The Making Of "Reclaiming Art"
In early December last year I started thinking about an April Fool's Day hoax to play on the members of Ebony Keep. Each year's joke has to be better than the previous. The members have had all manner of upsetting stunts played on them, so they are getting much smarter at detecting fraud. I figured that if a joke was going to fool them, we had to have something that looked well established before March. It had to be well prepared.
There had been some recent bickering in another online forum directed against prominent EK members. This got right up the noses of a number of people in EK; our community has strong internal bonds. The past few April Japes have generated friction within the community. It was time for EK to rise up in anger against an external foe and I knew how to manufacture one.
Sigga and Socar refined the idea with me, then Socar enlisted the support of EK's aristocracy. It was met with enthusiasm. We created an ezboard community called Reclaiming Art. and I played my role as Andrew T Foster. In the rest of this journal entry I've included some discussions from the hoax planning room so you can get a behind-the-scenes view.
[edit: If you just want to see the responses, check here (part 1), here (part 2), and here (part 3).]
AndrewTFoster
ezOPPosts: 1
(1/17/04 1:18 am)
The Proposal
April Fool's Day Hoax Proposal
The essence of the hoax is to make EK members believe that there is a group of "right-thinking family-valued" people who are opposed to EK and becoming very vocal.
These people have created a forum to facilitate discussion about and raise awareness of the moral corruption being perpetrated on EK. They see EK as a place where young teenage artists are drawn in then influenced by immoral people. Their aim is to reclaim "art" for God rather than continue to let the devil pervert it.
The central character of this highly moralistic forum will be a man with a mission. He is driven to target EK first because he believes EK is responsible for corrupting his teenage daughter. His personal testimony should appear prominently in the forum. Here is a brief synopsis:
- his daughter comes home with a piercing (he is very upset)
- he looks through his daughter's room and finds her recent artwork is "inappropriate" (exposed breasts, androgeny, pagan symbolism etc)
- he finds that she has been frequenting EK and suspects that she is being strongly influenced
- he signs up and lurks on EK and is mortified by the "disgusting language", "perverted images", and "lack of morals".
- he bans his daughter from all internet access and arranges special counselling for her at the church-run school she attends.
- he decides to create a forum and advertises through the school and church
The hoax can be implemented by a small group of EK personnel using assumed names and role-playing the indignant moral forum. The forum should be created soon and kept private to avoid accidental discovery. By the time we open the forum for public viewing (but member-only posting) there will be a history of discussions, including some on various high-profile EK members. This should be done about early March. We can engineer some way to have it brought to the attention of the EK dining room (if it doesn't get discovered by itself).
The moral forum can be outraged by:
- piercings,
- language,
- adult concepts,
- partial nudity,
- lewd sheep etc.
I expect the EK forum members will be outraged by:
- the bigotry and narrowmindedness,
- the way the mission man's daughter is prevented from being allowed on EK,
- having a lurker on EK who is there purely to find fault,
- having innocent discussion subjects and artworks misrepresented on another board,
- the way that the moral forum members accept what the mission man says without checking for themselves,
- having no way to reply on that forum.
To prevent the discussions going completely ballistic, the moral forum should only make specific targets out of EK admins and mods (who are already aware that it is a hoax). Their role on EK will be to hose down the discussions e.g.
suppose that the mission man posts about his daughter painting godesses with naked breasts, then starts to blame Laura for her bad influence. If the EK discussion gets too heated, Laura can buy in and say how little it worries her now.
With careful moderation the subject can be kept down to a simmer for most of March. At the end of March we can ignite the outrage again by having the moral forum start planning a meeting outside Socar's appartment building to pray for her deliverance from Satan.
Having read the terms of service of ezboard I don't believe there is any danger of either EK or the hoax forum being shut down by ezboard staff unless we start blatant hate speech. Ezboard don't start actions on allegations of abuse unless legal procedings have started.
I hope this makes the concept clear. I expect the hoax will generate outrage, but I don't think it will hurt anybody, provided the discussions are moderated.
