Society and Information Technology in Second Life

Wednesdays, August 29 - December 12 , 2007, 4-6, SLT/PT, 7-9 pm ET on Berkman island in Second Life

Course homepage - http://socinfotech.pbwiki.com

 

Instructor: Scott MacLeod (not on Harvard's faculty) = Aphilo Aarde (in Second Life)

http://scottmacleod.com/papers.htm

 

Oct 17 2007 Burning Man Trial Mock in Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson's class in the 3-d virtual world of Second Life

 

[15:56]  Luna Bliss is Online

[15:56]  Geda Hax is Online

[15:56]  Arawn Spitteler is Online

[15:56]  Jagger Valeeva is Online

[15:56]  Andromeda Mesmer is Online

[15:56]  Robyn Proto is Online

[15:56]  Teresa Cinquetti is Online

[15:56]  Shawnee Morigi is Online

[15:56]  Jon Seattle is Online

[15:56]  Champler Snook is Online

[15:56]  Daisyblue Hefferman is Online

[15:56]  Gwyneth Llewelyn is Online

[15:56]  Boston Hutchinson is Online

[15:56]  Barbie Starr is Online

[15:56]  SamBivalent Spork is Online

[15:56]  Connecting to in-world Voice Chat...

[15:56]  Connected

[15:56]  You decline Discussion Area, Metaversed (163, 225, 23) from A group member named Onder Skall.

[15:56]  Boston Hutchinson: Hi Aphilo

[15:57]  You: Hi Boston

[15:57]  Boston Hutchinson: How are you?

[15:57]  Parmesan Eggplant is Online

[15:58]  Boston Hutchinson: Hi Parmesan

[15:58]  Rebecca Berkman is Online

[15:58]  Parmesan Eggplant: hi !

[15:58]  Madman Martinek: is this trial thing happening?

[15:58]  You: Hello Parmesan

[15:58]  You: Fine, thanks, Boston.

[15:58]  You: Yes, the trail is happening

[15:58]  Parmesan Eggplant: I am heading to the mock trial

[15:58]  Boston Hutchinson: Hi Madman.

[15:58]  You: due north of here, about 50 m away

[15:59]  You: Will you show Madman, Parm?

[15:59]  You: Would you like to talk about Croquet tomorrow on the phone?

[15:59]  Geda Hax is Offline

[15:59]  Boston Hutchinson: Are you holding class, or are we visiting the trial?

[15:59]  Madman Martinek: it's not happening here?

[15:59]  You: And are you interested in participating in the trial?

[15:59]  Boston Hutchinson: sure. that would be great.

[15:59]  Madman Martinek: yes

[15:59]  Boston Hutchinson: Observing would be interesting

[15:59]  Gayle Cabaret is Online

[16:00]  You: Great, let's go over now.

[16:00]  Geda Hax is Online

[16:00]  Madman Martinek: where?

[16:00]  You: Follow me

[16:00]  You: Hi Sinclair Lyssa

[16:00]  Lyssa Vanvleck: HEllo

[16:00]  You: The trial is this way

[16:01]  You: In the distance, you can see a brown rectangle on its side.

[16:01]  You: That's the back of the juror's box.

[16:01]  You: You won't get wet.

[16:02]  You: Hi Kwanbul!, Robyn,

[16:02]  Robyn Proto: Hi Aphilo

[16:02]  Robyn Proto: :)

[16:02]  You: Everyone

[16:02]  You: I'm going to go back to the meeting area, and driect other folks here.

[16:02]  Robyn Proto: ok

[16:03]  Ralph Radius is Online

[16:03]  CivilE Writer is Online

[16:03]  You: Hey A!

[16:03]  You: How are you?

[16:03]  Andromeda Mesmer: Hi, Aphilo -- I'm fine ... where is everybody???

[16:03]  You: Are you up for participating in the trial this evening?

[16:03]  Andromeda Mesmer: Sure.

[16:04]  Eon Berkman is Online

[16:04]  You: They are due north of here, about 50 meters on Berkman island.

[16:04]  You: I'm facing there now.

[16:04]  You: HI Ralph!

[16:04]  You: Nice to see you!

[16:04]  You: There's a Mock Burning Man Trial this evening, Ralph, which

[16:05]  Ralph Radius: Hi Aphillo, Hi Andromedaq

[16:05]  You: the Harvard Law Professor's class is trying.

[16:05]  You: In part it's his vision which has shaped both Harvard's Berkman center for Internet and Society, as well as Berkman island.

[16:06]  You: His classes can be fascinating.

[16:06]  You: As part of this class I'd like to invite folks to participate as jurors or participants, nd we'll discuss it in the context of vritual communities.

[16:07]  Ralph Radius: Where is it?

[16:07]  You: Would you like to participate in it - it's here about 50 meters away.

[16:07]  You: due north

[16:07]  You: I'll show you if you'd like.

[16:07]  Ralph Radius: K. I'll check it out.

[16:07]  You: Great

[16:07]  You: Let's fly

[16:08]  Eon Berkman: just text

[16:08]  Parmesan Eggplant: that's fine, a bit easier

[16:08]  You: I'll be back

[16:08]  Robyn Proto: that'll probably be better

[16:09]  You: Hi Becca

[16:09]  Rebecca Berkman: one sec...

[16:09]  You: Hi Christopher

[16:09]  Christopher Timeless: hi

[16:09]  You: Are you coming to participate in the mock trial?

[16:10]  Christopher Timeless: just checking it out, im new to the world

[16:10]  You: ...which Harvard Law Professor Charlie Nesson is trying in a class?

[16:10]  You: If you interested, follow me.

[16:10]  Rebecca Berkman: sorry, i was just leaving a note about office hours.

[16:11]  Rebecca Berkman: i'm heading back to the courtroom.

[16:11]  You: Ok

[16:11]  Christopher Timeless: ok thanks

[16:11]  You: Christopher, come this way

[16:11]  Sinclair Bracken: might take more than a couple

[16:11]  Chat Relay: Sinclair Bracken: might take more than a couple

[16:12]  Chat Relay: Eon Berkman: no, i will give jurors a chance to question at the conclusion of the counsel's examination

[16:12]  Eon Berkman: but just one question

[16:12]  Lucius Sciarri: never had green hair before

[16:12]  Eon Berkman: order in the court

[16:12]  *Pose Ball- Man Sitting: Yossarian Carpool, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.

[16:13]  Lucius Sciarri: thanks

[16:13]  Eon Berkman: i call the case the early burning of burning man

[16:13]  Eon Berkman: is the prosecution ready

[16:13]  Madison Kotobide: yes your honor

[16:13]  Eon Berkman: is the defense ready

[16:13]  KwanBul Dawg: yes, your honor

[16:13]  Eon Berkman: would each of the jurors identify yourselves

[16:14]  Parmesan Eggplant: parmesan eggplant

[16:14]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Jim Graham

[16:14]  Robyn Proto: Hello, I'm Robyn Proto

[16:14]  You: I'm Aphilo Aarde

[16:14]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: I'm Jim Graham

[16:14]  Eon Berkman: thank you for serving

[16:14]  Eon Berkman: i charge you to serve well

[16:15]  Eon Berkman: prosecution, please give your opening statement

[16:15]  Yossarian Carpool: Try to imagine what it was like to be a first time participant at burning man the night that this horrendous crime took place. Having arrived earlier that day, you have begun an 8-day experiment in desert living.

[16:16]  Yossarian Carpool: You are just getting your bearings, physically. When you walk to the bathroom or the water station (as you do several times a day), you look toward the Man, at the center of the camp, to orient yourself.

[16:16]  Yossarian Carpool: Especially at night, it helps you know where you need to go in the vast sea of tents. After a tiring drive out and a long time setting up camp, you finally hit the hay around 1 am.

[16:17]  CivilE Writer is Offline

[16:17]  Yossarian Carpool: You have already met many veteran burners, and you’ve heard the legends of years past. The most common theme is what people were doing on the Burn Day. That day provides definition to the week as its culmination. You only hope that your first Burn Day will be as memorable and thrilling as the days of yore.

[16:17]  Yossarian Carpool: Suddenly, your tent shakes as somebody trips over your guy line. You hear a commotion outside. You check your watch: 3:00 am. People are shouting, and you quickly sit up and try to unzip your tent. You look outside and the row of tents is brightly lit up. You hear somebody over the loudspeakers “the man is burning. The man is burning.”

