#unified communication applications

[directechconnect]

How Can a VoIP Phone System Be Used as a Marketing Tool?

VoIP technology has revolutionized how businesses communicate, allowing them to make and receive calls over the internet through hardware run by managed service providers rather than through traditional phone lines. Their systems also support other forms of online communication, such as instant messaging and chat. While the cost savings of using VoIP are well-known, many businesses are unaware of how a VoIP phone system can help market their business. One reason may be that many business owners think about their IP telephones as stand-alone devices, not as one of their company’s unified communication applications.

The Marketing Advantage of Unified Communication Applications

One of the most significant advantages of a VoIP phone system is the ability to integrate various communication channels into a single unified communication application. This application can include video conferencing, instant messaging, and file sharing, among other features. These services run on a company’s own IP-PBX or cloud computers operated by managed service providers.

Businesses can use a unified communication system to reach customers and employees through their preferred communication channels, allowing for greater engagement and collaboration. For example, customers may prefer to communicate via chat, while employees may prefer video conferencing. Unified communication applications make it easy for a business to offer multiple options.

Software Integrations

A VoIP phone system also allows for software integrations that can help streamline marketing efforts. For example, integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) system with VoIP can help businesses track customer interactions and provide personalized marketing messages.

Another example of software integration is the integration of IP telephones with email marketing tools. With this integration, businesses can automatically track which customers have engaged with marketing emails and follow up with personalized phone calls.

Other Marketing-Related Features You Might Overlook

VoIP technology offers several other features designed for marketing purposes. For example, businesses can set up virtual phone numbers that track the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns. Companies can use different virtual phone numbers for each campaign to monitor which campaigns generate the most leads and adjust their investment by choosing alternative marketing strategies.

VoIP technology also allows call recording to improve customer service and provide valuable insights into customer behavior. Reviewing those recorded calls can offer insight into customer pain points, information that a business can use to adjust its messaging. Recordings can also be a training tool.

Of course, a VoIP phone system is invaluable when employees want to or need to work remotely, allowing businesses to hire talent from anywhere in the world. This workplace situation can help companies to expand their reach and improve their marketing efforts. As with other roles, absenteeism can hurt a team’s productivity, but employees miss less work by allowing an efficient remote option.

Measure and Improve Marketing Efforts

Your IP telephone system can generate a wealth of data on calls, messages, and chat sessions, and there are several ways to use this data to gain marketing insights. Here are some tips:

Track Call Volume and Duration: By analyzing this data, you can identify trends and patterns in customer behavior. For example, if you notice a spike in call volume during certain times of the day or week, you may want to adjust your marketing efforts to target customers.

Monitor Call Recordings: These recordings can provide valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. You can identify common customer pain points by analyzing call recordings and adjusting your marketing messages to address these issues better.

Analyze Call Data: Call data can provide insights into the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. By analyzing calls made or call duration data, you can identify which marketing campaigns generate the most leads and adjust your marketing efforts.

Use Speech Analytics: Speech analytics software can help you identify keywords and phrases commonly used during customer calls. Analyzing this essential marketing tool lets you gain insights into customer needs and preferences, informing your marketing messages.

Track Chat Session Data: If your IP telephone system includes chat functionality, you can use chat session data to gain insights into customer behavior. By tracking chat session data, you can identify common customer questions and concerns, which can inform your marketing messages and content.

Integrate with CRM Systems: By integrating your IP telephone system with a customer relationship management (CRM) system, you can track customer interactions across multiple channels and gain a holistic view of customer behavior. This can help you identify areas for improvement in your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions.

Your IP telephone system can generate a wealth of data to gain valuable marketing insights. By tracking call volume and duration, analyzing call recordings and data, using speech analytics, tracking chat session data, and integrating with CRM systems, you can better understand customer behavior and adjust your marketing strategies accordingly.

Think of VoIP as a Marketing Tool

A VoIP phone system offers numerous advantages for businesses looking to market their products or services. Companies can improve their marketing ROI by using IP telephones and cloud-based services run by a managed services provider, integrating with other software tools, and reviewing marketing communications. If you would like to leverage VoIP technology and unified communication applications to improve your marketing efforts, contact us to set up a free consultation.

[sffgtrhyjhmnzdt]

The Benefits of Unified Communications Solutions

In today's fast-paced business landscape, effective communication is not just a necessity but a strategic advantage. The ability to connect seamlessly with clients, partners, and employees is crucial for driving growth and staying competitive. 

The Importance of Unified Communications for Business Growth

In a digital era where communication happens across multiple channels, managing disparate systems can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Unified Communications solutions address this challenge by consolidating voice calls, video conferencing, instant messaging, email, and more into a unified platform. This not only simplifies communication but also fosters a more cohesive and connected work environment.

Streamlining Workflows

One of the key benefits of UC solutions is their ability to streamline workflows. Instead of juggling multiple unified communications applications in Africa and platforms, employees can access all communication tools from a single interface. Whether they're collaborating on a project, scheduling a meeting, or responding to a client inquiry, everything they need is just a click away. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of miscommunication and errors.

Enhancing Collaboration

Effective collaboration is essential for driving innovation and achieving business goals. UC solutions facilitate collaboration by providing tools such as real-time document sharing, screen sharing, and virtual meeting rooms. Whether team members are in the same office or spread across different locations, they can collaborate seamlessly and stay connected regardless of distance. This fosters a culture of teamwork and empowers employees to work together more efficiently.

Improving Customer Relationships

Building strong relationships with customers is key to business growth. UCaaS solutions in Africa enable businesses to communicate with customers in a more personalized and responsive manner. Whether it's through email, phone calls, or video conferencing, businesses can engage with customers on their preferred channels and provide timely support and assistance. This not only enhances the customer experience but also fosters loyalty and drives repeat business.

Provide Training and Support: Implementing a new communication system can be daunting for employees. Provide comprehensive training and ongoing support to help them adapt to the new technology and maximize its potential.

Integrate with Existing Systems: To fully realize the benefits of UC solutions, integrate them with existing business systems such as CRM software, project management tools, and email clients. This allows for seamless data sharing and workflow automation.

Unified Communications solutions offer a powerful platform for building connections and driving growth in today's business environment. By streamlining communication, enhancing collaboration, and improving customer relationships, white label unified communications solutions in Africa empower businesses to achieve their goals and stay ahead of the competition. By leveraging UC solutions strategically and investing in the right technology and support, businesses can unlock new opportunities for growth and success.

[mesetacadre]

(sorry in advance for the more personal ask, you're the most intelligent person i know of when it comes to these things)

genuinely, how are we supposed to find the strength to go on? it feels like capitalism has won. only a few decades ago my country was openly and proudly socialist, and now we're nothing but an american military base with an economy. everything's been privatised, the unions are broken, the people are starving, and we keep voting for more of this! people are gleefully begging for yet more exploitation! sometimes it feels there's not a drop of class consciousness to be found in the entire country, and that it's pointless to even hope for change. how can i stay sane?

The class struggle is not a team sport which either side can win or lose. It is a historical and economic process, one that's inevitable. As long as capitalism exists, there will be a social majority of workers it must exploit, alienation will still happen, and a portion of these workers will be aware of this fact. The class struggle is also a long process, one that, most of the time, is imperceptible to the individual in physical and time scale. Only sometimes, it accelerates to dizzying speeds and the conditions necessary for taking power are met. We can talk about victories and defeats, but we can't lose sight of the fact that those "only" are points in time, momentaneous advances or retreats in the process that is the class struggle, but they never mean the paralization of this process.

We can only really talk about the bourgeoisie taking power and creating the first properly capitalist states in the late 18th century and early 19th, but the bourgeoisie had lead or taken part in attempts at or glimpes of revolution as far back as the early 16th century. The bourgeoisie never really had an unifying theory of the class struggle, most were never really fully conscious of it. But they still eventually took power, once the development of the national economies advanced so far that it forced the replacement of the feudal mode of production, the bourgeois revolutions became inevitable. Marx and Engels only ever saw one real attempt at the proletariat taking power, in the Paris Commune of 1871, but it only ever lasted a few months. They both were long dead when the first actually (relatively) long-lasting instance of the proletariat in power broke the oppressor classes' veneer of invincibility.

