Re: [-empyre-] race net art bots

[Linda Wallace <linda@machinehunger.com.au>]

thanks mendi for posting those links, the exhibition program for the race in
digital cultures conference looks amazing -- what an incredible screening
program
http://cms.mit.edu/race/about.html
--------

as to the response damali posted here from the rent a negro site, that guy -
what a jerk. 

I have had an internet stalker for over five years now, who continually
since 1998 has sent the most deranged and ugly mails to me. It also got on
the telephone endlessly and repeatedly -- significant as it was calling
australia from hungary, so we had to change all the telephone numbers. it is
a historic legacy, a legacy system, someone else's baggage etc that I
inherited (like a lot of other things in this world) but nonetheless...

I call it an "IT' as it as a communication entity, some kind of bot

that is how I read that response, as if it was from an automated hate
machine

emails such as the 'response' damali got are meant to do just that, attack
you, be a blast through the screen with hate and vitriol. they radiate. they
have a form of power that I don't think we have articulated very well yet,
in internet theory/discussions, as it is difficult to articulate, but I
think they work at the level of the body. they go straight to your heart,
little poison arrows.

if you let them of course. but you have to work out a way to defend yourself
against them and that is why they are so powerful initially. one can't say
that they don't come as a shock at first. then you kind of see them as
symptoms of something else.

I think that is one of the things that is so interesting about the site rent
a negro -- it is triggering bots all over the place, it seems, which allow
the machine of hate, confusion and contradiction to become more transparent,
to be able to be seen in motion, wheels turning, engines roaring, emails
flying

linda








> Obviously people who access it are not, and there are many complex
> issues raised such as:
> is [American] English now the default language? and does this bring
> with it any racial issues?
> can you afford to connect? and does this bring with it  any racial issues?
> 
> and whether satire and humor is appropriate applied to an issue such
> as race in the context of art and everyday life...
> I like and find very amusing the sites that have been discussed so
> far, however I can also see the difficulty for some in dealing with
> them on a personal level. I cannot tell if this experience has
> altered or somehow reflects my beliefs or behaviour in relation to
> race issues... does that matter to anyone else?
> I find the way the responses have affected the artists more
> interesting than the number or qualities of the responses themselves.
> 
> Obviously responses to the use of the word 'nigger' can vary
> dramatically from amusement to outrage, [aside from the other
> content]. I think it is perfectly valid to use this type of work as a
> mechanism for both comment and thoughtful provocation. However you
> can also expect a heartfelt response from some, just as you can from
> burning either a cross or an American flag on the lawns in front of
> the white house - or doing it online where there are going to be a
> lot of US citizens with strong connections to both iconic
> representations.
> 
> An interesting [to me] comparison is the 'deck of cards' the USA has
> circulated with the faces of iraqi identities.
> Is this really amusing? or racist? or functionally useful? or
> pointless? or unsuspecting provoking art?
> 
> on a related issue...
> for those interested there is a great conference coming up in South
> Africa in Jan next year
> 
> http://idlelo.uwc.ac.za/
> 
> First announcement
> Dates: Jan 12-16, 2004
> Venue: The University of the Western Cape
> Cape Town, South Africa
> The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), the
> African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources (AVOIR) project at
> the University of the Western Cape in collaboration with the United
> Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) invite you to
> participate in this seminal event.
> 
> The conference will address the challenges and opportunities of the
> creation and use of free / open source software and open content and
> their development potential for Africa. The conference has both
> strategic and practical objectives, bringing together participants
> from government, education, business and civil society together with
> the developer community. The purpose of this conference is to:
> 
> * Review progress on implementation of open source and open content in Africa
> * Create opportunities for peer-to-peer networking and learning among
> Africans participating in open source and open content initiatives
> * Lay the groundwork for collaborative creation of open source
> software in Africa
> * Expose Open Source companies and products to a variety of participants
> 
> The conference will operate through a number of plenary sessions
> given by world leaders in the area of open source and open content,
> parallel sessions with contributed papers and posters addressing
> specific themes, breakaway sessions for for networking, a mini trade
> fair, and a hackathon that will run in parallel with the conference
> beginning two days before the conference starts.
> 
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