After chatting for a bit, I played three challenge rounds with @azircon, losing all three of them, but feeling better about it than when I lose most of my games when playing throughout the season. I feel better losing to a known human, than a suspected bot. And yes, I lost all three, but they were also in WILD format, and I don't have many suitable cards, since I am mostly playing in modern, unless brawling. This one was the closest, and I think I would have had it, if my fucking Blight dropped some poison earlier.
But yeah, it is far nicer playing against a human for me, rather than the army of automatons that are dominating ranked play and the many, many people using Battle Helpers to select cards for the Tournaments and Brawls. I know that people have all the reasons in the world to explain why they do it, but I still find it sad.
While I am talking about Splinterlands at the moment, it really is a symptom of the world at large, where people are disconnecting from each other, isolating themselves out of convenience, without recognizing the cost. While an individual feels they are winning daily, in the long-term, it is similar to social media, where the detrimental affects are far reaching and profound on the community. When people stop interacting with each other, they disengage from the community and become part of the machine, another cog spinning in the mechanism, but going nowhere.
Haven't we learned about this already?
It is an interesting thing to note that while people are still arguing for the convenience of work from home and quiet quitting, the data is showing that they are less happy, less productive and in the case of the quiet quitters, having existential crisis.
If you aren't putting effort into your job, what are you putting effort into?
And this is the question that they are asking themselves and finding that they don't have much meaning in their lives. So, they seek out and cling to engineered meaning, like social media drama and the many "movements" to support. They aren't religious, but they are organizing temporary religions that make them feel part of something, make them feel relevant.
But, they aren't relevant.
relevant (adj.)
"to the purpose, applicable, pertinent to the matter at hand," 1550s, from French relevant "depending upon," originally "helpful," from Medieval Latin relevantem (nominative relevans), from stem of Latin relevare "to lessen, lighten," hence "to help, assist; comfort, console"
"to help, assist; comfort, console"
They are human behaviors - not traits of robots.
Maybe through our chats @azircon can feel my frustrations with what is going on at the moment and reached out for a Challenge round, human to human to make me feel better in some way. Or perhaps, to help himself feel relevant by helping me. A little human connection.
More and more as we progress into Web 3, the importance of human communities is going to be the decider between what gets support, and what fails. There is going to be a growing number of technological ways to game the systems, but it will be proof of human that will have value. It will come down to the personalities of the community that will be the biggest draw. Experiences that ramp up into automation and away from interaction, are doomed to fail.
Most don't seem to see it yet, or fully grasp it yet it seems. Or of they do, they are looking short and trying to make the most gains they can, before it all comes crashing down - like pillaging and looting a burning city, rather than putting the fires out and making it a place to live, a home.
But again, this behavior is a symptom of the larger world and economy, one that divides, isolates and conquers for profit. Corporations don't care about community, because the owners do not live in the same communities as their customers. While they create social ghettos, they are gating themselves off from the masses.
Who cares what is happening outside of paradise?
If you are inside.
I am hoping, but don't have a lot of faith in the coming attempts to stop bots in Modern format, in the same way that I have little hope that people will change their behavior to do something less convenient. The incentives are too high, the immediate costs too low. But eventually, the costs will mount in the background and everyone suffers. That leads to more disengagement, more isolation, more fracturing of community.
The "Let's Netflix and Chill" generations, are having the least sex.
Relationships are too much effort.
I'll just buy a robot that is programmed to laugh at my jokes.
Then I won't have to learn to be funny.
Or be good in bed.
And this is the interesting thing about culture now, where people are told not to compromise and not to settle, so they don't. But, these skills are required to interact with others and commit to them, and for them to commit to us - they are human behaviors that help us improve. Living in isolation, means we don't have to learn to live with others, we do not have to build a community at all.
Yet, because we are social animals that require the feeling, we can feign being part of a community, generate false meanings for ourselves that give us the the dopamine hit, but do nothing good. Like replacing sugar with aspartame provides sweetness, but probably causes cancer.
I think there is another growing divide forming. We have wealth gaps, education gaps, health gaps and social gaps that are built through the conditions of our economy and culture, but we are going to have fulfilment gaps, where there is going to be a small group of people who are content with their lives, and a growing number who are discontent.
History tells us what happens.
The only thing that matters in the world of humanity, are our relationships with each other. Automate far enough, and humanness doesn't survive.
Thanks for the games Azir.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Frustration is real. However we can deal with it. Bots don’t have frustrations so there is no drama. We have it and we like it.
Anytime a little human connection that is available I am all for taking advantage of it
I have been trying to get colleagues here for a barbecue - a group of "randoms" to get together and chat about non-work stuff. The weather isn't cooperating! Rain forecast for the next two weeks.
What you say is dramatically true and sad at the same time.
Generations are decreasing the number and intensity of relationships as getting hypno from social networks and posting bragging pictures there is easier. It does not require efforts. They get "like" and "subs" and that's what they get satisfied with.
So many girls are hanging around doing sexy stuff to promote theyr onlyfans making sex and amorous fusions something commercial, that becomes worthy based on how much the subscription costs or how far the sexual fusion goes.
We are entering in a etheric materialism: people aiming for material results in a non-material way. Quite mind-blowing
Metrics that drive profits of the platforms for ad revenue. They have done a good job of brainwashing their user bases to value the valueless.
