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Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: Gyrre on 15 Jun 2019, 09:17

Title: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 15 Jun 2019, 09:17
I imagine there's just a drape being put up to disguise the room if they're making the bad porn back there.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 15 Jun 2019, 10:47
The manager is printing King James bibles in English to smuggle into North Korea.   He's got tons of 'em because the missionary organizations only want ones printed in Korean.  He doesn't pay any attention when someone tells him the copyright is in the public domain because he secretly likes feeling persecuted.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 15 Jun 2019, 11:20
Bootlegged Porn, in really low quality.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: DashaBlade on 15 Jun 2019, 12:18
I suspect his back room activity is that he naps in the back room while his minimum wage employees do all the work. :P
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Zebediah on 15 Jun 2019, 12:30
This comic (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3746) had to happen somewhere...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 15 Jun 2019, 15:11
What is the 'back-room activity'?

They think they know The Truth about what is happening and who is behind it. They spend every waking hour abusing the shop owner's broadband and equipment to publish long, ranty blogs about Gary and this unnamed multi-node AI who are allegedly manipulating world events for some malign reason; these super-powerful god-AIs may have even taken over the Illuminati!

The wonderful thing is that they aren't actually doing anything actionable. However, because they think that they are and that They are out to silence 'the voice of Truth', they'll do anything to keep Roko from publishing their location on a public forum.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 16 Jun 2019, 19:46
Comics up.

I've worked with a lot of people like Beepatrice and they are some of the nicest people on the planet.

And the very sad thing is that I have worked with so many people like Beepatrice.

And I have wanted to strangle each and every single one of them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: SmilingCat on 16 Jun 2019, 20:08
I feel like this is just the sort of thing you have to deal with when you're breaking new ground in the cause for social justice. You get lots of people who really believe in the cause, but not enough people who actually know what to do to further the cause.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Stoutfellow on 16 Jun 2019, 20:13
I have a feeling that Roko's going to be running the place before too long. If nothing else, she knows paperwork, and the importance of record-keeping.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Penquin47 on 16 Jun 2019, 20:21
Wouldn't surprise me a bit.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: shanejayell on 16 Jun 2019, 20:25
One gets the sense they don't have actual problems very often.

 :-P :lol:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 16 Jun 2019, 20:29
I don't blame the printer one damn bit.  Don't send him mixed signals, Beeps.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 16 Jun 2019, 21:00
....... (¬_¬)
And now I'm hearing  Mona Marshall's voice for Beepatrice.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Mordhaus on 16 Jun 2019, 21:32
Ok, I get that the comic always does it's best to 'humanize' the ai's, but are you seriously trying to tell me that an AI can't access google (or whatever takes it's place in this universe) and find a video on how to install a cartridge?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: zisraelsen on 16 Jun 2019, 21:35
The ability to figure things out doesn't stop people from failing to figure things out.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TV4Fun on 16 Jun 2019, 21:48
It's kind of hard for me to swallow a piece of living tech having such a lack of tech-savviness.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Case on 16 Jun 2019, 22:06
The manager is printing King James bibles in English to smuggle into North Korea.   He's got tons of 'em because the missionary organizations only want ones printed in Korean.  He doesn't pay any attention when someone tells him the copyright is in the public domain because he secretly likes feeling persecuted.

Another interesting coffee-coloured spray-pattern on my flatscreen, thank you so much Oldgoat!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Case on 16 Jun 2019, 22:12
I've worked with a lot of people like Beepatrice and they are some of the nicest people on the planet.

And the very sad thing is that I have worked with so many people like Beepatrice.

And I have wanted to strangle each and every single one of them.

It's quite astonishing: Even in a theoretical physics department - i.e. a working environment staffed (almost) exclusively from those nerds too nerdy not to pay them for it - there's an surprising amount of non-functional printers. Accompanied by an unsurprising amount of people adamant about how easily they'd be able to fix this 1980s tech (*), if only they could be bothered to get their planet-sized brains interested in the task (**)(***), of course ...  :wink:

#therealTBBT


(*) It takes a very strong ego to admit to technical ineptitude if part of your identity is based on looking down on people with advanced degrees in experimental physics or engineering ...
(**) Senior denizens are familiar with the most elegant way of fixing a printer: Holler for the grad-student, of course!
(***) Actually, most of the offending printers aren't unfunctional so much as very badly configured - or rather: The networks meant to access the printers are. (****)
(****) An obvious consequence of several decades of senior planet-sized brains solving problems by means of 'Hollering for the grad-student' - most of whom will leave the department for a better paying job without leaving a legible documentation of the solutions they implemented ...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: hedgie on 16 Jun 2019, 22:25
Ok, I get that the comic always does it's best to 'humanize' the ai's, but are you seriously trying to tell me that an AI can't access google (or whatever takes it's place in this universe) and find a video on how to install a cartridge?

Watching a video doesn't magically confer the ability to do it right.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: andrybak on 16 Jun 2019, 22:26
Okay, conspiracy theorist's tin-foil hat firmly on here: I'm starting to think that this robot aid charity is a scam, based on the fact that Beepatrice has absolutely no clue how to actually help May. I'm starting to wonder if the organisation has helped a big fat zero AIs in any practical way and all they do is listen to their clients' 'sob stories' and then hand out leaflets for therapy and support groups that are all about how nothing can be changed. Indeed, it was for this purpose that this largely Federally-funded organisation was originally founded - to give needy AIs the impression someone was going to bat for them when nobody actually was. This would stop them from rocking the economic and political boat too much by working hard to change things and instead wait patiently for the assistance for which the organisation is unequipped and organisationally unable to offer.

Nelson has managed to be Employee of the Month so many times because he has held the record for  the number of AIs he manages to disabuse of any notion that anyone will give them practical assistance and, instead, that they must learn to accept their lot in life. Maybe he'll be the one to explain it to Roko (much like how O'Malley was the voice of the cynical policeman). Roko is going to get in a lot of trouble for actually offering May practical assistance by bothering people in the Department of Corrections over something that no-one (in power) is even remotely concerned about.

I've just got the impression that Roko and Beeps are going to end up having to go freelance after actually succeeding in helping May, this leading members of the Federal bureaucracy to demand that her supervisors 'do something about the loose cannon'.

After #4026 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4026), I want to put on a tin-foil hat, just like BenRG.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Case on 16 Jun 2019, 22:29
Ok, I get that the comic always does it's best to 'humanize' the ai's, but are you seriously trying to tell me that an AI can't access google (or whatever takes it's place in this universe) and find a video on how to install a cartridge?

Watching a video doesn't magically confer the ability to do it right.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 16 Jun 2019, 23:23
Yeah, today's strip really reinforced for me the impression that this whole organisation is a kind of 'rain catcher', intended to convince AIs that they can help better others lives (staff) or that someone wants to help them better their lives (clients) without actually rocking the boat by achieving anything. The purpose isn't malign really; it's just the result of the bureaucracy's obsession with maintaining the status quo as much as possible and dealing with complaints as efficiently as possible without actually changing anything.

I'm pretty sure that Roko will shortly find that the printer hasn't even been installed on the network and she needs to locate and install the drivers too!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: pwhodges on 17 Jun 2019, 03:15
there's an surprising amount of non-functional printers. Accompanied by an unsurprising amount of people adamant about how easily they'd be able to fix this 1980s tech (*), if only they could be bothered to get their planet-sized brains interested in the task, of course ...

Ten or more years ago I had a thing going for a time when I would repair a couple of models of HP printer by taking out a particular control card and baking it in my oven at home at 180°C for 14 minutes.  Easy when you know how...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cesium133 on 17 Jun 2019, 05:44
I've worked with a lot of people like Beepatrice and they are some of the nicest people on the planet.

And the very sad thing is that I have worked with so many people like Beepatrice.

And I have wanted to strangle each and every single one of them.

It's quite astonishing: Even in a theoretical physics department - i.e. a working environment staffed (almost) exclusively from those nerds too nerdy not to pay them for it - there's an surprising amount of non-functional printers. Accompanied by an unsurprising amount of people adamant about how easily they'd be able to fix this 1980s tech (*), if only they could be bothered to get their planet-sized brains interested in the task (**)(***), of course ...  :wink:

#therealTBBT


(*) It takes a very strong ego to admit to technical ineptitude if part of your identity is based on looking down on people with advanced degrees in experimental physics or engineering ...
(**) Senior denizens are familiar with the most elegant way of fixing a printer: Holler for the grad-student, of course!
(***) Actually, most of the offending printers aren't unfunctional so much as very badly configured - or rather: The networks meant to access the printers are. (****)
(****) An obvious consequence of several decades of senior planet-sized brains solving problems by means of 'Hollering for the grad-student' - most of whom will leave the department for a better paying job without leaving a legible documentation of the solutions they implemented ...

Honestly, the printers in experimental physics don't work much better. When I was at Wisconsin, we had a printer that would detect a paper jam after every page printed. The workaround was to pull out the paper tray, reinsert it, and press the button to tell the printer to continue. This got very inconvenient on long documents.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 17 Jun 2019, 05:51
BEEPATRICE: "'PC Load Letter'? What the glitch does that mean?!?"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: DSL on 17 Jun 2019, 06:16
Seems as though unloading on May's sourness back at the inconvenience store (Kiss my new-cah-smellin-ass!) might have made Roko a little more at ease with herself.
And though I risk being accused of being judgy about apparel, a crop top and shorts worn in public has got to be a sign of someone comfortable in their own skin. Or polymer, as the case may be.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: traroth on 17 Jun 2019, 08:44
Beepatrice is not really of much help...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Cornelius on 17 Jun 2019, 08:48
Maybe they help out by hiring the AI they need to help. And Nelson is the original founder, who made his money by Pintsize-esque acts, but still hoping one day to hire someone to come up with a better solution.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 17 Jun 2019, 09:01
@Cornelius,

At Roko's job interview, Beepatrice stated that the position is unpaid volunteer work. That's why Roko was looking for work at The Secret Bakery.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Cornelius on 17 Jun 2019, 09:17
I know. Never mind.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Theta9 on 17 Jun 2019, 12:23
Beepatrice is not really of much help...
That's an understatement on the level of "it's quite hot inside a star's core."
She appears to be what I call "fucking useless."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Emperor Norton on 17 Jun 2019, 12:49
It's kind of hard for me to swallow a piece of living tech having such a lack of tech-savviness.

