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@ init @lemmy.ml

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3 yr. ago

  • What is a popular book that everyone buys but nobody reads?

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  • That series took me something like 5-6 years to read, broken in the middle with Game of Thrones. WOT gets extremely dry by book 9 and Robert Jordan is tied up in something like two dozen plot lines with no way out.

    I only finished the series because I was overseas with nothing to do except listen to audiobooks on my time off for a year and a half. The last 3-4 books being written by Brandon Sanderson was the best thing that could have happened to the series.

  • Help needed: how do YOU do things?

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  • I don't use ChatGPT for scene creation, but for creating stat blocks for minor NPCs. My scenes are all handwritten in a notebook unfortunately. I keep telling myself someday I will digitize them into PDFs/modules, but I'm at about 3 years of content right now 😬

    There are a few good creators on r/battlemaps that have patreon subs available (with many freebies too on that subreddit). I also have purchased dungeondraft, but as of yet have not delved into creating my own maps. I generally find something "close enough" and then tell my players what specifically is different in the scene should it come up.

  • Help needed: how do YOU do things?

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  • I've been running a Star Wars DnD campaign since mid 2020. The 5e rules module incorporating SW5E.com content is top notch. It allows me to easily create battles with tons of low level minions that my players absolutely love mowing down.

    How do I plan sessions? My campaign is less of an open world and more of a story. I always try to set up any puzzle/combat/scenario so that there are three ways to solve it. 1) way of the warrior (players just want to kick in doors), 2) way of the scholar/mage (players find a secret that allows them to mitigate or more easily defeat the boss), and 3) way of the scoundrel/investigator (a hidden exploit that allows them to completely bypass or nullify the problem).

    I try to follow this strategy in fights, social intrigue, investigations, and so on. It can be as simple or complex as you want, although the more complex it is, the more likely your players will miss it. Many times it comes down to if-then analysis. I'll describe a scene, my players will describe how they want to interact with it, and then I'm forced to think about how things would be in relation to what they want to try. Sometimes I will roll percentage dice to see how close the scene is to what players described (usually reserved for theater of the mind).

    As far as setting up battlemaps, I'm really lucky. I'm a subscriber to

    , and he has a knack for creating map offerings of exactly what I need a few weeks to a month before I need it. I will try to set up each map prior to the session, and populate it with bad guys and so forth. Ctrl+C and Ctrl-V copy/paste.selected light objects and is a huge time saver. I do use multi-level maps, but sometimes stairwell and elevator tiles can be finicky when it's game time, so I have to rest those maps thoroughly before using them (and even then half the time they are broken anyway). I also use ChatGPT for creating random NPCs, shop owners, minor party characters, etc.

    Bottom line, FoundryVTT and ChatGPT have allowed me to save HUGE amounts of time with scene creation and NPC stat blocks so that I can focus on the story plot, and then allows a LOT of automating battles. This allows my players to feel epic and like the world is their oyster.

  • Proton 8.0-4 Released with Support for More Windows Games on Linux

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  • I have an Nvidia 2060 Super with Pop_OS driver version 535.xx(?), and I haven't run into a game proton doesn't work with.

  • Replicating reddit content from AITA

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  • I don't think I like the idea. I've come across too many posts elsewhere that describe strategies for using AITA, JUSTNOMIL, etc., to get enough karma quickly to enable new alt accounts to post elsewhere on Reddit where minimum Karma scores are enforced. I don't want fake shit here even if that means we have less content.

  • What's your favorite spaceship?

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  • BS Galactica was so cool. It was so sad in the last season how beat up it was. Amazing show

  • What's your favorite spaceship?

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  • The USS Defiant. Coolest ship in Starfleet.

  • Which is your favorite Lemmy app?

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  • The app literally just updated and it says it is Boost v1.0. I was signed up and using it as a beta tester for the last week or so.

  • What are some FOSS programs that you think are a far better user experience than their counterparts?

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  • It sounds like you're more familiar with Linux than the average person, so I'll forgo advising Ubuntu or Mint. I personally prefer Pop!_OS, but that's also because I was a MacOS user for a while and like the feel of that.

    I am also more comfy on distros that use the apt package manager, but learning a new one is pretty minor.

    As you said you like Win7, which feels fairly straight forward, there are a couple that strike me as something you might like. They are less flashy, lower on resource requirements, and generally stay out of the way.

