Some of you really, really hated our previous chat client, so much so that you decided to create an IRC chatroom and lobby for the death of our previous chat client. Well, after some introspection and the prospect of having the chat server load not be ours, we now have our chat on IRC.
IRC, you say? Well, perhaps you're scared of IRC? Don't be! We've made it easy to join our chat! You could use a client to join our chat, or you could use the applet that we provide.
Interested in joining the chat? Check this page for more details and where you can find us! Hope to see you in chat!
[img width=200 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/PHP/watermark.php?type=ex;ID=U-075-S-05130-B;number=01[/img] So this week I thought I'd indulge myself and do a feature on one of my all-time favorite games: Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.
Think of this series as Thief in the 21st century. An ex-Navy S.E.A.L. turned spy nearing the age of retirement, gallivanting all over the world stopping threats and assassinating potential ones. Decades of experience matched with sophisticated gadgetry and weapons, combined with sarcastic humor and deadly earnest.
Another comparison often made is to the Metal Gear Solid series. Best way to describe that is if MGS is an arcade stealth game, Splinter Cell is a stealth sim. Burnout versus Forza Motorsports if you would. Achieving perfect scores on level completions is difficult even on normal difficulty, Hard and Elite are almost impossible to anyone but the most patient and skilled players. With the game being so unforgiving and the circumstances ever-changing, you have to rely on your reflexes and abilities as a player, not memory of patterns and timing, to master this game.
The Limited Collector's Edition version of this game was a holy grail of mine to find. Unlike many similar LE's of it's time, this one was actually limited. Meaning there are fewer copies of this than the regular version and no reprinting. Needless to say it's a hard game to find in excellent condition as opposed the the regular version of Chaos Theory which is a dime a dozen in most used stores and can still be bought new.
Be sure to check out my review on the game page here at RF Generation and read the interesting trivia on this title, and discuss this game in our forums in the weekly featured game topic located here.
[img width=250 align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/E-123/hw/E-123-H-00010-A_00.jpg[/img] Moving on, the featured hardware of the week is the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3. Released in 1982, the ZX Spectrum or "Speccy" as it's affectionately known, was a huge success in Europe and in particular the United Kingdom. Rivaling the mighty Commodore 64, this machine had a huge following, large software library and several magazines dedicated to it. Even to this day there is still a large community based around this system. A shame it never made it overseas, it has an incredible library of games most of us outside of Europe will probably never have the opportunity to enjoy. Although we did get the Timex Sinclair in North America, it was largely incompatible with the ZX and that had a large part to play in it's failure as a platform here.
This particular model featured this week, the +3, differs from the standard model and the +2, by having a built in floppy disk drive instead of the cassette tape drive the previous models had. It is also capable of running the CP/M operating system on it's own.
Such benefits however come with a price. This model has some documented incompatibilities with certain older games and external devices. It's successor the +2A shares these same problems as well. Thanks go out to James for the great pic of the +3.
[img width=350 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/RedHerring/160807r.jpg[/img] Our featured collection this week is from RedHerring. A fellow Canadian one province over from me, Red has a great PS2 collection and some really great looking shelving that I'd love to get my hands on. It looks like a game store all organized and there for the picking like that. I wish my shelves looked half as good as those do. Between that and the novelty hamburger you can see by checking out Red's other pics, I'm drooling all over my keyboard here.
So after finishing an early lunch brought on by some spontaneous hankerings born from inspiration, I'm ready to finish the rest of this feature I left half written 
Another part of Red's collection that impresses me is his Game Boy Advance collection. It's hard finding those games CIB and even harder keeping them in good condition. All of his GBA titles are top notch hand-picked titles and make an impressive display.
Check out RedHerring's collection listed here and take a gander at his pictures. If you can pry your eyes from that huge novelty hamburger in one of them, take a moment and appreciate his Mega man bobble head set on his entertainment center.
[img width=200 align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/J-043/bf/J-043-S-00890-A.jpg[/img] Our featured game image this week is the front scan for the Japanese game Pulstar on the Neo Geo AES system. Pulstar is a shmup released in 1995 that was both innovative and gorgeous at the time of it's release. Gameplay is in the vein of R-Type but with 3D graphics in a 2D game.
