Issue #6, December 2004


Welcome all to the December Issue of Ye Olde Ink Blot! A bit of a shift from what you'd normally see in our articles this month, with contributors trying new angles and mixing it up a bit. Hope you enjoy it all and have a safe and happy December. We'll see you in the New Year =)


Games Review
Horoscopes
New Members
Notice Board
Politics
Psychology
Travel: Sydney
Status System
Status Info












GMOW - Games Review

Hot Holiday Video Games


It is that present giving time of the year again. What else would make a perfect present for someone? Why not get them one or all of the hottest video gaming products this season. In my opinion, this season is one of the best gaming seasons in a very long time. Here is my list of the hottest games and gear this year and my overall take on them. The big three (Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony) have brought out the big guns this season. Let’s start the list off with the hottest items of the year in chronological order.


#1. Nintendo Dual Screen - Nintendo

Nintendo sold over half a million of these units in the first ten days since its release. Nintendo made a killing on the marketing of hand held gaming devices by coming out a couple of months before its official release. Even though the number of quality titles may be limited; there is no doubt this is the best hand held gear in the market today. The Mario 64 version for the ds just adds more quality to a game already listed as one of the greatest. Nintendo’s gameboy has been pushed down off its pedestal as king of hand held gaming.


#2 Halo 2 - XBOX Shooter

Microsoft released Halo as one of the first games for the XBOX; it was rated the highest game on any of the modern video game units. Fans of the original have waited many years for the sequel; and they will not be disappointed. I, for one, did not like the original game; I felt it was very limited. Then again I was very biased against xbox products at that time. Halo 2 delivers the best action you can possibly get out of a video game. The game has it all. It has a great story; it has great graphic/animation; and unbelievable replay value. In Halo 2 there are a ton of more weapons including the ability to use all vehicles in the game. No game is more fun to play with another human than this one. The co-op mode of this game is great. This year they added halo 2 as part of xbox live. Some players might never play the story mode of this game due to this. This feature makes this game the best game for holiday season.


#3 Ghost Recon 2 – PS2/XBOX shooter

The best military shooter game is back. The xbox version of this game has been perfected. The PS2 version is a lot better than the original game. Unlike most shooter games you have the option of controlling a squad of your ghost soldiers. By using your headset/mic you give your team-mates commands to follow. This is the best as it gets in military shooter games. As their commander you must lead your squad to victory in the war against terror. You have the option to go in by yourself if you think you are that good.

I believe this is the best war simulator out there, if there is such a thing. This game teaches you; it takes a team effort to survive in combat. It’s never an option to leave a wounded friendly down. It’s hard to say whether this game or HALO 2 is the best overall game this season. Ghost Recon 2 fails to eclipse HALO 2 due to its sub par voice command system. The whole technology of voice command has failed; you can’t blame the game for that. Once this is perfected, this genre of games will rule.


#4 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater -PS2 Action

This is the forgotten game this year. MGS quality gameplay is so established there was no need for a heavy advertising this year. This game is the final chapter of the Solid Snake saga. The saga ends by telling you how it all began. It is based in 1964 and tells the story of how MGS and MGS 2 started. Your mission in this game is to stop a nuclear metal gear device from getting in to the wrong hands.

This is a very difficult game to play. Gamers must have the patience to play and watch mini movies until you reach the cliff hanging storyline change near the end of the game. Though not as intriguing as the other MSG titles, it may be the best in pure gameplay. This game is not for everyone; and not recommended to those who like shooter games. It’s hard to say if this is the best game for the PS2 this season. That is all based on taste. This series always brings back the feeling of playing on the old Nintendo system. If you want to have solid gameplay and watch a movie at the same time, check this one out.


Other notables:
5# Half Life 2 – PC Shooter
6# Grand Theft Auto Five: San Andreas-PS2 Action Adventure
7# Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - XBOX RPG
8# Gran Turismo 4 -PS2 Racing Simulator
9# Need for Speed Underground 2 - XBOX/PS2- Racing
10# Super Mario 64 DS – Nintendo- Adventure

Overall, there are too many quality titles to buy this year. Personally I have purchased the Nintendo DS, Halo 2, Ghost Recon 2, and GTA 4. I am going to wrap them up and give them to myself on Christmas. There is a game out there for everyone’s tastes.

