On our old WoW guild application form we included:
“Please rank all of the Star Trek captains you know from best to worst”
and then gave them a nice big empty text box to go to town in. Some answered seriously, and exhaustively. Some only knew Kirk, or didn’t know any at all. Some chose to go off on a rant about Star Wars being better, or include a joke or tell an anecdote about their relationship to scifi.
Whatever the answer we always learned something about the person and that was a good jumping off point if they got accepted. We did get the occasional humourless “wtf this is stupid” type response but, shockingly, this was rarely the only reason we had for denying such applications.
“SO HOW ABOUT THAT ISRAELI - PALLESTINIAN CONFLICT?”
Be careful with your expression so that you offend supporters of both sides equally
My wife and I literally started our first conversation with abortion. I’d jokingly mentioned it because she said she liked deep conversation and she went “fuck it, let’s go.”
“Fuck it, let’s go” has been our life philosophy ever since.
What distro are you running as your daily driver?
Ok after 5months here I have to ask, what the fuck is a distro?
It has to do with Linux.
Linux itself is not a fully fledged operating system as most people would expect it. Since Linux has to work on servers and microchips as well as on desktop PCs, lots of stuff is not shipped with it.
For example Linux is missing a way to display windows and has no real package manager.
A distro (or distribution) is a predefined set of of software, that makes it easier for a user to use Linux.
This is mostly a window manager or desktop environment like KDE or GNOME, a package manager like apt or pacman and useful software like an office suite, a browser and other stuff.
Distros also exist for servers, the ln they don’t include a way to display images, but still have a package manager and other useful stuff preinstalled.
That’s of course not all, but maybe gives you a little overview.
That’s a great summary and completely explains it, thanks bud.
And I presume Arch is one of the more (if not the most) popular distro for PCs? Just because I see it referenced all the time
There are a lot of big ones like Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora or Arch. Arch is for users with a little more experience. But funnily enough Arch has like child-distributions, that build upon its core. Ubuntu is also a ‘child’ of Debian an Mint builds onto Ubuntu.
It’s kind of like three or four big families, that had lots of children. 😂
(and then there are NixOS, OpenSuse and lots of others, which I forgot)
Arch is most memy distro out there besides Hanna Montana Linux. It became that way because Arch is super hard to maintain in working condition and became a status symbol to use it in some circles. Now there are couple layers of irony vowen into this meme and I am not quite sure where we are right now.I just checked steam hardware survey and now I am not sure. SteamOS is most popular due to Steam Deck, and with arch and ubuntu right behind.
Still whats popular is not always the best for starting out.
For begginers I would recommend Linux Mint. If you don’t like the start menu or file menager ask in one of linux communities, they would be happy to help.
Appreciate the info thanks mate, I’m not really interested in using it tbh, I was just curious.
My PC gets used to play trackmania during boring meetings at work and not a lot else these days. Simple and easy with next to no thought or maintenance is what I’m after so windows is fine for me.
You sound the coolest if you say you use Arch btw (this is a meme now).
I heartily commend you for asking, and was happy to see you get a good response.
“What is the most common distro” is not straightforward to shat because of the breadth of users. Arch is one of the more… esoteric… distributions, it will allow you very, very fine grained control of everything - but it also requires you to be able to make those choices. At the other end of the scale we might find Ubuntu and Mint which are far less customizable* but “just work” out of the box and, as such, are obvious choices for users new to Linux or unwilling to invest in “tinkering”.
Really, the freedom of choice is overwhelming to many newcomers, and at the same time the strength of the whole system.
*Any distro is very customizable. You can make nearly the same changes to Ubuntu and Arch, it’s just that Ubuntu is not designed to make that easy for you.
Arch btw
Fedora 39, and it runs beautifully on my gaming laptop. I’m pondering trying out the COSMIC DE for kicks, but I’m also liking GNOME 45.
This question is like catnip for Linux users, we just can’t help it.
And why is it arch?
My usual go-to is to ask what their latest/current obsession is. It works really well for a few reasons:
- it’s nice and simple to ask - it doesn’t require a monologue/wall of text to set up, and it doesn’t require you to know anything about them to ask it;
- it’s both as personal and as low-stakes as they want it to be. They can give very intimate, in-depth answers if they feel like it, or they can just mention something like the latest film they enjoyed. There’s no risk of making them uncomfortable by asking it;
- it lets you filter out boring people who don’t really take interest in anything;
- assuming they do have interests, it often gives you plenty of opportunities to dive into deeper conversation;
- it’s often engaging for them because they get to talk about something they’re passionate about;
- it’s often interesting for you because people talking about things they’re passionate about is awesome (and often attractive).
- it’s pretty much always relevant and fresh because their latest obsession will change over time. This makes it particularly great for things like dating sites/apps because people’s bios will often be out of date and/or they’ll have talked about the things mentioned in their bio so much that they’re kind of sick of them.