[16:17]  Yossarian Carpool: You try to wake your friends up so that they can see this spectacle, but they will not be budged. You walk up to a group of people you vaguely recognize and ask them what happened. Everyone is confused, tired, many having just gotten out of bed like you. Some are thrilled and excited. Others are angry and want some sort of explanation. One woman is worried that her boyfriend might have been burned in the pavilion under the Man.

[16:18]  Yossarian Carpool: This is the scene in the early hours of August 28, 2007. Confusion, chaos, surprise, and loss. Some people slept through it. For many participants, the premature burning detracted from their overall experience, since it made it harder to watch the much-anticipated solar eclipse.

[16:18]  Yossarian Carpool: The bright light of the fire made the eclipse nearly impossible to see, and the chaos and confusion distracted people on what should have been a peaceful and meaningful experience. When the man was taken down (after the fire was put out), it removed a crucial navigational aid from the community for three days. Everyone was harmed by this, especially at night.

[16:19]  Yossarian Carpool: The defendant will attempt to convince you that although he may be technically guilty of all of the elements of the crime of arson, you should acquit him because he’s an artist. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is a question of art. But it is also a question of tradition, and the collective experience of tens of thousands of people. The work of art that matters here is the traditional burning of the man on Burn Day, and all of the ritual and anticipation that brings. That art—and the freedom to put in all of the coordination, hard work and resources that such art demands—is what is threatened by the defendant’s actions. Thank you for your time.

[16:19]  Eon Berkman: thank you.

[16:19]  *Pose Ball- Man Sitting: Yossarian Carpool, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.

[16:19]  Eon Berkman: ladies and gentlethings of the jury

[16:20]  Eon Berkman: i counsel you, the statements of counsel are not evidence.

[16:20]  Eon Berkman: you will hear the evidence from the witnesses.

[16:20]  Eon Berkman: defense, you may proceed

[16:20]  KwanBul Dawg: thank you,your honor

[16:21]  KwanBul Dawg: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, welcome to this landmark trial and thank you for your service.

[16:21]  You: noted

[16:21]  KwanBul Dawg: One thing that we have to make clear at the beginning is that this is not going to be the kind of trial you’re used to.

[16:21]  KwanBul Dawg: The first thing you must understand is that Burning Man is not DsineyLand

[16:22]  KwanBul Dawg: The prosecution has talked about inconvenience

[16:22]  KwanBul Dawg: As a burner myself, let me tell you, there is nothing convenient about Burning Man

[16:22]  KwanBul Dawg: It is an alternative vision of the world in a harsh environment. And things burn all the time.

[16:22]  KwanBul Dawg: You must also understand about this court.

[16:23]  KwanBul Dawg: This is the Court of Public Opinion, and it operates by a different set of rules.

[16:23]  KwanBul Dawg: Here, your task will be to decide – not whether the defendant before you committed an alleged act or not – but rather to decide whether he is worthy of being cast out of society for what he did or did not do.

[16:23]  Eon Berkman: my rules

[16:23]  Madison Kotobide: objection

[16:23]  Madison Kotobide: he is not being cast out of society

[16:23]  KwanBul Dawg: what?

[16:23]  Eon Berkman: overrules

[16:23]  KwanBul Dawg: thank you, your honor

[16:23]  KwanBul Dawg: Here, today, you will hear from Paul Addis himself, and you will listen to him explain why he has done no harm whatsoever.

[16:23]  KwanBul Dawg: You will hear him testify how everything he did was motivated by a desire to save the Burning Man event from itself, and to keep others from being harmed.

[16:24]  KwanBul Dawg: You will hear the sad story of what has become of the Burning Man organization in recent years, and you will hear from the man who had the courage to try to do something about it.

[16:24]  KwanBul Dawg: In the end, it is you, ladies and gentlemen (and… others) who will decide what is ultimately right.

[16:24]  KwanBul Dawg: All that I and Paul Addis ask is this: remember that this is no ordinary courtroom. This is no ordinary world. And Burning Man is no ordinary place.

[16:24]  KwanBul Dawg: Thank you very much.

[16:24]  Eon Berkman: prosecution, call your witness

[16:25]  Madison Kotobide: we call Larry Harvey

[16:25]  KwanBul Dawg: your honor, the witness appears to be disoriented

[16:25]  Rebecca Berkman: :D

[16:25]  Eon Berkman: please stand down

[16:25]  KwanBul Dawg: perhaps he should be subjected to a drug test before testifying

[16:26]  Madison Kotobide: opposing counsel is a burner

[16:26]  Madison Kotobide: he should take drug test

[16:26]  Eon Berkman: order in the court

[16:26]  Eon Berkman: proceed

[16:26]  Yossarian Carpool: Hello

[16:26]  Yossarian Carpool: I am Larry Harvey

[16:26]  Yossarian Carpool: I am Larry Harvey

[16:26]  Yossarian Carpool: Hello

[16:26]  Madison Kotobide: what is your occupation?

[16:27]  Yossarian Carpool: I am the founder and spokesman of burning man

[16:27]  Madison Kotobide: what is burning man?

[16:27]  Yossarian Carpool: Burning Man is both a ritual and a spiritual community based on radical self-expression.

[16:27]  Madison Kotobide: ??? What is burning man, I mean in the phsyical world?

[16:27]  KwanBul Dawg: objection!

[16:27]  Yossarian Carpool: 40,000+ people come together at Black Rock Desert in Nevada for one week, to gather together and to learn. On the last night, a giant man constructed by volunteers is burned as everyone watches together.

[16:27]  KwanBul Dawg: leading

[16:27]  Eon Berkman: overruled

[16:28]  Madison Kotobide: what is the point of burning man?

[16:28]  Yossarian Carpool: Our intention is to generate a society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participate in a community

[16:28]  Yossarian Carpool: to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society

[16:28]  Madison Kotobide: how does burning a giant wooden man in the desert do that?

[16:29]  KwanBul Dawg: still leading your honor

[16:29]  Eon Berkman: still overruled

[16:29]  Yossarian Carpool: The ritual of the burning gives us the opportunity to create a new community organized around principles of self-expression, harmony and discovery

[16:29]  Madison Kotobide: what are the rules of burning man?

[16:30]  Eon Berkman: counsel, this is an arson case. let's get to the facts

[16:30]  Madison Kotobide: these are the facts your honor

[16:30]  Yossarian Carpool: There are no rules about how one must behave or express oneself, but we have some basic rules to protect the safety of the community and preserve the ritual of the burning man

[16:30]  Madison Kotobide: what rules for example?

[16:30]  Yossarian Carpool: For example, we have some minimal rules about open fires and flame effects in theme camps. As another example, we do not allow dogs at Burning Man, mostly for the protection of the dogs.

[16:30]  Madison Kotobide: what is it like when the man burns as planned?

[16:31]  Yossarian Carpool: for those who work all year to stand in the presence of The Man while he is released in pyrotechnic delight, it is like Christmas, the fourth of July, Halloween, every holiday wrapped into one moment

[16:31]  Madison Kotobide: can you be more specific please?

[16:31]  Yossarian Carpool: For a brief moment, peaceful humanity stands still before The Man and then, just like the wind through a dandelion, it is gone. The ash blows into the desert air and the lingering memories cling to our cerebellum.

[16:32]  KwanBul Dawg: objection! sentimentality

[16:32]  Madison Kotobide: what is burning man, as a legal entity?

[16:32]  Eon Berkman: overruled, you have to credit testimony like that

[16:32]  Yossarian Carpool: We had to organize as a corporation in order to better manage the event.

[16:32]  Luna Bliss is Offline

[16:32]  Madison Kotobide: what happened at burning man 2007?

[16:32]  Yossarian Carpool: All in all, I think it was a success. Even though I have obviously been there from the beginning, I feel like I learn something new about myself at every Burning Man.

[16:33]  Madison Kotobide: but what specifically is the basis of this suit?

[16:33]  Yossarian Carpool: Well, an arsonist torched the man several nights before the scheduled burning.

[16:33]  Madison Kotobide: so the climax was ruined?

[16:33]  Yossarian Carpool: Not completely. Because of the efforts of some extraordinary people, we were able to rebuild the man and burn it on the last night, as intended.

[16:33]  KwanBul Dawg: objection! is the witness qualified to answer this?

[16:33]  Madison Kotobide: has anything like this happened before?

