Slashdot Mirror
Flash Mobs: Peaceable Assembly for Spontaneous Fun
Schmendr1ck writes "The Orlando Sentinel is carrying a story on the growing trend of 'creating a crowd on a moment's notice for no particular reason' knows as a flash mob. Recent flash mobs (sometimes hundreds of people) have wandered into into an upscale NYC shoe store acting like confused tourists from Maryland, gathered at the Hyatt near Grand Central Station for 15 seconds of spontaneous applause, and converged on the Macy's carpet department to debate the quality of the rugs for sale. Check
cheesebikini? for pictures and info on past mobs, as well as links to sites that organize these events. Sounds like a fun, harmless, and Constitutionally-protected way of blowing off a little steam."
Just wait until someone high up views this as a threat and that Constitution guarantee gets brushed aside as something from a "different era" like concerns about quartering soldiers.
Sounds like a bunch of hippies!
Let's spontaneously "get together," if you know what I mean. It'll be fun!
You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
How the hell do these people have enough free time on their hands for this shit?
Why? What's the point?
Can't they program the mob in proper W3 approved HTML instead of Flash? Until they do this, I won't want to join, even if it's a CowboyNeal fan mob.
However in places like columbus ohio, as far as i'm aware, it's illegal to gather more than 6 people in public places with out a permit from the city. So i guess it's protected so long as you jump through the proper hoops. Sort of cuts down on the spontinaity thing. (although, i don't think i've ever heard of such a regulation being enforced)
There are lives at stake here!
... a lot of these people, especially the ones organizing on the web, are recently laid off techies, with copious amounts of free time on their hands.
People SPAM.
Maybe they could further exploit this phenomenon by incorporating Stuart Tunic's (sp?) work?
Flash mob flashing people....you know...whole shit like that
You aren't free to do anything, until you've lost everything.
And it's probably all a crafty plan to meet chix0rs.
The cake is a pie
did anyone get to cheesebikini before it was brutally raped by the hoard of voracious geeks and nerds?
;)
(dontcha love my wording?)
Newsie, Moderator, www.tauniverse.com
did anyone else see the title of this story and think of a mud?
This space for rent, inquire within.
...but people who think assembly is fun are just weird.
In the old days. This was our best approximation. Back when I was a kid we'd get one or two people on side of the road, and each "team" would pull on an invisible (virtual/imaginary) rope across the road. Most cars would slow down or stop thining there really must be a rope there, they just couldn't see it. Then we'd just walk away.
I guess we should have tried recruiting other mine-wannabes.
If I'm wrong, I stand corrected (in advance.)
flash mob, meet slashdot. ooo look! i see your server already knows us. don't worry, we'll be gone in 15 minutes.
but it looks like the site has been. . .umm. . .flashmobbed.
I want the fire back.
this is a re-occuring skit on trigger happy tv, where someone will blow a horn or something and a crowd of people in red robes will start worshipping someone. etc.
Anyone else think of Larry Niven when they read this? Thank goodness quantum teleportation won't work on people... yet. (see http://www.wordspy.com/words/flashcrowd.asp if you don't know what I mean.)
Of course, not all flash crowds/mobs are good. IN Australia it is getting very difficult for a teenager to organise a party at their house and not have hundreds of mobile-phone toting gatecrashers turn up, get into fights, razz the police and steal all the beer.
An old idea.
The new twist seems to be that no one is getting killed.
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
I was a part of one of these, and let me tell you it was a riot. One of the rules was you couldn't initiate conversation with anyone and that answers to questions were scripted. We stayed together for 5 minutes and dispersed, no one having said a word. It was surreal but wonderful, especially the looks on the normal people's faces, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
Triv
cheesebikini?
July 24, 2003
Flash Mob in Central Park
Fred Hoysted was first to chime in with a report and a photo from the Fifth New York Flash Mob. SatansLaundromat.com was quick on Fred's heels with a report and a nice group of photos, including a larger version of the cropped shot to the right.
They seem to have carried out a fantastic, bizarre idea: make a bunch of increasingly surreal "nature sounds" in Central Park.
Did anyone make an audio recording? Please let me know if you did.
Filed under flash mobs at 05:12 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (2) | Permalink
Europe's First Flash Mob
A flash mob went down today in Rome, as an estimated 100 to 300 people flooded a books and music megastore. They asked employees for nonexistent books. They broke into a round of spontaneous applause. Then they dispersed.
Here's coverage in Italian from the newspaper la Repubblica, and here's a clumsy English translation. The photo, courtesy of la Repubblica, shows mobbers evacuating the megastore.
In the comments attached to this posting, you'll find a report from our Senior Rome Correspondent "JJFlash."
If you have more photos, please send them (or links to them) to photos[at]cheesebikini.com. More to come.
Filed under flash mobs at 03:28 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
July 23, 2003
Flash Mob News from Minnesota, Texas, Austria
Minneapolis organizers put together an event (or rather, a series of events staged in different locations) at a huge shopping mall. Participant turnout was estimated at 50, but perhaps reduced secrecy about the next Minneapolis event will spur a larger crowd?
New flash mobs are brewing in Vienna, Austria and in Dallas. (Here's an English version of the Austrian flash mob page, as automatically translated by babelfish.altavista.com.
Flash mobs are a widespread phenomenon now with lots of people around the world taking part, so from now on when I mention flash mobs I'm going to focus on the most compelling flash mob coverage and opinion. For more exhaustive listings of the numerous local flash mob announcements, groups, sites and press coverage, check out flashmob.info, where anyone can sign up for an account and submit mob news or a link to a new mob group, or mob(b)log, whose creator "Alex" is doing a good job of listing media coverage but strangely fails to provide any way to reach him or to comment on his postings. In the meantime, Rob Zazueta is designing a site to make it easier for people to organize what he calls "flocks;" it's not done yet but you can keep track of it at flocksmart.com. Thanks for the resources, people!
(By the way; have you seen The Word Spy's entry for the term "flash mob?")
Filed under flash mobs at 05:18 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
July 19, 2003
The First Italian Flash Mob
Londoners have been talking about organizing a flash mob for weeks and weeks. Now, with minimal talk, it seems the Romans will beat the Brits to the punch and create Europe's first flash mob.
Our Senior Rome Correspondent "J. Jack Flash" reports that a flash mob has been planned in Rome next Thursday, July 24. Here's the invitation: in Italian and in English.
In other news: Flash mobs are arising in Boston and in Phoenix, Arizona.
Filed under flash mobs at 10:15 AM | Comments (21) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
July 18, 2003
Invitation: Manhattan Flash Mob #5
Below is the invitation to the fifth New York flash mob as it was e-mailed to me. It's scheduled to take place next Thursday evening, July 24th.
(If you're wondering what a flash mob is, see this entry for an explanation.)
more...