Buyer beware: If I didn’t list the game it might not be as good as advertised. Everyone who is a casual gamer can play the games I have listed. Games such as Madden 2004 and Sid Meier's Pirates are not games I consider as something for everyone. I haven’t played Golden Eye: Rogue Agent yet. I can’t give it a fair review yet. Most gaming magazines have rated this game very low. Hopefully next month I will know more about it to do a profile story on it.
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Your 4th Kingdom Horoscopes

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) - Pretend that you're Jack Nicholson all month. Walk around making wry comments with a half-smile.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19) - You'll be a natural entertainer. Au naturel, to be more specific.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) - Buy a bottle of coconut-scented suntan oil this month. Try it on some ice cream. PM me with the results, because I've always wanted to try that.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20) - Eat lots and lots of beans one day this month. Spend the rest of the day hanging around people you don't like, if you get my drift.

Aries (March 21 - April 19) - Pretty is as pretty does, unless you're Morton Downey, Jr. Then pretty runs away in terror at the sight of your face.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) - Spend the entire month vacuuming. When a family member asks you what's going on, angrily point to the pattern on the rug and declare, "I am trying to get these stains out!"

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) - Visit a museum this month. Stop in front of each painting and yell "WOW!" really loudly until they ask you to leave. Then angrily say, "Geez, no one appreciates art anymore."

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) - Stop by the bank this month and rearrange all the velvet ropes so they lead right back out the door. Evade arrest.

Leo (July 23 - August 22) - Drink lots and lots of caffeine this month, then amuse your co-workers by running around with a cape yelling, "I'm JOLT-MAN! Defender of hyperactivity!"

Virgo (August 23 - September 22) - Find a paper which still carries "Peanuts" and read it this month. Is it just me, or are there no punch lines to that comic strip anymore? It's more like a documentary on neglected kids and their highly intelligent dog.

Libra (September 23 - October 22) - A trusted friend may give you sage advice this month. Ask her nicely, and she'll also point you to the freshest basil, thyme, and oregano.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) - Go to the grocery store and buy fifty sacks of figs. Solemnly state to the cashier, "You'd better stock up, too."
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New Members Spotlight

We've had another great month of new members showing up in the 4K community. Here are just a few new members deserving of the spotlight this month:

Ladicius

This guy has really made a splash on 4K!! Starting off with the post "Consensual Crimes" on the Debate board, you knew he is a great addition to the site. Some of his highest rated posts came from responses he made on Random's thread "Determinism v. Free will" titled "Genetics" and in Temujin's post "Disregarding whether or not you believe in God". He also scored high rated posts in the thread regarding Illegal Immigration.

Euclid

He likes math, how's that for a brilliant guy? In his thread titled "Civil Unions", Euclid had an interesting way of bringing up a topic that has been discussed quite a bit and made it a whole new entertaining read. It garnered an average of 4 rating and had quite a bit of participation. Other threads he participated in were "Determinism v. Free will", "About Illegal Immigration", and "Prostitution".

Kali_Iceheart

One of her highest rated posts was titled "inconsiderate drunks" on the Rants board. It garnered an average brilliance rating of 3.83 over 6 ratings. You can see some of her other posts on Gaming, Sex. Controversy, Politics, Guys vs Girls, Meeting Place, and the Debates board. This girl is everywhere...YAY!!

stephany

One of her highest rated posts was titled "Moods" which earned her a 4 rating 9 times over!! stephany is one of the members who brought us a Questionnaire on the Meeting Place Board which is still getting lots of hits. She also got a 4.55 rating average with 9 people rating her on it. You can also find posts from stephany on the Holy War, Poetry, and Religion & Spirituality boards.

kots n koshes

One of the first threads I remember kots make was the "bin laden video tape" right at the end of last month. She garnered a 4.20 rating for that post!! kots has also posted on Controversy, Current Events, Cooking and College board...hmm...what's with all the C's, kots?
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Forth Kingdumb Nowtise Borde

What's going on in 4K? (Anarchy!) Who are the lucky prize winners? (You’re MUM!)Remember, to get your plug in our community service notice board, PM Red maiden (SLUT!) and your name will be immortalized in these pages (get your hand off it!)


