UKMT Spring 2024 - Panic! in the Tea Room - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT Spring 2024 - Panic! in the Tea Room

(Thread IKs: OwlFancier, crispix)

BalloonFish: Jun 30, 2013; Fun Shoe

Pre-computer office chat:

In my first journalism job there were some old-timers in the office who had been with the publisher/its predecessors since the 1970s and it was amazing to hear about how the process of putting together a magazine worked in the non-digital age.

Nowadays you write the words in a word processor, take the photos on a DSLR, send those two files to a graphic designer who lays them out in InDesign, then generates a .pdf from that file, which gets sent to the printer and then you have a magazine.

Without computers - firstly it was a more labour-intensive and specialised process. The writers just wrote words. On typewriters or, latterly, pure word processors. Without spell checkers these words had to be subbed at least once, usually twice, before the words were sent to someone who converted the typewritten copy into the actual layout (the columns of text, where the images would go, the size and spacing of different sections etc.), although the real pro writers learned how to set out their copy on the typewriter.

Images were obviously physical photographs, either as negatives or prints. These had to be made printable by the halftone offset printing process (turning the photo into a sort of dot-matrix print plate reproduction). Image archives existed physically in huge amounts of shelving and cabinets, looked after by a full-time archivist to deal with incoming images and to maintain the archive reference, which existed as a massive roller index that was updated weekly. The company had several regional offices and the image archiv reference for each was distributed weekly to all the other offices.

Proofs were mocked up and sent for initial approval by a sub-editor using some antedeluvian form of photocopier that essentially took photos of the layout on a big plate glass camera and then printed it on a big photostatic plate - like a modern photocopier but it took up an entire small room and all the steps had to be done manually.

The company had a small in-house printing department but mostly used external printers. The print was still set out by hand using movable type and the aforementioned acid-etched photo plates.

Film, images, proofs etc. were moved between offices and printers using the British Rail Red Star system, which could also be used if journos were out 'in the field' and had to get material back to the office while they stayed out. If not within striking distance of a Red Star office they'd use motorcycle couriers.

No emails of course, so communication was via telephone (with an internal switchboard), telex and telegram and letters sent in and out on the morning and evening post. All managed by an in-house post room and distributed to literally inboxes and pigeonholes around the office. Editors and publishers had their own secretaries to keep their diaries and type their correspondence, and each paper/magazine had one or two secretaries for all the other staff and to keep track of non-production paperwork.

Of course there was also a corporate typing pool for company matters, an accounting department, a personnel department, a fleet department (including in-house mechanics to look after the company vans/cars) etc. And, like some sort of publishing homonculus, a department that existed to produce the in-house newsletter and other corporate documents.

In the 2010s it was rare for a title to have more than three people on staff. We wrote our own copy, took our own photos and, between us, did our own proofing. Nothing physically existed until we (laserjet) printed an A3 version of a fully-realised PDF proof. The image archive was just a folder on a network. Communication was by email and phone, with files sent by DropBox.

In short: The computer massively enabled multi-functionality and cut down on physical movement of material. No more junior post clerk making the hourly trip to the station to get photo prints at the parcel office. No more typesetters. No more secretaries. No more writers who just pull a sheet of copy out of their typewriter and hand it to a sub-editor.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 12:52

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 03:39

Darth Walrus: Feb 13, 2012

Palestine Action talks about their vandalism of Balfour's portrait:

https://x.com/newsocialistns/status/1766214507582382204?s=46&t=ARI_L-v32Oind1-d9B3a3Q

# ? Mar 9, 2024 12:53

frytechnician: Jan 8, 2004; Happy to see me?

killerwhat posted:

Thanks for this, assuming it was you posting a couple of weeks ago too. I probably wouldn’t have been aware of it otherwise. On my way there now

Good on you mate, heading there right now as I type this. Stay safe!

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:15

ThomasPaine: Feb 4, 2009; We have no compassion and we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror.

One of my more wanky opinions is that destroying art for political purposes is in itself art :smugbert:

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:21

Runcible Cat: May 28, 2007; Ignoring this post

frytechnician posted:

Good on you mate, heading there right now as I type this. Stay safe!

Too full of chemo to make it, but I wish I could. Best to all marching!

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:35

OwlFancier: Aug 22, 2013

ThomasPaine posted:

One of my more wanky opinions is that destroying art for political purposes is in itself art

Is that wanky? We have basically infinite portraits of old dead dudes nobody gives a poo poo about, defacing one makes it somewhat interesting at least.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:37

kecske: Feb 28, 2011; it's round, like always

isn't that the whole point of the Banksy with a shredder thing

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:38

ThomasPaine: Feb 4, 2009; We have no compassion and we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror.

