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by S.E. Sidecorners
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This article represents part II of a
two-part article. Part I traced the history and origin of the reality webgame
format and touched upon some of the scandals associated with "Game I"
-- a big brother-style game at the TV Clubhouse. How Game
I affected the reality web community
Well, you can imagine: upon the receipt of the news that, at the end of Game I,
the winner, a certain "Mr. V", was in fact a woman, the proverbial
monkey-pod seed hit the proverbial palm frond. Hysteria broke out. Mr. V
insisted it was all a mistake, that when she submitted his name, it was taken
as 'male'. Recent revelations have hinted that this gender deception was, in
fact, purposeful.
The website reached an apex of hysteria when Mr. V posted a delirious message,
screens long, which depicted Mr. V at the center of a trial -- with Mr. V in
the witness seat defending him/herself against the questions of a vengeful
accuser and being judged by court of its peers. Mr. V claimed, among other
things, that other players had committed voter fraud as well, but Mr. V did not
adequately explain why, if the others were guilty of fraud, they did not win
the game like s/he did. Those who read the whole trial post were, to say the
least, shocked and disgusted. Legions of Mr. V defenders flooded the site with
posts from all corners of the globe, but the website membership at large
watched, stunned, as the site itself seemed on the verge of consuming itself in
vindictive selfhatred and vengeful accusations. To quote a renowned reality
observer, former governmental agency investigator and all-around humorist:
". . . [clubhouse members] seemed to have been reduced to
cannibalism."
Due to the hysteria, malevolent bashing, and downright harassment of the
website owner by these legions of bull- and cat-fighters, the owner got mad and
shut the entire TV Clubhouse down. For good. As it was, Neil had been hearing
about all the garbage going on in Game I from his wife day after day after day,
and he had had enough. Then he realised that suddenly there was no site anymore
since he had shut it down, and so he opened it up again the next day.
In the end, both Q and V were banished from the site for good, though they
apparently requested the banishment, according to the reports of witnesses.
And, strangely, it all gently died away and the TV clubhouse got back to
normal. As well as it could, anyway: some damage had been done, and many never
returned.
The sorrowful legacy of Game I includes the above as well as the following:
Some time later it was revealed that one of the other game players, who had
been guilty of erratic behavior during the game, blamed it on being heavily
involved in serious drug abuse at the time. The player indicated that this was
the cause for her admittedly bizarre, if not downright frightening, posts. In
addition, it's not exactly clear, but the poster Tukuul's getting a taste of
being the player 'Zebulon' during Game I may have given this poster a taste of
the forbidden fruit under whose spell he was to remain forever powerless --
that of creating multiple identities.
Players of Game I still involved with the site on a regular basis one year
later: four out of ten. Second reality webgame threatens meltdown
Now, things being as they are, with the website chugging along and finding new
things with which to occupy itself including lobbying CBS to run BigBrother 2
and the anticipation of Survivor II, no one gave much thought to The Game.
Instead, some people started thinking about "The Game II". It
certainly wasn't Neil. Neil didn't want to do a Game II. It certainly wasn't
Lisa. Lisa didn't want a Game II. It certainly wasn't "X", who had
gotten burned in Game I and was having a hard time putting that behind her. No,
it was the spectators, who had gotten high on Game I, loved it, and couldn't do
without it. And now that they were just about recovered from their overdose at
the end of Game I, they were ready to get addicted all over again.
One poster by the name of “Digilady” had become familiar with X and
the website owners during Big Brother and had became a moderator, and around
the New Year decided that the site absolutely had to have a Game II, so she
went to Neil and pleaded her case and he reluctantly agreed to let her do this
as long as he didn't have to mobilise, maintain, or mod.... well, we all know
how well that had gone the first time around, but it seems he forgot. So
Digilady marshalled her forces, and with assistant Ann ("Noslonna")
created 'The Game II -- Mysterious Puzzler.'
The best plans were laid, new rules instituted, and the game began, once again
with ten players: five men and five women. Now this Game was designed a bit
better and centered on five-minute mysteries and other puzzle games. The techs
had solved the voting issue sufficiently to place trust in it. In addition, the
players were, for the most part, known. Notable among them were
"Elitist", another George defender who had posted only in George
threads until he was finally coaxed to come out of his shell;
"Spamgirl," a moderator on the website; and "Guruchaz," a
somewhat immature young man who had come to the site shortly after the end of
Game I and seemed to be trying to be a tough guy without success. One player,
"Juju2bigdog" had created a stir (and inspired some conspiratical
gender/bender theories inspired by the ghost of 'Mr. V') when he/she posted a
self-portrait which revealed nothing except a sexless person covered from head
to toe in woolens with two eyes peering out.
