Post ArrnSi4H0FQ7e1rg4u by cptbutton@dice.camp
(DIR) More posts by cptbutton@dice.camp
(DIR) Post #ArrZGbIkw5FTpFyFM0 by rob@social.afront.org
2025-03-08T21:35:56Z
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Writing Paranoia Memos:Your job as a GM is to make the utterly impersonal bureaucracy feel excruciatingly personal. A trip to your local overworked government office will help. Watch the citizens, especially the angry ones: what did the bureaucracy do that makes them feel unfairly singled out? What turns otherwise rational people into utter conspiracy theorists? Take notes, and figure out how to apply the same technique in game.E.g.: my friend was going in for an FBI background check which had to be confirmed before he could start work. He was cleared! But the night before starting work the FBI lost his fingerprint card. They confirmed he passed his check but his file was incomplete: go in for another fingerprint card.Which they *also* lost. This happened seven times in total, and my friend was an incoherent conspiracy theorist by the end.
(DIR) Post #ArrZGfy1aadWIPJGEa by rob@social.afront.org
2025-03-08T21:49:28Z
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Second, the truth will always be used against you. If on Friday the background investigator accuses you of hiding major felonies and on Monday you're concealing your alcoholism, it was always bullshit and the investigator is either lazy enough not to keep the story straight or is hitting you for reactions.You must not say, "that's not what you said last week".You must not say, "I don't like being hit for reactions."You say, "I put last Friday out of mind, you were so off in the weeds I just brushed it off. Alcoholism? Yeah, you're in the weeds, but ask away."You must not lie. Lying will get you charged with perjury. But the truth will cost you your job for insubordination.Sane, well-adjusted people hate that tightrope. It causes psychological damage. Really.This makes it a perfect Paranoia tactic.
(DIR) Post #ArrZGkqlR0ndRKx26y by rob@social.afront.org
2025-03-08T21:56:03Z
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Rank hath its privileges, or as the government saying goes, "different spanks for different ranks". A young NSA analyst named Reality Winner leaked a classified document to the press and received a lengthy prison sentence. CIA Director Petraeus leaked classified documents, multiple, to his biographer/mistress and received a fine and probation, and is making a good living as a commentator.RHIP/DSFDR. It's very important official policy says this never happens. It's also very important the worker bees know it happens every single day.This is so Paranoia it doesn't even need adjustment!
(DIR) Post #ArrZGqCZXMDO2QC1IW by rob@social.afront.org
2025-03-08T22:09:32Z
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Blame is best when it's shifted onto the innocent. I knew one guy who was asked to talk to a high school class about satellites. He turned his lecture notes in for pre-approval and they were verified unclassified. He gave the lecture and a week later was told his approval was in error: his notes were highly classified and he needed to control the spill.He pointed out high school students generally can't enter binding agreements, so good luck getting them to sign an NDA.Too bad. The prepublication review team completely screwed up but none of them were disciplined, while my friend got raked over coals repeatedly for being responsible for the spill.Again: this requires no adaptation to work in Paranoia.
(DIR) Post #ArrZGuvNygREgZBrhg by rob@social.afront.org
2025-03-08T22:18:21Z
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Classified briefing spaces have special rules that must be followed if you're the first one in or the last one out. Since RHIP and blame is best when shifted, imagine the shenanigans if you're a guest in a new space and the last person who knows the procedures leaves for the day. You can't be in there unescorted. You also can't leave because you don't know the lockup procedures. Your only hope is to throw yourself on the mercy of internal security.Again, tailor made for Paranoia.
(DIR) Post #ArrnSi4H0FQ7e1rg4u by cptbutton@dice.camp
2025-03-09T02:18:14Z
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@rob A few decades ago I read some epistolary SF story, probably in Analog. Guy was working on his Diss. project of inducing nuclear fusion in water. An official got ahold of it and classified it. So he couldn't access his data or work on it until he paid $20,000* for a security clearance. So he couldn't get his PhD. So he couldn't get a university job.Ended up a HS science teacher. Doing cool experiments generating power from water...* When $20,000 was a decent year's salary.
(DIR) Post #ArrnSivRoXxGIwk8xc by rob@social.afront.org
2025-03-09T03:15:44Z
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@cptbutton and @Computer — true story:I used to work in unclassified digital forensics. Didn't have a clearance, didn't want a clearance. I had a research project that had some interest from Fort Meade, so I was invited to deliver a speech and presentation. Since I had no clearance I was required to submit all my material via email, with the promise that NSA would have my materials present in the auditorium and set up exactly per my instruction.Day of the presentation, I showed up to the auditorium a half-hour early to do a dry run and make sure everything was set up properly.The first slide came up and I had a heart attack: it was a notice this slide deck had been classified TS//SI/G//NOFORN ORCON. I had no idea what any of that meant, I just knew it was *bad*.Turns out Fort Meade applied that ultra-high classification to every briefing that came along until such time as the bureaucracy could decide its proper classification.The briefing officer was apologetic but there was nothing he could do. I wasn't cleared to see my own slide deck, the unclassified one I put together at Fort Meade's request. I also couldn't demo my own software or show the real-world results I'd assembled for them.No kidding, I delivered my presentation devoid of notes, demos, or slide deck, starting it off with "There's a great slide deck accompanying this lecture, but I'm not cleared to see it. Please just imagine there's awesomeness being projected on screen continuously for the next 30 minutes."