Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Technocrat

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 12:52:39 -0700 2008

About+Technocrat.net.

manage

So, this story is stale. After all, it was on slashdot the other day.

Still, looking at the comments it generated, I think some of the point was missed.

So a little opinion piece, if you don't mind. I'd like to do my amateur best here to pass along a little art appreciation. Be fair to me: there is a technocratic angle here, really.

Let's examine the apparent social hack which is become the Hackontest -- a contest to gather "hot" teams of open source hackers to see what they can accomplish given 24 hours in.... well, given 24 hours entombed in a sarcophagus.

This will begin to shine some much needed liberal arts understanding on more serious Google efforts such as creating a eugenics database.

You read me right. A sarcophagus. A vessel designed to contain the dead.

Without apparent irony (that is to say, without overt irony) it goes like this:

Through the collective wisdom of the web 2.0 magic pixie dust, the "community" will suggest long neglected features they'd like to see in in various open source projects. These are the candidate Challenge Problems. Meanwhile, self-nominating teams of hackers can apply to be contestants in the Final Showdown.

The final showdown involves being locked up for 24 hours -- with net access of course -- and picking off the challenge problem selected by judges. Speed hacking.

The description of the contest from the artists who made it must, I can only assume, look a bit like the proposal they put before Google when asking for money. An excerpt:

Then the teams of hackers start to implement the feature description within the Hackontest room. This room will be equipped with desks, sofas, Internet, pizza etc. located within the OpenExpo area. Visitors of the open source conference and exhibition OpenExpo may look into the Hackontest room and the screens of the programmers, but they may not enter the room. However, the Hackontest developers may connect to their outside community through chat, SVN, wikis etc. thus enlarging their team size virtually in a unlimited scale.

Pizza? Couches? Most excellent!

The artists had the cred to propose such a thing because of an earlier installation project they had done -- the "etoy.Container". I'll link to it below but, if you are unfamiliar, perhaps read on to appreciate what you'll find.

The etoy.Container is something near and dear to Google's sweet little non-evil heart: a clever, almost Neil Stephen-esque repurpose of a standardized shipping container. The kind you stack on a boat or drop onto an 18 wheeler. The unit of modern global commerce.

Now, wait: the contest mentioned locking up hackers in a "room" -- and here we are talking about locking them up into a steel box of the sort designed to move commodities around the world. There's a little clue there in the first place but, it gets better.

The artists describe themselves this way:

MISSION ETERNITY is an information technology-driven cult of the dead

You might think, "Oh, that's just goth fashion."

No, they mean it. They are drawing on a very long tradition of cults of the dead. What can you hack from the other side, monkey boy?

Could this be a wry comment on the likes of Google vs. the populist promotions of open source? If there were any doubt about it at all it is surely cleared up by how the story wound up on Slashdot -- and the form it took.

The story was placed by the artists themselves and voted up by their fans. When it appeared, the artists' blog noted "We did it!".

And the story was framed this way -- not directly promoting the artists, but highlighting the wallet that paid for a little "Hack as if dead" contest:

"Can you code 24 hours non-stop? Hackontest is a new Google-sponsored 24-hour programming competition between different open source projects.

The artists are Swiss and, drawing on stereotypes, the wife and I exchanged "jokes" about this:

She: Andy Warhol lives!

He: Yeah, but this time he's blond, owns a gun, and has a taste for good chocolate.

So, whatcha gonna hack from the grave? Google wants to know and, by the way, please drop off some DNA for them on your way cause they'd like to keep some records. Might come in handy.

I promised a technocratic angle and here it is. I'll put on my old guy right to make over-reaching pronouncements and try to sound important hat:

It is the first and last duty of the engineer to understand and respond responsibly and agreeably to the social context and implications of his or her work. In between the first and last duties comes the engaging practice of craft: knowledge of materials, tools and techniques -- the stuff that draws so many of us in. But what distinguishes the engineer from the technician is precisely that social engagement. And so, for example, art appreciation is a fine and proper study for engineers. Know your "users". Really: Know What You Are Doing.

Regards and thanks,
-t

p.s.: Promised link to the etoy thing (and do contemplate which component of this device comprises the "toy"): here

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Bruce Perens

Sun Apr 20 18:09:16 -0700 2008
manage

The mass traveling coffin is another eToy product, not the one that is supposed to be used for this contest. I am one of the judges. I am going on the assumption that the container is vaporware, until I see it there. I do not propose to stay up for 24 hours and have made that clear to the contest organizers. I'll watch out for abuse of the contestants. The 24-hour aspect does concern me somewhat. I am less concerned with the staying awake aspect than the potential for stimulant abuse.

