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Re: undefined

#111

Post by enqk »

john_reel wrote: post #75
enqk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not alone. I feel the same way every now and then. The most obvious sign is when I catch myself typing the URL of the website I just opened right there again at the top. And then I go through my habits and get better internet hygiene. One such thing that helped was setting time limits or when I switched for instance to using Google Reader. Unfortunately google killed it, so I was lost for a while. Another tri…

Can you explain how you set that up?

Calibre has a job/scheduler system, I can't give you the rundown because that was some time ago.

However the documentation seems rather complete:

https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/news.html

Basically you can set up some automated feeds and then each day when launching Calibre you'll get an ebook with the result of those feed. Which can then automatically be uploaded on your ebook reader.

I think I did some customization to get a HN feed onto that system. These feeds are programmed as python scripts so it is rather accessible

Re: undefined

#112

Post by Spooky23 »

tunap wrote: post #49
itsmemattchung wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing—my family was ripped apart due to my father's unbridled gambling. Although it's conceivable that casinos play their part in motivating people to gamble, much of the addiction is a battle within the individuals.

Absolutely an individual choice. Why someone chooses to continue to detriment is an infinte pool of rationalizations. I did it for the entertainment & group inclusion(poker). I justified it as I didn't lose $200, I paid for several(sometimes many) hours of entertainment. Then one time I ran out of time while I was up several hundred. The next time was again time constrained and I walked w/ $700.* The last time I met…

I almost stopped smoking, but I justified having a few at work and after work because I got to hang out with my colleagues socially, and I don't like to drink without a cigarette.

Re: undefined

#113

Post by dawnerd »

Animats wrote: post #51

Figure out how to repurpose this technology to make web sites and apps "sticky", and profit. To see some of this technology in action, try "freeslots.com". This site has simulated reel-type slot machines, done quite well. The site has been around for years, but it's now HTML5 instead of Java-based. The payout ratio for the different machines varies; some have a positive payout ratio. If you get a modest number of cre…

Oh god, I just realized I've been sitting here clicking a virtual spin button for the last couple hours. Thanks :\

Those wondering, this one has a very nice payout rate: http://www.freeslots.com/Slot6.htm

Re: undefined

#114

Post by dawnerd »

Arcade games use a lot of the same strategies including using virtual currency swipe cards to hide the real cost of each play (and so you always have a positive balance causing you to put a little more on the card to try using it all).

Re: undefined

#115

Post by sharkweek »

taurath wrote: post #110

Does anyone else think certain video games are the equivalent of slot machine? I'm not just talking about simple phone games, but more complex, team based pick up games as well - if you rely on a matchmaker that knows to an approximation the skill of each player, is it not randomizing ones chance to win? I live with gaming addicts and used to be one - they spend every waking hour on their pcs while not at work. It's…

I played WoW 40-50 hours a week in a "ranked" raiding guild for about four years. It was the exact same sensation for me when loot would drop in new raids that I feel winning a few bucks at the casino.

I eventually quit cold turkey. I'm not sure I regret those four years, I made some great friends, many of whom I still keep in touch with, but it was no doubt an addiction, and it cost me a decent amount of "real life" advancement imo.

Re: undefined

#116

Post by phs318u »

noname123 wrote: post #12

Great article. I have a Internet addiction and this is eerily similar. Like slot machines that pump random awards and chance into slot user, I feel the surge of social approval and dopamine rush too when I get a Reddit upvote, a Facebook Like, IG comment, Tumblr reblog etc. Also like how gambling addicts get into a "zombie flow-state" when they're one with the machine, I feel the same way scrolling through pages afte…

I'm a recovering gambling addict (since 22 June 1998), but what you described is why I shuttered my Facebook account. I had recognised for a while that the behaviour was compulsive and unhealthy but I still was self-justifying as to why I needed it. As of last Sunday evening I'm FB-free and the world hasn't caved in. I've also given up on Slashdot for similar reasons (I accept that I am powerless over other people's opinions). I'm of an age where my friends will still respond to communication via other means (e.g. the telephone as a device for real-time, synchronous, two-way verbal exchange).

If anyone is unsure whether they have a problem that could be described as an addiction, just google "addiction 20 questions" and apply what you find to your own behaviour. Bottom line, if your behaviour is compulsive even in the face of intellectual awareness that it is being done to the detriment of self or others, where weak rationalisations are used to self-justify excess indulgence in , then you could fairly describe it as an addiction to .

Re: undefined

#117

Post by greggman »

Bartweiss wrote: post #88
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds of the strategies freemium devs employ where they do their best to snare "whales" who are players who will causally drop thousands of dollars on various in-game powerups and skins. There was a report a few months ago claiming these players are responsible for 70% of an app's revenue! I imagine its similar for casinos, so they have no real incentive to actually stop addiction as addicts are their revenue gener…

Absolutely the case, though casinos don't have quite the same incentives. Freemium devs can't fly in wealthy players and customize their games, for instance. But this absolutely explains a lot of these things. For a while, I wondered why freemium games don't offer an "unlock all" option for $2, or $10, or $100? Turns out, it's because even $100 would be a massive loss compared to what the 'top' players sink into Cand…

Some games do target individual whales, at least according to one article on gamasutra.

Re: undefined

#118

Post by Terr_ »

oxide wrote: post #65
l33tbro wrote: post #63

Not trying to be edgy, but it strikes me as odd that, once you remove the obvious historic legacy and economic benefits to government, problem gambling is legal in 2016, but recreational drugs are not.

since recreational drugs make gambling that much more fun, you'd think casinos would be lobbying for legalization.

It could backfire if the user could plausibly argue they were not in their right mind and that the casino acted maliciously in allowing them to rack up a big debt.

Re: undefined

#120

Post by viraptor »

taurath wrote: post #110

Does anyone else think certain video games are the equivalent of slot machine? I'm not just talking about simple phone games, but more complex, team based pick up games as well - if you rely on a matchmaker that knows to an approximation the skill of each player, is it not randomizing ones chance to win? I live with gaming addicts and used to be one - they spend every waking hour on their pcs while not at work. It's…

> is it not randomizing ones chance to win?

In a way, yes. But that's not the purpose. If you play ranked games, or any games of skill really, playing a completely mismatched game is just no fun. Imagine you want to play basketball for example, but you can't choose who you're playing with - you turn up and you're with a 2yo baby against NBA pros. Or the other way around. If there's no realistic challenge people will just lose interest.

> it feels like they're wasting all the early parts of their lives away.

Do you think the same of kids going to play soccer with their friends? Why / why not?

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