scepticstank

Corvania Reboot Imminent

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 20:53:00 +0000

It’s that time of year. Corvania players should have been sent an invoice and request for renewal commitment. If you are planning to continue with the game after the reboot, you MUST have your payment in by New Year’s Eve at 11:59 PM. Late payments will be refunded. Failure to pay will result in exclusion.

There are two possible slots opening up. If you are on the list, slots will be given out as they open in the order of request, and holds will be notified and given an extra three days to make payment.

We HIGHLY recommend that players consider a half year subscription. Subbing for 6 months does not in any way change your status, nor will it move your place as an active member. We remind about the reboot in June. You pay half the cost, naturally, for a half year.

Reminder: members pay $250 for a year; $125 for a half year.

IP Tracer Shout Out

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 21:35:00 +0000

I am cross posting this to save time. ALL Ops on Corvania and Sceptics’ Tank are being asked to run an IRC ip tracer script. I have sent a text file to everyone, and it is available in our private archives.

Copy and paste into REMOTES if you want the shortcut.

I’m also apologizing in advance to anyone who was inconvenienced over the past week by relatives from East ButtBone Virginia. I really LOVE that my people had the absolute, perfect, best response ever to our stalker. I love you all. :)

The benefit of the code I have sent out – even though Minnesota Fathead can’t join private channels, the stringer IP trace pops on the attempt, as well as popping on join in public channels.

Thanks, everyone!!

Turning off Windows 8 Gestures for Gaming and Not Shooting Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 23:51:00 +0000

Download the new device driver: http://www.synaptics.com/resources/drivers

A lot of recs out on the web are creating a registry key. Don’t do it. You may void your warranty, and will very likely muck up your system. Download the new driver and there will be settings installed.

A Legacy in IRC and the Death of Dalnet

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 10:18:00 +0000

Recent developments at Dalnet have signaled what most agree is the beginning of the end.

While this may delight some, The Sceptic’s Tank greets the slow and painful demise of Dalnet with sadness. We, as most recall, formed there many years ago.

Most casual users of the internet remember only a saturated version that took baby steps with Compuserve, Prodigy, and then some weird thing call AOL. Our membership was crawling out of the primordial ooze of the net back in the days of the BBS systems. Marc Springwell was around in 1988 when Jarkko Oikarinen created it in Finland, attempting to replace MUT (MultiUser Talk) on their BBS. By 1990 things were growing, and in 1994 a bunch of Efnet Star Trek dorks formed Dalnet.

Khaled changed things with mIRC. By 1995 a lot of us were scripting, and mIRC opened up flood gates for users who might not have otherwise shown interest. The Sceptic’s Tank was already in its infancy, though we had not formed. But The Twelve were there in 1996 as hired guns, watching the scroll for trouble. Over the years we grew and evolved. By 2000 we had our own network. We were still chilling in other parts of the underbelly of the internet, keeping in touch. We were still building scripts, tearing code, designing. From that core group came what we are today.

It started on Dalnet, which has always been the dog everyone likes to kick. It’s hard to argue that the network has become nearly unusable due to the failure to change as they grew. They were the first to offer WallOps and K:Lines… the latter probably fairly identified as the poison in the cup. Mass bannings are crippling the network, and the sad thing is it really comes down to lazy Ops and management.

Whatever the issues there, this group will not participate in the slinging of stones. Marc Springwell, Tom Livingston, Chrissy Olinger, Seth Harris, Tiny McKay, Terry Justin… if you use web search your algorithms were born there. Technology for tracing IP strings effectively was born there. Ironically, abuse of KILL/AKILL is shutting out so many ISPs, this very problem is the strangle hold killing the network. It’s true that bad server connections are the reason for a huge part of the mass exodus, but it began with mass K:Line bans, and seems to have resulted in mass lethargy.

Recently Tank IRC ventured into gaming. The popularity of Corvania Chronicles resulted in expansion, and this month Corvania got a shiny new home under the umbrella of Tank Net, individual servers for power and speed. A large flurry of requests came soaring over the wall, and most of them were old friends from Dalnet.