Filed under flash mobs at 12:14 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink
Ma che diavolo è un Flashmob?
"J. Jack Flash" in Rome, Italy republished most of cheesebikini's flash mob coverage, after translating it into Italian. (For real fun see the translation back into English, courtes
cheesebikini's web site. Be careful what you wish for ...
"And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
This looks a lot like some of the behavior engaged in the past (and present) by the the San Francisco Cacophony Society http://sf.cacophony.org/
The increasing capacity for spontaneous social expression via the network is going to get a boost, now that *everyone* who is within proximity of a prank has a chance to participate.
Yet another example of new social behaviors that emerge spontaneously at the 'edge' of the network.
It's be interesting to see what new kinds of mass social behavior develop, and which ones manage to survive, and become institutionalized.
As long as no one gets hurt, we could use a little levity.
As stated on the SF Cacophony site: "The Cacophony Society is a randomly gathered network of individuals united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society through subversion, pranks, art, fringe explorations and meaningless madness. "
Here's an excerpt about one past activity:
Mad Santa Crawl:
"each year at christmastime a crowd of santas descends upon one of san francisco's most-touristed neighborhoods to get drunk, to hand out disturbing gifts, and to frighten tourists.
on december 16, 2000 a santa faction drove to a ranch in petaluma, spent the afternoon discharging firearms, then joined the rest of the santas for the evening's festivities in san francisco. about 150 santas took over grant street in chinatown, and they eventually headed up into north beach."
:) some interesting stuff there...
Newsie, Moderator, www.tauniverse.com
I think you need to get a room with yourself, buddy... you're not as witty as you think you are.
cheesebikini?
July 24, 2003
Flash Mob in Central Park
Fred Hoysted was first to chime in with a report and a photo from the Fifth New York Flash Mob. SatansLaundromat.com was quick on Fred's heels with a report and a nice group of photos, including a larger version of the cropped shot to the right.
They seem to have carried out a fantastic, bizarre idea: make a bunch of increasingly surreal "nature sounds" in Central Park.
Did anyone make an audio recording? Please let me know if you did.
Filed under flash mobs at 05:12 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (2) | Permalink
Europe's First Flash Mob
A flash mob went down today in Rome, as an estimated 100 to 300 people flooded a books and music megastore. They asked employees for nonexistent books. They broke into a round of spontaneous applause. Then they dispersed.
Here's coverage in Italian from the newspaper la Repubblica, and here's a clumsy English translation. The photo, courtesy of la Repubblica, shows mobbers evacuating the megastore.
In the comments attached to this posting, you'll find a report from our Senior Rome Correspondent "JJFlash."
If you have more photos, please send them (or links to them) to photos[at]cheesebikini.com. More to come.
Filed under flash mobs at 03:28 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
July 23, 2003
Flash Mob News from Minnesota, Texas, Austria
Minneapolis organizers put together an event (or rather, a series of events staged in different locations) at a huge shopping mall. Participant turnout was estimated at 50, but perhaps reduced secrecy about the next Minneapolis event will spur a larger crowd?
New flash mobs are brewing in Vienna, Austria and in Dallas. (Here's an English version of the Austrian flash mob page, as automatically translated by babelfish.altavista.com.
Flash mobs are a widespread phenomenon now with lots of people around the world taking part, so from now on when I mention flash mobs I'm going to focus on the most compelling flash mob coverage and opinion. For more exhaustive listings of the numerous local flash mob announcements, groups, sites and press coverage, check out flashmob.info, where anyone can sign up for an account and submit mob news or a link to a new mob group, or mob(b)log, whose creator "Alex" is doing a good job of listing media coverage but strangely fails to provide any way to reach him or to comment on his postings. In the meantime, Rob Zazueta is designing a site to make it easier for people to organize what he calls "flocks;" it's not done yet but you can keep track of it at flocksmart.com. Thanks for the resources, people!
(By the way; have you seen The Word Spy's entry for the term "flash mob?")
Filed under flash mobs at 05:18 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
July 19, 2003
The First Italian Flash Mob
Londoners have been talking about organizing a flash mob for weeks and weeks. Now, with minimal talk, it seems the Romans will beat the Brits to the punch and create Europe's first flash mob.
Our Senior Rome Correspondent "J. Jack Flash" reports that a flash mob has been planned in Rome next Thursday, July 24. Here's the invitation: in Italian and in English.
In other news: Flash mobs are arising in Boston and in Phoenix, Arizona.
Filed under flash mobs at 10:15 AM | Comments (21) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
July 18, 2003
Invitation: Manhattan Flash Mob #5
Below is the invitation to the fifth New York flash mob as it was e-mailed to me. It's scheduled to take place next Thursday evening, July 24th.
(If you're wondering what a flash mob is, see this entry for an explanation.)
more...
Filed under flash mobs at 12:14 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (1) | Permalink
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
BYOB!
http://flashmob.fantasmaformaggino.it/
It's in Italian.
Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
It makes me wonder if we are on the verge of creating a trans-human intelligence capable of consciousness. Too bad we don't have any formal idea of what intelligence and conciousness is, or we could analyze the situation more closely...
-1, Too Many Layers Of Abstraction
"Sounds like a fun, harmless, and Constitutionally-protected way of blowing off a little steam." ;)
Looks like this site wasn't constitutionally protected from Slashdot.
Seems like a real life representation of a slashdotting.
Does the first one there yell 'FP!' ?
Tin Foil Hat
This would be for these types of stories that get the paranoid wackos to remind us of how our rights are gone, the government is after us, etc.
Or at least store these on tfh.slashdot.org
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
All over the world, there's been a movement called Critical Mass that gets folks together to take over the streets on bike rides on a semi-regular basis. Here in Chicago, it's been really successful -- hundreds go on the main ride every month, even in the dead of winter. In the summer months, there have been around a thousand riders. Critical Mass is a sort of anarchic protest against the domination of our streets by cars but without a specific, directed agenda. The idea is that having fun and taking over streets, no matter what one's political orientation is, is a good way to make a statement. What's interesting is that now that almost everybody has some direct connection to the Net, Critical Mass rides are getting organized overnight. When the war in Iraq broke out, the next day a group of Critical Massers against the war (not all CM folks are) organized a very effective ride within a half a day and people have been now talking about organizing within a few hours. I have to wonder about flash crowds becoming flash protests or flash rides and what the potential benefits and problems of this will be. Speaking of which, this effect also happened in the South Korean election recently in a close race.
Online citizen journalism from the inner city: The View From The Ground
It's farked!
It's PEOPLE!
Why? What's the point?
Because it's there. Jeez, pay attention!
Please help metamoderate.
Electronic sheep?
[o]_O
This country is totally going down the crapper, when there's all this ridiculous, unfair, unjust stuff going on and people are organizing these pointless stand ins.
