Great place for team discussion/whatever Serie A related topics you would like to bring up. Examples: Transfers, rumors, players from other teams, things you miss about the old days etc. Whatever you want as long as it isn't too off-topic.
Also a good spot to ask about the stadium, the city of Milano, bars, fan clubs in your city etc.
Here are some important links for new members:

• New Member Guide <- History of Milan can be found here along with other interesting information.
• Recent Match Threads
• Milan Fan Clubs around the world
• Sub rules (or look at the sidebar)
• Ticket buying guide/ Ticket and Game information Guide
• Discord
• Official Site
• Transfer Threads

I've been doing macro photography for a while now and am looking at upgrading my kit. I read a gleaming review for the Nikon AF Micro Nikkor ED 200mm f/4D and fell in love, but I would like some more realistic suggestions from other people who know what they're doing (or encouragement to spend $1k on that lens haha)
I have a Nikon D7500 and have exclusively been using a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR G, which is an excellent lens but it's getting old and has a terrible habit of focusing all the way out and then all the way in when using AF, which has often made me miss a shot. I mainly shoot bugs (especially bees and spiders) and want to improve my skills to start getting shots like this. I'm aware of the need for focus stacking and additional lighting, but I want to get the lens sorted first.
I would like something with a long focal length that is both excellent at macro and good for other purposes, such as general wildlife shooting, that I can use handheld. Autofocus is a must, weight is not too big of a concern, and I don't mind non-Nikon brands nor buying second hand. Ideally under $1k AUD but I am easily swayed.
Thank you! The pics on this sub have been very inspiring :)

Hi, I just wanted to share my gear list and was wondering if it will be good for mountaineering here in the US. I am currently 15 yo and will be summiting Mt. Whitney, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Baker soon. Not everything is here like medicine or electronics but most of it is.
Big 3 Backpack - HMG Ice Pack 70 Tent - Kailas X3 Alpine Tent Sleeping Bag - Eddie Bauer Karakoram 0 Sleeping Pad - Thermarest Xlite + Z pad
Outerwear Jacket - Fjallraven Expedition Down Parka Shell - OR Foray 2 Gortex Jacket Mid Layer - Columbia Fleece Zip Vest - Columbia Down Vest Climbing Shirt - Kuhl Sun Hoody Shirt - Under Armor Athletic Tee Base Layer - 32 Degrees Base Layer Climbing Pants - Black Diamond Notion Pants Rain Pants - Berghaus MTN Seeker GTX Pants Socks - Smart Wool Mountaineer Socks + REI Coop Liners Boots - Old La Sportivas that I put superfeet in. I think B2 style Gloves - Burton Goretex Gloves / Gordini Gauntlet Gloves / Black Diamond Guide Gloves / REI Coop fingerless liner gloves Hat - REI Coop Sun Hat Beanie - Random fleece beanie Buff - REI Coop Buff
Climbing Gear Helmet - Black Diamond Half Dome Crampons - Black Diamond Nerve Strap Ice Axe - Black Diamond Venom Rope - Borrowed Poles - Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon fiber
Miscellaneous 4 Nalgene Bottles 1L Titanium Spoon Pack of Cards Clip On Snack Bag
There’s probably something I’m missing or need to leave at home so any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, I am a player trying to learn the pathfinder 2e system, and really looking for an online game to play in. All of my prior experience is in DnD 5e (about 2.5 years), but I really want to transition to playing mostly pathfinder. I've been reading the rules and watching many videos on the system and have absolutely fallen in love with it, and think I'll like it even more than 5e.
All I need now is a game to play in! I would be more than happy to fill roles in a party, willing to play pretty much any class the party needs. If the party doesn't need anything specific, though, I'd like to try the kineticist class out for my first pathfinder character.
The best time for me is weekday evenings, so it's been a bit of a struggle looking for games so far. If you're looking for a player and okay with a newbie, feel free to message me and ask questions to see if I'd be a good fit for your game!

I've seen lots of talk about almost every aspect of the Hades II gameplay except the new Infusions.
Personally I really like the concept of Infusions and Elements, but I would like to see some more work on their implementation.
I'm not sure that they should be taking the place of boons, as they can vary wildly in power. I'm not sure what should replace how they work now because I am not a dev on the game, which means my perspective is best at identifying issues, not solutions.
What do you guys feel about Infusions? Are they good? Bad? Fine as is or do they need more work? Would you like to see more of them or maybe see them implemented in some other way, like maybe as extra riders on other boons or perhaps elements themselves give benefits for stacking them up?