Arcee: Maybe it needs one of these doohickeys... [Holds up a part]
Jack: You're a motorcycle, Arcee. Shouldn't you know how to build a motorcycle engine?
Arcee: You're a human, Jack. Can you build me a small intestine?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 17 Jun 2019, 13:32
Ten or more years ago I had a thing going for a time when I would repair a couple of models of HP printer by taking out a particular control card and baking it in my oven at home at 180°C for 14 minutes.  Easy when you know how...
They had some soldering issues in those days.  I've got a HP laptop out in the garage that needs that same treatment - video circuit quit working.  I should bake it and load Linux.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: hedgie on 17 Jun 2019, 13:38
Linux sucks, but it sucks less than the alternatives ds.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cesium133 on 17 Jun 2019, 14:19
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 17 Jun 2019, 14:31
... the printer hasn't even been installed on the network and she needs to locate and install the drivers too!
Isn't it established that AIs have USB ports, so they would only need to plug the printer into their own port.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: hedgie on 17 Jun 2019, 14:45
Perhaps the printer is old enough to use a parallel port.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cesium133 on 17 Jun 2019, 15:06
Would Beeps even be aware she has USB ports? And if so, would she know how to install the proper driver?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 17 Jun 2019, 17:22
Perhaps the printer is old enough to use a parallel port.
My thought exactly.  (I think we may be old, Hedgie.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 17 Jun 2019, 17:34
It's kind of hard for me to swallow a piece of living tech having such a lack of tech-savviness.

There's an exchange in Transformers Prime  that I think addresses this nicely:

    Arcee: Maybe it needs one of these doohickeys... [Holds up a part]
    Jack: You're a motorcycle, Arcee. Shouldn't you know how to build a motorcycle engine?
    Arcee: You're a human, Jack. Can you build me a small intestine?


EDIT: note to self; refresh page and search for responses before responding.

EDIT 2: 'h' not 'j' in 'exchange'. Tired brain is tired.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 17 Jun 2019, 17:39
....Gyrre....Literally 8 posts above yours.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 17 Jun 2019, 20:32
....Gyrre....Literally 8 posts above yours.
Forgot to refresh the page.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: shanejayell on 17 Jun 2019, 20:34
It occurs to me the ONLY thing we've seen them actually DO is the support group.

.....

Poor May.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 17 Jun 2019, 20:38
I wonder if Beepatrice has thought of taking a modern computing class ("Computing Today" or whathaveyou).

It'll at least have them caught up for a little while.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Somebody on 17 Jun 2019, 20:45
@Cornelius,

At Roko's job interview, Beepatrice stated that the position is unpaid volunteer work. That's why Roko was looking for work at The Secret Bakery.
They're underpaid, not unpaid: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3883
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Wombat on 17 Jun 2019, 21:22
Does this confirm Beepatrice as using she/her, or is there any direct WoG otherwise (like maybe these characters don't know Beep's pronouns)? I remember being unsure about some references in the past, while personally hoping for they/them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 17 Jun 2019, 23:25
Wow, Roko is taking charge, isn't she? Given Beepatrice's reaction, this may be the first time someone actually came into that office and decided to do something! For what it's worth, "She means well" is an example of damning with faint praise. Roko likes Beeps, but she can't say that they are really any good at this caper!

Meanwhile, I have to laugh with May basically saying that she pre-emptively denies consent to Beepatrice in any way having management or any influence over her case.

As for the password thing. I'm pretty sure that the admin password for the office network is going to turn out to be "1234567890"!

Does this confirm Beepatrice as using she/her, or is there any direct WoG otherwise (like maybe these characters don't know Beep's pronouns)? I remember being unsure about some references in the past, while personally hoping for they/them.

When  this was first mentioned to me (last week, I think), I was quite surprised because I don't remember this being mentioned in any of their previous appearances. Has Beepatrice mentioned this to Roko? Is there any reason why Roko should know? Is it the sort of thing someone will come out with when meeting someone for the first time? I'm wondering if Jeph is setting up Roko and Beepatrice discussing this at some point in the immediate future.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Emperor Norton on 17 Jun 2019, 23:29
It's kind of hard for me to swallow a piece of living tech having such a lack of tech-savviness.

There's an excjange in Transformers Prime  that I think addresses this nicely:

    Arcee: Maybe it needs one of these doohickeys... [Holds up a part]
    Jack: You're a motorcycle, Arcee. Shouldn't you know how to build a motorcycle engine?
    Arcee: You're a human, Jack. Can you build me a small intestine?


EDIT: note to self; refresh page and search for responses before responding.

Hey at least you have good taste in cartoons :P.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 18 Jun 2019, 00:47
Right now, Beepatrice feels like trying to quench a fire with a squirt gun... and is unable to find the trigger.
Meanwhile, Roko is looking for a fire extinguisher. Let's hope she does get a working one.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: traroth on 18 Jun 2019, 01:12
It occurs to me the ONLY thing we've seen them actually DO is the support group.

.....

Poor May.

Support groups are important. I forgot about that. So they are actually good at something.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 18 Jun 2019, 01:51
Seems as though unloading on May's sourness back at the inconvenience store (Kiss my new-cah-smellin-ass!) might have made Roko a little more at ease with herself.
And though I risk being accused of being judgy about apparel, a crop top and shorts worn in public has got to be a sign of someone comfortable in their own skin. Or polymer, as the case may be.

Gotta admit, my second thought on seeing Roko was "Someone looks to be feeling better about themselves!"

My first thought won't get through my filters for some reason...   :evil:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Case on 18 Jun 2019, 03:22
Beepatrice is not really of much help...
That's an understatement on the level of "it's quite hot inside a star's core."
She appears to be what I call "fucking useless."

Nobody is entirely useless - they can still serve as an example ...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 18 Jun 2019, 03:25
Gotta admit, my second thought on seeing Roko was "Someone looks to be feeling better about themselves!

FWIW, from the start I wondered if at least some of Roko's problem is that she's sitting around and thinking about how different her body is, heightening her sense of disassociation. If she has something else on which to focus, it wouldn't surprise me if she realises that the body actually works pretty much like her old one and it is something in which she can function. Basically, something along the line of "I haven't even thought about this in a few days now!"

That doesn't mean that she won't have the occasional bad day when she'll need someone to watch her to prevent self-harm incidents like the compulsive face-washing we've previously seen. However, healing will at least come in part from living in her new reality.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Near Lurker on 18 Jun 2019, 05:33
When  this was first mentioned to me (last week, I think), I was quite surprised because I don't remember this being mentioned in any of their previous appearances. Has Beepatrice mentioned this to Roko? Is there any reason why Roko should know? Is it the sort of thing someone will come out with when meeting someone for the first time? I'm wondering if Jeph is setting up Roko and Beepatrice discussing this at some point in the immediate future.

The idea comes from this exchange (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3892); if Roko is calling her "she" now, the notion falls flat.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Wombat on 18 Jun 2019, 06:58
When  this was first mentioned to me (last week, I think), I was quite surprised because I don't remember this being mentioned in any of their previous appearances. Has Beepatrice mentioned this to Roko? Is there any reason why Roko should know? Is it the sort of thing someone will come out with when meeting someone for the first time? I'm wondering if Jeph is setting up Roko and Beepatrice discussing this at some point in the immediate future.

The idea comes from this exchange (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3892); if Roko is calling her "she" now, the notion falls flat.
And also from Jeph's author comments that seemed to refer to Beepatrice using they/them.

As for the question, "Is it the sort of thing someone will come out with when meeting someone for the first time?": Yes, absolutely. Of course, it depends on the situation and the person, but there are plenty of times I've shared my pronouns on the first meeting or seen others do the same. For me, it largely depends on the combination of "how likely is this person to reject me" with "how bad will it be for me if this person rejects me." So I might not share my pronouns when interviewing for a job (unless it was at a queer org), but were I in the position of interviewer, I might do so more readily.

In-comic, we saw Tilly share their pronouns the first time they met Martin. In this case, it seemed reasonable enough to me that it happened off-screen, and so I was hoping that was the situation.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Near Lurker on 18 Jun 2019, 08:34
Oh, these (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3884) two (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3886); you're right, the first especially is unambiguous.  If Roko didn't know that, though, I guess she and Bubbles were right for the wrong reasons...?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: chetoos8 on 18 Jun 2019, 09:47
Oh, these (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3884) two (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3886); you're right, the first especially is unambiguous.  If Roko didn't know that, though, I guess she and Bubbles were right for the wrong reasons...?
I'm going to assume, until corrected, that Beeps is a Demi-woman, and uses she/her and they/them pronouns, which fits in with what was used in comic.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 18 Jun 2019, 11:35
Oh, these (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3884) two (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3886); you're right, the first especially is unambiguous.
Man you folks are seeing something I'm not.  In both those comments 'they' seems to me to mean Roko *and* Beepatrice.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 18 Jun 2019, 12:36
I'm wondering if Jeph is setting up Roko and Beepatrice discussing this at some point in the immediate future.
I think that's exactly what he's doing.  Jeph has referred to Beeps in the neuter in his commentary but there's nothing in-comic to suggest that our AI honeybun identifies as anything other than female. 