We’d love to be able to host the lost, but we have stayed strong, stable, and private since 2000. The Tank’s privately owned and occupied home on IRC was born on New Year’s Eve, 2001. We’ve never been shut down unless we were doing our own reboots. We’ve never been victims to exploits, slams, or wars. Not so much as a bump in the road. Being members-only is why.

That doesn’t mean we can’t relate to the sorrow many feel as Dalnet appears to take its final breaths. The BBW channels there gave us two relationships that are still going strong. Friendships, marriages, and even babies have come of those early connections. The Tank would not exist if The Twelve had not been there in the early days. We wish them well, however the current issues play out.

System32 Scam

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 22:13:00 +0000

It’s hard to believe anyone is this stupid, but this is actually happening. Seth Harrison reports that a System 32 virus hoax has gone viral. The hoaxers indicate users should look for a folder named System32, and delete it, then empty the recycling bin and reboot.

No. Really.

Please let the stupid people know that they are deleting their operating system.

Hard to believe this is necessary, but...

Current Rankings After the Corvania Reboot

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 03:47:00 +0000

First Circle:
Abados (Warrior) 32,171
Riley (Wizard) 31,781
Finnvara (Thief) 28,292

Deaths/Outcastings:
Ladvaris - Dungeon by Abados
Mellinarin - Killed by Finnvara
Rezeva - Killed by Ladvaris

Corvania Chronicles Half Year Reboot New Benefits

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 18:14:00 +0000

The half-year mark is nigh! All members/players of the Corvania Chronicles have renewed, and only two payments are pending.

We are currently in debate about how to handle membership size. As gamers know, the current cap is at 22, with a non-participatory Game Master, who is paid for his position.

The push to add more members/gamers has been increasing, but we are hesitant to cave. There are several reasons for this:

Smaller membership means better, tighter play.
The players all know one another, and intimacy is part of the game.
The current membership is dedicated, and shows up.
Because of all of the above, the game works smoothly and dramatically.
Scripting and world building are better, simpler, and tighter when the numbers are low.

That being said, arguments for a somewhat larger game base are not insignificant. They include:

Good gamers, some known to the membership, want in.
More players equal more revenue, and fees could bring increased benefits for all.
Revenue could fund the long-discussed comic books and/or RPG kits.
There is a possibility for shared character ownership, so that two paying members could occupy one space in the universe and coding.
We could, possibly, lower the fees for all gamers.
We could, possibly, increase the salary for the Game Master.

Currently the cost gets members gaming privileges, but also includes a free email account, private IRC rooms for personal use, and free downloads in the archives. Should expansion take place, more benefits would be part of that discussion. If you want to be part of this process, you will need to pipe up on the loop and attend meetings!

In the mean time... roll those dice, and let the games begin anew!

Corvania Rankings and Log Snips

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 08:21:00 +0000

This week's rankings:

Current First Circle Rankings:

Finnvara (Thief) 64,355
Abados (Warrior) 61,000
Ladvaris (Ambassador) 49,755
Ellinore(Cleric) 32,450
Riley (Wizard) 22,115

Second Round Deaths/Outcastings:

Abados (killed by Finnvara)
Foster (killed by Finnvara)
Rezeva (killed by Abados)
Zanjari (cast into dungeon by Abados)
Riley (cast into dungeon by Abados)
Stephos (killed by Riley)

Best Chat Snippets of the Week:

<Finnvara> Sorry.
<Abados> WTF??? AGAIN???
<Finnvara> I hope it didn't hurt.
<Abados> I am taking back almost all of your presents. #santafail
<Finnvara> Almost all?
<Ladivaris> No, you're not whipped at all.
<Abados> SUCK HOT DEATH, MARC!

<Ladivaris> You're kinda hot for a nun.
<Ellinore> I'm the kind that gives spankings with rulers.
<Ladivaris> Rowr!
<Ellinore> So, Ambassador, are you going to sell me that jewel?
<Ladivaris> You could be habit forming.

