Why do people troll?

14 July 2014


What is trolling?
Trolling is the act of provoking or inciting arguments with the deliberate intent to obtain an emotional response and to disrupt genuine discussion on the Internet. Trolling by definition, is to be a disingenuous bastard on the Internet. Trolling seeks to attack people emotionally through a screen but not real-life. It is a psychology on human-computer interaction and virtual worlds. Comparing human to human interaction in real-life (e.g. bullying, playing pranks) to trolling is incorrect, because the user can choose to simply ignore, filter, block, delete, scroll or even move to the next page. The user has full control over what he/she wants to see and how he/she wants to respond through anonymity, privacy settings and so on.


So why troll?
There is no definitive answer as to the reason for trolling; however, trolling usually poses a question to you, your existence or your life. Usually, it's one of the following:

1. Why so serious?
2. What fun is there in poker if you cannot see the reactions of the players?
3. Do you truly understand and respect what freedom of speech is?
4. Are you aware of the concept of "ignore", "block", "delete", "scroll down" and "move to the next comment/page"?
5. How would you and the people here actually react to this?

The very existence of these questions is the very reason why people troll - to see you become clueless to these questions through your angered response. It's funny in the same way children make fun of one another through words like "your mother" where mature adults don't find it funny. In essence, trolling is childish.

If trolling is a problem for you, think about this example. Why do you simply ignore those 200 junk mails you get everyday? Why don't you report each and every one of them for harassing you over and over again, even when some of them are phishing scams? Well, because they're anonymous so you don't know how to get to them, and they're in your Junk folder. Problem solved. So why should trolling be a problem for you? The user has control over what he/she wants to see, and how he/she wants to respond. Remember that.


What about trolling with threats?
Some trolls target people with threats, like Justin Bieber for example. Some even go to the extent to blur the line between a real death-threat and trolling for fun. If no real threat is observable, then it is not wrong thanks to freedom of speech and expression. Of course, that itself is a hotly debated topic. There is a concern where even satirical comments can be regarded as a threat. One shouldn't be so sure to regard trolling as an ultimately wrong thing to do. It's just not as simple as one would like to think of it.


How to Setup RUST Server with Plugins?

15 May 2014

A short guide on how to setup a RUST server, with mods and plugins to enhance the game.

This guide shows you how to start a RUST server for other players to join, as well as to show you how to install plugins. A normal RUST server without any mods or plugins is difficult to play because of its early development stage; for example, there will be no welcome message for new players and killing somebody does not display anything. Adding plugins helps make the game better such as by announcing server messages, protect and reserve in-game names, spawning NPCs, allowing admins to manage and destroy buildings easily, change most of the gameplay and so on!


Note: This guide is for setting up the SERVER, not for playing the game as a CLIENT. To see how to install and play the game, refer to this guide.






Steps

1. Get RUST Client and Server
Currently, most people are playing on version v25, which you can get here.


2. Install RUST server and start the server once.
Run the RUST Server Installer and install the server (if you installed RUST Client, do not overwrite the client files, make sure your server is installed in a separate folder). Once that is done, go to the folder where you installed it and run "Run Server.bat" to start the server, which brings up a console. Type in "config.save" in the console, then close it. This creates initial server files needed in future. If you do not wish to add mods or plugins to your server, you can stop here. Any commands to set the server name and rcon password can be configured in /serverdata/cfg/server.cfg. A list of server commands can be seen here. As a minimum, the server.cfg should contain something like this:

rcon.password mypassword
server.hostname "My Server"
server.maxplayers 24


3. Download and install Magma.
There are other popular mods such as Oxide, but Magma is an excellent framework which allows users to create plugins using JavaScript, which is easy as pie if you have any knowledge on programming, giving you a great deal of control and modification for your plugins. It is important to note that newer versions of Magma do not support the current v25 RUST, so I provided a download link for the correct Magma version here. At the top-left corner of Google Drive, click File > Download. Then, extract its contents to where you installed your RUST server.


4. Configure Magma.
Go to /save/Magma/Rust++/Rust++.cfg and configure important settings such as sleepers. If sleepers = true, then the server spawns a sleeping body whenever a player disconnects. These bodies can still be killed, so it forces players to find a safe place to disconnect. Other settings such as message of the day and notices can be configured here.


