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Why not some sort of hybrid system?  People are going to always put whatever they want in their signatures, and you can't really stop people from spriting, but you can take away the need by having (more) standardized icons under the person's avatar.  Then again, I would think that would take a lot of effort from [somebody] to keep the system up to date....  So I guess I have mixed feelings either way.  Does that count as a vote? 

But then again, Baron said he wanted to read a whole series in the world I created for the second to last fortnightly writing competition. So here it is.

Awesome!  But.... strategically speaking, you do realise my vote doesn't count unless there's a tie, right? 

Let's see some more entries, guys and ....gals (it's actually hard to tell you apart when you are all wearing kilts in support of the theme)!  Get ye quills in the bonnie ink and scribble me a yarn!  Where are the rest of our regular contributors, anyway?  Somebody walk on Ghost's grave and somebody else ring the dinner bell for Chef!; yet another someone needs to sound the Godzilla alarm for Stupot+ and someone else again needs to activate the Ponch-signal.  Ah, that last one's easy so I'll do it:



Let's get those entries together -one week left!  Write right!  Write now!  RIGHT NOW!

What a great theme. What was your thought process Baron?

I came to this idea very indirectly.  See if you can follow:

1) I read somewhere that Japanese department stores play "Auld Lang Syne" at the end of the day to signal to the shoppers that the store is closing.  (I guess they borrowed the tune, which in the west is almost exclusively reserved for New Years Eve, since they understood it to signify closure, in a broad sense).

2) My infant son has the hardest time falling asleep (although now he is getting better).  One day in desperation I sang him Auld Lang Syne (or what I could remember of it), which has quite a calming melody and -magic!  It lulled him to sleep.

3) I memorized the whole song and sang it for many months at bedtime (I still do, sometimes).

4) If you repeat something so often you don't have to think about it any more, and my mind began to wander whenever I'd sing, and I got to thinking how unique some of the word combinations are and how catchy they'd be for a story title.  Examples: Seas between us broad have roared, Picked the daisies fine, From morning sun till dine, And never brought to mind.

5) My memory is jogged of what seemed like the trivial fact of why Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men was named thusly (The best laid plans of mice and men / often go awry -it's something virtually incomprehensible in the original Scots dialect).  So there was precedent.

6) It really bothers me that writers in the fortnightly writing competition often don't title their hard-wrought creations, thus making it difficult to discuss them by name afterwards.  So making a title mandatory was appealing.

7) I needed a theme, so....

Any other takers?  Just read a bit of poetry, chose a line that resonates in your soul, and then ...free reign!

[Robbie Burns' own words must be in the title of your story]

Pulitzer prize winning authors plagiarise their titles -it's a fact.  John Steinbeck stole Of Mice and Men from a line of Robbie Burns' poetry.  J.D. Salinger adapted Burn's Comin' Through the Rye to create Catcher in the Rye.  Now it's your turn.  Pick any line of Robbie (Robert) Burns' poetry and use it as inspiration for your story.  Robbie Burns' own words must be in the title of your story.  I don't care if it's in the original Scottish dialect or translated into modern standard English (or some hybrid, notably Auld Lang Syne).  There are no other restrictions: your story can be about anything at all.

Now if you're like me, you don't like to do a lot of research for your writing projects (except television tropes, of course ), so here are some resources for you, from simplest to complex:

Robbie Burns on WikiQuote: His most famous lines all on one site.

The complete works, in original Scottish!: For brave souls and Bravehearts only.

Good luck to all participants.  And here's a hand my trusty friend, now give us a hand of thine.... to write something with! I look forward to many a creative submission within the fortnight.  Have fun!


NOTE: All trophies will have kilts.

 

Well, it was a good competition all around.  I thought the topic was clever and flexible, and the stories all worked with the topic in quite unique ways.  Congratulations to all participants, since we all equally won the "best use of trope" award.  Good work, and keep up the good writing.

As for subversion of the voting system, I'd like to take this opportunity to blame Ponch.   His radical libertarian politics and nationalistic phobia of hanging chads makes him extremely sceptical of innovations in democracy.  I vote 1.36 times for him to undergo a messy grass-roots version of the Ludovico Technique to be reconditioned as a line-toeing member of society.

Stand by for the next topic in the continuing saga of.....

THE FORTNIGHTLY WRITING COMPETITION!

Phew, made it back to the internet before the voting closed!  I had printed off all the stories to read them while I was off the grid -that was a lot of paper, folks!  Here's my votes:

1) kconan (2 votes) -That story was pure awesome.  I love how it just wasn't based on tropes but clichés as well.  But the most impressive bit was your thorough research of jive-talk.  Great work.

