Zaiboh Otaku [zy'bo o-ta-k(oo)] : Cyber otaku, i.e. in
reference to a person who obsesses about computer and
cyberspace, to the point where she lives on-line, at times
never sleeping or eating properly for days.
20th-Century psychobabble refers to "computer addiction",
yet people who are supposedly addicted to computers are
actually habituated to a technological set and setting
where their obsessive-compulsive behavior is almost always
focused on computers, both on- and off-line various worlds
of cyberspace, ranging from a telephone chatline to a
single-line computer bulletin board system (BBS) to an
Internet service provider (ISP).
HISTORY OF 'INFO PIKE' GREW UP WITH CLINTON
In late Fall of 1993, during the presidential race in the United
States of America (USA), the Democratic Party's nominees for
president- and vice-president Bill Clinton and Al Gore won a
landslide victory over Republican incumbent George Bush due to their
high-tech backers on the West Coast, from Silicon Valley to the
Pacific Northwest. The Democratic platform fully embraced what
became known as the Information (Super)Highway, or simply: the Info
Pike.
After gaining the office of the President, Clinton proceeded to enact
bills pertaining to the Info Pike. One such act, the Communications
Decency Act (CDA) was not fully supported by Clinton, nor by Al Gore,
the chief policy-maker on making the Info Pike promise come true.
Instead, ignorant but well-meaning lobbyists who feared the negative
aspects of computers convinced various member of Congress to table a
bill in the House of Congress.
As it was originally written, the CDA was not well worded on what it
intended to do: clean up the Internet i.e. prevent the dessimination
of child pornography, hate literature, and obscenity on the Internet,
in effect policing the Info Pike like Orwellian thought police, all
in the name of truth, justice and the American way.
What followed was a backlash of grassroots protest on the Internet,
as website after website went "black" (i.e. displayed a black or
blank background as a show of solidarity against the monstrous child
of Senator Exon and his fellow right-wing Moral Majority and Feminazi
sycophants had begotten.
Later, the CDA was found lacking on several keys issues, mainly
violating the spirit of the First Amendment of the US Constitution,
and was declared by the Supreme Court to be invalid. In response,
the CDA proponents vowed to rewrite the bill and table it again
before Congress.
As it now stands, the CDA has influenced the Internet to clean up its
act. Where before it was easy to access pornography of different
strokes on BBSes, and on the Internet, today you would need proof of
legal age (using photocopies of ID or driver's licence). In
addition, the World Wide Web has cleaned up its act, resulting in an
ad-hoc, pay as you go system, and - in keeping with the law in local
communities - with warnings to children to stay out. However, the
protest against censorship on the 'Net has not abated despite the
unconstitional aspects of the dread CDA.
HOW THE OTAKU FIT INTO CYBERSPACE
The word 'otaku' is borrowed from the Japanese. Basically, it means
someone whose whole life revolved around a particular interest. The
roughest translation into English is 'hobbyist' or 'enthusiast.'
In the computer industry, the jargon dictionary refers to a special
interest group (SIG) for each aspect of the industry. For example,
the Forth SIG is for computer professionals and amateur hobbyists
alike to share ideas and discuss various aspects of programming in
the computer language Forth. There are also SIGs for hardware (e.g.
IBM SIG and ACORN SIG, as well as for software (ORACLE SIG and OS/2
SIG). SIGs may no longer use SIG as part of their title, especially
if they subscribe to various Usenet newsgroups such as
comp.language.forth, comp.hardware.ibm, comp.hardware.acorn,
comp.language.oracle, comp.programming.os2, and so on.
But sometimes the obsession gets out of hand, so otaku at one point
in the late 20th Century came to mean a fetishist or a mentally ill
person who obsesses about computers and/or pornography. This can be
traced to news articles in Japanese weeklies and on local TV news
show, which delight in sensationalizing the crime of the week.
However, not all otaku are corrupted by their obsessions. Thus, the
theft of the term 'otaku' by sensation-seeking journalists to
describe people who are actually broken and mixed-up people is
nothing more than bad journalism. They apply the term to a crime,
and denigrate its original meaning through their abuse, misuse and
overuse of the word.
OTAKU AND CYBER-PORN
Real otaku are most probably law-abiding citizens. And zaiboh otaku
are most likely as squeaky clean as the average Netizen. The people
who deal in the free exchange of pornography on the Internet are not
true otaku at all, but are either producers or users of obscene
material. The term used most often to describe such obscene and
pornographic material on the Internet is 'cyber-porn'. Most otaku
will have nothing to do with them, and -- as a result -- refuse to
subscribe to sex-related areas of the 'Net.
