Discussion:
i just joined alt.cyberpunk
(too old to reply)
Kevin Calder
2012-07-28 23:43:29 UTC
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But what is cyberpunk?
Kevin Calder
2012-07-29 00:45:53 UTC
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I realise that I'm just trolling myself, so in an effort to not do that ill post a link to this:

http://blog.authorsrights.org.uk/2011/06/08/hargreaves-review-extended-collective-licensing-and-orphan-works/

This seems like a bizarre response to challenges to traditional notions of copyright presented by google et al and their quest to digitise everything (monetisable).

The post is old but as i understand it this is in danger of becoming law in the uk because our elites fear impending harmonisation in this area comming from the continent.

As far as i can see this leaves us with a form of ip which is simultaneously more complex, more beurocratic and weaker than the one we have now.

Feh!
Kevin Calder
2012-07-29 00:10:53 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
No but seriously, what am I doing?

I should go to sleep!
Kevin Calder
2012-07-29 01:15:23 UTC
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1:45 before 1:10?

Nice threading google!
Kevin Calder
2012-07-29 02:29:33 UTC
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Wait, what? This isn't alt.cyberfunk you say? My mistake! Just forget i was ever here!
cykros
2012-07-31 20:01:33 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Well, while it started primarily as a literary genre, and got bigger to
include comic books, music, movies, tv shows, and games (both irl and
video), some would have other definitions of it as well, often based on
material in the original genre. For a good foundation, I'd recommend
reading some William Gibson (in particular Neuromancer, or his first two
trilogies in their entirety anyway), Neal Stephenson (particularly Snow
Crash), and Bruce Sterling. For movies, the list is fairly long, but
think The Matrix, Terminator, and others in this area. As for comic
books, Transmetropolitan is the one that most comes to mind for me. And
then there's anime... Ghost in the Shell seems the most
quintessentially cyberpunk out of what I've seen. Video games, Deus Ex
comes to mind. And tabletop rpg's, there's Cyberpunk 2020, or
everyone's favorite, Shadowrun (which also includes fantasy elements, in
addition to cyberpunk).

For further "what is cyberpunk" explanation, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk.

And, be warned, at least up until recently, dating back what seems like
a good few years, this newsgroup has been pretty dead. Wouldn't mind
seeing that change, but just figure you should be warned. Fear not,
however, because there are great other places, such as reddit's
/r/cyberpunk for decent discussion online.

cykros
Kevin Calder
2012-08-03 09:53:45 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Well,
Sorry cykros - that was my poor attempt at humorously harking back to the grand old days of alt.cp when it seemed like someone was asking the above once a week or more and the appropriate response was an ample serving of vitriol.

That said I'm very pleased to see that even in these less grand days there is always someone on alt.cp willing to give a stranger a cogent answer to the eternal question!

Good job!

--
Kevin Calder((-+tpass+-), (The Passenger))
"trecking down the information superhighway (internet), i realize..........
i am lost in cyberspace.............yikes!!!!!!!!!!!" - ***@aol
Sourcerer
2012-08-02 18:45:53 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Hi, Kevin. Long time no see.

A few years ago Sweet Poly and I got in touch with as many altcp'rs we
could find. We did a bit of 'rancho' one Christmas, but there seemed no
energy and Poly and I didn't have the time to build up the group again.

We're around, tho'
--
(__) Sourcerer
/(<>)\ O|O|O|O||O||O
\../ |OO|||O|||O|| Mirroring the shadows of futurity
|| OO|||OO||O||O since 1993
Kevin Calder
2012-08-03 10:52:41 UTC
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Post by Sourcerer
Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Hi, Kevin. Long time no see.
Hola, glad to see you are still taking your duties as the steward of alt.cp in-perpetuity seriously.
Post by Sourcerer
A few years ago Sweet Poly and I got in touch with as many altcp'rs we
could find. We did a bit of 'rancho' one Christmas, but there seemed no
energy and Poly and I didn't have the time to build up the group again.
Shame! I revisited some old threads recently and alt.cp definitely had a surplus of writing talent in its more vigorous days. I have wondered if (somehow ignoring issues of attribution etc) it would be possible to compile and interleave discussions & rancho in some sort of format suitable for publication.

No one cares about cp per se anymore but thanks partially to the rise of TED et al as something that the mainstream pays attention to - some form of literate futurism is alive and well.

It’s not a form I particularly trust however! This was a fun read:

http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/105703/the-naked-and-the-ted-khanna

It’s a rather brutal but amusing review of "Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization, By Parag Khanna and Ayesha Khanna".

It reminded quite a bit of alt.cp's sometimes-eloquent disdain for the emperor and his new clothes!

CP hasn't entirely sunk below the surface though.

Recently I made the mistake of consuming more gin than coffee and as a result inadvertently saw some broadcast TV (BBC) depicting a presenter cosplaying as a "cyberpunk" (rainbow fishnet and bits of coloured plastic tubing in her hair!). It was pretty unpleasant!

I found it odd (but quite cp, or pomo at the very least!) though that the term "cyberpunk" had survived despite the apparent dearth of interest in it - even just as a minor (though apparently TV worthy) fashion-oriented subculture of some sort.
Post by Sourcerer
We're around, tho'
Glad to hear it. Though if the game is last-man-standing I suspect that Schwann escaped the bounds of the flesh long ago and will persist indefinitely in some form of cyberspace immortality!

