become activ in the mud

some thoughts for creating a Multiple User Disobidience portal version 0.1 - written during the make-world festival 18-21 okt. 2001

There are many reaseans to bring Strasbourg into the focus for protests. One of them is the SIS (Schengen Information System), the supranational european database. But how can we bring the question of control to the centre of interest. a database, even at a higly symbolic placed like strasbourg, is a very abstract issue.

The question is: How can we visulize structures of control, the construction of borders?

How to visualize eBorder and user profiling?

So there is the idea of a MUD - originally, MUD is a internet based computer game - meaning Multi User Dungeon - where you can logon as a virtual character, exploring a dungeon or labyrinth, meet or play against other people who join you in playing somewhere around the world.

So MUD could also mean Multi User Disobidience. Imagine you logon the MUD, start to explore the world of control, databases like SIS.

On your travels throught this world you learn how the system of control, racial and user profiling (the basic material for profile search), the construction of borders works.

You might meet other people, work together with them, maybe on a new part of the project, maybe you built up a group to start a campaign, or doing some artistic subversiv work. Or you just want to visit other projects, or just submit ideas waiting for someone to realize them.

So the issues of MUD are

a) the visulization of control, borders, profiling and its effects,

b) the creation of a space for starting projects, ideas of net-activism and campaigning ...

there might be many more issues. we will have to explore ...

There are many examples of subversiv protest. From the online-protest on behalf of the zapatistas, the "toywar" to the deportation-alliance campaign agaist the involvement of airlines in deportations.

The medias which can be used could differ from ascii-projects to video, from vrml to whatsoever. Or link or documentate "real-live" action, like the "surveillance camera players".

The creativ possibilities of the internet, especially its its possibility of involving people with different skills in differnt places. And the chance of linking contents and form: Irony and Satire, the step from game to direct action is just a hyperlink, a mouse click.

This can not be a project done by one programmer, not even by one group or a steady network. people from everywhere could develope new modules or plugins which will be connected with the project.

groups, networks, Artists, net-activists, campaigners, theorists, theatre ..

and of course, this has to be open source and as transparent as possible.

the start is just an email adress and this text at http://www.muenster.de/~uwz/mud02

Please submit ideas, critic, applause, commentaries ... to

mud02@so36.net  
 
LINKS
http://www.muenster.de/~uwz/mud02
mus02@so36.net
 
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