    1. Xubuntu - it's based off Ubuntu, and is downstream from Debian, so there is quite a bit of support in forums that is applicable. It's pretty lightweight, and gets the job done. Everything generally seems to "just work". The bad: resizing windows with the mouse cursor is sensitive and difficult.

    2. MX Linux, or a distro with a KDE environment (there are several (Ubuntu, neon, or pop_OS(?)). KDE feels a lot like "windows", but also incorporates some sensible enhancements. The enhancements aren't flashy (not like Mint)... they just make sense and feel right. The Bad: you need to go into settings and change single-clicking a file/program from opening the item to selecting it. One thing to note is that MXLinux does add a few things to the right click contextual menu, which might also drive you nuts--it does me. MX is good, but didn't feel right for me. The other KDE options don't do this IIRC.

    3. EndeavorOS - A pretty lightweight option that also feels very traditional with few frills like Win7. I don't have as much experience with this distro as I would like. It uses Pakman and AUR, which I am least familiar with, and is also a rolling distro from what I understand, which might eliminate this option if you're looking for stability. Although, I've read many comments from people who have had zero issues for years with it. But, there are things you have to be proactive about like snapshotting before updating that can make it a hassle.

    Distrowatch.com is a great tool to check the pros and cons out if you haven't seen it already.

    EDIT: I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but you can also simply install KDE on Debian as well. This might be a really good option since you're already familiar with it.

  • What are some FOSS programs that you think are a far better user experience than their counterparts?

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  • Any idea what distro you're leaning toward?

  • installing multiple distros on one drive?

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  • I would never ever recommend not updating windows, but if it is maybe just a dedicated gaming OS and you don't use it for internet browsing or anything else, you might be able to get away with it.

  • Whats a stupid ritual in your life that makes you happy?

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  • How attached are you to your username?

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  • I usually cycle through usernames on Reddit every 2-3 years, and while I'm a bit attached to the username, I absolutely do not use the same name across different social media, nor do I post anything from one to the other. Compartmentalizing helps limit the possibility of doxxing.

  • Donald Trump keeps confessing to new crimes

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  • I think the point here is if he can get any of his jury to slip up and admit or say they saw some of this on TV/online, and that it colored their opinion of him and helped them come to a verdict, that's a mistrial and they have to start this all over again. And that would put his trial until after the election giving him the possibility of immunity once again as a sitting president.

  • Atheists, is there anything religious that sticks with you to this day?

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  • The first time "taking the Lord's name in vain" was written in the bible is Exodus 20:7, and is echoed again in Deuteronomy 5:11.

    "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

    The original Hebrew text and word used for the word "vain" in Exodus 20:7 is "Shav" according to Strong's Concordance. This word specifically means:

    shav; from the same as (related word) in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), lit. (ruin) or more. (espec. guile), fig. idolatry (as false, subj.) uselessness (as deceptive, obj.; also adv. in vain):--false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity.

    Strong's Concordance - ISBN 0-7852-1195-0

    As defined above, "using the Lords Name in vain" has more to do with lying, guile, idolatry (believing in a god other than than the "one true god", which could be believing in a version of God inaccurate of who He is because you like your own version better), uselessness, and being false. I would very much define saying one identifying as Christian, yet not living and acting like one as the ultimate exercise in uselessness and hypocrisy.

    The Strong's Concordance has every word in the King James Version exhaustively identified with definitions of each. It is how theologians that aren't actually fluent in Greek or Hebrew can break apart a verse to find the true meaning that has been lost to dialect, translation, and the time. If you're interested, I would highly recommend finding one, or even downloading it.`

    Here is a blog post that hits most of what I mentioned, and also has a few more things to consider.

    One interesting thing of note is that, according to Leviticus 19:12, Christians are commanded to not bring shame upon their God by using him to swear falsely.

    “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the LORD." -Leviticus 19:12

    This implies that there are ways and times where it may actually be appropriate to use the Lord's name, or your association to him as a Christian, to swear if something is true. However, Jesus recommends or commands in the New Testament that no one swear by anything, either by God or anything else, and to let only your "yes be yes, and your no be no" lest one brings judgement upon themselves.