Super bowl (WHAT A MIGHT BOWL IT IS! ALL IT NEEDS NOW IS A CAPE!)

The community has come up with yet another entertaining game, "Super bowl Game". For a complete understanding of this game, go to the Comments/Updates board, and look for "4K Superbowl Game" threads.

Good luck!


Poetry! (THERE ONCE WAS A GIRL FROM NANTUCKET!)

Poetry people have has quite a rustle in the wind with the unveiling of fours plan for a poetry palace! It sounds so good that I think ill have to write a poem about it!

Starter, Basic, Silver, Gold, and Platinum
I really, really, really want some!
A page for poetry coloured or not,
always looks better than a glob of green snot.
EWWWWW!

Yeah anyways! To check it all out, go to the comments/updates board, click on the link to the second page (at the bottom) and read the post titled "keeping you guys up to date".


Felling the squeeze after the decrease in welfare money? (SQUEEZE THIS!!) FEAR NOT! You have a savior!
(DRUGS!!)
Out of the kindness of her heart (and in the soft spot for newbie’s), a local philanthropist has opted to give $7 per week to those struggling members who haven’t had the head start us old fogies have had. If you haven’t got any series completed, and you feel you are eligible for the handout, start asking about it around 4K-land!

SECRET (SHUT UP!) SANTA (HO! HO! HO!)

Red maiden (you know that cool girl that all women want to be like? and all men want to be with? yeah...her...) :P She has organised a secret Santa for the 4K community! Thanks to all those who have signed up for helping create a warm fuzzy feeling... *someone whispers in my ear* oh wait...that wasn't secret Santa being warm and fuzzy? Hmmm....


:P MERRY CHRISTMAS 4K!!! SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!
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Politics from Temujin's Perspective

Obviously most of the users here are not British (I suspect there's a staggering US majority, but I haven't actually asked every single user.) So, I thought I'd enlighten you foreign folk with some exciting tales of British politics.

Foxhunting is a hot topic. Playing the old number crunching game, the following result appears: Time spent debating the Iraq invasion in the House of Commons: 7 hours. Time spent debating various proposed bans of foxhunting in the House of Commons: 700 hours.

So, if time were to signify importance you might think that the fate of foxes and their control was more important than a war in which thousands have died. But it's not that simple.

You see, the vast majority of Britons couldn't give a damn about foxhunting. They don't care how foxes are controlled and don't care about those employed in the industry. And then you have two groups of extremists.

On the one hand, we have the animal-loving generally left-wing persons who believe that a pack of trained dogs tearing a fox to pieces is unnecessarily cruel. On the other, we have rural persons perhaps employed by the hunts (at least 8,000 stand to lose jobs over the ban), and those who take part but are not employed by the hunts, who believe that they are destroying pests in a perfectly satisfactory manner.

Some facts.
Everyone agrees foxes must be controlled to stop them killing chickens and being pests.
Other methods of control include shooting them, poison, and snares.
30,000 hunters have signed a petition to break any ban that becomes law.
There are approximately 600 prison places left free in the UK.
The House of Commons has passed a bill for partial or full ban in England and Wales 7 times during Blair's premiership.
The House of Lords have rejected it each time.

This time the same happened as above for the two Houses, except that the Prime Minister used the 1949 Parliament Act to force the bill through and ignore the Lords.

The Parliament Act (either the 1911 or 1949 version) was used 4 times prior to 1997, but since Blair came to power he's used it 4 times in just 7 years. It's designed for urgent matters, matters in a manifesto (foxhunting isn't) and is therefore suspect in being used here, especially as debating the ban yet further wastes more parliamentary time when we have a pensions crisis and an education problem (which is fat, big-eared and called Charles Clarke).

Temujin's Thoughts...