This game enjoys a high production value and great esteem from gamers, reviewers and collectors alike. Depending on where you get it, this can be a pricey acquisition but a worthy one that can reach well above $100. But if you own a Neo Geo system then you don't need me to tell you that now do you? I'm sure all the Neo Geo AES collectors out there are well aware of what they've invested in that system. Goes to show just how great a system it is when your willing to spend big bucks to have these awesome games. Thanks go out to Adri Hoogesteger who is a staff member known on the boards as "sharp" for the great scan featured this week.
In the meantime, check out the forums, read the blogs, partake in the weekly chat and use our collection tools to their fullest. And stay tuned to this channel next week for the newest set of features and items for forum discussion.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/PHP/watermark.php?collection=gorez/mini-gamec5.jpg;sizex=200[/img]
So, it's simple, I guess. Almost too easy. Want your collection to be featured? All you need to do is upload some collection photos and voila! You're instantly in the running for a featured collection. That said, let's talk about gorez's collection. As we can see from his photos and collection profile, gorez is primarily a Genesis collector, followed by the PS2. He also owns both the Featured Game and the greatest hits version of the Featured Image. Now only if he owned the Featured Hardware, or as we like to call it, the George Foreman Grill. It's black, it's beastly, and unlike the current models this PS3 has not be neutered. Or spayed. Hell, we'll just call the new models castrated. Such a strong word. That said, gorez has entered the current generation in the Microsoft camp, with his 360. I bet his favorite game is Sneak King. That or Viva Pinata. Who knows, certainly not me.
So, the featured game is Dark Cloud 2. It apparently is a good game. I couldn't tell you though, as I have not played it, but my brother has, and he has a wonderful review written. Check that out.
So, features. Huhzah! Stay tuned to see what new features we have next week.
This is a public sevice announcement brought to you by logical123
Hello to all you guests on RFGeneration right now! I'm logical, and I'm here to tell you REGISTER!!!!! Please! Yesterday, while on the forums, I noticed that there were 30 guests on-line, but only 6 registered users. The site and its members won't bite, we promise. The site is great! You can find people to ask questions, you can sell extra controllers, and of course, the Collection Software tool, the pride and joy of the site. Our coding monkeys are some of the coolest dudes around, the site works nearly perfectly. Find an error? Post in the forums. It will get fixed. Bar-none. The site is great. Register, you won't regret it.
Handy dandy link to register -> Register Now!!!
Ed Note: You got to love our members' dedication. It's ravenous. Join the fun, will you?
Edit By logical: The link was made into a "Register Now!" type thingy. I'm in the process of learning html. :-) Thanks!!
After being gone for over a year, the image search now works like it did prior to our switch to mySQL. Hopefully you guys will enjoy its return... it's been a long time coming.
Additionally, we've created a less crappy watermark for our images. It now includes transparency. It may or may not be tweaked a bit in the future, but for now enjoy the less intrusive nature of our watermark. We hope you enjoy it.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/Tan/Laptop-RFG.png&sizex=336[/img] 2007 was a big year for RFGen. Hundreds of new members, new staff, new features, new scripts, new tools, new designs and banners (thanks Dennis!), a new store to help fund the server costs and an increased level of community participation!
Along the way we broke records, raised the bar, improved the site in so many ways your brain would melt trying to remember it all. The Admins, Editors, Staff and most importantly the Members, have helped mold and shape RFGen into the site it is today. So first off, let me quote a few 2007 database statistics for you:
41358 game submissions of all types
5956 hardware submissions of all types
====== equaling
47314 total submissions for 2007 alone! 
Meanwhile behind the scenes, our three Administrators: Eddie (St0rmTK421), David (TraderJake) and Scott (Tynstar) have worked tirelessly fixing errors and bugs, making new policies and scripts, adding new features to the site for all of us to use, guiding us with their leadership and all of this despite busy schedules, jobs, school and real life in general that can eat away at your time even in the most ideal of circumstances.