To claim that any attempt to cut down on net traffic that contains
mostly pornography is a violation of the unwritten rule of freedom of
expression, one must stretch the limitations of the First Amendment
of the US Constitution, which only applies to the cyber-porn
underground within the borders of America. Outside that limited
area, the laws of the local community connnected to the Internet may
apply. Thus, we may have places like Singapore and Malaysia where
the distribution of obscene materials is a capital offense, and other
places like the Netherlands where cyber-porn is almost freely
available.
Zaiboh otaku will do anything to remain free of the subtle influence
of cyber-porn. For true freedom makes demands of oneself in order to
avoid clinging to earthly distractions. One cannot properly commune
in cyberspace with the sometimes overpowering distractions of the
lusty side of human nature. As well, there may be government scams
in place to entrap weak-willed adventurers on the Info Pike. The
government is always willing to set up sting operations to tempt the
weak amongst all members of the 'Net. This can be thought of as a
weeding-out process. Anyone who can resist the temptation of the
erotic and the obscene on-line is probably fit to call herself zaiboh
otaku. Anyone whose resistance is weaker is otaku in name only, and
is to be avoided at all costs.
THE ROLE OF THE ZAIBOH OTAKU
True zaiboh otaku are seldom seen or heard. They may subscribe to
various newsgroups, visiting various websites, and engage in an
avocation within the computer industry; but seldom are they heard
from, if at all. However, when they do make themselves known, the
lesser otaku will know about it and even comment on each utterance of
the zaiboh otaku. Thus, we may read of the notorious zaiboh otaku
Kevin David Mitnick, a zaiboh ronin who began his illustrious career
sweet talking PacBell operators into letting him have free reign on
the local telephone switching exchanges of greater Los Angeles,
California.
By the time of his arrest around 1989, Mitnick was accused of
stealing the DEC VAX operating system source code. As well, he was
convicted for illegal use of computer resources at a local education
institution. Instead of being made a lesson to other otaku foolish
enough to succumb to the dark side of hacking, Mitnick was allowed to
go on probation and seek counselling in a 12-step program for his
computer 'addiction.'
Again, in early 1995 Mitnick was arrested, this time for illegal use
of cellular phone service, possible computer theft and illegal use of
computer resources. However, it is unknown if he was the author of
the break-in of the San Diego Supercomputer machine belonging to his
rival Tsutomu Shimomura. The U.S. government would want us to
believe otherwise.
ZAIBOH OTAKU: SAMURAI AND RONIN
Recently, with the publishing of not one but three books on the
Shimomura versus Mitnick 'takedown', the public has gotten hold of
different versions of the latest trail leading to the arrest and
capture of zaiboh ronin Mitnick in February 1995. Out of these three
versions, supposed of the true story, only one book is a good read;
the rest are destined for the remainder bin in some discount
bookstore chain. This book is Jeff Goodell's The Cyberthief and the
Samurai: the true story of Kevin Mitnick - and the man who hunted him
down (Dell 1996). The other two books are forgettable, and bad
journalism to boot, especially the collaborative effort of Shimomura
and John Markoff.
Markoff claims in the latter book that he wrote Cyberpunk, but omits
the fact that his ex-wife Katie Hafner wrote most of Cyberpunk - he
only supplied the source for each section in the book. You can tell
Hafner's book is written by her by her liberal characterization of
each 'dark-side' hacker in negative terms. In an Esquire article in
1995, Hafner interviewed a Mitnick associate, fellow zaiboh ronin
Susie Thunder and tinged her journalistic effort yellow in the
process. The article neglected to mention the human side of Mitnick,
which Thunder told her about, and made out Susie to be nothing more
than a conniving whore.
Later, at the Las Vegas hacker convention DefCon '95 in Las Vegas,
Susie was subjected to sexual harrassment by wannabes and
subsequently went underground in early 1996. As a prank, some lamer
at the conventionput a crude sign on her back that read: "I give
blowjobs". This was probably inspired by Hafner's Esquire article,
in which she records Susie contemplating making some easy money.