[At this point I'll ask those of us with sensitive feet to put on a pair of steel-toed Red Wings (classic US work boots) for a minute.  There's no construction without a little stomping.] 
(http://www.redwingshoes.com/assets/images/mainLogo.png)
If Beeps has as much trouble coming to decisions about gender identity as with everything else, she/they-as-the-individual-may-prefer might well be having issues in that area too.  The congregation here has discussed preferred pronouns ad nauseum, but I don't recall any instance in-strip of the characters having that conversation.   [Edit - Ooops!  Tilly.]  I reckon BenRG is right - Jeph's fixin' to break that ground.

In re Roko v. 2 - she's going to have at least one and maybe several "Wow, I couldn't do THAT in my old chassis" moments.  (Actually, admiring her new butt-logo was probably the first one.)  As those experiences accumulate, her integration with her new body will grow.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: jwhouk on 18 Jun 2019, 19:04
Comic...

Yeah, uh, who's the boss now, Tony Danza?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 18 Jun 2019, 19:31
Oh yeah, Beepatrice keeps reminding me more and more of several people I used to work with. One time, we were organising a festival and we had several people tasked with getting food stalls, rides and entertainers for the day. All topped with a band for the main event in the evening. And I mean this was a big festival, like doubling the population of the town for the weekend kind of big. And a massive influx of money for the town. So as you can imagine, it was important that we got it done.

4 days before the event, we had entertainers (my job). We had fairground rides (my boss' work). And that was it. We had no food stalls and no band. Why? Because the people assigned to getting them sorted didn't want to be disturbing them. So I had to spend two days ringing up every food stall and truck in the county and see if they could come last minute, while literally the morning of the festival, my boss got a band sorted (Garth Brooks tribute band if anyone is interested). We were lucky in that many of them were more than happy to come, mainly because its a big festival and the tribute guys had a gig that fell through for them.

Needless to say, Tweedledum and Tweedledumbass were asked to leave.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Pogopotamus on 18 Jun 2019, 19:36
I think it's pretty likely Nelson is in charge of that office and that he and Roko are going to go head to head once she gets back. On the plus side she has the Spooky AI looking out for her if things get dicey. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Emperor Norton on 18 Jun 2019, 19:36
Roko is reminding me of my mother. She was not someone you wanted on the other side from you.

After she got tired of being a floor nurse and being on her feet all day everyday, she moved to an office job where she did insurance appeals for the hospital. Basically, she called insurance companies that denied payment to the hospital and told them why they needed to pay up.

She apparently got several million dollars recovered from American Health Insurance companies every year. Which I am told is not the easiest thing to do, as they don't like actually giving money to anyone.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: mercykills on 18 Jun 2019, 20:11
I'm not gonna lie...I'm reeeeeallly starting to fall for Roko.

Don't worry, I mean that in a completely NOT platonic way. XD
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Stoutfellow on 18 Jun 2019, 20:24
Roko is winning May's respect. That's not easy. (Who else has done that? Dale, definitely. Bubbles? Momo?)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: shanejayell on 18 Jun 2019, 20:33
Wonder if they'll end up at Union Robotics? Or are they too new to be a good expert on May's body?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 18 Jun 2019, 22:34
The Now Now Now requirement probably means the job ends up with Union Robotics simply because they're willing to do whatever it takes to get the business.

Also I would totally buy a CD of Roko doing rhythm gymnastics.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: brasca on 18 Jun 2019, 22:46
I think it's pretty likely Nelson is in charge of that office and that he and Roko are going to go head to head once she gets back. On the plus side she has the Spooky AI looking out for her if things get dicey.

I’m thinking that when Nelson has a day off everything falls apart and he might be happy to have one competent volunteer.  But even if he sees her as a rival I don’t think Roko will involve Spookybot.  She doesn’t have a problem with being assertive, but there are lines she won’t cross.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Timemaster on 18 Jun 2019, 22:46
Wonder if they'll end up at Union Robotics? Or are they too new to be a good expert on May's body?

I was thinking that too, first. But UR only does repairs, May needs a whole new body. So they‘re better off in a shop that actually sells complete chassis, either new or used in good condition and with warranty.

Beeps reminds me of people who are completely incompetent in any way and unable to manage even their own life. Often those people are very insecure when interacting with other people and are somehow aware of their own shortcomings, but are in complete denial about them. So they try to cmpensate that by choosing a career „to help other people“.
Often they study sociology, social pedagogy or become teachers for elementary schools. And fail utterly when they really have to work in that area. So they quit (after two or three years, tops) and move on to an everyday job and voluntary work like Beepatrice, where they fail too, of cause.
They mostly end in jobs, where they can do no harm and do not have to accomplish anything too complicated.
One of them I know from my graduation 30 years ago teaches gardening to mentally incapaciated people for 20 years now. She‘s happy in that job and does it really well. Her students love her. But it took her ten years (including studying social pedagogy as mentioned above) to find her way.

I hope Beeps will find her way too. But she definitely hasn‘t arrived in her place yet.

TM
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 18 Jun 2019, 23:15
I'm more and more certain that this is the first time the charity has ever done anything practical. I also think that, maybe, Beepatrice really doesn't have much in the way of self-confidence so actually being told to do something - Priority NOW - is seriously unbalancing her peace of  mind! I mean... what if someone takes offence? What if she oversteps her (borderline non-existent) authority? What if she gets it wrong?!?

I think that the only thing actually holding her to cooperation at this point is that I'm increasingly sure that she's intimidated by Roko's drive to make a difference!

I think it's pretty likely Nelson is in charge of that office and that he and Roko are going to go head to head once she gets back. On the plus side she has the Spooky AI looking out for her if things get dicey. 

"Miz Basilisk, that was an interesting display you put on today but... what in Turing's Pristine Runspace made you think that we are supposed to do anything for our clients except listen and commiserate? Do you know how many angry senior figures in the Department of Corrections I have waiting for an explanation for this? No, I'm sorry. Your priorities are laudable but this isn't the place for you. You're fired."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 18 Jun 2019, 23:34
'endearingly incompetent' is such a good phrase. I recall a restaurant like that, where the service was appalling even though the front of house staff were obviously trying hard, but failing. The fact the food was wonderful helped of course.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 19 Jun 2019, 00:22
in my mind, Beeps is the person put in charge of a newly created department full of "undesirable individuals", only for the department to get axed as a whole.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 19 Jun 2019, 00:37
I`m pretty sure Roko's favorite comic strip is Dilbert and Alice her favorite character. 
(https://dilbert.fandom.com/wiki/Alice?file=Dt001110.gif)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Cornelius on 19 Jun 2019, 00:55
I think it's pretty likely Nelson is in charge of that office and that he and Roko are going to go head to head once she gets back. On the plus side she has the Spooky AI looking out for her if things get dicey.

I’m thinking that when Nelson has a day off everything falls apart and he might be happy to have one competent volunteer.  But even if he sees her as a rival I don’t think Roko will involve Spookybot.  She doesn’t have a problem with being assertive, but there are lines she won’t cross.

Personally, I think this is much more likely. And somehow, I don't think Spookybot would meddle in this, even - especially - if they're being asked.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: jesslc on 19 Jun 2019, 02:30
It occurs to me the ONLY thing we've seen them actually DO is the support group.

.....

Poor May.
I think the AI support group is run by a different organization - see the comic where Winslow turns up to volunteer. If the guy Winslow met with was in the same organization as Beepatrice and Nelson, one of them could have stepped in to help out with the support group. Also the building/office looks completely different.

Relevant comic: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3576
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 19 Jun 2019, 04:24

Roko...

Roko Basilisk...

 "Roko's Basilisk...???" (https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk)

I did NOT know this was a thing!!
(You gotta love these Easter Eggs Jeph drops in!)

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: SordidEuphemism on 19 Jun 2019, 04:28
"Roko's Basilisk...???" (https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk)
I did NOT know this was a thing!!
(You gotta love these Easter Eggs Jeph drops in!)
Yep! (I'm afraid a literal reading would cast her in a negative light.) You'll find lots of little AI, physics, or Iain M. Banks references scattered around.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 19 Jun 2019, 04:30

Roko...

Roko Basilisk...

 "Roko's Basilisk...???" (https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk)

I did NOT know this was a thing!!
(You gotta love these Easter Eggs Jeph drops in!)

FWIW, I think that SpookyBot would regard such an act as in bad taste and, possibly, an entirely self-indulgent waste of resources.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: mvdwege on 19 Jun 2019, 05:02
Wonder if they'll end up at Union Robotics? Or are they too new to be a good expert on May's body?

I was thinking that too, first. But UR only does repairs, May needs a whole new body.

Eh. Note that Roko's first priority is not 'new body', but 'full diagnostic'. As a repair shop, I think that Union Robotics should be capable of providing at least that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 19 Jun 2019, 05:24
I remember the reference to Roko's Basilisk coming up a while ago, but I couldn't remember at all what it was about. Which was a bit surprising in itself.

So off I went to google the topic and remind myself. Then I remembered why I'd forgotten what it was about.

It was because I had never in my life (and still haven't) read anything quite so ridiculous.

Edit: More amusingly, I had the fleeting thought that this was even more stupid than The Game, and rather too similar, but couldn't quite articulate why. And then I read this from Joe's linked twitter thread.

https://twitter.com/jrishel/status/305054925371613185
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Zebediah on 19 Jun 2019, 05:33

Roko...

