How Rotten.com Fought for Free Speech - Tales From the Internet

[jongib369]

"Rotten dot com was the most famous shock site of the early Internet. Although it is most remembered for the horrific images people saw and the occasional twisted humor, the site was actually founded the protest the Communications Decency Act, one of the first attempts by the US government to censor Internet content. Although the act was eventually found to be unconstitutional, rotten remained online for over 20 years.

Throughout that time, they were involved in a great deal of controversies, trolling campaigns and hoaxes. This is a look at some of the highlights of the site's history."


https://youtu.be/Yy2QJTo6LY8

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rotten_4499.gif

[Ben Simmons 25]

Not sure what the point of this thread is but I remember rotten from when I was a 13 or 14 year old... first time I can remember being exposed to brutally dead body pictures... I remember Tupac and JFK corpse pics... probably shouldn

[highwhey]

[QUOTE=Ben Simmons 25]Not sure what the point of this thread is but I remember rotten from when I was a 13 or 14 year old... first time I can remember being exposed to brutally dead body pictures... I remember Tupac and JFK corpse pics... probably shouldn

[Prometheus]

It's good to be able to see horrible things. If you are reflective, it only enhances your appreciation for the gift of mortality.

[jongib369]

[QUOTE=Ben Simmons 25]Not sure what the point of this thread is but I remember rotten from when I was a 13 or 14 year old... first time I can remember being exposed to brutally dead body pictures... I remember Tupac and JFK corpse pics... probably shouldn

[Ben Simmons 25]

it probably contributed to your current mental illness.

https://media.giphy.com/media/rngE31q0PTHbO/giphy.gif

[Ben Simmons 25]

It's good to be able to see horrible things. If you are reflective, it only enhances your appreciation for the gift of mortality.

That or if you

[Prometheus]

[QUOTE=Ben Simmons 25]That or if you

[highwhey]

[QUOTE=Ben Simmons 25]That or if you

[Prometheus]

you sound unstable.

and reflecting on death is something everyone is capable of, not only pseudo intellectuals like yourself starface.

any one that has experienced the loss of a loved one can reflect on their own expiration date. no wonder you think you're smarter than everyone else :oldlol:

I really really do not think he and akra are the same person. bs25 is way more insightful and varied in his talking points. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

[highwhey]

I really really do not think he and akra are the same person. bs25 is way more insightful and varied in his talking points. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
they probably are tho. akra is his meltdown account, whereas ben is his account he can log onto to walk off the meltdown.

plus, he just gave a timeline that fits starface's age, 33-35. both single males, both semi virgins (they've been penetrated, but haven't done any penetrating themselves).

[Prometheus]

they probably are tho. akra is his meltdown account, whereas ben is his account he can log onto to walk off the meltdown.

plus, he just gave a timeline that fits starface's age, 33-35. both single males, both semi virgins (they've been penetrated, but haven't done any penetrating themselves).

:roll:

[bigkingsfan]

I still remember the face of a dude after a motorcycle accident, it was entirely peeled off.

[Ben Simmons 25]

you sound unstable.

and reflecting on death is something everyone is capable of, not only pseudo intellectuals like yourself starface.

any one that has experienced the loss of a loved one can reflect on their own expiration date. no wonder you think you're smarter than everyone else :oldlol:

I lost my great grandmother and saw her dead in a coffin when I was less than 10. I "lost" my grandfather when I was 15, who was as close to me if not closer to me than my actual father, to a stroke. He officially died 5 years later. My grandmother, his wife, submitted to cancer after 27 years of fighting it a mere 6 months later.

So I've had my experience with death, probably at a younger age than most experience it.

The problem itself *IS* the fact that I started reflecting upon my own expiration date.

It's not a healthy thing to continually look into the future, particularly when all paths lead to the same end. But I still look forward, because that's how my brain works. I have a ton of flaws, and this is arguably one of them as it is a benefit and a curse, but I am an EXTREMELY forward thinker.

I have wrong opinions as does everyone else, but I am smarter than a much larger percentage of people than you're ever going to believe. Statistically speaking, my IQ is in the 98th percentile on a good day in which I'm sharp and alert and possibly as low as the 90th percentile when I am just kinda hazing through a day. My raw IQ is probably lower now than it was in my 20s despite being more emotionally mature and a lot wiser overall. I'm sure of it.