Not that age matters when it comes to aesthetic or design interests however, I just clocked five decades this year but, as grandma always said, I only feel it in the morning. Aside from a short stent as an Army Medic, I've been in itsec most of my career. I'm a data analyst currently and spend way too much time at my desk to not enjoy what I see. While my story isn't all that interesting or my box isn't that swagged out, I wanted to share the starting point for my North.
With all of the inspiring pictures here and the many challenges going on, I figured this would be a great place share what came from the inspiration all ya'll done planted up in here. Originally, I had purchased this bundle from NewEgg and added some lights to it. I think the CPUAIO came with the bundle. Now, having seen some of your beautiful designs, I'm craving more. Not lights per se but custom cabling, better cable management, and yes, even a custom loop.
Your work and images continue to inspire us to make beauty out of boring. Please continue to share your builds! You never know who's just waiting for your share to be inspired.
I tried to load an mp4 to imgur but it kept dying at 15%, so only pictures for now.
My Dusty (North) Box

My North Box

Parts list - Fractal Design North Mid Tower Charcoal Black with Walnut Front and Tinted Glass Side Panel - Apparently not the choice for water cooling. Who knew? Well, everyone, probably. Don't mind me, I'm just late to the party again.
MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI - Eh... salight.
Intel Core i7-14700K - not a bad chunk of metal and rock.
CORSAIR RM1000e - because you can never have too much power.
GeForce RTX™ 4070 WINDFORCE 12G - boo! Not a good card. Keeps getting waay too hot. Trying to find a waterblock for it is ... well I'm new at this so, perhaps I'm not looking in the right places.
Samsung 980 PRO PCIe® 4.0 NVMe® SSD 1TB - I'm still mystified by how they packed a high rise building into such a small form factor. I keep hoping we'll get data crystals soon.
CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 RAM 128GB (4x32GB) 5600MHz CL40 Intel XMP iCUE Compatible Computer Memory - Black - Kind of wishing I left got no rgb on these. Coil Whine on top of Tinnitus is the total suck. If anyone knows of anything that will help besides getting rid of rgb memory all together, please let me know.
Corsair iCUE H100x RGB ELITE Liquid CPU Cooler - I wish I would have known to get a 360 with 3 fans. I guess we all learn sometime.
Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB ELITE Performance 120mm PWM Fan — Triple Pack with Lighting Node CORE - plus an extra one for the third on front end. It's not just a dusty box, it's a hot dusty box. Should name it Walnut Sahara.
AsiaHorse ARGB Light Strip for Motherboard, 28 Independent Addressable RGB, 5V 3-pin Motherboard Aura Sync, Lightsaber-X Led PC Parts Kit Compatible with ATX - Because it's pretty!
EZDIY-FAB GPU Holder Brace Graphics Card GPU Support Video Card Holder Bracket with 5V 3 Pin ARGB LED, Video Card Sag HoldeHolster Bracket Support RX6700,RTX3090- 309EZ-Black - for extra added support, where you need it the most.
Couple of notes - I'm reading up on custom loops and what not. Sadly, Corsair doesn't like my box for their configurator. Something about radiator configurations not compatible. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it's a case with air cooling in mind so size wasn't really a concern, I guess. They did come out with a larger model later that when I wrote to Fractal for ideas on water cooling my dusty hot box, they told me I should buy the new model instead of the one I already own. Like, yeah but I already own one. I suppose I shouldn't be concerned and just keep going with whatever I want to do. I mean what's the worst that can happen? I flood the power supply, short out my electricity and end up starting a small fire in my office? Bah. Really though, even EKWB is like, naw. We don't know her, when I hit them up about a water block for my gpu. Wrote them and everything. Srsly. They said,

"We appreciate your interest in our products and are sorry to inform you that there is currently no Water block available for the RTX 4070. Regrettably, there are no plans to develop one at this time. Please know that we understand how frustrating it can be when you're unable to find a suitable product for your needs. I want to assure you that we have carefully considered all options and unfortunately, developing a Water block for your GPU is not feasible for us at this time."

They don't do 4070's at all. Like no S'tina... naw. No water block for you! Like but whyyyyy?
Anyway, that's Walnut Sahara, my dusty hot box, so far. Thinking I may do the cords next. Probably only need three; the 24pin, the 8x2, and the 8 for the gpu. I'm thinking gold and black. Oh, maybe I can find some custom wood jobbies and slap them up in there so when the fans kick on from the heat, I smell cedar. Lemonade!
So, feel free to advise, castigate, or just scroll past as you see fit. If you feel compelled to address any of my concerns, I am forever grateful! Whatever you do, don't stop imagining what could be. Creativity is one of the only things we have in this world that allows us to work a little magic and make the world a better place.

I had a 2 year contract with Optus and 1 month before my contract was ending, I decided to pay my plan outright. Optus has changed a lot of the way their payments are taken and I had to speak to someone on their live chat, where they send you a direct link to make a payment, they also confirmed I am more than welcome to pay my plan off early. I paid one payment, and the rest of my phone bill 2 days later. I also got confirmation from their live chat team that the funds had been paid. Since then I have had numerous emails telling me my first payment did not go through and my account is overdue. I have reached out to them multiple times confirming the payment was made and even called my bank to confirm. The bank confirmed the funds had settled and I should tell Optus to search for the missing funds. Optus then advised to me they would look into this further and have a team member reach out to me to follow up. I never heard anything after this, so I thought it was all good. Then today I receive an email from a debt collector company. I have screenshots of the receipts from my payments, and bank statements. As well as screenshots from my live chat conversations. Is there anything I can do to take this further? I am furious that they never called me directly to follow up like they said they would, and for wrongfully sending me to a debt collector.
One more thing I'd like to add, Optus never sends email receipts of automatic payments being deducted. The only time you can get a receipt is when you make a manual payment, and you have to screenshot it. Is that legal?