[16:33]  Yossarian Carpool: Almost. Before we moved to the Black Rock site

[16:33]  Eon Berkman: objection sustained

[16:33]  Madison Kotobide: can you describe that?

[16:33]  KwanBul Dawg: thank you, your honor

[16:34]  Yossarian Carpool: This was when we were still at the beach site for the Burning Man. As we were about to burn the man, a group of people who were not participants showed up. These people had no respect for the ritual. They were shouting “Burn the fucker! Burn! Burn!” No sense of art or of community.

[16:34]  Eon Berkman: proceed

[16:34]  Jagger Valeeva is Offline

[16:34]  Madison Kotobide: what was that experience like?

[16:34]  Yossarian Carpool: The community dissolved. It became a mob of disassociated anonymous individuals who had lost self consciousness..

[16:34]  KwanBul Dawg: objection!

[16:34]  Eon Berkman: sustained

[16:35]  Yossarian Carpool: But the scariest thing about that experience is I looked around and I saw people that I knew who were supposed to .. who ... men and women of good will, of character

[16:35]  Madison Kotobide: what was your response to that incident?

[16:35]  Eon Berkman: i sustained the objection

[16:35]  Eon Berkman: jurors, please ignore what was last said

[16:35]  Yossarian Carpool: I refused at the time to burn the man because the mob had destroyed the meaning that we were trying to acheive.

[16:36]  Yossarian Carpool: After that, we knew we had to move.

[16:36]  KwanBul Dawg: your honor!

[16:36]  Madison Kotobide: let's return to burning man 2007. What do you know of the accused?

[16:36]  Yossarian Carpool: Only what I have learned about him in the past few weeks. He calls himself an artist.

[16:36]  KwanBul Dawg: counsel still has laid no basis for this line of questioning

[16:36]  Madison Kotobide: did you have any prior contact?

[16:36]  Yossarian Carpool: No

[16:36]  Madison Kotobide: is what the defendant did art?

[16:36]  Eon Berkman: i will let him go

[16:36]  KwanBul Dawg: objection!

[16:36]  Eon Berkman: overruled

[16:37]  Yossarian Carpool: Yes. I think in the end it was. But it was the art of one man, and not what everyone was there for.

[16:37]  Madison Kotobide: do you know why he did this?

[16:37]  KwanBul Dawg: objection!

[16:37]  KwanBul Dawg: hearsay

[16:37]  Eon Berkman: sustained

[16:37]  Madison Kotobide: what did you feel when it happened?

[16:38]  Yossarian Carpool: Yes. I think in the end it was. But it was the art of one man, and not what everyone was there for.

[16:38]  Yossarian Carpool: I believe he thought we needed to be shaken up. But it is the return and the repetition that makes a ritual and gives it power.

[16:38]  Yossarian Carpool: Shock. Disappointment.

[16:38]  Yossarian Carpool: Shock. Disappointment

[16:38]  Madison Kotobide: how did you respond?

[16:38]  Yossarian Carpool: After the initial thought, I just laughed

[16:39]  Madison Kotobide: why did you laught?

[16:39]  Yossarian Carpool: Well because the harm had happened and it was already in the past. And becaue I knew we would rebuild it

[16:39]  Madison Kotobide: then why press charges?

[16:39]  Jagger Valeeva is Online

[16:39]  Yossarian Carpool: I don’t bear the defendant any ill will. I hope that this will turn out to be a story of redemption.

[16:39]  Madison Kotobide: can you explain that please?

[16:39]  Yossarian Carpool: I’m not here to punish anyone. I don’t believe in that. I do believe in education and want to use the trial process to educate the arsonist about our community and see our community values vindicated.

[16:39]  Yossarian Carpool: I mean both for the Burning Man community and for him. I just want to help him learn to set aside his ego-driven need to produce grand symbols and simply join us in community and deep ritual.

[16:40]  Madison Kotobide: no further questions

[16:40]  Eon Berkman: cross examination

[16:40]  Chantelle Iwish: how are these eyes

[16:40]  KwanBul Dawg: mr harvey, how do you do?

[16:40]  KwanBul Dawg: I just have a few clarifying questions

[16:41]  Eon Berkman: get to it

[16:41]  KwanBul Dawg: First, in your direct, you mentioned that at one point the burning man event went corporate, correct?

[16:41]  Yossarian Carpool: Yes, it made sense to incorporate because we have to employ lots of people to clean up at the end.

[16:41]  Jon Seattle is Offline

[16:41]  Chantelle Iwish: i gave you the shop as a landmark

[16:41]  Chantelle Iwish: it is all free stuff

[16:42]  KwanBul Dawg: But does Burning Man have a strict no-corporate policy or not?

[16:42]  Yossarian Carpool: No

[16:42]  Chantelle Iwish: how is this dress

[16:42]  KwanBul Dawg: Isn't it true that corporate presences are forbidden from the playa?

[16:42]  Yossarian Carpool: We are a corporate presence, technically. You are a lawyer right?

[16:43]  KwanBul Dawg: technically, I'm an avatar

[16:43]  *Pose Ball- Man Sitting: Lyssa Vanvleck, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.

[16:43]  Jagger Valeeva is Offline

[16:43]  KwanBul Dawg: So, in other words, the structure of the org which runs BM is no different technically, than the one which runs Disney Land?

[16:43]  SamBivalent Spork is Offline

[16:43]  Yossarian Carpool: We have more potheads on our board

[16:44]  KwanBul Dawg: Moving on

[16:44]  Yossarian Carpool: How are you

[16:44]  KwanBul Dawg: You also mentioned in your direct that burning the man is not part of the spirit of BM, yes?

[16:44]  Yossarian Carpool: What?

[16:44]  Yossarian Carpool: No

[16:45]  Jagger Valeeva is Online

[16:45]  KwanBul Dawg: Referring to the early burning, tht is

[16:45]  Eon Berkman: please ask a coherent question

[16:45]  KwanBul Dawg: Did you say that burning the man early is against the spirit of the event?

[16:45]  Yossarian Carpool: Burning the man early endangered many lives, which is against hte spirit of the event, yes

[16:46]  KwanBul Dawg: Are you a qualified fire expert, Mr. Harvey?

[16:46]  Yossarian Carpool: No, but I have many who work for me.

[16:46]  Yossarian Carpool: They all said it was dangerous

[16:46]  KwanBul Dawg: Did you or did you not create the BM event to be one of radical self expression?

[16:47]  Yossarian Carpool: Radical self-expression does not include radical destruction

[16:47]  KwanBul Dawg: Yes or no, please

[16:47]  Yossarian Carpool: yes

[16:47]  KwanBul Dawg: thank you

[16:47]  KwanBul Dawg: one last ?

[16:47]  KwanBul Dawg: How much money do you make from the BM event since incorporating it?

[16:47]  Madison Kotobide: objection

[16:47]  Madison Kotobide: relevance

[16:47]  Eon Berkman: sustained

[16:48]  KwanBul Dawg: no further questions

[16:48]  Eon Berkman: jurors, you may question the witness

[16:48]  Sarasvati Kohime is Online

[16:48]  Eon Berkman: have you any questions

[16:48]  Cadyn Snook: can we ask opinon questions

[16:48]  Eon Berkman: ask away

[16:49]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Did anyone in the org know in advance that the defendant was going to attempt what he allegedly did?

[16:49]  Parmesan Eggplant: were there any objections to the rebuilding of the Burning Man?

[16:49]  Cadyn Snook: actually, I've heard that paul was apart at the beginning

[16:49]  Cadyn Snook: this was his re-entry after years to put you back on track

[16:49]  Yossarian Carpool: No and No

[16:49]  Robyn Proto: Are you financially responsible if someone got hurt by the early burning?

[16:50]  Yossarian Carpool: Yes, we would be. And it would devastate me forever.

[16:50]  Cadyn Snook: not that this is ok, but is this not a prank comparable to your early days

[16:51]  Yossarian Carpool: Not at all. In the early days, we never burned anything that we had not built ourselves. It's not cool to burn stuff other people make, thus depriving them from enjoying the culmination of a year's work

[16:51]  Eon Berkman: excellent questions, thank you. let us proceed. defense, call your witness

[16:51]  KwanBul Dawg: defense calls paul addis

[16:51]  KwanBul Dawg: excuse us, larry

[16:51]  KwanBul Dawg: Can you state your full name for the jury?

[16:52]  Addis Paulse: Paul Addis.

