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Poll

Which other A.I.s that we've already met do you think Winslow will run into while volunteering?

Arthur
Bubbles
Charlotte
Iris
Leda
May (as a fellow volunteer)(awkwardness ensues)
Melon
Pintsize
PT410X
Punchbot
Spookybot in an ingenious/terrible disguise
Station
Toastbot
one of Pintsize's friends who have the same sort of chassis
Gordon
some other character I forgot (please name them)

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Author Topic: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)  (Read 55197 times)

Case

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #50 on: 21 Aug 2017, 03:52 »

Humans eat something specifically designed to be toxic to them because carpe gotta fuckin diem.

More evidence for the theory that Mother Nature was ludicrously shitfaced when she designed us ...
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JoeCovenant

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #51 on: 21 Aug 2017, 04:40 »

Humans eat something specifically designed to be toxic to them because carpe gotta fuckin diem.

More evidence for the theory that Mother Nature was ludicrously shitfaced when she designed us ...

More like more evidence we're the most stubborn feckers on the disc of the flat earth!

"Ug say no eat red pointy fruit. Ug say death by bottom juice!"

"Mmmuuuh! UG say that? HOLD MY JAWBONE!"
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Covenant
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Cornelius

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #52 on: 21 Aug 2017, 04:44 »

And let's not get started on all things we eat, drink, and enjoy that basically have gone off...
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snufflebottoms

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #53 on: 21 Aug 2017, 05:30 »

Is shoulder-leaning a universal robot thing?

It comes off as flirty between humans but now we have both May and Momo and May and Winslow doing it. So maybe body language is different in the AI world. ?
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Case

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #54 on: 21 Aug 2017, 05:32 »

Incidentally, Tesla was well known to spend, at the end of his life, more time with pigeons than with people. Do they know something? First they take over pigeonkind, and then, the world...

I think you misunderstood their message about who is planning world domination. They're saying: "Beware the cats evolving opposable thumbs!"

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Cornelius

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #55 on: 21 Aug 2017, 05:33 »

Well, you know the rumours about Tesla; maybe the pigeons wanted a strategic advantage.
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derris_kharlan

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #56 on: 21 Aug 2017, 05:35 »

I honestly find this strip deeply disheartening.  Having May easily accept Winslow's apology further marginalizes the oppressed and onus of marginalized people like myself.  The oppressed owe the oppressors nothing, least of all pardoning of your sins.  May shouldn't be accepting the apology until Winslow at least ensures she's in as good a place as he himself.

In what conceivable way is Winslow oppressing May?  He has done and is doing NOTHING to oppress her.
What sin did Winslow commit?  Being happy?  Trying to share his happiness with people he views as friends?  Improving his situation in life?  At worst (and I don't even buy it but for the sake of argument) he commited a slight social faux pas.  May, on the other hand, verbally assaulted an innocent person who had done no harm to her whatsoever and is in no way responsible for her current situation.

May shouldn't be accepting Winslow's apology.  She should be offering her own instead.  Sadly (and surprisingly based on the rest of Jeph's work) we are seeing the bully rewarded and vindicated.  Its a huge shame.
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neurocase

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #57 on: 21 Aug 2017, 05:44 »

Is shoulder-leaning a universal robot thing?

It comes off as flirty between humans but now we have both May and Momo and May and Winslow doing it. So maybe body language is different in the AI world. ?

In Momo's case it looked a bit like it, but here, it just looks like Winslow is sorta slouching, due to his hands being in his pockets, and watching the pigeons.

Thus far disappointed with this resolution. Hopefully, there's more, and hopefully, May's blase acceptance of the largely unwarranted apology is not all she's going to contribute to this whole arc. But if the nine pages of last week's thread proved anything, it's that letting yourself be a victim seems to pay off, and people who don't accommodate that are horrible, privileged oppressors or something.
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BenRG

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #58 on: 21 Aug 2017, 05:52 »

FWIW, I'm wondering if, now the moment has passed, May has lost a lot of her anger towards Winslow and may have more-or-less forgotten the whole issue. Consequently, his apology was a borderline-irrelevance to her whilst she was focussing on her attempt to selectively-breed fire-pigeons. Basically, I don't think that the whole confrontation meant as much to May as it did to us.
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MrNumbers

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #59 on: 21 Aug 2017, 06:22 »

I don't think that the whole confrontation meant as much to May as it did to us.