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 4
(1/17/04 9:21 pm)
Re: The Proposal
To make this hoax work, the characters must be right on the edge of believable.
Anything that exposes a recognisable character trait from one of us could blow our cover.
e.g. since Andrew T Foster comes from Louisiana, he wouldn't spell recogni
sable with "s". So when I'm in-character I need to get my spelling and word choice right.
That's where we can help each other. It is difficult to see mistakes in your own writing. If you're worried that the expressions you use may give-away a non-american background, post stuff here in the planning forum first so that others can proof-read. We have time. Better to go slowly and make it through to April 1st than to rush it and have the cover blown in mid March.
Some foreign expressions and spelling mistakes will work. Just remember that the impression the community must give is "CONSERVATIVE". Rigid dogmatic thinking is expected.
We should save up any hard-to-swallow ideas for the last week. The initial work must be on building credibility. Once we see the EK dining room response we'll decide if we need to get wackier or more intrusive or more angry.
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 1
(1/27/04 7:58 am)
Re: The Proposal
[kat mode]Woo![/kat mode]
I'm Janet Montgomery, a 37 year old housewife. I have a 12 year old son named Joshua (which means "God is salvation"). I try to keep a tight lease on my child but he is "at that age". I have been married for 13 years but my husband has been sleeping with another woman. I refuse to provide him with a divorce because its sinful to do so. This isn't a problem I plan on bringing up with the forum until I've gotten to know all the members.
Oh yeah, and I love malamutes - which reminds me, does anyone have a non-suspicious place for hosting my icon? Geocities with a .txt just feels too obvious. All other places I know of will link back to me some how, or at least link to horrible, distasteful, digital art.
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 9
(1/30/04 4:42 am)
Re: The Proposal
I can host up to 1Mb of graphics on www.ourchurch.com/member/...aimingArt/
This is where our main Reclaiming Art graphic is hosted. If anyone looks carefully and finds avatar icons hosted at the same site they would be forced to presume that Andrew has offered to host them.
Does this sound too suspicious?
Reclaiming Art would like to thank its generous unwitting sponsor, OurChurch.com. (I'm sure they've hosted stranger and more dangerous groups than us.)
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 2
(2/1/04 3:38 pm)
Re: The Proposal
"God isn't finished with me yet and I'm not finished with this web page."
Bwahahahaha!
Edited by: MalamuteLoverr>2/1/04 3:38 pm
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 2
(2/1/04 3:42 pm)
Re: The Proposal
Oh yeah, and here is the icon I would like to use:
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 10
(2/1/04 8:55 pm)
Re: The Proposal
"Anne Geddes shows far too much nudity, which is a little distasteful if you ask me."
and the Buffy-slam in the intro too
Damn it! Janet! *chuckles*
Your icon should be at
http://www.ourchurch-graphics.com/member/r/ReclaimingArt/janeticon.jpg
Testing:
edit: I just saw your post in the Faith Cafe Fellowship for Christian Women. Great idea having the recent posts exposed and pointing to corroborative posts.
How did you find Faith Café?
I'm glad I didn't have a mouthful of drink at the time.
Edited by: AndrewTFoster>2/1/04 10:47 pm
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 5
(2/2/04 8:27 am)
Re: The Proposal
I was going to post at the Christian Women's forum again but they were all so warm and welcoming that I felt terrible deceiving them. Am I a sap or what?
Thanks for taking care of the icon hosting. Woo!
(The Kathleen Francour link actually came from a girl at work who has one of her calendars on her desk - I think the woman has some decent photography, sure... but the photo manips? GAG!)
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 13
(2/2/04 10:10 pm)
Re: The Proposal
"felt terrible deceiving them"
I know how you feel. Deceiving EK people is part of the game because we know they will appreciate the joke at the end.
Deceiving gullible bystanders who have taken the trouble to be open and inviting feels like cruelty to dumb animals. Somewhere in that forum there may be a single, Christian, malamute-loving mother who has just raised her hopes of finding a kindred soul. She could have been at the bottom of an all-time low, praying for someone who could begin to understand her malamute obsession, and trying to avoid the condescending whispers of the caring-overbearing happily-married moms with their middle-class homes and blue-eyed children.