OwlFancier posted:

Is that wanky? We have basically infinite portraits of old dead dudes nobody gives a poo poo about, defacing one makes it somewhat interesting at least.

Not really but it's quite close to getting all 'destruction and creation are one and the same, the act of destroying is the act of creating'. Which is true, but sounds, shall we say, very French. :chord:

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:42

BalloonFish: Jun 30, 2013; Fun Shoe

ThomasPaine posted:

One of my more wanky opinions is that destroying art for political purposes is in itself art

I don't think it's that wanky. Especially when the target is unexceptional public/commemorative art that exists to provide a distorted or incomplete view.

The Colston statue had far more value as both a piece of public art and as something representing Bristol's history with the slave trade after its spell in the Floating Harbour than it did before (which is what the "we learnt history from Victorian statues" crowd can't/won't grasp).

The Balfour portrait arguably embodies more artistic expression now than it did. It certainly represents a more complete (or at least thought-provking) representation of Balfour's career and its effects.

All the British colonial statues in Delhi being moved into a semi-abandoned park full of feral dogs and kids playing street cricket is more (inadvertently) artistic, and tells a much better story, than if they were left in situ or if they were ground up into road topping.

E: Either that or we've all got really wanky Opinions About Art itt

BalloonFish fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Mar 9, 2024

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:43

Z the IVth: Jan 28, 2009; The trouble with your "expendable machines"; Fun Shoe

BalloonFish posted:

Pre-computer office chat:

The computer also made it a snap to author a thousand "10 things you didn't know about XYZ" articles so it's hard to know if it's good or bad.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 13:46

fuctifino: Jun 11, 2001

Councillors warn of �threat to local democracy� in England after budget cuts forced on Nottingham

quote:

David Mellen, the Labour leader of Nottingham city council, said elected members did not have the final say over �devastating� funding gap that led to them approving more than 500 redundancies, council tax rises and millions of pounds of cuts last week.

The levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, last month sent commissioners into the struggling east Midlands authority, which declared itself effectively bankrupt in November.

�[Last year,] we banished the Tory party because no Conservative councillors were elected and yet somehow, by the backdoor, people appointed by the Conservative government have considerable levels of power in our city,� said Mellen. �Our mandate has been impinged upon. These commissioners, and by extension our officers, have more power currently.�

The commissioners arrived after a government-appointed improvement board spent seven months overseeing the council�s efforts to balance its books. The last act of the board was to give the authority�s unelected senior officers the power to effectively write the budget.

�We tried to amend the budget but we weren�t given permission,� said Mellen. �Usually, officers and council members work together. We come up with an agreed set of [budget] proposals to be brought forward to consultation. This year that didn�t happen. [The budget] included things we could live with and things we absolutely opposed.�

The budget included cutting funding for all voluntary organisations and community centres in the city, stopping lunch clubs for the elderly, closing the last two remaining youth centres, potentially closing libraries, and charging for toilets used by homeless people in the city centre.

quote:

One in five councils in England say they are most likely to follow Nottingham and issue a section 114 notice, which means they cannot balance their budget, this year or next.
...
All but one Labour councillor in Nottingham voted for the cuts last week. Mellen said the alternative would have been even worse: �We were strongly advised that the duty to set a legal budget was paramount � that if we didn�t, staff wouldn�t get paid, services wouldn�t get delivered.�

Labour party officials also appear to have exerted influence over councillors behind the scenes. Mellen said the party�s regional office and Keir Starmer�s office indicated that councillors would be thrown out of the party if they opposed the budget, as Labour is trying to project an image of economic responsibility.

�We were advised that [voting against the budget] wouldn�t be beneficial for continuing membership of the Labour party,� Mellen said.

The next round of austerity is going to be brutal... more so...

# ? Mar 9, 2024 14:00

Mebh: May 10, 2010

I mean we're basically going to exchange a conservative majority for an even bigger conservative majority just with a different colour.

I do genuinely wonder how much of public politics is theatre for the masses. I just don't see the leadership of both parties ideologically that far apart.