[16:52]  KwanBul Dawg: Mr. Addis, where were you in the early morning hours of August 28th, 2007?

[16:52]  Addis Paulse: I was at Burning Man

[16:52]  KwanBul Dawg: For the benefit of the jury, can you explain in brief what Burning Man is?

[16:52]  Addis Paulse: More important is what Burning Man used to be. When I started going in 1996, it was the illest event around. It was nothing less than a counter-cultural utopia, representing the best of the whole fucking human race. But in the past 10 years, everything’s changed.

[16:52]  KwanBul Dawg: Could you elaborate further?

[16:52]  Addis Paulse: Sure can. Burning Man has sold out and completely lost its way. When I began going, Burning Man was the only viable rebellion around against the corporate oligarchy running the world. We were creating a whole city founded on self-expression and self-reliance, and doing it all without money or corporate influence. But in my second year, Burning Man went corporate.

[16:52]  KwanBul Dawg: That was the year 1997?

[16:52]  Addis Paulse: Correct.

[16:53]  KwanBul Dawg: How, in your opinion, did Burning Man go corporate in 1997?

[16:53]  Addis Paulse: It’s not my opinion. It’s a fact. In 1997 the Burning Man event was taken over by a limited liability corporation, Black Rock City LLC. At that moment, Burning Man became a capitalist venture.

[16:53]  KwanBul Dawg: What did you do as a result of this?

[16:53]  Addis Paulse: I wasn’t ready to give up on the whole event just yet, because there were still some hella cool people there doing some amazing shit. So I played a little prank, out of protest.

[16:53]  Eon Berkman: overruled

[16:53]  KwanBul Dawg: What did this prank entail?

[16:53]  Addis Paulse: I attached a pair of giant metal testicles to the Man.

[16:54]  KwanBul Dawg: Submitting Defense Exhibit 1, a photograph of the Man in 1997 with a pair of metal testicles attached. May I display to the jury, your Honor?

[16:54]  Eon Berkman: can you provide us with a link

[16:54]  KwanBul Dawg: sure thing.

[16:54]  KwanBul Dawg: http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi?image=2316

[16:55]  KwanBul Dawg: Mr. Addis, are these the testicles you hung from the Man in 1997?

[16:55]  Addis Paulse: Sure as hell are.

[16:55]  KwanBul Dawg: What was your intention in hanging these balls from the Man?

[16:55]  Addis Paulse: I was creating art.

[16:55]  KwanBul Dawg: What was the purpose of this work of art?

[16:55]  Addis Paulse: It was my own statement against the corporatization of Burning Man. In years past, the Man had always been a collective creation of the entire community. 1997 was the first year that it was a creation of a faceless corporation instead.

[16:56]  Addis Paulse: By hanging the balls from the Man, I was re-claiming the Man as a symbol for the burner community, instead of just being the insignia of a faceless corporation.

[16:56]  KwanBul Dawg: Mr. Addis, I’m no artist myself, so I’m having difficulty understanding something.

[16:56]  KwanBul Dawg: How can you claim this as your own artwork when the Man had already been built by Black Rock City LLC?

[16:56]  Madison Kotobide: objection

[16:56]  Addis Paulse: Look, every artist, no matter what her medium, understands a very basic principle about the work she does. One person or another may sign a work of art, but everything you’ll ever see in the Guggenheim is the product of a creative collaboration. Movies take hundreds of crew members to make. A symphony requires an entire orchestra to perform.

[16:56]  Madison Kotobide: relevance

[16:56]  Beyers Sellers is Online

[16:56]  Madison Kotobide: objection cut and paste

[16:56]  Eon Berkman: overruled

[16:56]  Addis Paulse: Even the fucking Mona Lisa never would have existed if it were just Leonardo working by himself – he had a whole crew behind him, making the brushes, grinding the pigments, stretching the canvas.

[16:57]  KwanBul Dawg: If that’s true, why is Leonardo da Vinci considered the artist who created the Mona Lisa?

[16:57]  Addis Paulse: Because he was the one who took all the labor of the other guys, and then put all the materials together in a way no one had ever thought of before. He had the magic combination. That’s exactly what hanging the balls from the Man was all about.

[16:57]  KwanBul Dawg: Could you explain?

[16:57]  Gayle Cabaret is Offline

[16:57]  Addis Paulse: It’s true that in 1997, the Man had been built already by Black Rock City LLC. But for the first time, it was “theirs” and not “ours”. It was intolerable. So I thought, “Hell, someone’s gotta do it,” and I attached the balls.

[16:57]  Eon Berkman: i regret my former ruling. this is irrelevant

[16:58]  Addis Paulse: . In the process I was taking two ordinary things – big metal balls and a soulless corporate structure – and I put them together in a way that had never been tried before. So I gave the Man back to the burners.

[16:58]  KwanBul Dawg: Let’s fast-forward to this year. Did you see the Man burn early on Tuesday morning, August 28th, 2007?

[16:58]  Yossarian Carpool: objection relevance

[16:58]  Addis Paulse: Yes.

[16:58]  Eon Berkman: he's moving on

[16:58]  Gayle Cabaret is Online

[16:58]  KwanBul Dawg: How did you come to see it burn early?

[16:58]  Addis Paulse: Because I was the one who set it on fire.

[16:58]  KwanBul Dawg: Why did you do that?

[16:58]  Addis Paulse: First and foremost, because I was concerned about the safety of the people who were around it.

[16:58]  KwanBul Dawg: I’m sorry, I’m confused. How could burning the Man down protect the safety of the people around it?

[16:59]  Addis Paulse: It’s because things had hit the tipping point in the burner community. The year before, in 2006, there was an email thread going around which was getting a lot of support, advocating that everyone bring a can of gasoline on Wednesday night to torch the Man early. People had become so disillusioned with the corporate culture of the event that it looked like there was a realistic chance some group of colossal dumbasses might actually try it.

[16:59]  Addis Paulse: It was a terribly unsafe situation. I fervently argued against the idea, trying to convince people that doing it this way was a recipe for getting someone killed. In the end, they didn’t do it that year, but there was still real danger they might try again.

[16:59]  KwanBul Dawg: But if no one tried to burn the Man in 2006, what made you think that there was still a threat of people getting hurt in 2007?

[16:59]  Yossarian Carpool: objection

[16:59]  Eon Berkman: overruled

[16:59]  Addis Paulse: Because there were developments in 2007 which made a premature burning inevitable, to my mind.

[17:00]  Eon Berkman: goes to motive

[17:00]  KwanBul Dawg: What were those developments?

[17:00]  Addis Paulse: 2007 was the year when the LLC stripped away the last pretenses of its anti-corporate veneer and sold out completely.

[17:00]  KwanBul Dawg: What specifically did they do?

[17:00]  Addis Paulse: Well, first, they broke the longstanding rule which had been in place since the first Burning Man, to never allow any corporate presence at the event.

[17:00]  Addis Paulse: That means no advertising, no logos, no sponsorship. Nada. Until 2007.

[17:00]  Addis Paulse: Even though the burners themselves were forbidden to bring any corporate presence, the LLC threw a trade show for about a dozen corporations who had invested in environmentally-friendly technology, and provided them the space to show off their shit, in the pavilion under the Man. That was bad enough. But what really set everyone off was the Business 2.0 article.

[17:01]  KwanBul Dawg: What article?

[17:01]  Addis Paulse: In July, about two months before the Burn, Business 2.0 magazine printed an article about Burning Man.

[17:01]  Addis Paulse: . It revealed that the LLC’s officers were attempting to make Burning Man a more viable for-profit enterprise by appealing to the corporate world. That article really pissed off a lot of people.

[17:01]  KwanBul Dawg: Submitting Defense Exhibit 2, the Business 2.0 magazine article in the web-based version of the magazine. May I display to the jury, your honor?

[17:01]  Eon Berkman: yes, if you can

[17:01]  KwanBul Dawg: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/07/01/100117064/index.htm

[17:02]  Madison Kotobide: objection eharsay

[17:02]  Madison Kotobide: hearsay

[17:03]  Madison Kotobide: we don't have the author of the article here to examine

[17:03]  Madison Kotobide: and question

[17:03]  Eon Berkman: sustained

[17:03]  Eon Berkman: you've made your point

[17:03]  KwanBul Dawg: confining your answer to what you thought and did

[17:03]  KwanBul Dawg: When you saw this article and the reaction to it in the Burning Man community, how did you react?