When Marxists talk of inevitability it is not in a conspiratorial manner, or an expression of satisfied optimism, we never mean that "one day the capitalists will get what's coming to them", in a vague way. We mean that, only if communists continue to work towards the revolutionary organization of our class, is a complete overthrow of capitalism inevitable. We should all do an exercise is historical perspective when it comes to analyzing progress, take the Marx and Engels example from the previous paragraph, they never got to see an effective application of their theories. Class consciousness will fluctuate continuously, it always has. The bolshevik party in 1913 had nothing to do with the party that lead the October Revolution, and 8 years after the defeat of the 1905 revolution, I bet many felt like their work was hopeless. My point is that, while the borders of the Communist Party may shrink, grow, or even disappear, and while we might be savagely oppressed, no system of oppression has ever lasted forever.

When it comes to revolutions, there are objective and subjective conditions. The objective we can never control; it's the stability of capitalism, the characteristics of its suprastructure, if there is a crisis or not. The subjective is what's under our control; our own work as communists, the state of the revolutionary party, the degree of influence of communists at the core of the working class. These two sets of conditions interact with one another, with the objective conditions influencing the possibility of development of the subjective conditions much more than the reverse. What makes you hopeless is in part the objective conditions. Capitalism is quite stable right now (though not as much as it ever seems), and, for now, we can't do much about it, because the subjective conditions, the other part of your homelessness, are also very delayed. But these we do have control over, at first very little, but as they improve, the control we have over them also increases. Essentially, friend, all we can do is prepare our class, do our best to gain more workers to our cause, bit by bit, so that once capitalism shows one of its cracks, we can be ready to pry those cracks open and bust the whole system. The Russian soldiers in WW1 were already discontent when the bolsheviks began to agitate up to the trenches, Mao's guerrillas grew to an army taking advantage of the deep fragmentation China suffered throughout the first half of the century, etc.

Once again, class struggle is not a straight line that we move in two directions. It is a complex space. The overthrow of the USSR was a very profound blow to revolutionary organizations all around the world, of course, but the state of communism in general in 1995 was still in a much better position than it was merely 90 years prior. Every defeat also sharpens the tactics and strategies we use. Eastern Europe (where I assume you're from) did use to be socialist, and those worker's states were overthrown. But you are still in a better position than a communist in the interwar period, facing borderline fascistic dictatorship and a future of Nazi-Fascist occupation. They did not have any precedent or much practical experience to learn from, but you do. Every day that we delay work, even in the most hopeless of contexts, is a day more that our grandchildren will have to bear in capitalism, and a day more they're deprived of true freedom and self-government

[machineheraldbabe]

arcane, populism, and why viktor is the odd one out (yet again)

as a piltover-anti, a silco criticizer, and a pacifist, i am very very interested in how arcane presents not just the political undertones of both topside and the undercity, but the characters/dialogue through which they communicate those undertones. allow me to use some political science bro lingo to air out some thoughts.

long, long post incoming.

there are 2 ideological struggles at war throughout s1 (and i can predict that the struggle will carry over into s2): neoliberalism and populism - in their broadest terms since we're talking ofc about a fictional show dealing with surface level political machinations. by neoliberalism, i mean a focus on the social, political, and cultural structures of a polity (piltover, for our purposes) refocused into a strictly economic vacuum. and by populism i mean a unifying belief that the existing political systems of a polity fail to adequately represent their constituents, so the masses choose to rally around a specific gripe or issue, i.e., class discrimination, xenophobia toward immigrants, etc. this, in turn, forms a populist party or movement. an applicable example i can think of would be Nasser's Egypt in the 1950s.

*i know these are weighty topics with very real world implications! i just want to separate the theory to apply to our favorite fictional world.

the political struggle in question is put forward immediately by piltover, who, though presented as a technocratic state, embodies crucial neoliberal ideals emphasized especially by up-and-coming counilor mel medarda, much like how fresh-eyed american economists blew up the economic scene in the 1980s with a revival of capitalist, free market enterprise. take how she seizes the advent of hextech, for example:

she quickly sees hextech's potential yet not from the solely intellectual standpoint that jayce and viktor do - for her, it is profitable, literally and in terms of international relations. her goal is for piltover to prosper, but she has no rose-colored glasses on; prosperity means capital gain, and she's willing to override piltover's political and social systems to achieve her goal. an important caveat is that she draws the line at ambessa medarda's progression into militant authoritarianism, which deserves a whole post of its own!

piltover's populism moment will come later. first, let's unpack silco, who is probably arcane's most blatantly political figure, and a masterclass in the merits and failures of left wing, class-based populism.

silco, having been spurned by the classism and xenophobia that piltover's elite proliferate, and assisted by his rampant shimmer operation, fills the vacuum that vander's pacifism opened up. though silco's methods are unilaterally cruel (argue with the wall), the undercity clearly invested faith in him at some point, especially as vander's credibility as a guiding figure wavered over the years. he was fighting alongside vander for zaun's right to exist as their own independent body. in other words, he was uniting the undercity toward a common cause because the existing political system failed their constituents. to quote councilor shoola: "they may not be our preferred constituents, but they're still our people."

the track record of populism in our real world frequently ends in the ruin that silco himself brought upon the undercity. the kingpin is too dedicated to self-preservation, sees himself as too central to the movement, which prevents both compromise and/or a necessary armed revolt (insert your own politics about self-determination here). see italy's right wing populism party, Lega Nord, as a real-time example of this phenomenon.

but arcane makes an interesting plot decision with jayce, a very unexpected and "unwilling" contributor to piltover's abrupt dip into right wing populism. the showrunners love foils!

in arcane lore, i think it's safe to say that jayce's moniker "the man of progress" is pretty tongue-in-cheek. both he and viktor have a bemused tone about it in the run-up to his speech, and jayce is taken aback by heimerdinger's insistence that he deliver said speech. but the glowing, savior-esque imagery can't be ignored, nor can jayce's quick switch into his councilor role, no matter how reluctantly he makes it.

jayce is confronted by 2 forces that he seeks to combat in his quick tenure as councilor: internal corruption and an ineffective governing body. the latter goal is inspired almost solely by viktor, playing into jayce's naivety as a fresh-faced political figure, but this will be especially important to note later on. the innocence he offers up to mel is quickly erased, transformed instead into an uncomfortable - and inexperienced - militancy:

important in the bridge scene to my analysis is the populist "out group," or the designation populists give to those whom they actively oppose, and this opposition serves as their basis for organization. in this case, it's the undercity (keep this in mind for viktor's role!!).

jayce's combined frustrations at the unrest in the undercity and the council's (namely heimerdinger's) refusal to act, to both save viktor and to deal with the undercity's looming violence, motivates him to act like silco for a short time. unsatisfied with the status quo, he unites a likeminded individual, vi, along with the enforcers, to undercut the political system he feels is unable to represent its constituents or act in an effective manner. however, UNLIKE silco, jayce's realizes the inevitable cost the method of violence has and refrains in the end. he returns to the council and capitulates to some of silco's demands in the name of a peace piltover and zaun always thought impossible.

jinx's complete undoing of this underscores the failures of populism, especially as an extended movement over time. she wasn't accounted for. it's common sentiment at this point that she didn't attack the council for political gain. she was not invested in zaun's independence. she did it out of her and silco's twisted parental bond, and thus undid piltover's brief instance of compromise and compassion.

so...where does viktor fit into all this? and what are his implications for neoliberalism vs. populism in season 2?

viktor is neither wholly within nor wholly outside the populist outgroup - though jayce unintentionally shoves him back there in the pivotal bridge scene. furthermore, viktor also makes use of piltover's technocracy. he seems to have had a "raise yourself up by your bootstraps" history in arcane, contrary to left wing populist insistence that neoliberal ideals make this impossible.

this compounds as a double alienation for viktor, who also is straddled with the complications of his disability. a lot of his story is searching for a fellow in arms, if you ask me, and he had that with jayce until the pendulum swung, hence his return to singed.

if we stop there, viktor represents the failing of these 2 very flawed political ideologies. he fits nowhere and arcane uses him adeptly as a symbol of the failings of binaristic ideologues and systems. but let's speculate some more!