It must be said that it is amazing that Game II was held at all, as Digilady
was facing personal circumstances which would be challenging to even the
fiercest fighter. It's clear that she is a brave woman to have attempted such a
feat in the face of the personal tragedies unfolding in her life, and to carry
on with Game II. But carry on she did, and the game got off to a great start,
and spectators were thrilled to find that two fellow spectators (and former
Game I players) had taken it upon themselves to provide their views of the
ongoing action in Game II.
Taking a cue from a Game I spectator who had posted a weekly review of the
action, they each decided to create a similar periodical. Zelda, who had played
Game I under the name "Moondance" and shortly thereafter adopted that
name permanently, offered spectators "Moondance's Mysterious
Memoirs", which was a summary of the day's action as well as offering an
astrological interpretation of the players. And Tukuul -- Game I's 'Zebulon' --
offered spectators "Tukuul's Tabloid Trash", which was a
tongue-in-cheek dressing-down of the players.
The spectators were sharp-eyed this time around, though. Scouring all clues for
the possibility of the existence of a dreaded 'mole' in the game, they came up
with nothing. Rumors of cheating were bandied about without any proof. There
were some instances in which some of the game players seemed to have knowledge
of things going on outside of the game, or knowledge of things discussed when
they were not around. These reality webgames are, after all, full of holes.
There's no proof for anything, and they depend upon the honor system.
Webgame mysteries
So, despite it being in the dead of winter and the TV Clubhouse now having a
solid core of members with not many new arrivals, some strange people began to
show up on the site. Namely, a poster named "Vitresse" showed up and
began commenting on the action. Similarly, another poster named "Lucky
Gal" jauntily popped in from time to time to make her thoughts known.
Theories abound about who they were, just fill in the blanks for a theory of
your own.
Now Guruchaz and Spamgirl, two Game II players, were kind of like matter and
anti-matter. When matter and anti-matter come together, they explode. Or like
cats and dogs, if you like. But some cats like dogs, and some dogs like cats,
but matter and anti-matter hate each other forever. The jury is still out on
this peculiar chemistry, but physicists have long known that like forces repel.
The lesson to take from this is that perhaps the two of them were so much alike
one another, with such a closeness of character, that neither of them could
bear the other.
Many accusations of cheating of various sorts had been levelled against
Spamgirl during Game II without proof backing up any of them. However, to
explain herself at one point, Spamgirl explained that one of her best friends
would come over to her house to use her computer, and play as a spectator
accessing the spectator boards that way, and then Spamgirl would use the
computer to 'see only the game boards' (players were forbidden from the
spectator boards when they played). This seemed to stretch credibility to its
breaking point and hints at multiple identities either real or imagined.
But whoever these mysterious posters were -- and there were other identities
that showed up and then disappeared -- not many noticed, since the spectators
were busy watching the game and deciding who to vote out. And the spectators
got nasty about their favorite players. Fights broke out. Bad things were said.
All as it should be. This is, after all, a spectator sport. Spectator sports
can get quite vicious even when there are no scandals.
Game II continued in a contentious and competitive manner, and at the end,
"Azriel" won the prize, with players "Merlin" and
"Guruchaz" rounding out the top three. While wounds were smarting on
the spectator side, everything seemed to have finished up well for the player
side. There was a gracious winner, and the other two had given good game. And
even the spectators seemed to be calming down and looking at their own
rambunctious behavior contritely and with circumspection.
So it was all the more shocking when the player Guruchaz came out and admitted
that he was, in fact, the poster known as 'Tukuul', and had not only played in
both Game I and Game II, but in Game II had published critical commentaries on
the action at the same time as being supposedly sequestered on the game board.
