Troll, a Language for specifying Dice-rolls

ABSTRACT Dice are used in many games, and often in fairly complex ways that make it difficult to unambiguously describe the dice-roll mechanism in plain language. Many role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, use a formalised notation for some instances of dice-rolls. This notation, once explained, make dice-roll descriptions concise and unambiguous. Furthermore, the notation has been used in automated tools for pseudo-random dice-rolling (typically used when playing over the Internet). This notation is, however, fairly limited in the types of dice-rolls it can describe, so most games still use natural language to describe rolls. Even Dungeons & Dragons use formal notation only for some of the dice-roll methods used in the game. Hence, a more complete notation is in this paper proposed, and a tool for pseudo-random rolls and (nearly) exact probability calculations is described. The notation is called "Troll", combining the initial of the Danish word for dice ("terninger") with the English word "roll". It is a development of the language Roll described in an earlier paper. The present paper describes the most important features of Troll and its implementation

Improving Patent Notice and Remedies: A Critique of the FTC\u27s 2011 Report

2011 was an eventful year for those interested in patent law. In March, the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) released a report that urges the Patent and Trademark Office ( PTO ) and courts to remedy perceived inadequacies underlying the U.S. patent system. The FTC observes that people of skill in the art routinely encounter difficulty in determining the meaning, and hence exclusive scope, of a patent\u27s claims. Not only does this failure of notice stymie the efficient dispersion of technology throughout the economy, the FTC argues, but the judicial process can aggravate the problem by granting inappropriate remedies in patent-infringement cases. Then, in September, Congress passed comprehensive patent-reform legislation for the first time in almost sixty years. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the AIA ) changed the patent landscape in a number of significant ways, introducing a first-to-file system, post-grant opposition proceedings, certain prior-user rights, and other material changes.[...] As between the two developments, the AIA is likely to overshadow the FTC Report. Yet, due in part to the fact that the AIA does little to address the problem of inadequate patent notice, the Report is itself of considerable importance. This Essay explores the backdrop, substantive provisions, and likely impact of the Report, concluding that the FTC\u27s recommendations, though generally well founded, are unlikely in themselves to resolve the most worrying features of the patent crisis. This Essay argues that the FTC proposals are excessively restrained with respect to controversial tenets of proposed reform, though they are appropriately ambitious in other quarters.[...] The Report represents an important development in U.S. innovation policy. This Essay explores the material features of the patent crisis and explains the crucial roles that patent notice and remedies play in fueling the crisis. It examines the Report\u27s probable efficacy, laudable provisions, and material shortcomings. The Essay concludes that, although the Report\u27s recommendations are generally well founded, the Report is unlikely to have a major impact on the patent system\u27s most significant problems. It thus appears likely that more significant reforms will be necessary. This Essay proceeds as follows. Part I briefly recounts the controversial features of the patent system that lead some commentators to believe that the patent system is in crisis. Part II explores the interrelated functions of notice and remedies by comparing the laws of tangible and intellectual property. Drawing on that discussion, Part III addresses the Report\u27s most notable recommendations and singles out a subset of them for particular praise. Part IV details the Report\u27s limitations, opining that its decision not to make formal recommendations with respect to the most contested, but arguably most important, aspects of the patent system means that the Report is unlikely to have more than a modest impact on the crisis. Part IV also discusses technical deficiencies that underlie the FTC\u27s analysis. A brief conclusion follows

Twining : Critical and Creative Approaches to Hypertext Narratives

Twining is both a critical consideration of Twine and works made with it during the first decade of the software; and an exploration of concepts and techniques for making things with Twine.https://dc.uwm.edu/english_facbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Twining

Hypertext is now commonplace: links and linking structure nearly all of our experiences online. Yet the literary, as opposed to commercial, potential of hypertext has receded. One of the few tools still focused on hypertext as a means for digital storytelling is Twine, a platform for building choice-driven stories without relying heavily on code. In Twining, Anastasia Salter and Stuart Moulthrop lead readers on a journey at once technical, critical, contextual, and personal. The book’s chapters alternate careful, stepwise discussion of adaptable Twine projects, offer commentary on exemplary Twine works, and discuss Twine’s technological and cultural background. Beyond telling the story of Twine and how to make Twine stories, Twining reflects on the ongoing process of making

Keys to Play: Music as a Ludic Medium from Apollo to Nintendo

How do keyboards make music playable? Drawing on theories of media, systems, and cultural techniques, Keys to Play spans Greek myth and contemporary Japanese digital games to chart a genealogy of musical play and its animation via improvisation, performance, and recreation. As a paradigmatic digital interface, the keyboard forms a field of play on which the book’s diverse objects of inquiry—from clavichords to PCs and eighteenth-century musical dice games to the latest rhythm-action titles—enter into analogical relations. Remapping the keyboard’s topography by way of Mozart and Super Mario, who head an expansive cast of historical and virtual actors, Keys to Play invites readers to unlock ludic dimensions of music that are at once old and new

Translation and State

In 1587, Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak – a favourite at the Mughal court and author of the Akbarnāmah – completed his Preface to the Persian translation of the Mahābhārata. This book is the first detailed study of Abū al-Faz̤l's Preface. It offers insights into manuscript practices at the Mughal court, the role a Persian version of the Mahābhārata was meant to play, and the religious interactions that characterised 16th-century India

Critical point of view: a Wikipedia reader

For millions of internet users around the globe, the search for new knowledge begins with Wikipedia. The encyclopedia’s rapid rise, novel organization, and freely offered content have been marveled at and denounced by a host of commentators. Critical Point of View moves beyond unflagging praise, well-worn facts, and questions about its reliability and accuracy, to unveil the complex, messy, and controversial realities of a distributed knowledge platform. The essays, interviews and artworks brought together in this reader form part of the overarching Critical Point of View research initiative, which began with a conference in Bangalore (January 2010), followed by events in Amsterdam (March 2010) and Leipzig (September 2010). With an emphasis on theoretical reflection, cultural difference and indeed, critique, contributions to this collection ask: What values are embedded in Wikipedia’s software? On what basis are Wikipedia’s claims to neutrality made? How can Wikipedia give voice to those outside the Western tradition of Enlightenment, or even its own administrative hierarchies? Critical Point of View collects original insights on the next generation of wiki-related research, from radical artistic interventions and the significant role of bots to hidden trajectories of encyclopedic knowledge and the politics of agency and exclusion

Translation and State

In 1587, Abū al-Faz̤l ibn Mubārak – a favourite at the Mughal court and author of the Akbarnāmah – completed his Preface to the Persian translation of the Mahābhārata. This book is the first detailed study of Abū al-Faz̤l's Preface. It offers insights into manuscript practices at the Mughal court, the role a Persian version of the Mahābhārata was meant to play, and the religious interactions that characterised 16th-century India

Netprov

Netprov is an emerging interdisciplinary digital art form that offers a literature-based “show” of insightful, healing satire that is as deep as the novels of the past. This accessible history of Netprov emerges out of an ongoing conversation about the changing roles and power dynamics of author and reader in an age of real-time interactivity. Rob Wittig describes a literary genre in which all the world is a platform and all participants are players. Beyond serving as a history of the genre, this book includes tips and examples to help those new to the genre teach and create netprovs