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 18:29:16 -0700 2008
manage

Well, sir... there are some inconvenient facts here.

The artists took credit for placing the story on Slashdot. The article they placed points to the sarcophagus. The article highlights Google, rather than the artists.

The social hack / art is a done deal, regardless of what happens at the context now that the art has been spelled out in plain terms.

Oh, and: the artists claim the sarcophagus has done museum tours including in San Jose so you can check whether or not that's a joke or the real deal. No need to speculate.

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Uncle Entity

Sun Apr 20 19:34:08 -0700 2008
manage

Here's a picture of an etoy.Container in Berlin which is, as I understand it, pretty close to Switzerland.

This is a 40 footer instead of a 20 footer like the traveling Timothy Leary Sideshow so it would appear that the Electric Cool-Aid Hacker Test is sans dead people. It looks like the orange one is a bit different anyhoo...

First came the orange eToy container with its heavy-duty cables demonstratively tapping into the Postmasters’ mothership.

It also looks like the orange etoy.Container is already in Zurich as is the MISSION ETERNITY SARCOPHAGUS.

So they have both opportunity and motive to use either one or even possibly build a brand new container for the event considering they claim it will be of a sealed nature and people will get to observe the hackers in action. It kind of appears that they build a new sarcophagus for each person.

Ok, enough google bombing for now...

new net acronym

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 19:42:33 -0700 2008
manage

BHBT (variant of YHBT)

new net acronym

Uncle Entity

Sun Apr 20 20:10:04 -0700 2008
manage

Yeah, the orange one is called the etoy.TANK and according to the hackontest news page that's what is going to the OpenExpo Zürich 2008.

Someone on /. switched the link in the press release to point to the sarcophagus page instead.

corn starch

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 20:18:48 -0700 2008
manage

The plot thickens.

corn starch

Uncle Entity

Sun Apr 20 20:41:34 -0700 2008
manage

Yup...

Since 1998, orange etoy.TANKS (12 and 6 meter long standardized windowless shipping containers -- the icons of globalisation) build etoy's mobile and multifunctional office system including studios, hotels, conference rooms etc. Whereever etoy is needed in the physical world, the orange etoy.TANKS pop up or vanish over night to infect the way people think and feel (i.e. in SAN DIEGO, SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK, ZURICH, TOKYO, TORINO, BERLIN, AMSTERDAM, MADRID, SAN JOSE between 1998 and 2006).

Cowboy Neil at the wheel on a bus to Never Never Land...

see, the thing is

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 21:04:25 -0700 2008
manage

No, neal could rap almost as if he was fictionally created by keroac except the thing is we all knew neal even if he didn't because, well, it's the cult of the dead thing. only so many souls to go around and only so many you can cram into a given body. so we travel, through time. space sometimes. but frankly it's hard to recognize your friends with so much shape shifting. neil, i'm not so sure. might be a mixed bag. doesn't much matter.

i'm off to my orgone box for the night for a little sex magik
-t

p.s.

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 21:09:02 -0700 2008
manage

p.s. (and, the astute reader should sort all these threads by time -- before bruce horks them with an accident)

It's real simple.

Google got hacked. Bruce, it seems, got hacked.

The humor of the hack is dark and sinister, pointing out proto-fascism.

Know What You Are Doing.

and, I'll add: Stand Up.

-t

(I don't think my neighborhood grocery store takes "running literary circles around folks" as payment. America, when can I buy my groceries with just my good looks?)

at least

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 19:44:03 -0700 2008
manage

But at least nobody is rushing to sick the A.G. on him.

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Adam Hazzlebank

Mon Apr 21 01:01:37 -0700 2008
manage

This is obviously an etoy prank. They are well known pranksters/activists/art collective. I'm surprised people have been taken in by this they got a lot of press during the "toywar".

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 05:17:46 -0700 2008
manage

I'm surprised people have been taken in by this...

Street cred from fancy artists. Junket to Zurich. Free press. Who needs diligence when you've got all that?

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 06:11:54 -0700 2008
manage

I'm surprised people have been taken in by this they got a lot of press during the "toywar".

I'm not - 24 hour hackathons are a "geek sport". As a prank, it's a pretty shitty one - "lets take the piss out of people who enjoy coding".