Accusations and disappointment were without end. Sadly, Guruchaz had given all
evidence of overcoming bashing behavior to mature into a level-headed site
member. After the game was over, he had even run threads trying to garner some
meaning out of the experience of the game, even while at the very same moment
continuing his brazen deceptions. Between Tukuul and Guruchaz, it's clear that
Guruchaz was the more honest incarnation of the actual person behind the
handle. Guruchaz demonstrated a quickness to anger, a joyful humor, an ability
to laugh at himself, and a vulnerability that, at times, seemed touching. His
search for meaning from internet relationships had resonance for many. This
made his betrayal so much more hurtful. In fact, the whole thing was so
incredibly bizarre -- that somebody would actually go to the trouble to keep up
this charade -- that it took some time for this reality to sink in.
These deceptions made it clear that the TV Clubhouse was going to have to make
a decision about this person. Now some at the clubhouse had kind hearts, which
apparently had been softened by Guruchaz's qualities (either real or imagined).
Based on his past contributions to the site, website principals allowed him to
stay on as a member in the TV Clubhouse after a period of probation in which he
was locked in one thread and had to face those he had deceived. In addition, he
was made to take a separate identity to those of Tukuul and Guruchaz -- neither
of which were really him. They christened him "Zeb", and after the
period of probation was over, he was released to the site at large.
Many members were hurt by this failure on the TV Clubhouse's part to eject
Guruchaz from the site for good. It seemed to be an acknowledgment that the TV
Clubhouse moderators and owners played favorites, and "Zeb" was one
of these favorites who seemed to do no wrong, including participate in
outrageous deception and then thumb his nose at everyone. This confirmed the
worst fears of many. Many had been banished for trespasses that now seem
laughable in comparison to Zeb's. In addition, Digilady, the manager of
"Game II" who had been told by Guruchaz himself about Guruchaz's
deception shortly before the game ended, was denounced. The Tv Clubhouse
stripped her of her moderator status as punishment for her knowledge of
Guruchaz's actions, according to some observers. Now given these events, some
saw that they had been 'had', and played for fools at the same time. All agreed
that it was definitely a low point. Sadly, no one who had been given as much as
'Zeb' deserved it less, since he continually bit the hand that had helped him.
Other legacies of Game II: The first player to be banished in Game II never
participated in the site again and disappeared into the canyons of Manhattan.
Just couldn't handle it. Players of Game II still involved with the site on a
regular basis nine months later: five out of ten. Reality webgame scandals
cause rifts
Thus out of these reality webgame scandals were born two new sites by
disgruntled members: "Meet at Elite's" and "RealityRoxs" by
members disgusted by this entire affair of multiple identities and determined
to make a go of it alone.
RealityRox was a true attempt at a pure reality show site, and it had its
success for a time after being founded after Game I. Its major triumph was in
being the first site -- of any kind -- to interview some of the players of
"Survivor II". The site was focussed mainly on "Survivor
II" and "The Mole". The site was founded by "Nikkid,"
a former member of the TV Clubhouse and a writer who lived in the middle of the
Alaskan wilderness. After the end of these two shows, the site went dormant,
but reality observers still have hopes that it will come back to life and be a
vibrant part of the reality scene as it was in early 2001.
"Meet at Elite's" had a more complicated birth. Some may not know
that Elitist seemed to be a shy man -- remember that he spent ages posting only
in George threads -- as well as being smart; and for this reason, he never
shared his reputed sharp wit and sarcastic commentary with the viewers at
large, but only with a selected few in private emails. He had a favorite wry
trick and modus operandi which was perverting the words of the catholic liturgy
and other sacred texts to turn them around and say something funny or shocking.
Now these few recipients of his wry missives -- all female -- absolutely adored
him, but at large people didn't hear much from him in public, so people didn't
know what all the fuss was about.
But fuss there was, and soon a website was up and running called "Meet at
Elite's". The site was largely developed and run by Digilady, and its
provenance was her anger at her treatment at the hands of TV Clubhouse
management.
At first the site had 'elite members' and 'half-members'. The elite members --
Elitist and his private group consisting primarily of Spamgirl, Digilady, and
Noslonna and their friends -- could get into a secret area where only the elite
could chat about stuff. It was all much ado about nothing, as the elite members
didn't have much to chat about but wanted everyone else to think that they did
... even going so far as to allow others to see the supposed titles of 'topics'
they were chatting about -- such as 'what is wrong with the clubhouse' and the
like -- but those discussions were largely empty and only meant to create
jealousy on the part of those who couldn't read them. Then they realised that
they had better stop that kind of nonsense if they were going to have any
longevity, and they made it just a regular site and soon they had a regular
group of people posting, virtually all of them from the TV Clubhouse.