One of these new features that really hit it's stride in 2007 is the ability to log submissions and submission approvals. It's handy because we can thank each and every one of you for your contributions. So for 2007, we'd like to thank the following members:
Top Submitters
Funk_Buddy, Pop Culture Portal, Belgarath, Tynstar, OatBob, marriott_guy, Fuyukaze, y2richie, ApolloBoy, NES_Rules, James, Kevincal, TurboGrafxer AKA DCer, Mezmoron, sharp, Fighter17, AndyC, eaglebeak99, briskbc, Speedy_NES, Alabama-Shrimp, s1lence, Izret101, Magewout, Rajaat the Warbringer, tholly, freak_boy, Tondog, BadKarma, bum-man, esquire, captain_nintendo, epv39, Samada, zodiacprime, lackofselfcontrol, Donkey Kong Kid, PingvinBlueJeans, Malygris, cverz2, JWKobayashi, RAMBO, lovablechevy, Shrooin, DevIancE, lwelyk, Rorschach, TraderJake, Tretiy, Matt Rideout (dotDarkCloud), logical123, Barracuda, Cobra, djbeatmongrel, aicrob, hybrid, IamtheHBOMB, shaggy, mrdaggiman, Shimra, Wempster, Kollision, Retromangia, Cambot, meg@driver, itatton, den68, eternalblue81, JeFIzM, octbane, pvtmurre, Untamed, woutie, Corvus, gorez, DeathByNinja, blissfulnoise, Duckface, NekoOtaku, chrisbid, Vokyous, Icarus Moonsight, CatchFiveBats, anton10000, dom meatball, Lios, WarLordAG, DarthKur, Goodapollo666, KallowayAshton, hardart, ozzymandd, SchnattAttack, Xevious, ganonbanned, Innervision, MachiavellianNerd, R-21, Grim Fandango, Lenneth, RedHerring, samo, DefaultGen, le geek, Reps911, shadowforte, TheBoss, Bassgrabber, MF Dagger, phoenix1967, policenaut, TheQFactor, atari_wizard, jbiohazard3069, jcalder8, Alfador, marty_b11, Nintendonut1983, Platypus Stan, shoes23, twitami, Ackman, eldergod, Ghost Soldier, grimbasement, Matt-El, Retrogamer72, St0rmTK421, Valdiuss, Xizer, 0x15e, ChrisHavius, KamatsuKyoto, Ronin_Sixshooter, ShawnFox, udisi, VACRMH, Yggdrasil, Yurf, Antimind, brianon, dauber, diediemydarling, djknightime, dodgersfan7800, douglie007, GagaMan, GameRiley, Ghostzidane, hypercentric, Jade, jferio, Kitsune, Moriya Hanzo, Nonnolion, panda_racer, RetroYoungen, Sauza12, Schwalbe, silentscythe, vash_san, Vultar, Zabdi, Zed, ztaKxileF, Tan.
------------------------
Also a big thanks go out to the staff who besides their own submissions and contributions, review and approve member submissions on an almost daily basis. Here are the top staff approvers for 2007:
Top Approvers
Tynstar, OatBob, marriott_guy, Fuyukaze, AndyC, bum-man, Belgarath, Tondog, ApolloBoy, Magewout, Mezmoron, Izret101, s1lence, shadowforte, sharp, TraderJake, JWKobayashi, Funk_Buddy, Speedy_NES, captain_nintendo, tholly, freak_boy, Tan.
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As you can see it takes a tremendous amount of community support and staff to make RFGen the success it is. From the staff who have specific departments and areas of expertise, the members who spend hours scanning, submitting and discussing, to the weekly polls & chats (thanks Norville!) and forums that make this a second home for many of our over 1500 registered members. It's great to see that after three and a half years this site is still moving forward at such a fast pace. Here's to 2008 becoming another banner year for this site and it's members!
[img align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/banners/RFGFullbanner01.gif[/img]
December 31, 2007, 4:57:30 PM, Eastern. That is the date and time that will go down as the date we hit 100000 posts in our forum - our community. From 0 posts on June 8, 2004 to 100000 posts today, certainly, today is a day of celebration. Check out the stats bar as captured for this momentous occasion:
Certainly, I am humbled by the mark, and by the success of our forum. I am humbled by the community that we have. Without our community, there is no way that we could have hit this mark. We are nothing without you guys. Thank you all for fostering our community, and we hope that our community remains vibrant for years to come.