Roko Basilisk...

 "Roko's Basilisk...???" (https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk)

I did NOT know this was a thing!!
(You gotta love these Easter Eggs Jeph drops in!)

FWIW, I think that SpookyBot would regard such an act as in bad taste and, possibly, an entirely self-indulgent waste of resources.
Spookybot probably has an instance dedicated solely to laughing hysterically at the people who take the notion of Roko’s Basilisk seriously.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 19 Jun 2019, 05:48
Spookybot probably has an instance dedicated solely to laughing hysterically at the people who take the notion of Roko’s Basilisk seriously.

I wonder if poor Beepatrice is one of those sources of amusement?

Source (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3954)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: jwhouk on 19 Jun 2019, 06:21
Eh. Note that Roko's first priority is not 'new body', but 'full diagnostic'. As a repair shop, I think that Union Robotics should be capable of providing at least that.

They've realistically only started as a repair shop. They don't have diagnostic tools (other than Bubbles herself, of course). UR is more or less a "body shop" (pardon the pun but it fits) compared to a dealer.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: andrybak on 19 Jun 2019, 06:43

Roko...

Roko Basilisk...

 "Roko's Basilisk...???" (https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk)

I did NOT know this was a thing!!
(You gotta love these Easter Eggs Jeph drops in!)

Find out more at Questionable Content Wiki (https://questionablecontent.fandom.com/wiki/Roko_Basilisk)!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: DSL on 19 Jun 2019, 07:09
A useful skill honed from long practice, that -- giving your boss an order.
It's right up there with letting/making the boss think it was his idea.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: MattStriker on 19 Jun 2019, 09:04
A useful skill honed from long practice, that -- giving your boss an order.
It's right up there with letting/making the boss think it was his idea.

To quote another excellent webcomic:

"A sergeant in motion outranks a lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 19 Jun 2019, 10:17
"A sergeant in motion outranks a lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on."

CMSgt Zebrastripes to 2nd Lt Butterbar:  "If front of the troops I will address you as 'Sir' because it is tradition.  In private you will address me as 'Sir' and mean it."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 19 Jun 2019, 11:32
Has anyone here seen the anime Plastic Memories (https://myanimelist.net/anime/27775/Plastic_Memories) which deals with the concept of planned obsolescence in relation to AI? Beepatrice's character is reminding me rather of that plot (particularly her vague reference to having "mind problems" which was somewhat akin to technology experiencing more glitches and errors as it ages, as well as her reliance on old/analogue technology) and making me wonder whether her role in the comic is going to be rather sadder than we might have initially thought.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 19 Jun 2019, 13:41
... I had the fleeting thought that this was even more stupid than The Game ...

And I was winning, up till now. You bastard!

(meta) Taking May to a dealership? We might see Charlotte again! But do they deal in such off brand merchandise? Otherwise it  would mean a new set of characters and backgrounds. While Jeph has Union Robotics already set up. And they've already dealt with May. (/meta)

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 19 Jun 2019, 14:36
Spookybot probably has an instance dedicated solely to laughing hysterically at the people who take the notion of Roko’s Basilisk seriously.

I wonder if poor Beepatrice is one of those sources of amusement?

Source (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3954)

Right...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: pwhodges on 19 Jun 2019, 14:44
Has anyone here seen the anime Plastic Memories (https://myanimelist.net/anime/27775/Plastic_Memories) which deals with the concept of planned obsolescence in relation to AI?

I know it, and it fed (along with my long computer experience) into my recent comment about AI brains being limited by their finite nature.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: SmilingCat on 19 Jun 2019, 18:26
Don't take the money, May, accepting money obtained through intimidation might violate your parole.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 19 Jun 2019, 19:21
And the current programme stack looks like this:


"I ship those two characters that
just interacted"
------------------------------------------------
"May gets a new chassis" arc.                     <-- Stack Pointer
------------------------------------------------
"Roko overreach" arc
------------------------------------------------
"May can't see past her own problems" arc
------------------------------------------------
"Momo is jealous" arc
------------------------------------------------
"Marten gets his shit together" arc*


* hahaha j/k no-one cares
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: brasca on 19 Jun 2019, 19:22
Don't take the money, May, accepting money obtained through intimidation might violate your parole.

Agreed.  And if Beepatrice is that intimidated by Roko I hope she never meets Spookybot.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: de_la_Nae on 19 Jun 2019, 19:24
While I doubt the charity is a scam (though it could be), I think it's much more likely that......

Look, I've worked with and in charities. Legit ones, and around some not so legit ones. And I'm no expert, I've got friends who've done a *lot* more.

But frankly they're usually staffed and ran by people rich enough to be rather out of touch with the people they're trying to serve. Because the people they're trying to help sure as Hell can't take a low-paying charity job that might disappear in 6 months when someone fails to fill out a grant request, or the municipality decides it wants to repave rich neighborhoods instead.

bit of a simplification, but still. I'm sure they mean well. They usually do, except when they get pissy and don't, but that's another conversation. It highlights something I've noticed, though.

Most of the AIs, like most of the humans, are ignorant of how the lower crust lives, how they exist, how they get by. They understand it a little from afar, but they haven't lived it, and they haven't internalized it. Even the powerful ones. Especially the powerful ones. And it shows.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: de_la_Nae on 19 Jun 2019, 19:26
Like, look, today's strip is a fun gag. But who acts like that? I'll tell you who.

1. Someone very abused in specific ways (possible)

2. Someone really out of touch for one reason or another (probable)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: de_la_Nae on 19 Jun 2019, 19:33
Triple post and then I'm done, but it occurs to me that I should be more fair to the charity sector in saying this: another factor is that you have to be able to survive dealing with people's psychic wounds, over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

That sifts a lot of people out, either in that they know how fragile they are and don't go in, or they burn out, or they have the personal resources already to help shore up their own damage that they take. Or they go numb, but that's another thing.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 19 Jun 2019, 19:36
I agree with de_la_Nae to a point (based on the first post of that triple bill).

Most AI are probably out of touch with the idea that there's a "lower class" in their community. Their hearts are in the right place, but they just don't have the wherewithal to actually do anything. I mean, look at Beepatrice, who could see that May was a desperate case, someone in need of help and yet she can't operate a printer or make a phonecall. We might say that Roko is a little pushy or overreaching, but she'll get something done. Beepatrice? I'd start making out my last will and testament.

But its not just her. Its a whole strata of AI society. They are, to all intents and purposes, a generation that has never struggled. Sure, they're finding their place in society, but from the point of view of the majority, its almost perfect. They don't want to be reminded that there are those in their community that struggle with mental illness (Bubbles and Roko), or those trapped in potential cycle of poverty and criminal action (May). And the fact that some of those views are getting shaken up, its not (no pun intended) computing for them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Somebody on 19 Jun 2019, 19:45
Well, that downgrades Beeps from "nice but dim" to "unable to function in normal society, should probably be on the other side of the help counter", doesn't it? :sigh:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 19 Jun 2019, 19:46
I wouldn't be that generous.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: shanejayell on 19 Jun 2019, 19:54
You DO really wonder what Beeps SAID to that poor staffer.

Heh.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: SomeCanadianWeirdo on 19 Jun 2019, 20:15
I'm not convinced this person is acting the way they are because of Beepatrice.  I wouldn't be surprised if Spookybot is up to something.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 19 Jun 2019, 21:15
The terrified clerk seems like a 'Laramie' to me for some reason.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 19 Jun 2019, 21:51
Roko's quitting her job with MSP was prompted by her realization that May was afraid of her.  You're fierce Roko, badge or no badge.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Timemaster on 19 Jun 2019, 22:51
It‘s that skin tone. Violet equals violence... :-D

TM
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: thedevilissix on 19 Jun 2019, 22:58
That lady in the poster in the background looks an awful lot like Corpse Witch.
Which makes me wonder if CW has a secret new business…



.....Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggghhhh  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Drunken Old Man on 19 Jun 2019, 23:03
Well, that downgrades Beeps from "nice but dim" to "unable to function in normal society, should probably be on the other side of the help counter", doesn't it? :sigh:
More like downgrading from "useless but amusing" to "actual hindrance to be worked around as much as possible".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 19 Jun 2019, 23:10
That lady in the poster in the background looks an awful lot like Corpse Witch.
Which makes me wonder if CW has a secret new business…


You know, that chassis had to come from somewhere. There's probably more than one AI running the same chassis as CW.

Also: " butts: we got 'em!"? is that where Melons replacement parts came from?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 19 Jun 2019, 23:18
Looking at the reception clerk and comparing them with Beepatrice makes me wonder if this is a licensed dealership for the chassis that have the display screen faces. When you take away the obviously exaggerated cartoonish aspects, the model in the "A New, Friendly You" ad posters do look a lot like Beeps, don't they?

I think Beepatrice is deeply socially insecure and indecisive. Someone with Roko's drive would be intimidating, yes. However, today does suggest that Beeps really is afraid of someone with a task they want to do immediately and determined to have your help. It leaves me wondering just how her day job works! Maybe the engineers set up the tests and she is just required to stand dangerously close and observe the outcome? Such a very passive role would fit in with the fact that being asked to be an active participant and not being allowed to prevaricate frightens them.

Basically, they warned the clerk that they think Roko is a riptide that will tear you out of your comfort zone; the level of exaggeration of that warning is indicative of just how deeply they don't want to be torn out of their comfort zone.

Also: " butts: we got 'em!"? is that where Melons replacement parts came from?