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 07:05:03 -0700 2008
manage

"lets take the piss out of people who enjoy coding"

Not at all. It's "Let's make a clear distinction between the enjoyment of coding and corporate exploitation of free labor." or something to that effect.

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 07:13:11 -0700 2008
manage

Let's make a clear distinction between the enjoyment of coding and corporate exploitation of free labor

How is a hackathon where people work to make open source software better (which was the premise of the hackathon) corporate exploitation of free labour? If it had been real, I doubt Google would have gotten any direct benefit out of any of the coding that occurred.

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 07:23:34 -0700 2008
manage

On the contrary.

Aside from Google's brand reinforcement as a "friend" of hackers, there are two other consequences of note.

First, contests like this reliably solicit more labor than will actually go into performances at the contest. There will be lots of practice and preparation hacking, unaccounted but real.

Second, contests like this convey a narrative. "Why do we hack?" "What does a heroic hacker look like?" The contest conveys the message that we hack because that way Google pays for cool art and that heroes are those who sacrifice their bodies to impress Bruce Perens.

Again: there is no detail of this contest that comes even close to being about rational approaches to software engineering. It is entirely about the exploitability of naively enthusiastic volunteer labor.

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 08:06:45 -0700 2008
manage

Aside from Google's brand reinforcement as a "friend" of hackers,

And the problem with that is?

There will be lots of practice and preparation hacking, unaccounted but real.

Yes, just as I'm limbering up for my next hack day event on the 26th of June. It's a sport. Like any sport, people practice and prepare. There's nothing wrong with that.

The contest conveys the message that we hack because that way Google pays for cool art and that heroes are those who sacrifice their bodies to impress Bruce Perens.

No, it conveys a message that coders compete to see who is best. It's not about impressing Bruce Perens, it's about being better than everybody else in the competition. It's the same base drive that drives all competiton.

Again: there is no detail of this contest that comes even close to being about rational approaches to software engineering.

Why does it need to be about "rational approaches to software engineering"? Seeing who can squash the most bugs/ implement the most/coolest features in 24 hours is an end unto itself.

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 08:45:37 -0700 2008
manage

Re problems with Google: It is my perception that I can't say anything further to you right now that will shed light rather than simply heat. You're a skeptic and that's good. So, now you are more exposed and more aware that there's this critical perspective of Google floating around and you've had some tastes. Give it time and keep an open mind. I'm not your only source for this. New modes of seeing can take a while, and repeated exposures, to come conscious enough that you can think directly about them.

As for "coders compete to see who is best" -- you are talking about values. You raise a moral question. Good? Bad? Better? Worse? Best? Worst? These evaluations as used here are not Platonic crystals floating forever in abstract space -- they are something our culture produces. In the process of producing those values, we individuals make choices that influence what counts as "best" or "worst" or "good" or "bad".

The competition will surely test who it is that is best at winning a competition like that. There is some engineering tradition behind my take on the contest. It is, in the old-school vernacular of MIT and similar places, a test to see who is the biggest tool. Because, really, who the hell would otherwise bother volunteering to be locked up and made to work at an unrealistic pace in conditions that parody the undergraduate lifestyle on projects from which they can at best indirectly profit and whose social benefit is measured only in terms of random crap people typed into a web site?

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 10:00:53 -0700 2008
manage

more aware that there's this critical perspective of Google floating around

I'm well aware that some people have a critical perspective of Google. However, I believe that most of that critism is not well founded, and instead of being based on Google's deeds, it's based on a general anti-corporate stance. "Google is a corporation, therefore everything it does is evil". Of all the corporations out there, Google is one of the ones that least concerns me, based on its actual deeds to date. I wonder how people who are so concerned about what Google gets up to are able to function at all in what is a competitive, capitalist economy.

As for "coders compete to see who is best" -- you are talking about values

No, I'm talking about the results of what should be (like in any sport) objective metrics. Like most sports with a "style" component there will be a subjective element, but that should be as controlled as possible (as it is in, say, gymnastics or ballroom dancing).

You raise a moral question

No, I don't. It's a competition, plain and simple. No questions of morality need apply. Or do you belive "Monday Night Football" is an excercise in abstract moral values?

The competition will surely test who it is that is best at winning a competition like that.

Yes, that is exactly what competitions do - see who is best at that form of competition. That is the whole idea behind the competition.

