Forum:Ask Hal 9000

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What we're talking about :UnNews:Ask Hal 9000

Ask Hal 9000

Erm... I like the idea, but, erm... has there actually been any discussion on whether to have it or not? If that is the case, I suggest you pop an article into the Village Dump, and see if people would be interested in replacing Ask Cthulhu with it. Cheers! --Olipro Anchor (Harass) 10:41, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Why don't we leave Ask Cthulhu as it is, and use Ask Hal for computer related and technical questions? That way Cthulhu can remain as the sites favourite Agony Aunt (in every sense) with Hal 9000 becoming a demonic Tech Support. Think theres potential there for them both..... -- Sir Mhaille  (talk to me)

I will open a village dump forum on it. I never planned to replace Ask Cuthulu with this. I thought this would be an addition, not a replacement. This was an evolution of an idea I had, which was originally supposed to be a Hal9000 themed main page reskin. I lacked the wikiformatting skills to actually create a test page however, so I decided on this idea instead. I think it has humor potential, the idea is to be funny with the answers, while staying "in character" as Hal from the 2001 film (I'm not sure about Hal in 2010 since the events of 2001 were deleted from his memory. The 2001 Hal is a much more interesting character). In any case, we can talk it over in the dump and work all of this out (if nothing else, I got a kick out of making the image with the Discovery systems TLAs replaced with "NRV" and "GOTM" . . . .

--Hrodulf 10:57, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

And, Olipro, I'm sorry if I was too bold in changing the UnNews template to include Ask Hal 9000, but the page won't get any questions if people can't find it. Again, we can discuss this in the Village Dump forum topic I've created.

--Hrodulf 11:03, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Personally, my thoughts are we should give it a try and see what happens with it. If it's funny, keep it. If it isn't funny, send Dave Bowman to pull the plug :D --Hrodulf 11:10, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I have to log out for awhile now. I'll try to keep in touch during the day to see what develops. --Hrodulf 11:53, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

• Personally, I'm for it. I've always loved HAL, the idea of a Tech Support with the technology itself is riotous to me. --Moogle.EXE 17:01, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

And it should go without saying, but anyone can play at being "HAL." I'm willing to share my toys . . . . --Hrodulf 17:09, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

• Love the idea. Like Cthulhu, it'll get old after a week, but it's still great. --User:Nintendorulez 18:34, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Might as well give it a go, especially if it's just going to be a single link on the main UnNews page. —rc (t) 18:37, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

• Obviously being the autonomous system that HAL9000 is, he is much better than Chtulhu. --OsirisX 09:29, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Even if implemented with technology that is by now half a decade out-of-date? --Carlb 13:29, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Is it possible to get an appropriate link so people can find this? I tried one before but it was wiped. --Hrodulf 18:11, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• Just what do you think you're doing, not allowing a link? Two advice-givers are hardly an excess, considering the tone of each column is massively different from one another. Hrodulf has a bead on style and substance and Hal 9000, certainly of higher intellect than any of us with the exception of User:Dave Bowman, can certainly help us all see the err of our communications equipment, or can he? Regardless, he's putting himself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think any conscious entity Uncyclopedian can ever hope to do. --Imrealized 23:24, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Glad you like the column, it was just a crazy idea that seems to be working out. My only concern is that without a link people can follow, it just won't get questions. And an advice column without questions doesn't work so well. --Hrodulf 01:15, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Judging by the questions asked and those who've asked them, not to mention some of the comments above, my guess is that I'm not the only fan of the job both you and Hal 9000 are doing. If this link is merely awaiting some formal voting process, I'm For. --Imrealized 04:17, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

• Added I'm not sure why this got this far without being added. It's on the UnNews main page now.--<<>> 04:43, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

There goes Brad, being a shining beacon of quality administrating again. Thank you for hearing our pleas and placing the link. --Imrealized 07:36, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Brad, but as for your question, putting a link to this in the {{UnMenu}} template was one of the first things I did. It was reverted. http://uncyclopedia.org/index.php?title=Template%3AUnMenu&diff=787244&oldid=786845. Wouldn't want you to think that I had been slacking off on doing it myself, or didn't know how or something . . . I don't mind the revert, actually, it inspired me to write http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/HowTo:Get_Started_on_Editing_Uncyclopedia#Be_timid_in_updating_certain_pages.. The only thing that matters is there's a link now. And like I've been saying all along, anyone who wants to should feel free to take a crack at being Hal.

--Hrodulf 13:45, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Hrodulf, thanks for placing that link. I think that's all this was, in the end. Someone was worried that your article wouldn't be up to snuff, which it clearly WAS, then it was just a matter of getting an admin's attention.  ;)--<<>> 14:31, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I didn't know if it'd be up to snuff either! My original idea was to do a main page reskin, but this advice column may prove to be even funner, because you can not only have the image of HAL with the uncyc TLAs on the screens (a riot in and of itself, although I want to make the picture better, right now it, for want of a better word, sucks), but you can also "talk" to "HAL," which is even more fun. As I answered the questions posed so far, I found that being HAL was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I tried to focus on words and ideas from 2001:A Space Odyssey, and satirized certain aspects of the technology (the fact that HAL was a "thinking computer" and the incongruity of the scene where HAL dispenses a punch card output). I also tried to extrapolate certain issues that would come up if you had a thinking computer, like the fact that viruses would be a serious problem, since how would you be able to detect one in a computer with billions of simulated neurons? It could possibly take longer than a human lifespan to scan Hal's "brain" for viruses! Not to mention the issues with tech support. If your Hal goes wrong, not much you can do except disconnect it or send your punch cards in to company headquarters and wait two to four weeks. There are no user servicable parts inside :D

As for the link being taken down, I understand, and that's why I wrote the new section of http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/HowTo:Get_Started_on_Editing_Uncyclopedia#Be_timid_in_updating_certain_pages. That being said, sometimes there's a place for being a bit of a maverick and doing your own thing also. Whatever works. Clearly this forum got the job done, so obviously there is a right way to go about doing this sort of thing. Thanks to everybody for taking an interest in this new article, and let's see where it goes. It could be a lot of fun, particularly if other people get involved in answering and we get to see their takes on HAL's personality.

--Hrodulf 14:50, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Since we have a link now, I'm sporking the above forum text into the discussion page for Ask Hal 9000. Any further comments should be made on the discussion page of the Ask Hal 9000 article. --Hrodulf 14:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Just one last thing: I WANT TO READ MORE FROM CATHULU!!!!!--Rataube 15:51, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I e-mailed Cuthulu a question yesterday, so I'm doing my part. --Hrodulf 15:58, 26 May 2006 (UTC)