I don't think so; Melon's chassis just doesn't look like it came from this dealership. I think that this is proof that May was onto something when she suggested to Faye and Bubbles that they can attract extra customers by offering 'free secondary sexual characteristics' with every modification or repair. As Jeph said, there are an awful lot of horny robots out there!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 19 Jun 2019, 23:42
That lady in the poster in the background looks an awful lot like Corpse Witch.
Which makes me wonder if CW has a secret new business…



.....Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggghhhh  :psyduck:
The head does resemble CW's but the limbs?  Not at all.  Besides, she's going to be terrified of Spookybot finding her for another eon or so.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: traroth on 20 Jun 2019, 01:19
While I doubt the charity is a scam (though it could be), I think it's much more likely that......

Look, I've worked with and in charities. Legit ones, and around some not so legit ones. And I'm no expert, I've got friends who've done a *lot* more.


You really ignited my curiosity, here. So, just for my enlightment, what do you call a non-legit charity? I don't need specifics....
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: traroth on 20 Jun 2019, 01:23
That lady in the poster in the background looks an awful lot like Corpse Witch.
Which makes me wonder if CW has a secret new business…



.....Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggghhhh  :psyduck:

The last time we heard of her, she eagerly confessed everything and more, and prepared for a long time in jail.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 20 Jun 2019, 02:11
There's probably more than one AI running the same chassis as CW.
It does surprise me that we never see the same chassis on different AIs. Especially with all the comic potential for identical twin type escapades.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 20 Jun 2019, 02:15
There's probably more than one AI running the same chassis as CW.
It does surprise me that we never see the same chassis on different AIs. Especially with all the comic potential for identical twin type escapades.

Melon and Lemon ran on visibly similar chassis but had made individual aesthetic choices to make them appear different. Additionally, all the AnthroPCs seem to have been essentially identical chassis apart from colour.

I'm wondering if the AIs can alter the derma base colour and facial structure to make them look more unique. Given that the faces have underlying musculature on most models, setting different default 'rest' configurations could make them look very different. In the case of Beepatrice's chassis, the 'face' is actually a LCD display screen so individuality becomes even easier to do.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: SordidEuphemism on 20 Jun 2019, 02:44
I'm wondering if the AIs can alter the derma base colour and facial structure to make them look more unique. Given that the faces have underlying musculature on most models, setting different default 'rest' configurations could make them look very different. In the case of Beepatrice's chassis, the 'face' is actually a LCD display screen so individuality becomes even easier to do.
Yes. At least, on some models. When Roko was waiting for a new body, 'fine-tuning' the appearance was one of the steps mentioned.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 20 Jun 2019, 02:50
I'm more and more certain that this is the first time the charity has ever done anything practical. I also think that, maybe, Beepatrice really doesn't have much in the way of self-confidence so actually being told to do something - Priority NOW - is seriously unbalancing her peace of  mind! I mean... what if someone takes offence? What if she oversteps her (borderline non-existent) authority? What if she gets it wrong?!?

*snip*

Mein Gott!

The amount of people terrified of getting things wrong-- and thus not asking questions-- these days is absurd! If you don't know, ask!!! And, by God, DON'T ask another temp!!!!! They probably don't know either. Ask the floor lead or the supervisor for your area, for Christsake and mine!
This isn't the same as your last assignment at [*REDACTED**]. Things work different her at [REDACTED]. Don't assume anything. And don't ask me! The labcoat doesn't mean I know anything about how your machine works. It means that I don't. Just ask your supervisor or the lead. Please?

Sorry about the venting. We get a lot of temps who aren't much use in general. Both due to lack of proper training and some being like Beeps or worse (with attitude). I'm QA, BTW. Might just get some custom shirts that read "Ask your supervisor" and "because we work with food".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 20 Jun 2019, 03:27
The amount of people terrified of getting things wrong-- and thus not asking questions-- these days is absurd! If you don't know, ask!!!
Its something I ran into with a mobile phone shop who wanted to impose a particularly asinine bit of dumb policy on me (something that would inconvenience both me *and* the shop!). The poor lass behind the counter was clearly scared that if she went off message in the slightest way to do something that was 100% sensible then her neck would be on the line, and her immediate line management on the end of the phone was equally insistent that the letter of the rule had to be followed and damn the customer.  Part of it I suppose is the way that so many businesses are trying to deskill every job as much as possible so they only need employ minimum wage  peons who can be easily replaced should they get upset by appalling working conditions, but I was struck by the extent to which the poor girl was in fear of displaying the slightest initiative.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: DSL on 20 Jun 2019, 04:24
There's probably more than one AI running the same chassis as CW.
It does surprise me that we never see the same chassis on different AIs. Especially with all the comic potential for identical twin type escapades.
I suppose AIs would have, built in to their brain matrix or programmed into their personalities, some sort of transponder function so they could identify themselves to each other. Of course, meatlife would not have access to that, leaving room for those mistaken-identity hijinks, especially if some borderline-unscrupulous AI with a standard-looking chassis and a fondness for cake batter decided to exploit that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 20 Jun 2019, 06:51
In the case of Beepatrice's chassis, the 'face' is actually a LCD display screen so individuality becomes even easier to do.
I'm not so convinced about the LCD physiognomy.  When viewed in profile Beeps has a nose (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3952).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 20 Jun 2019, 07:58
That lady in the poster in the background looks an awful lot like Corpse Witch.
Which makes me wonder if CW has a secret new business…



.....Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggghhhh  :psyduck:

The last time we heard of her, she eagerly confessed everything and more, and prepared for a long time in jail.

Wouldn't it be a twist if the judge was so impressed by her cooperation with law enforcement that they thought it was evidence of remorse and granted Corpse Witch early parole?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 20 Jun 2019, 08:10
In the case of Beepatrice's chassis, the 'face' is actually a LCD display screen so individuality becomes even easier to do.

I'm not so convinced about the LCD physiognomy.  When viewed in profile Beeps has a nose (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3952).

It would be difficult (but not impossible) to shape an LCD display to have the contours of a simplified human face.

FWIW, Jeph stated that Beepatrice's face was a screen on Twitter at some point around her original introduction. Yes, I know that's a third-level of official rather than canon but, as it hasn't been explicitly Jossed, I'm sticking with it for now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Cornelius on 20 Jun 2019, 08:48
The simple solution would be to insert separate lcd-screens for the emotive areas - eyes and mouth - in a pre-shaped face.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 20 Jun 2019, 08:51
I think Bicentennial Man might be a more apt model for AI chassis and how they emote.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Near Lurker on 20 Jun 2019, 09:28
The simple solution would be to insert separate lcd-screens for the emotive areas - eyes and mouth - in a pre-shaped face.

...Clutch Cargo bots?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 20 Jun 2019, 09:35
It would be difficult (but not impossible) to shape an LCD display to have the contours of a simplified human face.
No reason why the QC universe shouldn't have a more sophisticated screen technology than we have though - especially as I have no idea what's in labs...  Flexible (to an extent) screens are already a thing after all.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: pwhodges on 20 Jun 2019, 10:24
It would be difficult (but not impossible) to shape an LCD display to have the contours of a simplified human face.

Who knows what's in the lab, even in our world? - we've already got flexible screens for folding phones (not very reliable yet...).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: brasca on 20 Jun 2019, 11:27
That lady in the poster in the background looks an awful lot like Corpse Witch.
Which makes me wonder if CW has a secret new business…



.....Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggghhhh  :psyduck:

The last time we heard of her, she eagerly confessed everything and more, and prepared for a long time in jail.

Wouldn't it be a twist if the judge was so impressed by her cooperation with law enforcement that they thought it was evidence of remorse and granted Corpse Witch early parole?

That’s one possibility, but I think a secret government organization made a deal with her to get everything she knows about Spookybot.  They have got to be in their crosshairs for just the ability to compromise their security. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 20 Jun 2019, 11:40
FWIW, Jeph stated that Beepatrice's face was a screen on Twitter at some point around her original introduction. Yes, I know that's a third-level of official rather than canon but, as it hasn't been explicitly Jossed, I'm sticking with it for now.
Ah!  Okay, that 'splains it - I don't Twit, or Tweet, or whatever it is.  I have enough time-sinks on here as is.

...Clutch Cargo bots?
:lol:  :lol:  :lol: You must be as old as I am!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

That was a really, REALLY bad excuse for animation.  (It was called Syncro Vox (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MHg1-mpcUY).  IIRC Space Angel used the same method.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 20 Jun 2019, 13:20
That’s one possibility, but I think a secret government organization made a deal with her to get everything she knows about Spookybot.
You don't think Spookybot *is* a secret government project then?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Zebediah on 20 Jun 2019, 13:28
Or is the government a secret Spookybot project?  :?  :-o  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: brasca on 20 Jun 2019, 14:01
That’s one possibility, but I think a secret government organization made a deal with her to get everything she knows about Spookybot.
You don't think Spookybot *is* a secret government project then?

Wouldn’t be surprised if they were one that went rogue.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 20 Jun 2019, 14:17
Wouldn't surprise me if Spookybot turned out to be Gary. (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2070)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Jun 2019, 14:32
Or is the government a secret Spookybot project?  :?  :-o  :psyduck:
It turns out that all AIs are just Spookybot inhabiting different chassis. And all humans, too.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: natediggadoggity on 20 Jun 2019, 16:10
This will be probably be my only post in this forum, but right as I checked today's comic, I also pulled up YouTube on my tablet, and saw this wonderfully informational video about the evolution of Butts that got posted today as well. Video made by SciShow, it's safe for work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9ztJuZu2c (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9ztJuZu2c)

Butts are great guys.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 20 Jun 2019, 17:09
Welcome anyway!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 20 Jun 2019, 18:18
In the spirit of the meme, I’m going to suggest that spookybot is in fact a time-travelling future!Roko taking some advice to ‘find herself’ far too literally.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 20 Jun 2019, 18:27
Or is the government a secret Spookybot project?  :?  :-o  :psyduck:

If so, Spookybot is even more diabolical than we imagined.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: St.Clair on 20 Jun 2019, 18:43
Comic.

