Salvador Dalvik posted:

Don't take that crap, if he is taking credit for your work raise a stink about it. Everything about that situation sounds pretty scummy.

hendersa posted:

That is truly quite a coincidence.

yaoi prophet posted:

You should post this somewhere that's not behind the paywall and submit it to Reddit, HN, and wherever else you think would fit. This is completely batfuck of them.

hendersa posted:

But I want an explanation.

hendersa posted:

I actually wouldn't have minded if someone had just come to me outright and said, "hey, this event is for 'TI employee' stuff only, but we like your project, so we'll just say one of us did it to sneak it in, OK?"

hendersa posted:

I sent off a mail to the marketing director full of bits like the following:


If he doesn't respond to me, then I suppose that I'll just make the community-at-large aware of what happened. I'm quite curious as to how he might justify his actions if he does respond. The community might end up getting out their pitchforks anyway, even if he does respond. Oh well.

Quite frankly, this has the markings of "PR quagmire" all over it:

1. Claiming ownership from something that you didn't make for a PR soundbite
2. Getting the OSS community all riled up
3. Stealing from a graduate student for personal gain

Hell, if things go south, I can just write the author of that newspaper article and let her know about this. That's the newspaper that is local to TI's HQ in Dallas. I'm sure they'd love to explore it. But, I'm giving him a chance to explain himself. I have enough professional courtesy and tact to take that approach. I'm not trying to burn the guy to ashes or destroy his future career over a stupid error in judgement. But I want an explanation. If there isn't a good explanation, then, well... prepare to repel boarders.

Dren posted:

It's not like you missed out on the nobel prize.

hendersa posted:

I am giving him the benefit of the doubt, which I why I mailed him to request that he explain the situation. I did not go in, guns blazing...

hendersa posted:

I have mails in my inbox from the 15th, 17th, 18th, and 20th of May from Adrian Valenzuela saying how impressed he was with the software and asking various questions about how to set it up properly. I was never told about the event in the news story, which was held on the 24th. I only found out about it because I received a mail this evening from a TI intern that went to the event, saw my software, and wanted to know how to get it installed on his system.

I have mails in my inbox from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th of June from a person with a beagleboard.org address that wanted help getting everything configured properly, and who also requested additional features, for the display of BeagleSNES at an internal TI event on the 13th (the event that I was supposed to receive pictures of).

That is truly quite a coincidence.

Manslaughter posted:

I was just about to mention how it feels like this guy plagarized his way to a degree and wasn't punished for it, but you beat me to it. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out he didn't even know what he did was stealing credit.

Cole posted:

cliffy posted:

I assume the here is that line numbers were copied from the example, even though there aren't any visible on the web page. If you're smart enough to run Ubuntu Ryan then you should be smart enough to remove those line numbers automatically in a few seconds effort.

Cole posted:

No the is because of how advanced some people are in this thread compared to me being such a newbie and literally starting from scratch right now. I'm enjoying it so far though!

Cole posted:

No the is because of how advanced some people are in this thread compared to me being such a newbie and literally starting from scratch right now. I'm enjoying it so far though!

Cole posted:

Cole posted:

No the is because of how advanced some people are in this thread compared to me being such a newbie and literally starting from scratch right now. I'm enjoying it so far though!

cliffy posted:

I assume the here is that line numbers were copied from the example, even though there aren't any visible on the web page.

Cole posted:

No the is because of how advanced some people are in this thread compared to me being such a newbie and literally starting from scratch right now. I'm enjoying it so far though!

hendersa posted:

I had to buckle down and get all of that documentation done because HALF OF INDIA has been e-mailing me and asking me how to build it.

hendersa posted:

I had to buckle down and get all of that documentation done because HALF OF INDIA has been e-mailing me and asking me how to build it. Seriously, just looking at my unanswered mail at the moment, I have received mails from people named (in no particular order): Vishveshwar, Ramchandar, Venkat, Manish, Nanik, and Vaishak.

Tres Burritos posted:

Man when I read blog posts and documentation that has the authors email at the bottom or a comment section I always cringe a little. On one hand maybe someone (like a TI bigwig) would like to talk to you. On the other hand, internet commenters.

Tres Burritos posted:

Man when I read blog posts and documentation that has the authors email at the bottom or a comment section I always cringe a little. On one hand maybe someone (like a TI bigwig) would like to talk to you. On the other hand, internet commenters.

MononcQc posted:

As far as I know, e-mail is better and tends to attract only the people arsed to open up their mail client, put your address there, and send an e-mail that they know only the author will read. They tend to not be "you're such an idiot" kind of comments either.