5. Make yourself the master admin of the server.
If you're going to play in your own server, you should make yourself the master admin. There are two ways you can try, or you can just do both. The first method is to join your server, bring up the console with F1 and type "rcon.login [password]", replacing [password] with your rcon password set in server.cfg as mentioned in Step 2. Then, type "/setmasteradmin" in chat (NOT CONSOLE).

The second method is the best method, which is to go to /save/Magma/Rust++ folder and edit the admins.xml. It should contain this code, but make sure you replace DisplayName with your nickname and UserID with your player ID number (this can be seen in the server console when you join the server as a client):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ArrayOfAdministrator xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<Administrator>
<DisplayName>Lemoney</DisplayName>
<UserID>76561198120464074</UserID>
<Flags>
<string>CanKick</string>
<string>CanBan</string>
<string>CanUnban</string>
<string>CanTeleport</string>
<string>CanLoadout</string>
<string>CanAnnounce</string>
<string>CanSpawnItem</string>
<string>CanGiveItem</string>
<string>CanReload</string>
<string>CanSaveAll</string>
<string>CanAddAdmin</string>
<string>CanDeleteAdmin</string>
<string>CanGetFlags</string>
<string>CanInstaKO</string>
<string>CanAddFlags</string>
<string>CanUnflag</string>
<string>CanWhiteList</string>
<string>CanKill</string>
<string>CanMute</string>
<string>CanUnmute</string>
<string>CanGodMode</string>
<string>RCON</string>
</Flags>
</Administrator>
</ArrayOfAdministrator>




To make other players as admin, you can just use the "/addadmin [playername]" chat command, but if you want to manage your admins better, you should edit the admins.xml file manually. You can add new admins by copy-and-pasting the whole Administrator element. See the number of things the admin can do under the Flags list, such as CanGodMode? This means that this admin can use the "/god" chat command to make himself invulnerable. So, when copying this admin code for other admins in your server, you may want to remove some of these flags so that they do not have full access.




6. Adding Plugins
Adding plugins is very simple in Magma. To install plugins, simply extract the plugin folder to /save/Magma. You can find plugins for Magma in their forums here, but you may need to register for an account. For your convenience, I have compiled a bunch of useful plugins that should be used on most servers. Some of the plugins have been modified by me to prevent same names and have some funny death messages, so this is a little extra that could not be found in the forums. Extract the plugins to /save/Magma.

USEFUL WORKING PLUGINS FOR MAGMA v1.1.3






Common Questions

Why can't people can't join my server?
Make sure they are using RUST v25. Also, make sure your firewall allows the connection between the server and clients, make sure the ports are forwarded.

How do I detect hackers?
There is no real way to detect hackers, but you can reduce it. If you used the plugins pack that I provided here, it should include a HackAutoBan plugin which will automatically kick anyone suspected of hacking (it checks for players killing people farther than the weapon's effective range). There is also a Vanish plugin which allows admins to use the "/vanish" chat command to turn invisible. This, along with the "/tpto [playername]" command, admins can teleport and check on players, but the admin's name will still show even if invisible, so I suggest admins to use a hard-to-see name like "." or something.

Can I create my own plugins? How?
Magma works by simply reading the JavaScript file in the plugin folder you put in /save/Magma. You can take a look at the plugins created by others as an example. THIS LIST provides a documentation on classes, events and hooks which you can use to program the game's behaviour.

How to Play RUST Online?

A short guide to playing RUST online using Tunngle (also works with offline LAN).

RUST is a survival first-person-shooting game where you start off with nothing but a rock. From there, you wander around the wilderness of a beautiful post-apocalyptic world with nuclear radiation zones, gathering materials and building houses, weapons and more. It is sort of like DayZ without the zombies, as there are enough ways to die in this game. Here's an easy guide on how to play it online, or even LAN.

Note: This guide only shows how to install the game CLIENT. To see how to setup a SERVER with mods and plugins, refer to this guide.




Steps to Follow

1. Get RUST Client and Server
Currently, most people are playing on version v25, which you can get here.

2. Run the RUST Client v25 Installer.
Install the client. Server is not needed unless you are planning to host a RUST server.

3. Enter your nickname.
Go to where you installed RUST, launch ChangeNick.exe and type in any name you like. This will be your in-game name. Some servers may prevent default and same names from joining, so it is best that you enter a unique name.