[17:03]  Addis Paulse: I became very concerned for the safety of the burners who would be at this year’s event. Given how a reckless plan to burn the Man early had gotten so much support the previous year, I decided I had to take action to make sure no one got hurt.

[17:03]  KwanBul Dawg: What did you do?

[17:04]  Ralph Radius is Offline

[17:04]  Addis Paulse: I gathered together a covert organization of operatives named Black Rock Intelligence, and we set about to burn the Man in the safest way possible.

[17:04]  Addis Paulse: First, we gave plenty of advance notice of our intentions to the burner community at large – even going so far as to hang a sign near the entrance announcing our plan.

[17:04]  Addis Paulse: . Second, we planned to burn it during the lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning because we knew that most of the druggies would be away from the Pavilion at that time.

[17:04]  Addis Paulse: Third, we spent thirty minutes before the actual burn making sure that everyone in the area was a safe distance away. As a result of these precautions, we were able to accomplish our mission with no injuries.

[17:04]  Arawn Spitteler is Offline

[17:04]  KwanBul Dawg: Mr. Addis, did you think that people might get upset at the premature burning?

[17:05]  Addis Paulse: Of course I knew that! We knew all along that the assholes at the LLC would shit kittens when they saw that their hard-earned culture of submissive obedience had been upended.

[17:05]  Addis Paulse: And we knew that the fucking tourists who had drunk the Kool-aid would be pissed that someone with an individualist streak had to disturb their Disney-Land groupthink vacation.

[17:05]  KwanBul Dawg: don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel

[17:05]  Madison Kotobide: objection

[17:05]  Eon Berkman: the language is colorful but expressive of character

[17:05]  Madison Kotobide: it sure is

[17:06]  Eon Berkman: i'll let him go forward

[17:06]  Addis Paulse: I feel like I took what Burning Man used to symbolize, radical self-expression and catharsis back to the community

[17:06]  Yossarian Carpool: objection this language offends the morals of this court

[17:06]  Addis Paulse: Objection - witness playing attorney

[17:06]  Eon Berkman: overruled

[17:06]  KwanBul Dawg: Mr. Addis, did you commit arson?

[17:06]  Addis Paulse: I absolutely did not.

[17:06]  KwanBul Dawg: Thank you. No further questions.

[17:06]  Eon Berkman: cross

[17:07]  Madison Kotobide: good evening Mr Addis

[17:07]  Addis Paulse: evening

[17:07]  Madison Kotobide: good evening jurors

[17:07]  Madison Kotobide: thank you for your time

[17:07]  Madison Kotobide: Mr Addis, what does the phrase "shit kittens" mean?

[17:07]  Addis Paulse: Get upset

[17:08]  Madison Kotobide: so you thought the feelings of the burning organizers would be hurt?

[17:08]  Addis Paulse: Yes, because they are used to the burning community passively following their rules in the recent years

[17:08]  Madison Kotobide: you intended them to get upset and feel bad?

[17:08]  Addis Paulse: That was a side effect, not the primary intention

[17:09]  Madison Kotobide: isn't that all a little malicious?

[17:09]  Addis Paulse: No

[17:09]  Madison Kotobide: haven't you called the BM participants as "fourth and fifth generations of happy go lucky birds" and "who don't do anything else?"

[17:10]  KwanBul Dawg: objection

[17:10]  KwanBul Dawg: relevance?

[17:10]  Madison Kotobide: goes to motive

[17:10]  Eon Berkman: sustained

[17:10]  Madison Kotobide: do you have any profession?

[17:10]  Addis Paulse: Yes, I'm a playwright.

[17:10]  Madison Kotobide: did you expect to be caught for your acts at Burning man?

[17:10]  Addis Paulse: I didn't care

[17:10]  Madison Kotobide: but did you think it was likely?

[17:11]  KwanBul Dawg: objection

[17:11]  Addis Paulse: I wasn't hiding anything

[17:11]  Eon Berkman: sustained

[17:11]  Madison Kotobide: didn't you want to enhance your reputation and increase your profile as an artist?

[17:11]  Addis Paulse: I was only concerned for the Burning Man community.

[17:11]  Madison Kotobide: don't you think that any time there is a big event like this with 40,000 people rushing to see something, people can get hurt in the ensuing chaos

[17:12]  Addis Paulse: You might think so, but we were very careful, and nobody was hurt.

[17:12]  Madison Kotobide: did you and your accomplices do anything to protect the audience from getting trampled in stampedes?

[17:12]  Addis Paulse: No

[17:12]  Madison Kotobide: did you think about how this would ruin the experience of people who are asleep at 3 in the morning? isn't it true that they would have missed the burning entirely if your plan had succeeded?

[17:13]  Addis Paulse: Seeing as the whole event had already gone to pot, I don't see how they were missing anything. It was impossible to stay asleep during the "chaos" as you called it anyways, and the burning happened twice, not once. Two for the price of one

[17:13]  Madison Kotobide: no further questions

[17:14]  Eon Berkman: jurors, have you quetions for the witness

[17:14]  Cadyn Snook: paul what's your definition of arson? if what you did isnt, then what would be a legitamate case of arson?

[17:14]  Gwyneth Llewelyn is Offline

[17:14]  KwanBul Dawg: objection

[17:14]  Eon Berkman: yes, allow me to instruct you on this

[17:14]  Madison Kotobide: your honor, addisis an attorney

[17:14]  Madison Kotobide: he can answer

[17:14]  Eon Berkman: ladies and gentlethings,

[17:14]  Madison Kotobide: as an expert

[17:15]  Eon Berkman: please, order

[17:15]  Eon Berkman: i am speaking

[17:15]  Eon Berkman: The state must prove that the defendant wilfully and maliciously set fire to the man. "malice 'characterizes all acts done with an evil disposition, a wrong and unlawful motive or purpose; Malice in the crime of arson need not be overtly expressed. It may be inferred from the willful act of burning without legal justification.

[17:16]  Cadyn Snook: but this being burning man and normal social rules dont really apply here,

[17:16]  Eon Berkman: are there more questions from the jurors

[17:16]  Eon Berkman: that will be up to you

[17:16]  Eon Berkman: let us proceed to closing statements

[17:17]  Cadyn Snook: i'm just wondering how such a off center place can expect people to be accountable

[17:17]  Eon Berkman: defense

[17:17]  Cadyn Snook: in regualar society

[17:17]  Cadyn Snook: societys rules

[17:17]  Eon Berkman: thank you cadyn

[17:17]  Eon Berkman: defense closing please

[17:17]  KwanBul Dawg: Ladies and Gentlemen, there’s really nothing for me to say.

[17:18]  KwanBul Dawg: You’ve already heard from Paul. You have heard what his intentions were. And you can judge for yourself how successful he was.

[17:18]  KwanBul Dawg: You’ve heard from Larry Harvey as well. You’ve seen for yourself what his vision of Burning Man is.

[17:18]  KwanBul Dawg: All you have to ask is what Eon just posed to you

[17:19]  KwanBul Dawg: Who, of the two witnesses you've heard, has shown actual malice to the burner community?

[17:19]  Free Radar HUD v1.1 by Crystal Gadgets

[17:19]  KwanBul Dawg: Is it the one who violated his own anti-corporate policy in the name of greed?

[17:19]  KwanBul Dawg: Or is it the one who had the courage to stand up to the Larry Harveys of the world?

[17:19]  KwanBul Dawg: Ask yourself which version of Burning Man is better for those who go, and for the world at large.

[17:20]  KwanBul Dawg: And in the end, vote to acquit a man who’s courage led him to take on the authorities in the name of something bigger than himself.

[17:20]  KwanBul Dawg: Thank you all, and burn on.

[17:20]  Eon Berkman: prosecution

[17:20]  Madison Kotobide: good evening ladies and gentlmen of the jury

[17:20]  Madison Kotobide: as you can tell from Mr. Addis' testimony,

[17:21]  Madison Kotobide: he is a bitter, frustrated man

[17:21]  Madison Kotobide: a hostile man

[17:21]  Bruce Flyer is Online

[17:21]  Madison Kotobide: a man who has deep animosity towards the Burning Community and Larry harvey

[17:21]  Madison Kotobide: all that was evident in his words and demeanor tonight

[17:21]  Madison Kotobide: his motivation in performing the vandalism

[17:21]  Madison Kotobide: was to cause confusion, fear and pain

[17:22]  Madison Kotobide: he is upset at the Burning Man for getting more attention than he himself gets

[17:22]  Madison Kotobide: he used the corporate legal status of burning man as an excuse for his actions

[17:22]  Madison Kotobide: even though the legal status was neede just to manage the event

[17:23]  Madison Kotobide: you know that Burning Man is a far cry from Disney world

[17:23]  Madison Kotobide: please stand up for community and peaceful expression

[17:23]  Madison Kotobide: thank you

[17:23]  Eon Berkman: ladies and gentlethings of the jury

[17:23]  *Pose Ball- Man Sitting: Addis Paulse, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.

