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Back in the day, there was a commercial bulletin board software called TBBS ("The Bread Board System"). It differed from most BBSs in that it could handle multi
by mindslight 2y ago
Back in the day, there was a commercial bulletin board software called TBBS ("The Bread Board System"). It differed from most BBSs in that it could handle multiple lines on a single computer, through a built-in multitasking implementation. Most TBBSs allowed new users to dial in and create new accounts by entering their name and choosing a password on the first login. TBBS had a companion product called TDBS ("The DataBase System") that allowed writing interactive programs for use by users. One of these programs that became popular was a light adventure MUD called Illusions. I had a two line demo of TBBS/TDBS I got from somewhere (I think legitimately, actually), and I downloaded a demo copy of Illusions to play with on my own machine. Looking at its databases, I found something curious - the players' characters and the non-playing characters were stored in the same database, with the user name for all of the NPCs being "aa non-playing character". It turns out the game did not check for a user using that name. And of course TBBS knew nothing of Illusions's design choices. And so by creating a new login account so-named, I was able to play as the NPC characters, moving them around town and chatting with other players to much amusement. At least until the sysop realized what was happening. That is all to say, I too have had the experience of choosing to play as a non-playing character.
(another fun fact: the companion product for connecting TBBS to the nascent Internet was called an IPAD - Internet Protocol ADapter)
- floren 2y agoI don't know what article you intended to post this on, but it sounds interesting and I'd like to see it!
- kyleee 2y agoYes, this was the most fun I had in this entire thread.
- Bognar 2y agoIt's a high effort way of calling the GP an NPC, so just an insult.
- floren 2y agoAh, I missed that sentence on my first read. Kind of a shame because the NPC meme is dumb as shit and the rest of the post was interesting.
- mindslight 2y agoAs a model for attempting to understand the world and root causes, the NPC meme is obviously wrong and dumb. But as a coping mechanism for those trying to distance themselves from herd behavior and withstand the social pressure that leads to it, it has some utility. Also note I did not say or imply the OP is an NPC, rather I said that they're choosing to act like one. And I totally get picking which battles you spend your effort on, but when you're intellectually justifying choosing the expedient option as if it's the right one, you've gone too far. (also fwiw, everything in my original comment is true. it's not LLM drivel or anything)
- toomuchtodo 2y agoIf you email the mods with a link to the thread you intended to write this in (hn at ycombinator dot com), they should be able to move this comment for you so that it receives the attention it deserves and is preserved appropriately for future forum enjoyment. Please delete this comment if a mod takes action.