<Riley> I will sell you a ruserrection spell for three releases.
<Abados> Not worth it.
<Ladivaris> I sold my jewels to Ellinore.
<Abados> WHY THE BLOODY SHITE DID YOU DO THAT???
<Ladivaris> She's hot and she wanted them!
<Abados> She's a corrupt cleric, ass-cheese.
<Ladivaris> She's all sexy and promisd me stuff.
<Abados> It says right on her avatar blurb "corrupt."
<Ladivaris> I know, but I'm married to her outside of Corvania.
<Abados> I HAVE BEEN KILLED TWICE BY FINNVARA YOU TWIT.
<Ladivaris> That's trouble in YOUR paradise, pal.
<Abados> None of you know what an ALLIANCE is. NONE of you.
<Riley> Why are you mad at everyone else?
<Abados> Shut the hell up Riley.

Corvania Website and Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:32:00 +0000

The Corvania Chronicles website, lovingly put together by Finnvara (Chrissy) herself is UP! Weekly rankings will be posted there.

More pages will be added as play continues. Please bookmark it! Note: Facebook blocks urls with gamer tags, so you will not be able to post it on your feeds.

VISIT THE CORVANIA CHRONICLES PAGE

Current First Circle Rankings:

Finnvara (Thief) 20,505
Ladvaris (Ambassador) 19,755
Abados (Warrior) 19,800
Delinar (Witch) 19,740
Riley (Wizard) 17,805

First Round Deaths/Outcastings:

Zanjari (killed by Abados)
Ellinore (cast into dungeon by Finnvara
Foster (killed by Finnvara) Eldridge (exiled to Remvoran by Finnvara)
Cosette (killed by Zanjari)
Abarian (killed by Zanjari)
Lirrin (cast into dungeon by Finnvara, awaiting execution)

Defyin' da Mayans Party

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:16:00 +0000

It's the end of days! So we are having a party to defy those pesky Mayan calendar twerps. If you are home on December 21st, please log in to join your fellow tankeheads for an IRC chat session from Midnight (showing up early is fine) til the end of days comes... or the booze runs out. Should the world fail to end we will be doing some serious celebrating, beginning at the midnight hour, including the following:

Skype Karaoke
Trivia Blast
Drinking Games
Fabulous Prizes, including cash and gift certificates, for those who are the most ridiculous

Be there or be square!!

Holiday Shennanigans

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 05:04:00 +0000

Holiday update, just to prove the blog still works!

If you did not sign up to participate in the gift swap, you're too late. MAKE SURE YOU MAIL PACKAGES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE so that they arrive on time. As always, awards will be given in January for: a. gift that traveled the farthest b. dumbest gift c. most disgusting gift
We are pleased to announce the return of CORVANIA CHRONICLES. A BRAND NEW version has launched, Tankers-only, with some amazing world building. Skyrim shmyrim! Dice roll takes place December 8. If you miss First Dice you can't be First Circle, so show up!
Negotiations are currently underway to purchase new servers so that we can bulk up IRC for greater slam-width. Though not yet completed, at least two are a lock (just a matter of paperwork going through). Thanks to Damiano for his help in making this happen.
If you have been looking for an IRC application that works on both Android platforms and Kindle Fire, the newer version of AndroidIRC, AndChat, works like silk. Go, download, be happy:

http://www.andchat.net/page/download

And a preview of the new legend...

HABO—Olie is asking for a favor if you can for Mental Health Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:53:00 +0000

Olie and Aji are asking any tankers who can to donate a buck or two to this very good and noble cause via a friend.

CHECK IT OUT

New Dedicated, Tank IRC Client

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:53:00 +0000

At long last we have finished the IRC program designed by, and for, THE SCEPTICS TANK. Tank IRC has been a labor of love. The new client does everything that mIRC does, everything that pIRCH did, and stuff no IRC client has ever done before.