Hi,
In a recent post I described how playing a half curated draft chaff cube of old cards was the best mtg experience I have had in a long time. The constant pressure of having to update my powered vintage cube with every new set was too much for me. It started to get ridiculous, I sometimes updated it three times before I could get together with my friends to play with it (we are all adults with newly born kids).
That is why I created the Nostalgia Cube: a limited environment that just recreates the cards I most recall using when playing as a kid in kitchen table mtg (low power, janky and gimmicky). I tried to keep things low power and synergistic. The mana fix is intentionally kept simple to disencourage 5 color good stuff decks except for slivers, which have their own mana fix. Some new cards such as combat tricks, changelings and blue artifact synergy cards where exceptionaly added to support some archetypes.
The number of cards is 375 to allow a 8 player draft and still have 15 cards left to use [[Booster Tutor]]. All white auras such as [[Shackles]] have "Rebel" added to their type with a sharpie in order to be able to tutor them with rebel creatures like [[Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero]].
This is the link to the cube, all feedback and comments are welcomed.

I’m looking to do a party meetup this weekend for gamers that may be struggling to find people to play with on their older consoles or are just looking for a fun squad to play with often.
I am new to leading a gaming community and I’m not starting out too ambitious for the first meetup but will have a small discord running for all persistent group members to join for future meetups.
I will have a soft max of 32 persistent members to keep the community close over time I hope to slowly increase this number to 100 with the incorporation of mods. The community will most likely never be more than 100 players just because I like the idea of all members being active and close with each other even if we all aren’t playing the same game.
I am non discriminating in any way and plan to hold my community’s discriminating standards to the same I hold myself to while also believing that a joke is a joke as long as it is at no ones expense.
I am 18+ so my community will stay that way but have no max age limit I believe anyone and everyone can be a gamer and a good squad mate
I am ps4 based so if you don’t have a ps4, membership won’t be an option I will have meetups often for new members replacing inactive and open spots often so keep a look out for future post
Shoot me a message for a meetup discord invite for base members
Persistent is not a paid for membership and never will be I am looking for friends not a cash grab

We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we're here together!
Welcome to the 24 hour pledge!
I'm pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.
Maybe you're new to /stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you're like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you've been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.
It doesn't matter if you're still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, lets not drink alcohol!
This pledge is a statement of intent. Today we don't set out trying not to drink, we make a conscious decision not to drink. It sounds simple, but all of us know it can be hard and sometimes impossible. The group can support and inspire us, yet only one person can decide if we drink today. Give that person the right mindset!
What happens if we can't keep to our pledge? We give up or try again. And since we're here in /stopdrinking, we're not ready to give up.
What this is: A simple thread where we commit to not drinking alcohol for the next 24 hours, posting to show others that they're not alone and making a pledge to ourselves. Anybody can join and participate at any time, you do not have to be a regular at /stopdrinking or have followed the pledges from the beginning.
What this isn't: A good place for a detailed introduction of yourself, directly seek advice or share lengthy stories. You'll get a more personal response in your own thread.
This post goes up at:

• US - Night/Early Morning
• Europe - Morning
• Asia and Australia - Evening/Night

A link to the current Daily Check-In post can always be found near the top of the sidebar.
GRAND RISING, SOBER WARRIORS!
I"m posting this one a bit early because I'm flat out exhausted, and the tea is hitting HARD. Be safe y'all!
Today is day 427 for me, my favorite Chevy engine. And it's also FOURTEEN MONTHS SOBER! I'm also only 13 days until my birthday!
I wish I had something poignant to say today, but I'm still struggling with the emotional and PTSD fallout of the weekend's events. Things that gave me good vibes yesterday in here: 1) The fact that people have started sharing their battle anthems and linking to them as well. I love that shit, please keep it up! 2) The sheer number of those of you starting anew in the summer of all times, when people want to drink and grill the most, is just amazing. You're doing it! 3) Those of you starting again is also high but encouraging to see so many of you getting right back on the horse. Keep up the fight!
Today I'm just lost in thought, I have therapy this afternoon and I'm hoping to have good feelings afterward. I'm down in the dumps a bit, but even when I get in these spaces and the temptation is high, I draw inspiration from Mineshaft by Dessa: "I've been here before, I know where it goes, it goes down."
I want to shoutout u/Fantastic-Buy-1009, u/sandbrilliant2675, and u/Illustrious_Start592 today in hopes they made it to double digits! u/Sea-Weakness-7581, u/growingandlearning, and u/SoberinSD for 10 days yesterday! u/bradwwfc and u/alexrogerson123 on THE DIRTY THIRTY yesterday!!! u/soberingthought on 1800 days yesterday!
AND THE BOSTON BRUINS STAY ALIVE TOO, ONE MORE HOCKEY GAME!! I hope that y'all have a good sober hump day out there, and I'll see you again tomorrow!
KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT AND IWNDWYT!

