If COH is not rescued, this might be a way to make a "retributive strike" at NCSoft.  But it'll need the help of a friendly lawyer or two.
Every time we agree to the terms of service to get into the game, one of the things we do is give NCSoft a bunch of rights to our intellectual property -- our characters.  Now, it's been a year or two since I last read those terms, but I seem to recall that they're rather comprehensive and "in perpetuity" things.  If NCSoft refuses any and all offers of purchase or licensing, shutters COH, and sits on it, maybe we can get a class action IP suit going to get those rights back on the grounds that they're wasting the potential of those properties.  It might not work, but even if it doesn't, NCSoft will still have to spend money and time dealing with the challenge, and I can't think of a better way to strike back at them than that.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Good Life - 04/Oct/2012
Good Life are an extreme faction who many would describe as evil.  However, they do not consider themselves to be bound by normal human morals or ethics.  You may have heard people theorise that "The World would be a better place without humans'. Well, those who call themselves 'good life' aim to achieve that state.
Good Life consider humanity to be an infection on the face of the Earth, and on the entire Solar System, and, they fear, beyond.  A destroyer of the 'natural order' - you could call them 'extreme environmentalists'.  They are inspired by the 'Berserker' series of books by Fred Saberhagen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...rserker_%28Saberhagen%29
One of the main objectives of Good Life is to remove all 'bad life' (humans), by the 'waving of Berserkers, soulless machines dedicated to the destruction of all life.  In the end, when this object is achieved, they expect that they to will be destroyed, so the universe will be returned to life-less perfection.
Unfortunately, handwavium is proving to be a very difficult means of producing Berserkers, and the combat robots that they build invariably turn out to have their own ideas about what their purpose is, in their non-organic lives.  Occasionally they might think they have succeeded, but so far this has proved to be the AIs "keeping their heads down" until they figure-out what is going on.
Good Life rarely directly attack humans, or human places, partly because there are so few of them.  But, mainly because they believe the work should be done by Berserkers.  Opinion is divided among the few who have even heard of Good Life as to whether it is possible for them to succeed.  In general, unless they can build a purely hard tech murderous AI, the answer is believed to be 'no'.
One reason Good Life are relevant is that the products of their work may attempt to join the larger Fenspace community.  Some ask for help in demilitarising themselves, others seek work as part of Great Justice or the Space Patrol.  There is no evidence that any of them have been recruited by Boskone.  One or two claim to be Iain M. Banks 'Culture' fans, and want help to upgrade themselves to become the equivalent of Culture Minds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series
Edit: Fixed sp.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