Personally I'd prefer foxhunting to remain as it is. Banning it will criminalize hundreds, probably thousands of people, wasting police time. In addition, the Parliament Act should not have been abused in this way. It should be noted that thousands of dogs will have to be destroyed if this occurs; at least 8,000 (the Countryside Alliance claims far more) will lose jobs and possibly homes too. The Government should be spending its time debating the pension’s crisis and matters of importance rather than this.

And finally....

23 MPs, led by Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalists), have signed a petition to impeach Blair for dishonourable conduct and misleading the country over the reasons why we went to war with Iraq.
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Psychology with Temujin

Net-based relationships.

When we first see someone, say at the first day of work, the first thing we do is take stock of their appearance. Are they dressed extravagantly (if out of uniform), are they tall or fat, how attractive are they? Then we notice their voice. Are they as weasel-like as Ken Livingstone, or as menacing as Darth Vader? After this we come to what they say, and their personality.

However, the nature of the internet means that we communicate mostly through typing, which is utterly standardised (although open to manipulation the change of a font from black to blue is as nothing compared to the variety of voices people possess). Of course we may exchange photos, but this tends (in my experience) to happen after a few weeks or months, if ever.

So, rather than personality being the third thing to be noticed as in reality, it is the first in most net-based relationships. (I take relationships here to mean friendships generally, but this could of course be expanded to more intimate relatinships.) The anonymity of the internet means that we all start from a level-playing field.

Now, if you're shy, or grotesquely ugly or smell, this can be a good thing. If you wear a purple v-neck latex top, male users may pay you less attention than they would in reality (unless you share photos, of course). Very handsome men may find themselves paid less heed than usual as well.

In this way, a net-based relationship can be seen in a rather odd way to be purer than a real one. You know it's a lot less likely for someone to pretend to like you for who you are whilst they secretly just want to get into your pants online than in reality. People listen to what you say, whether you're tall and handsome or short and have amusingly thick glasses.

But...there lies a foul problem with these relationships that can exist in reality. How do you know I'm really who I say I am? I claim to be a 20 year old student from England. I could be Osama Bin Laden. I could be a lapdancer from Manchester, or a morris dancer from Kettering. I could spend my time on 4K to debate and spend the rest of my time grooming 12 year old girls.

Today I was ogling a rather magnificent visage in a lecture, and I can guarantee that the oglee is not a morris dancer from Kettering, or a man at all, or older than she says she is. Anyone you know online and have not met could be lying.

Of course, we take things on trust. Why would I lie about being a student? There's not much gain or motive for me to do it, and I have made only slight efforts to meet anyone else in real-life. It can be a lot easier to socialise and open up online than in reality. If someone judges you just click the x and they disappear. If only we could that in real-life occasionally it would be a lot simpler.

Socialising online can be a lot quicker and easier, and less image-based than reality. But there's always the trust issue lurking there. Many people who wouldn't socialise as much make more contact with people online, but we mustn't forget that for all its convenience, the internet is not a direct substitute, in my opinion, for good relationships in reality.
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Travel: Sydney, Australia - Red Maiden

Australia: The Land of Horrible Beers, Muggy Summer Days, and Multiculturalism.


To get a true feel for Australianism, I had the idea of writing this article in two versions. One being in normal spelling, and the other being in phonetic Australian accent spelling. By the time I wrote the article though, I realised it was too long for me to be arsed doing what still seems like a favourable idea. My most humble apologies though!

Australia (Sydney in particular) is what I imagine any other place on earth would be like. It has pollution problems, some shoddy roads, red necks, a high sporting pride and a bad history with the natives. But it also has some truly unique attributes which makes me love my country, and feel so proud (well during the Olympics at least).

I won’t go into all the wiggly details, but I’ll give you a rough idea of Australian history. James Cook, Captain of the Endeavour, discovered Australia and declared it “Terra Nullius” (meaning uninhabited land), despite it being populated with thousands of Aborigines. He stuck a British flag in the coast of Botany Bay (I think) and declared it British property. Since Australia was so far away from everything, and at the time in the UK there was a high rate of crime (poverty does these things you know, there was a potato famine in Ireland and general poverty throughout the land. People would steel food and get really high jail sentences for it.). So Australia was used as a penal colony, seeing as all the jails in Britain were becoming quite full. In 1788 the first fleet of British prisoners arrived on Australian shores to serve their sentences. Upon completion of their sentencing they were given the option of sailing back to Britain, or staying in Australia.
That’s a really short version of it all, I could go on for hours about the treatment of Aborigines, gold rushes etc… But this isn’t a history article.