With a couple more posts on that board you may convince her that she's not alone anymore. Then you'll disappear. She'll try to send you a PM to invite you back, but you can't afford to respond. She'll blame herself. She'll know you must be a caring person because you love malamutes. Your failure to respond will be a damning indictment on her value as a person. You'll confirm everything her mother ever shouted at her.
Then her son and her dog won't get fed because she'll spend all her money on fluid forgetfulness. Her dog will howl through the night and upset the neighbors. Her son will take to the streets and snatch bags from old ladies. Her liver will start acting up. Her ex-husband will challenge for custody of her son.
She'll ache for help, but won't have the courage to face the criticism of her mother. The women in the forum will be supportive but moralizing, with subtexts of condemnation for her histrionic stories.
Eventually the neighbors will call the police about her dog's constant whining, her overflowing mailbox and the smell.
All this, just because you wanted to make an April Fool's Day joke more convincing.
Yeah, you're a sap. Get back in there!
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 5
(1/17/04 9:23 pm)
Creating your model moral citizen.
Choose a name - not too outrageous, not rude, no obviously silly initials
e.g. "William Terrence Flanders" with initials of WTF may give the game away too early.
Similarly "April Primo" might be a bit of a give-away.
Keep the character narrow. This must be a community of insular people. Having a rich variety of background would not suit. I've created two names Andrew Foster and his wife Joanna Foster. Andrew and Joanna are both biblical names and Foster is one of the 100 most common American names. It wouldn't be unusual to have double-ups on first names. Having a couple of different "John"s or "Peter"s would be quite natural.
At the moment I've kept my characters profiles all private. To look natural, some profiles should have additional information and some should be private. Best to start out private and we'll work on it.
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 3
(1/17/04 9:00 pm)
The background story.
Here is the background story that I plan to post in the announcements forum.
My Testimony
God has laid it on my heart to tell you all about the pain we have been going through. I think we are through the worst times now. Our troubles started one day in early December when our seventeen year old daughter, Rebecca, came home from shopping with her friends. I noticed she wasn't standing up straight. She seemed very anxious. The next morning Rebecca was noticeably uncomfortable so my wife Joanna took her aside to talk. Joanna returned in tears. Rebecca had a body piercing. She had a navel ring.
We took it to the Lord immediately. We prayed for over an hour, beseeching God for understanding and strength. We looked to the scriptures but the only message God led us to was Philippians 3:2 "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh." It was then that I realized Rebecca had been influenced by one of Satan's agents. I knew we had to find out who was leading her in the path of evil.
While Rebecca was at school we searched her room. I was shocked when we found her paintings. She had been painting scenes of perverted creatures. There were fairies holding blood-stained knives. There were green harlots lying in forests with no clothes. There were even men's bodies with girl's faces. Every one of her pictures displayed some form of depravity. Where could these ideas have come from?
That same night as we gathered for family prayers I read from the Word of God in Colossians, chapter 3 and verses 5 to 6: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience". Then we spoke with Rebecca about her art. That was the hardest conversation I have ever had. She was upset about our invasion of her privacy, but we knew that her eternal soul was more important by far.
Rebecca denied that her "new style" of art was at all impure. She called it gothic fantasy and claimed that some very famous artists were painting in this style. "You can even talk with them on the net," she said. I was trembling inside. I wanted to shake some sense into her. My little girl was consorting with powers darker than she could possibly realize. At the end of the discussion when she still refused to concede that she was in any danger I had to take away her network connection and forbid her to paint any more filth.
Our relationship with Rebecca is still strained, but with specially selected Bible studies she is gradually coming to accept the reality of the danger she had unwittingly put herself in. God is faithful. He won't test us beyond our ability to cope.
Edited by: AndrewTFoster>1/18/04 6:34 pm
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 3
(1/17/04 9:04 pm)
Re: The background story.