OF OTAKU WANNABES AND OVERCOMING THE MINDSET OF PATRIARCHISM
This is typical of otaku wannabes who have been brainwashed by the
subliminal propaganda of patriarchism. Despite her unfortunate birth
and early exposure to drugs and sex as a street urchin growing up in
Southern California (SoCal), Susie Thunder is today a street-smart
woman.
It is the fact that she is a woman and better adept at subversive
psychology than most male wannabes are at social engineering that has
made her reviled in cyberspace.
The fascism of sexism makes weak-willed men always willing to walk
all over women's rights, and intimidate intelligent women into
submission. On the Info Pike, this is accomplished through
offensive flames, intimidating mailbomb campaigns, and other forms
of disruptive behavior. It is pointless to analyze such behavior
and rationalize it away. This is not the way of the zaiboh otaku.
Once on-line, no one knows your true gender. Therefore, the
on-going polarization by gender is likewise counter-productive to
the co-evolution of the sexes, especially on the 'Net. Equality of
the sexes is only possible when we realize that once you strip away
reseverations and bare your soul, your humanity is the only dignity
left.
Thus the true zaiboh otaku has the right to refuse to state her
gender unless the current group obeys the unwritten rule that no form
of subliminal gender warfare and conquest will take place without her
consent. Any male who does not first request permission to practise
a limited form of such a wargame, limited by her rules, should be
exposed for the sexist pig he truly is. Any woman who compromises
herself by playing along with otaku wannabes who mindlessly cling to
their oppressively sexist mindsets are only continuing the
setting-sun principles of patriarchy, and are thus not worthy of
being called otaku. There are cruder words for them and their kind.
However, abusive name-calling of lesser otaku on the Info Pike is a
waste of computer resources.
THE FUTURE OF ZAIBOH OTAKU
In order to consolidate precious computer resources, the zaiboh otaku
learns the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) philosophy. This simple
philosophy governs his programming style, his interaction with other
like-minded otaku, be they zaibo ronin or samurai or mundane lesser
otaku. Complex social interaction is beyond him, yet he knows enough
of psychology to understand why a poseur may find his Machiavellian
machinations a tad bit too much.
At times, his every action may seem cold, calculating and cruel; but
when the heat is on, the true zaiboh otaku becomes like water, and
goes with the flow. To the unenlightened wannabe, this seems like
mystical doublespeak. To the learned ronin or samurai, this is only
the beginning of a new reality.
If we allow ourselves to cling to the setting-sun ways of over 3,000
years of sexist oppression and violent warfare, then we are no better
off than our Neanderthal ancestors immediately prior to their
assimilation by the Cro Magnon. If we continue to believe the
bald-face lies that capitalism has taught us over the past 160 years,
then our honor will be compromised by the biggest scam since the
Green-card caper over four years ago.
IN PRAISE OF THE ZAIBOH HEROINES
The lies spread by John Markoff and other people of his kind have
done nothing good for cyberspace. Instead, it has lead to such
things as the CDA and the capture of Mitnick, as well as celebrating
Mark Lottor in a unmentioned Internet magazine that is now losing
money, and throwing snipes at its web site, whose staff sit in an
air-conditioned office while their hardcopy compatriots sweat over
each money-losing deadline. We'll forget 'Eric Heinz' and his
silicone augmented girlfriend.
Instead we will not forget such fallen heroines of the Info Pike as:
Redmond Rose, the author of most good things
to come out of Microsoft since 1991, whose story is chronicled in
Fear and Loathing at Microsoft. However, Microsoft refuses to
compensate her for the suffering they caused her, citing EEOC
judgement in their favor as well as bogus harassment charges against
her. Even the local Redmond police were probably on the Microsoft
payrolls during much of the time this case took place.
Susie Thunder, whose career spans two decades, from
her early days as drug user to hooker to masseuse to security
consultant, and later, Tradewars fanatic. Currently underground, and
no longer readily accessible on the 'Net, she continues to struggle
against the tangible oppression of an openly patriarchal society that
has only empty promise of global emancipation for women, and reserves
scorn for any intelligent woman who dares to openly challenge the
male-dominated status quo that is the domain of free-market capitalism.
All the women in cyberspace who have been harassed and intimidated into
submission on-line — if only for speaking their minds — by
piggish men thinking with the wrong head just like their male
antecedents before them are truly zaiboh otaku.
(This article is in no way a treatise for left-wing politics nor for
socialism. Instead it is inspired by the Hacker Ethics, which serves
as the moral code of Cyberspace.)
No comments:
Post a Comment