To my mind, Backroom Tech Guy-Bot sounds a lot like (and may actually have the exact same voice actor as) TF2's Scout.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: de_la_Nae on 20 Jun 2019, 18:51
That's funny, the voice i game them wasn't far off from that.

Y'know, this reminds me of something I should have thought of earlier:

Where'd the money May stole (well, tried to steal) come from?
Financial crimes in the US don't tend to be rigorously pursued and punished unless
1) The perpetrator is already low on the power scale (i.e. not rich)
2) You piss off enough powerful people
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Jun 2019, 19:09
I seem to remember that she stole $750 million from a bank. That'll get some attention.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: alc40 on 20 Jun 2019, 19:53
When she gave the dollar amount she said that the destination was a bank account, but I don't recall any info on the source of the money.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2502

Edited to add:
I don't understand the technician's comment about a warranty form, since May's body is out of warranty.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: SmilingCat on 20 Jun 2019, 20:06
When she gave the dollar amount she said that the destination was a bank account, but I don't recall any info on the source of the money.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2502

I suspect it wouldn't have been one source.

In fact, I like to imagine it was something like the scheme from Office Space (taking fractional pennies from every transaction), just on a much larger scale (like, say, at a multinational institution). I imagine May being a fan of the movie.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: St.Clair on 20 Jun 2019, 20:22
I believe the term for that kind of scam is literally "penny shaving" (which goes back to when pennies were worth something, and made of precious metal that got trimmed off) and also "salami slicing".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 20 Jun 2019, 20:50
In the case of Beepatrice's chassis, the 'face' is actually a LCD display screen so individuality becomes even easier to do.
I'm not so convinced about the LCD physiognomy.  When viewed in profile Beeps has a nose (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3952).

If I'm not mistaken, the contour seems to go along her cheeks and nose. Kind of like some styles of medieval helmet visors.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: de_la_Nae on 20 Jun 2019, 22:27

Edited to add:
I don't understand the technician's comment about a warranty form, since May's body is out of warranty.

Might be as much euphemism as anything, based on his profession. But also he's used to dealing with warranties.

People without warranties, well he probably doesn't see them very often.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: brasca on 20 Jun 2019, 22:37
At first I thought Roko was looking away for the sake of May’s modesty, but then I read the note and remembered she’s squeamish about robot repairs. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 20 Jun 2019, 23:13
Poor May! She's been told that she's riding around in a second-hand clearance sale bargain bin chassis. Of course, that isn't anything that she didn't know and I think I get why she doesn't want to listen to it being reiterated again. Still, she's found a kindred spirit about what's cool and I'm sure that's going to be one positive to come out of this!

Poor Roko, though! She'll never be comfortable around exposed anatomy! I hesitate to think how she'd handle having to go to a butcher's shop (or even if she'd be able to handle it at all)!

I don't understand the technician's comment about a warranty form, since May's body is out of warranty.

I suspect it's some formal notice from a manufacturer's licensed tech that the unit is in poor condition and is beyond economical repair (total cost of repairs exceeds the resale value of the parts) and that the manufacturer recommends replacement.

Where'd the money May stole (well, tried to steal) come from?

May told Dale that it was an impulsive act. So, I don't think that she had any cunning plan or any subtle method like 'penny shaving'. No, she just outright tried to divert $750M from accounts held by the bank where she worked (likely as an unembodied actuary AI) into an account in her own name. She probably tried to take it from accounts for entities whom she thought 'could afford it' like large corporations. That is the sort of thing that would attract attention even if you had bothered to do more than the bare minimum to cover up your actions and I suspect that May didn't think too hard about that, focussed as she was by the shiny fighter jet body, the manufacturers' store front web page for which she had up in another browser tab.

Yes, I'm saying that a bored May saw the jet whilst browsing the web (whilst hypothetically being at work), saw the price tag and immediately went out to steal enough money to buy it. She literally had the thought process of: "I want it but I need money. There is lots of money here, so I'll take some from there and use it to buy that body!" She was probably quite shocked when the Bank's security systems caught her basically immediately because she hadn't thought about the possibility of detection (or at all beyond "I want it so I'll take it"). Her sparkling personality probably made things worse ("It isn't as if those rich fucks would miss it!" isn't a good defence).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 20 Jun 2019, 23:52
Financial crimes in the US don't tend to be rigorously pursued and punished unless
1) The perpetrator is already low on the power scale (i.e. not rich)
2) You piss off enough powerful people
May demonstrated a weakness in what customers assume is a secure system.  Even with a lower amount, a theft is a big deal because it diminishes investor confidence.  No doubt there were entities in the bank that were disappointed with her prison sentence -  they wanted her crucified.

Interesting thoughts about the warranty form.  Do destroyed or neutralized chassis need to be accounted for?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 21 Jun 2019, 00:09
Might be along the same line as VIN numbers for cars, to make sure all the parts belong to the same chassis and that nothing has been stolen.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: St.Clair on 21 Jun 2019, 00:15
Yes, I'm saying that a bored May saw the jet whilst browsing the web (whilst hypothetically being at work), saw the price tag and immediately went out to steal enough money to buy it. She literally had the thought process of: "I want it but I need money. There is lots of money here, so I'll take some from there and use it to buy that body!" She was probably quite shocked when the Bank's security systems caught her basically immediately because she hadn't thought about the possibility of detection (or at all beyond "I want it so I'll take it"). Her sparkling personality probably made things worse ("It isn't as if those rich fucks would miss it!" isn't a good defence).

"What if I see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?"
"You'll be arrested."
"But what if I want it more than the person who has it?"
"Still illegal."
"That doesn't follow. No, I want it more, sir, you understand?"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tyr on 21 Jun 2019, 00:54
Or is the government a secret Spookybot project?  :?  :-o  :psyduck:
It turns out that all AIs are just Spookybot inhabiting different chassis. And all humans, too.
I've read that ficlet.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 21 Jun 2019, 01:57
Okay, here's how I think things will go:
Roko's plan is to find someone who is willing to buy May's chassis (even if only for scrap) and combine both that and the allowance from the Department of Corrections to buy a somewhat-better chassis. So, it's off to Union Robotics to see if Faye and Bubbles can put together a decent chassis or at least buy May's old one and hold off taking possession until May has 'moved abode'. Jeremy and Seven from the Skate Park are there and that's where things get interesting.

How? One possibility is that Corpse Witch had a pristine, if not new, chassis on standby as a 'bolt hole' if she was ever indicted. Another is that Jeremy is willing to let May have a spare anthropomimetic chassis one of the fighters left behind as 'payment' to Corpse Witch for some favour.

Personal Wish:
The new chassis looks a lot like the form May's holo-avatar from her first appearance, with long, somewhat spiked hair from a top-knot.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Zebediah on 21 Jun 2019, 06:24
Where'd the money May stole (well, tried to steal) come from?

A few years ago, in the Writing Club thread in another part of the forum, I wrote a possible backstory for May (https://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php?topic=29351.msg1332864#msg1332864) as part of my epic-length post-apocalyptic QC fanfic. Short version: she found a back door into the municipal accounting system of a notoriously corrupt Boston suburb. She figured, given that the software was designed to hide illicit withdrawals from the system, she could sneak out a little for herself and no one would notice until she was long gone. And never mind that the amount she tried to sneak out was six times the entire municipal budget of Somerville.

Not canon, but it’s not drastically in conflict with canon either.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: rtmq0227 on 21 Jun 2019, 06:33
Poor Roko, though! She'll never be comfortable around exposed anatomy! I hesitate to think how she'd handle having to go to a butcher's shop (or even if she'd be able to handle it at all)!

I seem to remember her being perfectly fine with an AI walking into UR covered in cow...bits...
I think it's just AI anatomy that she's squeamish about.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 21 Jun 2019, 07:12
Poor Roko, though! She'll never be comfortable around exposed anatomy! I hesitate to think how she'd handle having to go to a butcher's shop (or even if she'd be able to handle it at all)!

I seem to remember her being perfectly fine with an AI walking into UR covered in cow...bits...
I think it's just AI anatomy that she's squeamish about.

She was disgusted by the cattle parts, but fainted at the dislocated finger.


I don't understand the technician's comment about a warranty form, since May's body is out of warranty.

I suspect it's some formal notice from a manufacturer's licensed tech that the unit is in poor condition and is beyond economical repair (total cost of repairs exceeds the resale value of the parts) and that the manufacturer recommends replacement.

There's an insurance term for that, in German it's "Totalschaden" - when repair costs exceed the value of the repaired thing. Insurances then will only pay the value of the thing at the time before the damage.



I wonder how many "favors" Roko will call in to get May a better chassis.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Stoutfellow on 21 Jun 2019, 07:29
There's an insurance term for that, in German it's "Totalschaden" - when repair costs exceed the value of the repaired thing. Insurances then will only pay the value of the thing at the time before the damage.

The English term is "constructive total loss" - or it was, back in the '70s, when my mother was working in an insurance office.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: shanejayell on 21 Jun 2019, 07:33
You would think there would be a minimum standard for bodies you get on parole, or something. If only because the issues that might come up like, well, this case....
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 21 Jun 2019, 07:48
I get the feeling  that this 'minimum standard' is terrifyingly low. Basically:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 21 Jun 2019, 09:10
There's an insurance term for that, in German it's "Totalschaden" - when repair costs exceed the value of the repaired thing. Insurances then will only pay the value of the thing at the time before the damage.

