Re: Usenet performance artist explains his profession (was Old Penroast

On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 01:51:03 GMT, "palmer.william"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
> "Ursula" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> "palmer.william" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
>> > I have a new idea for a new Usenet performance art character:
>> > old Penroast.    Old Penroast is a senior, just a wee bit on the
>> > senile side.   Essentially he's a dear old fellow, though rather
>> > cranky and full of  queer notions about writing and though he
>> > takes himself far too seriously.   What do you think about old
>> > Penroast?   I have sort of been neglecting seniors in my
>> > performance art, and I have noticed that there are a lot of
>> > them sitting out there in what I sometimes call the darkened
>> > peanut gallery...
>
>
>> Bill, I was wondering if you might describe for me just what in the
>> hell a "Usenet performance art character is"?
>
>Well, you need to begin with a definition of Usenet
>performance art itself, and then move to the "character"
>part a bit later.
>
>ATTEMPTS at Usenet performance art begin when
>a poster makes a conscious decision to approach
>his  newsgroup writing as if he or she were putting
>on a show for an audience.    The reason I stressed
>"attempts" is that a professional will  never confuse
>trying  to do something with doing it.    Anyone can
>attempt to put on a magic show, but only a magician
>can succeed at doing that.
>
>Even so, Usenet performance art begins with a
>decision to be as entertaining as possible.   It takes
>place when evidence begins to appear that the
>performance artist is  successful.  The most significant
>evidence is follow-up, of course.   The greater of number
>of DIFFERENT people following up the performance
>artist, the more successful the performance.
>
>Now, some of the confusion regarding this fact results
>because people try to drag in standards that are neither
>appropriate nor workable in this amazing world of words
>we call Usenet.
>
>What people don't understand is that the interactive
>element changes everything.   For instance, interactivity
>provides a an interesting "levelling effect."    We don't put
>our fellow posters up on pedastals, because, after all, we
>know we are as good as they are because we can post
> just as frequently as they do.
>
>On the contrary, we have no license to be published by
>Random House just as frequently as perhaps our favorite
>print world author is.   My point is that there are very few
>things you can bring into Usenet from the print world,
>regarding determining who is popular, how writings
>are evaluated, etc.
>
>Essentially, the only way to tell whether Usenet performance
>art is successful is through the quantity of follow-up.   The
>fact that some or much of the follow-up are flames means
>essentially nothing.
>
>As a long-time California surfer, I can tell you that there
>is something about the way other posters view Usenet
>perfromace art which is akin to the way surfer's view
>hot-dogging show-offs.
>
>The hot-dogger may be far more skilled than some of the
>other surfers present, but in their view he is showing off,
>putting on a performance instead of just being one of the
>crowd.   So, no matter how good a performance the hotdogger
>puts on, nobody out there is going to kiss up to him and tell
>him how great he is.   In fact, it is far more likely that the
>others will find little things to carp about, just to make sure
>the hotdogger's head doesn't get too big for his fedora.
>
>Sort of like, "Hey stupid, while you were showing off, you
>missed the best wave of the afternoon."   or "I can't
>understand why you fell off your board.   Damn you were
>ridin' the easiest wave you could find."    Just by the nature
>of the activity, the hotdogger, even when his skills are superb,
>is just one of the crowd at teh surf spot.   The others present
>are far more likely to try to knock him down a peg or two than
>praise his good points.
>
>So, it seems to me there is some of that in Usenet.   Even
>the poster with minimal writing skills can say, "Hey, this
>show off is no differnent than me, neither of us gets paid
>a nickel here."    That sort of thing.   (See Google for my
>satirical post on "The Usenet Levellers' Society.")
>
>As a result, I get these challenges where people
>ask, "Well. you claim to be one of the most, or the most,
>famous writer's in Usenet, yet I don't see people posting
>any rave reviews of your writing."
>
>Of course not.   That is not the nature of the Usenet beast.
>
>Instead, all you have to go on are the number of people
>following you up.   The number of people trying to cut you
>down to size (as they see it) has nothing whatsoever to
>do with the matter.
>
>As for the Usenet performance art character, that is simply
>a literary character an artist creates in the furtherance
>of his or her work.   They are different, of course, from
>traditional literary characters, but in fact share much in
>common with them.
>
>In a traditional print world novel, for instance, you might
>meet one of the author's characters on Page 15, stay
>with him on Pages 16 and 17, and then meet him again
>on Page 35, etc.
>
>With a Usenet performance art character, you might
>encounter him first in an author's post of January 17,
>meet him again in posts of January 18 and 19, and
>then not run into him again until a posting of
>February 3, etc.
>
>Further, it is important to point out that should you
>decide you are a Usenet performance artist, you don't
>create a performance art character simply by posting
>under a fake name to annoy others.
>
>In fact, in all  my postings as Twinkles, there was never
>any doubt in readers' minds that I was making the post.
>That would be entirely irrelevant to the development of
>the character.  You could develop a performance art
>character under you real name or under a pseudonym,
>then.
>
>Just remember, annoying others, forging,  and in
>general being a pest is not developing a performance
>art  character.   You see, it is essential that people
>accept your character is credible and as a different
>person from you at the same time.    There is
>scarcely anything believable about someone
>crawling around Usenet under a phony name
>merely to annoy others.
>
>In other words (and at the risk of insulting someone's
>intelligence, perhaps), don't confuse a fake-named phony
>with an authentic Usenet performance art character like
>Twinkles the alt.genius.dwarf.
>
>What proved most amazing was that although people
>know I was making the Twinkles postings, Twinkles
>began to take on a life of his own, and soon people
>were talking about Twinkles as if he really existed!
>For a writer, that can be a thrilling experience.
>
>That is all the more astonishing since Twinkles is
>basically a flat character.   I have done little to round
>out the poor little chap.   I should try to do that:  talk
>about what he eats, what his fears are, his aches
>and pains, his  dreams, that sort of thing.   (Well, I
>did mention his nutty idea about "being like Bulldog
>Drummond.")
>
>[By the way, does anyone have an opinion as to
>whether I should try to turn Wilhemina, the lady you
>met in AVON CALLING! into a performance art
>character?]
>
>
>And when you get done
>> with this, please tell me why anyone should really give a rip?
>
>People are going to choose to read the posts written by
>those who have made entertaining posts in the past.
>I certainly can't tell you that you should spend your Usenet
>time enjoying my performance art, because that is an
>indvidual decision based upon all sorts of things I have
>no control over.    If I did not believe there was very strong
>evidence showing that many people are in fact enjoying
>my work, I would have to think about giving it up.   So far,
>I have not come close to any situation like that, because,
>well, the folks just keep flocking back for more.
>
>
>
>accept no cheap imitations:
>the alt.genius.bill-palmer
>--firing posts at random from a window in the office
>upstairs from rec.arts.prose
>
>

xoxo

Loev

Ms Poopie Pnats





Watch my mental breakdown as it happens.
http://mspoopiepants.blogspot.com/

I'm posting...be very afraid.

Tank goodness for usenet to keep track of my major life events.



I never learned how to socialize from my family. I might as well have been raised by a 
pack of wolves.