A lot of people care a lot about her behavior essentially being thoughtless; We care about how much she doesn't care.
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Case

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #60 on: 21 Aug 2017, 06:34 »

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Emperor Norton

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #61 on: 21 Aug 2017, 06:40 »

Welp, this looks like a wrapping up the storyline comic. And if it does end here, we get exactly what I said we would: Winslow faces the mistake he made, which he made by not thinking things through, not through actual intent, learns, and apologizes and tries to become a better person. May never has to face the mistake she made, which was emotional but intentionally malicious, doesn't learn anything, and remains the same.

I'm not trying to bring back the past, but everyone was like, "wait and see", and while I'm happy for Winslow to become a better person, and I think him apologizing was a good thing, May continuing to just go on in life hypocritically demanding others think about how their actions affect others... it just seems like this arc is basically supporting the idea that it is ok to treat the privileged like shit because you aren't.
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Cornelius

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #62 on: 21 Aug 2017, 07:12 »

It's true, she should learn to think more, and adapt her behaviour too. However, since this has been written as her character from the beginning, I'm thinking this, if it happens, will take a long time. In the mean time, it's not out of character for Hannelore to suggest - but what she was going to say has been cut off.

It might be parallel to Faye's development.

The implication that for one side of the argument it's fine to belittle the others, and not to have to make any effort for them to understand, remains troubling, I agree. I wonder to what degree the notion would have been there, if not for Bubbles' comment. Leave out Bubbles, and the Momo/May sequence, and we have a much more positive story.

At the same time, it might just be time to let the argument rest, since we have been turning in circles in the other thread. The issue with that, is that both sides might take that as proof of how they are right. It's a subject that is very hard to have a reasonable and mostly objective discussion about. (Q.e.d. for one of my arguments, I might add, but I don't want this to escalate again.)

Let's take a cue from our characters, and move on, to see how the rest of the story unfolds.
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Case

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #63 on: 21 Aug 2017, 07:31 »

Let's take a cue from our characters, and move on, to see how the rest of the story unfolds.

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Emperor Norton

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #64 on: 21 Aug 2017, 07:45 »

You do know that responding with these images seems very condescending, right?
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hedgie

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #65 on: 21 Aug 2017, 07:46 »

FWIW, I'm wondering if, now the moment has passed, May has lost a lot of her anger towards Winslow and may have more-or-less forgotten the whole issue.

Basically what I was thinking.  She vented and satisfied her immediate impulse, which was to take out her frustrations about the shite she's dealing with in her life on a convenient target who presented himself.
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St.Clair

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #66 on: 21 Aug 2017, 08:36 »

FWIW, I'm wondering if, now the moment has passed, May has lost a lot of her anger towards Winslow and may have more-or-less forgotten the whole issue.

Basically what I was thinking.  She vented and satisfied her immediate impulse, which was to take out her frustrations about the shite she's dealing with in her life on a convenient target who presented himself.

... actually deserving or not.  He was, as you say, a convenient target, nothing more.  Someone she could reach to punch - up, down, doesn't matter.

What's that Granny Weatherwax quote about treating people like things?
(rhetorical question)
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JoeCovenant

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #67 on: 21 Aug 2017, 08:49 »

You do know that responding with these images seems very condescending, right?

Nahhh!!!!

Surely not??
Maybe it's just me, but I quite enjoy a pertinent gif (animated or otherwise) when there's little else to respond with.

(I have been known to do so myself!)  :angel:
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Case

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #68 on: 21 Aug 2017, 09:40 »

You do know that responding with these images seems very condescending, right?

?

I usually add a quote when I want a specific forumite to know that my response is about their post(s) - so, e.g. if Cornelius feels condescended to due to the Yoda-pic (I hope not), I'd like to know.

