nexusmods, some YouTube channels I watch regularly, Twitch, and my university's student newspaper website. I would much rather give a modder $5 outright for a well-developed mod (I'm talking Project Nevada, WMX, Weapons of the New Millenia) and then give $1/$.50 for smaller stuff (pip boy retextures/remodel, for example, or a single weapon mod). But this has to come with the assurance of quality, which means someone has to do some detailed checking on each and every mod that hits the market, if you're going to expect money up front. Elsewise, publish the mod and do donations like they have for years. This may not quite be the place, but I'd like to add the potential discussion of whether 25% is a reasonable cut for the mod creators to receive given the support they receive in the Steam Workshop?

"We do not negotiate with terrists." Or something like that. On one hand, I dislike the idea of abandoning our own to the hands of ISIS and similar ilk, but on the other, it becomes untenable to take hostages if they level the building you're holding the hostages in in response. (Case in point, Russians dealing with Nord-Orst back in 2002.) It's a somewhat heartless and nearly indefensible situation (good luck explaining that strategy to the American public) but it's something that you almost have to consider as an option when you're talking about such extremist groups.

I suspect there's an issue with dispersing the file back among the other servers (as it says it is currently only available on a single premium server), and the other servers have as of yet been unable to re-sync the file to the other servers. I'm pretty much just making conjecture, but that's what it seems like to me.

Pair them off in groups of five. Give them five sets of armor, a spear, a sword, two shields, a net, mace, flail and a bow and arrow. Each graduating class from high school must form their group of five and compete against one other group via a randomly drawn lottery system. The survivers of the fights have been deemed strong enough to join society. There is only one surviving team. This applies to males and females, we aren't sexist.

I'm not surprised in the least. People are great at using these key words and phrases that have a certain mentality associated with it, regardless of what the original intentions or source may have been.

Can we make it a requirement to pass this test before voting or serving in a public office? I don't feel like passing would be a ridiculous standard, but still high enough to demand a level of civic understanding. (I scored a 90.9%, missed three, not a bad score, in my opinion.) Before someone says anything about literacy tests being outlawed as a requirement for voting, I'd be all for making it an option to take the test orally if literacy is your only barrier. Shoot, I'd say we even give it to them in their native language, if English fluency is an issue too. We're a multi-cultural, multi-lingual country, and not everyone is 100% proficient in English, as we (technically) have no official language, I suppose we can't (legally) require them to speak 'our' language fluently. (Although, it seems some officials disagree, due to the issue with the woman who wanted to run for Governor.)

Probably just a slip of the keyboard, they got on a roll and added more than they meant. As to the whole Area 51, it's common knowledge that aircraft testing does go on there, as far back as the Cold War-era SR-71 Blackbird, which was originally based out of Area 51, prior to the whole Russia-shot-one-down debacle, if I remember correctly. That aside, I agree with the notion that it's likely a DARPA playhouse for all the technologies they are inventing. (Speaking of, anyone seen the new cheetah thing they're designing?) As for all the 'strange occurrences' in and around Area 51, anyone wondering about the lights should go sit near an Air Force base during night operations, brilliant lights in an otherwise pitch-black sky can play some serious tricks on the mind, especially at Mach 2. Also, in all likelihood, there's much more than that going on there, which may include weapons testing (including launching Minutemen missiles with or without nuclear material), among far more 'sketchy' or sinister technologies, from chemical weaponry to who-knows-what. Also, as far as the idea of aliens being at Area 51, I would like to believe that's true. I don't, but I'd like to. We've had no (solid, provable) contact with the supposed interplanetary species, which is clearly far more advanced than we are, if they are able to launch inter-system. In all likelihood, they would have launched either a follow-up party or a salvage operation, assuming they have a thought process similar to the human intelligence, which may or may not be true. I probably missed a lot of things I wanted to say, and have lots of holes in my statement, for the simple fact that it's not that easy to prove or disprove something that there is very little publicly available information about, factual or otherwise.

Define should? I'm not about to boycott something/someone for paying Mr. Limbaugh. I in no way condone calling someone a flirt, that was out of line, in my opinion. However, unless he gets government funding, then keep paying the man so long as the paying party agrees with what he says. If the private party that funds him agrees that she was just a flirt, more power to them. Every has opinions, and most of them stink. Personally, I've never put much stock in him as any sort of authority, but FAR worse has been said by both sides, albiet in (slightly) less public mediums. The man issued an apology, done and done. We're all adults and can agree to disagree with what some man on tv says.