Think of it as a testing ground for more smart spontaneous protests.
Will anyone organise a flash mob to boo an RIAA lawyer?
I'll have pictures up shortly.
Moderators, how is this insightful?
First, these do not appear to be protests, so it's comparing apples to oranges.
Second, if you follow this logic, then you might as well stop going to bars, movies, singing, playing music, watching screensavers, and other "fruitless" endeavors until you've solved the world's problems.
This poster probably also derides liquid nitrogen cooled pentiums and potato guns and every other "worthless" geek project posted to slashdot.
I think you need to realize that there really IS no point.
LS
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
If you're ever at a concert or any event like that, get like ten people you know to start doing something that makes noise (applauding, chanting something, whatever). It will spread infectiously in a matter of seconds. This works in just general crowds sometimes too but at a concert or similar event it's almost ensured.
I know this because I discovered it by accident once. For no particular reason I began clapping abnormally loud and in a pattern, long after people had stopped applauding. A group of my friends joined in as a joke and within say 20 seconds the whole room of people was clapping along. We tested this a couple other places as well.
This will be great, we'll all head to a public house at around 7:00 on Friday, drink beer like we can handle it, then spontaineously all leave at once when closing time is called.
Who's interested?
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
What, do two guys show up and try and sell you "protection" and then disappear suddenly?
Please help metamoderate.
In retaliation, several flash mobs will coverge on the Slashdot offices. (They have offices right?)
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
It was an incredible way to just have amass bit of fun. The best part of it was there was no reason that it needed to be hard, it was social fluff.
Also see: slash crowd-- the physical manifestation of the slashdot effect.
====
Crudely Drawn Games
Sounds a lot like the SlashDot effect being demonstrated IRL.
Now that I'd like to see. Use your flash mob powers for good, people....
I've signed up for the Minneapolis Mob since I've got nothing better to do. I find this sort of social interaction fascinating. Plus, one day it could be extremely useful. I also think that if we neglect to exercise our rights (i.e. freedom of assembly) we will lose them to atrophy.
Electric Monkey Pants
BYOB! Is that Bring Your Own Bash_shell, or Bring Your Own Bandwidth?
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
They're having fun. They'll laugh a lot the rest of the day. They'll tell a whole lot of people about it. That's not doing nothing. Works for me.
No electrons were harmed creating this post, though some may have been subjected to electrical and/or magnetic fields.
I just think right now, we're living in a really pivotal time. There's a lot of turmoil going on and things very well will get worse before they get better unless people get off their bums and wake up to the stuff that's going down. People these days just seem so uninterested in politics, apathetic about their fate, obvlivious to the fact corporations are reaming us up the ass on a daily basis.
The ability to organize over the web spontaneously is a great, great thing. Maybe these folks can think of some ways this activity can be used to improve things. That's all I wonder about.
After the economy turns around, everyone can go back to bar hopping, song singing and screen saver watching ... okay ... ?
Flash Mobs work because of people like you.
Read Distraction.
-- kwashiorkor --
Leaps in Logic
should not be confused with
Jumping to Conclusions.
Seems to me, and this is just because I am evil, but this could be used as a very powerful tool by the less than noble to do very creativly bad things. And the participants may not necessarily know they are participating in the evil.
:)
You could put people into dangerous situations, influence politicians, perhaps clog up vital areas at just the right time to cause serious harm.
Not that I dislike these things, I think they are awesome... but like I said, evil is great! I'm off to think of fun ways to put flash mobs on Rumsfeld's mind.
for one to organize two flash mobs, or a group of flash mobs, and have them come together, and bug each other.
or mix flash mobs, cops and robbers!@ cowboys and indians. recreate the alamo battle!
bwahahahaa...
Maybe if everyone subscribes to what you define as the world being screwed up. I think the economy has been screwed up since there was such a thing. In fact, the state of the world is pretty fucked up, and it most likely will be like that until the last person dies. I, for one, do not plan to sit huddled in a corner waiting for the end, or out carrying a sign saying "the end is nigh!"
LS
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
The whole point is that they ARE strangers. Do you really think that if there were some debatable issue that they were protesting, that these people would be able to gather this way?
Protests take centralization and common views. When you see them, they're normally not consisting of people who had a few hours to spare. I went to one in D.C. in November, and of the 10 people I met there, less than half were from the VA/MD area (most had flown in).
So it's not that they don't believe in anything, it's that they believe in different things. Everybody enjoys a good laugh, but not everyone is serious in the same way about what needs to change (the one exception, of course, is that the Matrix 2 sucked and everyone agrees).
Does Flash mob has Flash moderators? And how about meta-moderators? How do they get karma? Is there any weekly Flashback review?
Less is more !
Rememeber youre in slashdot. This is where people built beowulf PDAs and emulated a PC in a PC which ran an emulator which ran a PC. Its all because we can, and just because. Its that feeling of control over things and exercising it with no purpose which makes it all interesting and geeklike. Protesting something is just too usual.
Also note people would have different agendas.. geeks with differing nationalities etc, but a flash crowd gathers these various people with absolutely nothing in common except for the unreasonable excitement about creating a flash crowd. Try it. Youll never go back to protesting.
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
"If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution."
--Famous misquote of Emma Goldman
Sometimes, people just want to have fun. Fear not; some people have already figured out that organized coincidences can be effective protests. See: Critical Mass bike rides. More will figure this out over time. Right now, just enjoy it!
Side note: The story behind the quote is here.
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
There is a difference between protesting for a cause and being humourous.
If I learned of such an event in Calgary and I was able to attend, I would make every effort to go. Being able to tell friends that 600 people walked single file through a McDonald's in Walmart without buying anything would be golden.
Bazooka.
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
It seems to me, apathetic people like you are a dime a dozen. I'm hardly saying the world is ending. Maybe you're just too young to remember how much better things were going only a decade ago, or maybe you're just too old and jaded to give a hoot anymore. Either way, I'm sure if you look at recent polls, there's a great number of people who think this country is going in the wrong direction, be it the economy, who's in office ... otherwise why the hell is the governor of california getting his hat handed to him? It just shocks me to think people just don't give a crap anymore, to the point they don't even see any point in doing anything.
You seem to think I'm a pessimist, wondering why people aren't more active, when I think your view of life is even more fatalistic. Basically, the world is screwed up, it always will be, why bother doing anything with any purpose or conviction?
I repeat, argh.
Its cool to not be allowed to talk with the public. What about everyone staring straight up in the sky and acting shocked.. making everyone around stare up. How about great dismay and sorrow... people with sad expressions and shaking heads like theyve heard something really wrong. That will make people find the closest news source.
And what about anonymously selecting a target and following him/her like a celebrity. Spooky.
