Alan Hart

Ok so i read this article about the Xbox Live user whose gamertag was barred because it violated XBL policies (you can’t have a sexual term in your name, regardless of sexual orientation). The incriminating gamertag was “RichardGaywood”. I can’t help but think that Microsoft’s policy is a little flawed. I know they have to appease everyone who uses their service and I know that there are some incredibly sensitive people on this planet

Microsoft’s Stephen Toulouse referred to the XBL Terms of Use in explaining why the user “TheGAYERGamer” received a ban, stating:

“Gamertags are visible to everyone and it would be hard for me to defend to a parent of a young child who saw it that the name did not contain content of a sexual nature.”

Surely it’s only offensive to someone who knows what this word means, a young child surely wouldn’t find this offensive even if he/she knew what it meant they’d probably find it funny and have a giggle about it. I believe it’s the parents who are over sensitive about things like this. I am also aware that there are a number of homophobes who may find anything to do with the word “gay” offensive but try and remember that the word gay actually means happy among other non-sexual things

By all means report anything you believe to violate the policy to XBL but if, as in the Richard Gaywood example, the person in question can actually prove that this is his/her real and legal name, it should be allowed to remain as their Gamertag and the person who complained should be notified that this is the case.

What other names/words could Microsoft ban gamertags for containing?

Got an HD Ready TV? Want to play Blu-Ray Discs? Buy a PlayStation3 It plays blu rays and PS3 games as well as allowing you to surf the internet on your TV and more!. Plus it’s cheaper than many of the “blu-ray only” players currently on the market. being a games console it doesn’t come with a remote control but does come with a PS3 wireless controller (bluetooth) and you can always buy a ps3 remote control if you’re that way inclined

i was just woken up by a loud boom, sounded a bit like thunder. my dogs went nuts outside so i know it wasn’t a dream or a figment of my imagination. I also heard what i believe to be the same loud rumble a few days ago, cant remember the day or time but it was earlier in the evening. If you have also heard this noise please comment stating the date/time and your location.

I’ve been playing poker online for a while now and the best one (for me anyway) is PKR. I have made a nice bit of money from it, not a ton of cash but a tidy sum.

PKR is easy to play and get to grips with even if you’ve never played before.

You don’t have to play for real money to begin with, you have the option to play for “play money” and the game-play is exactly the same as “real money”

If you want to check it out for yourself click the image on the right or click here

If you’re new to poker or just want to know a bit more about the game PKR has some good guides or check out the Gambling-Addict site for Poker Info and Poker Gameplay Rules as well as some handy poker hand cards to cut out and keep to hand.

I use Europe DNS for pretty much all my domain name registration needs, the prices are good and they give you full control over your domains.

They don’t just do european domains, they have every kind of domain available in one place including: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz (worldwide domains) and .mobi (mobile domains) as well as country specific domains such as .co.uk (UK domains) and .ie (ireland domains).

Custom DNS Entries and Modifications as well as domain renewals are easy using their domain managment system .

Stumbled across this today. This guy is a genius. Might be hard to understand what he’s talking about at first but listen to everything and wait for the demonstration.

I’ve been getting automatic calls from Callvalue every 2 weeks on my work phone (not a public number) for quite some time. It’s been starting to get to me, so i looked it up on the net only to find no reference to any company called CallValue.

If you are also receiving these calls regularly press 2 to speak to an operator. then you can ask to have your number removed.

The last time I managed to speak to an “operator”, please note that I dont like taking out my anger on the people at the receiving end becuase in most cases it’s not their fault and not very productive, so i tried to get some info out of him. He told me that they were in Brighton, and that they worked for this Callvalue company, and not a third party marketing company. He didn’t seem very knowledgeable about the company but he’d assured me that I wasn’t on the list anymore.

I managed to get through to them a few weeks ago, and I asked to be taken off their list (again), however i’m still receiving these automated calls.

some useful information from the TPS site.

8. Will registering with TPS reduce the receipt of recorded messages?

No. Organisations that use recorded phone message to try and sell or promote their products or business have to comply with the http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

These say that marketers who leave recorded phone messages must obtain the prior consent of the subscriber before they can make that call. Where a subscriber receives a recorded phone message they haven’t agreed to there may have been a breach of the regulations.

If you are receiving recorded messages and have not given prior permission, you can complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

more interesting info:…

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documen…3.1_081007.pdf

Specifically the following excerpt:…

“How do I stop unsolicited automated calls?

Contact the marketer and tell them to stop. They are legally obliged to provide you with their contact details in their marketing message. They are also legally obliged to stop calling you when you ask them to.”

The interesting thing is that they are legally obliged to provide you with their contact details in their marketing message. In the CallValue marketing message, they only say “press 2 now” i wouldn’t exactly call that “contact details”

Just thought i’d put this out there in case it helps anyone else who was still trying to get them to stop… as it appears that they’re not following ICO regulations.

I’m curious to see if anyone else has been getting these calls or is it just me?

What you may have searched for: CallValue , Call-Value, Call Value, CallValue-UK, Automatic marketing message.

Win a charity T Shirt signed by the KAISER CHIEFS

My friend Radio DJ Coral Rose was at the BBC radio 1 Big weekend and the Kaiser Chiefs signed a charity T Shirt which she has kindly given to the Starlight Children’s Foundation charity to raffle to raise funds.

Tickets are £1 each and they are available on their website

Update:..

The winner of the charity T- Shirt signed by the Kaiser Chiefs raffle which was drawn at 5pm on Friday 28th of Septmber at the Charity Headquarters is Richard Bastow from Ilkley, Yorkshire. The total raised was £313. A big thank you to every one who bought tickets and supported this fantastic cause.

Here are some pics of my new car. It’s a VW Golf V5 (2.3L).

I couldn’t find much information on the web about the V5 so here’s a link to the only VW Golf V5 specific site i could find.

One of my friends is doing a 44km (27.3 mile) sponsored walk on 8th September 2007 to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Her fundraising goal is £500.

Click the link below to see how much she has managed to raise so far and, if your feeling in a generous and charitable mood today, why not sponsor her.

http://www.breakthroughwalk.org.uk/kelly

Any donation makes a real difference in the fight against breast cancer.