VisualNews.net Down :(

[Blue Lemma]

It's been down for a couple of days at least... anyone know what's the story?

[denzil]

Forums are running. Explanation what happened here.

[yummy]

Well, that explains everything. That's what happened to me too when I bought too much goodies.

[Blue Lemma]

Thanks for the info link ^^

[DaFool]

Lol crazy discussion at VN forums. Too bad I was away and couldn't participate in the action until it closed.

http://forums.visualnews.net/showpost.p ... stcount=14

OMG... no wonder. I was wondering how on earth can a bishoujo character in an 18+ eroge (well, it was the all-ages preview though) sound so uncannily like a Sister Missionary. (which are among the awesomest people you can meet in your lifetime, no kidding)

Anyways that's just too "hands-on" an approach regarding religious themes. Better ask someone who was once extremely religious (Like me 8 years Catholic and 12 years LDS)... while I now agree all religions are just like other organizations to create groups of people and gather resources, there are things that you take with you and treasure precisely because one grew up in a religious life -- like keeping oneself clean from drugs, moderation in the use of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and abstaining from rampant promiscuity.

I also like the euro-chic appeal that conservative religions have... everyone dressing up in their Sunday best and it's like you're actually living a bishoujo game, the only difference being that the people speak English, not Japanese (while they are mostly brunettes and blondes, wear dresses and ribbons and satin shoes and silk stockings and all those pleasant things which you rarely see nowadays.)

[rocket]

http://forums.visualnews.net/showpost.p ... stcount=14

Anyways that's just too "hands-on" an approach regarding religious themes. Better ask someone who was once extremely religious (Like me 8 years Catholic and 12 years LDS)... while I now agree all religions are just like other organizations to create groups of people and gather resources, there are things that you take with you and treasure precisely because one grew up in a religious life -- like keeping oneself clean from drugs, moderation in the use of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and abstaining from rampant promiscuity.

Some charitable religious organizations are extremely transparent. In general these also are among the most efficient at moving the money directly to the people who need it. Catholic Charities http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/ has a particularly good record and financial transparency.

Like most things in life, it pays to be picky and shop around.

Of course I *am* a mindless Catholic pawn, so you may want to take what I say with a grain of salt... (^_-)

[PyTom]

There are also some web sites that help you to rank charities based on what fraction of income actually makes it to program expenses. Charity navigator is one. For example, I can look up, say, the American Red Cross, and see that 94% of revenue goes to program expenses:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.c ... orgid=3277

Catholic charities is similarly good, with 95% going to program expenses:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.c ... rgid=10656

On the other hand, for these guys, only 10% goes to program expenses:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.c ... orgid=8547

It's fairly easy to be scammed by charities, especially ones that "educate people about an issue" as one of their main purposes... since they tend to claim that their telemarketing calls educate people about their issue. Still, there are a lot of good charities out there, and like anything, you can't let the bad apples scare you away.

[GipFace]

I'm here because DaFool linked me. This will probably be my only post here, so don't worry.

For the record, LDS requires one to give up tea. Then I went to one of their parties and saw them drinking non-caffeinated drinks such as 7Up and Orange Crush. I asked them why they were allowed to drink those while tea has antioxidants and potential health benefits.

"Because that's what Joseph Smith decreed."

It was like a cult. They blindly did things because someone told them to. A couple of days before that, the missionaries wanted me to give up my bishoujo game habit because they perceived it as impure. They wanted me to give up everything and submit to them just to make themselves feel good. How selfish of them to ask me to throw away the work I did over the last two years.

The day after I resigned, I went to see the documentary The God Delusion (also known as Root of All Evil?) in order to detoxify myself. I am now an atheist, but perhaps I was always one after experiencing a bunch of screwjobs in my life.

Anyway, I have 42 posts on the Gemot, so I am done with posting there. Want another reason not to post there?

http://nnl1.com/etc/y001.jpg

Do you want to be in a forum where members personally attack you because they lack the intelligence to debate? I brought up valid points, but since the eroge community is composed of nothing but pimple-faced teens with too much time on their hands, progress is nothing but a dream. Bill Watterson received the same amount of negativity from his peers when he tried to revolutionize comic strips.

