You have questions, I have answers. Lets have some fun...

Ghandee wrote: »

You probably have to stay a wee bit impartial, but i've a few questions about some members of boards.

1, secretly you must have had a favourite poster over the years (someone who made you laugh/agreed with their posts and views) aka, a fcuking legend!

2, same question as above, only a poster who constantly got on your nerves.

3, finally, which poster (in your view) was mistakenly given Mod status, that constantly abused their status/spoke out of line/ballsed things up in general?

Thanks

1. Not a favourite poster but I do like some posters more than others of course. Seamus has a scaaary ability to write exactly whats in my head for example. Its freaky.

2. I try to see the best in people, we've had some people who were banned come back and be great mods in later years. Everyone is capable of being more then they are imho... so no, I dont think that way but I do hate trolls and rude people.

3. That would be an ecumenical matter Ted.


DeV.

minidazzler wrote: »

Will S&S ever get the go ahead as a non subscriber forum?

Where would you like to see boards in 5 years time with regard to its effect on Ireland?

No. I very much doubt it.

I would like to see every TD having a verified account and running online meetings with their constituents in a safe, 3rd-space.
I'd like to see honest true free expression without us having to "own your words". You said it. You be responsible for it.
I'd like to see every company having a rep here so they could be publically questioned about their activities... it would force them to give better service, better competition and treat people like humans rather than numbers.

Thats enough to be getting on with in 15 years let alone 5!

DeV.

MadYaker wrote: »

What do you do for a living? (apart from boards)

Were you actually investigated CIA and FBI and why?

I started as a programmer, advanced to management and then left to become a freelance consultant. I pretty much have been doing that every since.


As for the CIA thing... get a coffee, here's the story:

In the early 90's I was involved in Amnesty International and was (and still am) a big proponent of the protection of people's freedom of speech. I don't mean the Feedback muppets, I mean people who are "disappeared" for saying "hey, maybe the government shouldnt be doing that!".

I was also on the fringes of the hacker movement which was a lot more idiolistic back then and a lot less "criminal". Now we have "crackers" rather then hackers. It was a golden age of the internet and BBS's etc.

In the states, Operation Sundevil kicked off and in a phenomenal coincidence, ended up kicking in the doors of one of my favourite roleplaying games designers, Steve Jackson. Put freedom of speech, internet congregation and gaming together and I think you can probably see that it was a concoction too succulent for me to ignore.

I discovered the Electronic Frontier Foundation and along with Antoin O'Lachtnaib and a few others, we set up Electronic Frontier Ireland as a branch off of EFF. We wrote some white papers for the government (which, 15 years later, they have suddenly decided are good ideas, like puting web access into libraries) and took on a few cases (like the DCU case where an idiot wrote a mail to Clinton threatening him and his wife. Cue the arrival of the US authorities. Cue DCU over reacting and shutting down all first and second year email accounts.)

Anyway, Computimes did an interview with me , remember this is way back before Boards.ie was even a twinkle in our eyes...

So, at the end of that interview they appended my name and my parents address (I was still living at home) and I thought nothing more about it and about 6 months passed uneventfully.

I arrived home one day to find my mother a bit worried and she said "there's a letter for you from the American Embassy". I opened it and found (to my utter shock) that I had been invited to a black tie evening of cocktails and nibbles to hear the american G8 (I think it was G7 back then possibly) delegation host an evening in the US Embassy. Now, there was no conceiveable reason why a nobody like me would be invited to such a thing.

I brought this into the EFI group of hactivists, rights campaigners and civil rights nuts (:)) who's response was "what are you going to do, you arent going to go are you?" ... "too right I'm going!" :) and so I donned my fathers black tie suit and armed with a copy of the "invitations" list with which a friend of mine who was, shall we say, talentedwith computers provided me. The guest list was a who's who of in irish business. The head of Telecome Eireann, the head of the ESB and I distinctly remember the head of the Irish Small Farmers Association being there too, because I couldn't work out what his connection to the event was! Mind you, I had less right to be there, but I had a ticket and so Cinders headed off to the ball.

I stood around at the "do" bored out of my fncking tits drinking top class champagne until after about 30 minutes I was approached by a guy in a suit. As best I recall the discussion it went something like this:
"You must be Tom Murphy".
"How do you know?"
"*smile* ... Look around you, you're half the age of the next youngest person"
"oh, yeah... its a pretty high powered gathering isnt it (I produced the list and thumbed it)"
"Where did you get that?"
"Off my printer"
<insert mindless friendly small talk and then slipped in right out of the blue as convivial as you like>
"So, who else is in EFI?"
"Er, I dunno. And if I did I wouldnt tell you". (er yeah, damn I'm smooth eh? :rolleyes:)

This puts him off kilter a little and I take the opportunity to guide the conversation.
"So, how come I got an invite?"
"We queried our database for people coded under certain terms and your name was among them" <I found out the terms were "Internet, computers, communications"... the implication was that they never thought to sub filter undesireables from the set of results because at that stage undesireables we're connected with such things>
"How did my name end up in your database to begin with?"
"There was an article on you in the Times a few months ago with your name and address on it." <ok, right here I remember getting very freaked because thats not he sort of thing you just 'remember'. Thats the sort of thing you know because you have read up a background on someone>
"Yeah, and?"
"Well, we coded you in our database under certain terms relating to that"
"You read the Times every day and code people according to their interests?" <I was gobsmacked>
"All media"
"What? Radio, TV, Press etc?" <my eyes were on stalks>
"Oh yes, <shrug> its standard practise in every country we operate in." <this line I remember distinctly. I was shocked>
"Should you be telling me that? You don't have to, like, kill me or anything do you? "
"Its not a secret, as I said its standard operating procedure to code all media".

At this stage I'm officially freaked but he's remarkably calm and friendly.
"So what do you do here, whats your job?"
"Oh, I'm translator...."
"Vrai? Il y a beacoup de travail pour une traducteur dans la US Embassie en Irelande?" (really? is there much work for a translator in the US Embassy in Ireland?)

He looked very amused, nodded politely and said
"It's been really enjoyable talking to you Mr Murphy". And left.

I decided to call it a draw, necked the rest of my expensive champagne and left quickly as well.

You want to know the really bizarre thing about this whole thing?
Every few years my parent's get a Christmas card from the US Embassy.

I wish I could end this by saying "and then I zipped away on my nano-wire while he shook his fist at me cursing" like it was some cool Bond story but it wasnt. It felt weird and grubby and a little intimidating.



DeV.

Kiera wrote: »

What do you love most about yourself?

Wow, tough one...

My depression hasnt always let me think that way. I have never thought of what I "love" about myself. I suppose I'm happy with how I make other people laugh as a priority to me. I have a compulsion to fix problems and stop people being hurt that I like too.

I dunno... I wish I could answer that question better, genuinely.

DeV.

Larianne wrote: »

Are you still into the acting?

What part would you love to play the most - on screen or on stage?

Yes I'm still interested in acting. Its a rush! But I dont get as much time as I'd like at it and doing a play is a huge committment because you cant just come and go as you please, you have fellow actors to consider.I dont want to be a dick to them.

I am currently watching Sherlock and I dont think I've ever identified with a character as strongly (except cut out all the "cool" bits... I mean his seeming inability to understand why people act the way they do and their "logic" and the way most people see him as a freak... that bit is me ). So I would love to play that on stage!

In traditional stage/screen... I would love to do "One night in November" which is a great great one man play... or one of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead". Awesomely funny play for a mathematician

Earthhorse wrote: »

What if he skips this one too? :eek:

I wont.