How about everyone tired and looking for places to sleep in a place where its not allowed to sleep, say a fastfood place.
OK.. couldnt resist. How about EVERYONE entering a target indoor location, letting out a big one (biological gases) and leave. The place should not have any lit flames or smokers around, geeks are valuable.
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
Real life slashdotting! Wow! We just flash mobbed their website!
I participated in one of these about a year ago before (I didn't realise it was called a flash mob until today). About 50 people just showed up at Pike Place Market and started at the edge of a building in the sky. We stood there for about 30 minutes, then just walked away. If anyone asked what we were doing, we just said "shhhhhhhhhh" and went back to staring.
Goofy, but fun in an odd way. Go figure.
Aye... 'Tis true, 'tis true
1. Fill out a 'right to peaceably assemble' permit, specifying the date, time, number of people expected, and reason for assembling. 2. Request where you'd like to peaceably assemble, keeping in mind that your local goverment may move you on a whim (Democratic National Convention, 2000). 3. Bribe 50 or so local officers so that you are not arrested for 'obstructing a sidewalk' (a la the protesters in NYC against the War in Iraq). 4. Finally, do not allow anyone to shout during said demonstration, otherwise police in riot gear that were 'hanging around' may find a reason to bust up your assembly.
War isn't about who's right. It's about who's left.
My view of life is not fatalistic. I still believe that individuals have the potential to excel and find peace, but the world as a whole will always be screwed up, simply because of probability. There will always be screwed up people in the world doing screwed up things.
You're view is fatalistic. There is no way out with your mindset.
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
Comment removed based on user account deletion
there could be a flash mob of 100 people, all with coconut shells spouting off monty python quotes.
or 100 people recreating the death of KAAAAHN.
i've got a million ideas for anything. just hope no-one can geek this idea up a notch.
Although this looks like a social event, it is actually just a pretty individualistic form of entertainment. Other people are just props in the event. I think it is more related to masturbation than it is to mass protests.
...in one of his novels, Distraction if I remember correctly. Something about how spontaneous mobs were robbing banks or the like. A good read for sci-fi fans with a down-to-earth mindset.
I, for one, think this is a brilliant idea, and is much better than sitting around on your computer, bitching to "a bunch of random strangers" about something which has no point, and is not supposed to have a point. It's fun! Perhaps you've heard of it?
While I'll grant that this country has a shitload of problems, including a ton you didn't mention, one of the root causes of our general malaise is (wait for it)... isolation.
Now, I know I'm preaching to the choir on this one. Let's face it, we /.'ers spend much of our day hunched over a computer, which we then use to "converse" with "random strangers" about the fact that our computer is A. not fast enough or B. not slow, like in the good ol' days.
It's been remarked that big cities are among the loneliest places on earth. It seems counterintuitive, but it makes sense when you take into account the cultural barriers that have somehow been erected over the centuries. If you want to make the world a better place, make some more friends. Those friends will lead to new friends, and so on.
Personally, I'll try anything once, and if flashmobs are a step towards a more spontaneous and less rigidly-controlled future, then I'm all for 'em. Nowadays, you can get arrested for looking "suspicious" in a public place. Weirdness is under attack. And I am a weirdo. There's no doubt about it, and I rejoice in gathering together with my fellow freaks. That's just one reason why I love Wookie Foot.
My advice to you? Free your mind from cynicism and isolation. It helps no one, least of all yourself. Not to say I've got life all figured out, but I know one thing; having fun and expressing yourself is .... well.... it just is.
Electric Monkey Pants
And I now really want to get a group of people to do a mass star-wars sword fight in Liverpool Str.
:)
Anyone intrested?
Wow, I should not post when knackered.
(the one exception, of course, is that the Matrix 2 sucked and everyone agrees).
You're kidding, right?
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
I guess you could look at this in a few different ways. Maybe it is just a bunch of bored people without any other way, or brain power to think of a way, to spend their time. Or maybe it's art. But if it's art, its nothing compared to Spencer Tunick. Or maybe...it's just something completely new and different and radical. personally i think its bullshit. :P
-ST
The "Insert Quote Here" line is almost as predictable as inserting an actual quote.
If you want to see something interesting...
I have scanned through the responses to this subject here on slashdot, and while there are some that have been very negative, the overall vibe I get is positive. (or nuetral)
Now, go over to FARK.com, and read through the comments that were posted after the article went up yesterday. A vast majority of them are negative, and not just negative in the "bah Im smarter than everyone else" mindset that most of the FARK message boards are built upon, but rather an honest to god "I am offended at how stupid people are that would do this sort of thing" kind of way.
Not sure if its all that important or even on-topic but an interesting contrast of the two communities.
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
I'm all for it, but what happens if a group gets out of hand and starts thrasing property, wether it be in a store, or some public place.
I guess I wouldn't want it to get out of hand, and maybe have something like that happen. Especially since there will be all kinds of people that know about it now (well, more than before anyhow), so you'll always attract a certain bad subset. Like slashdot in trolls, it's unavoidable.
GeekWares - Buy and Download Today!
At an acting convention, all the actors went to a convenience store which sold candy by the pound, and each bought one jelly bean, skittle or m&m, walking separately through the checkout line. Cost 'em about 3c apiece, and confused the hell out of the cashier.
I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
From article: Getting groups together is easier these days thanks to e-mail, Savage says, but that's only the start. Imagine how simple it will be to assemble a flash mob, he says, when cell phones and handheld computers are equipped with "location aware" technology that will emit a "ping" at the right moment and tell potential mobbers exactly where to go.
Just replace "potential mobbers" with "police." 'nuff said. Not in my cell phone!
But on topic, what these people are doing is seriously funny. If I lived in a major city that was doing those things it seems like it would be a great thing to do to ward off boredom and seriousness. Normally, I'm the kind of person who's paranoid about the cameras, under the fear that I'll do something that "looks" suspicious in my every day activities, and be questioned for no reason because of it. This seems like a good way to confuse the heck out of normal people, with pure surreal action.
In a way, it reminds me of something we used to organize way back in school. Anyone else have a tradition where a large group of classmates would pick a keyphrase to wait for a lecturer to say, and then upon that word, everybody shifts weight, turns a page, or something of the like? Less organized than these 'mobs' but still a lot of fun, as immature as we were. I mean, are. Yeah...
At my university, PSU, and many others these exist to. But for some reason they are not called Flash Mobs, they are called riots. They also always taste like pepper spray.
Did you know pepper spray comes in more then one flavor?
sometimes the point is that there is no point.
activities which are ostensibly silly or nonsensical often have a protest value that can't be communicated via traditional means. whether the flash mob people have this in mind is anyone's guess, especially now that they've been (electronically) flash mobbed themselves, but i have to wonder.
i, for one, would hate to be working in one of the retail shops that got flash mobbed, though-- poor saps.