[17:24]  *Pose Ball- Man Sitting: Addis Paulse, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.

[17:24]  Eon Berkman: as i previously instructed you

[17:24]  Eon Berkman: The state must prove that the defendant wilfully and maliciously set fire to the man. "malice 'characterizes all acts done with an evil disposition, a wrong and unlawful motive or purpose; Malice in the crime of arson need not be overtly expressed. It may be inferred from the willful act of burning without legal justification.

[17:24]  Eon Berkman: the defendant admits he did the act of burning

[17:24]  You: Yes, your honor

[17:24]  Eon Berkman: the quesiton before you is whether he acted with criminal intent

[17:25]  Eon Berkman: did he act with malice? that is the question for you to decide.

[17:25]  Eon Berkman: please now deliberate the case among yourselves

[17:25]  You: Shall we adjourn to another part of the island?

[17:25]  Eon Berkman: though we may be listening in

[17:26]  Rebecca Berkman: you may use austin hall, or the area by the video screens behind us.

[17:26]  Eon Berkman: okay, please adjourn. aphilo, i appoint you forething

[17:26]  Cadyn Snook: I'm good right here, does it matter

[17:26]  You: Jurors, I'd like to move out of range.

[17:26]  Parmesan Eggplant: let's follow you

[17:26]  Robyn Proto: where to?

[17:26]  You: If you're willing

[17:26]  Eon Berkman: would you please lead the jurors to a remote location, deliberate the case and return when you have a verdict

[17:27]  You: Shall we go to the meeting area?

[17:28]  Sysku Mayo is Online

[17:28]  Robyn Proto: is everyone here?

[17:28]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: some coming in

[17:28]  Robyn Proto: nope... people are still dropping from the sky

[17:29]  You: 6 of us, right?

[17:29]  Robyn Proto: indeed

[17:29]  You: So malice is the question before us.

[17:29]  Cadyn Snook: seeems kind of clear that it was done with malice,

[17:29]  Robyn Proto: malice meaning the intent to hurt people or the "burning man"?

[17:30]  Amaya Upshaw: The judge wants us back in 10

[17:30]  Paragon Boozehound: Intent to hurt the man

[17:30]  You: ok thanks

[17:30]  Parmesan Eggplant: malice to the corporate structure?

[17:30]  Cadyn Snook: malice to everything burning man

[17:30]  Robyn Proto: well it seems clear that he meanth to burn the man

[17:30]  Cadyn Snook: to the head honchos

[17:30]  Amaya Upshaw: malice to the rightful owner of the man

[17:30]  You: if intent is significant

[17:30]  Amaya Upshaw: i don't think we have a problem with the willfulness part

[17:31]  Cadyn Snook: One problem I have though, is it's burning man, it doesnt live by the rules of this malice thing

[17:31]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: it's on federal land

[17:31]  Robyn Proto: I think he meant to hurt the corporation behind the man

[17:31]  Amaya Upshaw: i think he meant to hurt what it was becoming

[17:31]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: and it abides by federal law

[17:31]  Cadyn Snook: He meant to shake them up

[17:31]  Amaya Upshaw: which he did, effectively, but that doesn't make it not unlawful

[17:31]  Robyn Proto: really?

[17:31]  Cadyn Snook: even federal law, doesnt really fit with the burning man ideals

[17:32]  You: I think radical self-expression was a key motive, and that malice in the context of BM's noncorporate history

[17:32]  You: didn't play a role.

[17:32]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Cadyn, true, but we're not in an alternate reality. He burned it in First Life, so to speak.

[17:32]  Cadyn Snook: or it's corporate history

[17:32]  Perry Proudhon is Online

[17:32]  Paragon Boozehound: All that malice really means is the intent for it to have burned

[17:32]  Parmesan Eggplant: I don't think there was much evidence of his creativity and sense of community

[17:32]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Considering all the planning he did, there certainly was premeditation

[17:33]  Robyn Proto: at least he tried to protect the people

[17:33]  Paragon Boozehound: In my opinion he's clearly guitly of arson.

[17:33]  Cadyn Snook: burning man is pranks and art and radical self expression and radical destruction, look at crude awakening

[17:33]  Paragon Boozehound: So what? I can move everyone out of a house

[17:33]  Paragon Boozehound: Make sure no one is in it

[17:33]  Paragon Boozehound: Then burn it down

[17:33]  You: I think individualism is and has been key at BM, and that the

[17:33]  Paragon Boozehound: And it is still arson

[17:33]  Cadyn Snook: in the burning man world, you probably could

[17:33]  Paragon Boozehound: In the BM world the laws of the nation/state still apply

[17:33]  Robyn Proto: I think he got bitter that BM turned corporate

[17:33]  Parmesan Eggplant: I think we have to get back to the evidence presented, not our personal views

[17:34]  Amaya Upshaw: we're just supposed to be governed by the court of public opinion. what's "right"

[17:34]  Cadyn Snook: not really, laws are broken all the time at burning man, things that would never fly in the real world,

[17:34]  You: act of burning, reflects a history of individualism, which even Larry participated in, which wasn't malicious.

[17:34]  Cadyn Snook: exactly aphilo

[17:34]  Paragon Boozehound: Except burning it early was clearly malicious

[17:34]  Robyn Proto: it's wrong that BM copr took something and cahnged it, it's also wrong that he burned their coroporate sponsored man early

[17:34]  Cadyn Snook: in the spirit of burning man it wasnt malicious

[17:35]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: In my spirit of BM, it was malicious

[17:35]  You: yes, he did burn it, but he maintains that it was an act of safety.

[17:35]  Cadyn Snook: in the spirit of burning man it was a great prank

[17:35]  Parmesan Eggplant: I think it was malicious, too

[17:35]  Paragon Boozehound: And it someone had died?

[17:35]  Robyn Proto: a corporate sponsored BM, it's not the same as it was

[17:35]  Paragon Boozehound: if*

[17:35]  Amaya Upshaw: but that's not the issue

[17:35]  Amaya Upshaw: even if its changing and that's bad

[17:35]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Burning Man was always better last year.

[17:35]  Amaya Upshaw: it doesn't mean its okay for him to burn

[17:35]  Paragon Boozehound: Exactly Amaya

[17:35]  You: the spirit of radical self-expression of BM

[17:35]  Amaya Upshaw: Thanks

[17:35]  Robyn Proto: the spirit of BM had sold out

[17:36]  Robyn Proto: the spirit was gone

[17:36]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: says who?

[17:36]  Cadyn Snook: he brought back a spirit that was needed

[17:36]  Parmesan Eggplant: it wasn't radical self-expression - he was pre-empting others who were talking about it

[17:36]  Cadyn Snook: with his act

[17:36]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Not mto me he didn't

[17:36]  You: But he maintains was calling BM back to its spirit

[17:36]  Paragon Boozehound: Well it's been 10 minutes

[17:36]  Amaya Upshaw: But if he'd burned the camps of people you disagreed with

[17:36]  Paragon Boozehound: Should we take an initial vote?

[17:36]  Cadyn Snook: yes, his ultimate goal

[17:36]  You: We have about 4 minutes, and we'll probably need to vote.

[17:36]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: And Bush said there were WMDs in IRaq. Doesn't make it right.

[17:36]  Cadyn Snook: to bring bm back

[17:37]  Parmesan Eggplant: there is no indication that his act furthered the spirit of BM

[17:37]  Amaya Upshaw: that wouldn't have been okay

[17:37]  Cadyn Snook: I think it gave old participants a much needed rush

[17:37]  Robyn Proto: I think it was good for everyone

[17:37]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: I"m a 12 year burner and it didn't do anything for me.

[17:37]  Robyn Proto: free advertisement all around

[17:37]  Parmesan Eggplant: what if they hadn't rebuilt it?

