Shadows

Dear Eurobricks Members: As most of you know, we've been through a number of software and server upgrades in order to provide you with the best experience possible. During that time, we've installed several new tools that better allow us to track the evolution of the site, and now is the time when we can apply this new knowledge to bring the forum to even greater heights. Specifically, we were able to look at registrations over time, marking very definite trends in our member base and we've come to an interesting evolutionary timeline, of sorts. In the early days of Eurobricks, the site was primarily used by European members who found it to be a comfortable place to share their love of LEGO with like-minded people of a similar background. Gradually, that shifted to a more global membership, which was something we had noticed ourselves, even without the detailed analysis that we have now. The part that surprised us was the last few years, the time when the site has seen it's largest increases in membership and traffic, and that is what we are here to discuss. To put it simply, what was once a European site has turned into one mostly populated by American AFOLs who now outnumber all other locations by a 4 to 1 margin. As such, continuing to maintain our image as a European site is unfair to the majority of our members. As a result, adjustments are being made. Over the next few weeks, you may notice some slight changes to the site, changes designed to allow us to better accommodate the largest portion of our member base more efficiently while still keeping the site friendly and open to all. The Plan Rebranding of the site to AmeriBricks, along with the necessary change in address. Reworking of site graphics to better match American visual sensibilities. Shifting the focus of our discussions to a more American point of view. Movement of the physical server to America to improve site performance during peak usage times. Rebranding is currently in progress, feel free to visit Ameribricks over the next few weeks to watch our progress. The majority of the plan is happening behind the scenes and will most likely appear suddenly, which is why we felt the need to let you know about the coming improvements. We hope that this change will come as both a surprise and a pleasure to you and that we may continue to serve you for many years to come. Please come tell us what you think! ~ The AmeriBricks Staff

Fantastic! I question whether or not they're real ninjas since we can see them, guess we'll have to wait for the followup video showing the battle. Oh, and before anyone says it ... Fabuland car doors! Brilliant! I should name all the creative parts uses, but it would take all day. Seriously amazing.

And by "bake you a cake" we all know what she really means. She's going to bake him a cake. It might not even be a good cake, can princesses typically bake well? Poor Mario, all these years of risking his life for cake. Imagine how much cake he could buy if he just quit halfway through and used all those coins to buy them. Did I get off track? Great video, Cecilie, full of all the classic elements creatively built and timed perfectly with the music and sound effects. Its-a-mazing!

It should be noted that some scenes are presented for comic relief documenting the daily activities of our dedicated staff and the various challenges they face. These scenes should not be taken as any form of evidence related to your current assignment. You will easily be able to tell which scenes are intended to serve as clues and which are not by one simple rule: none of them are. Referring to your previous lesson on sources of information, you will notice (or perhaps you won't), that pictures were not one of the listed indicators, and, in fact, visual clues were directly discouraged. Seriously. You may now begin the day.

Now there's a handsome chap.

I'm sure you would do amazingly well in his native language, right? Don't do this again.

Si, it was for some other reason. Specifically, due to the requirement that each student vote during the day, it was necessary to allow voting to continue until that condition had been satisfied. Since it has been previously stated that unvoting is not allowed once a majority has been reached, any attempt to do so would be ignored, but not result in a penalty. The official results memo has been updated to indicate their final status. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration

Due to a change in federal privacy regulations, student records no longer indicate the specific reason for expulsion. Unless that reason is death. Any records made prior to this change may indicate a reason, which should be ignored as it serves no purpose to you as a participant in this program. At no time will any student return from death, testing, or expulsion, nor will the weighted companion cube ever try to tell you anything, and, in fact, cannot speak. Even though they are sentient. It should be noted that any appearance of a mistake being made is actually an educational opportunity waiting to happen. In the event that we do make an actual mistake, you will be informed in a clear and professional manner. See example above. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration

Yes, that's a good idea!

Staff decisions concerning members are not made or changed by public opinion but by site policy. Further, those decisions are the private concern of the staff and the member in question and will not be shared or discussed beyond that. I'll go ahead and lock this now.

Well, on the one hand, it's important to be yourself and experience the freedom that comes with this particular practice, as long as it is done in a responsible manner, with full awareness of your surroundings, especially keeping it age appropriate. On the other hand, there can be legal issues, as well as environmental concerns from exposure to the cold. Oh, and people stare, but maybe that's the point, huh? Edit: Oh, exhibitor. My mistake. (It's a joke, people. Isn't it? )

Thanks for giving the janitorial staff something to do, Brickington, and for your generous donation of one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science Self Esteem Fund for Girls. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration

Please note that any appearance of danger is merely a device to enhance your learning experience. Please also note that a second rule violation will result in a failing mark on your permanent record, followed by death. Voting is now open. With 17 players left, it takes 9 for a successful expulsion.