I'd like to specifically congratulate the person who made the 100000th post, Bad Enough Dude. I can confidently say that Bad Enough Dude is the oldest member (with respect to join date) on the site that is not or has not been on staff and still actively posts. That's really cool. He even joined before me, at 4AM on the date that the site launched. How cool is that? Check out the post that made 100000:
Congrats, and congrats to everyone! May the forum continue to be a success and a place for interesting musings and thoughts!
We programmers at RF Generation like to add new things. Tonight, we give you our Christmas Gift. Sure, it is not Christmas, but think of us as the side of the family you do not see on Christmas - the side who has no problem giving you that fruitcake for Christmas. In addition, similar to those gifts of old with the classic disclaimer "some assembly required", there may be some bugs. We're working hard to fix them, but if you see any let us know. Anyways, you probably would like to know what is new. Here is the short list:
- Submissions System Improvements, as told by me:
- Revamped Variations: We no longer discriminate variations. In addition, if you make a variation on one page it will make it also a variation on the other page.
- Revamped Rating Systems: Does a game have more than one rating? Is the rating only valid for a few consoles? Well, we can accommodate both of those now.
- Intelligent Submission: We figure out the region for you now. Of course, if something is realized regionwide, do let us know. We have also made the script intelligent so that selecting the country brings up corresponding countries and regions. You can now add variations across regions... because we want you to and we love you. In a platonic sense, of course.
- Animated Flags: Game or Hardware released in more than one country? Now, the flag shows those countries, rather than the overall region
- Collections System Improvements, as told by Eddie "The Black Perl" Herrmann:
- You can now mark folders as "for sale" or "owned"
- Trade Search feature now checks all folders marked "for sale"
- All Collections page shows owned game totals
- Statistics page updated with total owned game stats and QTY/BOX/MAN totals
- Settings page added - can choose default region and ignore duplicates
- Profile page added for profile stats and management
- Simplified country/regions selection
- Tools Page added - has links for random game selection, missing image search, collecton links, and trade match features
As a personal plea, please submit variation ties for games across regions. Adding it for one entry adds it for all. So please, please submit! You'll be my favorite member! Just kidding, you're all my favorite members. But seriously, do submit. It's fun.
If you find any bugs, let us know. From us to you, enjoy the new features, and stay tuned, you never know when that next new feature set will launch. It may be sooner than you think.
From our family to yours - Merry Christmas. May this joyous day be spent with friends and family, and may you find happiness in the day. May the holiday season continue to be a joyous and festive time, and from the staff of RF Generation - Merry Christmas.
I don't know about the rest you, but I tend to be dragged down around this time of year. Being home from school, the cold, the snow, and being around family a little too much drains the life from me. Fortunately I always find the time to get a lot of gaming in, and that, my friends, is what shines this geeks soul. I've been playing a lot of Ridge Racer 6 alone, Halo 3 and Gears of War when I'm with my brother, and some Wii Sports bowling with my parents. Since I haven't gotten my dad to play a game with me since NHL '96 was new, I consider this a breakthrough.
Since it is the holidays, I'll try and keep this short so y'all can get back to your lives. Ridge Racer 6 is the featured game this week. Lots of drifting, and simple gameplay keep the disc spinning in my 360. It can be had for a bargain price now, and is worth a try if you're a fan of the series.
My brother was kind enough to give me an early present, NYKO's Charge Station 360. Rechageable batteries, and battery packs are a must in this new generation of wireless gaming. 3rd party? It doesn't seem to matter much. These batteries fit snugly and do the job.
Remember playing with remote control cars and airplanes when you were a kid. Well you can play with them again in Toy Commander. There's even a Chrismas themed level if you are interested in that sort of thing.
Wrapping it up today is a real WINNER collection. Tondog is a good friend of mine and a good member of the RF Generation family. He's a long-time Playstation fan, but isn't against showing the Dreamcast and Nintendo DS some lovin'. His true interests also include overlooked and underappreciated games.
I hope you get to play something fun this week. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your own channel 3.