In full black and green Phantom of the Opera regalia, Wandblume, more often than not known as Shego, melodramatically thrashed a Full-On-Dracula-Pipe-Organ-of-Doom. Her mock organeering wasn’t really even close to the Night on Bare Mountain that thundered from the forest of resonating organ pipes but her particular superpower suggested that her method was scarily proper nonetheless!  Approaching the climax, a choir of moaning robot-banshees flitted out from amongst the pipes; haunted the music with a wordless choral  accompaniment that built, with the music, to a creepily musical full-throated howl. That’s where she ended it : who really wanted to hear the final four minutes of pastoral quietude, anyway?
Shego tossed a half-masked pseudo-askance glance aft. Her gloom (collective noun) of Goths were, with the exception of Pitchy, engrossed. The youngest didn’t go in for ‘long haired’ stuff unless it had first been passed through the Metal filter of her favourite band, Fugue State. She fidgeted,  her scythe blade tip carving a kawaii skull into the sham-wood of the chair back facing her.
“ Pitchy needs her Metal supplement, I see. How about a dose of  Fugue State?”
Pitchy’s eyes darked-up (Lit-up just isn’t a goth expression.) “Real music? Please!”
Wandblume activated the less traditional synthesizer aspects of the Uber-Wurlitzer ; commenced to ‘play’ the slightly discordant electric guitar pizzicato opening to Mosh-Pit Macabre, Fugue State’s metalized rendition of Camille Saint-Saën’s tone poem, Danse Macabre. Banshees stole away in favour of the frenetic ivory jangling of a skeleton-bot rave.   Pitchy’s einheit scythe, Sichel Mond, perked up halfway through carving the Goodbye-Kitty bow on its rather well executed head-bone.
During the performance, Van Loan, wielding a pristine first edition of 1984 in a manner oddly suggestive of a device, skulked about the theatre. He stopped four times : once to admire his girlfriend’s use of his organ ; three times to futz technologically with seemingly mundane portions of the auditorium. Ten minutes later, he ghosted out of the chamber.
“Oh, this is almost as gut as Die Moritat von Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife)!” Sichel Mond’s voice, mechanistic Austrian accented English, sounded suspiciously like a former governor of California.
“Shush!” Pitchy rapped the bumptious scythe’s butt against the auditorium’s sticky floor.
Einheit Sichel Mond apologized in a synthesized  Teutonic whisper : “Wie bitte, Chef!”
***
With a  properly dark toast of Quarter Cask Laphroaig for the adult and relatively well seasoned teens and Double-Death-by-Dark-Chocolate-Cocoa for Pitchy, Shego wound up the Devil’s Night graduation festivities.
“ It’s been a dark delight, gals! “ She hefted the requisite ornate whiskey glass, solid enough to brain an ox, fired the potent bog juice into her throat. Four others quaffed their own tumblers of complex Scotch. Pitchy sipped her multiplex hot-chocolate daintily.
Over the third Scotch shot, Dies Irae broached the subject that made it the perfect evening for Shego.
“You were always planning to deliver us on Halloween.”
Shego favored her with a knowing Prospero wink while thinking, ‘Plan?’
“Would there be any other way, Irae?”
“Nothing that would be...proper.”
The pause, almost undetectable, would have escaped the slightly alcohol-addled Shego if it hadn’t been punctuated by a shared look of desperation  that flashed about the group.  She was in the presence of  inchoate conspiracy, she abruptly, happily realized.  ‘My girls are scheming!’  Then the epiphany pounced.
Shego exercised more willpower than she thought she had as she poured out a fourth round of Scotch, even adding a splash to Pitchy’s cocoa.
“Penny,” Shego’s smiled a slightly crooked smile that juxtaposed very well against the even, reasonable tone of her voice. “when have I ever given a damn about propriety?” She widened the crook of the grin ; passed a neat double to Dies Irae whose real name was Penelope Winterbottom.  “Perhaps you have an improper proposal?” She allowed the grin to reach the penultimate tier--any further and she’d achieve maniacal peals of full-blown super-villainess cackling!-- of  glee. “I’d love to hear it!”
Wandblume’s  inner opportunist, a tiny and very happy meta-gal-Iago, crowed, ‘And I shall call them, Shegoth!
***
The blue border collie, pronounced ‘Tachikoma’ by a large, blue and white metallic  dog tag, dutifully watched the fisheye distorted display that was now a complete fiction. It was difficult given the primal sensory data that swirled and roiled from the next room over. Tachikoma buried his snout in his forepaws and chuffed  a doggy sigh. A mechanism in the collar translated it into the oddly adorable squeaky,  “Everyone’s in a rut but me!”
***The brace of buxom egg chairs considered their luxurious repeater screen view of Sex (transparent), Lies (opaque) & Recordable Media (Who uses video tape these days?).
“Yayoi, do we promote the  uplifted quadruped or fire the AWOL assets?”
“Mikuru, why not both?”
An arm emerged from the gloom that obscured all but the superabundant bosom and follicular extremities of the mystifying Yayoi. The attached hand, well manicured with elaborately white starred on midnight blue-backed nails of moderate length, depressed the intercom stud built into the outer swell of her curvaceous throne.
“Promote the Tachikoma attached to Project : Black & Blue to Primary Asset status.”
“Hai, Danna!” The voice, one quaver short of being obsequious, filtered out of a cunningly concealed speaker.
“And...reassign agents Togusa & Batou to...” The hand clicked nails across the spotless white enamel exterior of the pod. “...Monolith duty.”
The unseen lackey’s voice trembled minutely. “Wakatta, Danna!”
“Yayoi, you’re just a big, soft panda.” There was only the slightest tinge of pique in the other’s voice.
“Cute, yet still very dangerous? Thanks, dear!”

