Amateur filmmakers use game graphics engines to create clips

Interview with Hugh Hancock who runs Strange Company

Games Act Like Films.

Dyer Witherford article and another.

America Online has had volunteer Moderators and SysOps for their message boards for over a decade. Just as volunteers in the MMORPGs, they helped members online with problems and answered basic questions in exchange for having their account fees waived. In late 2000, a group of volunteers filed suit against America Online for back wages. They claim that they were treated more as employees than volunteers and therefore should be compensated as if they were employees. Soon after, a group of volunteer guides for Ultima Online filed a similar suit against Electronic Arts, the parent of Origin Systems.

The suits are based upon law established for the protection of employees from underhanded employers. It is less expensive for employers to treat personnel as independent contractors than to consider them actual employees. Independent contractors are not eligible for benefits and protection that costs the employer money. The law also prevents employers from requiring employees to provide a number of "volunteer" work hours in order to keep their jobs.

Whether or not someone is considered an employee, independent contractor or volunteer is up to the discretion and interpretation of a judge. The decision is made based upon a weighing of factors including: Degree of control, relative investment of worker and alleged employer, degree to which the employee's profit and loss is determined by the employer, the skill and initiative required by the employee, the permanency of the relationship and other factors. The weightings, the interpretation and the laws themselves can vary greatly depending upon the state in which the suits are filed.

Although the cases are still pending, developers are taking protective action against potential suits. In early 2001, Microsoft completely dismantled their volunteer program and was forced to hire full-time employees to replace the volunteers. MMORPGs that are still in development have been forced to re-think their support plans. Funcom, makers of Anarchy Online, is strongly considering keeping their customer service out of the United States entirely. Mythic Entertainment, makers of Dark Age of Camelot, has no plans for a volunteer program as of June 2001.

The impact on gamers and the community is far reaching. In an interview with CheatSearch, Mark Jacobs, President and CEO of Mythic Entertainment called the suits, "disgraceful." "It hurts the industry and community," he continued, "they should be ashamed of themselves." In addition to a loss of trust between developer and fan, it will drive the monthly fees of games up. The $9.95 monthly price point could be a thing of the past. Anarchy Online has already announced a monthly service fee of $12.95 and other developers are still deciding how much they need to charge now that volunteers might not be an available resource.

Does this mean the end of online gaming communities? No. It does, however, significantly hinder developer

Eurorights (whom I have never heard of)

Eff-Europe (as above so below, who are these people?

EFF Finland

Current is a magazine that I uncovered whilst researching financing of non-commercial media. Their site contains an archive of historical documents, really excellent regularly updated commentary and news stories and all the statistics which you need - well, at least those which are available i.e. not the pledge totals of the secretive fundamentalist bastards.

Now they've integrated blogger into the page too and are running external feeds, including an interesting story of division and deception at guess where.... that's right, Pacifica again. Seems that the current manager of KPFK/FM in Los Angeles painted her past as more sacharine than it if act may be.... and the story was taken from LA Indymedia.

http://www.entemp.ie/tcmr/CopyrightSIs.htm

Two interesting analyses of the Irish implementation of copyright as led by, as best I can tell, anticipation of the EUCD (since the Irish law was passed in 2000, and the EUCD is somewhat more recent than that). The pieces of interest are the papers by Prof. Robert Clark, who perhaps might not be a bad choice of speaker for some future LUG gathering. One of the more eye-opening comments in the second of his papers is that Irish legislation is, in effect, more draconian than the DMCA.

http://www.cai.ie/Past%20Events.html#2002

There are some other interesting pieces here, too, for anyone concerned about copyright and the like in Ireland.

This is one of the strangest and unhinging websites that I've ever seen. A pal in Autonomedia drew my attention to it. Crux of the matter is that these are upscale sex dolls, sold for $5,000 dollars plus, they look real and apparently are made of materials so tactile as to give the impression of human skin and flesh:

The high grade of silicone we use for REALDOLL is also used by the movie special effects industry for make-up effects and for animatronic creatures. It has a high degree of flexibility and resists tearing. The specific formulation used by REALDOLL contains a harmless oil suspended between the molecules of silicone, which gives her flesh a more realistic feel and greater elasticity. Immediately after de-mold, REALDOLL's skin is slightly tacky because its surface area sweats a very small amount of the oil. This diminishes over time and we recommend the use of baby powder to remove any tackiness. You are much more likely to be allergic to the baby powder than the silicone. If alienation has an apex, then surely this is it.

stephanie

Damien Dempsey is the most interesting young Irish songwriter I've heard in years. Listening to him in Dublin in august was like receiving a documentary summary of the changes in Dublin in the last decade. His first album 'They Don't Teach This Shit In School' kicked ass and his second, which has just been released, is even better.

Bad Time Garda Written by Damien Dempsey Someone knocked this morning, they wanted to come in They rang and rang the doorbell, I thought and scratched my chin I hope it's not the Garda they have no time for us Except when they had something they wanted to discuss

Bridge

Well I peeped out through the curtains and saw that I was right It was a black Mariah and they were sittin' tight My brothers sleeping upstairs, they didn't seem to hear Them banging down the front door, I thought that rather queer

Chorus

It's a bad time Garda, the house' an awful sight It's a bad time Garda, come back tomorrow night It's a bad time Garda, the kitchen is a sin You picked a bad time Garda, we'll get some biscuits in

Someone's running round upstairs, reluctant to descend Ma and Da are shouting 'You've brought them back again' At least its not the special branch, the Peelers of today Flash their guns And take your sons And you would have no say

Bridge

Well my brother's there In his underwear It's cold as it can be He's hanging out the window I'd rather him than me

Chorus

It's a bad time Garda, the house' an awful sight It's a bad time Garda, come back tomorrow night It's a bad time Garda, the kitchen is a sin You picked a bad time Garda, we'll get some biscuits in We'll get some biscuits in, we'll get some bickys in For you, for you, for you

ANGERED BY SNUBBING, LIBYA, CHINA SYRIA FORM 'AXIS OF JUST AS EVIL'

"In Speech, Bush Calls Iraq, Iran and North Korea 'Axis of >Evil" - - N.Y. Times, 1/30/02

ANGERED BY SNUBBING, LIBYA, CHINA SYRIA FORM 'AXIS OF JUST AS EVIL'

Cuba, Sudan, Serbia Form Axis of Somewhat Evil; Other Nations Start Own Clubs

Beijing- Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address.

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong- il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."

Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.

"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool."

THE AXIS PANDEMIC

International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered.

Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the Axis of Somewhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable.

With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics; Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About America, while Spain, Scotland, and New Zealand established the Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick.

"That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.

While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axes, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Botswanaguay denied the charges.

Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.