What do you think of the current situation with the "NPC" meme? If you didn't know, in political "discussions", people are calling each other "NPC" because of people constantly posting the same response when their beliefs are challenged. For example, when someone make a claim that racism against whites isn't a thing, the exact same response about the dictionary definition of racism will come up. I'm guilty of this as well. BOTH sides are NPCs. People online rather use name-calling like "Russian Bot" or "Libtard" instead of coming up with an actual argument. And guess what, if you're going to angrily call me a Centrist for pointing this out, **you're literally proving my point.** Russian Bot, Libtard, SJW, Neo-Nazi, Racist, Cuck, White Supremacist, Troll, I could go on. I am a NPC. You are a NPC. *We are all NPCs.* Embrace it.

Such an attempt at redefining a solidly rooted game term is doomed to failure. NPC means Non Player Character. It is used as such with greater volume than this meme will ever reach. Don't worry, just ignore it as it dies at the foot of Game Literacy.

The NPC meme is great I really get a kick out of it.

Isn't this just another name for the concept of a philosophical zombie?

> *Originally posted by **[vikaTae](/forums/9/topics/1762049?page=1#12918267)**:* > Isn't this just another name for the concept of a philosophical zombie? NPCs usually refer to inauthentic herd-following persons that are akin to automatons, and not so much as persons without internal sensation or qualia like p-zombies.

I was thinking more the aspect of a philosophical zombie being a non-conscious simulation of a human mind. I've not come acros this meaning of NPC before; the only one I'm familiar with is OldYouth's version, so I'm not sure how the two overlap. But with agaming NPC, it's a character without any internal self-awareness - interchangable mental copies if you will. That latter bit seems to describe OPs version rather well (esp. factoring in your own definition of the concept), and is also a definite interpretation of a p-zombie. A simulated person with no internal consciousness - just a carbon copy of another sim-mind, cut and paste. Is this not then, what the OP is basically describing? The accusation that these people are carbon copies of each other? Consciousness-lacking bots, spewing out the same opinions like pre-programmed scripts?

> *Originally posted by **[vikaTae](/forums/9/topics/1762049?page=1#12918356)**:* >Is this not then, what the OP is basically describing? The accusation that these people are carbon copies of each other? Consciousness-lacking bots, spewing out the same opinions like pre-programmed scripts? Kind of. The NPC meme is a dig at the people who didn't form their opinions on their own, but were spoon-fed them (as if they were programmed), who respond to objections in simplistic and easily predictable ways (as NPCs) and "break" when they encounter something they weren't programmed to deal with (like resorting to insults when they run out of arguments, much like an NPC would throw out "I don't know what you mean by X" when you type in something the programmers didn't expect). Started from the tongue-in-cheek post likening liberals to p-zombies, but is now used by both sides against each other. Honestly, I quite like this meme. It is a sharp jab at ideological entrenchment and herd mentality, in a more encompassing, more comical, and more biting way than the term 'SJW' which was getting stale and was applied exclusively to the left.

> *Originally posted by **[Gabidou99](/forums/9/topics/1762049?page=1#12896736)**:* > What do you think of the current situation with the "NPC" meme? If you didn't know, in political "discussions", people are calling each other "NPC" because of people constantly posting the same response when their beliefs are challenged. For example, when someone make a claim that racism against whites isn't a thing, the exact same response about the dictionary definition of racism will come up. I'm guilty of this as well. Because they feel that their counter-argument hasn't been addressed. If I'm explaining multiple times to multiple people why a certain belief is wrong, and none of them have convincing counter-points, why would I not keep saying the exact same thing to all of them? > BOTH sides are NPCs. People online rather use name-calling like "Russian Bot" or "Libtard" instead of coming up with an actual argument. And guess what, if you're going to angrily call me a Centrist for pointing this out, **you're literally proving my point.** Attacking a person's character instead of their argument is a very human thing to do. > Russian Bot, Libtard, SJW, Neo-Nazi, Racist, Cuck, White Supremacist, Troll, I could go on. I am a NPC. You are a NPC. *We are all NPCs.* Embrace it. I think the NPC meme is mostly projection by a lot of the people who use it.

I was expecting the whole NPC thing to be more of what vikaTae talked about (philosophical zombies) and not used as an insult rather than "Sheeple: 2018 Edition™". And, as time goes by, it just steadily shifts to vaguely cover some group you don't happen to like rather than what it was originally used to refer to, losing any meaning you could've at forced out of it in the beginning. Like the word cuck.

I don't see how centrist can even be used in a negative sense. From my understanding of the political compass, the more centrist (moderate) you are, the more aware you are of how a healthy society works.

> *Originally posted by **[spideylady](/forums/9/topics/1762049?page=1#12989345)**:* > I don't see how centrist can even be used in a negative sense. From my understanding of the political compass, the more centrist (moderate) you are, the more aware you are of how a healthy society works. It can be used in the negative sense for both irrational and rational reasons. The following myths might highlight why. Myth 1: Centrists are indecisive. Not choosing any of the political directions is not the same as not knowing which to choose. Myth 2: Centrists try to take the middle path on every issue. Someone can still be a centrist if they have issues upon which they agree with the various political directions. Myth 3: The middle path is always right. Sometimes one extreme is more wrong than the other extreme. Take a topic almost all of us agree on now (Civil Rights), back in the past that was not a centrist position. Myth 4: Being in the middle lets you see other directions better. The ability to empathize with and comprehend other positions is independant of your own position.

