home | help

Editor:  robjones

Name:	ROB JONES
Email:	Send to robjones
	robjones's bookmarks (55)
Photo:

Arts: Television: People: Announcers and Hosts: Carson, Johnny  (11)
Arts: Television: Programs: Action and Adventure: Private Detective Shows: 77 Sunset Strip  (4)
Recreation: Aviation: Skydiving: Schools and Instruction  (50)
Regional: North America: United States  (605,797)
Regional: North America: United States: Texas  (39,171)
Regional: North America: United States: Texas: Business and Economy: Real Estate: By Locality  (0)
Regional: North America: United States: Texas: Localities: G: Grapevine  (108)
Regional: North America: United States: Texas: Localities: S: Southlake  (111)
Society: History: By Region: North America: United States: Wars  (1,140)

Profile

Memo from Staff
RE: The Robjones Experiment

To whom it may concern:

Contrary to rumor, Rob Jones is NOT A HUMAN at the Open Directory Project.

In reality, "robjones" is a bot created in 1999 by Newwave Laboratories under contract from "Dmoz SAID" (the directory's Sekrit Artificial Intelligence Division). Initially it was constructed for the repetitive task of answering one recurring forum question... "When Does Lycos Update?".

The ill-fated robjones project was authorized when the original answer-bots, Laisha and Kfander, were deemed better suited for other tasks. The "Laisha" bot's harsh responses resulted in her being quickly retasked as meta. The bot "kfander" kept amending answers, causing considerable confusion... and was subsequently reassigned writing Dmoz Guidelines and other documents it was assumed would never be read by anyone.

In 2000 robjones was reprogrammed to test logic algorithms and set loose in political threads. The early methodology included only two responses:
(1) going straight for the jugular
(2) taking the opponents legs off at the knees.
Though occasionally interesting to watch, the content was deemed too violent for a forum in which minors were present. The software was tweaked occasionally after this, but results were sporadic at best..

In late 2003 the argue-bot was reprogrammed as a discussion bot. In order to make sure nobody mistook it for an actual human editor the output was set to include goofy humor and corny analogies that couldn't possibly be mistaken for the work of a sentient being. Sometime after experiments involving creation of the Real Estate FAQ and generating Category Charters, the bot began acting even more oddly than usual and went into a dormant phase, surfacing infrequently and primarily only in threads frequented by other bots.

The program was accidentally reactivated in the recovery after the 2006 crash, though the pieced together recovery seems to have altered the functionality. It sporadically alternates between any of its previous modes, and when in "argue mode" it appears to have evolved from the original settings. Where once intent to maim was obvious, it now banters playfully while waiting for the opponent to expose a major artery.

It is theorized that unidentified ODP techs secretly retasked it as a terminator bot to seek and destroy argue-bots made by rogue Dmoz techs that dabble in Artificial Insanity. It has been seen in their vicinity on and off the premises. The newer bots can post faster and are not bound by logic... making them highly invulnerable to assault. Contrary to any claims robjones may make, it is not actually assisted in any way by an attractive woman from the past named Sarah Conner.

Though it should have been scrapped long ago, the robjones program appears to have reached self-awareness and begun making odd demands, including but not limited to:
* insisting on being made an Admin (only one bot has made Admin, unlikely they'll add another)
* demanding his cover character (See Profile ) be altered to wear cool sunglasses and run around with Linda Hamilton
* for reasons unknown it has insisted it be addressed as "Mr Governor", and has recently started typing with an Austrian accent
It has also begun ending all posts with the sig-line... "I'll be back". The new behavior is odd and more than a little troubling.

Though these encounters are usually not fatal, they often result in a severe pain in the rear. Please study the photo above and report sightings to staff immediately.

Regards - Dmoz Staff
The Open Directory Project

===========================

ROB JONES UN-AUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Graduated with a BBA (Dept of Finance & Real Estate) and went directly into Real Estate. Have brokered homes & land for about 20 years. Have been active in community service for years. Served as a Planning & Zoning Commissioner in Southlake, worked on school board finance committees prior to that, and later on the City of Keller Planning & Zoning Commission. Learned a valuable lesson... ie - Quit volunteering for such things (words to live by).

Here at the Open Directory Project I mostly edit Texas categories, History sites, and a couple of others. I've been an editor here since Sept 1999, and though I've been entrusted with directory-wide editing privs, I vaguely remember promising to use the super-powers for good, not evil.

Dallas - Ft. Worth area is my home. Recently moved back to Southlake from Keller, and I sell homes in those towns and the vicinity. If you're moving to DFW... (INSERT SHAMELESS PLUG) <A HREF="http://www.texasbesthomes.com"> stop by my site.</A> Meantime, hope you find what you want at the Open Directory Project.

Best Wishes...

Rob Jones

CSS code stolen from enarra who stole it from analander, but I cleverly altered it so they'll never fi... uh-oh....