I’ve actually had multiple people on dating sites tell me how great a question they think it is, and that they’re going to use it themselves in the future. So obviously it’s not just me who thinks it’s a great question!
I sometimes ask what has been keeping them busy, usually like that, I find it doesn’t work. What sort of phrasing do you use? Or is what I asking like really different from what you are referring to?
Pretty different, I’d consider it. Something may keep me busy, while not being passionate about it.
I (body) am normally busy bc of work-related shenanigans, but I (mind) am obsessed with the latest game installed on my PC.
Have you seen that ludicrous display last night?
What was he thinking walking it in like that?
Thing about Arsenal they always try to walk it in
Have you ever danced with the Devil by the pale moonlight?
I haven’t, but I’ve always wanted to. Do you recommend any favorite spots?
Crossroads at midnight when the moon is full.
I ask that of all my prey, I like the sound of it.
Have you ever fallen into a tank of toxic chemical waste?
I had a friend in college that would just say, “So, what’s your deal?”
I’m shocked at how well it worked. Open ended, so you only get what they’re willing to talk about, but they’ll still be ok talking.
Sounds agressive. Doubt it would work in all circles.
Delivery had a lot to do with softening the approach.
Definitely not for all situations, but to be fair, no approach could be.
“What’s YOUR deal?” sounds pretty aggressive, “what’s your DEAL?” sounds borderline inflammatory, but I think there’s a very neutral delivery without particular stress that sounds more like an open ended question than an aggression. Still, probably not great around fully sober folks.
It might work in a college environment but if as an adult someone would ask me that I would not take it kindly.
So, what is your deal? What have you been up too?
What did you say about my mother?!
What’s your favourite dinosaur?
What’s your favorite dinosaur?
Thanks to Jurassic Park it was the Velociraptor. But then I learned that their depiction was totally wrong. But then again my children taught me that they are even cool as murder chickens. So everything is well.
But still, I think the Emu is cooler.
Hell yeah murder chicken packs have to be scary!
Are you forklift certified?
Yes, And you won’t belive how it happend…
Can I suck your toes?
If the answer is yes it’s immediate love at first sight.
Weirdly enough I dreamt someone did this right in front of me last night. My subconscious is odd.
Based
Quentin is that you?
No, Uma thurmans feet are hideous. Will never know what he sees in them
He’s been into feet in mostly all of his movies. Uma must have been a toe in his bucket list
What are you doing in my bathroom?
Something that’ll lead to fairly flippant, casual, low-stakes chit chat about completely unimportant bullshit. People like getting a chance to get a sort of baseline reading of you, so talk about flippant, dumb, unimportant things for a little bit. Preferably ones that they are 100% certain to have recently experienced themselves, so it can go back and forth smoothly.
Given the diversity of humanity, this is a fairly short list. Weather, food, free time hobbies, etc. If they’re like a student, or work in a particular industry, that opens up a lot of options. But for a stranger? Just got a few to pick from. So, just pick one.
They call it “small talk” for a reason though. The real purpose of the talk has absolutely nothing to do with the actual subject of the discussion.
The real purpose of the talk has absolutely nothing to do with the actual subject of the discussion.
That makes it really confusing. What’s a good question, then? Ask about the weather?
Honestly? The weakness of the standard small talk topics is how common and banal they are, which bores people. I recommend them because they’re so easy, and the cost of boring people for a few minutes is fairly small.
But it’s not ideal. For ideal you need something flippant, unimportant but also novel. Since novelty is now valued though, that means you can’t be using the same thing over and over. Other people will probably have used it too, if it works, and that means its not novel.
So, the actual best ice-breaker topic? Some clever, interesting or amusing observation about something in your immediate environment that you can both look at. That adds thinking on your feet to the mix though, so is more of an intermediate level of social skill. Best to have the boring fundamentals nailed down first.
So, yeah, I’m perfectly comfortable leaning on something as dull as the weather. And it makes decent enough practice at chit chatting. But eventually picking more novel subjects that also fit the requirements is better.
The actual question would usually go something like “Hey, did you see that?”
So what do you like to do for fun? Or, What are some of your hobbies?
I find these much better than “so what do you do for work?”, which is what I’m asked constantly. “Yes, person who I don’t know, let me discuss work during my free time with you.”
This is one of the questions that gives me the most social anxiety when meeting new people. It stresses me out because I don’t have any conventional hobbies. I don’t think dicking around on Discord, Lemmy, and YouTube really counts as much of a hobby.
I mean what Discords do you participate in? What Lemmy communities do you follow? What videos on YouTube do you like to watch?
You can reframe this and say, “I like to participate in online chat forums about the latest gaming news and technology (discord). I look for cool recipes and cooking techniques (Lemmy cooking community). And I love trying to find new funny comedians to listen to (YouTube).” I think if you narrow it down to the interests you enjoy, rather than “dicking around online” you’ll find that you have interesting things to talk about.