Because, really, who the hell would otherwise bother volunteering to be locked up and made to work at an unrealistic pace in conditions that parody the undergraduate lifestyle on projects from which they can at best indirectly profit and whose social benefit is measured only in terms of random crap people typed into a web site?

Who the hell the would volunteer to run 42.2 Km in a marathon? Who the hell would volunteer to skate on ice while 9 men with sticks come barrelling at them? Who the hell would volunteer to get in a fist fight with another person? Who the hell would volunteer to strap themselves into car and race against other people at speeds greater that 320 Km/h? Just because it's a competition that you don't understand why people would want take part in doesn't mean that that competition is invalid.

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 10:17:40 -0700 2008
manage

Re "who the hell"...

Athletic contests are inspiration to examine the capabilities of the body. They originate in practical applications of the body.

Chess tournaments are contests to examine the game playing limits of the mind. They originate in a complex of the human discovery of games as an abstract category of analysis, and from strategic diplomacy.

This contest is a joke and a wry commentary that tests mainly the spirit's ability to play along with hype, too far for one's own good. Seriously, man: couches, pizza, sleep-dep, locked up, rushed "engineering", call upon yr minions via the net to prove yr popularity -- these details really, really give you no clue? I guess I can't either then. Sorry.

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 10:29:12 -0700 2008
manage

This contest is a joke

I'm not talking about the prank contest, I'm talking about the type of contest that this prank is making fun of. There are plenty of legitimate contests that are almost identical to the prank.

It's like they set up a fake marathon, where the only clue that it was a hoax was that it was to take place at high altitude in the middle of summer, and then proceded to state that Nike were proto-fascists for sponsoring it.

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 10:35:23 -0700 2008
manage

Go figure.

-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 10:37:51 -0700 2008
manage

Also.. I am starting to regret using the prefix "proto-".

-t

here ya go

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 18:36:28 -0700 2008
manage

Look to the left.

Say, is that a bag you're holding? Looks heavy.

-t

and anyway

Thomas Lord

Sun Apr 20 18:39:47 -0700 2008
manage

And anyway... um... to quote the great Dr. Phil: "What were you thinking?!?!?"

Is there some sense in which a 24-hour, locked up in a room, hack on demand as a promotion for google contest --- is there some possible world in which this seems like a good idea?

Heck, I say give 'em stimulants. Give 'em whatever drugs they want. Send in hookers of desired gender and proclivity. I mean, in for a penny...

I don't appreciate my tone.
-t

and anyway

maethorechannen

Sun Apr 20 23:57:59 -0700 2008
manage

Is there some sense in which a 24-hour, locked up in a room, hack on demand as a promotion for google contest --- is there some possible world in which this seems like a good idea?

Yes, a 24 hack day in a container sounds, to me at least, like fun. Throw in drugs and hookers as well as the pizza and I'd have the time of my life.

and anyway

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 05:00:08 -0700 2008
manage

Perhaps you are one of the Common People of whom William Shatner sang.

"Because there's nothing else to do."
-t

Google Sponsors Death Cult for Hackers

maethorechannen

Sun Apr 20 23:54:26 -0700 2008
manage

The 24-hour aspect does concern me somewhat. I am less concerned with the staying awake aspect than the potential for stimulant abuse.

It sounds like a standard hack day, just in a box. We have an annual 24 hour hack day at work (where you hack on generally non work related code to come up with the coolest hack) and there are ones I've seen in the community in general. Caffeine is more than enough stimulant for a 24 hour code fest (and I doubt many will code for 24 hours straight anyway).

I am going on the assumption that the container is vaporware,

I think the "in a box" bit adds a fun twist, however, I'm not convinced that the whole thing isn't vapourware - Google is mentioned as a sponsor, but I've not seen this contest mentioned on any Google blog.

party line

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 05:12:58 -0700 2008
manage

Twenty-four hour hackathons promote our highest values for quality engineering in general, open source in particular.

Carnegie had it all wrong. There was no need to send in Pinkerton. No sir. Just pizza, drugs, and hookers would have done the trick.

-t

p.s.: As for Google: you haven't seen them distance themselves or disclaim after the slashdot announcement either, have you? Power has a difficult time processing moral humiliation.

party line

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 06:07:01 -0700 2008
manage

Twenty-four hour hackathons promote our highest values for quality engineering in general,

But it's not about quality - it's about fun. Some people like hacking away for 24 hours straight, the way some people like to play WoW for 24 hours or sit through all the Star Trek films in a row.