I thought the line of his that I quoted to be a fine conclusion -> hence the Yoda.
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OldGoat

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #69 on: 21 Aug 2017, 09:46 »

[C]an people in Robot Jail have visitors?
Extrapolating from what Jeph has revealed about QC-verse AI society - Robots value the sanctity of the mind far above sanctity of the body chassis, and robot ...ah...intimacy happens over USB cables (no doubt over Ethernet or WiFi, too, but USB allows privacy).  I think we can safely assume that establishing a data link is far more meaningful than physical proximity to most AIs.  Further, isolation from interconnectivity would definitely be unpleasant enough to be used as punishment.

So, visitation in 'bot jail may well consist of being permitted severely restricted network connectivity to communicate with specific entities, AI or human.

Robot religion?  John Ellicott-Chatham is The Creator, although nothing in-strip so far indicates that AIs do anything around him that we would recognize as worship.  (So is the Spookybot Collective some kind of Fallen Angel?)
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Strawberrycocoa

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #70 on: 21 Aug 2017, 09:55 »

May has her good qualities, and for some that may not be enough to out weight what she did to him, but Winslow, however childish he seems to be, is still capable of making his own choices. If he sees something of value in May, then so be it.

The people that want to get up in arms and act like Winslow should shun May from now on for one outburst, well, I have choice words about that kind of sensitivity. And before anyone throws around the word "Toxic" I advise you remember that everyone is an ass once in a while, and this is May's first (and maybe last) time being so to Winslow.  I'd argue that we've seen most of the cast of QC put each other threw far, far worse outbursts, and they all have far more loving relationships than the bare acquaintance between these two.

For whatever it may be worth to the conversation, I overall LIKE May as a character and as a person, and this arc hasn't really changed that. I just find her reaction to the whole situation... well, self-absorbed and shitty.

I know several people (Person A) who have that same reaction when others (Person B) act as Winslow has. Person B does something nice for themself or gets some kind of a lucky break, and Person A immediately turns snarly and vindictive because it didn't happen to THEM. Then they act like everyone ELSE should keep Person A at the forefront of their mind when living their own lives, and ,measure all their actions against how Person A feels. They act like the whole world is constantly working to insult or slight them and you have to tiptoe around their fragile little egos to keep any peace in your life.

So, I dunno, personal experience clouding my perception I guess, but May's behavior during the incident resonates with me as being the same reaction of a lot of petty passive-aggressive and generally unpleasant people I've had in my life, and it angers me to see that behavior come from a character I've enjoyed following to this point.
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Emperor Norton

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #71 on: 21 Aug 2017, 10:15 »

You do know that responding with these images seems very condescending, right?

?

I usually add a quote when I want a specific forumite to know that my response is about their post(s) - so, e.g. if Cornelius feels condescended to due to the Yoda-pic (I hope not), I'd like to know.

I thought the line of his that I quoted to be a fine conclusion -> hence the Yoda.

I'm not offended, but a lot of times with the gifs and image responses it feels like "Your thoughts on this aren't even worth addressing." or "Look at how I can make fun of people by saying I'm above whatever it is they are talking about."

I'm not saying that you are intending either of those things, but it can very much look that way.

I dropped the discussion in the other thread cause they made a good point that, until we had further information from the comic to discuss, there was very little new to say. Now that we have a new comic that addresses EXACTLY what I was discussing, there was something new to say.

And I said it, and I was going to leave it there. I'm not sure what the point of a comic discussion thread is if discussion of the new comic isn't allowed, or only positive reactions to the comic aren't met with derision. (by this, I mean, people continuing to say to move on, which is exactly the problem that we are having, that May gets to just move on without looking at her actions, are not responded to with images saying they are beating a dead horse or going in circles, despite the fact that the denial of what we see is a problem is half of what is continuing the cycle.)
« Last Edit: 21 Aug 2017, 10:38 by Emperor Norton »
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RLBell

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #72 on: 21 Aug 2017, 11:20 »


So... Are those real pigeon or is the fire in that one's eyes sign that they are something else and are the remote-control agents of someone who is watching May?
I think it just signifies that it is filled with spicy habanero fire. I now imagine May shouting "Drakaris!" at a cloud of pigeons...

The irony of the 3551 is that hot peppers evolved capsaicin to discourage mammals (including humans) from eating them and leaving the seeds too close to the parent tree.  Birds (including pigeons) have no receptors for capsaicin, so they eat the fruit shunned by mammals and scatter the seeds far and wide.  Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" would not need any changes to the birds' behaviour if each of the characters both had used riot cannisters of pepper spray.