i'm convinced that viktor, due to his ambiguous 3rd party role in the story so far, will be one of the central villains (if not THE villain, if you allow me to be admittedly hopeful/biased) in season 2. consult the innumerable very well written theory/meta posts about the subject for more details, but one piece of evidence i want to focus on is this inherent physical, cultural, and ideological separateness that is innate to his character.

can we see him allying ever again with piltover, knowing that there's a split incoming? even without outside knowledge of league lore, singed's damning prediction ("if you take this path, they will despise you") cannot go unheeded. alternatively, then, can we see viktor allying with the supposed jinx-as-revolutionary side? no. personally, i see him as becoming increasingly unwillingly to compromise his a) immediate survival; and b) his ideals, especially after being endlessly sidelined in his attempts to express them in acts 2 and 3. he's also just a loner, guys.

there's some controversy on this point, but i'm convinced that the finger-printed cultists/followers we saw in the s2 trailer are devoted to viktor. starting with the shimmer addict he touched in the teaser, he is accruing a following all his own. and since noxus is here, touting their authoritarian militancy to replace piltover's outdated liberal ideals, nothing that jinx's revolution OR viktor's following does can be apolitical. to organize and to fight is survival under s2's raised stakes.

there aren't any binary spectrums when it comes to political theory in my opinion, so i am prepared to witness viktor introduce an entirely separate totalitarian narrative into arcane. where it will surely lack in militancy, it will make up for in its domination of the arcane. my biggest speculation is that, as they always do, piltover will fold and compromise at the last minute, perhaps yield to noxus, and invest wholeheartedly in taking down viktor's BBEG cultist regime. and by isolating his narrative repeatedly in s1, the writers planned this out expertly.

even if i'm wrong about viktor as third party, i like to think my observations still stand about the specific and qualifiable political divisions between piltover and zaun. the biggest hole this leaves for me is the question: will arcane ever take a stand? they seem very averse to making a blatant political statement, but i think their pervasive anti-police thread makes it clear that we're not meant to sympathize with piltover yuppies or their seasoned, jaded councilmen. let me know your thoughts!

also, as a jayce fan and a fan of arcane's overall story, none of this is meant as a CRITIQUE of him, mel, or silco. as silco said, "we all have our parts to play." i believe arcane's very greatest strength is their archetypal storytelling, and these distinct character roles are crucial to the success and vibrancy of the story.

if you read all the way to this point - ily <3

[talonabraxas]

The Secret of the Golden Flower Talon Abraxas

The Celestial Mind

Naturalness is called the Way. The Way has no name or form; it is just the essence, just the primal spirit. Essence and life are invisible, so they are associated with sky and light. Since ancient times, those who realized spiritual immortality all communicated their teaching verbally, transmitting it from individual to individual.

In obedience to a directive, I am acting as a guide to liberation. Herein we will bring light to the source message of the golden flower of absolute unity. The absolute unity refers to what cannot be surpassed. There are very many alchemical teachings, but all of them make temporary use of effort to arrive at effortlessness; they are not teachings of total transcendence and direct penetration. The doctrine transmitted here brings up working with essence and does not fall into a secondary method. That is the best thing about it.

The golden flower is light. What color is light? It is symbolized by the golden flower, which in Chinese characters also conceals the words one light within. This is absolutely unified real energy of celestial immortals.

The whole work of turning the light around uses the method of reversal. The beauties of the highest heavens and the marvels of the sublimest realms are all within the heart; this is where the perfectly open and aware spirit concentrates. Confucians call it the open center, Buddhists call it the pedestal of awareness, Taoists call it the ancestral earth, the mysterious pass, the primal opening.

The celestial mind is like a house; the light is the master of the house. Therefore, once you turn the light around, the energies throughout the body all rise. Just turn the light around; this is the unexcelled sublime truth.

The light is easily stirred and hard to stabilize. When you have turned it around for a long time, the light crystallizes. This is the natural spiritual body, and it steadies the spirit. This is what the Mind Seal Scripture refers to as “silently paying court” and “soaring upward.”

The transmutations of spiritual illumination are all guided by mind.

The Original Spirit and the Conscious Spirit

From the point of view of the universe, people are like mayflies; but from the point of view of the Way, even the universe is as an evanescent reflection. Only the true essence of the original spirit transcends the primal organization and is above it.

Vitality and energy degenerate along with the universe, but the original spirit is still there; this is the infinite. The production of the universe all derives from this. If learners can just preserve the original spirit, they live transcendentally outside of yin and yang. They are not within the three realms.

This is possible only by seeing essence. This is what is called the original face. What is most wondrous is when the light has crystallized in a spiritual body, gradually becoming consciously effective, and is on the verge of moving into action. This is the secret that has not been transmitted in a thousand ages.

Turning the Light Around and keeping to the Center

Turning the light around is not turning around the light of one body, but turning around the very energy of Creation. It is not stopping random imagination only temporarily; it is truly emptying routine compulsion for all time. Usually people wind up pursuing objects and come at age in conformity with life, never once looking back. Just observe deeply, and when your breath grows quiet you then become accurately aware. This is application of the method of reversal.

The light is neither inside nor outside the self. Mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and the whole earth are this light, so it is not only in the self. All the operations of intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom are also this light, so it is not outside the self. The light of heaven and earth fills the universe; the light of one individual also naturally extends through the heavens and covers the earth. Therefore, once you turn the light around, everything in the world is turned around.

The light rays are concentrated upward into the eyes; this is the great key of the human body. You should reflect on this. If you do not sit quietly each day, this light flows and whirls, stopping who knows where. If you can sit quietly for a while, all time-ten thousand ages, a thousand lifetimes-is penetrated from this. All phenomena revert to stillness. Truly inconceivable is this sublime truth.

Nevertheless, the actual practice goes from shallow to deep, from crude to fine. Throughout, it is best to be consistent. The practice is one from beginning to end, but its quality during the process can be known only by oneself. One winds up at the point where “heaven is open, earth is broad, and all things are just as they are.”

What has been communicated through successive sages is not beyond reversed gazing. Confucians call it ” reaching toward knowledge.” Buddhists call it “observing mind.” Taoists call it “inner observation.”

The essential teaching is summarized above; as for the rest, matters of entering and exiting stillness, the prelude and the aftermath, one should use the book Small Stopping and Seeing as a touchstone.

The words focus on the center are most sublime. The center is omnipresent; the whole universe is within it. This indicates the mechanism of Creation; you focus on this to enter the gate, that is all. To focus means to focus on this as a hint, not to become rigidly fixated. The meaning of the word focus has life to it; it is very subtle.

The terms stopping and seeing basically cannot be separated. They mean concentration and insight. Hereafter, whenever thoughts arise, you don't need to sit still as before, but you should investigate this thought: where is it? Where does this come from? Where does it disappear? Push this inquiry on and on over and over until you realize it cannot be grasped; then you will see where the thought arises. You don't need to seek out the point of arising any more. “Having looked for my mind, I realize it cannot be grasped.”

This is correct seeing; whatever is contrary to this is false seeing. Once you reach this ungraspability, then as before you continuously practice stopping and continue it by seeing; practice seeing and continue it by stopping. This is the twin cultivation of stopping and seeing. This is turning the light around.

The turning around is stopping, the light is seeing. Stopping without seeing is call turning around without light; seeing without stopping is called having light without turning it around. Remember this. Lu Yan (829-874)

[shuaketravelszine]

✈ PROJECT UPDATES ✈

Hello travelers, we have some updates that we believe you should be aware of! Check them out below.

After much discussion with the mod team, we noticed that once Star became head mod, her involvement and attention to responsibilities declined significantly. Despite expressing confidence in managing zines, she neglected her tasks, became unresponsive, and was absent for over a month despite our multiple attempts to reach her. Eventually, we had to step in and take over her tasks.

To maintain professionalism and respect her privacy, we originally stated she had stepped down from the project due to "personal reasons." Later, we discovered she was planning to host a panel at a convention on "how to run a zine" without fulfilling her mod duties.

We must be transparent about Star's behavior. It's contradictory for her to host a zine panel while neglecting her role as head mod. We don't wish to publicly shame her, but it's vital for others to be aware of her reputation for anyone considering working with her in the future.

As a result, the remaining mod team has collectively decided to eliminate the head mod title, and will instead work together as a unified team to lead the project. Additionally, we are pleased to announce that Jade has been promoted to art mod!