2) Chef! (1 vote) -The interpersonal drama between Merlin and all his ho- I mean, sorry, kconan's story is still stuck in my mind -and all his women was a pretty interesting read.  I usually don't go for that combat fiction, but it was pretty interesting how the sword could be pulled out of any inanimate surface.

3) Adeel (1 vote -best trope) -I think it was a pretty courageous thing to pick this trope.  The rest of us could just joke around or bash in a bunch of heads, but his trope was a real challenge.  I agree with Chef! that it was hard, from a liberal Western up-bringing, to appreciate the social code that formed the backdrop of the story, but nevertheless I think it was a compelling and thoughtful story that he wrote.

[COTEMPORANEITY]

It's the second coming!  The prophecy was true!  Chris has returned to us, in the form of some sort of uncrowned cat....  SINNERS REPENT!!!!!
As for features....

COTEMPORANEITY: Talking at the same time, walking at the same time (e.g. both characters pace away from each other and turn and shoot at the exact same moment).   
VECTOR GRAPHICS: Really a modern engine needs to be able to handle vector graphics.  It's such a pain to export them as pngs and import them into AGS, thereby vastly inflating the file size.  Also imposing raster masks on vector backgrounds....[shudder].  Compatibility with Flash would be ideal for me.
TRANSFORMATIONS: Vectors scale and can be rotated flawlessly.  As a developer it is a pain to work around rotations especially (usually rotating it in the drawing program and reimporting it as yet another png...)
GUIS: Why don't GUIs in AGS behave like everything else? (e.g. button transparency, animation....)
EMBEDDED OBJECTS: In its simplest form, embedding an object in another object, with its own unique functionality.  In a more complex usage, a character could be a collection of parts that will respond uniquely to interactions, thereby facilitating everything from hit detection to changing clothes.
DYNAMIC ROOMS: Why just five backgrounds?  Why?  Being able to have more backgrounds per room, or even better being able to dynamically change light levels on the background (e.g. night time) would hugely speed things up.
EFFECTS: Common Adventure scenarios like fog (fading linked to y values, even backgrounds) or water (calculating z plane and obscuring the portion of the character beneath it) would be sweet.

That's all I can think of off the bat.  Documentation will be critical to attract new users (i.e. me, for one), since it will require a lot of steep learning.  Good luck with this project!