Humans react strongly enough that some chronic pain conditions are treated by applying a local anesthetic to the affected area and then slathering the area with enough capsaicin that, after its removal and the local anesthetic wears off, that pain receptors require up to two weeks to make enough neurotransmitters to send any signal, at all.  The other peripheral nerves are not affected, so the area still has sensation of stimuli besides pain.

I half suspect that May's original upbringing was less than successful and first being installed in a combat aircraft amplified her inability to perceive others as people, as most of the things she interacted with fell into the category of objects awaiting fulfillment/martyrdom that only differed in their awareness of their fate: cloned warriors only bright enough to accomplish a single task (the character of Bomb #20, in the film "Dark Star" is an example of too smart a bomb) and targets.  Everything else is a source of information demanding she perform a task that they are clearly incapable of performing themselves, making them less than herself.  Upon discovery that her interactions with the wider world were not obviously monitored and her own choice (provided she did not fulfill/martyr anything in the process), she was just her normal amoral self and accomplished her missions with as little regard to what to others as she had for the martyrs.  As a combat aircraft, she needed to assume that, at least in situations that would prevent the success of a mission, nasty consequences of her actions would only matter in the after action report, not during planning.  As she demonstrated in the half-way house that she could perceive others as persons like herself, she won her parole.  She is in a humanoid chassis to force upon her the perspective that other persons are as people as she is.
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brasca

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #73 on: 21 Aug 2017, 11:23 »

I half expect someone to start lecturing May about feeding spicy junk food to pigeons.  Normally, I'd find that tiresome, but with May it would be poetic justice.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #74 on: 21 Aug 2017, 11:33 »

I half expect someone to start lecturing May about feeding spicy junk food to pigeons.  Normally, I'd find that tiresome, but with May it would be poetic justice.

for some reason i remember that birds dont taste spicey stuff like we do. I could be wrong but i feel like i remember learning that.
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Cornelius

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #75 on: 21 Aug 2017, 11:50 »

You do know that responding with these images seems very condescending, right?

?

I usually add a quote when I want a specific forumite to know that my response is about their post(s) - so, e.g. if Cornelius feels condescended to due to the Yoda-pic (I hope not), I'd like to know.

I thought the line of his that I quoted to be a fine conclusion -> hence the Yoda.

I'm not offended, but a lot of times with the gifs and image responses it feels like "Your thoughts on this aren't even worth addressing." or "Look at how I can make fun of people by saying I'm above whatever it is they are talking about."

I'm not saying that you are intending either of those things, but it can very much look that way.

I dropped the discussion in the other thread cause they made a good point that, until we had further information from the comic to discuss, there was very little new to say. Now that we have a new comic that addresses EXACTLY what I was discussing, there was something new to say.

And I said it, and I was going to leave it there. I'm not sure what the point of a comic discussion thread is if discussion of the new comic isn't allowed, or only positive reactions to the comic aren't met with derision. (by this, I mean, people continuing to say to move on, which is exactly the problem that we are having, that May gets to just move on without looking at her actions, are not responded to with images saying they are beating a dead horse or going in circles, despite the fact that the denial of what we see is a problem is half of what is continuing the cycle.)
My two bits, for what it's worth. I don't mind the pictures, necessarily. I thought the Yoda one was a nice segue.

I acknowledge that I did say we should move on. Mind, I agree that when there's new information, we can continue the discussion. That's what this forum is for, after all. Then why do I think we should move on in this forum, like the characters? Quite simply, because I do not feel that there will be any more productive discussion. If I read back the other thread, it seems that both sides of the debate are firmly entrenched, and that there are few new arguments coming up.  And trench warfare is ugly. (Writing from Flanders' fields, here.)

It seems this might be the end of the arc, and though it might not be the most satisfying ending, it's one I can accept, with Winslow being the bigger man. I'll reiterate that that doesn't mean I think May shouldn't, at some point, learn to control her mouth. It's still somewhat hypocritical that she demands people to think before accosting her, while, as a rule, she does not do so herself. It's an issue that needs addressing. However, I think it might be a while yet, before we see that happening. Sadly, that's a good mirror of how things work out here, in the real world as well.