4. Join game.
Make sure you're in Tunngle (also works with Hamachi, Evolve and other VPN/VLAN software), there is a Rust network in Tunngle which you can join to look for servers. To join a server, launch the game using "Rust Client.exe" and press F1 when in-game to bring up the console. Type in this:

net.connect [ip address]:[port]

Make sure to fill in BOTH the IP address and port of the server. The default port used in RUST servers is 28015. For example, net.connect 7.11.72.66:28015. Once you're in game, type "/help" to get started, as most servers have plugins to provide information on commands and things you can do in the server. Some even has starter kits which will give you a stone hatchet for easy mining at the start.




Common Problems

Cannot start the game.
1. Make sure you have the Visual C++ Redistributable Packages installed.
2. Make sure you have the latest .NET Framework.
3. Make sure you run RUST as administrator.

Can't join the server?
1. Most likely the server runs on a different version, some are still running v19, an older version.
2. Firewall problems are also common, make sure all connections are allowed between you and the server.
3. Other than that, it is possible that the server has a plugin which auto-kicks players due to certain name constraints. Try changing your name.

College Problems in Malaysia

20 March 2014

Academic excellence is overrated. I know I get straight As and all, but these are some reasons why I don't actually study hard:

1. Scholarship is a lie.

2. Charge thousands for information obtainable online like those conman seminars.

3. Strictly follows a marking scheme which has no realistic grading of your actual capabilities.

4. Strictly follows stupid rules and imposing subjective values which does not matter or are of no relation to reality.

5. Colleges forget that you're their customer, but never forget about getting your money.

6. Colleges act as if your academic excellence is important to them, but only to make use of it for free to gain more money.

7. Colleges, even in the UK, having poor coordination and management worse than local government agencies.

8. Lecturers do not strictly follow the stupid rules aforementioned and therefore students get low marks.

9. Lecturers and teachers act as an authoritative figure, or focused on teacher-centered learning.

10. Some idiot who is the husband of the lecturer interrupts the class to ask the customer for respect, although it should be the other way round. =P

11. Theories everywhere, but no realistic application. All talk, no do.

12. Assignments which require you to use certain materials or facilities but not provided in the college, so the student has to pay. After that, use the students projects as part of their free marketing to further con more people.

13. Assignments asking you to do more than what is taught in order to achieve good results such as doing a degree-level project during your diploma, so your own learning is required, further highlighting the expensive tuition as a total ripoff in the first place. They call it "testing your research skills" which is also not taught in the course.

14. Colleges participating and encouraging students to do MLM as part of their business.

15. Colleges don't care. But they're not honest with it, so it's like having a relationship with an affair.

16. I achieved more knowledge and finished projects which benefited everyone in 3 years with free time than 3 years in college.

17. Constant sausagefests from primary school until now.

18. Colleges feel that students with marks above 80% is too high and will do whatever they can to press it down to either 60% or 70% so they don't have to go through the troublesome peer reviewing process due to their stupid rules designed to make peer reviewing sound like some kind of alien technology.

19. Students are always being taught what to think, and not how to think. Students are never taught how to voice out and fight for their rights. No school or college here teaches logic, critical thinking and its applications correctly, yet expect students to apply such skills to get good grades, at the same time exploiting them right under their noses.

20. Good grades are just for show.

How to Customize Facebook Theme?

01 February 2014

Cool blue theme with CSS hover effects for your Facebook addiction!

Customizing your theme only applies to you locally, which means nobody else can see it except yourself. However, it does serve as a very cool eye candy to show off to you and your friends, and they'll be asking how you did it! Here's a picture below, it's actually pretty neat with effects that give out a blue light as you hover over some of the controls.



"Dark Shiny Blue" by DaedalusIcarusHelios


You actually have to run a Javascript which locally replaces the CSS for the Facebook controls. It is not permanent, so it goes back to normal after you refresh your page. If you really want it to stay permanent, you will need to download something like GreaseMonkey for Firefox which applies it for you every time you visit Facebook. Okay, here's how to do it:

  1. The first step is to go to this link: http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=TWgqWe2Q
  2. Select all (Ctrl + A) and copy it (Ctrl + C).
  3. Go to your Facebook home page. You need to be there for the CSS to actually replace the controls on the page itself.
  4. If you're using Google Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + J.
    If you're using Mozilla Firefox, press Ctrl + Shift + K.
  5. Paste the code (Ctrl + V) and press Enter to execute.
  6. You will immediately see your Facebook in its new theme.


As of today, maybe this theme doesn't work so well with the new Facebook Timeline, it may have some glitches here and there, but it's still one of the better themes out there. If you find any better themes, please do share it at the chatbox!