Another point to mention is that Lucy, who previously managed finance and shipping, will now be focusing solely on finance. Therefore, we are in need of a new shipping mod. If you or someone you know is interested in taking on this role, please feel free to send us a DM! We will also be posting a form for Shipping Mod applications shortly, so please stay tuned for that.

We apologize for the delayed communication but hope this clarifies the situation and brings closure. Please rest assured, the project will persevere through these challenges. We remain dedicated to making it the best it can be. Thank you for your understanding and support.🙇

[tamapalace]

Bandai Explains Why They Adopted AWS for Tamagotchi Uni and Why NFC Didn’t Work

The partnership of Tamagotchi and Amazon Web Services is so interesting, and we love hearing more about it. Yuri Okamoto of the Bandai planning team of the Toy Division Global Toy Planning Department, who was in charge of the planning and development of the Tamagotchi Uni at Bandai, and Daisuke Sakammoto of the technical design team of the same department explain further why exactly Bandai adopted AWS for the new Tamagotchi Uni.

Mr. Okamoto explains that the first connectivity method was introduced in 1997 with the Tamagotchi Osutchi and Mesutchi. The purpose of this connectivity was for one character to be able to cross over into the other device.

Then in March of 2004, after the explosive boom of Tamagotchi calmed down, the Tamagotchi Plus model was introduced with new infrared communication. The infrared technology functionality was the exact function that was tailored in the heyday of feature phones in Japan, and it was possible not only to connect two Tamagotchi’s together, but also to mobile phones.

Newer models also introduced different types of connectivity, including NFC with the Tamagotchi 4U in 2014. NFC was aimed to allow Tamagotchi’s to connect together by touching the devices together. However, the communication speed of NFC was not very fast, so it did not become a user experience the communication would end when touched.

Tamagotchi M!X back in 2016 brought back the infrared connectivity. The Tamagotchi Meets back in 2018 then introduced Bluetooth connectivity on top of the infrared functionality which enable the ability to connect to a smartphone or tablet to use the application.

The Tamagotchi Smart which was released in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic where contact with people was suppressed. The Tamagotchi Smart allowed caretakers to interact with their Tamagotchi with the use of voice and touch, along with wearing your Tamagotchi Smart right on your wrist.

Mr. Okamoto then discusses how the Tamagotchi demand has been higher overseas than in Japan. The Tamagotchi Uni was sought out to unify the design and content of play sot hat Tamagotchi users around the world can enjoy the same Tamagotchi Uni globally.

The Tamagotchi Uni also introduced Wi-Fi for the first time. This enables the new Tamaverse feature, software updates, and more. There are a wide range of functions that should be independently implemented in the cloud infrastructure to realize the concept of the Tamagotchi Uni. AWS has great infrastructure capabilities and a range of sample documents to advance development.

Monoist asks if future models after the Tamagotchi Uni will feature cloud connectivity. Mr. Okamoto responds that there alway needs to be the core play that has always been featured in the Tamagotchi, and Bandai will consider how to do that with both hardware and software. So the cloud is not necessarily a requirement for the next generation model.

[saturniandevil]

December 2023 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's December forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock. As you can see from the calendar, this is quite the busy month. I've put the recap at the end again for those interested in mundane astrology. Generally, it's about the October 28th lunar eclipse in Taurus.

We're entering the month off a Mars-Saturn square on November 25th, and Mercury has already entered his pre-retrograde shadow (during the rx he will go back to about 22 degrees of Sagittarius). There's been a Mars-Saturn square making motion grind to a halt, and though it present frustrations and delayed gratification, Mars-Saturn can also indicate perseverance and relentlessness.

December 1st - Mercury enters Capricorn The next day he sextiles Saturn, further activating that Saturn-Mars square. He'll retrograde back into Sagittarius later. Mercury will trine Jupiter in Taurus around the 7th-8th, and sextile Venus when she enters Scorpio, bringing us some helpful communication in the first half of the month. The second half will be very different, though, as he retrogrades and conjoins Mars--think explosive arguments or disrupted communication like in late October-early November. Do your careful planning and mapping while Mercury is constructive in Capricorn, as his regress into Sagittarius will bring have us acting recklessly out of necessity.

December 2nd & 3rd - Auspicious Elections (not pictured)

The charts are both around 1:35AM local time and takes advantage of Mercury's application to a trine with Jupiter, before the chaos of retrograde & contacting Mars. It also takes advantage of the last bit of Venus in Libra.

On December 2nd, the chart has Libra rising with Venus in domicile in the first (whole sign) house. The Moon is in Leo, either applying to or just separating from a square with Jupiter, and trine the Sun in Sagittarius in the 11th house. This is a good Venus-related chart, for things that need to appeal aesthetically to others or unify people. As this is a night chart, Venus is also the sect benefic, and is especially equipped to help things build up and grow (plus she's in a position of strength in the first house). Venus elections are also good for design, getting back in touch with people & other social activities, and working together. Venus in Libra is especially good for bringing together two things that are at odds, whether it's disagreeing friends or disparate business endeavors. Although the degree of Venus isn't too important in timing this, Chris recommends trying to get the Midheaven around 5-6 degrees of Cancer, so that it sextiles Jupiter in the eighth house. The Moon rules the 10th house and is in the 11th house of friends, making this a good election for friends, groups, and social movements.

The 2nd is the primary election, but the 3rd has most of the same benefits. The Moon is later in Leo, now applying directly to a sextile with Venus, emphasizing her themes of unity and reconciliation as well as tying in the 11th house of groups & alliances even more strongly.

December 4th - Venus enters Scorpio Though in detriment here, Venus is opposite Jupiter in her sign (exact December 9th-10th, especially activated by a conjunction from the Moon), and this reception & contact bring forth more helpful qualities. She will also overtake slowing Mercury by sextile around December 10th-11th, bringing some reconciliation to our communications. However, the New Moon conjunct Mars will pose some challenges.

December 6th - Neptune stations direct

December 12th - New Moon in Sagittarius

A close square to (newly direct) Neptune adds some nebulousness to the picture, and a loose conjunction from Mars to the lights, with Mercury stationing soon after, mean things may not go as planned. Mercury's configurations to the benefics seem hopeful, but we should expect some misalignment and miscommunication over the following weeks. Additionally, Mars's proximity to the Sun means he'll be coloring the next few nations with martial qualities. This New Moon sort of resets things for the month.

December 13th - Mercury stations retrograde The Moon enters Capricorn and conjoins Mercury soon after his station, which will further trigger or activate general Mercury retrograde significations.

December 21st - Sun enters Capricorn

December 22nd - Retrograde Mercury conjoins Sun (Cazimi) This occurs in at zero degrees of Capricorn and marks the halfway/turning point in the retrograde. Normally we'd expect to start figuring out what's wrong and begin heading out of the woods, but once in Sagittarius Mercury approaches a conjunction with Mars, changing the layout of our path. Sometimes looking to the past for actions will bring up old conflicts, or further investigation into a problem reveals that we have to rethink our entire approach.

December 23rd - Retrograde Mercury enters Sagittarius Discussed above.

December 26th - Full Moon in Cancer

Mercury at 25 Sagittarius and Mars at 23 bring even more heightened emotions than usual to this Full Moon (think tense communications). Neptune squaring Mercury and Mars adds further muddies the waters; expect a mix of hostility and misunderstanding. Meanwhile, the Moon is in domicile and both lights form soft aspects to Jupiter, which Austin compares to a nice country breakfast. It's like getting an idyllic Christmas postcard along with some poisoned arrows. Being home for the holidays is comforting and familiar, but we may also fight with our relatives, perhaps over politics. A Neptune-Venus trine brings a dreamy, escapist quality to the lunation as well. This lunation will hit different people very differently. (Those with emphasis on the lights, Jupiter, or cardinal signs will do well, while those with strong mutable placements may feel strife, etc.)

December 27th - Retrograde Mercury conjoins Mars This is the second of three Mercury-Mars conjunctions, the first having been around the October eclipse in Scorpio, and the next one occurring in Capricorn during late January. Mercury will station direct at 22 degrees of Sagittarius on the first couple days of the New Year, and will be slowly chasing Mars for most of January.