Crash Mobs. That's where a group of angry bystanders views a Flash Mob forming, and beats the living fuck out of each and every member. Problem solved.
LS is presenting a typical existential viewpoint, like that of Sartre.
YllabianBitPipe has taken a utilitarian viewpoint, like that of J.S. Mill.
The conflict between these two points of view is the same as in the prisoner's dilemma from game theory. The utilitarians want to attain the benefit of having everyone cooperating, so they encourage others to cooperate. The existentialists, believing the probability of cooperation succeding to be low enough to make it futile to some extent, but also unwilling to embrace defection -- because doing so would negate the essential humanity of action -- try to find sources of entertainment that the utilitarians call pointless, and delay the choice to cooperate or defect.
The question becomes: even if, "the world as a whole will always be screwed up," then is there any point in trying to create local maxima of quality of life? The utiltarians aren't going to be so lucky all the time, but the existentialists might be capable of more than they give themselves credit for. The world does not have bright lines like a 2x2 game theory matrix. The best intentions often go astray, but on the other hand sometimes a tiny action by a single person can make a huge difference for the entire population.
This debate goes on in my head every day. I like to call myself a libertarian, but some days I just can't make it out of bed.
the right to peacably assemble applies only to public lands. a store is private property, not a park or sidewalk.
your 'inalienable rights' do not extend so far as to trump the rights of the property owner. the constitution protects _everyone_ not just the group that holds up (small parts of it) as a shield.
www.pixelectric.com
If the lesson or whatever is done and people are just working, me and my frinds will pick up our bags or whatever, stand up, then everyone else gets up to leave. Then we sit back down and watch the people leave and the teacher yelling at them that the bell hasn't rang yet. Fun with sheeple.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
I don't like to call myself a libertarian. Libertarian's can't fugure out how to maintain ambulance services. (Objectivists can't either, in theory, but in my experience the most strident libertarian and objectivist will both suddenly become a moderate upon election or appointment to a position of influence.)
http://www.fredhoysted.com/
http://www.satanslaundromat.com/
and last, but not least:
http://www.moistandtasty.com/
Spread the Slashdotting around, that's what I say
This is a great url if you're looking for the boston area movement...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bostoncitymob/
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
Scene: You're at a restaurant talking to a client, or a potential employer. Suddenly, a crowd surrounds you. "Look, there he is!" they shout, and hoist you up on their shoulders, carring you about the room once or twice while singing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow." Perhaps some of them could be holding signs and big pictures of you and whatnot. When you got back to your seat you could just blush and act all modest, like you didn't want to talk about it.
1. Organize Flash Mob in my area.
2. ?????
3. Profit!
Oh, wait... #2. Rob a bank near by.
-R
Blame Trigger Happy TV and Channel Four Entertainment!
This is fun to do with just a few friends. Walk into a store (either serially or parallel) and mime what you want.
Or when standing at a set of pedestrian lights (the ones that have a green and a red man), imitate the lights exactly - meaning your arms and legs are constantly bent at a wierd angle.
The only rules are not to talk and only laugh after you've walked away.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/forum/showthread.php ?s=&threadid=238636&perpage=25&pagenumber= 5
Carousel is a lie!
No they make words song of cowboy neal and go to OSDN offices and start singing. The tune would right from the puppets show.
Emacs is good operating system, but it has one flaw: Its text editor could be better.
it wasnt supposed to be 'witty'. it was supposed to be.. how shall i put it... "exaggeratedly descriptive"
Newsie, Moderator, www.tauniverse.com
-m
Mad Santa Crawl: "each year at christmastime a crowd of santas descends upon one of san francisco's most-touristed neighborhoods to get drunk, to hand out disturbing gifts, and to frighten tourists.
You want to really freak people, dress like Santa's in July and sing carols. I had a college friend who used to get drunk on a hot May night and wonder around singing xmas carols. It was a hoot.
Table-ized A.I.
Optimists have flash-mobbed /.'s discussion!
More than mere navel gazing.
... Available!
:)
Dollars to doughnuts it isn't this time tomorrow.
(And no, I'm not gonna register it.)
Thank W and visas.
Table-ized A.I.
I'm going to host one of these in November. Everyone will gather in a bar beforehand. Then I'll hand everybody a slip a paper that says, "Go and VOTE."
I object to that article, and to the next reply.
Try "The Last Days of the Permanent Floating Riot Club".
TheFrood
If you say "I'll probably get modded down for this..." then I will mod you down.
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
Everytime is a pivotal time. There is always turmoil going on. Things always get worse before they get better. People are always apathetic. Corporations have been reaming us up the ass since the East India Company (or whatever the first joint stock company was) was formed.
The willingness to gather together for some inane fun is a great, great thing. Maybe these folks can think of some ways all of this activity can be used to bring some silliness into the world. That's all I wonder about.
After the economy turns around, everyone can go back to saving the world... okay...?
FreeSpeech.org
announcing europe's second flash mob, today in vienna, austria. meeting point is the tramway/bus-station "Volkstheater", next to the Palais Epstein, at 15:00 local time. yeah, I know, this should go on more flashmob-related pages, but you meddering kids /.ed all of them :(
Karma
mayhaps someone wants to organize an online version of this, whereby people would converge in one chatroom or something like that, and randomly select one source of spam, and everyone sends a bunch of emails to that spamsource.
The Wknd Sessions - Malaysian and South East Asia independent music
alright guys, flash mob at Natalie Portman's house, at 11PM!
And you thought one person stalking you was bad...
*****
Seriously, I think it sounds the stuff in the article is a cool idea.
Hilarity ensues.
Always remember - the IQ of a mob is the IQ of the most stupid member divided by the number of participants.
Hence its only a matter of time until such a 'fun' event goes wrong.
And remember - it's always funny until someone gets hurt.
Then it's hilarious.
A rolling stone is worth two in the bush!
Looking at the last two articles on /.'s home, I'm scared. /. is devolving into an art journal, poems have sex, and street theature. Hmm.... SCO isn't suing anyone new, right? No new RIAA conflicts? Lets cover ART!
Though I personally dig this in a Discordian kind of way, very op mindf*ck.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
No! BYOC
Obviously you haven't been to enought LAN parties
Feel sorry for us UK residence it is now law that a gathering of over 7 people in a public place can be classed as a riot is it doesn't dispures when asked.
That is just having a group larger than 7 people (unless obvoiusly you have a permit to hold a public demonstration).
Yay to no constitution and the criminal justice bill in Britian.