And some more background.
The Investigation
It was on Christmas day that I felt God laying a burden on my heart. I had saved my own daughter from a corrupting influence but the influence was still there. It was still drawing innocent children into sin. From my office computer at the chapel I searched for the website Rebecca had mentioned. It is called Ebony Keep. I almost gave up when I found that I had to join up and be a member before I could find out anything about it. Since God wanted me to investigate, I steeled myself and applied for membership under an assumed name.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw on those forums. There were immoral discussions of a homosexual and bestial nature, graphic images of nudity, gore and violence, worship of pagan gods, and absolutely disgusting language. It almost made me physically ill. I only saw one truly inspirational painting. It was displayed by a new member in a section called "the marketplace". But the other members ganged up and made fun of the artist.
What did God want me to do in this cesspit of depravity? "Where should I start, Lord? What good is one man in the face of all this evil?" God answered me through Joanna when we prayed and talked together. She said, "even when it looks like a rabble there are always leaders and followers." I had to work out who were the leaders, the ones who had influence.
The next day I disabled graphics in my browser (for my stomach's sake) and set about reading all the comments to work out which of the artists had the most respect. Their language is so strange. Half of the comments seemed to be in code. I could have saved myself a lot of time because it turns out that the influential people all have special titles: mentor, moderator, and administrator. It was very clear from the comments that these people hold a lot of power in this "cult". The young teenage artists hold these leaders in high, almost worshipful esteem.
Some of the members celebrate their *addiction to EK* as though it was something to be proud of. Their values have been so turned upside down that they cannot see their own bondage. If only they could learn the immeasurably superior love and acceptance of Jesus, they would find happiness instead of a constant struggle to be accepted by the twisted and deceitful leaders of this devilish art cult.
I also plan to write a short blurb on why Andrew Foster set up this community and what the community will do to "reclaim art".
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 7
(1/18/04 2:55 pm)
Re: The background story.
Question: is this prose too neat?
Should I be adding more "Hallelujah"s, "Praise the Lord"s and "Amen"s (the expletives of the saved)?
Are there colloquialisms that I should use that sound more like a conservative god-botherer? I've only really been exposed to aussie god-botherers, and they don't have the same class as a southern USA botherer.
MichelleCB
Member
Posts: 2
(1/18/04 3:48 pm)
Re: The background story.
Maybe the occasional "praise the lord", but "hallelujah" and "amen" are WAY over the top. Way too televangelistic-sounding. American bible-thumpers usually say milder things, like "God willing", "thank the Lord", et cetera.
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 6
(1/17/04 11:42 pm)
Timeline - now we've gone public
Here is a rough time plan for the hoax. We will modify this and refine plans as we go.
Mid January
- Members only. No public access.
- Members create discussions in the general discussion area.
Mid February
- Board opens for public viewing, but only writable by members. Ezboard search strings may draw some interest.
- Hopefully someone from EK will find it.
End February
- If nobody from EK has found it, one of us can bitch about it in EK's dining room.
During March
- Monitor reactions on EK and adjust tactics as appropriate to keep the outrage simmering
Last week in March
- Start an outrageous campaign
Late on April 1st
- Gloat!
Edited by: AndrewTFoster>2/15/04 6:26 am
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 15
(2/15/04 6:25 am)
Re: Timeline
Since our one month gold membership has expired, the forum is now exposed to the public. Expect a backlash on EK some time in the next few weeks. I hope we don't have to seed it.
My next activity will be to compose a convincing conversion email to be sent to Linda. I will publish the contents of the email in the prayer room "as a prompt to help everyone focus our prayers".
The comments you guys have been posting are brilliant. This is going to be a hoot.
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 17
(2/15/04 4:41 pm)
Re: Timeline
You should probably start drafting one to me, as well, if you still plan on staging the fake protest outside my building.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 20
(2/15/04 6:10 pm)
Re: Timeline
Now that we're into the 2-week period of the open Linda letter, I'll start to draw attention to Socar in the prayer lists. After a week or so, I'm sure I'm going to find God leading me to wage a different campaign with Socar. I'll probably draw considerable outrage from the depravity in "Making Fun of Plato".