Wendy Beamish (Wedge09) - 10 votes (Tamamono, LegoDad, Brickington, Clanure, Antonio, Kristel, mostlytechnic, jamesn, Purpearljellyblob, Esurient) John Bender (Antonio) - 2 votes (Jedi Master Brick, PsyKater) Bob Busch (Hammerstein NWC) - 6 votes (penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, badboytje88) Ricky Sanders (Brickington) - 4 votes (Mencot, Hammerstein MWC, -obelix-, Fred Daniel Yam) Claire Standish (LegoDad) - 2 votes (Wedge09, Captain Nemo) Day Two has ended. A majority has voted for Wendy Beamish (Wedge09) to be expelled. The results of this expulsion will be revealed tomorrow. Day 2 is over and this post will now be locked. You have exactly 24 Hours from this post to submit your night actions. No late actions will be accepted.

Each player will be given a character to play. That character will be aligned with either the Academy (town) or Black Mesa (scum). To win the game, the Academy must vote or kill off all Black Mesa, while Black Mesa needs to outnumber the Academy. Each character was given a sort of “bare-bones” character description as well. Feel free to expand on your character, to roleplay and truly become them. Each day will be played out in its own topic. During the day you will be able to vote to expel (lynch) a player. Voting must be done in the following format: Vote: Character (Player). Similarly, unvoting is to be done in the format: Unvote: Character (Player). No other format will be accepted. A majority vote is required to expel (lynch) a player, meaning that over half of the remaining players must vote for the same player to warrant a lynch. You must vote in every day thread. A game day will last for 72 hours. You may not vote in the first 24 hours. The day will end after those 72 hours. After the day has concluded, a night will commence, which will last a maximum of 48 hours. Night actions must be sent to the host in the first 24 hours of nighttime. You may not post about the game openly on Eurobricks during that time (but may continue to use private messages). The alignment of expelled (lynched) players, as well as those that died during the night, will be revealed at the beginning of the next day. You may not quote or pretend to quote anything sent to you by the game host via PM. This includes the details of your character and role, as well as any night action results. Role claims and reporting of night action results are acceptable, but in your own words only. Do not attempt to use the structure of your role PM to your advantage. You may not quote/post anything sent to you by another player via PM. If you wish to use information gained in this way, you must do so in your own words only. Do not play the game outside the day threads. Similarly, do not post out-of-character inside the day threads. Game tactics and roles may only be discussed in the game thread or via PM with other players. Private discussion is done at your own risk and should be treated as part of the game. If you are dead, you may not post in thread or discuss the game with any of the players (living or dead). Any information you had becomes void, and may not be passed on. Don't edit your posts. You must post in every day thread. Violation of the above rules will result in a 5-vote penalty against you on your first offense, and the death of your character on your second offense. If at any time another player asks you to violate these rules (for example, asking you to give them your role PM), report this to the hosts immediately along with PM proof of the violation. The Faculty Ms. Margarette Dragonsworth, Dean of Girls (Darkdragon) Mr. Ian Shadeaux, Dean of Boys (Shadows) The Students Simone Adamley, The Cheerleader (Captain Nemo) Craig Anheiser, The Stoner (Kristel) Wendy Beamish, The Band (Wedge09) John Bender, The Stoner (Antonio) Jeanie Bueller, The Stoner (badboytje88) Bobby Busch, The Band (Hamerstein NWC) Andrew Clark, The Jock (clanure) Lucy Emerson, The Band (esurient) Cameron Frye, The Prep (Tamamono) Burton Guster, The Jock (Jedi master Brick) Mary Jane, The Jock (mostlytechnic) Brian Johnson, The Geek (purpearljellyblob) Chuckie Miller, The Goth (-obelix-) Davey Osborne, The Goth (Mencot) Adriano Parbritzzi, The Exchange Student (PsyKater) Allison Reynolds, The Goth (jamesn) Ricky Sanders, The Mascot (Brickington) Shawna Spencer, The Geek (Fred Daniel Yam) Claire Standish, The Prep (LegoDad) Newton Crosby, The Geek (debricker) - Loyal Student Bud Fox, The Prep (Tohst) - Loyal Student [Reassigned to Testing] Sloane Peterson, The Cheerleader (Bob) - Loyal Student

Craig Anheiser (Kristel) - 2 votes (Brickington, Tohst) Bud Fox (Tohst) - 7 votes (penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, PsyKater, LegoDad) Davey Osborne (Mencot) - 3 votes (Debricker, jamesn, Jedi master Brick) Ricky Sanders (Brickington) - 6 votes (penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, Wedge09) Shawna Spencer (Fred Daniel Yam) - 1 vote (Bob) There are 26 hours left in the day.