The interface is pop-out-able, the server connections incredibly smooth, and it comes ready to have your own scripts and code rolled in very quickly and easily using familiar commands.

A MILLION thanks to:

Marc Springwell
Seth Hart
Chrissy Olinger
Jayce Moran

Members can now download the program in the attic. You WILL be asked to agree to TOS that includes a confidentiality and INDIVIDUAL USER ONLY agreement. The short end of that stick is this: share the program and you'll be booted and banned for life. This is TANK MEMBERS ONLY. Shouldn't have to be said, but having said it, there are no excuses.

Test drives, FWIW, have been freaking UN. BE. LIEVE. ABLE.

Speaking of Mistress Chrissy…

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:29:00 +0000

She’s a best seller! Aji has been updating everyone by way of facebook and email. Amazon updates hourly, but as of this posting, Olie is at the top of both Humor and Ghost/Fantasy Romance, and is in the mid 30’s for all free download fiction.

Check her rankings on the book’s page, below the blurb.

Proud of you, BOSS!!

http://www.amazon.com/My-Boyfriends-Back-ebook/dp/B004NIFNM0

All That Jazz...

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:37:00 +0000

Congrats to Chrissy Olinger and Ahmed El Anjanar on pulling off the New Year's event of 2012. Aji sent us PICS!

LOGS: Ass Diamonds

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:05:00 +0000

<MarcusMaximus>	Ahmed de-friended everybody on her account because they were bein mean.
<JumpinJackFlash>	LOL I saw that.
<MarcusMaximus>	They can be disgustiing
<JumpinJackFlash>	I know.
<DamiNDarkness>	You don't know til you have been with them in person.
<MarcusMaximus>	I have been!
<MarcusMaximus>	/nick MightyAhmed
<MightyAhmed>	My dahhrleeeng, I shall go forth and breeng you coffee.
<JumpinJackFlash>	/nick SexyChrissy
<SexyChrissy>	Oh, my love!
<MightyAhmed>	I will bring you coffee and diamonds to show my devotion.
<SexyChrissy>	But my beloved, there are no diamonds here in Green Harbor for we are so rural and bucolic.
<MightyAhmed>	NO! My badjia must have diamonds! So I will forage in the hearths and wood stoves until I find coal!
<SexyChrissy>	YES!
<MightyAhmed>	I will find coal and I will place it deep within my ass and I will squeeze it mighily in my great lust and adoration and form the diamonds of my fidelity for you!
<DamiNDarkness>	ROFLMAO!!!
<SexyChrissy>	Yes! YES! Squeeze the coal for me my beloved beast!
<MightyAhmed>	I will expel for you the diamonds of my devotion and shall carve facets with my teeeth and shall find tin cans upon the roadsides and fashion from them the earbobs to dangle the sparkling glory of my devotion and from your ears shall hang the diamonds of my ass, radiating great twinkles like testicles of joy!
<SexyChrissy>	YES! I will wear the testicle bobs of joy fashioned from the ass diamonds! Your pain will be my EX-TAH-SEEE!
<MightyAhmed>	Ungh Ungh-- I LOVE YOU!!!!
<SexyChrissy>	Of course you do, mighty man-unit of passion!
<DamiNDarkness>	Oh hell I am so putting this log up. You're both dead!

Logs Logs Logs!

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:06:00 +0000

Notice nobody else is even attempting to interrupt.

TankChat #bitchfest 5:22:37 -+:log:+-

<AfreetAji>     You are an ass.
<MrcsMxms> that's Shakespeare
<AfreetAji>      It's just the truth in this case.
<MrcsMxms> yah but also shakespeare, so bite me
<AfreetAji>      Nothing could make me engage in contact between my mouth and any part of your being.
<MrcsMxms> i'd bathe in purel first just for you haha
<AfreetAji>      Drown in it.
<MrcsMxms> r u trying 2 say u want 2 c other peeple?
<MrcsMxms> hahahaha
<AfreetAji>      bugger off

I Will Pretend-Cut A Bitch!