THE TROPE TROOP

   â€œOK everybody, can you have a seat and we'll get started.  Hey, nice tie!  I hope nobody had any trouble finding the place.  There'll be a small snack-buffet afterwards.  Everybody settled?  Right, here's the pitch!
   â€œYou've all signed up for the heist, correct?  Nobody here for the Mom & Tot Art Seminar or the Longest Fart Society's AGM?  Just checkin' -they share the space.
   â€œSo here's the deal.  Nobody here knows anybody else, and I want to keep it that way for legal purposes, if you catch my drift.  Everyone will receive a codename, and you are only to refer to each other by your codenames.  DO NOT REVEAL YOUR REAL NAME TO ANYONE.  I can't stress that enough.  How's anyone going to rat you out if they don't even know who you are?  It's just common sense.
   â€œSo codenames.  I know you're expecting to be assigned colours or historical figures or whatever, but I find that always leads to internal conflict over who gets the cool names.  So this time we're doing it by TV tropes: I'm gonna call a spade a spade here, which means everyone is going to get exactly what they deserve.  Got it?”
   â€œAre you some sort of... TV gameshow host?” enquired the only attractive woman at the table.
   â€œWhat?  No.  Why would you-”
   â€œMaybe its the too-perfect-to-be-real hair, the overly white smile, or the compulsive schmoozing...” she mused.
   â€œWhoa, hey!  Leave the hair out of this lady!  These plugs cost me a mint.  But, uh, we need rule number two now.  And that rule is, DO NOT REVEAL YOUR OCCUPATION TO ANYONE.  Actually any identifying information is a bad idea.  A very bad idea.  Got it?  Good.”
   â€œHang on, was that a wink-and-a-gun?” the woman asked.  Her low-cut tank-top was now drawing the attention of most of the men seated at the table.
   â€œWhat?”
   â€œJust there.  You gave that guy the wink-and-the-gun when you said 'Good'.  Normal people don't do that.  It gives an impression of slimy-falseness.”
   â€œHe didn't give me anything....” the receiving man said slowly, looking down at this empty hands.
   â€œNever mind, big guy,” the leader said, waving his hand dismissively.
   â€œBig guy!” the woman guffawed.  “You are for sure a TV guy, or at least some other form of shifty reptile...”  She looked him up and down with an expression of utter disdain.
   â€œ....And I give you Alpha-Bitch!” the lead man said, pointing out the woman in case there was any doubt in the room.  “She's conceited.  She's condescending.  She'll put you down and twist her heal into your eye as soon as look at you.  And she'll use you for her own selfish ambitions, so be forewarned!”
   The woman looked at him indignantly.  “And I suppose you're Vacuum Salesman?”
   â€œI,” he said, pointing to himself.  “I am White Male Lead.  Here, I made name tags for everyone in case you get confused.”
   â€œMe OK!” said the slow-witted man when he got his badge.
   â€œNo, it says MOOK,” White Male Lead corrected him.  “You're the Mook.”
   The Mook stared blankly.
   â€œIt's like a soulless kind of henchman.”
   The Mook continued to stare.
   â€œYou'll do great.  And here's yours Trickster....”
   The Trickster looked at his name tag and grinned mischievously to himself.  “I would have called me The Charlatan!” he joked in a kind of goofy-aristocratic schtick.
   â€œWe're sticking to the book on this one,” White Male Lead chided him.  “And yours...”
   The old man scratched his long white beard, brow furrowed.  “Eh?  Electric Motor?”
   â€œEccentric Mentor, actually,” White Male Lead clarified.  “You're like a quirky father figure to the group, bestowing upon us bits of profound wisdom cleverly encrypted within the inane rantings of a gaseous geriatric.” 
   The old man rubbed his finger in his ear and then analyzed the harvest upon the tip of his digit, much to the disgust of Alpha-Bitch.  “Did he say I'm a queer feather to grope?”
   â€œ...And moving on.  Here's one of my favourites: Creepy Housekeeper!”
   A middle-aged lady with frazzled hair and an unhinged look in her eye perked up.  “Oh, yes Master!  Very good Master!”
   â€œThat's the spirit!  And rounding out our team of seven: The Dandy.”
   The suavely dressed and well-composed gentleman at the end of the table tipped his head in acknowledgement.  “What's the score, Big White?”
   â€œBig White.  I like that,” said White Male Lead.
   â€œWhat about... 'Tighty-Whitey'?” asked the Trickster.  “'Cause we're tight, bro!”  He offered props to White Male Lead, but was left hanging.
   â€œNooooooo.” White Male Lead let the word linger in the air a while for emphasis.
   â€œYou can't be serious!” Alpha-Bitch interjected.  “Who picked this team?  With the exception of myself and maybe the Dandy over here, you're just a team of misfitted losers!”
   The Dandy shrugged and slid closer to her.  “I don't know about mis-fitting, but your team could sure be looser,” he quipped in a debonaire tone, staring intensely into Alpha-Bitch's eyes.
   Alpha-Bitch was lost in his dreamy gaze, so the Trickster jumped in (props fist still held high): “He's.... talking about your.... tits!” he giggled.
   â€œHuh?” sighed Alpha-Bitch dreamily.
   â€œI said you're the most stunning creature I've seen,” the Dandy continued.  “What's say, when this is all over, you and I take our winnings to Monte Carlo and have some real fun.”
   â€œOK, OK, enough of that, Dandy.  We need you to save some of that magic for the... for the plan,” White Male Lead protested.  The Dandy had already leaned in to kiss Alpha-Bitch, however, and her eyes were now closed and lips parted in expectation.
   â€œYeah.... the plan?  Guys?” White Male Lead rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers and pointed at the oblivious couple about to embrace.  In a heartbeat the Creepy Housekeeper had leapt the table and intercepted the Dandy's kiss, breaking the spell.
   â€œWhat the f-?!?” Alpha-Bitch began, but even as she spoke the words the Creepy Housekeeper had turned on her.
   â€œDon't talk back to the Master!” she barked, karate chopping Alpha-Bitch right in the head.  Alpha-Bitch collapsed back into her chair as the Creepy Housekeeper turned back to the Dandy and kissed him some more.  He struggled to free himself, of course, but she'd latched on through the force of suction with her tongue down his throat such that he was entirely at her mercy.  There was the horrid sound of choking, and his leg flailed helplessly in the air.
   â€œRelease him,” White Male Lead commanded, and instantly the order was obeyed.
   â€œAs for you, I'll deal more with you later!” she snapped, pinching the Dandy's crotch for good measure.  He gasped, clutching at his throat before collapsing back into his chair.
   â€œNow, if there are no further interruptions?” White Male Lead asked, drumming his fingers on the table.  The Trickster still had his props hanging in the air, eyebrows dancing enticingly.  The Mook still stared at his name badge, and the Eccentric Mentor was still examining the ear wax he had gleaned from his auditory organ.  The Creepy Housekeeper came around the table to stand behind White Male Lead, gently twirling her fingers through his hair.