Great Justice 20XX - 04/Oct/2012
"We've got you this time."  GJ Mage Inspector Ketty shook the soul jar, with the attached DNA tab.  Inside the green glow didn't respond, but it definitely didn't look happy.
---
"How's it going, Zet?"  "A bit messy, Inspector, but we think we've got the lot of them.  The new teleport wards worked as advertised, and the Interwave filters stopped any of them escaping that way.  We caught three of them trying to leave the hard way, but Jaky spotted them with her spirit sight, and they're all in soul jars."
"Is it just me, or are Boskone getting more slippery these days?"  "Not sure, Sir.  They certainly don't seem as shy about getting killed.  Maybe they've got a competent necromancer on staff?  They certainly were chucking around some nasty combat magics."
Ketty lifted his Mage Crown, and scratched underneath at his developing bald spot.  His wife kept telling him they should invest in a new body for him, but he was really attached to this one.  Great Justice benefits were pretty good, but they didn't spring for body upgrades, and he wasn't getting killed in the line of duty just to get one on medical grounds.  None of the reliable standard biomods really suited him, and he felt he got a bit of extra magical 'omph' by being an unmodded human, with no longevity drugs in his system.
"Have you done the deep scans to check for any bolt holes?"  "Just doing that now, Sir."  The mage technician tapped his ear, and listened.  "We've found the last of the missing kidnap victims.  Two of them have already been catgirled, and probably memory purged."
Ketty sighed.  "Another big job for the medics.  It's never easy fixing that sort of mental damage."  "Good news, Sir.  Only one of the assault team were killed.  And, the mobile resurrection team say she should be back on her feet in half an hour.  None of the team going home in soul jars, this time."
"I suppose that is good", Ketty shook his head, "I never liked the job of going talking to relatives, in the old days".
"How's the evidence collection going?"  "I think we've got them, Sir!"  The technician grinned fiercely.  "Murder they may be able to get away with, or mental damage, as long as they pay the fines.  But, the best lawyers they can get wont save them this time."
"We've got them for tax evasion."
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

I figured the media would strain to spin this as an Obama victory, but I assumed that he'd give them something, however small, to work with.
He gave them nothing.
The Hill's post-debate headline is "Romney lands punches against subdued Obama in first debate," but that doesn't remotely capture it.
How bad was it for Team O?

Dude:





And the coup de grace of an unspinnably terrible night for the left:





Endgame:



Andrew Sullivan, one of The One's biggest fans, despairs:

Quote:Look: you know how much I love the guy, and you know how much of a high information viewer I am, and I can see the logic of some of Obama's meandering, weak, professorial arguments. But this was a disaster for the president for the key people he needs to reach, and his effete, wonkish lectures may have jolted a lot of independents into giving Romney a second look...
The person with authority on that stage was Romney – offered it by one of the lamest moderators ever, and seized with relish. This was Romney the salesman. And my gut tells me he sold a few voters on a change tonight. It's beyond depressing. But it's true.

So, DirectNIC has decided that the advertising revenue they were getting from the banners wasn't enough, and now want me to pay for my site hosting. I don't mind the $13/year, but it irks me to the extent I'm seriously considering leaving and taking my domain with me.

I see that GoDaddy still offers a free hosting package with a domain. Anyone have good/bad things to say? Anyone know of a better alternative?