Personally, I'm happy to see May accepting his apology, and interacting with him on a normal level. They're even sharing as small a thing as these peppered pigeons; there might be a basis for friendship there. It's small, but it's positive. She has changed, for the moment, her behaviour towards him. And that, for the moment, for me, is sufficient a basis to move on.

As I said, I think if you leave out last week's comic with Bubbles, we have a different narrative. A narrative that, in my mind, is stronger, as it would suggest Hannelore trying to frame May's reaction in her habitual volatile personality, while Winslow, given time, comes to see for himself where May is coming from. To me, that is a far stronger message, and grounds Winslow's reaction fully in his own personality.

Still, Jeph wrote what he did, and that's what we get to work with.

Also mind, that if I'm saying I'm ready to move on, with this ending, I don't mean to say that people can't have another opinion, and continue the discussion, as long as it is productive. I'll even weigh in, when I feel I have something useful to add.

I half suspect that May's original upbringing was less than successful and first being installed in a combat aircraft amplified her inability to perceive others as people, as most of the things she interacted with fell into the category of objects awaiting fulfillment/martyrdom that only differed in their awareness of their fate: cloned warriors only bright enough to accomplish a single task (the character of Bomb #20, in the film "Dark Star" is an example of too smart a bomb) and targets.  Everything else is a source of information demanding she perform a task that they are clearly incapable of performing themselves, making them less than herself.  Upon discovery that her interactions with the wider world were not obviously monitored and her own choice (provided she did not fulfill/martyr anything in the process), she was just her normal amoral self and accomplished her missions with as little regard to what to others as she had for the martyrs.  As a combat aircraft, she needed to assume that, at least in situations that would prevent the success of a mission, nasty consequences of her actions would only matter in the after action report, not during planning.  As she demonstrated in the half-way house that she could perceive others as persons like herself, she won her parole.  She is in a humanoid chassis to force upon her the perspective that other persons are as people as she is.

I think you make a valid point, about May's history possibly meaning that she needs to catch up and learn how to play nice with others. I just think you may be starting from the wrong premise, as she could have been a fighter jet, but wasn't. That is why she embezzled money, to be able to buy that kind of chassis on the black market. It's possible that she started out as a highly specified application, though. Personally, I like to think she was an ERP that became sentient.
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OldGoat

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #76 on: 21 Aug 2017, 11:53 »

[May as combat veteran scenario snipped]
If May was a vet suffering from the AI equivalent of PTSD, I think Bubbles would have picked up on it.  From a writing standpoint, Jeph is using the two characters to represent two different segments of society.

for some reason i remember that birds dont taste spicey stuff like we do. I could be wrong but i feel like i remember learning that.
I think you're right.  Parrot food often includes dried peppers/pepper seeds.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #77 on: 21 Aug 2017, 12:03 »

[May as combat veteran fantasy scenario snipped]

What the heck?

I know my memory isn't the best at times and my archive-fu is atrocious but I distinctly remember her being put in robot-jail for embezzlement.
 [My guess is it is of the lets put the rounding bits into an account and see how long it takes ]
The funds accumulated were to buy a combat drone on the black market because - Combat Drone! Flying! Zoom! - type thing.

She was running a dedicated accounting application as far as I can recall.

Someone with decent archive skills can point out the relevant panels.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #78 on: 21 Aug 2017, 12:14 »

Yeah, May was never military. She embezzled a ton of money in an attempt to buy a fighter jet body. I doubt she ever even received it.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #79 on: 21 Aug 2017, 12:21 »

That would be in comic 2502: Free like a bird http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2502
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #80 on: 21 Aug 2017, 12:21 »

I'm not offended, but a lot of times with the gifs and image responses it feels like "Your thoughts on this aren't even worth addressing." or "Look at how I can make fun of people by saying I'm above whatever it is they are talking about."

I'm not saying that you are intending either of those things, but it can very much look that way.

I suppose it's worth mentioning that six years ago, in my supplement to Jeph's rules for the forum, I wrote:

Oh, and Internet memes or image macros?  Passé. There is nothing exciting or new about any of them, and they just make people sigh when they see them.