SupSuper posted:

You still get a fair amount of fruitloops though, they make up for their rarity by being a lot wordier.

quote:

Your Minion of Distracting Jubblies is begging you to update your development .plan. I don't pay for television see... because I can't find anything more entertaining than your web site. Please. I'm stuck in central NY. It's still snowing. It's not your fault my life sucks, but your .plan treats some of the symptoms.

quote:

Right now, I'm "between jobs" -- that is, I quit my last good job as a step to force myself to move out of town, but that never panned out due to other unforceen events. I had a few short-term jobs in the mean time to prevent bankruptcy, but I'm past the edge again, and need employment immediately, anywhere. Naturally, a "good" job would be preferable. I'm willing (but at present, due to financial circumstances, unable) to move anywhere, although I'd prefer to be near a city that has at least a few stores catering to electronics hobbyists (my current target is Indanapolis, IN).

quote:

I am currently working as a Film Curator in Brooklyn, NY after graduating college (majoring in Film Studies). I've been an avid gamer since I could walk and fell in love with FINAL FANTASY TACTICS on the PSX. Admittedly, the game did have a few flaws, but I was able to look past them. In my spare time, I have assembled a team of artists to work with me to flesh out and create a video game. Basically, I am hoping for your help in whatever capacity you are willing to give it in the project outlined below.

I don't really have a title yet, but there is backstory and fleshed out game mechanics. I have almost finished the design document for it (clocking in at around 50 pages or so), but basically it's set in the 'not too distant future' and corporations have absorbed one another so many times and grown so powerful that they control most of the major governments.

... 10K of text later ...

There are 5 generic classes, and 10 specific for both the corporation and the rebels, and 3 for the consultant. The following are some examples of classes [g=generic c=corporation r=rebel n=neutral]:
Soldier(g), Priest(r), Cultist(r), Bodyguard(c), Bureaucrat (c), Pharmocologist (c), Traitor (n). I'm sure you'll notice some similarities between this and TACTICS, but there are also some marked differences, such as multiplayer support. I have entertained thoughts of making it into an MMORPG, but that's a decision to be made way down the line. There's a section in the design doc for it.

... 10K more of text later ...

What I would like from you is help in creating 2 things:

1) the opening interview in which 10 questions are asked of the player (out of a pool of 30 or so) and, depending on the player's answers, he gets placed on a certain side with certain benefits or disadvantages.

2) a demo of a battle using two teams of four players each, showcasing some of the abilities and the general battle system

Once the demo is completed, thus the search for funding begins.

I landed on your site due to the opengl engine you had created, and I hope that you have some time to spare to help us out over the next year or so.

quote:

Greetings from our Deadly Scrabble correspondent!

Sorry to hear about your internal slushy parts. Hope they don't get too messy. Keep licking that charcoal.

quote:

First, I expect you've had an Avagadro's number of emails pointing you to http://www.ninjaburger.com/. Well, now it's Avagadro's number + 1.

Second, check out The Visitors by Abba. Abba rock.

Third, being a ninja has lost a bit of its glamour (not "it's glamour" as per your .plan. "It's" means "it is", but "its" means "belonging to it"). Deadly scrabble (and a Computer Science degree) implies pedantry, which I usually keep under control if I take my pills correctly.

Fourth, you may have noticed that I haven't said "first of all ... second of all ...". That's because in British English "X of all" doesn't exist apart from X="first". Bizarre, I know - like how we number floors ground, 1, 2.... Anti-Cambridge University student joke: Two Cambridge students were overheard as they had a conversation. One said to the other "... and ninethly, ...".

Fifth, we are infested with coffee ninjas at our office too. We also have the Coffee Police who report the misdemeanours of the coffee ninjas via broadcast email (I am neither a coffee ninja nor a coffee police officer - to rant and protect). I think we also have the pigeon-hole ninjas. They are a perverse bunch, who ensure that the chance of finding something in your pigeon-hole is inversely proportional to the frequency with which you check it. I know this is expected from simple statistics etc., but I don't think this is sufficient explanation. I believe that they lie in the post-room, watching for people who check their pigeon-holes often, and which lazy so-and-sos never check them. They then get loads of post for the second lot (a quick trip to the Learning Tree International web site would probably do the trick), and do evil ninja things on anyone attempting to put things into the pigeon-holes of the first lot. Their most evil trick, however, is to use cunning mind control tactics to make sure that the office managers and admin staff make sure that each person from the first lot shares a pigeon-hole with at least one member of second lot JUST TO MAKE SURE THEY NOTICE THEY EVIL HANDIWORK. I hate them!

quote:

Still listening to Abba. They still rock.

The Commonwealth Games started yesterday in Manchester (the nearest city to where I used to live). http://www.commonwealthgames.com/Home/ including the most excellent Red Arrows http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/.

There are few things that Britain can genuinely be proud of in comparison to America, Germany, Japan, France etc. Food? I don't think so (say the French). Industry? (no way, says everyone). Two things we can be proud of are the monarchy (http://www.royal.gov.uk) and our elite armed services. Our army may not be anywhere near as large as America's, but I think that the Royal Marines, the Paras (paratroops), the S.A.S. and the Red Arrows are the best of their kind. (In Afghanistan one of the US Mountain Rangers was asked why the Royal Marines had to be called in to flush Al Qaeda out of a mountainous area. The answer was "We don't do mountains." 'Nuff said.)

