What they think, is that they're not going to agree to anything. They don't want the deal going through, so they're perfectly happy to move their demand goalposts as far out as necessary to make sure MS can't ever actually come to an agreement with them.

When you know that certain regulators are prone to being unreasonable, because they themselves are more motivated to make an example of big tech, then why would you - as Sony - eliminate the only outside voice of dissent to this deal? You wouldn't. You're just gonna sit there, stoking the flames, and see what happens.

Oh man i really hope i get in this time. Been registered since they started taking them

This is why MS just taking the same deal they gave Sony to the regulators as a concession is pure brilliant.  Sony made a big deal about COD and thus they put their eggs in one basket.  MS sidesteps Sony playing BS games by just taking the deal straight to the regulators and saying we ready to deal.  This bypass Sony arguments and Sony grandstanding and allows MS to control the conversation.  Like I said, Sony pretty much gave MS the ability to make this deal all about COD which they are more than willing to accept concessions for.

Pretty much what Shika said but that permabanning also deleted all posts by users hence why we have a new Empire as half the thread was wiped including (I believe) polls. 

Yeah, all the polls are gone, I can't remember what ones I even did now, I think tomorrow I'm just going to try to restore what I can through Archive/Cache and go from there.

I haven't heard anything from JLauro, but the hope is to restore posts from a backup made roughly 2 years ago. Which would restore the vast majority of deleted posts. The ability to remove posts has been taken down. So that won't happen again.

A rift has emerged at the Federal Trade Commission over Microsoft's $69 billion deal to acquire Activision — potentially paving the way for the controversial mega-merger to get approved, The Post has learned.

At least one Democrat on the four-member panel has recently taken a sympathetic view of the merger, according to a source close to the situation. That, in turn, could create a difficult path for FTC Chair Lina Khan — who according to insiders has eyed Microsoft's deal as a major target as she looks to burnish her credentials as a trustbuster of Big Tech.

Sources said Khan — who said publicly in June the agency was scrutinizing the deal's impact on workers — was in recent weeks still pushing to sue to block the merger, which would pair Microsoft's Xbox with hit Activision games like "Call of Duty" and "Candy Crush." Late last month, Politico reported that an FTC lawsuit against the deal was "likely," noting that the agency's staff are "skeptical of the companies' arguments."

The FTC's sole Republican commissioner, Christine Wilson, has signaled support of the deal. But sources say at least one of the four-member panel's three Democratic commissioners — which in addition to Khan include Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya — also has recently appeared to lean toward the Microsoft camp, according to a source close to the situation.

"Some of the Democrats might be more comfortable with a settlement," approving the deal with concessions from the companies instead of trying to block it altogether, an FTC insider told The Post.

Sony, which currently has the largest share of the video game console market, has been one of the few vocal opponents of the merger. It is a stark contrast of interests: If the merger is approved and the labor deal with Microsoft is effectuated, Activision Blizzard workers across the United States fighting sexual harassment and other poor working conditions stand to finally have a voice on the job and a chance to shape working conditions throughout the industry, and gamers will have allies inside a corporation with real protections for speaking out in consumers' interests. If the merger is disapproved, the power relations within the gaming industry for labor stay the same, Sony protects its very profitable position as the industry leader, and consumers will have to wait and see if subscription services mature into a viable gaming option.

FTC chair Lina Khan has been a strong advocate for an antitrust policy that takes workers' interests and fair market functioning into account. Thanks to her leadership and the outreach and interest of the FTC staff, labor is now part of the national antitrust conversation. Approving this merger with the labor agreement that we fashioned with Microsoft to protect collective bargaining rights would send a game-changing message to corporate America that workers do indeed have a seat at the table and their concerns matter and must be addressed.

It's time to seal the deal, not blow it up.

The Federal Trade Commission reportedly plans to sue Microsoft to stop our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. That would be a huge mistake. It would hurt competition, consumers and thousands of game developers.

Microsoft faces huge challenges in the gaming industry. Our Xbox remains in third place in console gaming, stuck behind Sony's dominant PlayStation and the Nintendo Switch. We have no meaningful presence in the mobile game industry. That segment of gaming generates the most revenue and is the fastest-growing, but a significant portion of the revenue goes to Google and Apple through their app-store fees.

Acquiring Activision Blizzard would enable Microsoft to compete against these companies through innovation that would benefit consumers. While modern consumers can stream videos or music on multiple devices on low-cost subscription plans, many games can often only be individually purchased and downloaded onto one device. Microsoft wants to change that by offering consumers the option to subscribe to a cloud gaming service that lets them stream a variety of games on multiple devices for one reasonable fee. It would also benefit developers by allowing them to reach a much broader audience.

To get subscribers to this service, Microsoft needs a full library of popular games and, as things stand, we simply don't have enough. That's where the acquisition comes in. Activision Blizzard comes with popular mobile, PC and console games, including "Candy Crush," "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty."

Sony has emerged as the loudest objector. It's as excited about this deal as Blockbuster was about the rise of Netflix. The main supposed potential anticompetitive risk Sony raises is that Microsoft would stop making "Call of Duty" available on the PlayStation. But that would be economically irrational. A vital part of Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty" revenue comes from PlayStation game sales. Given the popularity of cross-play, it would also be disastrous to the "Call of Duty" franchise and Xbox itself, alienating millions of gamers.

That's why we've offered Sony a 10-year contract to make each new "Call of Duty" release available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox. We're open to providing the same commitment to other platforms and making it legally enforceable by regulators in the U.S., U.K. and European Union. Microsoft made a similar commitment to the European Commission when we acquired LinkedIn in 2016, ensuring access to key technologies for competing services.

Some regulators worry that any big-tech acquisition will harm consumers and workers. But Microsoft committed in February to govern its new cloud-based game store by the pro-competition principles outlined in the app-store legislation pending in Congress. And in May we negotiated a precedent-setting agreement with the Communications Workers of America allowing workers to organize easily at studios, including Activision Blizzard.

Blocking our acquisition would make the gaming industry less competitive and gamers worse off. Think about how much better it is to stream a movie from your couch than drive to Blockbuster. We want to bring the same sort of innovation to the videogame industry.

Mr. Smith is vice chair and president of Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard Acquisition Is Good for Gamers - WSJ

I see Ryuu getting things posted for everyone for when the site goes back live for everyone. Like me and the news.