The English term is "constructive total loss" - or it was, back in the '70s, when my mother was working in an insurance office.

Thank you, now I that term.



I get the feeling  that this 'minimum standard' is terrifyingly low. Basically:
  • Can move at a normal pace without falling apart;
  • All joints work;
  • Batteries hold enough charge to last at least 1 hour;
  • All systems that consume resources are compatible with standard civilian supplies;
  • Thermal regulation system is able to tolerate light work without bursting into flames;
  • All omponents have a MTUTF (Mean Time Until Total Failure) of greater than 24 hours.

 - no immediate failures
 - energy cell(s) hold enough charge for working a whole shift without recharging.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 21 Jun 2019, 09:57
It'll turn out to be a bureaucratic fuck-up. 

She was supposed to get a brand new low-end body but a bandicoot being chased by a bird ran across the desktop and scattered two piles of forms.  The card for a just delivered from the factory no-fancy-trim-but-very-reliable unit she was supposed to get slid behind a file cabinet (it's probably still there).  The form for her consciousness build ended up on the top of one pile and the one for the POS frame she's in now was at the top of the other.  The two got stapled together, May got downloaded into the pinchy-handed, Barbie-crotched, sans-nipples jalopy that was suitable for use only as a sentient department store manikin modeling coveralls, and, well, we know the rest.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 21 Jun 2019, 10:21
You would think there would be a minimum standard for bodies you get on parole, or something. If only because the issues that might come up like, well, this case....

Piper Kerman got released in some donated men's clothes that didn't fit. The situation for AIs may be no better.

Roko is a superb person for May to have at her side right now. She is no longer law enforcement but she will still send all the "We're in the same tribe" signals to the parole officer and contribute Respectability. She probably also has some inside knowledge of how to work a law enforcement bureaucracy.

The charity should start advertising for donations! Dress for Success, and other charities reachable by Google, accept lightly used interview clothing to give ex-cons a start. I just donated a suit yesterday to a place like that. There have just got to be unused chassis in closets.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: sitnspin on 21 Jun 2019, 11:56
There's an insurance term for that, in German it's "Totalschaden" - when repair costs exceed the value of the repaired thing. Insurances then will only pay the value of the thing at the time before the damage.

The English term is "constructive total loss" - or it was, back in the '70s, when my mother was working in an insurance office.

Here we just say "totaled".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 21 Jun 2019, 13:38
Has the methods by which AIs pay for chassis been explored? Early characters had low functional chassis that seemed to be sort of consumer electronics pricing, and full body upgrades (Momo, Winslow) very expensive. I'm reminded of Anne McCaffrey's ship who sang series,  where the major characters are human brains encapsulated in spaceships which come with a debt that seems normally to take decades to pay off and is described in story as almost indented servitude.
May doesn't seem to have had a humanoid body pre gaol and apparently gets a minimally functional one on release. Roko and Bubbles may have got one as part of their job, in which case perhaps there was a minimum contract period or something, but what about others?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 21 Jun 2019, 15:15
There's an insurance term for that, in German it's "Totalschaden" - when repair costs exceed the value of the repaired thing. Insurances then will only pay the value of the thing at the time before the damage.

The English term is "constructive total loss" - or it was, back in the '70s, when my mother was working in an insurance office.

Here we just say "totaled".

And in Australia, it's a write-off.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 21 Jun 2019, 15:18
Same in Ireland, it'd be described as written off.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 21 Jun 2019, 15:38
Companion AIs seem to have their chassis paid for by their companion human. I don't remember seeing any explanation of how someone straight out of the creche gets their first body. Maybe they save up from jobs they can do from inside a server rack.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Cornelius on 22 Jun 2019, 00:06
The question then seems to be why May want simply place in a server rack, with access to the outside world, when she was released, but was put in a chassis in the first place. You'd think that would be the cheaper option.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: BenRG on 22 Jun 2019, 01:15
My guess is that Dale was literally the only friend she'd ever made and she wanted to see him again. It's also possible that, due to the nature of her crime, it was decided that putting her in another non-embodied environment would be putting too much temptation in her way.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 22 Jun 2019, 01:33
Maybe Parole conditions/limitations say she needs to be embodied, to be able to 'do good' in the real world.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 22 Jun 2019, 02:47
Companion AIs seem to have their chassis paid for by their companion human.
Agreed, they would seem to be relatively simple and, given the superior tech in the QC universe, within reach of normal consumer electronics prices. But the full size chassis, with a sophisticated sensory system and everything else, would seem to me to be getting on a couple of orders of magnitude more expensive. One might note Beepatrice' screen based features as possibly being a cost saving option.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 22 Jun 2019, 03:05
Companion AIs seem to have their chassis paid for by their companion human. I don't remember seeing any explanation of how someone straight out of the creche gets their first body. Maybe they save up from jobs they can do from inside a server rack.

I'd like to know who, or what organisation, is running/maintaining the creche in the first place. Knowing that would shed a lot of light on this question. Comic #1996 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1996) appears to imply that newly bootstrapped AIs have the option of simply being given a chassis. This, to me, seems less mysterious than the fact that some kind of facility is run to bring the AIs into existence in the first place. How is that funded?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: jwhouk on 22 Jun 2019, 06:00
Ask Hannelore's parents.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TV4Fun on 22 Jun 2019, 10:48
Has the methods by which AIs pay for chassis been explored? Early characters had low functional chassis that seemed to be sort of consumer electronics pricing, and full body upgrades (Momo, Winslow) very expensive. I'm reminded of Anne McCaffrey's ship who sang series,  where the major characters are human brains encapsulated in spaceships which come with a debt that seems normally to take decades to pay off and is described in story as almost indented servitude.
May doesn't seem to have had a humanoid body pre gaol and apparently gets a minimally functional one on release. Roko and Bubbles may have got one as part of their job, in which case perhaps there was a minimum contract period or something, but what about others?
Economics don't exist in the QC-verse. See also, Union Robotics, or how Marigold was even supposed to pay for Momo's new chassis in the first place.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 22 Jun 2019, 12:03
Marigold basically does webwork for her dad's company. It just means that she can work from home.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 22 Jun 2019, 16:59
Marigold basically does webwork for her dad's company. It just means that she can work from home.
^^This^^

You wouldn't know it to look at her ("Self-esteem undetectable with current technology"), but she's actually damned good at it and actually earns a decent wage.  Also, Marigold's naturally frugal and lives well within her means, so, at least in my head canon, she actually has a fairly comfortable bank account.

As for other characters:

Marten - Was living month to month but has since come under the influence of a floofy-haired ginger hottie who has, as part of a kinky sex regimen, forced fiscal responsibility upon him.

Pintsize - Loaded from selling Internet porn to both humans and 'bots, probably has other less savory income streams but we don't really want to know about them.

Dora - Worth plenty on paper but few liquid assets - it's all tied up in her business and can be cash strapped sometimes.

Tai - Has some very successful investments in other states, notably Washington, Oregon, and Colorado.  She does okay.

May - Barely getting by on the support of friends, would have either starved or turned to crime and gone back to prison if she were a meat person.  Has turned to prostitution with Pintsize as her John for extra cash.

Faye & Bubbles - Struggling small business owner/operators.  The nature of their business demands substantial capital investment in equipment and parts-&-materials inventory, so getting ahead may take a while.  OTOH, their work is getting compliments from people who are qualified to spot a good job (see #4030 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4030)).  This may be the beginning of a professional reputation that will serve them well.

Jim - Pretty successful small business person.

Veronica - Probably has herself comfortably set for the rest of her days.  If she were to turn to blackmail, she'd be almost as loaded as Pintsize.  We shouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be publishing kinky one-handers under one or more pen names.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 22 Jun 2019, 17:36
I agree with most of what you said OldGoat, but I wouldn't say that Marigold had a comfortable bank account, given that when she bought Momo's new chassis, she said that she would have to eat Ramen for a while. I would think that buying even a relatively cheap chassis would be akin to buying a small car (hence why May is having so much trouble with her chassis, it's a lemon).

No doubt that Momo getting a job helped with the financial situation, but I really wouldn't be surprised if Marigold nearly wiped out her savings.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 22 Jun 2019, 20:10
I concur. My impression is that Momo's chassis cost about the same as a sports car.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: de_la_Nae on 22 Jun 2019, 22:14
wanted to toss in that May might *want* to be embodied. Robot Jail, as she calls it, wasn't fun. And I can't imagine it wasn't on a server somewhere. She might feel too much like she's still 'on the inside' in one.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 23 Jun 2019, 07:32
I agree with most of what you said OldGoat, but I wouldn't say that Marigold had a comfortable bank account, given that when she bought Momo's new chassis, she said that she would have to eat Ramen for a while. I would think that buying even a relatively cheap chassis would be akin to buying a small car (hence why May is having so much trouble with her chassis, it's a lemon).

No doubt that Momo getting a job helped with the financial situation, but I really wouldn't be surprised if Marigold nearly wiped out her savings.
Again, the frugality thing.  I've literally heard tightwads frugal people say, "If we buy that car we'll have to live on beans for a year."  It's an expression and not meant literally.  I absolutely agree that an android chassis costs about as much as an automobile and there's a similar range of models new and used.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: brasca on 23 Jun 2019, 08:22
Marigold basically does webwork for her dad's company. It just means that she can work from home.
^^This^^

You wouldn't know it to look at her ("Self-esteem undetectable with current technology"), but she's actually damned good at it and actually earns a decent wage.  Also, Marigold's naturally frugal and lives well within her means, so, at least in my head canon, she actually has a fairly comfortable bank account.