So now you know how Australia started out. I’m quite ashamed of the history we have in regards to the Aborigines, but on another hand, I feel sort of happy being linked to Britain. (Please note that I’d vote “no” on the referendum on whether we’re to become our own country and cut off ties to the monarchy. I like having a queen.

So yeah, as you can see we have ties to Britain and I think you can still see a lot of British culture about the place through our sense of humour, our strong “beer” culture, and by the way we talk. Not just linguistically, but idiomically (is that even a word? I’m sure Bouchie can figure it out for me). Note from Bouchie: No I don’t think that is a word, but I like it so I left it in! Along with a British culture, we have all kinds of cultures here! As a result of an effort to populate our country after WW1, the prime minister at the time encouraged people from all over the world to “start afresh” in Australia. We somehow gave the impression that a prosperous life could be had in this “land of opportunities”. My own family came here from Lebanon in the 50s and 60s, and while they had a rough time settling in (my mum especially, she was only young when she came over, and at her school, there was only one other ethnic girl there, an Italian. They were both ostracised because of their ethnicity. Society hadn’t adjusted to the concept of multiculturalism at that point, there were a lot of racist people.) They still, without a doubt, will say that Australia is the perfect country. We have freedom of speech, a democracy, and a laid back attitude.

Sydney:
As much as I will always rat on Sydney being ridden with air pollution (that’s only really in the city and out west) and a dodgy bunch of roads (Sydney just kind of happened, there were no town planners involved (or if there were, they ought to be ashamed of themselves!), they just stuck things where they felt like it), I really love this city. Given I will always wish my family settled down in Melbourne (they have trams! And, like, a strong fine-arts culture…) Sydney is beautiful. With natural oasis’s like the Botanical Gardens (watch MI2 to get a look), Hyde Park (it’s breath taking! And right in the middle of the city too!), and the Blue Mountains. These are all places I’d strongly recommend you all check out if you were ever to come to Sydney. Of course we have our landmarks too, such as the Harbour Bridge, The opera House, and Centre Point Tower, these are just some symbols as to the creativity and uniqueness of Sydney. You know one thing I will never forget, is the day that two whales started mating in Sydney Harbour. So many people left work to watch this act of nature that was baffling to most. Not because of the odd location the whales chose, but that the water was actually clean enough for them to prefer it. (Perhaps they figured they couldn’t be fussy, after all it would be kind of hard to find a dark corner when you’re a huge whale).

So today, probably isn’t the best day to describe. I feel a lot of moisture in the air, and while it’s quite warm, there are dark clouds hanging low in the sky. It will most likely rain, which is both good and bad. We’re currently in the longest drought in the history of Australia, so rain is always welcome. But I can tell it’s going to be nasty, humid rain. My hair will curl up now for sure! Hehe…
Last night was a top night however. Around 1am I went out to my backyard for a smoke and while I’ve never found my backyard to be particularly aesthetic at all, last night it looked absolutely fantastic! The sky was pretty light, I’m guessing it was a full moon, and it had that hazy, white look to it. The neighbourhood was so still, and the only sound was this one little bird chirping now and then. It was great!? My neighbourhood isn’t really so busy at all. I live in a suburban area, but we get a lot of through-fare on the road…not to mention screaming children and psycho dogs barking because they just ate a bee….ok well that was only one dog in particular, but yeah, dogs…
? So enough about Australia, what about you? What do you like about Australia?

Har har har…

Red Maiden.
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Status System Comments, by Worker Bee

There has always been quite a bit of speculation about many of the segments of this site... And I rather like speculating about them. Anyhow, somehow it got suggested that I write an article on the status system.

So by status system, I mean the way that everyone has a status... Currently those statuses would be Serf, then Commoner, then Bard. Eventually there will be levels above Bard, but Four has not created them yet.