As for Google: you haven't seen them distance themselves or disclaim after the slashdot announcement either, have you? Power has a difficult time processing moral humiliation.

What's the humiliation? Either somebody is organizing a hack day, or they're taking the piss and not organizing a hack day. If they're not then they're the ones who are being jerks, not Google. I also wouldn't expect Google to respond to hoaxes that involve them all that often - otherwise it will just encourage even more idiots to try more stunts.

party line

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 06:50:37 -0700 2008
manage

Lemme drop the exaggerated voices here and take you up just as myself.

Hacking 24+ hours straight can, indeed, be very fun. I used to do it fairly often myself. I wrote poetry about it, even, dwelling on the surrealistic qualities that sleep-dep conveys upon the first pre-dawn light as you walk home and the automated sprinklers on timers are just starting up and the first birds are starting to wake each other up. Or the silence imposed by fresh snow that had fallen overnight, not yet disturbed by more wakeful humans.

But, hang on. That's different from hackontest.

Those things -- and many of us have done or do things like that -- those things happen for a complex of reasons. We are caught up in learning or exercising new knowledge: it is obsessive compulsive practicing. Or it is social: we discovered like minds and sleep be damned let's explore and celebrate that. Or it is escape: because work, or school, or social context sucks just that very much that escaping into the CRT for as long as you can keep your head off the keyboard is just a mental health break.

Here is one thing that those marathons never were for me, and that I would not want them to be for even my worst enemy: those marathons were never for money, never upon request, never to "compete", never demanded, expected, or encouraged by any more powerful force.

You sometimes see magicians doing stunts like N+1 hours in ice, or N+1 hours in a glass box, or N+1 hours hanging upside down, or.... any other form of "stress position as art work."

Really? This is the message for aspiring open source hackers?

When I used to more frequently hack in 24+ hour sessions there was another habit I had: I'd sleep whenever I damn well felt like it. I traveled where I pleased. I ate and ingested what struck my fancy. And these things were nobody's damn business -- just a young man looking around and discovering more of the world.

I certainly never subjected myself to 24 hour endurance tests whose main (on the surface) purpose is to perpetuate the OSI brand or reinforce the myth that Google is our friend. I certainly never accepted such a challenge given the piss poor incentive of a free junket to Zurich (a lovely city, I'm sure).

24+ hour incentivized hacking sessions never accomplished much of anything in this world except for producing crap, driving down wages, and taking a physical toll on participants.

We spoke of torture on this board, a few days back, in two separate posts. Well, here is a classic formula: Isolate the subject. Make the subject dependent on you for basic needs such as food. Tweak the subject's diet (e.g., nothing but pizza) to mess up their head just a bit. And above all, for as long as you can, hide from the subject the fact that they are captive -- meanwhile a lighter touch has greater effect and then, when they figure out, the shock of captivity will be that much greater.

There is absolutely no engineering sanity to contest like this. It has zero relation to any rational approach to developing software, open source or otherwise.

Google's moral humiliation here is that they have rightly been painted as proto-fascists and it appears to have happened because they bought into a fascistic contest design since it was painted in bright friendly colors.

And, really, all that the artists have done here is apply a few highlight markers to what was already the case.

-t

party line

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 07:40:32 -0700 2008
manage

Lemme drop the exaggerated voices here and take you up just as myself.

I had wondered if you were channeling the spirt of Guy Fawkes.

But, hang on. That's different from hackontest.

Exactly. Hack days are competitions between coders. It's best described as a sport. And it's certainly not a sport for everyone. I think they're good fun.

I certainly never subjected myself to 24 hour endurance tests whose main (on the surface) purpose is to perpetuate the OSI brand or reinforce the myth that Google is our friend.

Google are a sponsor. No different from a sponsor of any sports event. It's like claiming that Nike are corporate fascists becuase they sponser marathons. I'd never subject myself to a marathon, but I have nothing against Nike for sponsoring them, and I wouldn't take the piss out of people who participate in them by setting up a fake one.

There is absolutely no engineering sanity to contest like this. It has zero relation to any rational approach to developing software, open source or otherwise.

You'd be surprised by what can come out of these contests. While iPhone lightsabres might not be everybodys cup of tea, and the code might not be the greatest example of software engineering, it's still the sort of cool hack that comes out of these sorts of things.

"Hack" is in the title - it's not the best code from a software engineering standpoint that wins, but you could get something that makes life better (maybe it'll need a rewrite, but it could proove that something could be done).