   â€œYeah, that is creepy,” he confessed, giving a nod to the Dandy who was trying to regain his composure while frantically dabbing at his mouth with a handkerchief soaked with hand-sanitizer.  Alpha-Bitch stared daggers at him, but was sullenly silent.
   â€œRight, on to the plan,” he continued.  “Each of you have been chosen for your unique abilities, all of which will be required for the heist to be successful.  Should we succeed, your reward will be one seventh of the proceeds, minus expenses of course.  The target is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where half the paper currency of the United States is printed.”
   â€œOh, my, god!” Alpha-Bitch exclaimed.  “He's going to eat it!”  She pointed helplessly towards Eccentric Mentor, whose wax laden finger tip was manoeuvring closer to his widening mouth.
   White Male Lead grimaced.  “Somebody stop him,” he commanded.  But Creepy Housekeeper was lost in her hair-twirling, humming to herself.  The Mook required step by step instructions to be of much use, and Alpha-Bitch and the Dandy were still recovering from their ordeal.  That only left the Trickster, prop-fist still raised, eyebrows twitching and head affirmatively nodding.  “Oh fine,” White Male Lead conceded, bumping the Trickster's outstretched fist with his own.  The Trickster turned immediately to Eccentric Mentor and with one fluid motion ripped off the old man's pants.
   â€œHow the h-?!?” Alpha-Bitch gaped, but the words caught in her throat as the Trickster leapt up onto the table to dance.  He had one hand in the air, finger pointing upward and twirling, while the other was wrapped around the waist of the empty old man pants, somehow commanding them like a puppeteer so that it appeared as if they were dancing with him.  “The master commands, and the dog PANTS!  Oh yeah!” he shouted.
   â€œOK, that's pretty disturbing as well,” White Male Lead commented.
   Eccentric Mentor stood shakily, his bare knees wobbling beneath the moth-eaten remnants of his forty-year old underpants.  Alpha-Bitch's eyes widened in horror.  “They're gonna give!” she shrieked.  Just at that moment the elastic snapped and the ghostly shroud shot up to land directly on the Trickster's head.  He suddenly twitched violently, eyes rolling back in his head and froth spewed forth from his lips.  The spasms intensified, then he started melting into the table.  In moments there was nothing but a pile of clothes in the middle of the surface.
   The other six team members just stared incredulously at the centre of the table.  No one even breathed.  Then a tittering laugh broke the silence and the Trickster emerged from a darkened corner of the room, naked as the day he was born.  He gave the naked-from-the-waist-down Eccentric Mentor the double gun salute, then perched himself gaily on the lap of the Dandy.  His hand tried to stifle the chortling noises coming from his mouth, then he said in his straightest tone: “Do continue.”
   Alpha-Bitch instinctively slid away from the Dandy and the naked Trickster who was straddling him, only to realize that Eccentric Mentor was still standing, manly in the breeze, across the table from her.  “Can you, like, sit down?” she asked in exasperation.
   â€œJust cause there's a little snow on the roof, doesn't mean the root cellar ain't well stocked,” Eccentric Mentor stated gruffly, then slowly shrank back down into his seat.
   There was a long silence.  “OK,” White Male Lead took control of the conversation again.  “Is... anybody else going to get naked?”  He looked at Alpha-Bitch in particular, then made a discouraging gesture to Creepy Housekeeper, who had suddenly stopped twirling his hair.  Reassuringly she started up again.
   â€œOK, so the plan.  A fleet of money trucks leaves the compound at precisely 8:15 am every week day.  Only next Tuesday there's going to be an accident blocking traffic on their preferred route.  This will be orchestrated by the poor driving habits of Eccentric Mentor, or maybe just by him wandering half-naked through traffic...."  Eccentric Mentor nodded.
   â€œAccording to protocol," White Male Lead continuted, "the base-command will reroute the convoy to their secondary route.  At this point the Mook will push the shiny red button that will block all radio contact and GPS tracking between the fleet and base-command.  Signage on the backup route will have been changed by the Trickster, confusing the drivers and misdirecting them into the shady abandoned factory district.  There, the lead driver and guards will be seduced out of their vehicle by Dandy and/or Alpha-Bitch, depending on their gender and/or sexual orientation.  At this point Creepy Housekeeper will sneak up behind them and slit their throats.  I will then personally switch clothes with the least blood-stained corpse and drive the lead vehicle, bringing the convoy into an abandoned factory where we will gas the remaining drivers and guards.  At which point the Trickster will switch the contents of the trucks with monopoly money photocopied at great expense, and we make our getaway to a foreign jurisdiction, possibly stopping off along the way to indulge in personal vendettas that may well lead to our capture or downfall.  Any questions?”
   They all looked from one to the other.  A hand was tentatively raised behind the Trickster.  “Hey, Dandy, is that you buddy?  What's on your mind?”
   â€œIt's not what's on my mind that's preoccupying me at the moment,” he responded coolly, regaining his composure and dumping the naked Trickster unceremoniously off his lap.  “But about the money... all those freshly printed notes have sequential serial numbers that would be easily traceable if we ever tried to spend the money, wouldn't they?”
   White Male Lead nodded slowly, hands clasped.  “Well.... yeah, probably.”
   â€œAnd aren't all federal currency guards equipped with gas masks?” Alpha-Bitch asked.
   Again White Male Lead nodded slowly.  “Uh.... yeah.  Probably.  Actually, I'll have to look into that one. But good point.  Anyone ...else?”
   â€œAnd aren't all federal employees equipped with anti-arousal devices around their crotches?” asked the Trickster from the floor.
   â€œAh, the jugum!” Eccentric Mentor nodded.  “It's kind of like a bear trap for your-”
   â€œYes, thanks for the timely wisdom, Eccentric Mentor.  All good points so far,” White Male Lead said, still nodding.  “And....”
   He looked at the Mook, who stared blankly ahead.
   â€œUh....” the Mook began slowly.  “Helicopter surveillance common....?”
   White Male Lead nodded once more, slapping both palms down on the table.  “Good, good.  This has been quite the... uh, fruitful enterprise.  Good committee work, everybody.  Lots of ...valid points raised.  Y-ep.  So... next steps.  Ah... What I'm going to do now is play a cheerfully familiar up-tempo track for you from my iPod while you all stare at this magnesium flash-” POOF! “-and Creepy Housekeeper here is gonna hack you defeatists all to pieces with a rusty old hatchet she carries in her purse.  Don't forget to do yourself last, now!  Bye!”
        The middle-aged woman shrieked with hysteric laughter at the prospect.