*graceful bow* Apologies, it seems my point was missed, and was perhaps more poorly expressed than it should have been. While Webster's has been, largely, regarded as an authority on the English language, when it comes to idioms, I am skeptical of the accuracy, when often times the origins are, at best, befuddled, and at worst, completely wrong. I assume that, since it was first recognized in 1934, it was in Webster's New International Dictionary, the 1934 print edition. Before that time, I am sure the phrase was used, with some regularity, and thus would develop multiple interpretations, both connotation and denotation. The issue is, that when referencing material that old, we have to assume that we understand phrases the same way they did, using other reference material from that era that will, ideally, provide more insight to the situation. That being said, their is legal precedence for the use of Webster's Dictionary in the translation of law, involving a US Supreme Court Case, in which the W2 (not a tax form) was used to make the ruling on some sort of phrasing argument. So, from a standpoint of challenging the Amendment's intentions, it could be said that, per legal precedence, it was meant only for those in the Militia. However, the issue becomes what is, in modern terms, defined as militia. The militia of the Revolutionary War was made up of men (and likely the odd woman, though I don't have any documents to cite) who were not regular army, assembled by states for the purpose of fighting for their freedom from the British Empire. In comparison, the National Guard doesn't serve quite the same function, as many of them are, in a sense, still regular soldiers. Not to say they are completely unrelated, but that, due to much social change over the two hundred and fifty (ish, yes I know this is very ballpark) years, there is no longer the need for the average farming townsman to take up military arms and fight for their country, we have a maintained, full-time military for that purpose. Simply put, the issue is pinpoint semantics in a game of horseshoes or hand grenades. I do believe that the constitution was so worded that it would be able to be translated differently over time. For instance, the issue with all 'men' being created equal. At first, that meant 'only white, land-owning males', then it meant 'all land-owning males', then 'all males', then 'all US citizens', and now, to a degree, 'all those in the US, legal or otherwise, citizen or not'. However, I do take affront to being accused of 'not liking losing the argument'. If I am losing, I am losing. Though, given my level of activity in this particular thread, I don't see how I can be losing when I have, at best, been a bystander adding the odd thought or (supposedly) witty repartee. I was far more active in the previous gun thread, which I actually created. It's fairly well-known where I stand on the issue. Additionally, anyone that knows me knows that when I find 'evidence' that doesn't seem to have any purpose, to me, I do meet it with a simple one-liner, as it were. That is usually followed by further expounding on the other's part to help me better understand their meaning. That being said, all in all, warning noted and appreciated, though I think, perhaps, undue.

Well there goes the thread. Did you bother to read the rules?

Good Lord, Webster's didn't recognize it until 1934?! To the Tardis! This must be rectified immediately.

Wrong on the first count, 'black marketeer's are fairly easy to find in any major metropolis, and I could probably find you the numbers for two or three in the Atlanta area in a few minutes, if it wasn't illegal. Wrong on the second count. Slavery was LEGAL until the 13-15th amendments were passed, first abolishing slavery/indentured servitude, then granting citizenship to those previously enslaved, and finally giving the males of that population the right to vote. Legal does not mean 'correct'. Legal means allowed under the law. There are a lot of things allowed under the law that I don't see as 'correct'. Correct is relative, legal is not.

I don't know why M60s have become the subject of fascination, but the point is: they're criminals. They don't legally acquire anything.

cant happen. fully auto guns are illegal. regardless....if you have a handgun that misfires and shoots two bullets, you can get into a lot of trouble for that. but that right there is what people seem to get in their heads. if everyone could carry a gun, youd be the sensible one and just have a regular 9mm or what have you, while the mean ppl would carry AK-47s and RPGs. Please quit saying that. Fully automatic weapons are NOT illegal in the US. You can buy ANY fully automatic weapon manufactured/imported before... '86? I think it was, free and clear, no issues. Otherwise you just need licensing from the ATF, which isn't all that complicated, just takes a lot of time, background checks, and makes you subject to a questionably legal search at any time the ATF so decides for any reason the ATF so decides, but I've never been searched and I've had mine for a few years, and make purchases regularly. However, you can get bump-fire compatible AR-15, that essentially allow extremely high Rate of Fire on a semi-automatic, simulating fully-automatic fire, that technically isn't fully automatic fire. It's the closest thing to a loophole that the gun world has to offer. Also, 'mean people', as you said, already carry AKs and RPGs. Cartels, the big gangs in the US, they have this stuff. Not en masse, mind you, but they have it. As for double-feeds, if that happens... you should definitely have your gun checked, because something is very wrong, or you tried to make some illegal modifications and failed.

I know people like to talk crap about the police but don't assume that cops are necessarily incompetent. Let's ask a hypothetical question, would you rather be mugged by someone with a knife or someone with a gun? It's possible to dodge and outrun a knife... Bullets are another matter altogether. In which crazy world do you live where it is normal to carry a gun when visiting a daycare center? There's a difference between incompetence and poor response times. I live out in the country, I know if I call cops, I can expect to wait 15-20 minutes, because I am so far from town that the physical travel time slows their response, assuming I can get city boys and don't have to call county instead. Who knows when they might show. Also, I'd rather be mugged by someone with a gun. They're either incompetent (likely) and will miss under stress (happens a surprising number of times, from some things I had been reading/hear through the generally-well-informed-grapevine), or they shoot me and I'm dead, far less painful. I've been stabbed a time or two with a knife, I would definitely rather be shot. And ummm... where I live, it's pretty common to see people carrying EVERYWHERE. (That is, excluding banks, schools, government offices, and hospitals.) I think you'd be surprised how many people in your area may carry, if you know how to spot it. I've been to a daycare on more than one occasion with my gun, to pick up my nieces and nephew. I also carry in other people's homes, but I do tell them I am carrying, and will take it out and lock it in my vehicle if they feel uncomfortable with it.

