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[dragnar]

Yep, market yourself as "Prometheus, the amazing regenerating man!"

That or become wolverine, but with adamantine claws.

[Cheddarius]

That's a nice dragon you got there. Fine taste, my dear man.

[Forumsdwarf]

So if I click it and jump off a building, I'll survive?

That's a decent way to mindf*** Samara:

Does she save your life, thus doing a good deed and damaging her evil reputation?  What if softening her image endangers her ability to scare you to death when your week is up?

Or does she let you fall to your death, robbing her of her chance to do the job herself and giving you the satisfaction of dying on your own terms rather than hers?

I think she'd probably do something really freaky at the edge of the building, like you'd see her creepy climbing hair and an arm reach up over the wall and you'd get really freaked out and die with the Samara death-face, even if you ran past her and jumped.

Still, no TVs on top of buildings ... if she's too slow wouldn't you make her look foolish?

[Kagus]

Would someone please tell me what the point of having one of these things is?  So far as I can tell, it's just some little doodad that gets bigger and flashier the more people randomly decide to click on it for no apparent gain.

It's like repeatedly viewing an eBay auction until the counter goes up to an aesthetically pleasing number.  Unless I'm missing something, of course.

[Jackrabbit]

Yeah, you and me both. As much as I like numbers and pictures, this doesn't seem that fantastic to me.

[Cheddarius]

Would someone please tell me what the point of having one of these things is?  So far as I can tell, it's just some little doodad that gets bigger and flashier the more people randomly decide to click on it for no apparent gain.

That's what it seems like to me, too. However, enjoyment is subjective. Many people do enjoy this. Heck, I'm sometimes mesmerized by people's avatars with psychedelic rotating images. They capture my attention for several minutes, even though they seem totally pointless. So yeah, it's pretty dumb, but so is anything if you think about it. Why play with these "dwarves" that are, in the end, a few tiny parcels of information routing through a computer? 'Cause it's fun, darnit.
And I admit that this is a lot less complex and non-interactive than a "good" game, but it's still mildly amusing for many people.



And Forumsdwarf, looking at The Ring, there are a lot of other weird things. What if OH GOD OH GOD okay okay turned the lights on, all better. Just... panicked for a second there. I need to go to sleep. Can't read about these things this late.
Okay. What if one person watches the first half of the video and another person watches the second half? What if the person is rigged to explode as soon as schler heart stops? What if the video spreads, and terminal cancer patients start viewing it to get an extra week to live, then reach the acceptance stage, and are no longer afraid of death, and presumably not afraid of a mere human? What if you watch the tape backwards? What if you read a description of it? Does degradation of video quality affect the effect? If so, to what extent? What if two people on the opposite sides of the world agree to watch the tape at exactly the same time, forcing Samsara to travel at superluminal speeds, then a week later harness that effect to make ludicrous amounts of cheap energy, sacrificing their lives for the good of the world? What if urrgghhh I keep imagining Zimmy from Gunnerkrigg Court hiding in the shadows. Ugh. What if the person gouges schler own eyes out shortly after watching the video, so that schle can't see Samsara? Or if someone sits next to the person at all times - will schle be collateral damage? In that case, how does Samsara's effect work? Will chimps die from it? Dolphins? Dogs? Mice? Presumably she doesn't instantly kill all bacteria whenever she appears, so there is a boundary. In that case, couldn't one have one's brain surgically altered to the point that one would survive, then have it turned back?

[Jackrabbit]

Would someone please tell me what the point of having one of these things is?  So far as I can tell, it's just some little doodad that gets bigger and flashier the more people randomly decide to click on it for no apparent gain.

That's what it seems like to me, too. However, enjoyment is subjective. Many people do enjoy this. Heck, I'm sometimes mesmerized by people's avatars with psychedelic rotating images. They capture my attention for several minutes, even though they seem totally pointless. So yeah, it's pretty dumb, but so is anything if you think about it. Why play with these "dwarves" that are, in the end, a few tiny parcels of information routing through a computer? 'Cause it's fun, darnit.
And I admit that this is a lot less complex and non-interactive than a "good" game, but it's still mildly amusing for many people.