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:42:00 +0000

The Sceptics’ Tank has been around since the very beginning of the internet, founded before the term “social networking” existed. In those first, baby-step days, we had a presence on the old BBS boards, launching in 1989, when “the internet” wasn’t even called that. There was Prodigy, later Compuserve, and most people had a vague awareness of something called “email” that was mentioned on tv now and then. The Twelve were its founders. The original Twelve, additional Nine, and subsequent Half Dozen have been identical for fifteen years. We have lost a single member to death, and another to federal prison. The latter is out, back, and welcome… good to see Seth wandering the IRC hallways. THE SCEPTICS’ TANK got its name, and solidified its presence as an actual group, in 1992. This spring (2012), we will be twenty years old.

No member has ever been banned from our BBS (now defunct, but that was what we had way back in the stone-age), our IRC channels, the forum, or this blog. Granted, we are a private group, and only allow visitors on rare occasions. We’ve banned people from the IRC channels, but these were hackers attempting to steal our hacks and servers.

The IRC servers have Channel Owners, but everyone is an Op. The forum has no administrators except for the webmistress (Olie), and Overseer (Marc). Both are simply in charge of fixing the broken shit. Nobody is silenced. Nobody is “in charge.” Stupid people don’t get in to start with.

Now, let’s think about this. Nobody—not one member—has ever been censored, silenced, or shunned. We have knock-down, drag-out fights over politics, religion, current events, morality, literature, string theory, and everything else. Yesterday—October 19, 2011—a founding member referred to another founding member as a “cocksucker.” The discussion in question began on IRC, migrated to the forum, and was an in-depth debate concerning Stargate, Star Trek, the Prime Directive, and featured quotes from Schopenhauer, Descartes, Spinoza, Tolstoy, Saint Augustine, Marx, and Leibniz. (Members can check the thread if they think we are shitting them. We are really not shitting.) It also bears mentioning that the invoker of the word “cocksucker” is a tenured professor at one of the finest universities in the country (which shall remain nameless, to protect the innocent, and the tenure), the ALLEGED sucker in question is a Roman Catholic priest.

It’s fine. It was a heart-felt and vigorous debate.

The point, after a week of more ABSOLUTE WRITE hijinx (which, as always, bled outward), more blog posters moderating honest, if embarrassing, comments, of Kindle Board wig-outs that resulted in massive email-explosions, and cetera… THE POINT is that grown ups who are not fucking assholes never need babysitting. Call the priest a cocksucker. He can take it, and dish it right back at you in full measure. Tell the professor he doesn’t know shit. He can argue in response with a side order of piss.

Never, in the history of this group, has a topic been closed, moved, changed, banned, barred, or discouraged.

We will celebrate twenty years together, snot-slinging, bitching, moaning, insulting, and loving the living hell out of one another. Nobody has ever been silenced or moderated. We slug it out. We hug it out.

It works. Try it. Or just shut up and unplug.

New Look and other stuff--

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:50:00 +0000

We have updated the blog because everyone hated the old blog.

New design is courtesy of Chrissy, who should be resting.

Mark and Ellie are sponsoring a get-together in the Austin area, TX folks hook up via IRC or the back-channel.

Chrissy, Ahmed, and a few notable notables will be at the Foundation Room in Boston rubbing elbows for the Ally Fund this Saturday. Contact them directly if you are in the area.

The Night to Fight Cancer—Call for Tankers

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:04:00 +0000

This September 17th is the Night to Fight Cancer event, and in the past the Sceptics Tank members were huge supporters and contributors.

New England area tankers can both attend and, possibly, contribute to the event.

The link on the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber site for the event is:

http://www.jimmyfund.org/eve/event/a-night-to-fight-cancer/

PLEASE consider making a contribution if you are not in the area, or attending if you are. Ahmed, Chrissy, Damiano, Gayle, and many other tankers and friends will be front and center.