Well, assuming your state requires it. I live in NC.

Yes, yes I would. My first aid kit actually has a .45 in it, but that's the kit I carry hunting/camping/et cetera with me. Also... Jackson's a bit of a nut, regardless of whether he was defending someone's honor or not, man liked to shoot people. But yes, I'm thoroughly against the ILLEGAL gun trade, because... it's illegal. I'm a law-abiding citizen that believes in registering firearms and the lot, as per law, so long as it doesn't encroach upon my basic rights ensured to me by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (mostly the latter, as the first is more governmental framework).

Syco hit the nail on the head, on all counts. I'm almost on board with the open carry, except some associated social stigma that currently exists with it, which is just an easy way to get yourself labeled as an 'extremist'. The gun case I mentioned it had to be LOCKED in, in your TRUNK, UNLOADED. 'Bro, gimme a sec to get out of my car, get to my trunk, unlock it, unlock my gun case, load my pistol and THEN you can hold me up, alright?' I don't think that's how these things work. And he's right again, Castle Doctrine in North Carolina (not all states have No Duty to Retreat, though they still call them Castle Doctrines) doesn't require you to retreat, and does extend to anywhere you are, so long as you are there legally.

Ummm... no. If he has a knife and you believe your life is in danger, in MOST states, you are in your legal right to act with deadly force. It's called, broadly, a Castle doctrine, though that more particularly applies to the defense of homes, cars, any 'currently occupied dwelling' or something of the sorts. I'm too tired to get into the legal jargon. If you accidentally shot someone else, you would be held responsible for something like manslaughter or something like that, which may or may not end up being cleared, depending upon the exact circumstances, varying stat laws, et cetera. Also... I don't really see how this would happen with even the most basic of training. Not saying it can't, just that I don't see how, as a responsible and practiced firearm owner. And yes, concealed-carry. That includes carrying firearms in cars, if you didn't know. In North Carolina, I cannot carry a pistol in my vehicle (without a concealed carry, which I have) unless it is either 1) unloaded, locked in a case, and stored in like, say, my trunk, or 2) loaded, in plain sight, on my seat next to me. But the thing is, I'm far more likely to be jumped walking down a street than some guy walking up to my F-150 Super Duty and being like 'hey man... give me your money or I'm gonna shoot you'. I'm all for armed citizens, but I am not at all in favor of zero regulation, like some are. Registration of firearms, concealed carry classes, et cetera, background checks, and I'd even say mental evaluations to be sure they are, in fact, fit to own a firearm. However, I also would rather bring the age for concealed carry down to 18, in addition to the purchase of pistols from FFL-holders. I'm also for the carry of firearms on college campuses, especially by ROTC/BLET (Military to-be and police-to-be, for foreigners unfamiliar with those acronyms, not sure how they translate outside the US) programs, or anyone else willing to through the proper licensing and paperwork required to legally own and carry a pistol. I'm proud to say that I think North Carolina has pretty good firearms laws, our 'crimes involving a firearm' are actually somewhat high, but mostly due to poaching, not murder. What can I say, "good 'ole boys" like their hunting, regardless of season. And now, I'm off to bed. I bid you all adieu, and good night, or morning, whichever comes first.

I have been jumped before, when I was a white guy on the wrong side of Atlanta too late at night. I can draw and empty my magazine, clip, whatever you want to call it, in under four seconds. Not amazing, but not bad, either. That's 13 rounds, center of mass, mostly kill shots. In the instance of Atlanta, I shot the man who tried to jump me at least once, maybe twice, out of the three shots I got off before he turned tail and ran.

Then you probably did it wrong, to be honest. Despite the whole 'twenty foot rule' or whatever it is that the internet rumors now-a-days, I think most experienced shooters will be able to drop you before you cover that last three feet needed to 'gut' me. Now, if you're say... two feet away from me, that's a different ball game.

I'd guess like most other police rules of engagement, but I'm honestly not sure, I can really only speak on terms of US (and at that, local/county/state) officers. As for the whole double-tap with the .45 ACP, it's all in practice. I couldn't do it when I started shooting, but I shoot so much now that it's next to nothing for me to reliably land successive shots (entire mags) in center of mass in seconds. But yeah, I live in the US, where you can get most anything, so long as you have the licensing and money for it. The groups I am in are mostly ex-military or military contractors and the like, we use simunitions. (I order mine and my conversion kits from simunition.com, they aren't the cheapest, but they make good stuff, so I'm willing to pay for it, and they give bulk discounts.)