Well, 'cause it's fun is as good an answer as any.

[Forumsdwarf]

What if you watch the tape backwards?

It runs backwards, but ends with a shot of the well that slowly fades out.  If you play the tape forward the well isn't there until the end.
Oh, and the phone rings.

What if you read a description of it?

You become insanely curious and go looking for it.  I'm not entirely sure that's Samara's fault.

Does degradation of video quality affect the effect?

The tape quality is whatever Samara wants it to be.  Once you start watching you're in her world.  Remember the fly from the tape that turned real?
If you stopped the tape she'd probably make TV's randomly switch on whenever you're alone and "finish" the tape for you.  Remember how she could make the movie run without the tape, how the TV would come on and you'd see some subtle difference, like the well shot at the end you see her crawly-hair start to come out of the well before the TV switches off?
She'd show you the whole tape eventually.  Then the phone would ring.

Your half-disbelieving, half-freaked-out scrawl has me thinking I'm not going to get much sleep tonight.  If the phone were to ring right about now ...

[Pillow_Killer]

Nice. Someone made a site allowing hoppleheads generate images that lead to their site to allow hoppleheads to get on their site and generate more images. That's ought to give a nice profit. Disgusting.

[Apple Master]

I don't have a dragon but I'm sure you can give me internets.

[Jackrabbit]

Nice. Someone made a site allowing hoppleheads generate images that lead to their site to allow hoppleheads to get on their site and generate more images. That's ought to give a nice profit. Disgusting.

I agree. Let's band together and vehemently badmouth anyone who dares make a profit.

[Pillow_Killer]

I was referring to people who 'play' that, Jackrabbit.

[Jackrabbit]

Oh, no, I agree with you on that too. Let us band together and vehemently badmouth people who enjoy something for free that you don't.

[Creamcorn]

I find looking through the bestiary to be one the more finer points of the website.

[Cheddarius]

Pillow, I don't see what you hate so much about it. I don't enjoy it myself - though the breeding aspect seems fruitful, if it was faster - but in any case, although I don't enjoy it, I don't actively think that people who play it are "hoppleheads" and "disgusting". I can see three possible things you have against this:

1. The viral aspect - the part you seem to disagree with most. If people started spamming all their friends to join and click their dragons, that's rude and annoying. People should stop doing that. But I haven't seen that on this forum (there might be some, but probably not very much). So the only problem I can see you having with this is that you're annoyed that a lot of people are enjoying something you aren't. Probably not true, eh? So I don't see what's the problem with this.
2. The poor gameplay. Okay, yeah, it's not that great. The entire game is based on watching yourself get new little pictures, which you use to get new and different little pictures. Well.... so? I really don't enjoy those little metal pieces that you have to try to link and unlink, you know? They're really difficult for me. But I don't fly into a rage whenever I see someone playing with them, snatch them out of schler hands, and shout "You're DISGUSTING!". It's just something someone does - honestly, if it's harmless, who cares?
3. The images themselves. Like I said in #1, I guess you could have a problem with imagespam. But I don't see the problem with them as they are now - safely locked away in sigs and this thread. Firstly, sigs. People put stuff, including images, there all the time and you do not complain. What's different about this? Do you get SO ENRAGED by a tiny picture of an egg that you condemn others' enjoyment in order to make it go away? Or the thread. It is called "The Dragon Cave Advertisement Thread". If you hate the eggs, why would you ever come here? That's like running into an intersection and then condemning the cars for being unsafe. If you hate the eggspam, just don't come to this thread. Problem solved.
4. Something else? Heck, I don't know your reasons for your raging crusade against tiny pictures of eggs. If they're not on here, if you actually have a legitimate reason why these eggs are bad, please post it. If it's strong, I'll even lock the thread.