[Ben Simmons 25]

they probably are tho. akra is his meltdown account, whereas ben is his account he can log onto to walk off the meltdown.

plus, he just gave a timeline that fits starface's age, 33-35. both single males, both semi virgins (they've been penetrated, but haven't done any penetrating themselves).

https://media.giphy.com/media/mjKno6YAxgc36/giphy.gif

[highwhey]

I lost my great grandmother and saw her dead in a coffin when I was less than 10. I "lost" my grandfather when I was 15, who was as close to me if not closer to me than my actual father, to a stroke. He officially died 5 years later. My grandmother, his wife, submitted to cancer after 27 years of fighting it a mere 6 months later.

So I've had my experience with death, probably at a younger age than most experience it.

The problem itself *IS* the fact that I started reflecting upon my own expiration date.

It's not a healthy thing to continually look into the future, particularly when all paths lead to the same end. But I still look forward, because that's how my brain works. I have a ton of flaws, and this is arguably one of them as it is a benefit and a curse, but I am an EXTREMELY forward thinker.

I have wrong opinions as does everyone else, but I am smarter than a much larger percentage of people than you're ever going to believe. Statistically speaking, my IQ is in the 98th percentile on a good day in which I'm sharp and alert and possibly as low as the 90th percentile when I am just kinda hazing through a day. My raw IQ is probably lower now than it was in my 20s despite being more emotionally mature and a lot wiser overall. I'm sure of it.
i'm sorry for your loss. the grief alone is tough to bear with, but even more so at a young age.

losing loved ones at a young age definitely makes you think about death, so i can understand why you would think of your own death as well, but that happens to a lot of people. we all create our own anxiety by thinking "forward". i don't understand how you're unique in this aspect. i think you're trying to describe yourself as dr. manhattan from the critically acclaimed 'Watchmen' comic series. this character can actually see the future and is bothered and saddened by humanity's faith.

you can't see the future, you can only think of consequences, such as death. but maybe you should make an attempt to think of it less. everyone deals with anxiety to some degree. "how am i going to pay for school" "will jeff delete half my post history again", etc. wim hof meditation helps in the short term, but actual meditation where you think about good stuff helps long term. i'm sorry to break it to you, but everyone is capable of thinking ahead.

[Prometheus]

Ben, I want to know what you believe is the fundamental difference between you and me.

Because I have also scored in the high 90s for percentile on every kind of standardized-or-IQ test I have ever taken (although I am guessing I think less of that fact than you do), I would also describe myself as highly forward-thinking, and yet... I have absolutely no fear of death. How can that be?

[Ben Simmons 25]

Ben, I want to know what you believe is the fundamental difference between you and me.

Because I have also scored in the high 90s for percentile on every kind of standardized-or-IQ test I have ever taken (although I am guessing I think less of that fact than you do), I would also describe myself as highly forward-thinking, and yet... I have absolutely no fear of death. How can that be?

Either 1) your emotional intelligence is higher... 2) genetic factors... 3) you haven’t truly obsessed over the idea of an eternity of nothingness after this or 4) some combination of the first 3.

Rationally speaking, if this is all there is, I know that death is not to be feared because I won’t experience anything after it’s over and won’t know the difference but even typing this out and thinking those thoughts bothers me.

But fears are seldom a rational thing even when you’re able to recognize that they’re irrational. There’s a difference between knowing it’s irrational and truly accepting it into your heart as being irrational.

This all came to be for me when my parents got divorced at the same time as my grandfather’s stroke... that I also didn’t see coming.

It was like... everything’s fine, life is good, la la la... WHAM... NOPE! All this shit was just fantasy land and here’s a nice taste of life sometimes sucks and is an uncaring bitch.

[warriorfan]

I lost my great grandmother and saw her dead in a coffin when I was less than 10. I "lost" my grandfather when I was 15, who was as close to me if not closer to me than my actual father, to a stroke. He officially died 5 years later. My grandmother, his wife, submitted to cancer after 27 years of fighting it a mere 6 months later.

