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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTechno tabloids. It occurred to me, (before coffee!), that the whole qanon/rwnj fantasy world,
is the Internet version of the tabloids. Not an original thought, I am sure. The same mentality that believes in batboy, and the lurid headlines of the national enquirer, star, etc., has no trouble believing "q" and all that insanity. At least they are not killing trees printing this garbage.
I was thinking about this because of the latest round of bs that was brought to my attention last night, about the 1,300 bodies removed from the Ever Given. Glad I was not drinking anything. Maybe david pecker is "q".
Now to have some caffeine and see if my brain wakes up.
Leave my beloved WWN alone!
It had a decidedly antifa bent when it was cancelled by Pecker under claims it was underperforming. (It's constant jabs at the Reich-wing were the real reason, I betcha.)
Every story in it was totally true. (in a universe parallel to the stupid one we inhabit. which I concede are the product of the national enquirer et al.)
niyad
(112,435 posts)even noticed them at the checkout line.
Hugin
(32,778 posts)The others have quietly faded from view following the Pecker/Trump scandal a few years ago.
:sniff:
I accept your apology and will inform Batboy and the 'squatch as they were a bit uppity about being paired with the trashiloids.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)Eudora Welty, the great author, said in an interview that her favorite publication was WWN because it gave her so many good plot ideas.
There should be a support group.
Hugin
(32,778 posts)It became schizo at near the end.
I attribute that to the talent seeing the writing on the wall and seeking a new gig.
Yeah, a support group. We could call it WWNAnon. Heh. Or maybe not.
Beastly Boy
(9,063 posts)Everybody knows it's a freak show, but it triggers the most primitive responses in the fans. The adrenaline junkies who are too lazy to get their high in a more physically or intellectually challenging way, are hooked.
niyad
(112,435 posts)GoneOffShore
(17,309 posts)Here are the opening paragraphs and a link at the bottom.
I am a game designer with experience in a very small niche. I create and research games designed to be played in reality. Ive worked in Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), LARPs, experience fiction, interactive theater, and serious games. Stories and games that can start on a computer, and finish in the real world. Fictions designed to feel as real as possible. Games that teach you. Puzzles that come to life all around the players. Games where the deeper you dig, the more you find. Games with rabbit holes that invite you into wonderland and entice you through the looking glass.
When I saw QAnon, I knew exactly what it was and what it was doing. I had seen it before. I had almost built it before. It was gamings evil twin. A game that plays people. (Cue ominous music.)
QAnon has often been compared to ARGs and LARPs and rightly so. It uses many of the same gaming mechanisms and rewards. It has a game-like feel to it that is evident to anyone who has ever played an ARG, online role-play (RP) or LARP before. The similarities are so striking that it has often been referred to as a LARP or ARG. However this beast is very very different from a game.
A Game Designers Analysis Of QAnon
PatSeg
(46,804 posts)on HBO last night and it was really disturbing and depressing. It would seem that some computer and game nerds have moved from their virtual worlds into reality, but still appear oblivious to the consequences of what they do. Or they enjoy the power of posting on a message board and seeing major real life effects, like the whole world is their personal chessboard. Even the President of the United States acknowledges their existence.
Just imagine a gamer taking that ability to create nations, governments, civilizations, and wars into the real world. Then sitting back and watching the aftermath. I think it is less about ideology or politics and more about power. It is all so bizarre. I feel like I've been tossed into a snake pit. It is hard to comprehend such people.
niyad
(112,435 posts)hypnotic, drug-like effect it has on people.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,847 posts)Why Satanic Panic never really ended:
The collective fears that consumed the US in the 1980s and 90s are still alive and well all the way through QAnon and beyond.
https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained
I watched the Geraldo Rivera TV special mentioned in that article, years ago, and it struck me as completely ludicrous.