December 29th - Venus enters Sagittarius This is a fairly big shift, as she immediately squares Saturn, dumping a bucket of ice water on our attempts to come together on New Year's Eve gatherings.

December 30th - Jupiter stations direct This station can be a positive turning point for anyone with important Taurus placements nearby. Austin points out that Jupiter's usually retrograde for about ⅓ of the year (he entered Taurus in May and stationed retrograde in September), giving us time to reevaluate things and see whether we've failed or succeeded. It's like a shock absorber as we traverse this bumpy road. We can try to stabilize things in the midst of a destructive world. The rapid growth and expansion we were feeling this summer may start to come back, visible in the part of your life corresponding to the house Taurus occupies in your chart. Strike while the Iron's hot, as we've got until May before Jupiter enters Gemini. Uranus is copresent in the sign and may remind us of previous Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions: unexpected growth, innovation, and benefits from out of the blue.

November Recap:

The last forecast was recorded days before a lunar eclipse in Taurus on October 28th, which heralded several world events not discussed in the November forecast. In Palestine this coincided with the beginning of ground invasion and telecom blackout (Mercury-Mars involvement=severing of communication). Last month our hosts predicted the Venus-Mercury sextile would indicate brief diplomacy in this situation, and we saw the beginning of "humanitarian pauses" as well as negotiations around prisoner exchange. Chris wants to emphasize that more civilians have died in these two months in Gaza than in the entire Ukraine war, and predicts that larger geopolitical tensions are likely to rise as world leaders split with each other and their constituents over these events. He sees upcoming eclipses in 2025 as well as Uranus in Gemini (USA return) heralding possibility of larger global conflicts. Austin reiterates from last month that the North Node near Mars (as was the cast 10/28) indicates, in combat, using force madly beyond what is necessary or proportionate.

In US politics, Joe Biden has the Moon in early Taurus and thus the last eclipse cycle has been getting closer and closer to his natal moon, with 10/28 being the closest. Because it's in the 6th house our hosts had speculated about his health, but in this case it seems to have affected his work more (another 6th house topic), as his prospects for reelection have been plummeting. In early October the US House fired the Speaker of the House right on the last stretch of the US Pluto return, and eventually Mike Johnson was elected speaker on the 25th--born on a lunar eclipse and appointed to this office 3 days before another. This fits with Chris's findings lately that a person born on an eclipse will have other life events occur on them as well. Chris's concerns around the breakdown of US democracy with its Pluto return events seem well-founded, as Johnson had a significant part in trying to overturn Biden's election and is now third in line for the presidency, as well as in a critical role for the 2024 election.

Other eclipse stories: Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX infamy was found guilty of one of the largest US fraud operations during a Taurus (signifying money) eclipse. Matthew Perry of Friends fame passed away, who was born under and published his autobiography near a lunar eclipse as well.

On November 17th-18th there was an exact Sun-Mars conjunction (cazimi) in Scorpio, and in tech news the board of OpenAI fired the CEO/founder, described among business and tech circles as "closest thing to a boardroom assassination" they'd ever seen. Chris predicts Pluto reentering Aquarius in two months will indicate major developments in the use of AI technology. Pluto was in Aquarius earlier this year for a couple months, giving us a preview of the next 20 years (aside from a brief 2-month dip back into Capricorn next fall before leaving for good).

[howtofightwrite]

I read your posts on different type of body armor. My story is a fantasy set in real life history and involves time travel. Magic to be honest is sporadic and most things are not magic. Can I just have modern armor being simply passed off as low grade magical armor due to it being superior to any normal weapons of the time? Low grade because it obviously isn't actually magicial armor, and thus fantasy weapons generally all are superior.

Probably not, for a couple reasons. Or, at least, not unless your modern era is radically different from what we see today.

The biggest issue is that modern body armor isn't designed to deal with medieval weapons. The kind of force that armor protects against has dramatically changed. Modern ballistic armor, like plate carriers or vests, aren't particularly effective against someone coming at you with an axe. Nor are they particularly effective against arrows. They're designed to deal with bullets, and while they'll offer some protection against someone with a knife, it's not what it's designed for.

Even the parts of the body that the armor protects, and the way heavier armor is fitted together, is not especially effective in prolonged melee combat against foes armed with swords, axes, or spears.

Though, the perk in this is that modern armor wouldn't have any issues dealing with archaic gunfire, assuming those shots connected with the armor at all. (Which isn't assured.)

Normally, if they were bringing modern firearms back with them, those would offer a significant advantage. Unsurprisingly, medieval armor was not designed to deal with 21stcentury gunfire. Unfortunately, this is not a certainty, because it's quite possible that the magical armor in the setting can withstand those gunshots. Worse, the enchanted weapons others are using may be able to carve through the modern armor with ease. It really depends on exactly what those enchantments are, but if there's an enchantment arms race going on (which seems likely), your characters might not get much value from their armor at all. (Though, this is a little speculative.)

Let's expand on that arms race theory a little, if you have multiple factions armed with magical gear, there's going to be a direct incentive to develop more effective enchantments. Given enough time, unless there are extremely harsh limits to what can be done via magic, any low magic setting will transition into a high magic setting. From a world building perspective, magic functions as parallel to technology, and these can advance independently of each other. If your foes have magical armor that can resist your weapons, it will be in your interest to develop enchantments that can overcome their armor. At the same time, you'll need armor that can resist their weapons. While this is happening, your enemies will be doing the same. This also applies to any spell with a potential military application. Mages would become increasingly important strategic resources as the potential edge they provide in warfare becomes more pronounced. Any faction that voluntarily abstained from using magic would find itself in an extremely tenuous position, as their neighbors, “teched up.” Failure to keep up is an invitation for any more ambitious ruler to vassalize your kingdom.

It's worth noting that this doesn't mean that any magical setting would automatically degenerate into a bipolar system. You could certainly see the same kind of splintered feudal system that dominated Europe in the middle ages, while also adding magic to the mix. Though, if magic facilitated easier communication and oversight, it's quite possibly this could result far more unified empires than what real world feudalism permitted.

The other major problem is that the modern armor isn't magical. So, this is a potential problem for any fantasy setting, whether time travel is involved or not. Magical gear is going to be more valuable than it's mundane counterparts. It's going to be rarer (unless you have of some kind of high magic, industrial revolution.) It's almost certainly going to be more difficult, and probably more expensive, to produce magical objects than to produce mundane ones. (Again, you could specifically engineer a setting where this isn't the case, but without carefully working around this, it's a very safe assumption.) So, magical items are going to be more valuable, and more expensive.

A suit of magical armor that offers additional protection to the wearer will be more valuable than an identical, mundane counterpart. Probably significantly more valuable. Even if the production costs aren't that much greater, the price tag is going to take a significant hike.

If you're an individual living in that world who is economical with their ethics, there's a lot of money to be made selling mundane arms and armor that looks magical. Particularly, if you're making your living as a wandering trader. That arcane sword you sold to a wannabe adventurer six months ago is just money in your pocket, it's not your fault that they ended up dead in some cairn, or ancient ruin. If by some miracle they did survive, well, that's why it's important to have guards who are loyal to you. So what's to stop you?

For any functional economy in magic items to exist, there need to be ways to quickly and accurately authenticate them. Without that, traders like the above example would be a plague. Enchanted gear would still be significantly more valuable, but your ability to sell it to people you don't have an established relationship with would be seriously limited, after all, convincing a stranger to pay for a, “magic sword,” when there's no way to prove that it actually is magical, would approach being a con job. (There are potential, partial workarounds for this problem. Such as having some kind of unified magical authority who certifies enchanters, but, again, that's trending back towards high magic settings.)

So, the critical problem about passing modern combat gear off as magical is that it's not. That it also looks strange (and probably looks ineffectual to the contemporaries) adds to this issue. Trying to claim, “oh, it's magical armor,” would look more like someone who's trying to pass off a cheap counterfeit as a luxury item, or an easy mark.

Now, it's possible that the armor might trick some magic identification techniques, either because of some quirk of its manufacture, or because the time travel has given it some faintly magical aura (which may also apply to the characters as well.)

So, the shortest version is, claiming their armor is magical probably wouldn't have the desired result, unless they wanted to be viewed as easy marks.