Paul Gogarty
In the UK, this sort of thing could be nipped in the bud if the authorities got wind of the plans in advance:
under Clause 65, a chief police officer would be able, for the first time, to apply to the local council (and with the consent of the Home Secretary) to prohibit the holding of all trespassory assemblies he or she thinks are likely to take place for up to four days and within a radius of 5 miles from a specified centre. Trespassory assemblies are defined here as open air assemblies of 20 or more people which may result in "serious disruption to the life of the community" or which may damage a building or monument of historical, architectural, scientific or archaeological importance (tip o' the hat to charter88.org.uk)
This makes me rather angry. Hulk... smash... But what can I do? I'm only a voter.
.They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
I don't think the Constitution allows you to congregate on private property, nor do a DOS attack on the carpet department of a store.
(extra letters in knees added by me...)
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
Site is slashdotted :-)
:-)
Google cache is here!
Please mod as informative hehehe
My Stack Overflow user
So this is basically a bunch of people going and doing a real-life meat-space slashdotting of public places?
"When I grow up, I want to be a weirdo"
The idea was to organise robbing a bank, but since movies tell us it is impossible ot keep these things quiet, you should do the reverse and advertise that there was going to be a bank robbery and invite everyone to join in ... how could the authorities appropriately respond? Have all the police force guarding every bank?
In the science fiction book "WASP" by Eric Frank Russell he quotes an early example of this when one person stared at the sky intently, muttering about flames - pretty soon there was a small crowd and in the end the air-force was sent up to investigate. I can't recall where it happened (in eastern Europe, I believe). The book is highly recommended (albeit slightly dated now as it was written in the days of the height of the cold war and the obvious parallels are less relevant now)
Just another example of Matt Groening's (obligatory Simpson's reference) life view that individuals are clever, crowds are stupid
...but it's against the rules in the new one to notice.
since it is prepared in advance... what else is there to say, except that it sounds like fun. here siggy siggy, here boy
I should note that the technique works on the web, too. This article seems to have temporarily brought the cheesebikini site to its knees. It's fairly easy to overwhelm most web servers -- even the biggest have limits.
I would expect that the usual progression with these ideas will be followed: it will be taken up by the intellectually deft, then the intellectually curious, then the Newsweek readers, then the low-life scum. That's when the fun will stop and Senator Snuffy will step in demanding new legislation.
While this technique would seem to be an anarchists' wet dream, it is a club that anyone can use. (Just more evidence that technology develops in unpredictable ways that are not necessarily as beneficial as originally envisaged) It will all end in tears.
[Insert pretentious and semi-clever sig here: ______ ]
Their using assembly for some spontaneous fun coding? geez.
This was probably very sad but nonetheless.
When my friends and I were teenagers and used to find ourselves wandering the streets at 3AM in the morning ( usually ending up at all night petrol stations ) we devised what we like to think of as street theatre.
Usually the area of town we hung around in was as quiet as a grave and you'd hardly ever see anyone else at that time in the morning. When there was a fair sized crowd of us ( 8+ ) we would all position ourselves on various sides of the street near a set of traffic lights.
As a car approached somone would press the lights to get the car to stop and everyone would by then be walking up to and over the traffic lights like we were all unknown to each other and just happened to all turn up at this particular set of traffic lights at the same time and carry on off in different directions.
I always found it very amusing and luckily so the Police when we had mistaken them for a normal car and carried out this trick on two different traffic lights on the same set of road. We stopped them at both lights but the driver was seen to clap his hands in slow applause at the second.
Sounds like a fun, harmless, and Constitutionally-protected way of blowing off a little steam.
Yeah, because the people who actually work in those places, or have errands to run, or something worthwhile to do don't matter. They're just meanies who want to spoil your fun.
The sick/funny part is that the people who do this crap probably like to say and think that they are on the side of the common man ... secretely they are elitists, who think that the rest of humanity who doesn't share their ideas exists only for their amusement.
Some of the older crowd may remember the 60's when a flash mob was known as a "Happening" (supposidely created by Yoko Ono)... I am showing my age! Only difference is we got together spontaneously in a park or other common area to think of peace and love, smoke some pot, have a few beers and basically kick back. What's old is new, what's new is old.
The 1995 Criminal Justice Bill outlawed public gatherings of more than 5 people. It also banned the use of devices designed to make repetitive noises. This was an attempt by the rotten, archaic and out-of-touch Conservative government to make "raves" illegal.
Stick Men
Sterling wrote another story about spontaneous mobs, "Deep Eddy", in A Good Old-Fashioned Future. There they took over entire cities, and they called them 'Wende's. Sort of like Mardi Gras, but unplanned. One character says (sort of like 'in soviet russia...') "You don't 'throw' a Wende. A Wende throws you."
--
Seeing is believing; You wouldn't have seen it if you didn't believe it.
There were easily half a dozen people with cameras who were holding their cameras up and taking snapshots. WhatI found strange is that they didn't seem to really be focusing their cameras on anything in particular.
I thought for sure that there must have been some famous person shopping at the store, but that doesn't usually cause such a strange buzz in NYC (unless you are in Times Square with the tourists).
The first I have heard about flash mobs is through this story on slashdot. And as soon as I read the story, I knew that is what I had seen. When you don't know about flash mobs, the whole thing kind of leaves you a little bit bewildered, yet it absolutely gets your attention.
Those who trade freedom for security will lose both, and deserve neither" -- Ben Franklin
NPR afternoon talk Fresh Air (I think) ran an interview with a participant way over a month ago. They had just done the rug thing.
Any preoccupation with ideas of what is right or wrong in conduct shows an arrested intellectual development. (Wilde)
Now the best parties run on a system similar to these flash mobs: the location is completely unknown until a few hours before it begins. An announcement travels by phone and email through the social network, and voila: 300-500 people ready to have completely unsupervised fun.
Occasionally the police do shut things down; now imagine if everyone had wireless personal email (a mailing list of participants?) that would allow them to flee and regroup at another location.....
-----------
Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
Last time one of these CM things came through, I stood waiting at a crosswalk for almost ten minutes as the bikers blithely ignored the traffic signals. Think bikes are the perfect form of transportation? Wait until some idiot's coming at you at 15 miles per hour when you've got a Walk signal.
Made me want to buy a Humvee, that's what it accomplished.
How is flash mobbing different from posting the URL of a small website (cheesebikini.com anyone?) on /. ?
=C=
If you wanted me to agree with you, you shouldn't have given me Mod points.
Problem was, sometimes a particular place on the planet would become of great interest to a great number of people, everybody would rush there, and you have a "flash mob." Like the /. effect for matter transmitters.
Maybe somebody knows the stories I'm thinking of?
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
I say we get a group to go stand at the north-side fence (by Lafayette Park) of the White House and give a resounding "Boo!" for about 60 seconds while giving thumbs down (no obscene gestures), then just leaving. Absolutely peaceful, no signs, just a really vocal show of disapproval. Saturday, July 26, at 1800EST.
Join Tor today!