    "But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” -Matthew 5:37

    And here is one more final thing to think about. In Christianity, God is perfect and without sin. If he were to sin in any way, by definition he would fall under the law of death, as death is the punishment for sin. Jesus, as an aspect of God, was also blameless and without sin. Many also believe the Bible to be the literal or interpreted word of God, such that any changes throughout time were foreseen and anticipated. I have my own views on this, but for the sake of my argument, we must assume the entire scripture to be God-breathed. If God cannot sin, and the bible must therefore be truthful, then how did God swear by using his own name, if swearing by his own name is sinful?

    "For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself” -Hebrews 6:13

    Therefore, either God sinned by using his own name in vain and cannot be god, God sinned by lying about it in the literal word of God in Scripture, or swearing by using the name of God or its derivatives is not inherently sinful, and the intent or veracity is what is judged.

  • Atheists, is there anything religious that sticks with you to this day?

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  • Not to be that guy, but "using the Lord's name in vain" has been misinterpreted and misapplied by Christianity as a whole for a very, very long time. "Using the Lord name in vain" is not saying "goddamit", or "Jesus Christ, thats Jason Bourne", but instead by saying you are Christian, or a follower of Christ's teachings, and being indistinguishable from non-christians in the way one acts, speaks, thinks, dresses, etc,.

    Does this mean that cursing as described above is bad? Maybe, and maybe not--it depends on your convictions.

    One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. -Romans 14:5-6

    Back when the Torah and minor prophets were written, taking someone's name was to become their relative or kin. Even by the time Jesus came into the picture, it was still a common thing to take the name of a family to were adopted into, or to a land you moved to. Therefore, taking the Lord's name in vain" should be more accurately described as calling oneself a Christian, and then not living as one. This is endemic in Christianity--our divorce rates are practically indistinguishable for secular society, premarital sex, cheating--not to mention, we have a huge problem with covering up pedophiles, spousal abuse, child abuse, the list goes on. I believe God knows this, and Jesus even spoke to it when he was on earth.

    Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 7:21

    So, basically, I think God cares about the important stuff, like not acting like a hypocrite while labeling oneself one of his believers--not the inane stuff like saying "goddamnit". But, if someone believes firmly that saying swearwords containing God's name in it is also a sin, then by all means, that is treated and will be judged as a sin for that person.

    And if we want to get technical, Lord, Jesus Christ, and God are not his names. Even names the Christian god is known by, such as El, El Shaddai, Yeshua, Messiah, Jah, Jahova, and possibly Yahweh (YHWH, but we don't know for sure because Jewish scholars never recorded his name to prevent anyone from uttering it) are actually descriptors of who he is. El "The Lord", El Shaddai "The Lord will cover", Yeshua (actual name of Jesus, but not the name of God), Jah (first letter of the tetragrammaton "YHWH" ), Jahovah "The Lord will provide". Technically, it is impossible to use the Lord's name in vain if using his name in vain is defined as simply using it as a swear word or part of a curse because his name has been lost to history.

    Sorry, that's way more information than I intended.

    EDIT: And I also want to make sure I make it abundantly clear that this is simply my interpretation of things, based upon my own experience growing up in a Baptist church, and seeing all the hypocrisy there and in my own parents lives (where both were abusive in their own ways). I'm not really what anyone would call a practicing Christian because I don't attend church, tithe, or vote "prolife". Organized religion in its current form, is in my opinion, a perversion of what God intended. But this is just my opinion.

  • How many people actually dropped Reddit for Lemmy?

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  • I've considered it, but between my career, school, and other obligations I'm not sure I have the bandwidth to keep it focused and do it justice.

  • Meme moment when talking to my friend about her PC gaming rig

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  • When she gets onto Linux:

    "Now we just need to get you onto Arch!"

  • How many people actually dropped Reddit for Lemmy?

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  • Same, although there are a couple communities there with no equivalent here, like r/AirForce. I browse Reddit way, way less--and as far as the ads go, I'm glad someone is making money off it, because they won't be making any money off of me.

  • Microsoft has not stopped forcing Edge on Windows 11 users.

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  • +1 for Pop_OS and their Nvidia support. I've been using Pop_OS as my gaming rig daily driver for about a year or year and a half at this point. It has pretty much worked flawlessly. Just about the only complaint I have with System76 is their app store GUI is laggy and has a tendency to bug out if you try doing anything with it before it refreshes when first being opened.