Dear Dom,
in the first place, apologies to all.
The presence of Susanne et al. is expiring this very night.
There has been a mourning in our group. A very serious mourning . We are
going to withdraw from any further discussion.
We wish to greet Poetryect for the delightful company of you all, and
apologies again for our disruptive presence.
A poet and a great friend died suicidal, last Sunday.
We have been informed of the terrible news only this afternoon.
We shall pay tribute to the life of Daniele Medici (aged 45) with our
silence.
S, J, B, E, A, (et al.)
----- Original Message -----
From: domfox <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 8:39 PM
Subject: Re: Poetry and Politics A dialogue between civilizations
> It might be interesting here to consider the phenomenon of "trolling", an
> activity which tends to combine several kinds of "pseudo-" discourse: not
> only is it often pseudonymous, but also full of "pseudo-" statements. The
> troll's posts are designed specifically to tease, provoke or infuriate:
the
> attitudes adopted are feigned, the writing a series of feints - often
clumsy
> and half-hearted, like stale jokes, although it's worth considering that
> this may also be part of the performance, which tends towards the abject.
>
> In the case of pseudo-Sue (et. al.) some of the irritation seems to come
> from the fact that s/he seems to be writing English as a foreign language,
> which can be disconcerting for native speakers to read. Poets who write in
> English are likely to be especially touchy about this, of course; but I
> think it's reasonable to insist on some degree of inter-cultural
politeness
> here, which amongst other things would mean containing one's grumpiness at
> foreigners and their peculiar manners.
>
> It has been the case on other occasions when I've been on lists or in
> discussion groups where a troll has appeared that various attempts have
been
> made either to substantiate the reality of the troll ("who are you,
> really?") or to banish "it" altogether: in either case, to stabilise
> identities, to provide a discourse that is irritating or unpleasant in
> various ways (abject or "not serious", for instance), with an accountable
> author, a set of extra-discursive credentials.
>
> One of the problems I have with pseudo-Sue et. al. is that there is a
> persistent evasion of this sort of accountability. If I offend or speak
out
> of turn, I may be addressed by others in the confidence - which might
always
> be misplaced, hence some of the anxieties about authorship that pseudo-Sue
> et. al. exploit - that there is someone behind my signature who can be
> called to account for his behaviour. Trolls are not accountable; they
> frustrate the demand for accountability. It's one of a number of
> frustrations they excel at producing.
>
> So far as poetics is concerned, I do believe that there are valid and
> interesting discussions to be had about a lot of these questions. I also
> doubt whether carrying on in the "pseudo-" register favoured by trolls is
> likely to do much to stimulate such discussion. Many of us, myself
included,
> find it difficult to maintain concentration and goodwill in the face of
> continual uncertainty about whom we are talking to.
>
> - Dom
>
>
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