> *Originally posted by **[vikaTae](/forums/9/topics/1762049?page=1#12918356)**:* > I was thinking more the aspect of a philosophical zombie being a non-conscious simulation of a human mind. > > I've not come acros this meaning of NPC before; the only one I'm familiar with is OldYouth's version, so I'm not sure how the two overlap. But with agaming NPC, it's a character without any internal self-awareness - interchangable mental copies if you will. That latter bit seems to describe OPs version rather well (esp. factoring in your own definition of the concept), and is also a definite interpretation of a p-zombie. A simulated person with no internal consciousness - just a carbon copy of another sim-mind, cut and paste. > > Is this not then, what the OP is basically describing? The accusation that these people are carbon copies of each other? Consciousness-lacking bots, spespewingwing out the same opinions like pre-programmed scripts? Funny enough, there is actually some "similar definitions" from the old "rebel/underground" artist types in the old days.... I only just heard of this, and *immediately thought* "zombie". This whole thing with "rote memorisation and pattern following" is *exactly* what Romero was reffing in the original "of the dead" series. (Just read the old interviews!) Remember how it took place in boring and dreary areas? Like.... A shopping mall? "Mindless Consumerism" meet "Mindless Politicisation!" See also cartoons by Crumb, Gaines, Bakshi, Mike Diana. The Internet meaning behind NPC is almost entirely the same conceptual criticism of society done by old horror, cult, and libertarian/leftist personalities. I wonder if this is an accidental result of Ron Paul labeling everyone not interested in the "big two" as revolutionaries. They seem to have taken the counterculture mindset to heart. One of the funnier and more fascinating things I have learned about modern post-2014 4chan has been *how old* some of the shit they do actually is, hippies and yippies like Skaggs would love these guys, despite being of a wholly opposite political alignment. If you really think about it, they have "rebelled against authority" in the same way, against their parents who led and were devoted to neoconservatism and the "Moral Majority," ironically just as the other end was entering their own form of it (under the religion known as "social justice") thanks to careful manipulation of the Clintons and equally blandly ideological (and often hypocritical, just look at Hugo Schwyzer!) pandering professors. Lot of similarity between the folks that blather about "patriarchy" and the folks that blather about "the gay jihad" (in that they often commit the sins they accuse all others of, for one.) And they all universally hate gaming as media and art form for encouraging "out of the norm" abstract thinking patterns, anticonformity, and socially unacceptable dress codes. Makes it.... Too hard to stuff everyone in an easily malleable, controlled and labeled box, ya dig the jive, my hip cats? Wonder when the fish bowl shoes and bell bottoms make a comeback.... Keep an eye on those pubg, Unreal, and Fortnite cash shop stores! I already noticed big amounts of afros, braids, and bobs returning. (Especially in the fighting games scene) Everything old is new again. (Then there's that whole retro 80s vaporwave scene that seemed a late revival thanks to the groundwork laid by Vice City and Hotline Miami to consider as well. Coinciding with this, there's been a revival in the auto circuit seeking above all, the Dodge Interceptor and related kits, made famous by Charlie Sheen in The Wraith and having a very Tron-esque design motif) If I had to place when this new "shift" started, it was probably all those MPAA-bribed ignorant old farts in congress trying to pass unanimous regulations and bans upon the Internet during the 2004-2006 session. Then Ron got them out of their "caves" for real and showed these blokes how to care about more than one issue. (The overlap IMO specifically begins when Fox banned coverage of him, leading to his regular Daily Show appearances.) Hell, you want to confirm the "new right" is in fact the "old left", just look at their opinions on drugs and the uselessness of the drug war. Most drug use overall has been down, but psychedelics are way *way* up. (Come to think of it, the most controversial appointment among his base was ol' *Jeff Sessions* and his penchant for decrying the "devil's weed")

> *Originally posted by **[spideylady](/forums/9/topics/1762049?page=1#12989345)**:* > I don't see how centrist can even be used in a negative sense. From my understanding of the political compass, the more centrist (moderate) you are, the more aware you are of how a healthy society works. This is one thing you actually **can** "Thank(s) Obama" for. I didn't really ever hear that often until the 2010s. He frequently referred to himself as a "centrist", which got *all* his positions associated with "centrist thought" even if they aren't. Bill Clinton beat that drum first, but there wasn't much of a problem until Obama managed to get "centrist" and "moderate" thought of as equating to "disappointing to everyone, at all times"  https://www.quora.com/Is-President-Obama-a-centrist good and quick example brought up here. "P.S. Sad to say, but drones are "centrist" policy by this measurement, because it is one of the few policies that can get bipartisan support in Congress.  This is why I do not necessarily assume centrist = good." This is *also* the case with (until recently) deportation and border walls: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25611044 https://splinternews.com/sorry-obamas-still-deporter-in-chief-1821625282 https://www.thenation.com/article/the-deportation-machine-obama-built-for-president-trump/ https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/04/08/what-happened-when-bush-obama-sent-troops-to-mexico-border/ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article222325175.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/09/obama-border-patrol-chief-trump-stay-course-border-wall/ So I guess what you could *really* say is all this bitching about "centrists" is in fact kvetching about a bizarre purely American creation of a "radical centrism" that isn't all that "moderate", but rather appears so by adopting positions from *both* extremes. Bill was much more savvy and subtle, unfortunately as the election and response has shown, it's his **wife's** legacy that has taken over. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/bill-clintons-lonely-one-man-effort-to-win-white-working-class-voters