Labour wants to be the money and gets there by toadying up to it, conservatives need a middle manager class to distance themselves from the unwashed masses and take the heat for them. They're both aligned to me. Even if vastly different.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 14:36

NotJustANumber99: Feb 15, 2012; somehow that last av was even worse than your posting

I think destroying a painting does little to advance the Palestinian cause but having said that, nothing matters very much and few things matter at all.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 14:51

Fumble: Sep 4, 2006; Can't post for 16 days!

NotJustANumber99 posted:

I think destroying a painting does little to advance the Palestinian cause but having said that, nothing matters very much and few things matter at all.

Things like this are so stupid its like 7 brit pops on the op scale.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 16:21

Failed Imagineer: Sep 22, 2018

NotJustANumber99 posted:

I think destroying a painting does little to advance the Palestinian cause but having said that, nothing matters very much and few things matter at all.

You're having one of those weekends then

# ? Mar 9, 2024 16:31

The Saviour: Feb 19, 2006

I'm not sure Isis destroying the statues at thoae ancient sites in Syria was artistic or a good idea.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 16:47

Failed Imagineer: Sep 22, 2018

The Saviour posted:

I'm not sure Isis destroying the statues at thoae ancient sites in Syria was artistic or a good idea.

I bet if Banksy did it you'd love it

# ? Mar 9, 2024 16:57

crispix: Mar 28, 2015; Grand-Maman m'a raconté
_{(Les éditions des amitiés franco-québécoises)}

Hello, dear

taliban did that too, the big beardy killjoys

# ? Mar 9, 2024 16:58

OwlFancier: Aug 22, 2013

I mean a lot of historical statues were defaced because people were afraid of them having their dicks out, and I do think that makes them interesting.

Also when Akhenaten had his little strop and then got basically nuked out of Egyptian history.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 16:59

Darth Walrus: Feb 13, 2012

Timely further context to the Balfour defacement:

https://x.com/ramabdu/status/1766458940118769799?s=46&t=ARI_L-v32Oind1-d9B3a3Q

# ? Mar 9, 2024 17:07

Z the IVth: Jan 28, 2009; The trouble with your "expendable machines"; Fun Shoe

I wonder if they'll try to restore it or just get a replacement printed out.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 17:09

dadrips: Jan 8, 2010; everything you do is a balloon; College Slice

The Saviour posted:

I'm not sure Isis destroying the statues at thoae ancient sites in Syria was artistic or a good idea.

In all honesty - you really can't compare the irreplaceable Syrian archaeological treasures with an unremarkable painting of some random gurning imperialist. We've got plenty of those.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 17:11

OwlFancier: Aug 22, 2013

I also think there is a difference between destroying something and defacing it.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 17:22

Failed Imagineer: Sep 22, 2018

Z the IVth posted:

I wonder if they'll try to restore it or just get a replacement printed out.

I don't think you can print a whole Castle

# ? Mar 9, 2024 17:35

smellmycheese: Feb 1, 2016

NotJustANumber99 posted:

I think destroying a painting does little to advance the Palestinian cause but having said that, nothing matters very much and few things matter at all.

Reported for Freddie Mercury posting

# ? Mar 9, 2024 17:40

Nenonen: Oct 22, 2009; Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa

dadrips posted:

In all honesty - you really can't compare the irreplaceable Syrian archaeological treasures with an unremarkable painting of some random gurning imperialist. We've got plenty of those.

The big difference is that if you go to a museum and destroy an old piece of art, they will make you pay for its restoration for the rest of your days. Meanwhile if you order a war crime against historical artifacts then you are not held responsible.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 18:36

Dead Goon: Dec 13, 2002; No Obvious Flaws

Failed Imagineer posted:

I don't think you can print a whole Castle

YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A CASTLE

# ? Mar 9, 2024 18:58

Mebh: May 10, 2010

On an aside I didn't realise all extrusion based 3d printing basically has huge structural problems because it basically doesn't interleave the layers. https://youtu.be/5hGm6cubFVs

Down the rabbit hole of modding your 3D printer I go...

I don't even own a 3d printer.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 19:07

OwlFancier: Aug 22, 2013

Obviously somebody needs to combine the 3d printer and the sewing machine.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 19:11

Z the IVth: Jan 28, 2009; The trouble with your "expendable machines"; Fun Shoe

Failed Imagineer posted:

I don't think you can print a whole Castle

Have you seen what they post about in the 3D printing threads?

The question is gonna be "with boobs or not?"

# ? Mar 9, 2024 19:24

frytechnician: Jan 8, 2004; Happy to see me?