So I've had my experience with death, probably at a younger age than most experience it.

The problem itself *IS* the fact that I started reflecting upon my own expiration date.

It's not a healthy thing to continually look into the future, particularly when all paths lead to the same end. But I still look forward, because that's how my brain works. I have a ton of flaws, and this is arguably one of them as it is a benefit and a curse, but I am an EXTREMELY forward thinker.

I have wrong opinions as does everyone else, but I am smarter than a much larger percentage of people than you're ever going to believe. Statistically speaking, my IQ is in the 98th percentile on a good day in which I'm sharp and alert and possibly as low as the 90th percentile when I am just kinda hazing through a day. My raw IQ is probably lower now than it was in my 20s despite being more emotionally mature and a lot wiser overall. I'm sure of it.

There is a good book called “On Killing” that talks about the psychological side of war and the effect killing has on people.

His two anaologies about why it’s easier to condition people to kill now vs a couple of generations ago was pretty interesting.

His theory was that older generations had a more comprehensive and intimate understanding/respect of death. When people’s parents got old they would usually end up dying in their house where their kids lived as well. Kids raised on a farm got to see the seasonal slaughtering of livestock and would even help. There was no alluring mysterious mistique about it. While today children are extremely removed from death in real life, and only experience it through mass media where it’s romantasized heavily. So they view violence and death as a mysterious but exciting endevour. He also had another analogy of this same concept with sexual relationships and the differences between differerent generations. I’m not sure if I was on board 100% with all what he was saying but there was some thought provoking stuff.

[Prometheus]

[QUOTE=Ben Simmons 25]Either 1) your emotional intelligence is higher... 2) genetic factors... 3) you haven

[Ben Simmons 25]

I agree with you about the nature of fear. That is why I am convinced that you have not fully accepted death. There's a big difference between 1- establishing a cognitive grasp on a truth, and 2- incorporating that truth fully into your spirit and emotional core.

Also, you seem to entertain the atheistic, fully disenchanted cosmos world-view - "My sense of meaning, emotion, intelligence and interiority is essentially in an accident in an otherwise vast, meaningless, mechanical cosmos - the whole of which is inherently without meaning, emotion, intelligence, and interiority." Doesn't it seem silly when you think of it that way?

First paragraph - I haven't. How does one? I've read that you're supposed to think about it often and always in terms of trying to come to the acceptance of it and essentially program yourself to accept it and think of it in a neutral if not positive way so that you may appreciate life more than to dwell on the opposite.

Second paragraph - Why does that seem silly? Is that not what it is? I want to be wrong about it. I want to be wrong about it so much that I called myself a Christian for the better part of my 20's and I legitimately felt like I experienced God multiple times. But in the end, right or wrong, it just seems like a deafening silence... which is an extension of my relationship with my parents, to a large degree. Shocker, right?

I digress... I think your underlying point was that it's a pointless way to think about things, even if that is the objective truth, as it serves one no purpose and benefits you nothing. In fact, only the opposite. Am I incorrect? Otherwise, I'm not entirely sure what your point was unless you're just disagreeing that a meaningless worldview is factually incorrect.

[Prometheus]

First paragraph - I haven't. How does one? I've read that you're supposed to think about it often and always in terms of trying to come to the acceptance of it and essentially program yourself to accept it and think of it in a neutral if not positive way so that you may appreciate life more than to dwell on the opposite.

Good question. I don't think there's a single fix that works for everyone...

There are a few processes which I have noticed tend to bring a more full acceptance of mortality: near-death experiences, sustained meditative practices (especially for those who believe in reincarnation [which I don't personally believe in]), and psychedelic experiences. But again, I cannot claim to know of any surefire ticket to death acceptance. If I could, then I think I would be more qualified to begin a new religion than any prophet that has ever lived. It is a traumatic experience to fully accept your mortality - it is necessarily experienced as a transformation - a kind of death/rebirth of its own. Each person must face it internally, on his own.


Second paragraph - Why does that seem silly? Is that not what it is? I want to be wrong about it. I want to be wrong about it so much that I called myself a Christian for the better part of my 20's and I legitimately felt like I experienced God multiple times. But in the end, right or wrong, it just seems like a deafening silence... which is an extension of my relationship with my parents, to a large degree. Shocker, right?