-Starke

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get early access to new posts, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

[intertexts]

goddddddddddddddddddddd. i need to get out of here which means i fucking need to not take an extra year to graduate whichmeans i need to be so busy and miserable with all the damn graduation requirements courses this academic year + summer for my damn double major and after that. god. i know i want to pursue a masters in printmaking. which means i need to be spending this year Also on solidifying practice and creating a unified body of portfolio work and also like. do research and eventually send applications and things. (depending on how this sem. goes i will. also think about ceramics im ngl. sculptural claywork lights up my brain in an effortless way that nothing else does) print conference is in october which is actually extremely comforting i'm really looking forward to being able to like. Talk to professionals in the community and meet folks and learn from them etc. 1 million scary variables. gdes degree i guess will maybe be useful fallback. and also there's my french degree and the prospective of postgrad things in more academic field spaces which i am evading nimbly. and also even then like. historically living alone fucks me up so bad. i cannot stand living with people i don't know either. i don't like. Know Anyone in general certainly nowhere near wherever i end up for grad school. i haven't even thought about jobs because that lights up too many parts of my prey animal brain and i instantly collapse family guy death pose style from fear response.

[directechconnect]

FAQs: Integrating Salesforce with Your IP Telephone System

Salesforce is one of the country’s most well-known customer relationship management (CRM) software companies and is popular with businesses that want to integrate their CRM with their phone services. VoIP technology is making enormous inroads in the communications marketplace.

An IP telephone system allows a company to run a wide variety of communication and marketing tasks through the same hardware and software that an IP business phone uses. Read on to learn the answers to some common questions about the process of Salesforce Integration through one of DirecTech’s unified communication applications. Business owners may have questions about integrating their Salesforce CRM with their VoIP phone system. Let’s take a look at what owners commonly ask.

What is the benefit of integrating Salesforce CRM with our VoIP phone system?

Integrating Salesforce CRM with your IP telephone system can provide several benefits, such as increased productivity, streamlined workflows, and improved customer service. With this integration, your sales and customer service teams can access customer information and communication history for each IP business phone and user from one central location, making it easier to manage customer interactions. This innovation will please customers and save sales or customer service employees time. The ability to write notes in a customer record may also reduce errors when employees use written notes or forget something because they are busy or distracted.

Can we use our existing VoIP phone system with Salesforce CRM?

Depending on your VoIP phone system, it may be possible to integrate it with Salesforce CRM. However, checking with the vendor or a third-party integration provider is important to ensure the integration is supported. DirecTech’s line of Zultys telecommunication products includes unified communication applications that integrate Salesforce with your VoIP phone system and tie together other communication tools like instant messaging and audio conferencing.

How does this integration work?

Salesforce integration involves setting up a connector or plugin that allows the VoIP phone system to communicate with Salesforce CRM. Usually, this connector would be a piece of software licensed by DirecTech, for example, to clients. This connector enables your telecom system to automatically log calls, link employees to customer records, and access customer information during sales calls. With that record being available, a sales or support rep can make notes right in the customer’s CRM record instead of taking notes and adding them later.

Will we need to train our staff to use the integrated system?

Employees will need training in using the integrated system to ensure they can take full advantage of its benefits. Training may include logging calls, accessing customer information during calls, and using other integrated system features. If you are setting up an integrated IP telecom system with phones, chat, and software integrations, it makes sense to find a managed services provider that offers installation, training resources, and ongoing support.

What kind of customer data is available during calls?

Depending on the integration and the information stored in Salesforce CRM, sales representatives and contact center employees can access the data during calls. Typically, customer information such as name, phone number, email address, and interaction history would be readily accessible during calls.

Can we track call metrics and performance with the integrated system?

Yes, you can review call metrics and performance using the integrated system. This can provide insights into call volume, call duration, call outcomes, and other important metrics that can help you measure the effectiveness of your sales and customer service teams.

How much does the hardware or software cost?

Integrating Salesforce CRM into an IP telephone system can vary depending on several factors, with the cost of the IP-PBCX hardware you buy being one primary consideration. Our Zultys Salesforce Communicator requires a one-time license fee for each user, plus MX and MXIE software licenses. If you are setting up an IP-PBX system, hosted or on-premises, then the cost of Salesforce Communicator licenses would be the only added expense.

This FAQ focused on Salesforce, one of the world’s most popular CRM tools, but other software can be integrated into your IP telephone system. This depends on the software, but DirecTech’s Zultys hardware supports MS Outlook and MS Exchange Server. These products have similar requirements to our Salesforce Communicator.

Get More from Salesforce and Your VoIP Phone System

In short, Salesforce integration can improve productivity, avoid mistakes, and improve your marketing at a modest cost, especially if you now have an IP telephone system. An IP business phone works best when supported by integrated communication applications running IM (instant messaging), audio conferencing, and other related services. If you want to learn how to leverage Salesforce, Outlook, or Exchange, contact the VoIP experts at DirecTech to schedule a free consultation.

[sffgtrhyjhmnzdt]

White Label Unified Communications Solution & MoSIP C5

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, communication lies at the heart of every successful business operation. With the advent of remote work and dispersed teams, the need for efficient, reliable, and secure communication solutions has become more critical than ever before. White Label Unified Communications Solution and MoSIP C5 emerge, offering businesses a seamless and customizable platform to enhance collaboration, streamline workflows, and boost productivity.

White Label Unified Communications Solution: Transforming Business Communication

White Label Unified Communications Solution is a comprehensive platform that integrates various communication tools such as voice, video, messaging, and collaboration into a single interface. Unlike traditional communication systems, UCaaS solutions in Africa offer a unified experience across multiple devices and channels, enabling employees to connect and collaborate seamlessly regardless of their location.

Key Features and Benefits:

Flexibility and Scalability: One of the primary advantages of White Label Unified Communications Solution is its flexibility and scalability. Whether you're a small startup or a large enterprise, the platform can be tailored to meet your specific requirements, allowing for seamless expansion as your business grows.

Enhanced Collaboration: With features like video conferencing, screen sharing, file sharing, and real-time messaging, White Label Unified Communications Solution fosters collaboration among team members, regardless of their physical location. This not only improves productivity but also enhances creativity and innovation within the organization.

Cost Efficiency: By consolidating multiple communication tools into a single platform, White Label Unified Communication Service solution in Africa helps businesses reduce costs associated with managing and maintaining disparate systems. Moreover, the pay-as-you-go pricing model ensures that you only pay for the features and services you need, eliminating unnecessary expenses.

Security and Compliance: With data breaches becoming increasingly common, security is a top priority for businesses. White Label Unified Communications Solution employs robust security measures, including end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance with industry regulations, to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of your communications.

MoSIP C5: Empowering Business Mobility and Connectivity

MoSIP C5 is a feature-rich communication application designed to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses. Whether you're in the office, on the go, or working remotely, UCaaS solutions in africa provides a seamless communication experience across all devices, enabling you to stay connected with your team and clients at all times.

In an era where effective communication is the cornerstone of business success, unified communications application in africa Solution and MoSIP C5 emerge as indispensable tools for organizations seeking to enhance collaboration, streamline workflows, and empower their workforce. 

[tailsteak]

UNIFIED HUMAN HAND GESTURE THEORY

As we know, all attempts to decipher the written and spoken languages of the bipedal inhabitants of Sol 3 have thus far been of limited success. The only form of human communication with interpretation of which we have confident consensus is a selection of a few hand gestures that seem to have been broadly utilized.

One of these gestures is the upward display of digits 0, 1 and 4, commonly accepted to mean "I love you". It has recently been uncovered that this gesture is a combination of three other hand gestures - the extension of digit 4, meaning "I", the extension of digits 0 and 1, meaning "love", and the extension of digits 0 and 4, meaning "you".

It is the contention of this document that, using this combination as a model for syntax, we are able to derive the potential meanings of other human hand gestures, including those not yet observed in use. This proposed framework, as documented herein, shall henceforth be known as the Unified Human Hand Gesture Theory, or UHHGT for short.

---Terms used---

For the purposes of this document, we shall only consider digits to be extended or retracted, labeling them as 0 (the opposable thumb), 1 (the "pointer" finger), 2 (the "middle" finger), 3 (the "ring" finger) and 4 (the "little" finger). This provides us with a five digit binary sequence, or 32 different configurations.