Craig Anheiser (Kristel) - 2 votes (Brickington, Tohst) Bud Fox (Tohst) - 6 votes (penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, PsyKater) Davey Osborne (Mencot) - 1 vote (Debricker) Ricky Sanders (Brickington) - 5 votes (penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty, penalty) Acceptable Voting Format - Vote: Character (Player) Acceptable Unvoting Format - Unvote: Character (Player) For those of you who might be a little slow, that is: The word Vote or Unvote followed by a colon then a space and the name of the character then another space and the name of the player in parenthesis. Then you highlight the whole thing and press the B in the toolbar above to turn it bold. We are currently accepting votes that do not include the colon, but are otherwise correct. We will also overlook capitalization at this time, and character name may be first, last, or both. However, any other variations will be unacceptable and from this notification forward, will result in a 5 vote penalty against you, so it would be wise to pay very close attention to your voting format or you may find this to be a very short experience that ends with a failing mark on your permanent record, followed by death. I have the lab boys working on a little something right now, and trust me, you'd like to avoid it. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration

Accordingly, Ricky Sanders (Brickington) has received a 5 vote penalty. During this penalty period, a second violation has occurred, but as the first penalty was being posted at the time, this will go unpunished. Any further violation will result in immediate death. This also cancels the contents of the post, so the original vote still stands, from prior to both edits. Review the rules before the rules review you. Continuing to review the comments of the day, Bud Fox (Tohst) also edited a post and has been awarded a 5 vote penalty.

Has a date with Betty - It refers to the "LEGO or LEGOS" topic where I suggested just calling it Betty. I suspect it was Mister Phes' doing. Science isn't about why, it's about why not! - In honour of Aperture Academy Mafia School. Self given.

There has been a small delay to replace accepted students who foolishly chose to attend another unnamed academy across town as well as a few slackers who ultimately didn't live up to our high standards. Testing Learning will begin shortly. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration You will be baked, then there will be cake. Of course, only the best. Let's see if you make it that far. You'll all be receiving that information when you need it.

Confirmation and questions may now begin and will last for a period of 24 hours after which time you will receive your individual notifications via PM. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration

Hello and welcome again to Aperture Academy. This Observation Room has been provided for the convenience of those of you who share our interest in education. We know you like to watch, so this will serve as a place for you to observe the students, while we observe you observing them. The Rules of Observation Don't smudge up the glass with your greasy fingers. Don't touch anything at all. Stop that! No loitering for over 20 minutes. When you leave, if you had any belongings, please take them with you, we don't want old newspapers and sticks cluttering up the building. Most of all, enjoy yourself. And don't touch the glass. We're serious here. (Signed) Aperture Advanced Observation Department Always Watching You, Watching Us, Watching You™

Congratulations, [subject name here], you must be the pride of [subject hometown here], you have successfully applied for admission to the exclusive Aperture Academy, where learning is fun and rarely has deadly consequences. Here you will see a digitally created example of what your yearbook page may look like, assuming that all of you survive successfully complete your education here. The Class of 1984 You will notice that you have been given new names in keeping with the double blind testing procedures followed at this facility. As a matter of fact, you have not yet been formally notified of the identities you will be assuming, but here is a list of successful applicants. The Class of 1984 (Updated) Bob wedge09 Kristel badboytje88 Hamerstein NWC nabii debricker Tamamono Fred Daniel Yam Brickington mostlytechnic esurient saberwing40k Jedi Master Brick PsyKater -obelix- jamesn purpearljelllyblob clanure LegoDad gazumpty efullner Antonio Mencot Tohst Captain Nemo If your name appears on this list, you will have already received a letter in the mail to notify you of your acceptance, and need to take a moment to check in here. A lesson on rules and how they apply to you follows this post. (Signed) Aperture Academy Administration

There's good advice for every host, we should put that and "keep it simple" in the hosting application. For a while there, the trend in EB hosting was to try crazier and crazier things when I think most players just wanted a fun classic game without all the nonsense.

That was directed at the "veterans" who signed up to improve their skills.