Selling you soul for a game?

Fri Apr 16 04:25PM by Yahoo! UK Games Editor

Answer this question honestly – do you read the small print when you buy games on the internet?

High Street retailing giant GameStation decided to put this to the test and inserted a new clause into their terms and conditions earlier this month that granted them legal rights to the immortal souls of thousands of their online customers. Here, in darkest legalese, is how they got away with such a heinous act:

"By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamestation.co.uk or one of its duly authorised minions."

GameStation’s fiendish clause specified that they might serve such notice in “six foot-high letters of fire” too, but also offered customers an option to opt out, rewarding them with a £5 money-off voucher if they did so.

Alas, hardly anyone noticed the clause, let alone the substantial bonus for spotting the gag. More to the point, the fact that it passed more or less unnoticed raises an important issue – too few people actually read the small print when they make online purchases.

According to GameStation, around 7,500 customers carelessly signed their souls away on the day. Were you one of them...?

The idea

I had this sent as a pdf butI couldn't find a way of getting it on here, other than screen caps. Best. Email. Ever! lol

As always, click to enlarge.

Twitter

I have joined (reluctantly) the latest online fad - Twatter, sorry I mean Twitter. ;)

Lord knows how prolific I will be, but should you have a burning urge to follow my inane ramblings then my account is under MartinWWalker.

The Interrobang

I've discovered that there is an unused symbol in written English which is a cross between a Question Mark and a Punctuation Mark. It is called an Interrobang.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrobang

As someone who exclaims a lot in life this would be a perfect tool for me, as the "!?" or "?!" is just not classy enough for me lol

I was going to set a group up on facebook lol, but I found that I had been beaten to it. Can you believe it, but the group has 1800 memebers?! <---- great place for an interrobang there lol

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2232305477

So please consider promoting the use of the interrobang wherever you can. There are poor people in this world who exclaim more than they should, and need this tool to help them do it! ;)

The Benny Hillifier aka The Coolest Thing On The Internet

Presenting the "Benny Hillifier" lol

http://james.nerdiphythesoul.com/bennyhillifier/speedup.php?id=kWfFfPMLXdU

Diva

You may have heard that Batman actor Christian Bale has recently been slammed after a recording of him completely losing with his DP (Director of Photography) after the man was caught fiddling with lights during Bales most emotional scene in the new Terminator movie.

He absolutely tears the guy a new one, while the director of the film McG (yes, thats his name!) just meekly says he didn't see anything. I am in 2 minds about this. Film sets are very highly emotional places, and the niceties of life are not always followed. But Bale did not show a good side by shouting this guy out in front of the whole crew. Still its a storm in a teacup, or should have been until someone leaked the whole thing onto the internet, and as such it has become news everywhere.

And when you're famous and get into trouble, there is always someone out there ready to make it even worse! I give you the dance remix of Bale shouting out the DP. Sheer genius!!!!!!

When threads go wrong

Please, please, please - click to enlarge! lol

http://www.nuskoolbreaks.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=1553252&sid=54dbbab1fd01714d1d880bcaf3fd737b

Having a bad day

Childhood fears (part 2)

A Ladybird Easy Reading book: The Policeman

Woman arrested for killing virtual husband

This weeks edition of Strange World is from our friends in Japan.

A Japanese woman has been arrested after she allegedly killed her virtual husband in an online game.

The 43 year old was apparently furious at finding herself suddenly divorced in the game Maplestory, reports the BBC.

Police say she illegally accessed login details of the man playing her virtual husband, and killed off his character.

The woman, a piano teacher, is in jail in Sapporo waiting to learn if she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

She was taken to Sapporo - where her "husband", a 33-year-old office worker lives - from her home in Miyazaki 620 miles away.

If charged with the offences, and convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

A Sapporo police official said the woman had used the man's ID and password to log into the game last May to carry out the virtual murder.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," she was quoted by the official as telling investigators.

Ladybird childrens books updated for the 21st century