Further, the orientation of the hand appears to have been noteworthy, but given humans' bilateral symmetry and native environment of a planetary gravity well, we are assuming five gestural orientations: UP (away from the gravity well), OUT (towards a specific object or the surrounding environment, often towards the recipient of the gesture), IN (towards the torso or face of the gesturer), DOWN (towards the gravity well), and MOTION (rapid oscillation in place).

The combination of 32 digit configurations and 5 orientations yields 160 possible gestures, many of which we already understand and which can be parsed using the UHHGT.

---I, You, and Orientation---

We must first consider the assertion that the extension of digit 4 indicates the gesturer, while the extension of digits 0 and 4 together indicates the recipient of the gesture. One of the most well-understood gestures is the extension of digit 0 by itself in the UP or DOWN position, indicating approval or disapproval, respectively.

If we interpret the extension of digit 0 to indicate something external to the self (and, specifically, the assessment or evaluation thereof), then the interpretation of digits 0 and 4 together makes sense. "You" is a combination of the concepts of "self" and "other", i.e., something that shares my traits but is not me, a self that is not my self.

Complicating matters is the fact that, while this "you" gesture is not broadly used, when digits 0 and 4 are in oscillation, it is known to indicate comfort and peace. This is why UHHGT differentiates MOTION as a distinct orientation of the gesture, one that indicates complexity or emphasis, the assertion that the gesture in question applies to multiple objects or in multiple ways, pointing in multiple directions as the hand oscillates.

Let us suppose that the orientation of UP indicates approval and assent, the orientation of IN indicates the gesturer, the orientation of OUT indicates something external, the orientation of DOWN indicates disapproval and dissent, and the orientation of MOTION indicates emphasis or broad application. Using these interpretations, the meaning of various gestures (many of which are already known) can be derived.

0, UP - The object external to me is good, approval. 0, IN (usually toward chest) - The external object is this gesturer, I am that which you seek. 0, OUT - Assess that object, assess that environment, check that out. 0, DOWN - The object external to me is bad, disapproval. 0, MOTION - An external object or situation is complicated, multiple factors are involved.

4, UP - I am good, I approve of myself and am well. Me (complimentary). 4, IN (usually toward mouth) - My current presentation and actions are indicative of my true self. 4, OUT - That object is associated with me, it is like me or it is mine, I am aligned with it. 4, DOWN - I am bad, I dislike myself and am unwell. Me (derogatory). 4, MOTION - I am complex, I am important, multiple things are associated with me.

0+4, UP - A self that is like me but is not me is good. You (complimentary). 0+4, IN (usually toward side of head) - Orient yourself towards me, call me. 0+4, OUT - That object is associated with you, is it like you or it is yours, you are aligned with it. 0+4, DOWN - A self that is like me but is not me is bad. You (derogatory). Terminate communication. 0+4, MOTION - Multiple objects are associated with me. I am of this environment. We.

The interpretation of extending digit 4 upward meaning not only the self but approval of the self makes sense of its use in the consumption of beverages. It is known that extending the little finger while drinking (upward as the vessel is raised to the mouth) is considered to be sophisticated and polite. It is further known that beverages containing CH3CH2OH can have psychoactive effects on humans who consume them, promoting social bonding and enjoyment in moderate doses, but irregular behaviour and adverse effects when consumed to excess.

The extension of digit 4 upwards while drinking affirms the drinker's approval of themselves. It communicates that the beverage is being consumed responsibly and for enjoyment, not gluttonously or in an attempt to escape or obliterate the self.

---Action---

The interpretation of digits 0 and 1 as "love" requires us to remember that, in the context of "I love you", "love" is being used as the verb of a declaration, an action that is being asserted. If we presume that digit 1 is the digit of action, and that the orientation is UP, then the breakdown of "love" is "action", "external" and "positive", i.e. "do good things".

Complicating matters is the known interpretation of digits 0 and 1 when applied against the forehead, indicating that the recipient of the gesture is a "loser". If we understand this orientation as IN, however, we might actually interpret it as "an action has been taken on this gesturer's behalf" or "I have won", which, assuming that the gesturer and recipient are in competition, would necessarily imply that the recipient has lost.

0+1, UP - Positive action towards something, love (though not necessarily that it is the gesturer who loves). 0+1, IN - Action is taken towards the gesturer, the gesturer is accomplishing or has accomplished an action. 0+1, OUT - Action has been taken or should be taken towards that object or environment, go do something there. 0+1, DOWN - Negative action towards something, hate (though not necessarily that the gesturer hates). 0+1, MOTION - Action towards something external is important, multiple actions must be taken, or actions must be taken towards multiple external objects.

So, when separated from the digit 0's implication of externality, digit 1 by itself merely indicates action without subject:

1, UP - Positive action! The gesturer approves of action and change. 1, IN - Action oriented towards the gesturer. Events are affecting the gesturer. 1, OUT - Action oriented towards the object. Events are affecting the object. (Often, "go there".) 1, DOWN - Action is bad. Action and change should not occur, do not act. 1, MOTION - Action is complicated and involves multiple factors. Attention should be paid to current events, intentions, and their consequences. (Often, a scolding gesture, meant to indicate that recent actions should be re-evaluated.)

One gesture that is known, but that has a complicated interpretation is digits 1 and 4 extended upwards (sometimes called "the horns"). This gesture appears to have been used as a statement of defiance or self-celebration, which, in this framework, can be easily understood as a combination of "self", "action" and "approval" without the addition of digit 0's "other". It is a self-contained declaration that one's own actions are meritorious and that the gesturer approves of their own behaviour.

1+4, UP - The gesturer approves of their own behaviour, a celebration of accomplishment or ability. 1+4, IN - The gesturer is acting upon themselves, their actions are inward-focused. 1+4, OUT - The gesturer is acting upon the indicated object or environment, the gesturer intends to travel along the indicated vector to accomplish a task. 1+4, DOWN - The gesturer does not approve of their own behaviour, an indication of regret or remorse. 1+4, MOTION - The gesturer is performing or will perform multiple actions, the gesturer's actions are complex or important.

We can therefore return to the "I love you" gesture and sort it among related gestures.

0+1+4, UP - The gesturer is acting beneficially towards the recipient, I love you, I am working to your benefit. 0+1+4, IN - The gesturer is acting towards themselves on the recipient's behalf, I am performing an action for you or because of you. 0+1+4, OUT - The gesturer is acting towards the object on the object or recipient's behalf, I am doing that thing for you or because of you. 0+1+4, DOWN - The gesturer is acting detrimentally towards the recipient, I hate you, I am working against you. 0+1+4, MOTION - The gesturer's actions toward the recipient are complex and important, I am doing many things on your behalf or because of you.

---Offense and Commitment---

One of the most well-known human gestures is the raised middle finger (in this notation, digit 2 oriented UP), which indicates insult, offense, aggression, or defiance. This would seem to upset the UHHGT's entire framework, if one presumes that aggression cannot be positive.

If, however, one takes into account the human species' long-observed history of violence against each other, we can understand extension of digit 2 to be misfortune in the abstract, with the UP orientation indicating, in essence, "it would be good if violence happened".

2, UP - Violence and misfortune are good, the gesturer would approve of disruption. 2, IN - Violence is directed toward the gesturer, misfortune targets the gesturer. 2, OUT - Violence is directed toward the object, misfortune is headed that way. 2, DOWN - Violence should not occur, the gesturer would prefer if disruption were halted or prevented. 2, MOTION - Violence and disruption are everywhere, chaos is unfolding!

We will not speculate on the entire sequence of possible gestures here, but some notable projected gestures are:

0+2, UP - Violence and misfortune should befall something external, disruption should be visited upon something other than the gesturer. 1+2, OUT - Act in violence toward that object, attack along that vector. 0+1+2, IN (often toward the side of the head) - External action is being taken toward the gesturer, the gesturer is being attacked. 0+2+4, DOWN - The gesturer disapproves of violence toward the recipient, let no aggression between us take place, truce. 1+2+4, OUT - The gesturer is acting against that object, I am hurting or attacking that thing.