There is a perpetual difficulty in trying to answer this question. How can I persuade a denier of metaphysical reality that it exists? The nature of metaphysical truth is that it lies beyond the faculties of measurement and deduction. It is impossible to use rational language to define what is inherently irrational (or supra-rational).

First of all, Christianity is not going to help you. That is an obsolete world-view... it was useful before the Copernican revolution... ever since then, it has survived as a relic, clumsily adapting its original visions to fit the evolving, dominant presence of contemporary science.

It is interesting to note the dual ascent/descent which this great arc has caused within the modern mind - We have liberated our minds from the slavery of dogma, superstition, and spiritual oppression. We are empowered over the Earth; we are the masters of nature... we have frozen time with photography, conquered gravity with flight and space travel... and yet... we have disenchanted our world, removed our sense of place and purpose... where we were once the all-important center of the unfolding cosmic drama - reflections of God's perfect image, set to carry out his divine will... we are now meaningless dust specks in a vast, cold, empty Cosmos which has absolutely no concern for our existence. We are utterly alone in the physical world, and equally alone in our spiritual interior. God is dead, and night is closing in on us.

If you want to believe the Cosmos is ensouled, you have to look somewhere other than relics of the pre-modern world.

You say you want to be wrong about the atheistic view. I am not sure I believe you... the ego and desire to be correct is strong in each of us (especially those like you who are intellectually proud). But if you're being serious... my best advice to you would be to follow these words wherever they lead you:

-synchronicity
-archetype
-anima mundi
-collective unconsious
-prometheus

I am not interested in spelling out all the details of what I personally believe. Perhaps some other time... but I will share this much: I experience a Cosmos within which my place is embedded, participatory, and co-creative. I am aware of an internal-external mirroring at all times - a kind of dialogue between myself and the world. I do not believe I am at the center of the Cosmic drama, but I also do not believe my life is without meaning. There is a kind of dual nature to any mortal creature which has parallel in the wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics: we are at once completely individual, separate life-forms - and also intrinsically bonded for all eternity, to each other and to the Cosmos itself.


I digress... I think your underlying point was that it's a pointless way to think about things, even if that is the objective truth, as it serves one no purpose and benefits you nothing. In fact, only the opposite. Am I incorrect? Otherwise, I'm not entirely sure what your point was unless you're just disagreeing that a meaningless worldview is factually incorrect.

:lol

It is not what I meant, but I think of it often - and it is actually quite a compelling argument. No matter our world view, we are burdened by the certainty that we will never be certain. If that is the case, why bother pondering what is "correct"? Why not just adopt whichever viewpoint enhances life to the greatest degree?

[Ben Simmons 25]

Good question. I don't think there's a single fix that works for everyone...

There are a few processes which I have noticed tend to bring a more full acceptance of mortality: near-death experiences, sustained meditative practices (especially for those who believe in reincarnation [which I don't personally believe in]), and psychedelic experiences. But again, I cannot claim to know of any surefire ticket to death acceptance. If I could, then I think I would be more qualified to begin a new religion than any prophet that has ever lived. It is a traumatic experience to fully accept your mortality - it is necessarily experienced as a transformation - a kind of death/rebirth of its own. Each person must face it internally, on his own.

I've had one near death experience... I just laughed hysterically for 15 minutes and walked away unscathed. There was no psychological shift on mortality. The most interesting thing, in hindsight, is how whichever chemicals my brain experienced as a defense mechanism then caused me to experience "time" in a manner that seemed to be going at about a tenth of the speed of what actually happened. The closest thing to peace on this topic I've ever experienced was when I perceived myself to be obeying what I interpreted as God's will.



There is a perpetual difficulty in trying to answer this question. How can I persuade a denier of metaphysical reality that it exists? The nature of metaphysical truth is that it lies beyond the faculties of measurement and deduction. It is impossible to use rational language to define what is inherently irrational (or supra-rational).

We don't yet know what we don't yet know and there's more to reality than meets the eye which is currently observed as "truth"... is that close enough? I think, given enough time, if we don't die out as a species anytime soon, we will discover these truths despite the idea that we currently lack the means to deduce and measure them, to steal your words.