Man, this has been harder than I thought it would be, but I think I've finally cracked the concept.  I'm not sure where it's going yet, but I'm fairly confident I can wrap it up in the next three days.  Anyone else still hacking away at this?

Wow, am I disappointed.  I thought AGS had somehow began an actual conquest of the world and this thread was about client states.

Hmmmmmmm.  Citizen Kane: the apex of a genre AND a financial flop.  I guess Grim Fandango scores on both counts.

Awesome topic!  I too spend too much time at the TV Tropes website

However... not to challenge the timelessness of tropes or anything but... what did you call the Nixon Mask trope before the 1970s?  Maybe.... once in a while.... there is novelty in the universe!

Gay marriage is all fine and dandy, although from what I've seen the gaiety of marriage usually doesn't last more than a couple years.  Now what we really need is more gay divorce.  Where's all that acrimony going to get you in the end?  Bitter, jaded, and way in hock to the law profession, that's where.  The world would be so much the better place if folks would just laugh it off and move on.

[First place is awarded to SINITRENA for Truth! (15 points).]

Great turn out this time. Let's keep it up :-)

My sentiments exactly.  I can not remember the last time we had such an abundance of entries.  I printed them out and was astonished to find that they ran to 21 pages!  The truly incredible bit was that I couldn't believe they were over so fast: I could have followed some of those stories for chapters and chapters.  Great imagination and compelling writing guys (and gals!) -excellent work this time around!

So now voting is closed, and it is time for the tabulation of points.  According to my calculations the results are as follows:

First place is awarded to SINITRENA for Truth! (15 points).  I will add my voice to those of your admirers above by saying how fascinated I was with the story world you created in such a short text.  I could easily read a whole series based in that world.  Also, I thought your decision to have the narrative as a bar story was inspired, as it really made the story arc more suspenseful while allowing you to introduce more colour to the world.  A great effort, and your victory is well deserved!  Congratulations!

Second place is awarded to CHEF! for The Viper (10 points).  The narrative flow was excellent: action packed and clever, especially how she turned on her fellow prisoners at the outside gate in order to facilitate her own escape.  I thought the Viper herself was a little too one-dimensional, however, in that she was essentially just a perfect weapon with only revenge as her motivation, so I had a hard time empathizing with her as a character.  Just my opinion.

Third place is awarded to STUPOT+ for Catch 44 (9 points).  Stupot+ is such a classy guy that he actually voted himself out of second place just before voting closed: cheers to you, sir!  I liked the premise of your story, and the ending was clever and thought provoking.  Again, though, I was left with the sense that Simon was flat in that his character was entirely based around his single-minded literal interpretation of language.  I get bits and pieces of the broader picture: he has friends, ambitions, and a generous spirit, but no sense of how he dealt with these through the lens of his ...condition.  So I wonder how he would have even got to Beachy Head, instead of being held up indefinitely at a stop sign, for example.  Something to think about, anyway. 