(Please don't think I'm a rabid royalist or gun-head; I just think that every country should be able to be proud of its best aspects (and also recognise what its worst aspects are). Our worst would probably include: atrocities of the British Empire, setting up the problem with Northern Ireland/Eire in the first place, assuming that everyone in the world understands English.)

Anyway, what does all this have to do with ninjas. Errr,... nothing. Last night I asked myself "What would I do if I had my own army of ninjas?" My thoughts eventually developed to the following proposal (via ninja mind influencing tactics and thinking who my worst enemies are).

Enemies: spammers, junk mailers, cold callers

Punishment: violence / death would be too short-lived, so something a bit more devious is required

quote:

I've been using Mozilla for a few weeks, and the tabbed browsing thing is bangin' (as natives of Manchester would say when they thought something was good.  Alternatives: top, sound (v. good = sound as a pound).  Not to be confused with the U.K.-wide expressions of something being bad: gone pear-shaped, pile of pants (U.K. pants = U.S. shorts.  I think it should be "pile of nappies" as that's definitely worse.  It's odd how your world view is reshaped after changing a few nappies.)

Anyway, I currently have a tab of Andrew's epistle to the great unwashed (aka your development .plan) and another one of http://www.theregister.co.uk/ [https://www.theregister.co.uk] (which has a US version now too, I think).  The Register has one of those funky little icons that shows up in Mozilla tabs and the URL field, but nothing for your web page.  A no-prize competition for your many followers?

quote:

Too busy to email me back?  Not enough hours in the day?  Well, the boffins at QuickMail(TM) have the solution.  In a style reminiscent of multiple-choice exams at school, simply delete the parts of the email not relevant for the intended recipient.  The extensive scientific research behind QuickMail(TM) means that it is unsuitable for a host of everyday social interactions, from bank manager to Great Aunt Mabel.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Hello!

I'm sorry I haven't emailed for ages, this is because
a) I died three years ago
b) I have joined the French Foreign Legion to free myself of heartache over my one true love
c) I discovered a time travelling DeLorean, and had to have the required adventures in the 1950s and near future
d) my computer was confiscated by the Total Information Awareness office
e) I dislike you intensely

The weather here has been
a) normal
b) Biblical - you can't walk to the shops without stepping in a puddle of frogs or locusts
c) Hollywood - a very large twister dumped a cow and a combine harvester on my lawn.  Fortunately the cow then drove the combine harvester away, which did a rather nice job of mowing the lawn.  I just need to wait for another twister so I can get my back lawn mowed.
d) eldritch - it's getting a bit boring having the end of each sentence accompanied by significant lightning.  We're taking to merging sentences into each other, by the use of sub-clauses, so that we use fewer sentences.
e) surreal - I can't see the flower beds because of the pile of bowler-hatted men with apples in front of their face.
 
At work I've been
a) promoted repeatedly and am now running the company.  The poison in the executive water cooler did the trick.
b) executing my plans to annex Poland
c) seconded to the Happiness Team, and so have been wandering round the office in a pink tutu distributing chocolate chip cookies
d) getting mobile phones delivered to me that ring and the person on the other end of the line says that what I think is reality is actually a huge virtual reality set-up
e) bored
f) busted for insider dealing

To broaden my mind I've been doing some evening classes.  These
a) mean I now have a black belt in flower arranging
b) have leeched all the life out of me, leaving me a dried and shrivelled husk.  I think the instructor has pointy teeth and a dislike of garlic.
c) have taught me how to assassinate foreign heads of state
d) have shown me that I am unique and precious, a light and fluffy cloud floating in a clear blue sky
e) were Sanskrit for beginners

I went on holiday recently to
a) avoid someone
b) a galaxy, far, far, away.  Brought back a cute and cuddly Ewok.
c) the Area 51 theme park.  Nice ride on a flying saucer roller coaster - strangely realistic
d) Camp X-ray.  The resort staff were very insistent that I stay - I had to tunnel out.  Must remember to shave my beard off and take the joke Koran book cover off my Bible.

I've been sorting things out at home a bit.  Now
a) I have a canal linking all the rooms to remind me of my trip to Venice. The people in the flat downstairs have started to complain
b) the master bedroom rotates to catch the sun all day long
c) the carpet in the sitting room only comes up to my knees
d) I have room for all the Tribbles
e) I can use my cutlery and crockery for their intended use as I have bought myself a bed

a) Hochachtungsvoll
b) So long, and thanks for all the fish
c) Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu
d) Adios, amoebas
e) Asta la vista, baby
 
Andrew

Thermopyle posted:

I'd respond to comments explaining the issue, only to get another comment from someone else immediately following mine saying the same thing.

Now I just delete them.