Then I kept hearing people the next day, talking about it like it was real! As if there must be Satan worshippers throughout their neighborhood, just waiting for the chance to kidnap them or their loved ones for their ritualistic human sacrifices.
The amount of paranoia and fear in this country blows my mind, especially since it often comes from the unreal instead of the real! And all it seems to take is someone, anyone, planting those seeds of fear in their minds. (Which is easier now, with online forums.)
PatSeg
(46,804 posts)People look for excuses to be outraged or afraid. It is like going to the theater and watching horror films or riding on the scariest roller coaster at the park. When life gets boring and predictable, people often seek out drama and conspiracies. The adrenaline rush can be very addictive. The problem is that like any drug, over time you need stronger doses more often. It is hard to break the cycle.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,847 posts)Good grief, boredom-induced fear and paranoia!
It wouldn't surprise me if it's true.
PatSeg
(46,804 posts)I suppose for a time, people can fulfill that need with movies, TV, and video games, but eventually it just isn't enough. Kind of reminds me of the serial killer who started out as a peeping Tom or a stalker and gradually escalated to brutal murderer. The problem with any addiction is there is never enough. Pretty soon it seems that these people are cherry-picking which conspiracies suit their wants and needs at any given moment.
niyad
(112,435 posts)Apparently I am a pretty boring person.
Though I like a really good mystery or thriller, I never cared for really scary movies. I can't understand actually paying to be scared witless and I certainly don't go looking for it. If I want a "thrill", I prefer something overwhelmingly beautiful and inspiring. I'm sure there are scientific explanations for why some people seek out darkness and terror, while others eschew it. Meanwhile, it must be an awful way to live.
niyad
(112,435 posts)stark vast beauty of the desert. Or profound joy. It makes so much more sense.
PatSeg
(46,804 posts)but I don't want to see the actual crime. I am more about analyzing and solving a crime. I don't need the heart-stopping terror. I feel badly for people who don't or can't extraordinary beauty around them.
niyad
(112,435 posts)and 90's. Nothing original at all. Some of us here are old enough to remember the whole "Procter and gamble is a satanic company" nonsense. I never could find the talk show where the ceo proclaimed it on national tv.
One of my favourite pieces from the whole child-stealing, sacrificing blood rituals was a pamphlet given to police departments on how to spot satanists. Did they have incense? Images of unicorns? Mortars and pestles? Our tax dollars actually paid for this bs.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,847 posts)Thanks for reminding me.
Thus country has indeed been full of those crackpots for years. Heck, it might go all the way back to the early Puritan settlers and their witch hunts.
niyad
(112,435 posts)LunaSea
(2,892 posts)And he learned from the Inquisition!
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/king-james-vi-and-is-demonology-1597#
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)buying a tabloid magazine at the checkout counter; nobody can see what you're up to on the internet (except Bill Gates, of course). Nutjob stories that would have had you laughed out of the koffee-klatch because everyone saw where they came from can now be presented as the opinions of "experts" and as having "evidence" to back them up.
niyad
(112,435 posts)them. These days, of course, only the clerk and bragger can see what one is purchasing.
JCMach1
(27,544 posts)To psychologically manipulate people
niyad
(112,435 posts)JCMach1
(27,544 posts)"QAnon Is Like a Gamea Most Dangerous Game | WIRED" https://www.wired.com/story/qanon-most-dangerous-multiplatform-game/amp
Nancy Waterman
(6,407 posts)No matter how crazy they sound, they have an agenda. If Sandy Hook didn't happen, it means ubiquitous guns are not an issue. If the virus was a scam, than it means Trump's criminal negligence is not real. Many of the craziness is now just to diminish the importance of data and science, i.e. the "the libtards" who must be dismissed and minimized and humiliated in any way possible. So masks aren't needed, everything can return to normal, etc. because "we" don't want to be told anything by those pointy-headed elites. It has become a knee jerk reaction to make up some crazy excuse why reality isn't real, just to feed a very primitive agenda.