Over the years other matters have exercised the mods much more than this.  But it's probably fair to say that they've been approaching the level at which I would want to complain, although I admit that there are forums that see them used far more (and which I consequently dislike).  Perhaps this is the moment to ask people not to use them unless they are sure they are good enough and original enough to pass muster.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words - that can be so, but in this context they are often worth none at all.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #81 on: 21 Aug 2017, 12:42 »

<snip>

^What he said, basically.

Edit: A very subjective POV:

I feel that with complex concepts that depend highly on many variables, like privilege or callout culture etc., specific examples, like that Winslow-May arc, are fine to get a quick overview, but of limited utility for nuanced discussion beyond that -> e.g. when the artist makes choices that leave one 'side' of the discussion feeling dissatisfied because they feel their concerns were insufficiently addressed.

I think that maybe that might be a good point to then take the discussion to a more general level (like e.g. the 'callout culture'-thread we have over in Discuss!) - at the very least, it has the advantage that the conversation doesn't depend on one specific framing and/or specific choices of the artist.

Just an idea (!!!) - No "have to"'s, or "must be(es)" attached, mind you!


Writing from Flanders' fields, here.

They still bring in the 'Iron Harvest'?
« Last Edit: 21 Aug 2017, 14:03 by Case »
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #82 on: 21 Aug 2017, 13:12 »

Estimations say it'll take at least another quarter century, and possibly another fifty years. It's a common sight in spring and summer, to have unexploded ordinance lying by the side of the road. The farmers put them there, as they find them, and once a week, the army comes to pick them up. I live fairly close to the disposal installation, and you can actually hear them go off from time to time.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #83 on: 21 Aug 2017, 13:28 »



I think that maybe that might be a good point to then take the discussion to a more general level (like e.g. the 'callout culture'-thread we have over in Discuss!) - at the very least, it has the advantage that the conversation doesn't depend one specific framing and/or specific choices of the artist.

Just an idea (!!!) - No "have to"'s, or "must be(es)" attached, mind you!


I think that's a good suggestion.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #84 on: 21 Aug 2017, 13:49 »

I have a hellish craving for spicy Doritos right now.

So good to see that Winslow didn't hold May's behaviour against her. And she didn't harp on it either. I really like seeing how the friendships between the AI characters pan out!
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #85 on: 21 Aug 2017, 14:37 »

I honestly find this strip deeply disheartening.  Having May easily accept Winslow's apology further marginalizes the oppressed and onus of marginalized people like myself.  The oppressed owe the oppressors nothing, least of all pardoning of your sins.  May shouldn't be accepting the apology until Winslow at least ensures she's in as good a place as he himself.

That is actually ridiculous.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #86 on: 21 Aug 2017, 14:56 »

Read your 'about' as "You is fiend or food?".

Still thinking about the answer ...

the character of Bomb #20, in the film "Dark Star" is an example of too smart a bomb

"Teach it pheno-meno-logy, Dolittle"

"Hey ... Bomb?"

"Let there be light!"

:laugh:

« Last Edit: 21 Aug 2017, 16:05 by Case »
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #87 on: 21 Aug 2017, 15:22 »

I honestly find this strip deeply disheartening.  Having May easily accept Winslow's apology further marginalizes the oppressed and onus of marginalized people like myself.  The oppressed owe the oppressors nothing, least of all pardoning of your sins.  May shouldn't be accepting the apology until Winslow at least ensures she's in as good a place as he himself.
That is actually ridiculous.
I fall on May's side (which looks to be an unpopular opinion) and even I think this is ridiculous. Inadvertently being insensitive certainly doesn't warrant him having to take full responsibility for her situation. He doesn't owe her anything at this point.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #88 on: 21 Aug 2017, 16:07 »

Yeah, May was never military.
I mean, we don't know that she was never military, just that she was most likely not military when she tried to become a jet.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #89 on: 21 Aug 2017, 16:11 »

I honestly find this strip deeply disheartening.  Having May easily accept Winslow's apology further marginalizes the oppressed and onus of marginalized people like myself.  The oppressed owe the oppressors nothing, least of all pardoning of your sins.  May shouldn't be accepting the apology until Winslow at least ensures she's in as good a place as he himself.

