From: claire@wixer.cactus.org (Claire Benedikt)
Subject: Re: FurryMUCK Pins Down Space Madness? :)
Summary: furry, random gang, the truth revealed 
Keywords: furry, random gang, etc
Organization: Real/Time Communications
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 17:59:03 GMT

In article <9210150620.AA09002@vtserf.cc.vt.edu> jfurr@vtssi.vt.edu (Joel Furr) writes:
>
>26) Kostchyevkov  Today -- FURRY LOGGING
>*****************************************************************************
>IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPOR
>*****************************************************************************
[snip]
>I went over to Space Madness earlier today for a while, sat and listened in
>their main hang out joint. Many of them just were shooting the breeze, but a
>few in particular were acting as if they had nothing better to do than bash
>furry and particular furries.      
>


 A lot of people don't understand the 'space madness' attitude. 

 Including me, for the most part.  But let me give it a shot --

 It isn't meant to be insulting when they say stuff like that.  I mean,
 not seriously. They're being funny.  They're amusing each other.  It's
 entertaining to cut people down:

 I mean, we hear jokes every day that insult other groups of people:
 Aggie jokes, Political Party jokes, Sorority girl jokes, Computer geek
 jokes, Black people jokes, Jewish people jokes, and on and on and on...

 ....and *really* guys you shouldn't take it take seriously. (We have a
 horrible habit of taking SpaceMadness people seriously when in fact,
 (I dare say) SpaceMadness people have an extremely hard time being serious
 about *anything* while they are online.  Most of them would probably say
 to all this: "What, you think I'd take the time out of *MY BUSY SCHEDULE*
 to take FurryMUCK seriously??"  I mean, god knows how many times I've caught
 myself being personally offended by their jokes when it was ridiculous of
 me to be so.)

 I guess I'll restate, I really believe that they mean no more harm than
 the jokes we hear insulting groups of people every day: Aggie jokes,
 Political Party jokes, Sorority girl jokes, etc etc.  That's how the
 SpaceMadness people are, as boggling as we may find it.

 They're all comedians.

 I promise.  I'm not lying.  I live with one.


>One of those is GROD. He was /quoting stuff, I realized quickly, REALTIME from
>a character in WCOP. Quoting, misquoting, and taking things in and out of 
>context to make all sorts of harmless statements seem perverse as hell, and 
>what he did with the !harmless statements is obvious. Anyhow, he was doing
>this much to the amusement of his compadres. He also called up some bits that
>were not realtime, so they must have been previously logged. 
>

  This is also a popular way to be funny.  Because it *is* funny to take
 things out of context.  But it has *no* *other* *value* besides the 
 humour.  For example...
 
 >Grod <-- juliet's stick
 
 Or,

 >CinderSoul says, "I don't know, I get tired after four or five times, 
 but if I'm lucky I won't be too sore."

 Or,
 
 >Claire bouncebounce*BOING*jigglejiggle

 The fact is, on SpaceMadness we all know that we're going to be the butt
 of our neighbor's joke at any moment, so we're just immune to what most
 feel is an 'invasion of privacy' (e.g. "Grod can't just go taking people's
 words and twisting them!  It's not right, it's unfair!") or to what most 
 people react to with offense (e.g.  "I did nothing to those people, I do
 not in any way deserve to be the butt of a stranger's joke!") Etc.

 But again, I think we as FurryMUCKers can just say "I don't think you're
 funny" and leave it at that.  I don't think much harm has ever really come
 from a Jewish joke or an Aggie joke (in this case a 'Furry' joke).  The few
 people who are offended by jokes like 'Why do Jews have big noses? Because
 air is free! Ahahahah!' in fact, are usually viewed, at the very least, as
 prudish and closed-minded.

 It's extremely hard to just swallow this stuff though.  I mean, having
 someone who is talking to you on the phone put his hand over the mouthpiece
 and repeat something you just said to the folks in the room to the tune
 of their uproariously laughter is *not* exactly flattering.  In fact, 
 it's downright embarrassing.  For the person quoted and for the person
 quoting.  But even if you are offended and remain offended, it doesn't
 hurt to try to see the 'Why' of things.

 The 'Why' of SpaceMadness is 'Because it's funny, that's why.'

 
>I do not think he was necessarily the person who posted the logs to R.G.M.T.,
>but he might have been. He has the know how, the maliciousness, and the crude
>attitude.     
>


 He wasn't the person who posted.  He hasn't been *with* FurryMUCK that
 long.  I don't think he knows who all those people are.  At all.

 And he might have the know-how, but I've known Grod long enough to say that
 he is *not* malicious.  Seriously.  The man is squicked too easily. 

 As for the crude attitude, well...

 >Grod belches.

 ...is way too common for me to disagree. ;)

 (Hi Grod.  *wave*)


>Whether or NOT he did, he may as well have.

 
 Katya, geez.


> Someone mentioned in several of 
>those logs came into WCOP while I was watching him and he began harassing her
>via spoof.

 Harrassing?  Sure it wasn't teasing?  Sure it wasn't joshing around like
 we all do sometimes?  Oh well, I wasn't there. :)


> I understand she wants her anonymity so she isn't pressing to have
>the bastard toaded. Me? I won't go into what I'd like to do with him.


 Lesse, hook your claws into his nostrils and...oh, that's Monica.


>I should point out that whether or not he IS the person who posted those stolen
>logs, what he is doing is EQUALLY as bad.


 Feh.  

 On SpaceMadness they accuse him of being too tame.  ;)


> We can't do much about him, if we
>toad him, he'll sneak another character on and do it again.    
>

 I doubt it.  I think any or even all of the SpaceMadness people there are
 there to either view the 'freakishness' or to "see what will happen if a
 Random Gang individual tries to merge with the FurryMUCK culture" blah blah,
 in more American terms, they are there for the *specific* reason of seeing
 if their personality will cause trouble.  Which it inevitably does.  (grin)

 Once you remove him, he's likely to say "Oh, well, cool (the f*ckers)"
 and not care enough to try again.

 If you're from SpaceMadness it would be 'uncool' (sort of) to care what
 a *Furry* did to you anyway, right?


>IN THE MEANTIME, his name is Niconian, his DBREF is #33549. Lock some object
>you own to it, in case he changes his name. It will let you keep track of him
>so you don't accidentally say anything or do anything inhis presence that he
>can use against you by /quoting it or logging it and posting it elsewhere.     
>

 You realize the people he is /quoting you to really don't care enough about
 you or yours to actually have you incriminated.  I mean, it's just comedy.
 I don't believe Random or Jerry_Cornelius or Rhodesia or Ozymandias really
 give a f*ck.  They're just gonna laugh and wait for the next out-of-context
 quote.  They're not going to 'use it against you' -- they don't care enough
 about you to go out of their way to save Grod's quote and later find you and
 say "Hahahah, you said this once, you said this once, ahahahaha."  I mean,
 really.  Let's not flatter ourselves. (grin)


>Better still, lets all lock everything we can against him. Or just the outside
>entrances. Let him know how we feel.  
>

 Welp, KeyLime helped you out here, Katya doll.  He just posted your little
 message to, what was that number, 20 thousand people?


>Also, anyone who figures any other characters he has? Post them here!!! You
>aren't harassing him, you're preventing him from harassing the rest of us.
>


 Well, you *are* harrassing him.  But it's understandable and might even be
 neccessary to put people at ease.  


>Your (Benevolent, Protective) Bitch-Kitty Dyke-Vixen from Hell. 
>



>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Joel Furr                                                   jfurr@vtssi.vt.edu
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Claire

Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.tiny