The Linda letter is really a softly-softly campaign. The campaign on Socar will need more fire and brimstone and pulpit thumping (as the Spirit leads me, of course).
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 15
(2/15/04 7:02 pm)
Re: Timeline
That letter is pure genius, haha... I loved it.
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 25
(2/23/04 1:33 am)
Re: Timeline
Oh, man...your prayers are absolutely hysterical. I had fallen a bit behind lately, being under the weather and all, so none of my characters were posting. Paul's OK, since he's supposedly on a retreat--I'll have him return in a day or two. In the meantime, I will bring back JRashleigh and Michelle CB.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 36
(2/29/04 5:12 pm)
Re: Timeline
The initial Linda Letter has been sent, posted by Linda in the dining room, and raised a few chuckles and some ire. So far so good.
Once the initial flurry has died down, Linda can post the address of this board found from Andrew's ezboard profile. That is when I hope we can generate more of a feeding frenzy from EKers. Discovering a whole board that criticises EK leadership should inflame a few.
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 58
(3/11/04 9:47 pm)
Re: Timeline
Nice move with the MISTAKE plan, Socar. Now let's just hope that someone will take to proffered bait. We may still need Linda to post the second letter to stir things up enough.
Beth, what a sweet response to the passion. :D *chortles merrily.
Sigga, thanks for the NewAmerican.com stuff. That is pure bottled credibility for this hoax.
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 41
(3/12/04 12:50 pm)
Re: Timeline
WOW! That mistake blew up SO fast! YEEEEEK!
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 31
(3/12/04 1:44 pm)
Re: Timeline
Yeah, way to go SOCAR! Yeesh!
*starves everyone*
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 47
(3/12/04 1:47 pm)
Re: Timeline
I honestly had NO idea it would do that! Hahaha! Oh, man! What a disaster! (But a hilarious disaster!)
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
Author
Comment
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 8
(1/18/04 7:33 pm)
Useful links
I use this website for any bible texts I want: Bible Gateway
It has a word search and multiple translations. I'd suggest using the King James Version to give that old English sound. If you want to be sure you know what something means, use one of the modern translations - New International Version
or New American Standard Bible.
Note: you don't have to quote verses in the context they were originally intended. You can just grab verses or bits of verses and use them as "truth" to suit your own purpose. (Theologians have been doing this for years, so why shouldn't we?)
Author
Comment
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Paul
Administrator
Posts: 3
(1/23/04 1:05 pm)
Idea
Maybe one of us should start a thread with links to a whole bunch of art forums--not just EK, but, you know, Sijun, CGTalk, and a few more obscure ones that not everyone would think of right away. We could have extra people swing by and add links to forums they've "found" every once in a while.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 9
(1/23/04 7:13 pm)
Re: Idea
My immediate thought was "Good idea but not me. I don't know enough about what art forums are around." Then I realised that my lack of background would be an advantage for playing the role.
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 3
(1/24/04 6:04 pm)
Re: Idea
Maybe you should do a Google search, and also an EZBoard search for "fantasy art", and post what you find--some minor boards, some major ones. It would be more convincing if you completely miss some of the huge communities like Sijun and Epilogue, but get Elfwood, EK, and a whole lot of small EZBoard forums.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
MichelleCB
Member
Posts: 5
(2/6/04 4:48 am)
Re: Idea
I went ahead and posted a few random forums I found on the Net (under the Paul A Williams name). Some of theme are really small...I'd never heard of them till I went looking. I'll probably link to Elfwood and whatever other minor sf&f forums I can unearth soon.
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 8
(2/7/04 7:29 pm)
Re: Idea
I'm going to do a search for "demonic art", "evil art", and other similar things tonight. I'm sure I'll find some horribly cheesy images to post.