Digit 3 is rarely used in these gestures, perhaps owing to the awkward positioning of certain structural fibers in the human hand that can make gesturing with digit 3 uncomfortable and awkward. It is also known that digit 3 (sometimes known as the "ring" finger) has significance with regards to long-term commitments. This makes sense, given the difficulty of extending digit 3 by itself - to use digit 3 indicates that one is fully committed to whatever gesture or action is being undertaken. In UHHGT, the significance of digit 3 is taken to be "duty", "habit", or "pattern of repeated action", the assertion that a given statement or practice is serious and requires long-term dedication or discipline.

One gesture that is sometimes seen in certain iconography is a hand extended in the upright position from a benevolent figure with digit 2 being held down with digit 0. If we assume the benevolent figures are being held up as models of laudable behaviour, then we can interpret the gesture thusly:

1+3+4, UP - The gesturer has a pattern of action with regards to themself that they approve of, they have a dedicated practice of proper self-maintenance and self-improvement.

---All and None---

When all digits are extended, this is taken to mean the entirety of possible meaning, i.e., communication itself.

ALL, UP - Communication should occur, the gesturer is open to sending and receiving information. ALL, IN (usually toward the chest)- Communication is oriented towards the gesturer, let me tell you something. ALL, OUT - Communication is oriented towards an object or situation, let us communicate about this thing. ALL, DOWN - Communication should not occur, I have nothing to say to you and do not wish to discuss matters further. ALL, MOTION - Communication is complicated or important, pay attention to me!

When all digits are retracted, this is taken to mean a lack of communication, i.e., that communication is not necessary.

NONE, UP - It is good that communication is not required, we all already know what needs to be done and are in agreement. NONE, IN (often thumped against the chest) - The gesturer does not need to explain themself, the gesturer's nature and actions are self-explanatory. NONE, OUT - No communication will take place with that thing, we do not need to discuss it. NONE, DOWN (often towards a flat surface) - The lack of communication is bad, I demand communication, I demand gestures or images. NONE, MOTION - It is important that communication not take place, now is not a time of negotiation (often exhibited as an invitation to conflict).

A rare mutual gesture is sometimes seen, where two humans will both gesture towards each other with no digits extended, bumping the curled joints together. In this framework, this gesture can be understood to mean "we do not need to communicate, we are already as one". Often, this gesture can then be modified with an extension of all digits after the bump, indicating "we are as one, yet we can communicate about anything, should we so choose".

---Conclusion---

In conclusion, while a great deal more research is required on the subject of humans and their multitudinous forms of communication, the Universal Human Hand Gesture Theory seems to hold true for a wide variety of known gesture types, and may indicate a structure and grammar to their formation that constitutes an entire rudimentary language with 160 possible context-dependent statements. It implies the meaning of other gestures that have yet to be observed, and may serve as a starting point for attempting communication with the remaining humans, if any are still alive and capable of communication by the time a synthetic five-digit hand can be created and successfully inserted into Sol 3's atmosphere.

[indierpgnewsletter]

The Axes of TTRPG Game Design

All the way back in Issue #69 of the Indie RPG Newsletter, I linked to a series of episodes from the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff podcast about the “axes of game design”. I've been thinking about them again recently and thought it might be interesting to look at each one. I'll be referring to the summary on the Pelgrane Press blog as I comment on them.

So the basic exercise is trying to figure out the standard axes or spectrums on which every game can fit. The idea is for these axes to be as descriptive and objective as possible. While there is always going to be debate around the classification of specific games, the idea is that in a perfect world with perfect communication, that debate would have a truly correct answer. We don’t live in a perfect world but I'm happy to discuss things like this forever.

So here we go:

Elegance versus Ornamentation

"A game has Elegance if all of its subsystems work in the same way, stemming from a central resolution mechanic, or is Ornamented if its many subsystems work in different ways"

So the first axis is one of the strongest and makes a great example of the level of objectivity we can hope to achieve here. In some sense, the degree to which a game falls back on a single unified mechanic should be clear and measurable. At the same time, it’s not any indication of how “good” a game is. One-page games are highly elegant but they’re by no means “better” than longer games.

One thing that's interesting is to see where PbtA falls on this spectrum. A game like Monster of the Week is pretty elegant because everything is essentially 2d6+stat. But does the number of moves, especially moves like Big Magic where you negotiate the effects of a spell or ritual, push it toward being more ornamentated?

2. Wide versus Focused

"A game has Width if it supports play equally well over a long progression of power levels, or Focus if it works best at a narrower sweet spot."

I think this is where it’s probably best to start moving away from Hite and Laws’ wording. I think terms like “power level” is a wargame hangover. I think this is better phrased as “kinds of characters”. A game that is Wide is designed for a many kinds of characters. A game that is Focused is designed for specific characters or types of characters.

So you get something like Lady Blackbird (which has a cast of named characters on one side) as Focused and Risus (which is as generic as it gets in terms of character creation) as Wide. And yes, I put D&D 5e in there because I revel in the symphony of a hundred angry keyboards click-clacking away.

3. Directed Emotion versus Emergent Emotion

"A game can have Directed Emotion, stemming from rules that lead you to feel a certain way, or Emergent Emotion, in which the reactions of players and GMs stem from the story content they introduce."

This phrasing is a little clunky because in their discussion, Hite and Laws felt that something like “Emotional versus Detached” was uncharitable. And I understand. But I also think that “Directed versus Emergent” is a bit like saying “Designed versus Undesigned”. I think the premise of the exercise that is “undesigned” isn’t a thing. If we want to describe a game as “neutral” on some axes, it should ideally fall somewhere in the middle. So I propose Hot versus Cool. Hot games try to stoke up emotions in the players. Cool games try to cultivate an air of cool, ironic detachment. They don’t want you to feel too strongly about the events of the game.

(The original article also mentions “Abstract rules for their mathematical or formal attributes, or Emotional rules when they grow out of the feelings they are meant to evoke at the table.” but this feels like it overlaps heavily with this point now.)

4. Applicability versus Versatility

"A game has high Applicability if it is designed for a single highly specific player character core activity, or Versatility if it supports many possible core activities."

This is just Wide versus Focused for mechanics rather than characters. On one hand, they’re separate things. On the other hand, it’s clearly related. It’s a bit hard to imagine how a game might support wide characters with focused mechanics or focused characters but with wide mechanics, right?

5. Simulation versus Emulation

"Games that focus on Simulation resolve events as they would unfold in a causal reality, or engage in Emulation, so that events unfold as they would in a movie or book, to keep the narrative running in a satisfying manner."

I’m not quite sure about this one. I’m struggling to understand which games commit to simulating real world physics. What’s the game on that end of the spectrum? I know OSR games revolve around the GM arbitrating physics impartially but in a game where dragons exist, how seriously do I take that claim? They would probably be in the middle of this axis at best if you ask me.

6. Ease versus Mastery

"A game favors Ease when players can pick it up and run with it right away, or Mastery if it presents complex or elaborate rules or setting material, favoring those who take the time and brainspace to learn it."

For me, the important thing to ask ourselves here is whether the word “player” includes GMs. If it does, all rules-light games that might seen to favour Ease are not so easy anymore. (Which reminds me that I never actually talked about “affordances” as a design concept - an article for another day.) If we limit ourselves to “player facing mechanics”, then yes, I can see the spectrum. The problem is, of course, it looks exactly like my Elegant versus Ornamented spectrum.

What kind of games are Ornamented but don’t reward Mastery? What kind of games are Elegant but don’t favour Ease?

(The original article also uses a "Harmonica vs Violin" axis with Harmonicas being simple to play and Violins requiring more work. I think the overlap here is high.)

7. Canon versus Open

"When it comes to setting, a game oriented around Canon presents a detailed setting with a set continuity meant to instill the same suspension of disbelief we apply to SF and fantasy worlds in traditional media. Open settings arise from the authorship of GM and/or players, with plenty of room to make stuff up as you go along."

This seems really clear. And I think examples might be unnecessary.

8. Randomness versus Choice

"A game or system dependent on Randomness uses die results to work out what happens. A game that privileges Choice has players and GMs decide."

This also seems clear. Some games don’t give players the power to just choose what happens next. Some games push players to decide when they want spend resources to just make a specific thing happen.

Okay, so does that all check out?

[pitchnhirejobs]

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