[17:37]  Cadyn Snook: of course they would

[17:37]  Cadyn Snook: its mb

[17:37]  You: His statements support that view, Parm

[17:37]  Cadyn Snook: bm

[17:37]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: He's welcome to try that, but he needs to take responsibility for his actions

[17:38]  Parmesan Eggplant: then that is counting on the corporates to help

[17:38]  You: BM is and has been about rocking the boat, counterculturally, from

[17:38]  Cadyn Snook: he acted in the exact spriit that bm promotes.

[17:38]  You: the beginning, and in this sense his act wasn't malicious.

[17:38]  Amaya Upshaw: How would it affect BM if every time someone disagreed with something they burned the man?

[17:39]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: the spirit of BM says "It's ok to destroy other peoples' art?"

[17:39]  Robyn Proto: Do you think the people at BM thought it was good or bad?

[17:39]  Cadyn Snook: no but it says to radically self express

[17:39]  You: BM would develop creatively in response

[17:39]  Amaya Upshaw: but at the expense of others?

[17:39]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: and "burn other people's art"?

[17:39]  Parmesan Eggplant: with no limits?

[17:39]  Paragon Boozehound: So what if someone wanted to radically self express by raping someone?

[17:39]  Cadyn Snook: guidlines would kill the moment of expression

[17:39]  You: But malice in what context seems significant here.

[17:39]  Cadyn Snook: no one was hurt

[17:40]  Cadyn Snook: rape hurts clearly

[17:40]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: I don't see anyone hear disagreeing with the malice part

[17:40]  Paragon Boozehound: What if teh victim was unconscious/

[17:40]  Parmesan Eggplant: malice toward the corporate culture, not self-expression, I think

[17:40]  Paragon Boozehound: the*

[17:40]  Robyn Proto: malice against a coproration, but in suport of it;s ideals

[17:40]  Cadyn Snook: malice is evident in the real world context but not in the bm context in my opinion

[17:40]  Amaya Upshaw: so does destruction of property

[17:40]  You: I don't see malice

[17:40]  Cadyn Snook: it was going to be destroyed anyway

[17:40]  You: It's 10 minutes now.

[17:41]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: Man, if he really wanted to make a statement, he should have burned Center Cafe.

[17:41]  You: I propose a vote

[17:41]  Parmesan Eggplant: BM functions within a real world. People and safety still count.

[17:41]  Cadyn Snook: how do I vote this, if it's the say federal context then yes, but in the bm context I say no

[17:41]  Robyn Proto: what is the context?

[17:41]  You: Judge Eon says malice is the sole criterion.

[17:41]  Amaya Upshaw: So do we want to provide BM with less protection than we would any other corporation?

[17:41]  Robyn Proto: is this by the law or by public opinion of right or wrong?

[17:42]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: The judge quoted the law to us

[17:42]  Amaya Upshaw: But i think its supposed to be in the court of public opinion

[17:42]  You: I just an im saying Judge Eon wants us back by 8:50 or so.

[17:42]  Paragon Boozehound: It's the court of public opinion according to the judge

[17:42]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: It was only the defense atty who said "do it the other way"

[17:42]  Amaya Upshaw: Yeah, we d need to get back

[17:42]  Paragon Boozehound: So let's put it to a vote

[17:42]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: no, the defense atty said that

[17:42]  Robyn Proto: so via law or public opinion?

[17:42]  Cadyn Snook: can it be a two way vote,

[17:42]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: law

[17:43]  Cadyn Snook: gov. law and public opinion

[17:43]  Paragon Boozehound: My vote is guilty on both

[17:43]  You: court of public opinion as defense pointed out . . .

[17:43]  Paragon Boozehound: Law and public opinion

[17:43]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: guilty both

[17:43]  Amaya Upshaw: Guilty

[17:43]  Amaya Upshaw: both

[17:43]  Parmesan Eggplant: both

[17:43]  Cadyn Snook: pub opinon not guilty

[17:43]  Robyn Proto: I say guilty law, not guilty public opinion

[17:43]  Cadyn Snook: law guilty

[17:43]  You: 8:50 I was told by Rebecca Berkman who is the bailiff

[17:43]  Paragon Boozehound: So we have 4 guilty on both opionion and law

[17:43]  Cadyn Snook: anyone keeping track

[17:43]  Paragon Boozehound: Which gives guilties a majority

[17:44]  Paragon Boozehound: On both

[17:44]  Bruce Flyer is Offline

[17:44]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: so...guilty law and hung jury on public opnion

[17:44]  You: pub opinion not guilty

[17:44]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: no, hung jury

[17:44]  Amaya Upshaw: does it have to be unanimous?

[17:44]  Paragon Boozehound: I think there were 4 guilty in public opinion

[17:44]  Cadyn Snook: how many for not gulity on pub opinoin

[17:44]  Robyn Proto: Not guilty pub opinion

[17:44]  Paragon Boozehound: I vote guilty on both

[17:44]  Parmesan Eggplant: not sure why we need court of poub opinion

[17:44]  Bruce Flyer is Online

[17:44]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: guilty both

[17:44]  You: I think it does have to be unanimous

[17:44]  Cadyn Snook: not guilty pub opinion

[17:45]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: 2 not guilty public opinion. the rest guilty

[17:45]  Paragon Boozehound: So giulty public opinion and guilty law

[17:45]  You: because this is not a court of law

[17:45]  Paragon Boozehound: Let's head back!

[17:45]  You: Let's head back, per the bailiff

[17:45]  Parmesan Eggplant: So I don't agree with public opinion option, just guilty by law - why not a court of law- jurors provide public opinion

[17:45]  Amaya Upshaw: Lets go

[17:46]  Robyn Proto: see you back there :)

[17:46]  Addis Paulse: Radical self expression, dude

[17:46]  Cadyn Snook: what'd I miss

[17:47]  Cadyn Snook: Hey, are you really paul or a faccimle

[17:47]  Eon Berkman: foreman, have you reached a verdict

[17:47]  Addis Paulse: I'm not really Paul

[17:47]  Eon Berkman: order

[17:47]  Cadyn Snook: I thought you seemed more coherant than normal

[17:47]  Eon Berkman: foreman, have you reached a verdict

[17:47]  Addis Paulse: lol

[17:47]  Addis Paulse: lol

[17:48]  Eon Berkman: aphilo, please respond

[17:48]  You: I think we have a hung jury

[17:48]  Eon Berkman: what is your vote

[17:48]  Madison Kotobide: the guy in the titey whiteys?

[17:49]  You: 5-2

[17:49]  Paragon Boozehound: Guilty

[17:49]  Eon Berkman: 5 for what position

[17:49]  You: 5 guilty in the eyes of the law

[17:49]  You: against the perpetrator

[17:49]  KwanBul Dawg: We appeal, your honor!

[17:49]  Eon Berkman: Thank you for your verdict and your service

[17:49]  Addis Paulse: to the REAL court of public opinion :(

[17:50]  Eon Berkman: we will lock up the defendant and throw away the key

[17:50]  Addis Paulse: /cry

[17:50]  Madison Kotobide: we move for a ten year sentence of imprisonment

[17:50]  Eon Berkman: would the jurors who dissented like to be heard

[17:50]  Madison Kotobide: without possiblity of parole

[17:50]  Sinclair Bracken: so he's guilty?

[17:50]  Yossarian Carpool: you are all invited to burning man next year

[17:50]  Rebecca Berkman: whoa...

[17:50]  Free Radar HUD v1.1 by Crystal Gadgets

[17:50]  Robyn Proto: We were a little confused about whether we were cahrging him by the law or by the spirit of public opinion

[17:50]  Rebecca Berkman: is that the punishment for arson? not last time i checked...

[17:51]  Yossarian Carpool: except addis

[17:51]  Cadyn Snook: I felt he was guilty in the law sense but not guilty in the public opinion sense

[17:51]  Eon Berkman: which would have been better for him

[17:51]  Cadyn Snook: in the spirit of burning man, he acted in that spirit.

[17:51]  *Pose Ball- Man Sitting: Yossarian Carpool, say 'Hide' to hide me, or 'Show' to make me show. Or just right-click and sit on me to use me.