[img width=600 height=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/9505236194768d0e36bc57Bloggers.jpg[/img]
The staff and programmers at RF Generation are pleased to announce the official release of the Community Blogs system, which was supposed to be two months ago. Up until this time two months ago, the system has been in beta, looking to find and quash bugs and also to add new features. At this time, we have added plenty of features that anyone interested in blogging should enjoy:
- Ability to use HTML or BBC
- Ability to customize one's blog appearance
- Ability to program the release of an entry
- A fun and exciting commenting system
- Ability to preview and look over any entry before posting
- RSS Feeds
- Other things that I probably forgot
Certainly, we've put a lot of work into the blogging system to make it manageable for all users and members, and we hope that you all will find some use for the blogging system. As you can see by the above image there are already many people have tried out our blog system. Won't you be the next? It's easy, all you got to do is a) be a registered member of RF Generation and b) click the My Blog link located under the blog section of our navigation. One there, agree to our agreement and then blog away!
It should be noted that while we call it a blog you do not have to use it as a "blog" blog. Perhaps you would like to track and chronicle your collection finds using the system. Perhaps you would like to chronicle your gaming life. Perhaps you would like to tell the world how you're feeling. What you could use the blog for is only limited by your imagination, so use your mind to create an environment that is truly special and entertaining. Who knows, you might even have fun.
It should be noted as well that we are desperately looking for people to write for RF Generation's blog, What About Channel 4? (the blog you see on our front page) If you are interested in being a blogger for us be sure to talk to me about becoming one. Just to make it known now rather than later, we expect any staff blogger to make a minimum of 2 posts a week for the RF Generation blog. If this sounds like something that you would be interested in doing, be sure to let me know.
As always, stay tuned to RF Generation, more is surely to follow when you keep it tuned to channel 3.
Ed Note: Yeah, so I wrote this post two months ago. Let me stress that we are still desperately looking for people to be blog writers. I think I've made it pretty easy, I hope you all agree. Any suggestions should be brought to the PHP Coding Monkey, also known as me. You can make suggestions in our beautiful forum known as The Thinktank. Oh by the way, do check out our forums- blah blah blah- we have a lot more to offer than just the collection tools. But yeah, our collection tools are pretty damn awesome. The Black Perl kicks ass. Damn, am I rambling, but is that purposeful? Eh, I don't know, the coding make brain mush. Hulk Smash. Enjoy the rest of your day. And Stuff.
A big round of Congratulations goes out to two of our staff members. Starting today, Ben Wilkinson (Oatbob) is now the permanent hardware editor. Ben has shown enthusiasm and determination that makes him more than worthy of being the new hardware editor. Previously, Ben has been working as the hardware editor on an interim basis. We are certainly very excited about Ben's promotion, and we can't wait to see what great things are in store for the future of the hardware database. It should be an excellent time.
In addition to Ben's promotion, we have another promotion to celebrate. Keith Brown (Tan) has shown time in and time out what it means to be an RFG staff member and editor. Currently, he sits on top of the submission roost, and has been instrumental in getting some of our policies and guidelines to a published form. Certainly, Keith is a model staff member and we couldn't be happier to have him on staff. Recently, it has determined that a fourth director of the site would be beneficial for our growth. This new director would be primarily responsible for maintaining standards and policies in addition to other, mundane tasks that the directorship partakes in. I am pleased to announce that as of tonight Keith is now the Standards Director. Keith brings a skill set and desire to this position that makes us wholly confident in our promotion.
A big round of congrats goes out to both Ben and Keith. With their help and vision, there will always be something new when you keep it tuned to channel three.
'Tis the Holiday season for many faiths and people, and here at RF Generation we celebrate the time! Kudos goes out to den68 for our festive top design, it's really awesome! Den is our graphic designer for the site, and the majority of site images you see are his design. We are truly grateful for all the excellent work he provides. Thank you, Den.
We'd like to wish everyone a happy holidays to all. It's a festive time to be had, and I hope everyone makes the best of this time of year. Anything exciting planned? Let us know! I know personally I relish the fact that I have a month off from school. It's nice.
