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[Avis-Mergulus]

In English-speaking radio convention, is it acceptable for a radio operator on, say, a naval vessel to identify himself as that vessel in first person? For example, I know that "This is Vesselname" or "Vesselname speaking" sound okay. Does "I am Vesselname" sound weird? I need this for a translation thingy I'm working on.

[wierd]

I believe that when asked to identify personally, the radio operator is suppose to say something like "This is communications officer FOO$ of the FACTION$ vessel BAR$."

I do not believe they are supposed to say "I am the FACTION$ vessel BAR$".  Until we develop general AI, that shouldnt happen.

[GiglameshDespair]

I can't say I've much experience, but I don't think they'd say "I am X."

[Avis-Mergulus]

No, I don't mean personally, just the vessel. It's just that in Russian convention (or at least literary convention regarding these things), an exchange like

 " - Unknown vessel, please, identify yourself. - I am Vesselname, {FACTION INFO}. - Vesselname, change course immediately, you are on a collision course with me"

is possible. Radio operators often refer to themselves in the first person as the whole vessel they're on in informal chatter.
I suspected this wasn't possible in English - I mean, I've read my share of sci-fi and military fiction - but I had a brain fart in my language processing center. Thanks, anyway.

[wierd]

There is something similar, but does not use the personal noun "I".

It uses the inpersonal "This".

"This is FACTION$ vessel BAR$. OTHERBAR$, you are on collision course, please abort."

[Yoink]

So I've screwed up my sleep cycle even more over the past few days.
I woke up at 1AM today after falling asleep at around noon yesterday. (Maybe closer to 1pm.)
It is currently 4:38AM and I have things I need to do tomorrow (so over 24 hours away). I'm not feeling sleepy, although I don't exactly feel great either. Am I better off staying awake as long as possible to get a good night's sleep starting from a reasonable time at night, or just trying to get to sleep now and hoping for the best?

[Tawa]

I wanted to run a LP of LCS, but I'm unsure whether to put it in Curses or Play With Your Buddies. Which would you guys recommend?

[BlitzDungeoneer]

LPs almost always go in Play With Your Buddies, so I'd say there.

[DragonDePlatino]

If I wanted to make a command-driven webcomic (a la Homestuck), where would I start?

What are some good places to host those? Are there any good tutorials out there? What are some common beginner's mistakes? And what is the official name for those things, anyways?

[Putnam]

1. MSPF
2. I guess read lots of books, learn to write, learn to draw etc.
3. Hmm. Giving the readers too little choice (railroading!), giving them too much choice (gridlock!), not conveying the amount of choice they have, etc.
4. Forum adventures, unless they're not forum, at which point... it's new enough that "MSPaint adventure" is the closest thing

[Frumple]

Online CYOA could fit, too. It's basically what those things are, just internet'd.

Explaining stuff like that to someone that doesn't have much exposure to the net is an effort and a half, though. I think the closest I've been able to get that gets the point across thus far is "Collaborative writing session".

[DragonDePlatino]

Oh yeaaaah! I totally forgot about MSPF! They've even got a subforum for newbies and a thread for adventure crtiques. That seems like a great place to start.

CYOA? Eh, I guess that works. I guess the whole user-driven online comic thing is so new it hasn't gotten it's own genre name yet. :U

So I've screwed up my sleep cycle even more over the past few days.

I've been in your situation before. Rough it and go 24 hours without any sleep, and then sleep at a normal time like 11PM the day before your excursion. If you're a fairly sessile person it won't be as hard as you'd think. That'll work for one day but it won't get your sleep pattern back in check. For that, you'll need to keep it up for 3-4 days and go to sleep at 11PM over and over.

[My Name is Immaterial]

Why, in the archeological sense, are ancient religions/beliefs/religious practices called cults?

[Frumple]

Generally because they were fairly small and/or fractious, compared to what we consider "proper" religions, iirc. That, mixed with some modern (and competing religious, of course) bias denigrating ancient beliefs. Substantially mixed >_>

... okay, really, it's mostly because of the latter. Some of it's because of the former. Most of it is just later people being jackasses towards someone that can't respond ('cause they're dead :V).

[redwallzyl]

Why, in the archeological sense, are ancient religions/beliefs/religious practices called cults?

because a cult is basically just another word for religion. its just usually used now days with a negative connotation (see definition 6). in my anthropologial studies they were always called religions though.

Cult: noun

1.a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

2.an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers:
the physical fitness cult.

3.the object of such devotion.

4.a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.

5.Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

6.a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

7.the members of such a religion or sect.