Red says:

(Mini rant warning.)

Over at the MetaPlace forums, there seem to be a mixture of people excited about utilizing the coming tools, and people who really think that the future of on-line gaming, and on-line metaverses is necessarily 3D. This is an attitude I run into a lot, and I really must disagree. Though humans live in a three dimensional world, I would not say that they require those same dimensions in every aspect of their lives, especially not on the Internet.

(more…)

Red says:

Let me take a brief moment to expound upon the evils of Tanga. (For those of you who have not yet encountered Tanga, it is a Woot-like site, offering a different discounted product each day, but specializing in board games.)

With each day’s item being available for a limited time, and often in limited numbers, it is very easy to get into a shopping frenzy and make purchases without thinking them through. While some of these purchases turn out to be unexpected diamonds, some turn out to be the mud clods one would expect at the prices they are sold for. As the shipping time on Tanga purchases can vary from three to ten days, it is easy to feel as if one’s purchases are much less frequent or regular than they actually are. The bright colors make the whole site feel a bit like a game as well, which only increases the urge to “win” by clicking the “Buy Now” button.

If anyone has a handy program I can install on Patch’s computer to make that “Buy Now” button harder to find, please let me know.