Sorry, I got to more critiquing and less praising than I'd wanted: I nitpick because I love! Good efforts all around, and I look forward to even bigger and better stories next time around when Sinitrena sets the next theme.  Until next time, keep your pen handy: you never know when inspiration might strike!

[Ghost with Elminster and the Alien MagiciansSinitrena with Truth!Adeel S. Ahmed with Impossible EscapePonch with the oddly titled Edit!Chef! with The ViperStupot+ with his buzzer beating Catch-44]

Alright, the competition is closed!  These are our participants:

Ghost with Elminster and the Alien Magicians
Sinitrena with Truth!
Adeel S. Ahmed with Impossible Escape
Ponch with the oddly titled Edit!
Chef! with The Viper
Stupot+ with his buzzer beating Catch-44

So now it's reading time.  And then it's voting time.  And THEN it's trophy gala time.  With the speeches and the brandy and those little hors d'oeuvres  made of pastry but stuffed with some kind of cheesy meaty puree inside.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  To the manuscripts!

Voting will proceed according to the SIX-POINT scheme:

i) each voter has six points to award

ii) you can apportion these points as you see fit to as many contestants as you deem worthy, but you can not give more than 3 points to any one entry

iii) if you chose not to apportion votes, your first vote will be interpreted as 3 points, second 2 points and third 1 point.

iv) if you only vote for one person, your vote will be interpreted as equalling 3 points

v) if you make a math error and award more than six points your votes will be reapportioned in a similar ratio to fit the six-point scheme, and will be rounded down in such a case where you have exceeded the maximum points per entry (see rule ii).

vi) points may be split so long as they are in decimal format and do not exceed two decimal places to the right of the decimal.  Votes that exceed two decimal places will be rounded and, if they then violate rule v (see above), will be reapportioned according to that rule. 

     a) if you live in one of those places where they replace decimals with commas, then just use commas.  What do you call it then, anyway?  The comma system?

     b) if you live in one of those places where they don't use the metric system, you need to purchase an expensive converter online, preferably from me.  Votes in non-conforming formats will be counted only at the discretion of the contest organizer

vii) In the event of a tie by the close of voting, the contest organizer shall be eligible to vote according to the rules laid out in sections i-vi

viii) Votes can not be edited once posted, in fairness to our contestants.

Voting this time around will run from this very instant until whenever I can get to my computer Tuesday, June 25 (probably around 10pm EDT).

Good luck to all participants!

Those are five solid looking entries guys: good work.  Any other contenders?  I don't think I have it in me to stay up to midnight tonight, so you are free to submit your story before I officially start the voting round tomorrow morning (let's say roughly 10 hours from the time of this post, for you folks in those crazy opposite-land time zones  )

So is that Atelier's entry for living it, or Ghost's entry for pointing out that it's a story?

Sorry, I've been away.  Life....

Again, I don't trust anything that calls itself science blindly. I am well aware that proper science doesn't have all the answers and maybe never will.

I don't think this opinion is that far off of what I've been trying to express.  I think when approaching a "fact", whether promulgated by a scientist in a research paper, his agent in the field (medical opinion, for example), or indeed a person with deep religious convictions, my first impulse is to be sceptical.  How do you (not you, but the person saying he's right.... well, maybe that is you too) know you're right?  If the scientific methodology easily produced airtight results, there would be a lot more scientific "laws".  Especially when something is going to affect me directly, I am not inclined by disposition to just rely on the opinions of people representing themselves as experts.  I want to be convinced.

[Science] IS the only way to get actual answers though.

There's lots of ways to get answers.  When I'm thinking up a way to make an adventure puzzle work, I don't use anything resembling a methodical approach.  If I'm really stuck I have a beer and think at it laterally, and something usually just pops into my mind.  Some people are divinely inspired, some people rely on instincts, some people find answers in the past, and others are just really good at guessing.  I wholeheartedly concur that science is a very good way to approach problems, but its not the only way and I'm sure there are some circumstances where it's not even the best way.

It also sounds like you're saying that until science is 100% perfect and has all the answers, you might as well reject it.