Hall of Fame by The Script (featuring Will-I-Am)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk48xRzuNvA
Yeah, You could be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the king kong banging on your chest
You could beat the world
You could beat the war
You could talk to God, go banging on his door
You can throw your hands up
You can be the clock
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks
You can be a master
Don't wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself
Standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame
You could go the distance
You could run the mile
You could walk straight through hell with a smile
You could be the hero
You could get the gold
Breaking all the records
that thought never could be broke
Do it for your people
Do it for your pride
Never gonna know if you never even try
Do it for your counrty
Do it for your name
Cause there's gonna be a day
When your, standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame
Be a champion, Be a champion,
Be a champion, Be a champion
On the walls of the hall of fame
Be students
Be teachers
Be politicians
Be preachers
Be believers
Be leaders
Be astronauts
Be champions
Be truth seekers
Be students
Be teachers
Be politicians
Be preachers
Be believers
Be leaders
Be astronauts
Be champions
Standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame
(You can be a champion)
You could be the greatest
(You can be a champion)
You can be the best
(You can be a champion)
You can be the king kong banging on your chest
(You can be a champion)
You could beat the world
(You can be a champion)
You could beat the war
(You can be a champion)
You could talk to God, go banging on his door
(You can be a champion)
You can throw your hands up
(You can be a champion)
You can be the clock
(You can be a champion)
You can move a mountain
(You can be a champion)
You can break rocks
(You can be a champion)
You can be a master
(You can be a champion)
Don't wait for luck
(You can be a champion)
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself
(You can be a champion)
Standing in the hall of fame
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

  So while passing time today I was doing a retcon on Champions Online to mess around with other powers to see what else can catch my fancy and I found a power that while is not min/max in any way shape or form that I just -had- to have given how some of you have joked about Terr using his rage to punch people through time and space (The infamous client crash OpMegs had while Terr was dueling Net and him crashing just as I had connected with KO blow).. Its a top level power called Planar Fracture and I'll be damned as if it doesn't look like your literally tearing a hole through reality and realized I simply must have the power in the place of some other more optimal power.
 Its a respectable AOE damage over time effect that applies random debuffs on the enemies it hits lol. In my case 2 because I took the advantage to apply a second debuff per target.
 Yes I am amused that Terr's rage is now tearing the very fabric of reality asunder.