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
ezOP
Posts: 29
(2/19/04 10:17 pm)
OMG
Ultra-conservative doctrinal statement here. Seek medical advice before swallowing.
On the bright side, this is good preliminary reading before posting. If you can't manage to get your mind completely in-character, don't feel ashamed. I think you need a proper brain-washing to even get close.
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 24
(2/23/04 1:32 am)
Re: OMG
Holy GAWD! That's just...er...yikes! Yowza! Way too much to swallow, that's for sure.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
Author
Comment
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 46
(3/5/04 5:50 am)
Links
I've just bunged this in here because it was the wrong time of day in the USA for Andrew to be posting.
I'll post a thread in the announcements with a collection of links to similar sites. The more links to similar stuff, the greater our credibility.
Some links to sites with a similar mission.
"God Reclaiming the Arts" workshops
_________________________________________________
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 38
(3/2/04 5:54 pm)
Linda's Reply
Dear Andrew,
I appreciate your obvious concern for my well-being, but if what I do is a sin and will send me off to eternal damnation, IÂ’m afraid I still enjoy it far too much to quit. I suggest you turn your prayers towards someone who might both need them and appreciate them more than myself: IÂ’m perfectly happy as I am.
Linda.
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 39
(3/2/04 5:55 pm)
Re: Linda's Reply
Here is my next letter:
Dear Linda,
I fully respect your desire to enjoy life. I want you to enjoy not only this life but the better life to come.
Forgive my persistence but I must speak very bluntly. Your choices in this life do affect the next. There is no 'if' about damnation for the unrepentant. This is your choice for eternity.
I cannot simply go and pray for someone else because what you do with your art is leading young people away from God. You have influence and power that you wield without realizing. When you paint moral and sexual distortions like 'Devil May Care' you are guiding the minds of impressionable children who are already confused by the perverted influence of the gay lobby. Your painting 'A Thought Made Flesh' is encouraging self-mutilation. In a society that teaches hatred and violence, you are leading teenagers to rend the very flesh that God has given them, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The daggers you paint in 'Surrendering' are frightening young people away from holy wedlock. You take God's perfect plan for an intimate union between man and wife and turn it into an image of horror. I don't think you realize how much your ideas control the minds of our children. It's no wonder our society is fraying and decaying when cornerstones like marriage are being undermined with fear of betrayal.
It is not my position to make accusations. That is God's privilege. You don't have to answer to me but everyone must answer to the almighty Creator of the universe. This is what He says in His timeless message to us:
1 Corinthians 6:9 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders"
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
Mark 9:42 "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck."
You can see from God's Word why I must urge you to take this matter seriously. It is not just your own destiny at stake. You can't shrug and ignore it. How would you feel if one of the teenage members of EK were to be killed in a car accident tomorrow? Having been drawn away from God by the messages in your art, they would die in sin and face an eternity in the lake of burning sulfur.
Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Please don't let this happen. You can decide to prevent it. You don't have to give up happiness. You can have enjoyment now and enjoyment in the afterlife. God wants us to have abundant, fulfilling lives. The momentary highs you have now can be replaced by continuous peace and joy in Christ Jesus. Through God your art could be a source of joy and salvation for the world.
Yours in Christ our Redeemer
Andrew T Foster
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 34
(3/6/04 7:17 pm)
Re: Linda's Reply
Whooooa...now that's creepy! If it wasn't you writing it, I'd be seriously creeped out right now!
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
Author
Comment
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HeatherLK
Member
Posts: 1
(3/4/04 2:05 am)
Dudes!
Heheh, it's Linda here.
I'm not going to be able to join in and 'play a character', as such - I think. Though if I do, it's Heather here. We'll see.
I just wanted to say that I'm finding this whole thing HILARIOUS so far. I'm going to post the second letter sometime next week, and I think I'll send a sharper, more sarcastic response to that one. Likely something rather blasphemous, so that you guys can get really riled up ;]
So, anyway, tell me if there's anything you want me to do.
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 41
(3/4/04 4:33 am)
Re: Dudes!