At no point did I say this.  I said I doubt science can produce all the answers, and will critically consider what it has answered and come to my own conclusions.  For the record, I am convinced that global warming is human induced, the ability to cure cancer would be awesome, and the stars are giant orbs of gas and not various quarrelling deities.  On the other hand, I'm not so sure massive genetic engineering of plants to augment the food supply is such a good idea.  I know we could use extra food, but other branches of science have determined that lack of genetic diversity makes a population vulnerable to disease.  What happens if/when the world's rice supply is reduced by 50% due to an unforeseen blight?  A reasonable person ought to conclude that this is risky and that we should think about this for a bit.  You are probably going to say "but science doesn't implement the invention, so it's not the methodology's fault."  But like the nuclear example already beat to death, the foreseeable consequence of knowledge is that it will be used, usually by people with short-term goals that don't entirely understand the long-term ramifications.  Some genies are best left cooped-up.

If you don't have access to clean water and keep getting sick, wouldn't you treasure a device that destroys 50% of the pathogens? This is what science does, as opposed to religion, which simply tells you that you'll get all the clean water you'll ever want after you die.

I'm not saying religion overtly has the best approach, but inadvertently it may have a better one.  Humanity has survived for millions of years without devices that destroy pathogens in water.  Yes pathogens in water kill many people, but the remaining population is stronger from a Darwinian point of view.  The elimination of pathogens, which is scientifically rational (especially from an individual's perspective, 'cause you don't want to be the one dying!), may have the unintended consequence of making humanity much more susceptible to mass-death later on.  And this is what I'm talking about in terms of science, compartmentalized and looking only at specific problems in isolated circumstances, not considering the broader implications.  I would reason that a better approach would be to develop a method of ensuring that all people are exposed to all known pathogens in as safe a manner as possible, so that they can handle them later on in the event of shit happening.  This would be a robust solution.  But this would be hard to study/develop/implement.  Science lends itself better to quick-fix solutions to smaller problems, the bigger picture be damned.

Because even if we start charging up the good against the bad, the good will always win. Accumulation of knowledge and understanding about the universe will always win out against psychopaths who decided to use new technology to kill.

What?  Is this like a comic book lesson or something?  Good vs. bad?  We are THE BAD, brother!  Our ancestors were the best at wiping out the competition, and so it's their descendants that have inherited the earth.  Ever heard of gentle australopithecus robustus?  Whatever happened to the Neanderthals?  Your and my great-great-great-grand-daddies wiped them out, probably with the technology that the best minds of the day could invent!  I bet those Neanderthals were thinking "Ah, we're good natured folk.  We shall overcome."  If being righteous is your survival strategy I hope you've got your fingers crossed.

Please point out "successes of religion". Note that in order for these to count, the success must be explicitly based on religious belief or morality. Mentioning a pastor who saved Jews from the Nazis does NOT count.

As I've said, I am even more sceptical about religion than I am about science.  Having said that, credit where credit is due.  Religion has proven itself to be a fairly good instrument of education over the years.  I know it's been pointed out that this is likely "indoctrination" for the religion's own nefarious purposes, but much good has come of it.  The scientific revolution would hardly have been possible without the protestant reformation: suddenly it was important to teach good Christians to read so that they could read the bible themselves, and this mass literacy enabled the scientific revolution to proceed in a way it probably wouldn't if priests still held a near monopoly on the dissemination of ideas.  The abolitionist movement was intimately intertwined with various religious movements, notably the Society of Friends (but there were many others).
   I think a lot of the flack that religion gets is that it has been co-opted by secular powers that use it as a tool for their own devices.  Jeshua's teachings were mostly positive, as I interpret them, but once the institution built by Paul and especially Constantine took over as universal governing body the movement was twisted almost beyond recognition.  At a personal level I still believe it's possible to embrace the good teachings of good teachers, but once it becomes institutionalized it takes on a life of its own.  Blaming religion for what kings used it for might not be fair, I suppose, but then the religion was an accessory to the crimes, wasn't it?  The religion benefited from the proceeds of power (money, influence...).  But wait.... The kings nowadays are governments, and they base all of their decisions on scientific studies.  They can and do co-opt perfectly innocuous research and overtly weaponise it (ie Manhattan Project).  Science benefits massively from its relationship with government (grant money, influence...).  So if you get to blame religion for all the injustices of the past, I don't see how me blaming a few of the injustices of the present on science is unfair.  It is, like religion was, an accessory to the crime.

It's pretty frustrating, because I have lots of respect for you and think you're a funny, creative and intelligent guy. Seeing you talk like that about the greatest human achievement ever really makes me sad.

I like these debates, and I'd never hold anyone's convictions against them unless they were completely intolerable.  I respect what you do around here on the forums, and I respect your opinions in this thread.  Heck, I might even agree with half of them.  But I don't think you're 100% right about how to see the world, and I think we can respectfully debate that without taking it to the personal level.  You big poop head.