At this point in time, most people that will read this article will either be a Commoner or a Bard, because it is now set up that people become a Commoner within somewhere between 6 and 14 sign-ins... You know, when someone gets full access to all of the boards.

The point of this article isn't to explain what the statuses are though, because at this point there really isn't a difference between Commoner and Bard... And the difference between Serf and Commoner is quite obvious, it is difficult to miss going from approximately 5 boards to hm, I think over 40.

So if the point of the article isn't to describe the different statuses... Then what is the point? The point is to speculate on the different factors that influence where we status.

First off, the status system is completely automated. Nobody looks at a person and says "This person! They are now supreme king of the world!" or even "This person is cool, let's upgrade them." Nope. It is completely automated, done by a secret formula. The result that comes out of the formula is someone's status (serf/commoner/bard) and... Though only premium members can see it, where they rank exactly compared to everyone else on the site.

So the goal to figuring out what raises ones status is to figure out what the variables in the formula are... And how much the various variables are weighted.

And it should seem that... EVERYTHING is a variable. Just some thing more than others. And everybody has their own separate theory. It should seem though, that there are probably a few major things... And many minor things.

And this is all speculation. To the best of my knowledge, Four has never granted any interviews on the status system... And therefore we don't know if things are right or wrong. It is of my opinion, that the things that are of the most importance are the things that are most important to forming a good community. But yeah, I have no way of knowing.

Major things:
Be Signed In! Obviously if no-one is ever online, it isn't going to be much of a community... Write Posts! Once again, this is an integral part of having a community... Things need to be said. Whether it is starting a new topic, or responding to other people, it wouldn't really be a community if nobody ever said anything.
Read Posts! What would the purpose be for people to write posts...? Whether chatty or long and thought out, if they thought nobody was going to read them... Not very many people would post.

I think that most people with relatively high statuses do spend quite a bit of time signed in... And I think most of them either read or write quite a few posts (And some do both). I know you don't need to both read and write though... Because I have a fairly high status, and I probably make fewer posts than any other active member. Maybe 10 a week at most. But they are all just variables... Having one variable that is low won't hurt you, if you are good at other things.

Then of course, there are many more minor and trivial things (Any of them might actually be more major, I really have no way of knowing. to me they seem less important though).
I think these would include...:
Getting decent ratings on posts
Rating other peoples posts
Buying/Selling things
PM'ing people
Getting PM's
Probably anything else you could think of.

The point of this article isn't to help people trick the system though, I would be fairly sad if people used this to trick the system. Fortunately, I probably don't even have the system right, so it would be hard to trick. But beyond that... A good portion of these things really aren't fake-able I think.

And why should people really bother to think about it all that much anyways... Just be a good member, and your status shall reflect that fact. It isn't always flawless... Some people became Bards much earlier than people that many felt were better qualified. But overall, it is a pretty good system.

And yeah, at the moment none of it even matters... Though I suppose it shall matter a bit in the future, as soon as we have more things beyond Bard really... For beyond Bard, the path shall break into three sections... Merchant, Wizard, and Noble. People will get to choose which section they want to go into... And each section will have its own advantages and disadvantages... But since they don't exist yet, nobody really knows.

So yeah.
Just be yourself.

And realize how silly it is that a) I wrote an article about the status system, and b) that you actually read it.

Because this site is just for fun, and knowing how the system works really would do nothing except raise the possibility for people to cheat it. And that wouldn't be fun at all.

But for now, we can know at least that most of what we do is valued and counted and reflected into a status that means nothing at all.
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Status Information

Merchant Class:
Apprentice
Peddler
Craftsman/Craftswoman
Artisan
Merchant
Baron/Baronness

Wizard Class:
Apothecary
Conjurer
Enchanter/Enchantress
Mage
Wizard
Sorcerer/Sorceress

Noble Class:
Scribe
Squire
Knight
Nobleman/Noblewoman
Lord/Lady
Prince/Princess

Stay tuned to the 4K Boards - Comments/Updates channel as this story continues to develop under a multitude of threads.
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