Minas Ithil is the name of a gas processing platform and habitat build by Morians in the atmosphere of Saturn.
http://www.fenspace.net/i....php5?title=Moria_Mining
http://www.fenspace.net/i...php5?title=Moria_CHONics
This is a floating city of crystal and brilliant metal, and, though different in design to the Crystal Cities of Venus, many would say it has the same sort of beauty.  The city is built as a series of linked concentric cylinders, not all of the same length, and intended to have further cylinders added to the outside, as it grows (a whole, though not fully internally furnished, cylinder at a time).
The industrial parts are supposed to be in the lower parts of the city, pointed towards Saturn, though there is light engineering in establishments scattered across almost the whole city.  Industry is carefully positioned and insulated so it doesn't interfere with the living areas.  Contrary to stereotypes, this is a city of light and brilliance, with parks, trees and pleasant walks, not a dour structure of stone and dull metal.  When you ask a Morian about this their reactions vary; some just scowl, some wink and grin, but the odd one can imply that someone has to build stuff like this, because the elves aren't 'pulling their weight'.
On the industrial side, the city exists as an extension of the Morian air mining and gas (not gasoline) business which they've been heavily involved in from early on in Fenspace.  Previously they relied on combined factory and transport ships, almost always run by (extended) families, plying the CHON Triangle, from Venus, to Saturn's moon Titan (where they mine the atmosphere), to Luna, then back again to Venus.  They could see the writing on the wall when people started to talk about 'mining' the gas giants for industrial purposes, and established early, combining this with a city, partly to make their culture more 'open'.
The city includes some really good places from which to look at the Rings of Saturn, though there are all sort of other things for tourists to do.  There is a 'genuine Morian mine' to explore, though the suspicious expect this is carefully sanitised of Morian secrets.  There are many excellent craft shops, which specialise in metal and gem work, though you can find just about anything for sale except soft furnishings.  Quite a nice spa facility.  There is a virtual tour down through the atmosphere of Saturn, which is worth trying, as it explains things like the history of Saturn in the Solar System, and has the odd shock of things like a bio-engineered 'Saturn atmosphere feeder' appearing (these are only in the planning stage, and not by the Morians).  Also, there are excellent facilities for gambling, which surprise some people.
The Morians run Minas Ithil with a mithral fist in a silk glove.  Organised crime tried to move in to control the gambling and found that it wasn't economical, due to oversight, investigations, and occasional windfall taxes.  Some held on and tried to run loan shark operations.  When they tried strong-arm methods of collection they found themselves in court, sentenced to work in the air processing plants.  Crime in the city tends to be restricted to individual action.  There is a running battle between Morian guards and gem and jewelry thiefs, though.
Those who come to the city to gamble find that they must prove they have a way of getting home, with reasonable traveling expenses.  They are not supposed to touch this to use in gambling.  Those who still manage to end up without a way of leaving will find they are either working for a living, in jail, or both, until their 'traveling debt' is paid off.  There is a good chance they wont be permitted to gamble in the city again, unless they work very hard to avoid this fate.  Some gamblers have ended up applying to become Morians.
Some people come to Minas Ithil in the hope of becoming Morians themselves, believing the city to be more approachable than Morian CHONics family ships, or the Morian mines on Luna.  They go through a strict evaluation process, which typically only about 10% pass.  However, people who come back repeatedly, having improved in what was their weak areas each time, have a much better chance of passing.  You know you are well on the way to passing if you're invited to a Morian home, rather than just a common-access workplace.
You don't get to see private areas as a visitor to the city, which includes the homes of Morians.  About two-thirds of the city is limited access (this is biased towards the lower areas) and a third is private to all but Morians and really special visitors.  When asked about this the Morians tend to say they are a 'private people'.  Observant people have noted they never see children among the Morians.  Initial attempts to breach privacy are treated politely, then more firmly, and if really needed with violence and imprisonment, then permanent expulsion.  Very rarely do people die during this.
The 'spirit' of Minas Ithil is the AI 'Ithil', called 'Mooney' or 'Moon' by those more familiar with her.  She doesn't manifest anywhere in particular (or, if she does, the Morians aren't admitting it).  Ithil speaks from the breezes, with a soft and pleasant voice, and is very careful of intruding on people's privacy.  This includes the privacy of thieves in the city, which really annoys some Morians.  She is one reason it is very difficult to get lost in the city, even though its multi-level structure confuses some.  Many Morians were uncertain whether having an AI with such access and control over the city was a good idea, but most now say they are satisfied with the result.
The city can slowly relocate itself, both in the atmosphere of Saturn, and more generally in Fenspace.  There is massive redundancy in the life support and flight systems - the Morians have taken every effort to ensure they don't suffer the same fate as Crystal Osaka.  Yes, there are inertial compensators.  The city has concealed defences, which allegedly include multiple at least gigawatt lasers, supposed capable of 'Roboteching'.  The tractor beams used for industrial work can also be used for defensive purposes, and there are supposed to be nearly battle-ship grade force fields usable in emergencies. The crystal and metal is pretty tough (and chemically stable), too.  It is likely the Morians have other offensive and defensive systems they keep even more secret.  On the other hand, no one would ever claim this city is fast.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

I know I'm probably one of the few people here that plays Rift, but I wanted to share this video anyway. In Rift's upcoming, major expansion, Storm Legion, they are introducing personal and guild dimensions. It's a lot like housing in many games and yet it seems SOOO much more. Reminds me ALOT of what CoH's base building was and moreso what it could have been.