##### Bassai

No, I'm not dead. Just on leave of absence(for the most part) for a while. -LB

Avokhii. None. Dico Latina. I entered(and won) that contest where you act as a manager of the Bionicle franchise. A heck of a lot of fun, that was. Heck yes. -LB

Dear readers of this blog, The time has come for me to make a public announcement: I will be writing a series of "letters" as if to a pupil who wants to start a big site like BZPower, and give this pupil advice that I hope can be reflected well on the self-governance of the members of the BZPower. I will be indirectly alternately critiquing and commending various parts of BZPower, though all with respect. The first letter, which will be up soon, is: "Common Pitfalls: Things to avoid," Keep in mind that none of this is going to be any direct criticism of particular people or(in most cases) particular rules, but just the general layout. Nor is all of it critical-a lot of it is going to be positively showing why BZPower has a pretty good form of government. I will also offer alternate solutions where I disagree with some things. -LB

That's an interesting post, Greg. I agree that Dark Mirror resembles our world somewhat, as people often have a great fear of external enemies. There's nothing wrong with that-if we tried to act in "love and peace" to everyone with no defenses at all, we'd get trampled by people who had no interest in peace-but it can lead to extreme actions, like the monitoring of communications. The difference, I think, is that most of the Toa in DM are probably motivated by other things, more than just fear or hate(such as greed or pride), and I think at least some of the people in our world really are motivated to stand against evil. The difficulty is how it's done. There's definitely a right way and a wrong way to do so. And you're definitely right-when any power at all starts trying to become overbearing in any way, or take away any freedoms without good reason(such as putting someone in prison because of a crime), it's a bad thing, and there's not really any definite stopping point. Those who have more fear will(as pointed out in an earlier post by someone else) want the government to have more power. I don't think there's really a way to make a system that will allow for protection without tyranny, as people will always find loopholes around the law(or be overly legalistic about the law, in other cases) if they don't like what it says at face value. What any power needs to function well is a citizenry that is brave and hard working, and that cares about freedom. Interesting perspective though. -LB

What exactly is life science? Cool, guys. I don't suppose any of you are into mathematics, are you? -LB

Wow! 9 replies to the last blog entry in one day. As the response was so enthusiastic, I wanted to ask: what kinds of science are you all interested in? While I know little about it, I'm into physics personally. It's just amazing all the secrets of the universe that physicists are trying to discover. I really want to be on the cutting edge of that. Stuff like dark matter, secret hidden dimensions...the possibilities are more amazing than man has ever dreamed. -LB

Who else here is interested in science? -LB

Some of you may remember that I mentioned a good while back that I was writing a book. Work on it is still underway, and it's starting to come together more clearly. -LB

Anyone ever heard of the "Demographic Winter?" -LB

Here is the case of someone who is in denial. -LB

I'm back. =D I see also that April has come...the year sure is flying. Oh, and one last message. Its meaning is something only a few of you may recognize: Truth, not Silence. -LB

Why didn't anyone start Mata Nuism for the few days he was dead? -LB

Anyway, I'm going to be gone from early Monday to sometime Thursday or Friday. But remember, my eyes are on you even when you don't see me posting. O_O -LB

We used to have those....I don't think we do now. I actually prefer the Zinc Lozenges, as you can just suck on them in your mouth and use both hands. -LB

Moonbreak? Well, maybe not. Grinchus? Gnomus? Well, I guess those wouldn't fit you. How about just plain Sunburst. -LB

...I've got a sore throat. So I'm drinking a lot of water and sucking on a lot of Zinc Lozenges. -LB

Yes I am. -LB

I am back. -LB

Happy Easter everyone! I'll be gone from this morning to sometime Monday evening. So I'll see you all then. -LB

Try not to spell everything out. You know what I'm saying? Anyway, yeah, I don't like the name Teridax either. I would have preferred something original. Like, say, Darth Vader. -LB