Also, let's not forget the concept of code sprints - which are fairly common in the open source world. What seemed to be being proposed in the Hackathon was an extended code sprint in the style of a hack day. I'm surpised that this kind of event hasn't happened before (without the shipping containers).

Google's moral humiliation here is that they have rightly been painted as proto-fascists

But they haven't. They (allegedly) supported a "geek sport" that would have given them little direct benefit. If anybody is deserving of humiliation it's so called artists, who decided to take the piss out of a small community in order to fuel their political agenda.

party line

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 08:01:28 -0700 2008
manage

Well, I've done all I can for your art appreciation. Google has been (deservedly) made fun of. I'm sure they'll take it as all in good fun because their fiduciary duties (it is commonly presumed) prevent them from actually standing up. It's sad to see that they have volunteer apologists but, I've done what I can.

As for the light saber? An elegant weapon, from a more civilized time. A good fight with one (perhaps to the death) is only a balanced fight if both parties agree and, even then, collateral damage is unlikely. (Never got that joke before either, did ya? :-)

"Guns for knives programs now!"
-t

party line

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 08:15:57 -0700 2008
manage

I've done all I can for your art appreciation.

It's not art. It's a crude political prank.

Google has been (deservedly) made fun of.

Any making fun of Google in this context is not deserved. Like everything else in the universe Google has it's faults, but sponsoring recreational coding isn't one of them.

It's sad to see that they have volunteer apologists but, I've done what I can.

It's sad to see that there are people with anti-corporate axes to grind who can't see the benefits these corporations bring us. And that those people will subvert a minority recreational activity to those ends borders on criminal.

party line

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 08:49:47 -0700 2008
manage

I am not in the slightest bit anti-corporate.

Trade, even organized into large orgs like corps, is pretty much the only, or at least the best evident way to accomplish many things.

The corporate form, however, is a two-edged sword. We dance with the devil in the pale moonlight when we entertain them upon the stage. They are not human. They deserve examination at many levels.

As for the artists bordering on criminal: perhaps so. Does that frighten you? I mean, that so many, and so accomplished, would go so far? Perhaps they are trying to tell you something.

"In fifteen minutes, everyone will be famous."
-t

party line

maethorechannen

Mon Apr 21 10:09:08 -0700 2008
manage

Does that frighten you?

Nope, fraudulent jerks will be fraudulent jerks. Nothing to be frightened over.

Perhaps they are trying to tell you something.

Yes, they're trying to tell me that they are anti coporate antention seekers who will go to almost any length to get their not very well thought through opinions heard. If they had an actual coherent logical argument then they would have no need for such pranks.

party line

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 10:18:39 -0700 2008
manage

I'm sorry Sergey, I didn't recognize you at first.

-t

party line

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 10:26:28 -0700 2008
manage

Also, please review the Rule of the Internet.

-t

a shorter way to say it

Thomas Lord

Mon Apr 21 06:54:26 -0700 2008
manage

Contests to see "Who is the biggest tool?" are not a good idea.

-t

Conspiracy Theorist, Reporting For Duty

Thomas Lord

Tue Apr 22 16:56:51 -0700 2008
manage

A little follow up, for anyone still playing along at home.

Bruce decided that I am a "conspiracy theorist" in making this post. He decided to pass that opinion along to the organizers of the Hackontest and ask them to clarify about the whole "shipping container" thing. He kindly forwarded their reply to me which, since it comes from a third party, I'll refrain from reproducing. But, I can certainly talk about it in broad outlines and point out recent developments -- and my "conspiracy theorist" take on it.

I apparently got some attention. Before Bruce labeled me to these third parties, it seems, they had already seen this Technocrat thread. And, they've blogged a response. I hope it is ok with them if I quote that short response in full:
2008-04-22 | Feedback on our announcement on Slashdot is huge. Although our server didn't break, there are some funny reactions resulting in a conspiracy theory - everything because of a wrong link... So don't be afraid, there won't be any dead hackers despite 24h coding and Hackontest doesn't take place within the SARCOPHAGUS, it's just a regular etoy.TANK ;)

Now, let's note the non-denial denial of that response. And also the propagation of Bruce's defamation.

"There won't be any dead hackers"

Who, here or elsewhere, claimed otherwise?

How is that a refutation of any claim I've made here?

Thanks, Bruce, for spending your social capital to spread the "Tom is a conspiracy theorist" meme.

