Comments on: Now, thanks to the internet, we know this is not true

Now, thanks to the internet, we know this is not true

whir — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:28:56 -0800

A Million Penguins, the wiki novel mentioned previously on MeFi, is complete, and a research paper about it has been released.

The analysis is largely concerned with cataloging types of user behavior on the site, although they also throw in some flash about Bakhtin for a page or two. via

By: paduasoy

paduasoy — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:48:43 -0800

Fascinating, thanks.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:53:21 -0800

As early as the "novel's" second paragraph: "It's infinite underbelly was teeming with life, a monstrous collection of finned, tentacled, toxic, and slimy parts." Not one contributor noticed this?

By: empath

empath — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:53:49 -0800

The first chapter is utter shit. Does it get better?

By: sophist

sophist — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:36:00 -0800

No.

By: From Bklyn

From Bklyn — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:36:26 -0800

The first chapter is utter shit. Does it get better? Nope, looks like a whopping great big shit sandwich. Which is kind of surprising. You would have thought, it being a Wiki and all, that someone would have stepped in and done at least a tiny bit of editing: "Meanwhile, Artie's friend, Kim, was asking him why he hadn't got her anything for Valentine's Day." I mean, seriously?

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:17:16 -0800

A Million Penguins, the wiki novel mentioned previously on MeFi, is complete How can they tell?

By: martinX's bellbottoms

martinX's bellbottoms — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:12:59 -0800

How can they tell? The folks operating the site said so. I think it would be cool to keep it going indefinitely and see how much the plot winds up changing. I can only imagine it getting worse, but it would be an interesting thing to follow.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:12:36 -0800

With a word it begins ... the sound of clicking keys and the smell of wet fur fill the room. Möbius strips made of banana yellow construction paper and Scotch tape are scattered haphazardly across the floor. The chief monkey, careful not to slip and fall, ambles from desk to desk collecting papers before pasting them slowly and deliberately into a gigantic scrapbook. He scratches himself, enjoying the sensation. If he had been able to read, as he once had been, he would have read something similar, or perhaps completely different, to the following

Jesus Christ no.

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:29:47 -0800

I, for one, welcome our new wiki literary overlords.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:29:49 -0800

It was the blurst of times.

By: absalom

absalom — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:50:04 -0800

How is the MeFi novel project going? OR Whatever happened to the MeFi novel project?

By: RokkitNite

RokkitNite — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:05:50 -0800

The authors who came together were not the usual writerly stereotypes scribbling away alone in attics, but an intriguing mix of 'gardeners' intent on nurturing the novel, 'vandals' determined to ruin it, and 'performers' hoping to make it showcase for their talents. The novel may be a shitty PR stunt, but the analysis makes for interesting reading. (although, being sponsored by Penguin, its impartiality is fatally compromised) The distinction between 'performers' and 'vandals' is worth particular attention, since their behaviour ('look at me!') is essentially the same, the only differentiating factor being their perceived intent. So the report still supposes a kind of nominal meta-author who descends to ascribe ideological judgements, as if there's a 'true', Platonic ideal of the text that contributors are either working towards or pulling away from. The way in which one defines each contribution reveals underlying ideological assumptions - the phrasing of the report is inherently conservative, the 'gardeners' supposedly 'nurturing' the novel, when 'vandals' or 'performers' might well see them as conservatives stifling growth, creativity, and all the things that are most interesting about a dynamic novel. But at the end of the day, though this will spark a couple of weak op-eds in the literary press and generate a bit of kudos for Penguin (as if they need it), it's a crap novel. Worse, it's dull. I'm sure some critics will see this as vindication for The Author, conveniently forgetting that lone writers are more than capable of producing turgid, unreadable tripe, only they cost more.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:54:17 -0800

Oh God, I promised myself I wouldn't... Metafilter: turgid, unreadable tripe.

By: Guy_Inamonkeysuit

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:31:35 -0800

So... how shiny did they get that turd?

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:33:14 -0800

Not particularly, it would seem.