Oh, poor little American can't handle the truth?
AC comments get piped to
What is the difference between sentient beings acting in concert and unsentient cells acting in concert?
Which cell am I (the I) in? Or am I somewhere in between the individual units?
---------
Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
Interestingly, I spoke with one man from Holland (I think) who was wearing a business suit. I asked him what he thought about all the craziness in the streets and about the WTO. He said "Actually, I'm a WTO ambassador. I support the Organization." Lucky for him, I didn't start screaming hysterically and pointing at him.
But actually, I don't think it would have mattered much anyway. The real violence was coming from misguided cops who didn't see any distinction between gutter punks out for fun and the peaceful protesters who were naively trying to organize even the punks into managed crowds.
The annoying/scary thing about the situation was that the cops were trying to disperse the crowds with teargas, but they had everyone surrounded, so the crowd kept getting more compacted, which resulted in more teargas and more hysteria. Somehow my friend and I found an alley and escaped the inner crowd and watched from the outside. I don't know why more people didn't see that escape route, but it was pretty manic, so I guess most people just overlooked it.
I knew some people who were held captive by the police for over 24 hours without being charged or even fed. Some of the people were not even involved in the protest, they were just trying to go home after working downtown.
All in all, I wasn't really impressed with anyone involved (except for myself for finding that escape route just in time).
The Dude abides.
The "mass of people enter at once" tactic is used by some gangs to rob conveience stores. If 50 people run in and clean out the beer cooler (and cigarrettes) there is a lower probability of each individual being caught and less that the poor sap behind the counter can do.
I can't see this activity being non-violent and non-criminal for long. Sooner or later some punk will start taking stuff and it'll just be white-collar gang activity.
Also, on private property, this activity could be percieved as a threat. Some store managers or owners may have a bad reaction to the activity.
That said, it's an interesting activity. But maybe they should do something a little less obnoxious, like decend on a park and pick up all the litter and dog poop or something, rather than antagoizing retailers and annoying customers.
Guy Debord:
"A person's life is a succession of fortuitous situations, and even if none of them is exactly the same as another the immense majority of them are so undifferentiated and so dull that they give a perfect impression of sameness. As a result, the rare intensely engaging situations found in life only serve to strictly confine and limit that life. We must try to construct situations, that is to say, collective ambiances, ensembles of impressions determining the quality of a moment. If we take the simple example of a gathering of a group of individuals for a given time, it would be desirable, while taking into account the knowledge and material means we have at our disposal, to study what organization of the place, what selection of participants and what provocation of events are suitable for producing the desired ambiance. The powers of a situation will certainly expand considerably in both time and space with the realizations of unitary urbanism or the education of a situationist generation.
The construction of situations begins beyond the ruins of the modern spectacle."
Ever consider living and working in Singapore? You might find many kindred spirits there. That would leave a little more room in American cities for people who want to exercise their....you know, Freedoms.
-------------
Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
One of the funniest things I've ever heard of was from my Uncles in Wisconsin. They gathered together with about 5-6 other people who all played accordians, and they would go out on "Hit and Run Accordian" nights. Basically, they would all be drunk as skunks, barge into a restraunt or bar, play 2-3 songs all on the accoridan, and then split. Remember, this was the 1950's, and they were all from small towns where everyone knew who they were anyhow, but the thought of all those accordians together playing just cracks me up!
This story on flash mobs reminds me of Santarchy.
Flash mobs, meet lots of Santas informally gathering at the same place and time.
www.santarchy.com
Okay, riddle me this batman: how can a store "Open to the public" (their words, not mine) even THINK about using that logic? Yes, the store is OWNED privately, but they INVITE THE PUBLIC - frequently. It's called advertising. Sorry, I just don't agree. As long as the area they're gathering in is "open to the public" it's legal. It would be different, I believe, if these folk were mobbing the loading dock or the back room or the manager's office, but the "publicly-accessible" part of the store? Nope. Won't fly in court - promise you that. The minute you let this kind of nazi BS become government policy, you can plan on those stores selling brown shirts.
So is slashdotting the geeky way to flash mob a server?
Get off my server you troublemaking kids!!!
*Grumble*
It's all part of Operation Mindfuck.
Hail Eris! Hail Discordia! Kallisti!
Does anybody have a good, well thought out, argument, or link to an argument, on the idea:
"if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't worry about XXX privacy concern."
The idea really doesn't sit well with me but I find myself having trouble conveying my concerns to people who really don't get it. Most of my arguments seem to be along the line of "Well, you really do have something to hide" and "who defines unacceptable?".
I assume there is a well reasoned argument to this but I haven't been able to google it so I thought I would ask here.
ej
The title of the story had me confused. At first, before reading the article, I thought the story pertained to mobs getting together to see people flash themselves. Shucks, I was wrong.
Linux at home
Ok I wanted to provide a nice quotation but wasn't find it quickly, but...
IIRC, there is a statement that the states et al. cannot pass laws that contradict the US Constitution. Note the "prohibited by it to the States". So if the constitution gives the right to peaceably assemble, then a State/Local govt. cannot overrule that right.
McFly777
- - -
"What do people mean when they say the computer went down on them?" -Marilyn Pittman
Today, hundreds of teenage girls took the bridges and tunnels into Manhattan in order to stand in Times Square (oddly enough, at a spot within view of the MTV studios). They burst into cheers of "We love Justin" and aped his 'dance moves'. Almost as soon as they gathered, they dispersed to buy his latest poster. Said one participant, 'It was so totally cool! I was chatting with my friends on AIM, and, like, someone we didn't know, but knew that we were huge Justin fans popped up and told us about this cool event. She said she totally loves Justin, just like us. But, like, when we chatted with her, she kind of repeated herself a bunch of times, kinda like a robot. But, like, whatever!"
How else can you explain them managing to somehow get 1500 people to stage a "die in" in front of tobacco companies, let alone all the other cute little stunts they do to advertise the evils of smoking?
Thus spoketh Dennis Leary, "Holy shit! These are bad for you! I thought they had vitamins in them and stuff!"
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Isn't this kinda like lemmings blindly following someone else's instructions.
What if it was a 'trap', and everybody who joined in on the flash mob got kidnapped, shot, raped, etc?
www.Beyond7.com Insane modern art water sculpture.
Good point. With regard to the folks in the store loudly debating, as long as they're not harming the store (sure, it's loud, but it's NOT stopping business) I really don't think there's a legal leg to stand on. As for a party and my house: usually invitations (at least the ones I write) have Start and Stop times. Folks don't want to leave at Stop time - ask police to remove them. Pretty basic. *grin* Simple way for the store to deal quickly and effectively with this? Public address system "The store is now closed" and people would have to leave or be escorted out by security. Repubelickin way of dealing with this? "The Constitution is now repealed!!! SHOOT THEM ALL!!!" Demonicrat way of dealing with this? "PUT UP MORE SIGNS! SUE!" Maybe just a little common sense and a sense of humor would help.