I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who donated money to keep the site rolling. Without their donations, the site directors would have had to find the money to keep the site going, and when two of the three of us are in college, it creates a bind. As such, we are very appreciative for everyone who has donated, and I'd like to thank all who did:
- AndyC
- Cobra
- Fighter17
- Funk_Buddy
- Ghost_Soldier
- James
- Marriott_guy
- NES_Rules
Thank all of you for donating! Your donations keep this site going, and we are truly thankful for your generosity. As promised, if you donated $20 or more you qualify for a free gift. Please contact me with an address so I can get that out to you. I am fairly certain that I can get these gifts sent overseas as well, so please contact me regarding receiving your gift.
Lastly, need a gift idea? Why not check out our store? Perhaps you find something cool there.
From all of us here at RF Generation, enjoy the Holiday season. May it be a safe and wonderful time.
Edit: NES_Rules just made a lovely donation. Thanks!
 Well, the holidays are nearly upon us. Family will be coming in to town, the eggnog will be flowing, and there will hopefully be some games under the tree for all of us. With all the stress of the holidays, what better way to unwind (or take out your frustrations) than will a few fighting games!
Our featured game this week is a newer title (for the US at least) on the Nintendo DS, Bleach: The Blades of Fate. Our reviewer, Shimra, had pretty much nothing but praises for this game. It sounds like a title that you can easily get some life out of. No matter if you're a fan of the cartoon series, this will be a great game to play. Give it a shot!
The featured image is for Guilty Gear X2 on the Sony Playstation 2. Not many fighting games are as fast paced, well executed, and downright fun as this one. Although a fairly pricey title in the recent months, it still sells for less than when it was originally released. If you can, pick up a copy of this game.
What better way to play fighting games than with a great arcade stick?! Our featured hardware is the Hori Fighting Stick SS for the Sega Saturn. I used to own one of these, and let me tell you, their claim of using "GENUINE ARCADE PARTS" is exactly what they mean. From the odd color of the buttons to the feel of each button and the joystick, this is as close as you will get with a fighting stick to the arcade.
The featured collection belongs to Moriya Hanzo. The first thing that appealed to me was the Sony Playstation RPG collection he has. Then I say his other PS1 image. Look at all those great fighting games! Some of the biggest fighting games in history are in his collection! I bet he could strike up a great coversation with you about fighting games.
Well, that's it folks. Another week, another few days closer to the holidays. I do want to wish all of you out there a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, and a Happy New Year. Please be safe this season and game on! Oh...and keep it tuned to RFG on channel 3!
 Black and White... what are they? Their contrasting nature tends to give them different associations. Beneficence and malevolence, Ying and Yang, ebony and ivory, light vs. dark, Good vs. Evil, Spy vs. Spy?! I suppose they're black and white too. Some would say Black and White aren't even colors, just the absence or presence of light. Religions associate light and darkness with virtues and sins, with some even being particular to the color of light. In video games, if you're seeing in black and white, you're well overdue for a color television.
Kicking off this week's features is a fantastic piece of hardware that comes in only one color. The Game Boy Player comes only in black, which likely means it won't match your purple lunch pail. Despite its poorly coordinated chromatic aesthetic, this device (accompanied by a disc) lets you play your backlog of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges on a full-sized television screen. Spiffy.
The featured image fits the theme dead on, as it comes from a PC game titled Black & White. Packaging for this game finished the one-two punch of the monochrome cover by packaging it all in two different box designs. The game itself can be considered a "god simulation" strategy game. The premise of the game is to build a following of tribesmen on a remote island. As you gain strength, you can compete against other gods and even claim some of their followers.
Patrick is the proud owner of this week's featured collection. This chap enjoys collecting for the Mega Drive and Master System, and even owns this week's featured game.
Mickey Mania was originally intended to be a landmark project for Mickey Mouse's 65th birthday, but the original project timeline was canned to accomodate bigger ideas. The end result proves to be a greater tribute to the Mickey Mouse legacy. So the story goes... Mickey gets zapped back to the past, but instead of reliving history, he gets to reenact his own cartoons. The first level is first starring role in the black-and-white animated short, Steamboat Willy. As Mickey progresses through the game, he travels to subsequently later cartoons in his animated career. For being targeted at a younger audience, this game proved to be quite difficult. Now we are all a few years more experienced as gamers, maybe we can rise meet the challenge.
Until next time, stay tuned to channel 3...
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