Monday, January 09, 2012

Kopimism: Filesharing as a religion

The Church of Kopimism, which is a faith and philosophy based on file-sharing, is now an 'official' religion in Sweden.  Maybe meant as a Scandinavian send-off to all the organized religions of the world, Kopimism has a main document, in which you shall find the 100 tasks you need to do to attain #g_d. From the list:

001. Obtain the Internet.
002. Start using IRC.
003. Group and birth a site.
004. Experiment with research chemicals.
005. Design a three-step program.
006. Take a powerful stance for something positive and essential.
007. Regulate nothing.
008. Say that you have to move in two weeks, but stay for seven months. Come back a year later and do it all over again.
009. ROTFLOL.
010. Relax, you’re already halfway there.
011. Just kidding.
012. Don’t think outside the box. Build a box.
013. Support support.
014. Organize and go to parties and fairs.
015. Start 30–40 blogs about the same things.
016. Drain the private sector of coders, graphic artists and literati.
017. Create a prize that is awarded.
018. Express yourself often in the media, vaguely.
019. Spread all rumors.
020. Seek out and try carding, and travel by expensive trains. Don’t order sushi.
021. Start a radio station.
022. Everything you use, you can copy and give an arbitrary name, whether it’s a news portal, search engine or public service.
023. Buy a bus.
024. Install a MegaHAL.
025. Make sure that you are really good friends with people who can use Photoshop, HTML, databases, and the like.
Via 

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posted by Pramit Singh @ 2:09 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Considering the effect of the internet on religion (and the effect of religion on internet)

Everybody asks, "What effect has the internet had on religion?", but nobody asks what effect has religion had on the internet.

The general explanation for the effect of the internet on religion is something like what Professor Heidi Campbell, author of 'When Religion Meets New Media' explains,
"The distinctions and differences (between religions) are amplified online."
That about sums it up. But, what about the effect of religion on the internet? For example, is religious conservatism linked to the Internet-Controlling measures such as Net Neutrality, Net Censorships, and such? Or, are we talking about a different kind of religion here? The religion of power?

Or, is the cult of Apple online affected by the cult of Scientology? The cult of Scientology, as you know, is a like a multi-level-marketing program where a member's worth is increased by the number of people he brings in to the fold. Similarly, having once purchased a needlessly expensive gadget, which puts limits to your extent of using it, the buyer is compelled to promote the cult of Apple, as there is no other way he could justify his excessive spending in today's times of economic turmoil. 

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posted by Pramit Singh @ 2:49 PM 0 Comments