Next thing you know, someone will start Lhikanism or Tuyetism. -LB

It is my point in writing this to persuade the members and staff to see an interesting way of looking at the system on BZPower. I am going to be writing some more articles about various issues on BZPower, and I hope that you will all enjoy them and be challenged by them. My subject for today's article is about the rules of BZPower. One thing I have noticed in the years that I have stayed on BZPower is that there are, every now and then, new rules implemented to handle various problems. As rules are(as far as I know) almost never voided or retracted, this naturally causes a steady pile up of rules over the months and years. Recently the Character Death Policy was passed, for example. Now, I think all of us know it's pretty obvious why these are being made. People aren't governing their actions well enough on the forums, so rules need to be made to make sure that those actions fall in line with appropriate behavior on the forums. However, as I've said, the rules pile up, creating longer and longer lists, more and more unintentional infractions, and more and more work for the staff. I mean, take the blogs for instance. They started out just as fun-loving, relaxed places. And now they're not much less serious than the forums, with an entire blog for a host of new rules, most of them specific to the blogs, and even staff specifically for blogs. The rules are so great that it's extremely easy for newbies to be lost quickly in the bewildering maze of confusing rules, and when they ask for help in the Q&A forum, they're more likely to get a host of copy-pasted links and automated messages from staff wannabes(yes, we know who you are), or even criticisms that they didn't write the title right, than actual attempts at helping. Also, more and more work is created for the staff, requiring often more staff. It also gets tiring constantly seeing new rules pile up, especially when they get covered with the dust of several months of time, and then broken a few times and suddenly are called up again. Then there is the rule of topic revival, which I have never seen the sense in. Here's the usual scenario: a guy posts a sweet piece of art. It hits the Hot Topics, stays there a few days, and then drops in activity until there are no posts for a month. Then, along comes someone who likes the art and comments. A few more people, not even noticing the revival, post. Sometimes a lot of posting gets done. Then suddenly a staff member comes along and closes it, saying that it's a revival, because everyone was "finished talking about it." That seems illogical, to borrow an idea from Bones. Tell me the sense, please, of having a topic start to get activity again, and then suddenly slamming the nail in its coffin. It's especially frustrating when someone's comics are in one topic that dies, and then it's revived, and closed. So, reviewing these problems with BZPower's system, I want to say that I do not mean to criticize the staff or express a strong dislike of BZPower. I am merely critiquing the system. It is really more of an offer of help and advice to BZPower than just a complaint or criticism. So these are the conclusions I've made about some things: 1. Once every six months, the staff should review any rules passed since the last review six months before, and see if they are necessary any longer. For example, six months from now, the Character Death Policy might not be needed, as LEGO is not going to remove any major characters to the Happy Hunting Grounds this year, and to have Greg "abruptly remove" anymore minor characters would be somewhat redundant. So that rule might be removed. 2. Staff should actually listen to what members have to say. I'm not saying go along with everything proposed, because you would end up passing all kinds of stupid ideas. But, for example, the topic revival rule: I don't think there's really a lot of point to it. 3. And finally, for the members: conduct yourself well. Remember that the staff will have to pass rules to keep you in line if you don't stay in line yourself. Keep a respectful attitude. If someone says something that truly incenses you, give it a day or so, and talk to them in PM about it. Don't overly criticize others, or be overly dramatic about things such as Matoro's death. Ultimately, it's up to you. All the rules that can be passed won't make you truly be a good BZPower member, but with the right attitude and will to make the site a better place, the much more preferable alternative to rules-responsible, intelligent members-will be present, to the benefit of all. Thanks. -LB

Chuck Norris won the game. -LB

Let's play The Game. The Game is very simple. The object is to get everyone in the world playing. Here are the rules: 1. You cannot win The Game. 2. Every time you think of The Game, you lose. 3. After you think of The Game, you have a 30 minute period when you can think of it without losing. The Game. You just lost. -LB

I would like to call about a BZPower-wide mourning for Botar. He died a hero, killed in action, and though it's hard to let him go, we hope that he will have a place even with Matoro. The funeral will be presided over by Toa Krakua. [/farce] -LB