I see many people here, in different posts, using arguments like:
"Not having answers doesn't mean having to believe in a silly fairy tale."
"I won't believe in God, not until it's proven."
I even see warmer responses like;
"There is nothing good in religion, and it only causes harm."
Firstly, I would like to highlight that it seems to me that many of these comments are specifically directed at the Christian notion of God. I don't know if these people would adopt the same position in the face of other views on metaphysical issues, although I have often seen this being expanded in the following way:
"You don't believe in thousands of other gods, right? I just don't believe in one more (the Christian)."
The truth is that believing in a metaphysical view is fundamentally different than not believing in any.
Firstly, I will leave here some "concrete" benefits of having a faith, for people who categorically say that religions are useless and only cause delays/harm:
Religiously active older adults tend to have lower blood pressures than those who are less active. This applies to attendance at religious services and private religious activities, but not to religious media. Physiological mechanisms are discussed.
“Religious and spiritual traditions give you access to different methods of coping that have distinctive benefits,” says Doug Oman, a professor in public health at the University of California Berkeley. “From the psychological perspective, religions offer a package of different ingredients,” agrees Prof Patty Van Cappellen at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Chronic stress response can result in physiological changes such as heightened inflammation, which, over the years, can damage tissue and increase your risk of illness. As a result, the size of someone’s social network and their subjective sense of connection with others can both predict their health and longevity, with one influential study by Prof Julianna Holt-Lunstad at Brigham Young University suggesting that the influence of loneliness is comparable to that of obesity or low physical exercise.
Religions, of course, tend to be built around a community of like-minded worshippers who meet regularly and have a shared set of beliefs. And many of the specific rituals will also contribute to a sense of communion with others. Christians, for example, are encouraged to pray on behalf of other people and this seems to bring its own health benefits, according to a brand new study by Prof Gail Ironson at the University of Miami."
From the guardian.
Anyway, by doing a quick Google research we find out that having faith is something that can bring benefits to the individual. Obviously, religions also caused harm delays in certain contexts, but it depends on the religion and the historical context, it is not possible to compare the inquisition with individuals contemplating nature from a metaphysical point of view in the Americas. The effects of religion depend on the context, and it can be good or bad, it's up to us to know how to use it in the best way.
Now, going beyond this issue, I like to bring up Einstein himself and his views on the topic, about atheism, God and religion, since he is one of the most emblematic people on science matters and a lot of his fans label themselves as Atheists, It seems that many treat religion as an absolute opposition to science, and treat religious people as being mentally inferior, but Einstein seems to disagree, recognizing that religion would be a very broad term, he believed that religiosity was very important and special when shaped in the right way:
"According to biographer Walter Isaacson, Einstein was more inclined to denigrate atheists than religious people. Einstein said in correspondence, "[T]he fanatical atheists...are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who—in their grudge against the traditional 'opium of the people'—cannot bear the music of the spheres." Although he did not believe in a personal God, he indicated that he would never seek to combat such belief because "such a belief seems to me preferable to the lack of any transcendental outlook."
"Einstein said people could call him an agnostic rather than an atheist, stating: "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal god is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being." In an interview published by the German poet George Sylvester Viereck, Einstein stated, "I am not an Atheist." According to Prince Hubertus, Einstein said, "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."
"In 1930 Einstein published a widely discussed essay in The New York Times Magazine about his beliefs. With the title "Religion and Science," Einstein distinguished three human impulses which develop religious belief: fear, social or moral concerns, and a cosmic religious feeling. A primitive understanding of causality causes fear, and the fearful invent supernatural beings analogous to themselves. The desire for love and support create a social and moral need for a supreme being; both these styles have an anthropomorphic concept of God. The third style, which Einstein deemed most mature, originates in a deep sense of awe and mystery. He said, the individual feels "the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves in nature ... and he wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole." Einstein saw science as an antagonist of the first two styles of religious belief, but as a partner in the third. He maintained, "even though the realms of religion and science in themselves are clearly marked off from each other" there are "strong reciprocal relationships and dependencies" as aspirations for truth derive from the religious sphere."