Contact Jimmy Carroll, Matt O'Neill, or Joe Ford at: ANightToFightCancer@gmail.com

Thanks everyone!

This Week In IRC …

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:44:00 +0000

Sunday 10 July 12:22:41

Shandalear:         I love goldfinches.
MarcusMaximus: Why?
Shandalear:         What do you mean WHY?
MarcusMaximus: You mean, like, the little yellow birds?
Shandalear:         Is there another thing called a goldfinch?
MarcusMaximus: Not that I know of.
Shandalear:         No, the little yellow birds. I love them.
MarcusMaximus: Why?
Shandalear:         Why not?
MarcusMaximus: It seems weird.
Shandalear:         You probably like bluejays.
MarcusMaximus: So?
Shandalear:         That's weird. *snicker* Jay-lover!

Sunday 10 July 13:52:08

AfreetAji:               We're fighting a little.
DamiDark:             Define "a little."
AfreetAji:               We're fighting about a thing, but not about eachother.
DamiDark:            That makes no sense.
AfreetAji:               You've met my Badjia. What makes sense?
DamiDark:            But you ARE fighting.
AfreetAji:               It's a tiff, more.
DamiDark:            Define tiff.
AfreetAji:               More an ongoing snit.
DamiDark:             Define snit.
AfreetAji:               Go bugger yourself with a dictionary.
DamiDark:            Ow. Sharp edges.
AfreetAji:               Use your kindle.
AfreetAji:               Ow. Mechanical items and batteries.
AfreetAji:               Yes, and you can't read them in the dark with the special screen.
DamiDark:             I could get one of those little lights but that would
                                   probably hurt as much as the sharp edges.
AfreetAji:               There is that.
MarcusMaximus: I just started a pool.
DamiDark:            ?????
MarcusMaximus: $10, all in, first to come closest to make-up time and date takes
                                     all.
AfreetAji:               You took bets on my relationship?
MarcusMaximus:   It seemed like a fun idea.
AfreetAji:               You are a sick bastard.
DamiDark:             LOL
MarcusMaximus:   Feeling insecure?
AfreetAji:               No, and now we are not going to ever admit we made up.
MarcusMaximus: You're just scared she wants me.
DamiDark:            Hey, now!
AfreetAji:               I'll throw you for a beating.
MarcusMaximus: You can't reach from there. I'm in Texas.
AfreetAji:               My penis can make it to Dallas from here.
DamiDark:            He's in Austin. Which one is closer?
MarcusMaximus: Everybody /join #TeamChrissy or #TeamAhmed !

Monday 11 July 15:37:32

Cowpoke:             Communication is the problem to the answer.
WhoaNellie:          Huh?
Cowpoke:             You got her number and your hand is on the phone.
WhoaNellie:          Who?
Cowpoke:             The weather breaks and all the lines are down...
WhoaNellie:          WTF?
Cowpoke:             The things we do for love (the things we do for love!)
Cowpoke:             Like walkin' in the rain and the snow when there's nowhere to go...
Cowpoke:             And you're feelin' like a part of you is dyin'!
WhoaNellie:          You. Are. Such. An. Ass.
Cowpoke:             And. You're. Lookin'. For. The. Answer. In. Her. Eyes.
WhoaNellie:          I hate you.
Cowpoke:             :)
WhoaNellie:          suck hot death.

Don’t Make Em Angry

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:29:00 +0000

This just in: Olie and the Doc are fighting. REPEAT: OLIE AND THE DOC ARE FIGHTING.

No word on extended damages. Sides are being taken. Sign up in the IRC chat room #TEAMAHMED or #TEAMCHRISSY.

Marc is in charge of the make-up pool. Winner takes all bets. $10 each. (Monopoly money, of course—cough.)

Welcome Back...

noreply@blogger.com (Chrissy) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:41:00 +0000

After great discussion we have decided to drag the blog up from the rubble of our former web presence.

Announcements will be here, as well as on the loop.

Because it's always good to have things done twice.

Or whatever.