Even if she's frugal it still seems unlikely she could afford a chassis, but then again maybe she does more than manage her father's shoe website. 


May - Barely getting by on the support of friends, would have either starved or turned to crime and gone back to prison if she were a meat person.  Has turned to prostitution with Pintsize as her John for extra cash.

I'm not entirely sure that counts as prostitution since May wants to avoid legal trouble.  I think what she was doing with Pintsize is the human equivalent of women selling their used underwear to perverts. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 23 Jun 2019, 11:11
....You might want to rework that second quote Brasca...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 23 Jun 2019, 11:15
Again, the frugality thing.  I've literally heard tightwads frugal people say, "I we buy that car we'll have to live on beans for a year."  It's an expression and not meant literally.  I absolutely agree that an android chassis costs about as much as an automobile and there's a similar range of models new and used.

Perhaps, but the explosive nosebleed she suffered when the store assistant told her the price of the chassis was rather indicative of the fact that buying it would put a serious dent into her savings. And that's even assuming that Marigold made a one off payment. If buying a chassis is on par with buying a car, its more likely that you would be making a series of payments over months. Meaning that a significant portion of Marigold's paycheck every month was probably going to pay for Momo's new body.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 23 Jun 2019, 15:51
Again, the frugality thing.  I've literally heard tightwads frugal people say, "I we buy that car we'll have to live on beans for a year."  It's an expression and not meant literally.  I absolutely agree that an android chassis costs about as much as an automobile and there's a similar range of models new and used.
Perhaps, but the explosive nosebleed she suffered when the store assistant told her the price of the chassis was rather indicative of the fact that buying it would put a serious dent into her savings. And that's even assuming that Marigold made a one off payment. If buying a chassis is on par with buying a car, its more likely that you would be making a series of payments over months. Meaning that a significant portion of Marigold's paycheck every month was probably going to pay for Momo's new body.
Maybe it's a cultural viewpoint thing.  Here in parts of the US it's not at all unusual for people to be spending a good chunk of their monthly income on car payments, especially 20-somethings who aren't really money savvy yet.  I say some parts of the country.  Where I'm from getting your driver's license was a rite of passage, but only about a third of the guys from Boston had a driver's license.  Wide open spaces versus compact older cities with well developed public transportation.

Only a few thousand dollars is enough to trigger a nosebleed for a seriously debt-adverse person, so that's no objective gauge.

Both models are credible.  It's up to Jeph which one he chooses to write Marigold into.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Tova on 23 Jun 2019, 18:04
I'm wondering what hinges on the outcome of this conversation because "comfortable" is incredibly subjective and could mean almost anything. On the other hand, OldGoat, my impression is that your argument behind the assertion that Marigold's bank account is "comfortable" is essentially: "You can't prove it's not." Which is not compelling, honestly.

Whatever "comfortable" means in your head, I'll say this much. A nosebleed, whatever you think it might indicate, does not scream "comfortable" to me. Regardless of whether it indicates that she's poor, or merely that she's uncomfortable with her savings taking that much of a hit - either way, it's hard to argue that someone who had that reaction feels comfortable.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 23 Jun 2019, 20:55
The question then seems to be why May want simply place in a server rack, with access to the outside world, when she was released, but was put in a chassis in the first place. You'd think that would be the cheaper option.
She's not allowed to earn money by renting out processor time. (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3828) It might be part of the same deal; it's easier to keep her out of systems she's not allowed to be in if she's physically running on a self-contained chassis.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 23 Jun 2019, 21:40
Wasn't the chassis Momo originally asked for, not the one she settled for, USD30,000? That gives us a point of reference.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: hakko504 on 23 Jun 2019, 22:14
Yes
 1994 (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1994)

Skickat från min SGP611 via Tapatalk

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Cornelius on 24 Jun 2019, 00:50
The question then seems to be why May want simply place in a server rack, with access to the outside world, when she was released, but was put in a chassis in the first place. You'd think that would be the cheaper option.
She's not allowed to earn money by renting out processor time. (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3828) It might be part of the same deal; it's easier to keep her out of systems she's not allowed to be in if she's physically running on a self-contained chassis.

That is the answer, of course, confirmed by today's comic. Regular meetings with her parole officer also preclude a stationary chassis - such as an assembly arm. As I suspected, it's not much to do with the parolee's wishes, as with the restraints inherent in their parole.

Seeing how connected most AI, even in the more basic chassis, are, however, I'm not sure if it does keep her out of systems. Anyway, I imagine even if it is self contained, that connection is just a usb wifi-connector away.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 24 Jun 2019, 08:08
I'm wondering what hinges on the outcome of this conversation because "comfortable" is incredibly subjective and could mean almost anything. On the other hand, OldGoat, my impression is that your argument behind the assertion that Marigold's bank account is "comfortable" is essentially: "You can't prove it's not." Which is not compelling, honestly.

Whatever "comfortable" means in your head, I'll say this much. A nosebleed, whatever you think it might indicate, does not scream "comfortable" to me. Regardless of whether it indicates that she's poor, or merely that she's uncomfortable with her savings taking that much of a hit - either way, it's hard to argue that someone who had that reaction feels comfortable.
You're right, "comfort" is way too subjective.  I'm thinking sufficient financial resources to weather a typical emergency.   Put another way, not living paycheck to paycheck.  She may not have a huge buffer, but she can make rent and groceries a couple months if a large, unexpected bill hits.  Better?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 24 Jun 2019, 10:15
I'm not entirely sure that counts as prostitution since May wants to avoid legal trouble.  I think what she was doing with Pintsize is the human equivalent of women selling their used underwear to perverts.
Would it be prostitution if they were humans? 

(The answer is an emphatic "Yes.")
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Mr Intrepid on 24 Jun 2019, 11:31
The question then seems to be why May want simply place in a server rack, with access to the outside world, when she was released, but was put in a chassis in the first place. You'd think that would be the cheaper option.
She's not allowed to earn money by renting out processor time. (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3828) It might be part of the same deal; it's easier to keep her out of systems she's not allowed to be in if she's physically running on a self-contained chassis.

That is the answer, of course, confirmed by today's comic. Regular meetings with her parole officer also preclude a stationary chassis - such as an assembly arm. As I suspected, it's not much to do with the parolee's wishes, as with the restraints inherent in their parole.

Seeing how connected most AI, even in the more basic chassis, are, however, I'm not sure if it does keep her out of systems. Anyway, I imagine even if it is self contained, that connection is just a usb wifi-connector away.
I would suspect that an AI on parole has the equivalent of a ankle monitor.   Their parole officer could track any online/ non-corporeal activity that way.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 24 Jun 2019, 11:47
A point that occurs to me is that AIs seem to earn roughly the same salary as humans, need far less living space (ie rooms converted to charging cubicles) and charging probably far less expensive than food. So why aren't they all rolling in cash? And the answer has to be some sort  of payment for the bodies. Maybe its something like UK student loans?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: hedgie on 24 Jun 2019, 12:52
They might have higher or more frequent medical costs.  For the most part, the human body is self-repairing, and I doubt that current AIs have that capacity.  And the nicer the chassis, the more replacement parts are going to run, since they're likely proprietary.  Kinda like how a friend of mine ended up having to get rid of his Tesla after a divorce and a voluntary "demotion" at work.  Things rarely went wrong, but when they did, the repairs were astronomical.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: OldGoat on 24 Jun 2019, 14:22
Jeph is a master of personal interaction between his characters, but regarding the economics of the QCverse, not so much.  I'm probably not the only one here to cut my SciFi teeth on Heinlein.  He made a big deal of it in his universe, but for Jeph it's just something he fills in details about from time to time.

It's a web comic, not a challenge to Atlas Shrugged or Cities in Flight.  I'm not going to let obsession with AI employment, robot standards of living, and relationships both carbon and silicon cloud my enjoyment of a fun, ongoing yarn.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: JimC on 25 Jun 2019, 02:30
Wasn't the chassis Momo originally asked for, not the one she settled for, USD30,000? That gives us a point of reference.
And Roko's top of the range chassis was 20K more than the previous year's model.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3910
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 25 Jun 2019, 05:47
Is it possible that was a jab at Apple?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cesium133 on 25 Jun 2019, 06:16
Oh, it definitely was. *shakes fist at Apple for dropping the iPhone SE*
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: hedgie on 25 Jun 2019, 08:47
I'm just hoping that my 6s lasts me another year.  I really don't want to upgrade.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 25 Jun 2019, 09:20
Confession - last year I downgraded from a Smartphone to a Nokia 3310.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Pilchard123 on 25 Jun 2019, 09:30
Sounds like an upgrade to me.

EDIT: My bad, was thinking of an 1110.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Gyrre on 25 Jun 2019, 17:21
Yes, I'm saying that a bored May saw the jet whilst browsing the web (whilst hypothetically being at work), saw the price tag and immediately went out to steal enough money to buy it. She literally had the thought process of: "I want it but I need money. There is lots of money here, so I'll take some from there and use it to buy that body!" She was probably quite shocked when the Bank's security systems caught her basically immediately because she hadn't thought about the possibility of detection (or at all beyond "I want it so I'll take it"). Her sparkling personality probably made things worse ("It isn't as if those rich fucks would miss it!" isn't a good defence).

"What if I see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?"
"You'll be arrested."
"But what if I want it more than the person who has it?"
"Still illegal."
"That doesn't follow. No, I want it more, sir, you understand?"
We have too many temps where I work with that mentality in regards to other people's tools.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 25 Jun 2019, 21:29
Is it possible that was a jab at Apple?
The newspost text is "iphone joke". So yes.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)
Post by: cybersmurf on 26 Jun 2019, 00:56
And now I had to think of that one joke from Forrest Gump.