Around 3 weeks ago, I bought a '21 XLT 2.7 4x4 Supercrew in Antimatter Blue with the 302a high package and ~25k miles on it. Overall, I loved my first 2 weeks with the truck. It felt good to drive, the interior was well thought out and felt quality, and the truck looked great with the color and the chrome appearance package. I was super excited to have a dependable, low mileage vehicle, with a warranty if necessary, that I didn't have to hesitate to take on longer road trips. My two vehicles before this were an 02 Tundra with 240k miles and an 09 Corolla with 200k miles, and the main reason I decided to replace them was while they were still Toyotas, they were starting to nickel and dime me on maintenance and I just didn't trust them on longer road trips.
Before deciding to go with the F-150, I test drove a Tacoma and a Ram.
-The Tacoma felt like, well, a Tacoma (I had a 99 for 9 years and beat it to death and it just kept ticking). It felt rock-solid and you could just tell it was gonna be a quality vehicle. However, even in the quad cab, the backseat was a joke. I wanted usable space for adults on longer trips so this was a no-go for me. Other things that kinda made me feel meh were gas mileage, and standard features. The rig I drove was a 2023 SR5.
-The Ram also felt like a great drive. The pairing of the hemi with that transmission is just smooth as butter. The steering felt nice and responsive, but not overly responsive, and the ride quality was great. They really do ride more like luxury vehicles than pickup trucks. The trim I drove was fully loaded. It was a BigHorn/Backcountry that seemingly had every option available. The things that made me shy away from the Ram was the gas mileage (in that truck it would have been even worse due to gearing), and there was just something about the "quality" feel of the truck that just didn't sit right with me.
This brought to the F-150 I purchased. To me, the 2.7 engine is a no-brainer if you don't plan on doing any heavy towing. The reliability of the engine seems pretty solid, and the gas mileage is a huge plus. I also would have never guessed how much fun that thing is to rip around. It is quick. The quality of the interior, to me, seems to be a notch better than that found in the Ram, though I think the Ram may utilize available space a bit better in some aspects. After a few drives around down was I getting ~19-20 mpg in town, and I did a few 4 hour trips into the mountains where I averaged 24-25 mpg. It was performing as I had hoped.
Now onto the dislikes:
-The shifts in the transmission, sometimes, are garbage. It's always into 3 and 4 that are most notable, Once you get 5+ you don't even notice you are changing gear.
-The vibration in the gas pedal is obnoxious. How could Ford call that operating as intended. That should be a recall. It's just flat out unacceptable.
-Rough idle. Its annoying, and is intermittent. I did an idle re-learn and I know it takes time, but it should be better.
Now to the reallll good stuff.
I was driving down the road normally with my buddy and his wife on Saturday morning headed to play some golf. To add an important detail, I am visiting them out of town, about 4 hours away from where I live. Everything seems as normal, going about 45 down the road, and then it was like my truck was in neutral. Engine running and revving fine, just not getting any power to the wheels. I coasted to the stop light where the service light came on and I got a "shift module fault" (I think that's the exact verbiage, cant remember). When I came to a complete stop the truck shifted itself back into Park. When I would try to put it back into gear. Same thing. Turning off and on did nothing. I was stuffed. Had to get it towed. The really awesome part, being a Saturday, is the the only services at the Ford dealers were what lube techs could perform. So I opt to get it towed to a smaller garage to get them to scan it see if its something simple they can either diagnose or fix. Unfortunately it was not. Luckily they were awesome and hooked me up on the troubleshooting cost and let me keep the truck there until I figured out what to do with it Monday.
So now I am stuck, squatting at my buddies place until I can figure out what is going on with the truck. First thing Monday morning I get on the phone and start calling every Ford dealership within 20 miles, and let me tell you I was not impressed at all. Left message with one service advisor and never received a call-back. One dealer had a 2 week lead on transmission work, Another one just said they were backed up. Another one said first they could see me was Wednesday. Another dealer said they couldn't even work transmission problems because their transmissions guys quit a couple of weeks ago. WT actual F, Ford.
I called the Ford customer service line, trying to see how far they will tow and what my temporary vehicle options are. They say I can get towed out to 50 miles for free. So I call a dealer 40 miles away and they can see it and start working on it that day. Good on them, that service advisor was the first guy I spoke with all day that was willing and able to solve a problem and help me out.
Got the update today, they found metal shavings in the fluid, and they were continuing to troubleshoot and I think were in the process of reaching back to Ford to see what they were going to do (under warranty). I will call back tomorrow for another update.
Fortunately, I took my work stuff up with me, so I only missed 2 half days of work. And as irony would have it, I made it back home using a borrowing Ram 1500.
TL; DR; Have owned truck for less than 3 weeks. Driven 1200 miles. Transmission seemingly took a dump. Truck left me stranded 4 hours away from my house, causing me to miss time at work. Service is not readily available, even with multiple Ford dealers around. ETA on repair of truck: unknown. Will keep updated.

Hey All,
I really want to talk about the Ranked Requirements from Smite 1 and how they are ridiculous to put a plaster on a problem.
Lets get to the point, either the requirement being so high is to address:

1. Bad players
2. Smurfs.

Well, lets address these. I'm really kinda bored of this "Well if you want to play ranked you have to be good or know all the gods" Well these guys should be ranked low, if a system is matching them with half decent players then there is a problem with your ranked system, you need more ranks or a better way of handing MMR. In a competant system, low skilled players should be playing against low skilled players to learn the game and get better. Not making them grind casual as if playing casual is a better experience for new players when they just get smurfed by people on their main accounts who know new players have to queue casual just to be called out for inevitably feeding. Also in a ranked system that actually works, if you are good you should never have to deal with someone who doesn't know the game, If you have a low rank and you are ranked, with someone who doesn't know the game... that is 100% your fault and you should probably also learn the game.
Smurfs are always a problem, making the requirements high is a way to mitigate it, but you are doing so at the cost of new players. Inviting people to play smite is difficult, they want to play with people just as bad as them and getting steamrolled in casual and insulted is just not inviting to new players. You need to address smurfs via a different metric or gate. Other MOBA's don't expect you to go through all these hoops and at the end of the day those who want it will simply look else where and Smite 2 will bleed players.
Lastly: If you say things like "But they instantly end up in gold and ruin the game" then you are addressing an issue with MMR and blaming new players for it. There are a lot of casual players that would main Smite but simply wont because dealing with smurfs... in casual... isn't fun. Period.
I don't know a solution for the smurfs... but I can garentee if you gate keep ranked instead of improving the system... and defending this, people will simply play smite, get a feeling for Moba's and exodus elsewhere... Majority of the people aint going to grind 200 hours of playing rigged games, where high ranked players can play with new players, just to be able to play with people their skill level. It just aint happening to the majority of people that try Smite 2. Learn from other competative games.