Obviously those examples are my own, but I’m sure you use those platforms because they feed you certain content that you enjoy.
Someone else said asking what your current obsession is would be a good icebreaker. Do you think that would be better?
I feel like that way nontraditional hobbies could be included so you could talk about things like Lemmy or whatever your favourite Youtuber is up to. Would that bring up the same level of anxiety?
I find that this backfires sometimes because many people don’t seem to have any hobbies.
In the context of an interviewer, I sometimes ask “can you teach me something cool about one of your interests in 5 min?” It’s not the same context obviously but you learn a lot about a person quickly that way. Bonus point is, I learn cool stuff about new things I’m probably not familiar with haha
If you ask me about my hobbies you’d better have some free time and a comfortable seat.
🍿🛋️ Ok, let’s hear them.
Well to start I play the guitar, bass, two kinds of banjo, drums, synthesizer and sing. I’m not picky about genres. I record using a DAW called Reason. I made my electric guitar about 5 years ago out of lumber sourced from the cabinet of a dead transistor organ I could never quite get to work properly that my wife finally told me had to quit taking up space. I have a Lofi synthesizer and a theremin that I built also. I’m also slowly building a collection of homemade effects pedals. I enjoy RC. I have a small helicopter and rock crawler truck, but no airplanes that are air worthy at the moment. I build Gundam models, and have also dabbled in kitbashing unrelated models like cars and airplanes together. This hobby I share with my 12 year old son. I have a couple of 1980s Honda 3 wheelers that I keep alive and occasionally ride. I bake often and I will never be skinny again because I’m good at it. Oh, brewing. I do like to make mead and occasional fruit wines. I’m especially fond of making floral meads with hibiscus or chamomile for example. I’ve been known to paint when the urge takes me. I have a 3D printer. I have even made a few useful things with. I designed a well working samba whistle that I keep forgetting to upload to thingiverse, and a few other things I have managed to wrestle out of blender. I know I’m forgetting something. My wife calls me a hobby spider.
Sick, what synthesizer? I got a midi keyboard and use Reaper, what’s good about Reason? Also if you do wood stuff, do you do it by hands with a saw and chisel or with machines?
My synth is a Roland JP8000. Its analog modeling engine makes waveforms I’ve never seen anywhere else. The Super Saw is 7 saw waves detuned against each other. And the feedback oscillator capable of some fairly monstrous sounds. It also has the standard wave shapes and noise. Fun machine. Its best friend is a 1960s Wurlitzer electronic piano that it sits atop most of the time. Reason is pretty much everything in one place. Besides having a nice pile of virtual instruments and a mountain of effects, you can also record audio from an outside source. That of course can run through any of the internal effects in real time. I find it visually intuitive and user friendly. The downside at this point with Reason is its price. I’ve been on it since version 1 though. I’m not familiar with Reaper. Woodworking I do with a mix of hand and power tools. I’ve had a few years to accumulate tools and toys. I try not to let any of them get too lonely.
I have friends that claim they “don’t have hobbies” but the truth is that they spend all their time with their kids and working.
So if they say, “well I don’t do much in the way of hobbies because I’m too busy working and taking care of my kids.” You can then follow up with “well what do you do for work?” Or “what’s the last vacation or outing you did with your kids?” Or “what are your kids interested in? How old are they? Tell me about their personalities.”
The fact that they “don’t have hobbies” isn’t necessarily it backfiring, you then just need to pivot based on their answers. This is just a way to break the ice with someone.
Everyone spends their days doing things, you are really just asking them “how do you spend your time?” Everyone has an answer to that…unless they are in a coma.
My go to is “how was your weekend?” Hopefully they’ll drop enough information that you can turn it into a conversation.
It usually ends in awkward silence. 🤐
I kind of hate when people ask my things like that because I often had a fun weekend but now can’t remember what all I did so I have to stop and remember for a while before answering, so I usually just say it was nice and hope they don’t ask for more details.
Eh. Yeah. I don’t usually have a lot in common with people, so I try to find some common ground that can start a conversation. I’m not very good at noticing what people like/do, so this gets a conversation moving.
I also forget my weekends. Which turns into a topic of conversation too. 😬
I hate when people ask me this because either it makes me think about how I didn’t get to what I wanted on the weekend, or how I was depressed over the weekend… On a good day the problem is that I mostly like to keep my hobbies and personal life to myself. I guess I’m probably hard to get to know 😅.
I know what you mean.
I started doing it because I noticed that I felt lonely at work, so I put an effort into small talk and making myself a bit more available. Part of that involved being more open about my hobbies and free time. It was worth it for me.
I had an acquaintance that started following hockey solely so she would have a conversation starter. I don’t have that kind of commitment, so I just do the weekend thing.
You: "How was your weekend?“ Them: glares at you in silence
“Who are you and how did you get into my house?”
I’m a locksmith, and, I’m a locksmith.