Awesome!  But.... unless you were either co-ordinating the rescue operation or were responsible for the sinking of the ship, I don't see how you can claim authorship. 

SIX MORE DAYS TO GO!  LET'S SEE MORE ENTRIES!!!

It seems you don't quite understand what the purpose of science is. What you are talking about is more of simplified science, which you hear over TV or radio. But real science is all about cause and probability.

Well, let's get our definitions straight, so at least we are talking about the same thing.  My understanding of science is a systematic approach to building up knowledge through testing hypotheses through experimentation.  Causation and probability are often further hypotheses based on the evidence at hand, but I would disagree that they are what science is "all about".  I would say that a large segment of society ascribes to science the power to absolutely determine causation, but I think you are more accurate in saying that a scientist would only claim a high-degree of probable causation.  The central issue I take with science is that it promises that a systematic, rational and objective approach can solve all problems.  I doubt this, since as I've already explained rational and evidence based conclusions based on isolated observations and experiments can and often do have unintended consequences when applied to the real world.  Further, I contend that science displays a degree of hypocrisy in its very nature: replicable experiments by their nature need to be isolated to minimize the number of variables involved, but the build-up of the knowledge based on those results does not often equate to applicability in the real world (and thus constitutes "knowledge" to the same degree as "knowing" how many angels can fit on top of a pin). I fully concede that science has had many successes, as has religion, but I find it hard to place blind faith in something that is clearly fallible. 

If you are so sure that science causes detriment for society, then please tell me some real examples.

...Er, how about nuclear bombs?

I could come up with millions of examples where science helped society and no single one where religion did.

How about "love thy neighbour"?  Don't get me wrong, I think science beats religion hands down 19 times out of 20.  But I will concede that there are some merits to religion some of the time for some people, and I don't think science has it right 100% of the time.

If a man in rags tells you to stop eating pork because god will make you sick if you do, would you believe him?

What is this, some sort of ad hominem argument?  Who cares what the guy looks like?  I think we're on the same wavelength regarding people's grasp of the facts in the past: what they called divine retribution we would understand as some sort of pathogen.  But that shouldn't take away from religion's historical successes: it was successful because people saw it as contributing to making their lives better, however ill-conceived its ideas actually were.  Also, this argument pre-supposes that we have all the answers now (a glaring fault a number of you have pointed out in ardent religious believers), while I suspect that the future will prove our ignorance just as we have exposed that of religion.

Baron, so what are you saying: that we should stop all research, because it might have some bad implications...!?

I am saying science should not be seen as infallible.  I am saying this over and over again.

I don't care about a guy in a trench who is too stupid to understand the difference.

You are the man in the trench too.  The universe exerts its force on you, and you (as all of us) have only an imperfect conception of why or how.  You turn to science for understanding, but others do otherwise.  To proclaim superior knowledge of the mortal condition than anyone else is conceited, and differs little in outward appearance from the holy-rollers you claim to despise.

You mentioned your relative with the umbilical cord around his neck. How was science causing that? According to you, science didn't want to prevent that. I don't know what's more ridiculous, the notion that science is an entity that can make decisions, or holding it responsible for what happened.

The science of medicine has determined acceptable risks for surgical outcomes.  This is rational, unless it happens to you.  I don't pray, but I hope it never does to you.

Both "science" and "god" are these all-powerful forces that can solve all your problems (in theory), but are just as equally likely to leave you stranded and disappointed in practice.  You may choose to believe in one or the other, and if that makes you feel more secure then so be it.  All I'm saying is that neither has convinced me, and that I still harbour doubts about both.

I don't even know what to say to this. It's not even wrong.

Belief (or trust, if you prefer) can not be correct or incorrect according to measurable criteria, so your cute turn of phrase isn't applicable.  I don't need to be told that I don't understand what we are discussing: the very fact that you are wasting your time trying to correct me belies your acceptance that my arguments merit response.

How is [Malaria] the fault of science? As long as there are people who think homeopathy will help against Malaria, or who refuse treatment until it's too late, people will die from diseases like Malaria.

What has caused people to turn to homeopathy but experience of the shortcomings of mainstream medicine?  A failure in one regard shakes confidence throughout.  It seeds doubt.  I have doubts, that is all.

I also feel I have to address the "science is just another religion" part of your argument. Religions usually consist of three things: they provide a moral framework, they provide "facts" about the universe, and they tell the history of at least their part of the world. Science can only address the latter two; the first is where humanism comes in.

These are arbitrary definitions.  I am drawing a parallel between two powerful forces in people's lives.  People turn to religion for answers, and they turn to science for answers.  I contend that neither has all the answers.  Although I admire your conviction that one of them does, I can not share it.