In this episode, a psychiatrist's daughter is murdered by her lover, and the mom takes revenge by convincing a serial killer's son to do the deeds for her. Lots of threads to connect here.

• Horrible horrible 0/10 tranition to the meat tenderizer
• Domestic Emily <3
• OH a date??? Somehow I'm attracted to both Emily and Mendoza
• Emily is so cute please and I love Rossi's Italian grandma impression
• Ugh I wanna be behind this pairing so badly (love Emily and I think they're both hotties) but I'm not feeling the Emily/Mendoza chemistry??? Let me give it a chance.
• The cases with male victims are always extra gruesome :( Here I am eating pasta and boom! And open chest!
• Reid would've cracked that geographical profile wide open. Sigh.
• Garcia's little blue bobbles and matching glasses are tew keewt!
• Oh my gosh another throwback!
• Oh no oh no oh no not a manipulative psychiatrist 😭
• I would be gagging after running up that hill. Thank goodness for beefy team members like Luke and Matt who can run.
• Ah I feel a little bad for the unsub. He had so much stacked against him😭
• Emily (and Reid) stop being personal targets to unsubs challenge: FAILED!
• Okay, I take back a LITTLE bit my skepticism. I'm starting to like Emily and Mendoza. Baby steps.

9/10
I like the throwbacks and the psychiatrist angle was a good twist.

Hello,
I am a current 2L summer student in need of advice. I do not mean to sound ungrateful, because I realize that I am very fortunate to have a job, however, my current employer unfortunately does not have any work in the practice area that is of interest to me. In fact, my employer only operates in two practice areas so there’s not much exposure at all.
That being said, there are positive aspects of the job. I have a great relationship with the people I work with, I’m learning a lot when it comes to general skills like legal research/memo writing, and the work life balance and compensation as an articling student is pretty good.
As a result, I am unsure how to proceed when it comes to transitioning to the career I ultimately want (labour and employment law). Am I better off applying in the upcoming articling recruit when I know for a fact that firms have openings? Or could I possibly complete my articles with my current employer and look to move after the fact?
In an ideal world I would love to stay and then worry about moving after completing my articles, however, I am not getting any real exposure to litigation/advocacy work so it might make things harder. I am also unsure if there will be spots open for fresh calls right after articling.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Unbalanced value of properties
The game is all about building 3 houses on a property set before the other players. If you have a set of properties that earns $400+ and nobody else has that, you are set—you're virtually guaranteed a win in a few trips around the board. Priority 1 is to get a monopoly with 3+ houses, and priority 2 is to make sure nobody else has that.
Since you need to get a big moneymaker fast, the light blue, pink, and orange properties are way more valuable than anything else.
Focusing on anything else is not smart. The utilities and railroads are never going to make enough to be worth the investment, and the more expensive property sets take way more investment to get a decent return.
This issue exists because of the escalation in rent value once you build a third house. When a third house is built, the rent increases by a factor of roughly 3x. Take New York Avenue, the last orange property, for example:

16 unbuilt / 80 at 1 house / 220 at 2 houses / 600 at 3 houses / 800 at 4 houses / 1000 at a hotel.

That jump from 220 to 600 on the third house is massive. It goes from a decent moneymaker to a devastating blow. Taking away $600 from another player allows you to double down on your existing investments; meanwhile, they are mortgaging their stuff, or prevented from building what they want.
It costs $1340 to get your full orange set to have 3 houses, and you have three massive profit avenues.
Contrast this with Pennsylvania Avenue, the last green property:

28 unbuilt / 150 at 1 house / 450 at 2 houses / 1000 at 3 houses / 1200 at 4 houses / 1400 at a hotel.