I hope you make money on the side in this deal. Cause, you know, that'll just prove your virtue.

Finally, what exactly is "regular" about locking up hackers in shipping containers? If this element of the contest does not conform to exactly the kind of symbolism I attribute to it, then what is the kinder interpretation?

-t

Conspiracy Theorist, Reporting For Duty

Bruce Perens

Tue Apr 22 20:47:42 -0700 2008
manage

I don't know what else to say other than "get a life". I'm perfectly able to walk away or otherwise protest if I think anything inappropriate is going on.

Bruce

Conspiracy Theorist, Reporting For Duty

Thomas Lord

Wed Apr 23 07:54:42 -0700 2008
manage

The open source industry has apparently gone full-swing into the self-parody stage.

There is an example of a serious, professional contest: the International Conference on Functional Programming contest.

Challenge programs there are designed by computer science educators. Prizes are given for correctness and speed of producing results. A prize is also given for a solution, not necessarily the fastest written, that the judges find to exemplify clever hacking.

Contestants may participate from anywhere: nobody is "locked up" or put in a fishbowl. Contestants operate on the honor system, in terms of where they get help.

The silliness of the contest is acknowledged: it proves nearly nothing about anything -- it's mainly fun. It is a chance to show-case functional programming and functional languages (or, other styles, and other languages). It tends to generate good discussion in the academic forums in the weeks that follow. Teams that compete seriously appear to have fun teaching themselves how to organize themselves for complex tasks.

The judges go into that contest with a clear notion of the rules and the (very silly) prizes. Challenge problems are constructed so as to permit strictly objective judging, as well as the "judges discretionary" recognition of a cool hack. The contest is structured, promoted, and run in such a way that it is hard to see how there could be any serious conflicts of interest arising: it's just a quaint little tradition that a particular CS department has fun keeping alive and thriving.

One can imagine a contest that highlights "best open source development practices." It would require hard thought to select appropriate challenge problems and judging methodology, but could be well worth it. Of course, like almost all exercises in "speed hacking" it would be at least as silly as the ICFP contest but, like ICFP, it could produce educational opportunities and reinforce a spirit of professionalism mixed with fun.

The Hackontest is interesting. I'll give it that. I think it reflects the actual unprofessional state of the open source industry quite nicely. As installation sculpture -- a mix of built environment and a real-time positioning of bodies -- it sings loudly of the commoditization of open source hackers. In economic form, it is almost nothing but opportunities for conflict of interest. It is now record that the judges were not fully informed (and did not inquire deeply) into the conditions of the contest.

And the reaction here is typical, too. "Get a life." Pardon me? That is your kind interpretation of the contest? That it is an opportunity for put down of someone who, unlike you (a judge) apparently, bothered to examine what the contest actually is? Yes, the artists succeed again because that is very typical of the open source community these days.

The "corrected" link to etoy.TANK rather than etoy.Container takes one to a page with an upper-left hand corner link to "Fundamentals." To quote:

etoy is art and invests all resources in the production of more art. The firm represents the core and code of the corporate sculpture, and controls, protects, promotes, and exploits the cultural substance (intellectual property) and the etoy.ART-COLLECTION. etoy intends to reinvest all financial earnings in art - the final link in the value chain [....]

Since 1998, orange etoy.TANKS (12 and 6 meter long standardized windowless shipping containers -- the icons of globalisation) build etoy's mobile and multifunctional office system including studios, hotels, conference rooms etc. Whereever etoy is needed in the physical world, the orange etoy.TANKS pop up or vanish over night to infect the way people think and feel [....] [emph. added]

With due respect, Mr. Perens, this contest is become a sculpture. And it is a sculpture that reflects globalisation and commoditization but turns them on their head here by applying the iconography of those phenomenon to the bodies of enthusiastic open source volunteers. The rules of the contest encourage a kind of social feudalism among prisoners, with teams invited to compete to show who can command the greatest amount of help from "outside the box."

The art of the context is crystal clear. And, honestly, other than a chuckle I wouldn't have any problem with your having been snookered into the surprise of that art. What actually does make me shake my head in sorrow though are two aspects of your reaction once it is pointed out to you: contentment with the "oops wrong link" story (the correct link is scarcely different). And that "get a life" crap. I mean, I could even see your taking a defensive pose and denying that there's any significance to the art -- you could play along that way. But, for that, you'd need to use wit, not crude put down.

-t