Welcome Heather,
Playing the role of an unsuspecting Linda is enough.
You do realise that if you respond with blasphemy we'll be forced to conclude that Satan's First Lady (Socar) has been brainwashing you. Then Socar is really in for it. We're going to get really tough--all night prayers, fasting, damning denouncements, sending her Chick tracts etc. She won't know what hit her.
I'd better start working on the Epistle to Socar.
Andrew T Foster
HeatherLK
Member
Posts: 2
(3/4/04 6:21 am)
Re: Dudes!
Heheh, brilliant ^____^
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 19
(3/4/04 4:08 pm)
Re: Dudes!
Welcome to our cult, Heather. ;D
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 35
(3/6/04 7:18 pm)
Re: Dudes!
I'm having a bit of trouble finding time to play characters, as well...but I'll do my best to hang in, here. And I'll find time to express appropriate outrage when I am accused of being the devil's own evil brainwashing mole-rat mastermind.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
Author
Comment
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HeatherLK
Member
Posts: 3
(3/12/04 3:37 am)
Important!
MrP has located us, guys. He just sent me a private message with a link to this forum. Do tell what I shall do about it?
I also made public Andrew's email in the dining room, and I'll send off a not-so-pleasant reply tonight sometime.
HeatherLK
Member
Posts: 4
(3/12/04 4:54 am)
Re: Important!
Also, he's suggesting that we should ban you guys from EK ;]
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 24
(3/12/04 6:37 am)
Re: Important!
I just got this message from Geck:
"I am beginning to wonder if it has always been a tradition among swedes to start April Fool's jokes a month ahead of time..."
I think we can be pretty sure that Geck will blow our cover. What should I tell her?
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 28
(3/12/04 10:17 am)
Re: Important!
Holy cow there is a lot of people here. :p
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 40
(3/12/04 12:49 pm)
Re: Important!
We have been linked on CA and Eatpoo as well as EK--Virge, dude, if you were playing a sneaky joke on us, somehow, I think it's about to become a joke on you too. ;)
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
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AndrewTFoster
Posts: 59
(3/12/04 2:53 pm)
Linda's Second Reply + assorted hate mail
After some thought, IÂ’ve decided IÂ’ll just tell you this:
Take your opinions, and your religiously fanatic ideas, and stuff them, as they say, wherever “God’s” light doesn’t shine.
I tried to treat all of this cordially but that wasn’t enough for you – so, politeness switched off, I’m just telling you to butt out, get the hell out, or, be banned.
Bests wishes,
Linda.
Edited by: AndrewTFoster3/12/04 3:21 pm
AndrewTFoster
Posts: 61
(3/12/04 3:22 pm)
Re: Linda's Second Reply + assorted hate mail
From: <Upset EK member (name withheld)> (via pm)
STOP HARRASSING LINDA AND EVERYONE ELSE!
Stop trying to enforce your believes on everyone! It's people like you who are giving Christians a bad name.
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Paul
Administrator
Posts: 42
(3/12/04 12:59 pm)
Reclaiming Joke
Okay, this joke has gone so far that it looks like we won't be able to hold out till April 1--if nothing else, it will lose momentum by then, at this rate. I don't think we can do the planned finale with the picket of my flat thing...people might go nuts and call the police. Some of them seem pretty concerned.
I think our only course is to keep subtly piling on layers of ridiculousness till nobody could believe us real...I don't know--could we do that for 2.5 weeks?
Suggestions?
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
CrystalSky22
Posts: 9
(3/12/04 1:01 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
I don't know, it's totally spiralled out of control, wow. But yeah there's no way that we can keep this up this long and it's also not fair for people who are genuinly worried.
It was ment to simmer, it's boiling already and splashing over the pot and making a weird smelly burnt goo on the stove.
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 43
(3/12/04 1:04 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
Yeah--I don't know what we can really do here. What we need is some kind of snappy punchline, something that'll still be funny weeks from now.