It costs $2720 to get the full set with three houses. You start the game with $1500—where are you going to get the money for this? Sure, this set also pulls in good money at 2 houses, but it costs $2120 to even get there. You need another revenue stream for this to be viable, and you simply don't have enough time or money to work up multiple revenue streams.
More than half the board is nearly useless. I just put them to auction most of the time, saving my money for the cheaper properties. The "focus on the cheap stuff" strategy wins virtually every single time, and the players compete to see who can do that one strategy more effectively.
Poor bargaining incentives
The game is largely about trading. But, it lends itself to poor bargaining strategies
Infinitely long games
Imagine that the board falls, and nobody gets a property set naturally—all the sets are split. The players know that they need to trade for anyone to win. One player offers another player a fair trade, but that player says no. Being on the winning end of an unbalanced trade guarantees a win, and getting a fair trade could result in a 50 / 50 win probability.
The stubborn player uses his time as leverage. I'm not going to trade with you unless you give me a massive coup, and I'm just gonna sit here all day until you offer me that. The good-faith player must choose: sit here all day, or take the L?
The developers certainly did not imagine that comparative willingness to sit around all day could be the difference between a winning player and a losing player. It's very frustrating.
Chicken
A similar and obnoxious trade strategy is "chicken." Imagine Player 1 gets the orange property set. Players 2 and 3 have split the light blue and pink sets. Player 2 offers Player 3 a trade—we need to start developing our property sets to catch up with Player 1: let's do a trade where we both end up with a set.
The stubborn Player 3 again says no. I'm going to have us sink deeper and deeper into second and third place. Time is ticking and we are on a trajectory to lose, but I can guarantee a win by forcing Player 2 to give me a massive coup. I'm more likely to win by taking advantage of Player 2 than I am to win by making fair trades. Player 2 must choose who wins: Player 1 or Player 3.

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I mentioned in a thread here in /osr that I have been running open table games since 2013. Radiant_Situation_32 asked for a post about how I was successful doing it. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible and then answer questions in the comments if anyone has any. (If anyone is even interested.) The biggest factors in my success are the last 3 bullets. AMA I guess?

• I started with Pathfinder Society in 2013. The first time I ever played a game it was an open, public table.
  
• The first time I ever ran a game was a Pathfinder Society table. I only ran the game because the GM ghosted the 6 players that showed up to play. I went into it completely unprepared having never seen the module until I picked it up to start running it. The players helped and were very understanding.
  
• After spending some time with Pathfinder Society I decided that the rules in Pathfinder were too restrictive. I got into an argument with the Venture Captain for the area about how many people I was allowed to have at the table and never ran PFS again.
  
• I missed that open table feel so I went looking for something else. I came across Dungeon Crawl Classics. I got a free copy of the full rulebook on Free RPG Day. I read it and LOVED it, but no one in my area was playing it.
  
• I decided to steal Pathfinder Society's model and start running local open tables for DCC. (Unaware at the time that Goodman Games has an organized play program called Road Crew).
  
• I partnered with a local game store and got permission to run my game. I advertised here on Reddit in my city's local sub, I advertised in a meetup for local gamers, and I posted on Facebook in a local geeks community group. That first game 3 people showed up. 2 of them were there because they are good friends and didn't want to see me fail at this new idea. The other guy saw the ad in the geek group and decided to come out. (I haven't seen him at a game since). So my first DCC game was 3 people. SUCCESS!
  
• I enjoyed it so much I did it again a month later. That time I advertised in all the same places and had close to 25 people show up. I guess showing it was on a regular schedule made people believe in it more. I found 2 other players willing to run games and we split the tables up as best we could.
  
• DCC was so popular I expanded to doing it twice a month. Then eventually ever Saturday. The other players were not willing to run games other than occasionally, so I dealt with it. Sometimes dealing with it meant running for 14 players at the same time. It sucked. It was awful, but not a single player got turned away. (Which was with my argument with the head of Pathfinder Society was about. I wanted too many players at my table according to PFS rules.)
  
• I expanded to running twice a week at the local game store. One weekend day, one week day.
  
• Shortly after my switch to twice a month I started a local Facebook group called Reno Dungeon Crawlers. I used that to advertise and find people to play in my games. (The group currently sits at 1200 members.)
  
• I allowed other people to find players and referees in the group. This helped expand my reach. My group is by far the most popular locally in terms of finding an RPG game. We have groups running games almost every day of the week who find players in that group.
  
• Since starting the group and running games on a regular basis I've run a number of different games. Metamorphosis Alpha, Original D&D, Swords & Wizardry (several different variations), Paranoia, Mork Borg, Old-School Essentials, OSRIC, and a bunch more I'm probably forgetting.
  
• My last completed campaign was a 2.5 year OSE campaign. I had a home brew world and used the hex map from the Isle of Dread to let the players hex crawl. When we finished that campaign they had established their own stronghold.
  
• Unless I was deathly ill, or the roads were no good (we get a lot of snow here) I never cancelled a game. I firmly believe this is a huge part of my success.
  
• I never turn away a player who wants to play. Even if I have too many players I ask them to bear with me and help me make it work. People are generally accommodating.
  
• On the converse side I never don't run the game. If a game is scheduled I run it, even if only 2 people show up, I run it. We make it work.
  

The bottom line is if you want it to be successful, you have to be dedicated to it and put in the work. The only time I haven't had active, public, open play tables is during covid when the store was shut down to gatherings. The weekend it opened back up I was masked up with my players back in the store.