Well done everyone who turned out today if you made it. It was a long old protest from Hyde Park Corner to Battersea! Nothing but good vibes from everyone, really respectful and peaceful march. Once again, massive, massive loving respect for the Jewish community who joined, especially the people standing about halfway through the protest that were sons and daughters of Holocaust survivors - those guys got serious love from all that passed.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 22:32

NotJustANumber99: Feb 15, 2012; somehow that last av was even worse than your posting

frytechnician posted:

Well done everyone who turned out today if you made it. It was a long old protest from Hyde Park Corner to Battersea! Nothing but good vibes from everyone, really respectful and peaceful march. Once again, massive, massive loving respect for the Jewish community who joined, especially the people standing about halfway through the protest that were sons and daughters of Holocaust survivors - those guys got serious love from all that passed.

That's really good to hear. Doubt they'll be any coverage of it in the MSM alright Donald

# ? Mar 9, 2024 23:03

Rappaport: Oct 2, 2013

frytechnician posted:

Well done everyone who turned out today if you made it. It was a long old protest from Hyde Park Corner to Battersea! Nothing but good vibes from everyone, really respectful and peaceful march. Once again, massive, massive loving respect for the Jewish community who joined, especially the people standing about halfway through the protest that were sons and daughters of Holocaust survivors - those guys got serious love from all that passed.

The protest made the main newscast on the Finnish Broadcasting Company tonight, so at least someone noticed

# ? Mar 9, 2024 23:11

SixFigureSandwich: Oct 30, 2004; Exciting Lemon

Dead Goon posted:

YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A CASTLE

That reminds me, wasn't there a goon in this very thread who worked in an actual castle? Can't remember any details of who they were or what they did though

# ? Mar 9, 2024 23:12

kingturnip: Apr 18, 2008

He got pegged. Possibly by a minor aristo

# ? Mar 9, 2024 23:26

Mebh: May 10, 2010

SixFigureSandwich posted:

That reminds me, wasn't there a goon in this very thread who worked in an actual castle? Can't remember any details of who they were or what they did though

I've been to castles where goons could totally work. Beeston and Peckforton Castle in Cheshire specifically.

I used to run around the ruins of Beeston as a kid with my sister and pretend to be the "Screaming Welsh hordes" then go to the dairy farm nearby and eat my body weight in ice cream.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 23:29

OwlFancier: Aug 22, 2013

SixFigureSandwich posted:

That reminds me, wasn't there a goon in this very thread who worked in an actual castle? Can't remember any details of who they were or what they did though

That was oberleutnant (changed his name to something else I can never remember) and yeah, might have cucked the duke which is very funny.

# ? Mar 9, 2024 23:30

fuctifino: Jun 11, 2001

Revealed: legal fears over Michael Gove�s new definition of �extremism�

quote:

Michael Gove is set to announce a controversial plan this week to ban individuals and groups who �undermine the UK�s system of liberal democracy� from public life, despite fears inside government that the scheme is at risk of a legal challenge, leaked documents reveal.

Officials working for Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, have drawn up plans for �trailblazer� departments to pilot the scheme, according to documents that have been circulated to the Home Office and Downing Street and seen by the Observer.

Organisations and individuals that breach a new official definition of extremism will be excluded from meetings or any engagement with ministers, senior civil servants, government advisory boards and funding.

Councils will be expected to follow the government�s lead, cutting any financial ties or support to individuals or groups that have been categorised as extremist.

The proposed new definition of extremism � first revealed by the Observer in November � says �core behaviours� that could constitute extremism include attempts to �overturn, exploit or undermine the UK�s system of liberal democracy to confer advantages or disadvantages on specific groups� or threatening �individual rights or enabling the spread of extremism.

In internal briefing papers, Gove�s officials admit there is a risk of a legal challenge. Gove already faces strong opposition to the plans, including from civil liberties groups, officials and some senior Tory MPs.

�The government wants to launch this without a public consultation on the definition, or proper engagement with faith leaders,� said one official who has seen the proposals. �It�s never going to work.�

Yay, more fascism :toot:

# ? Mar 10, 2024 00:25

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

fuctifino posted:

Revealed: legal fears over Michael Gove�s new definition of �extremism�

Yay, more fascism

Should be banning anyone who doesn't want to overthrow the "British way of life". Dogshit country

# ? Mar 10, 2024 00:29

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 24, 2024 03:39

NotJustANumber99: Feb 15, 2012; somehow that last av was even worse than your posting

Which countries are better? And how so?

# ? Mar 10, 2024 00:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT Spring 2024 - Panic! in the Tea Room

«‹›308 »