I think we'll seriously have to admit it's a joke today or tomorrow, and then tell everyone to beware, because we are not giving up on April Fool's. (And then we'll have to think up a new AF joke.)
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
CrystalSky22
Posts: 10
(3/12/04 1:10 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
Yep I agree, we have to do a oops my bad, announcement and say it's a joke, was supposed to be the April fools joke but got a wee bit out of hand.
Im not a terrific writer so someone else should write up the punchline, but yeah, we need to self-destruct ahead of time. Overall it's a success though, just abit too much of a success. *coughs*
Oh and i dont think going more and more over the top is not going to work, we´re already -alot- over the top and there would always be a few people who thought it was real etc. and it's just not fair.
edit: was a 'not' missing there
Edited by: CrystalSky22 3/12/04 1:11 pm
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 44
(3/12/04 1:21 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
I agree.... Man, yeah, we need to make an announcement, and go around all the forums where people are laughing at this place, and admit to what we did. How does this sound:
"Dear Internet,
Shame on us! Shame on us for sinning; shame on us for spreading the word of the Deceiver--shame on us for our Satanic, pagan, and otherwise ungodly spewings. And, most of all, shame on us for forgetting, even for an instant, the power of the Internet grapevine!
Reclaiming Art was, of course, our April Fool's joke on EK. (Our, in this case, referring to Virgilanti (www.virgilanti.com), Socar MYLES (www.gorblimey.com), Enayla (www.furiae.com), Sica (no site at present), and Katheryn (www.pocketmole.com).) The plan was to post contrived letters from people like Paul A. Williams and Andrew T. Foster on EK over the course of the weeks leading up to April Fool's day. The forum was to be discovered some time this week, laughed at, and allowed to fade back into obscurity.
Then, on the first of April, we were to detonate the joke like a bomb. We were going to have Andrew and Paul organize a fake protest march, to be held outside the apartment building of Socar MYLES (whose address she stupidly has posted on her online journal (www.rattysghost.com/deadrat/)--way to go, Socar). That was to stir up the real frenzy, and then, in that golden moment of madness, we were to confess to the jest.
Of course, we had not reckoned on being discovered by Eatpoo and Concept Art, and, you know, the whole Internet art community, especially this soon! In our efforts to trump the truly heinous japes we have perpetrated in previous years, we went too far, and our joke exploded too soon!
For those few who were offended by our joke--and there were a few--we do apologize. No slight was meant to genuine Christians, or to members of any serious faith. We deliberately made our "Christians" so far over the top they bore no resemblance to most real religious folks. (And anyone who really IS that fanatical...well, they deserve to be laughed at, regardless of faith!)
Tremble, however, O Internet of gullibility. We shall still play an April Fool's joke...you've been warned.
Sincerely,
--A Bunch of Nits from EK
PS - For those of you who fell for the joke: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 0wN3D!"
...we should let this go on a few more hours, then confess. Let Virge get online first.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
Edited by: Paul; at: 3/12/04 4:41 pm
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 29
(3/12/04 1:36 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
I'm thinking a confession is in order as well... its still hilarious as hell, but holding out till the first definitely won't work.
Oh how I will miss playing the role of a pyschonuttermom....
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 45
(3/12/04 1:40 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
I am saving all the posts--I think I'm going to post about this on my journal when it's all over.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.
MalamuteLoverr
Member
Posts: 30
(3/12/04 1:40 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
I think we should include a small line in the letter that says something like, "And for those of you that fell for it - mwaahahaha...!"
It was still a damn good joke and I don't think we should be too apologetic about it. Our joke exploded sooner tjan expected, but I really don't think it is offensive unless we keep up with the lying.
I think the line about not offending the Christians is well-stated.
I'm going back to the attic to beat my husband with a crucifix now!
Paul
Administrator
Posts: 46
(3/12/04 1:41 pm)
Re: Reclaiming Joke
Yeah, I agree with you on the offensiveness part--these people were absolute caricatures of fanatics. I will add the mwhaha bit in now.
______________________
Go in peace with the Lord.
Paul Alfred Williams Sr.