[17:52]  Cadyn Snook: in the eyes of the law which doesnt seem to have much place at bm he was guilty

[17:52]  Yossarian Carpool: except addis

[17:52]  Eon Berkman: thank you for attending and participating in this trial

[17:52]  Cadyn Snook: excellent experience

[17:53]  You: In the court of public opinion, he is not guilty of malice as he acted out of radical self expression int he spirit of burning man

[17:53]  You: Very interesting

[17:53]  Madison Kotobide: federal minimum for arson is five years

[17:53]  Madison Kotobide: state ranges are 5 to 15

[17:53]  Sinclair Bracken: very interesting

[17:53]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: no, it was a hung jury on the court of public opinion as I recall

[17:53]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: 32

[17:53]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: 3-2

[17:53]  Eon Berkman: jurors, how long should be be imprisoned, or should his sentence be suspended

[17:53]  Parmesan Eggplant: we are a jury, I don't understand this public opiniton part

[17:53]  Rebecca Berkman: thank you.

[17:54]  Cadyn Snook: suspended, since he'll be back at the institution in no time

[17:54]  You: suspended

[17:54]  Robyn Proto: he should be charged with 2 years of community service

[17:54]  Madison Kotobide: civil commitment?

[17:54]  Madison Kotobide: he should have to clean up after the burning man

[17:54]  Madison Kotobide: your honor, we would accept his sentence to be cleaning up after the BM

[17:54]  Cadyn Snook: I dont think paul can be charged and jailed with his mental health history

[17:54]  Eon Berkman: thank you all for participating. i declare this trial adjourned.

[17:54]  Parmesan Eggplant: no community service - that's the point -

[17:54]  Madison Kotobide: including the latrines

[17:55]  You: Interesting case subject

[17:55]  Robyn Proto: agreed on the cleaning up after BM

[17:55]  Robyn Proto: :)

[17:55]  Eon Berkman: suspended sentence with community service

[17:55]  Cissy Yachvili: Hey!

[17:55]  You: likewise

[17:55]  Rebecca Berkman is Offline

[17:55]  Cadyn Snook: Ya, some bm imposed punishment

[17:55]  Robyn Proto: very appropriate :)

[17:56]  JimGraham Ferlinghetti: It's been fun. I'm heading out

[17:56]  Eon Berkman: adios

[17:56]  Cadyn Snook: addis

[17:56]  You: Ciao

[17:56]  Robyn Proto: bye :)

[17:56]  Parmesan Eggplant: feels rigged, pre-determined. I don't feel satisfied as a juror

[17:56]  Boston Hutchinson: bye

[17:56]  Boston Hutchinson: very interesting

[17:56]  Cadyn Snook: hee hee, we was playing parm,

[17:57]  Parmesan Eggplant: I think they really wanted to vindicate Addis, regardless of the evidence presented

[17:57]  Cadyn Snook: in the spirit of bm we wanted to vidicate him

[17:58]  Bruce Flyer is Offline

[17:58]  Parmesan Eggplant: should we have had two "courts" - law and public opinion?

[17:58]  Cadyn Snook: what was this is the question

[17:58]  Madison Kotobide: it always fels rigged, if you are on the losing side. I lost previous two SL trials in Nesson's court

[17:59]  KwanBul Dawg: It was definitely rigged!

[17:59]  Robyn Proto is Offline

[17:59]  KwanBul Dawg: Even though I stacked the jury with burners

[17:59]  Sinclair Bracken: I was wondering about that

[17:59]  Cadyn Snook: what was rigged? I just wandered in after seeing this on tribe

[18:00]  Cadyn Snook: there was a burning who was guilty on both counts

[18:00]  Madison Kotobide: nothing was rigged, it just sometimes feels like it

[18:00]  Parmesan Eggplant: I guess there is a feeling that these trials are to give the defendants a second chance, and people who buy in sit on the jury

[18:01]  Cadyn Snook: I'm curious though, he is being literally held accountable to federal law and bm barely lives by any normal world laws

[18:01]  Cadyn Snook: LIke indian land tribal laws

[18:01]  Cadyn Snook: different.

[18:02]  Cadyn Snook: bm real world apples oranges

[18:02]  Madison Kotobide: I don't think we can have people creating private zones of their own law though

[18:02]  Geda Hax is Offline

[18:02]  Madison Kotobide: think of those child-raping polygamists

[18:02]  You: I'm curious too, what case precedents show unusual articulations between RL law, and carnival-like code

[18:02]  Madison Kotobide: they would want to use the same precedent

[18:03]  Cadyn Snook: that makes sense

[18:03]  Parmesan Eggplant: but it is real life, it is not Second Life - real people

[18:03]  Geda Hax is Online

[18:03]  Cadyn Snook: I think his jury really needs some burners on it to balance it out

[18:03]  Cadyn Snook: burning man is not real life

[18:04]  You: Acts of civil disobedience offer some intereting parallels

[18:04]  Parmesan Eggplant: if it isn't real life, how can it be subjected to public opinion?

[18:05]  Cadyn Snook: the public opinion of the bm world

[18:05]  Parmesan Eggplant: wrong jurors, then, I suppose

[18:05]  Cadyn Snook: or the public opinion of those who know the bm world

[18:06]  Cadyn Snook: How can you judge this act without knowing the context in which it was done

[18:06]  Parmesan Eggplant: Perhaps. But anyone in real life could be there and be hurt as a mortal.

[18:06]  You: The course Charlie taught last fall 2006, made the case for the court of public opinion

[18:07]  Andromeda Mesmer: There can be local options for laws, like different ages for legal drinking, or a dry area, or no guns allowed -- so in the same way, maybe BM shuld set up laws about how artists should treat the artwork of other artists.

[18:07]  Jagger Valeeva is Offline

[18:07]  Cadyn Snook: I've gone and frozen, dawg, thanks all this was very cool

[18:07]  You: We weren't instructed about context.

[18:07]  Parmesan Eggplant: True. Not sure why I am so riled up. I enjoy these trials.

[18:08]  You: See you Cadyn

[18:09]  Parmesan Eggplant: Bye all!

[18:09]  You: Bye Parm!

[18:09]  You: Nice to see you.

[18:09]  Andromeda Mesmer: Bye1

[18:10]  Boston Hutchinson: Bye Parmesan

[18:10]  Ericr Infinity is Online

[18:10]  Parmesan Eggplant is Offline

[18:11]  Eon Berkman is Offline

[18:12]  Whitelight Christiansen is Online

[18:12]  Diego Ibanez is Online

[18:12]  Andromeda Mesmer: Aphilo -- next Wednesday, back to the regular discussion?

[18:13]  You: Yes, A!

[18:13]  You: Virtual communities - I'll post it, as well as send an e-mail.

[18:13]  You: See you then!

[18:13]  Andromeda Mesmer: Good.

[18:13]  You: :)

[18:14]  Andromeda Mesmer: Rain -- I am going to patrol for camping bots, and then do some other work at Vindi's for a bit.

[18:14]  Andromeda Mesmer: Then I'll go to the Salsa club ...

[18:15]  Rain Ninetails: oh! ok, I had got to talking.

[18:15]  Rain Ninetails: sorry

[18:15]  Ericr Infinity is Offline

[18:15]  Andromeda Mesmer: OK --

[18:16]  Andromeda Mesmer: Bye everybody, Bye Aphlo :)

[18:16]  You: Good night everyone

[18:16]  Boston Hutchinson is Offline

[18:16]  Pbell Thursday: Hello, sorry I am a friend of Rain's

[18:16]  Rain Ninetails: di you finally read you T-Shirt Aphilo?

[18:17]  You: No problem

[18:17]  Rain Ninetails: and meet Pbell, btw!

[18:17]  You: Hello Rain and Pbell

[18:17]  Pbell Thursday: hello

[18:17]  You: Have I read my t-shirt?

[18:17]  Rain Ninetails: Pbell, Aphilo teaches a class on Internet and Society!

[18:18]  Rain Ninetails: or looked at it, I mean!

[18:18]  Rain Ninetails: that is its name , I think

[18:18]  You: We meet on Wednesday nights in the meeting area here on Berkman.

[18:18]  You: http://socinfotech.pbwiki.com

[18:18]  You: Yes, it's a Berkman t-shirt with God and David on the front - Michelangelo.

[18:19]  Pbell Thursday: sorry guys i got a phone call in RL

[18:19]  Rain Ninetails: is it a comment on the grant process ;)

[18:19]  You: I'm also taking off

[18:19]  You: See you soon Rain!

[18:19]  Rain Ninetails: Ok!

[18:19]  Rain Ninetails: see ya!

[18:19]  You decline Research Book Instructions from A group member named Sarasvati Kohime.

 

 

http://socinfotech.pbwiki.com