Re: <nettime> Enter the Swarm: Anonymous and the global protest movements.

[mez breeze <netwurker@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 11:31 PM, Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.com> wrote:


> here's my take on the endlessly fascinating Anonymous story.
>


...curious as 2 y there's no mention here of *Encyclopedia
Dramatica?<http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Main_Page>
*:

"...Narrative progression repositions the representational towards the
freeform [think: paidia as opposed to ludic]. An instance of this
information deformation in action is troll play [or uncontrolled play]. A
social example of troll play is found in the wiki _Encyclopedia Dramatica_
which:

    '?satirizes both encyclopedic topics and current events, especially
those related to or relevant to internet culture. The wiki has been the
subject of media attention given its focus on trolling and use of shock
value, as well as its criticism of other Internet communities. It is also
associated with the Internet subculture Anonymous.'

_Encyclopedia Dramatica_ ? and the affiliated imageboard/meme propagation
site 4chan - showcase the challenge faced by narrative frameworks.
Platforms like _Encyclopedia Dramatica_ encourage troll-based comedic
intent. Users remix absurd, and sometimes taboo, content. In particular,
invasion boards like _4chan_ utilize shock networking: where social content
attempts to subvert social codas through deliberate agitation. In
comparison with established narrative conventions, platforms like
_Encyclopedia Dramatica_ offer an experimental system which bypasses strict
censorship and ethical constraints. These platforms cater for unfiltered
interactions that operate via immediacy-of-response. They are highly
idiosyncratic in execution and linguistic formation: censorship and
moderation may be limited or non-existent. The output is propagative, with
contributors encouraged to riff and rip-off, replace, and even delete
content. Narrative is deformed beyond a sequential structure whereby the
climax or pay-off event becomes the spectacle:

An example of such modification is _Copypasta_, which consists of
repeatedly copying and pasting blocks of text designed to evoke a
heightened emotional response:

    'A time-tested classic. This ending usually comes into play at the
climax of a very troubling or exciting situation. Rather than resolve the
story, one of the characters will abruptly say something to the effect of
?I had Reese?s for breakfast.? At this point, the other character will
completely forget about his/her worries and jump into the corresponding
commercial dialogue, enamored by the peanut butter and chocolaty goodness
that is Reese?s Puffs cereal. ?It?s Reese?s? for breakfast!?'

_Copypasta_ derails notions of story or plot progression, resolution or
d?nouement. It embodies context-counteraction and meme perpetuation.
Dramatic intent shifts to reiterative moments containing affectivity
spiking which ignores the rigors of institutionalized framing [think:
morality, hierarchy or ownership]:

f) Attribution Modding involves an extension of Stewart Brand?s iconic
phrase ?Information wants to be free? to ?Identity wants to be freeform?.
This category describes users focused on mobilization rather than
individual recognition.  The group Anonymous* projects attribution modding
via collusive identity constructions. The collective?s title is based on
the method _4chan_ uses to brand all contributors ?Anonymous? by default:

    'As making a post without filling in the ?Name? field causes posts to
be attributed to ?Anonymous?, general understanding on 4chan holds that
Anonymous is not a single person but a collective (hive) of users.'

Anonymous is a social-tesseractivist group who perform raid actions [think:
the immediate action to halt the abuse of Dusty The Cat and Project
Chanology's DDoS attacks].
The collective broadcasts non-attribution ideologies where members are
viewed as units of a social mechanism with a deemphasis on individual
identification. Attribution modding illustrates the rise of collective
identity cognizance and the accompanying shift from expert-centric
disciplines."

- from:
http://arsvirtuafoundation.org/research/2009/07/24/_social-tesseracting_-part-3/[2009]

chunks,
@netwurker


-- 
Reality Engineer>
Synthetic Environment Strategist>
Game[r + ] Theorist.
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