I've personally heavily flirted with the idea that we're living in a simulation over the past year or so. Musk got me pondering that and I can't find a hole in the argument.

I know that we are without question connected in ways that we can't yet explain using our current scientific understanding. I've experienced it personally.


First of all, Christianity is not going to help you. That is an obsolete world-view... it was useful before the Copernican revolution... ever since then, it has survived as a relic, clumsily adapting its original visions to fit the evolving, dominant presence of contemporary science.

It is interesting to note the dual ascent/descent which this great arc has caused within the modern mind - We have liberated our minds from the slavery of dogma, superstition, and spiritual oppression. We are empowered over the Earth; we are the masters of nature... we have frozen time with photography, conquered gravity with flight and space travel... and yet... we have disenchanted our world, removed our sense of place and purpose... where we were once the all-important center of the unfolding cosmic drama - reflections of God's perfect image, set to carry out his divine will... we are now meaningless dust specks in a vast, cold, empty Cosmos which has absolutely no concern for our existence. We are utterly alone in the physical world, and equally alone in our spiritual interior. God is dead, and night is closing in on us.

If you want to believe the Cosmos is ensouled, you have to look somewhere other than relics of the pre-modern world.

I want to believe that there's more than this. That we have an afterlife. Without a personal God and without an afterlife, how can there be a point and meaning? Without a creator, how can objective meaning actually exist? It would just all be meaningless.


You say you want to be wrong about the atheistic view. I am not sure I believe you... the ego and desire to be correct is strong in each of us (especially those like you who are intellectually proud).

You should believe me in the sense of... to articulate it as closely an honestly as I can... I do want there to be more than this and I don't want to believe that we just die at the end of our lives and that is the end of our consciousness for all of eternity. It terrifies me. For some, it's liberating. For me, it is a nightmare. And consequently, because I want there to be more than this, I don't see a base meaning to any of it without the existence of God. But yes, you are correct, that the pride part of me screams, I want to be right and that anyone who disagrees is a dumbass unless they present somewhat of a reasonable argument as to why I'm wrong. There's no doubt that I feel that way.


But if you're being serious... my best advice to you would be to follow these words wherever they lead you:

-synchronicity
-archetype
-anima mundi
-collective unconsious
-prometheus

Noted. Thank you.


I am not interested in spelling out all the details of what I personally believe. Perhaps some other time... but I will share this much: I experience a Cosmos within which my place is embedded, participatory, and co-creative. I am aware of an internal-external mirroring at all times - a kind of dialogue between myself and the world. I do not believe I am at the center of the Cosmic drama, but I also do not believe my life is without meaning. There is a kind of dual nature to any mortal creature which has parallel in the wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics: we are at once completely individual, separate life-forms - and also intrinsically bonded for all eternity, to each other and to the Cosmos itself.

I'm fairly certain I get the gist of what you're putting down, but as previously stated, I just can't currently wrap my mind around there being any objective, actual... meaning... to anything... if it wasn't assigned by an eternally powerful form of intelligence. There is no doubt in my mind that our thoughts and actions shape the reality for ourselves and for others to depths that the extreme majority of people are not yet aware. The human mind is an extremely powerful object whose ultimate power has yet to be tapped and I agree with your idea that we are co-creators, if I'm understanding it correctly.

But... my mind also does wander to the idea that... while that all may be true, do we actually have free will as we perceive it? We don't choose our genetics. We don't choose our initial environmental factors, in particular. Those two things shape everything that we are and everything that we do. It's only later on that we perceive free will to enter into the equation, for some reason. Given that that we don't choose our nature or our nurture, do we choose anything? Is free will an illusion that is really just a bunch of chemical reactions playing out in such a way that they were always going to play out, even this very conversation and the act of me typing it... I don't know.



It is not what I meant, but I think of it often - and it is actually quite a compelling argument. No matter our world view, we are burdened by the certainty that we will never be certain. If that is the case, why bother pondering what is "correct"? Why not just adopt whichever viewpoint enhances life to the greatest degree?

I enjoy objective truth and I'm afraid I will not find it.