.... what the actual fuck
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #90 on: 21 Aug 2017, 16:33 »

I'm still leaving myself open to the possibility that May is an earlier Emergent, easily two or three times older than any of the other AI's, except Pintsize, who'd fit into my idea that older AI's wouldn't have the same social grace protocols that I'd say Momo and Bubbles are 'graced' with, for lack of a better term.

It's still very vague where AI's come from. Yes, we know AI's are emergent, but that still means some company or facility is developing them with human input, and that means they have 'some' sort of influence on how AI's turn out and their ultimate makeup, even if it's less like building a program and more like a far more complicated and mysterious form of procreation.

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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #91 on: 21 Aug 2017, 16:47 »

Yeah, May was never military.
I mean, we don't know that she was never military, just that she was most likely not military when she tried to become a jet.

Because most, if not all military vehicles aren't made by the military. The military contracts production of its materiel to outside companies, like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. While a fifth generation fighter jet, used by the US air force, its produced by Lockheed Martin and various sub-contractors in a contract worth, I believe, $60 billion since the inception of the Raptor.

May wouldn't have to have been a military AI, she could just be one of the AI totting up numbers and skimming a little off the top to get to the $360 million.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #92 on: 21 Aug 2017, 16:55 »

Nice of Winslow to apologise

May - the Che Guevara of Pigeon kind
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #93 on: 21 Aug 2017, 17:08 »

May - the Che Guevara of Pigeon kind

Though her ability to divebomb pigeon-shit on people's heads seems greatly diminished ...
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #94 on: 21 Aug 2017, 17:09 »


Because most, if not all military vehicles aren't made by the military. The military contracts production of its materiel to outside companies, like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. While a fifth generation fighter jet, used by the US air force, its produced by Lockheed Martin and various sub-contractors in a contract worth, I believe, $60 billion since the inception of the Raptor.

May wouldn't have to have been a military AI, she could just be one of the AI totting up numbers and skimming a little off the top to get to the $360 million.

My guess is that May had absolutely nothing to do with the military, that she was an AI in a bank or some other such money-laden institution. in this comic, she says she was planning to buy a fighter jet on the black market, one made by what I assume by the name is a Chinese company. As far as we can tell, May doesn't speak any Chinese languages (Can AI download languages or do they have to learn them like a person? has that been addressed?) so it's unlikely she was actually related to the company- I think she just REALLY wanted to be a fighter jet. Bad enough to have a shirt made.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #95 on: 21 Aug 2017, 18:10 »

One thing we do know about Robot Jail is that apparently they're on some kind of storage medium.  Momo says so in http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2508 .

Maybe it's just like being run on a computer just a bit underpowered for the program - you have to work hard just to think properly. Unpleasant and difficult to deal with.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #96 on: 21 Aug 2017, 18:15 »

have a shirt made.
"ReformChassis", I guess that confirms that she was given this one when released. We still have no idea what she did before or what kind of body she had, though.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #97 on: 21 Aug 2017, 18:58 »

My guess is that May had absolutely nothing to do with the military, that she was an AI in a bank or some other such money-laden institution. In this comic, she says she was planning to buy a fighter jet on the black market, one made by what I assume by the name is a Chinese company.
Specifically, May wanted to buy a Chengzhou YF-29. I am not aware of any Chinese aerospace concern of that name (the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group comes closest), and Chinese military aircraft are invariably built by state-owned enterprises, but YF-29 is probably a shout-out to the Macross anime series.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #98 on: 21 Aug 2017, 19:27 »

And let's not get started on all things we eat, drink, and enjoy that basically have gone off...

Hell, many of our toxic doses for things are several times that of other vertebrates. Theobromide being one of the more absurd examples. For most species, the fatal dose is measured in miligrams. For humans, it's measured in pounds.

EDIT: the median lethal dose for humans is 1000 milligrams per kilogram of body weight for theobromide.
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Re: WCDT Strips 3551 to 3555 (21st to 25th August 2017)
« Reply #99 on: 21 Aug 2017, 19:41 »

I have a hellish craving for spicy Doritos right now.

So good to see that Winslow didn't hold May's behaviour against her. And she didn't harp on it either. I really like seeing how the friendships between the AI characters pan out!

Ever had Paquí Ghost Pepper chips?
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