Bodie, the towering white Dragonborn bounty hunter approached the city gate with a creature in tow. The man was often a welcome sight to the city guard. Usually he was coming back with a sack full of criminal's heads or the important bits of a manticore to prove he'd slain it. Today he was technically breaking the law, walking up to the city gates with a live monster, even if it was one he could strike in half in a instant with his enchanted great sword.
"Hail Bodie, that's Far enough." A Sergeant of the city guard put a hand up to signal him to stop. The guard knew he couldn't really stop Bodie from doing whatever he wanted, but he would try to enforce the law all the same. "You know we can't let you in the city gates with that thing."
The thing in question was a kobold scales a matching white to Bodie's own splendiferous scales. Most Kobolds were red, or green. This was the first white one Either of the guards had seen.
The kobold jumped forward in front of Bodie, and it spoke in the common tongue of all things. "How DARE you speak to Bodiaracamat the Bolstered in such a way, you FILTH! You nasty Fuu-"
Bodie yanked the collar on the creature less than half his size to stop him talking. "Heel boy. That's enough yappin Scrax. These men are just doing their jobs."
The other guard, a Corporal, was more sympathetic to Bodie. Bodie had saved his ass in a bar fight recently. "Look, Sargent it seems mostly harmless. Bodie's got it on a leash and I bet it even listens to commands."
The Sergeant looked skeptical, but intrigued. "Does it do tricks?"
Bodie laughed exactly two laughs, and stopped. Then he put a very serious face on before saying, "No. He doesn't do tricks. He's my Emotional Support Kobold."
The Corporal burst into laughter and had to step away to get himself together, while the Sergeant tried to carry on like that wasn't the absolute silliest thing Bodie had ever said. The man was the very model of stoicism. He rarely spoke more than was needed. In fact it was common for him to get through the gate without saying a word. Flashing his Adventurer's Guild Silver Badge and a sack full of goblin heads is usually all it takes.
"I'm sorry Sir, Bodie. I..." The Sergeant mastered himself, "Did you say Emotional Support Kobold?!"
"I did," Bodie drawled slowly. He showed his teeth for a the briefest moment before he spoke again, the guard knew well it had the opposite meaning from a dragonborn than a human. He was annoyed, bordering on angry. "I don't like to repeat myself Sergeant. Get out your little notebook and write down what I say. I know you dolts all know your letters. I found Scrax in a cave about to be sacrificed by the other ones for being a white scaled type. I didn't take kindly to that. They're dead now. Killed twenty, but only twelve usable heads left, they're in my pack. This one can speak common, and he worships me. It's nice. I like it. If he misbehaves I'll kill him myself."
The white kobold prostrated himself before the mighty bounty hunter. "Scrax will be good, I promise. I wou-"
Bodie Yanked him from the ground to his feet and made him fall ass over teakettle backward with a flick of his wrist through the chain into the collar on the Kobold's neck. "Who said you could speak, Scrax. This is people time. Silence."
Just then a half-elf sorceress that was a sometimes rival, sometimes ally, but much to her chagrin never a lover to Bodie, was walking by on her way out of town. "Aww. Bodie, did you get a cute little pet? Look at him, and he was talking too, like he thinks he's people!"
Bodie sighed. A deep, weary sigh. The kind you'd expect from a man like him after slaying a dozen ogres by himself, not two seconds of conversation with Priscilla. "Hello Pris."
"Ma'am." The Corporal had recovered himself from the notion of Bodie having an emotional support Kobold.
She ignored the low ranked human. "So what'd you say this little things name is Bodie, Scrax? Isn't that Draconic for feces."
For the first time in his life he was actually intrigued by Priscilla, "You've been studying Draconic? Yes, but not normal shit, what's the elf term." Bodie took a moment to think, "Louthunarum"
"Waterfall bowels, Diarrhea in the common tongue. What's normal shit then?" The surprising genuineness with which she asked it took Bodie by surprise. So he decided to answer instead of blowing her off like normal.
"Screm," Bodie paused, and new cruel idea dawning. "That can be his surname. Scrax Screm."
The Corporal had to excuse himself again. The kobold stood proud. Proud to have been given a surname by his god, even if it was shit.
"Let me get this straight," said the Sergeant, "You want me to let you into the city with an untamable monster type named Diarrhea Shits. A rare white kobold that worships you like a living god."
"He is a God, you filthy swi-" Bodie yanked the Kobold over to him and picked him up with one smooth motion. He stuffed the creature under his arm, punched it in the gut, then he used his powerful hand to hold Scrax's screaming scremhole shut.
"Sorry about that. I'll get him a muzzle first thing." Bodie was far more talkative than usual.
"You know, maybe there is something to this Emotional Support Kobold thing." The Sergeant said, not realizing he'd been charmed by Priscilla's subtle magic, "Come on, I'll walk you over to the captain and he can help you figure out what paperwork we need to fill out for this... thing."
Bodie sensed it though. Damnit, now I owe her one. He knew the captain would let him get away with whatever he wanted, especially since he'd rescued his wife and daughter from those kidnappers. Though the Captain had said he would have rather Bodie not so brutally hacked the kidnappers apart in front of his family, a simple stabbing to death would have done. All the same he was very happy they were safe, if slightly traumatized by both ordeal and rescue.
As they walked toward the captain's office with his Kobold under his arm and muzzled by hand. Bodie heard Priscilla's voice in his head. He knew she knew the spell for such a whisper and wasn't terrible shocked to find her in his head. Annoyed, yes. Shocked, no.
"You owe me one you big sexy dragon man." Her voice said.
Bodie just turned and showed her his teeth.