--
Kevin Calder((-+tpass+-), (The Passenger))
"trecking down the information superhighway (internet), i realize..........
i am lost in cyberspace.............yikes!!!!!!!!!!!" - ***@aol
Sourcerer
2012-08-06 21:04:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by Kevin Calder
Post by Sourcerer
Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Hi, Kevin. Long time no see.
Hola, glad to see you are still taking your duties as the steward of
alt.cp in-perpetuity seriously.
Post by Sourcerer
A few years ago Sweet Poly and I got in touch with as many altcp'rs we
could find. We did a bit of 'rancho' one Christmas, but there seemed no
energy and Poly and I didn't have the time to build up the group again.
Shame! I revisited some old threads recently and alt.cp definitely
had a surplus of writing talent in its more vigorous days. I have
wondered if (somehow ignoring issues of attribution etc) it would be
possible to compile and interleave discussions & rancho in some sort
of format suitable for publication.
No one cares about cp per se anymore but thanks partially to the rise
of TED et al as something that the mainstream pays attention to - some
form of literate futurism is alive and well.
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/105703/the-naked-and-the-ted-khanna
It???s a rather brutal but amusing review of "Hybrid Reality: Thriving
in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization, By Parag Khanna and
Ayesha Khanna".
It reminded quite a bit of alt.cp's sometimes-eloquent disdain for the
emperor and his new clothes!
I used to read Morozov's blog awhile back, but he didn't show up for
awhile and I drifted away. Let's just say that on the subject of
anything to do with "technology", Morozov and I share the same register
of reality. Thanks for the link, Kevin.
Post by Kevin Calder
CP hasn't entirely sunk below the surface though.
Recently I made the mistake of consuming more gin than coffee and as a
result inadvertently saw some broadcast TV (BBC) depicting a presenter
cosplaying as a "cyberpunk" (rainbow fishnet and bits of coloured
plastic tubing in her hair!). It was pretty unpleasant!
I found it odd (but quite cp, or pomo at the very least!) though that
the term "cyberpunk" had survived despite the apparent dearth of
interest in it - even just as a minor (though apparently TV worthy)
fashion-oriented subculture of some sort.
"Born out of cheap elective surgery and the relentless Darwinism of
fashion". Gibson was right about that.
Post by Kevin Calder
Post by Sourcerer
We're around, tho'
Glad to hear it. Though if the game is last-man-standing I suspect
that Schwann escaped the bounds of the flesh long ago and will persist
indefinitely in some form of cyberspace immortality!
Yah. He's one with The Singularity and all.


--
(__) Sourcerer
/(<>)\ O|O|O|O||O||O
\../ |OO|||O|||O|| Mirroring the shadows of futurity
|| OO|||OO||O||O since 1993
Kevin Calder
2012-08-03 11:50:21 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Also I notice that google groups seems to like very long line lengths. Do these posts become a mess in a real newsreader?
cykros
2012-08-03 15:59:56 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Also I notice that google groups seems to like very long line lengths. Do these posts become a mess in a real newsreader?
I don't recall them being a problem in tin when I was using it a year or
so ago. Thunderbird, as you may expect, also doesn't present any issue
with them. They do look kind of silly, however.

cykros
Sourcerer
2012-08-03 16:17:16 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
Post by Kevin Calder
But what is cyberpunk?
Also I notice that google groups seems to like very long line lengths. Do these posts become a mess in a real newsreader?
Yep, with Tin.

Consider http://www.eternal-september.org for all your usenet needs.
--
(__) Sourcerer
/(<>)\ O|O|O|O||O||O
\../ |OO|||O|||O|| Mirroring the shadows of futurity
|| OO|||OO||O||O since 1993
Kevin Calder
2012-08-03 17:07:18 UTC
Permalink
Lol @ news.eternal-september.org being a real thing!

Before i treid the url i thought you were just being cute!
Kevin Calder
2012-08-03 17:41:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Kevin Calder
Before i treid the url i thought you were just being cute!
As an experiment now attempting to use newstap on the ipad. Incredibly its
not awful. Cant make it filter xposts though which is going to make
browsing some groups non-viable.
--
-- Kevin Calder((-+tpass+-), (The Passenger)) "trecking down the
information superhighway (internet), i realize.......... i am lost in
cyberspace.............yikes!!!!!!!!!!!" - ***@aol
Sourcerer
2012-08-06 21:08:19 UTC
Permalink
Post by Kevin Calder
Before i treid the url i thought you were just being cute!
Heh. I had special posts for Septembers.
--
(__) Sourcerer
/(<>)\ O|O|O|O||O||O
\../ |OO|||O|||O|| Mirroring the shadows of futurity
|| OO|||OO||O||O since 1993
cykros
2012-08-10 19:06:47 UTC
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Post by Kevin Calder
Before i treid the url i thought you were just being cute!
Yea, I always got a chuckle out of the name myself. So far it's been
the best of the free text nntp servers I've come across stability wise.
I think I'd give up usenet entirely before going the way of the Google
megacorp...

cykros
Kevin Calder
2012-08-10 20:35:11 UTC
Permalink
Also I'm still sorry about these line lengths. Ipad != real computer
--
Kevin Calder((-+tpass+-), (The Passenger)) "trecking down the information
superhighway (internet), i realize.......... i am lost in
cyberspace.............yikes!!!!!!!!!!!" - ***@aol
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