I'm through with the cesspool that is VisualNews, and will probably add more fuel to the fire once Wind Build D is complete. I first approached them because I thought the site had a vision, that the site was going to be the main hub of English bishoujo game localization. Now updates are irregular and there is virtually no original content on the site. Anonymous posting on the forums has made spam run amok and the opportunity for flames to appear left and right. I'm not giving them my support again, that's for sure. They clearly lack the passion for their hobby that I once had.

But it was nice to see that almost every one of my 42 posts sparked some activity. I did more than some people with over 1000 posts. I made my opinions matter.

[lordcloudx]

I'm just going to add something to the discussion here.

lol! we have lots of "little" religious organizations here. Jehovah's Witnesses, Iglesia ni Christo etc. Though I don't know how many of them are scams.

Our own catholic parish seems very transparent. They make public announcements regarding donations every Sunday mass (for church repair etc. buying new audio-visual equipment etc.) and keep public records of their transactions. Not that I'm trying to defend the Catholic Church or anything since I'm really just a Catholic in name.

[JQuartz]

Our own catholic parish seems very transparent. They make public announcements regarding donations every Sunday mass (for church repair etc. buying new audio-visual equipment etc.) and keep public records of their transactions.

Same here. We even have a yearly audit by a reputable auditor. He's part of the congregation and does it for free but he's a professional so he's basically staking his employment on it.

[DaFool]

Religions actually hurt those who take them seriously more than those who are only in name.
Like for example, my mother who used to go to Mass 5:00 AM everyday started to realize something was wrong when the nuns were able to drink fresh orange juice unlike the rest of the population. It's just orange juice but it's an example of if being in the convent is supposed to forsake the luxuries of the world, then many nuns were living much more comfortable lives compared to the outside, which defeated the whole purpose of sacrifice. Even now I can only drink powdered and processed drinks since they're so much more affordable.

My falling away started during a trip to the Kirkland Temple and it was weird seeing that it was owned by a sect which branched off the LDS church and called themselves the Reorganized Church. (Mind you, Iglesia ni Kristo was also founded by an ex-Mormon, that is why its practices are very similar, as well as the tight reins and dedication required of its members)

The sense of betrayal is really overwhelming when falling away occurs, that is why I understand why people can become so bitter. You dedicated your entire life and being in service to God... except that 'service' was defined by a certain organization which later did not come out clean. It really does hurt.

I'm pretty tolerant now and don't care about dedication as long as a person is law-abiding and is spiritual in general. The only thing I hold dear to is the fact that baptizing infants is an insult to God, and priests should get married rather than predate on altar boys. That is all.

[Counter Arts]

Just remember that there are a lot of branches with conflicting views.

[lordcloudx]

I'm pretty tolerant now and don't care about dedication as long as a person is law-abiding and is spiritual in general. The only thing I hold dear to is the fact that baptizing infants is an insult to God, and priests should get married rather than predate on altar boys. That is all.

Evil energy rising ....

I'm really interested in the part about baptizing infants being an insult to God. Care to elaborate? I have several doubts about Catholicism as well, but this is a new one to me.

Also, about priests preying on altar boys, my sister teaches part-time in a seminary and yes, lots of the priests who manage that place are actually homosexual, but that's as much as I'm going to say.

[JQuartz]

...priests should get married rather than predate on altar boys...

Maybe you should be a Protestant instead of Catholic. I just read in the papers today that even non celibate lesbians can be ordained into the clergy (Lutheran Church i think). Personally I just don't believe any sane man can hold back his sexual urges for his whole life. Marriage is really the way to go.

I'm pretty tolerant now and don't care about dedication as long as a person is law-abiding and is spiritual in general

And as long as they don't kill people in the name of religion (The Crusades, Jihad, Salem Witch thingy, etc)

[DaFool]

I'm really interested in the part about baptizing infants being an insult to God. Care to elaborate? I have several doubts about Catholicism as well, but this is a new one to me.

The whole concept of original sin is just wrong. Infants and babies are pure and have had no opportunities yet to commit wrongs (they are the 'perfect' natural - or God-made creations).

Why should I be punished for something my father has done?
Why should white men today have to be humiliated in politically correct media because their ancestors were colonizers?
Many historical feudal conflicts would be avoided if debts did not have to be carried from one generation to the next.

LOL, so this is a thread about religion now. Well, as long as we avoid politics (or Global Warming in my case).

Religion and sexuality would be pretty much my last agenda as far as addressing issues through visual novel stories goes.