info -- why conversations in the first place
Mood:  sharp
So, why do we have convesations in the first place?

Obviously in the context of the game, they prob
will need to be interesting/lively/not-boring/etc

And even in the context of the game (or real life)
they will provide information -- we converse to
learn.

And there is no reason that the xcell language
(or database, or whatever it is or is becomming)
can't have actions that are initiated.

Here i'm thinking of Mihai's seneludens concept
of the robot in the home. If there was a real
emergency, or it was apparent to the AI that
the peson that it was talking with was not
responding rationally, it could then send a
call to an operator (med staff, etc) that would
then intervein to see if there was a problem
or not.

info -- why conversations in the first place
Mood:  sharp
Topic: philosophics
So, why do we have convesations in the first place?

Obviously in the context of the game, they prob
will need to be interesting/lively/not-boring/etc

And even in the context of the game (or real life)
they will provide information -- we converse to
learn.

And there is no reason that the xcell language
(or database, or whatever it is or is becomming)
can't have actions that are initiated.

Here i'm thinking of Mihai's seneludens concept
of the robot in the home. If there was a real
emergency, or it was apparent to the AI that
the peson that it was talking with was not
responding rationally, it could then send a
call to an operator (med staff, etc) that would
then intervein to see if there was a problem
or not.

Story lab stuff
Topic: Conversation

QQ: So what is the difference between narrative
and story?

ANSWER:
Kyle mentioned this quote: The narrative is
"The queen died, and then the king died".
The story is "the queen died, and then
the king died of a broken heart"
END-ANSWER

ANSWER:
Well, one possibility is that in the case of
the "cradle to grave" story. The narrative
is the same (as Thomas outlined) but the stories
were the individual ways that we told them
in class.

LINK: What did he say?
BEGIN
The idea that we are born, and then if we
are nourished then we grow up, etc.
END-LINK

END-ANSWER

END-QQ

QQ: What is a story?

ANSWER:
Well, we had the disucssion that "everythng is
a story". Mihai commented that you can't not
have a story. Even if you say there is a story,
then that too is a story.
END-ANSWER

ANSWER:
Again, obviously a song can be a story. Take
the Jethro Tull song "Thick as a Brick", or
most folks songs for example -- pure story.
END-ANSWER
END-QQ

Intro -- methodologies
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: General info
This blog is a set of conversation extract cells
(xcells for short)

The idea is that there are blocks of conersation
that are triggered (some how)

QQ: What is the moon made of?
ANSWER (mood=humorous):
Green cheese.
END-ANSWER

ANSWER:
Mostly rock. It doesn't have an atmosphere after all. Well not much of one.

LINK: What do you mean?
Well, it has an atmosphere of mostly Argon gas
(which is produced by radioactive decay). Argon
is a fairly heavy element and so the moon's
week graviational pull can hold onto that.
END-LINK

LINK: So you couldn't survive there?
No, you'd die of space vacuum. It's atmosphere
is much thinner than even that on top of Mt.
Everest.
END-LINK
END-ANSWER

And as each part is triggered (probably at
random) it then isn't re-triggered (later)
if the same question (in the same context)
arrises again. But, a TICK mark is noted
that that particular was executed. And they
ask again, you might get a response:

Weren't you listening? I said the moon is made
of green cheese [this response is constructed
based on the setting of the MOOD variable
and the response in it -- which is extracted
and contracted.

Again, this goes back to building a believable
system. And since it is deterministic (see
the comments on the Schatzmann, et al page)
then eventually it has to repeat itself or
respond "well, i don't know anything else to
say".

One idea is also, that based on context KEY words
the topic can be brought back up. For example,
if we are seriously discussing the moon. and some
how it comes up to something like "yes, but
people used to think the moon was inhabbited",
then the system could say, "like i sed, it's
made of green cheese"

then the techs could expand that bit later with
a new link

LINK: I wonder how that rumor got started?
I read somewhere that professor nimnull discovered
an ancient green-cheese text in the himalayas...
END-LINK

The idea that the dialogs are dynamic and can
grow and that eventually there are several diff
responses in a topic area.

So, we go back to: Why do we have conversations
at all?

more later.