And calling it women empowerment. Years of complaining about being objectified, they are now gladly doing it to themselves.
I use Xbots' battle helper from time to time in the modern league. On the other hand, I want the bot ban to come into effect as soon as possible. As far as I remember, we had two matches — one win for each side. I did not use Xbot in these matches :)
Yeah, I think it went one and one on those. I am glad that you actually played them, as it is so much nicer playing against real people. When I started a couple years ago, people would share their battles and talk about them together, making jokes and the like. Doesn't happen much now.
I think this generation is more independent and bull-headed with a sandcastle self-confidence, thus they are not having the least sex in my opinion :)
Some are having a lot - many are sitting at home playing Playstation.
I really like that title. Thought of the song, which I always found nice.
You're right to hope but like me I don't have a lot of faith in the system. We've barely begun and the social divide it's already caused is terrible. Glad you were able to connect to that bit of humanity. Helps to keep our shit together in the world we're seeing now.
:)
I wonder how many people out there are struggling, and a little human contact is all they need.
Yes I also agree. You are saying peoples who works at home are less happy. I think You are saying right. If we make our selves more skilled full than we wants that it will proves to be helpful for our society. Peoples get benefits from our knowledge.
When people benefit from what we know or can do, we have something tradeable. Most have very little value in society now.
I've sired half a dozen kids so one of those leaves me out of the equation. As for the game, and any game where money is to be earned, there will always be a force that looks for the easiest most profitable way to do that. Bots are up there right now, sad but true.
There will definitely always be people looking to take shortcuts, which is part of the evolution of how to improve and make a more robust system. The system shouldn't cater to the laziest, it should encourage the active.
I am not a robot. In the morning I go to Hive and nature.com because I'm interested. I still love learning new things. The thirst for knowledge is one of the positive factors in this life.
Out of curiosity, how many new people do you think you come into contact with in a month?
It depends on the frequency of my trips to the bar :) If it's online, it's 1-2 new people on Hive.
I'm not really a very social person, but I have often wondered if I should retire when I am able to simply because I would lose that human interaction piece. Even though I suck at it!
I work with a lot of introverted tech nerds (coders, technical consultants etc) and even they through Covid, started coming back into the office - because they miss people. They might not talk much there, but they like having people around, even if sitting silently together.
I can appreciate that!
Interesting insights and I share the same sentiments too. I myself have also given up and decided to take a break by renting out my SPS. Shall see how things develop in this new staked SPS system.
I am still playing for now - but not sure for how much longer if it keeps up this way.
All the best! 💪 :)
This is where the WEB2 realm is doing better I'd say.
Any form of "extra assistance" from a software, bot or AI is instantly banned when identified. We FPS players, especially the "competitive" ones absolutely detest the players who use any sort of aim-bot or hacks. Just shows that they lack skill, and aren't ready to put in the work to grow their skillsets.
Any sort of game that requires skill, low or high, reward or no reward, such games SHOULD NOT have any sort of bots. That's just what I think, and I bet my whole gaming community buddies throughout different games and countries will agree as well.
It is much easier when it is all centralized and opaque.
Bots used to be laughed at (and angered over) - yet now, people support them? It is sad. I agree, skill games should have no bots.
Yep, that's why they have teams that are there to just monitor such activities of cheating, glitch abuse, and hack manipulation. Yet, soon enough the WEB3 sector will get there too, WEB3 gaming and P2E sector is the future, that's what I think at least.
The WEB2 sector will have to adapt to the ways of WEB3, or just go out of business.
Bots, trainers and glitches are alright for offline/story mode games, I used rely on them too sometimes.
But any game where you're going up against other players shouldn't have any bots, it defeats purpose of a multiplayer game. It's either you "get good" or just keep losing until one day you're skilled enough to take on other skilled players.
And in the realm of P2E bots should absolutely be banned, full and final. Because not only is skill involved here, but you're also getting rewards. And no way in hell should you able to automate your way through various challenges and other players to get that reward.
Our relationship with humans matters. It helps us think and learn more about relationships. There are many take home from this post and I am glad I read it.
What this generation has in stock for humanity is something that can't be fully comprehended and seeing there are the future makes the thought of seeing the future frightening.
It is difficult to understand, because what it does is make everyone irrelevant. People don't grasp what that means for them, because they think they are relevant now and don't know different.
Yes, that's true and it is very sad they think and act this way. I hope they get to reason for once and act it.
Good time reading bout it bro
Yay! 🤗
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And even if they have the reasons, it doesn't make the reasons right. I still bot in ranked out of convenience (I tell myself), but the honest truth is that I just feel good enough to compete anymore on a regular basis.
Every now and again, when I'm not on a winning streak, I'll look to use a few extra energy and do some ranked battles myself. The winning % has not been pretty. Maybe I do need to make more effort to get better with strategies (I still hate using Baakjira), and be more thoughtful for a level 2 play instead of going for the easier level 1 play.
But I'll be damned if I ever use outside assistance for Brawl or Tournaments. I don't care what helpers are available, or who might be breaking the rules once the new ToS are released. For me, those competitions in Splinterlands are sacred, and even if I fail, I am willing to do it without outside assistance.