... the road, or the automobile?
For bonus points, care to venture a guess as to by how many years (mellenia, actually) one predates the other?
cya,
john
Imagine all the people...
Cummon who else thought of multiple santa from the tick.
1000 people in santa outfits running the wrong way down 5th ave, yelling in unison.
"HO HO HO!"
"HO HO HO!"
"HO HO HO!"
"HO HO HO!"
And they all disappear.
I know what you are thinkning though.. Are they evil Santas?
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
Just be careful - the folks in the tanks might just get frightened an shoot ye.
> 2. See mob smash windows, break things...and break
> the peace
Sorry, but in a just system; if you, yourself, PRESONALLY, did not do these things, the cops have no business in the world arresting you, beating you, gassing you, herding you, in ANY way harassing you, or even so much as speaking a word to you.
All YOU have done is provide an example that demonstrates that our "justice" system is, in no way, just.
cya,
john
Imagine all the people...
I've always thought the only way to get to the bottom of Area 51 (possible home of ufo's and alien bodies) would be for 100,000 people to show up and storm the chain link fences and go through the base and have a good look at what's going on. Of course, Area 51 is a restricted site with use of deadly force authorized, but are they really going to "off" 100,000 people in one night? Politically not possible... The only down side could be that the mob destroys valuable research projects or leaks national secrets about advanced weapons, so I might not like the aftermath if this every really happened, but it's something to think about during my bored moments...
pot.kettle(black);
How about mooning?
Don't forget who's prezzydint. They'd snuff em like rabid gophers and not blink an eyelash.
In name, it's deffinately a nod to Niven. I'd still say in concept it sounds closer to what Sterling outlined in Distraction.
The "flash mobs" are not formed by newsworthy events and instant teleportation. Rather, they are formed via standard comm channels, travel in a much more conventional way, and perform seemingly random acts much like the crowds in Distraction, hence my nod to Sterling rather than Niven. (Probably a case of Flash Mobs from Sterling which was from Niven originally... children of children and all of that.)
-- kwashiorkor --
Leaps in Logic
should not be confused with
Jumping to Conclusions.
2) Watch as people gather around and do the same
3) Walk away, mind your own business
4) Return, note the crowd has shuffled about and/or rotated entirely
It is not clear as to why people do this. Note also that it is not adviseable to attempt to profit from this.
This sig no verb.
I'm sorry, but Critical Mass is one of the most assbackwards stupid things I've ever witnessed in my life. Protests of this sort are nothing more than a bunch of ignorant whiny idiots trying to get attention.
Share the road? Absolutely we'll share it. Just keep this in mind. What percentage of taxpayers that paid for the road drive cars vs. ride bicycles? Sharing works both ways, and roads are primarily designed to suit the needs of drivers.
Want to talk about what the law states? I drive to work every day. I see bikers every day. Every single one I have EVER seen in the city breaks traffic laws CONSTANTLY, no exception. You want fair treatment? Quit running red lights, quit dodging through three lanes of traffic at once, quit riding inbetween lanes of traffic. Sure, some drivers are careless and malicious. Every single biker I've ever seen has a completely blatant disregard for traffic laws. You want to co-exist peacefully in that environment? Start following the F-ing rules.
One more point, and this is the thing that totally blows my mind about these damn fool protests. What the hell are you trying to accomplish with it? Draw attention to your cause? Make some kind of statement? Well congratulations asshole, you've done that. You've got a whole city full of commuters aware that there's a group of bikers out there with issues, AND THEY'RE PISSED AS HELL AT THEM. You've got an issue and you want supporters? Well great, there's two steps to that.
1) Raise awareness.
2) Convince people to support you.
I know this may be a shocking revelation, but it's gonna be pretty hard to accomplish #2 when your method for achieving #1 pisses off 99% of the general population.
People, pull your heads out of your asses. Don't participate in these types of protests, it only fans the flames.
To be a flamebait, it has to be intended to generate responces- flames, to be precise. The above obviously was not, as it did not contain enough information to produce a flame. YOU IDIOT.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
* it brings the marvelous and surreal into the everyday world much more effectively than more conventional visual or performance art
* unlike most guerrila theatre, it is democratic in that everyone who wants to can be "on the inside"
* it is an active, participatory, and creative pastime
* it is empowering, and yet doesn't carry a particular ideology
* it gets people out of their ordinary routines and ways of being
* it has an action-adventure supercoordinated flair to it that I love
etc
I think it has a revolutionary potential to make life in human cities much more colorful.
I hope that participation becomes at least as popular as yoga, all over the world.
This is Slashdot. Many of the people here don't know what fun is. Either that, or they are alergic to it.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
I agree 110%. However, many of these folks have a hard time handling the traffic such a mob would create. This was actually one of my very first Flashmob ideas, but when I asked some local foodbanks about how we could do it, they totally blanched at the idea. I welcome suggestions on how to make it a reality.
Rob Z.
http://www.flocksmart.com/
------ Often it's not the technology that's high, but the people who create it.
What about everyone staring straight up in the sky and acting shocked.. making everyone around stare up.
I was part of a flash mob in Seattle, at the Pike Place Market, where we did exactly that, about two or three years ago.
It was fun!
Most people didn't get it - amazing how gullible people are, most of them spent 2-3 minutes staring where we were staring at, even though there was nothing there.
> --- All Of The Above --- >
is one in which fifty people all get together at the beginning of rush hour and drive at the speed limit (or lower), across all lanes, with a 4-5 second gap between cars, going back and forth along the route.
...
If you've ever seen it, you'd be amazed
> --- All Of The Above --- >
I thought they phased out that Constitution thing a few years ago.
Somebody sold it on eBay to Mongolia. Said his name was Ashcroft, I think.
I've heard they still have one in Canada. Quaint, eh?
> --- All Of The Above --- >
You know what I'm talking about.
The Flash Mob.
This self-proclaimed movement of self-empowering "spontaneous" public performance has reached internet critical mass in just three months.
Hundreds have gathered to embarrass themselves in New York. More than once. And it is spreading.
Berlin, that epitome of existential cool, has succumbed. But I feel no shadenfreude.
Flash Mobs don't even deserve to hit places like Akron and Boise, though I am sure they soon will.
Like Trucker Caps, soul-patches, and the I Kiss You Guy: it is a stupid idea that got bigger, and stupider, before anyone had the good sense and guts to smack it down.
So: Let's put it all to a silly death right now.
Hack the Flash Mob!
Its time to social engineer the texting, blackberry-checking, cell-phone sheep that promote this waste of public space.
Flash Mobs: Your 15 minutes are over.
Disperse now.