Now we come to today, when -- transformed into "EliteTv" and sporting
mascara-laden eyes with robin's egg blue lettering for a site logo, they are
now running their own reality webgame. It now appears that the outcome of
"Elitebro" -- whether positive or negative -- may represent a kind of
metaphysical or karmic retribution, since all the founders of EliteTv were
rumored to have had double accounts at the Tv Clubhouse in association with
Game II, just like Guruchaz had and whose scandal provided the launching
platform for EliteTv.
But perhaps the saddest and most worrisome aspect of "Elitebro" is
that the namesake of the site himself, "Elitist", spoke out against
such games in February of 2001. At that time, Elitist stated, "My point is
that the Game is messing with the human psyche and in such an environment that
it can cause harm. We are essentially asking the players to risk their
self-esteem in order to win a prize. It does not matter if a player answers the
"thick skin" question yes or not - everyone thinks they have thick
skin, but in [a reality webgame] when it comes down to not winning - or not
being accepted by your peers - it is a blow to your self-esteem. And that can
be harmful."
These are wise words. It remains to be seen exactly how and in what manner they
were forgotten. Let's hope that this solemn warning was wrong, and that
"Elitebro" will usher in a new era in reality webgaming -- one in
which honesty, sportsmanship, and fun prevail for all involved.
And as for the Tv Clubhouse? Will they be running a reality webgame again? In
the words of "Gail," longtime moderator and website principal without
whose help the site would not have survived the scandals and controversy:
"Never, never, never, never." In respect to the infamous
"Game" and its victims, wiser words have never been spoken. |
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From the home office at
TVCH:
Top 10 Ways You Know Your Site Is Popular:
10. You spawn so many new boards started by groups of banned disgruntled
posters you can't keep track of them all.
9. You have your own alliance on the Survivor Dead Pool.
8. Lil Robby (aka Guruchaz etc) offers cash bribes to try and get rid of
Moderators.
7. Reality Top50 unceremoniously kicks you off their list, and then reinstates
you within a few days.
6. Your celebrity chats are discussed on all the other reality sites.
5. You are referred to as "the mother board".
4. Your live feeds appear on other sites with no recognition or permission.
3. You have your own pet Troll/Stalker.
2. Al Gore claims he invented your site shortly after creating the internet.
And the number 1 way you know your site is popular:
1. You constantly get mentioned in Reality Trash.
Honourable (or dishonourable) mention:
The majority of people reading this know which sites it mainly refers to
whithout being told.
When your board goes down, everyone makes posts on other boards speculating why
your board is down and how long it will be down.
Trouble-maker posters take time to get several different usernames approved
just in case one gets banned. |
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By Digilady
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Hello, my name is Digilady and I am a
realit-aholic. That’s the only excuse I can possibly conceive for getting
myself into an on-line Big Brother game.
I’m not alone in my lunacy: 7 others are in the House as well. So far? The
experience has been enlightening to say the least. I am learning a lot about my
fellow lizards, and that’s what it’s all about.
We are allowed access to the Survivor threads though. This is a good thing,
we’re addicted to that as well.
It’s a strange business indeed to read about previous games and realize
that, all this time later, people still harbor ill will.
The first Game was fascinating. People were so into it you wouldn’t
believe. The second Game was even better (of course I’d think so, I ran
the thing!) There’s something inherently fascinating about watching a
group of people live their lives, whether it be live or on a board.
And from the Insider point of view: imagine being in a chat room with one other
person and ten or so bystanders, who are mute! It’s a strangely naked
feeling.
If this game goes as well as we’re hoping it will, I hope others get the
chance to play in the next one. (Now I’m channeling my old friend
LanceCrossfire, a superb player he was!)
Oooops.. I’m being hailed from the Hot Tub. Muahahahaha! See you all
there. |
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October 22, 2001
By: Jacalynn West and Marci Thompson
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Things are heating up on our
Survivor
board. A lot of people are saying that Tom is a racist for how he is
treating Clarence. Then there are those who think that it's a bit harsh and/or
to early to tell if that is his true motivation. A debate has been going on
about the whole issue since the first episode which you can view
here
and
here.
Love
Cruise ended with a thud last week. Our members were not impressed with
this show and did not like the producers throwing in a third couple at the end.
Read part one of our Tomiko interview
here.
Tomiko will also be answering more questions when she gets the time.
Popstars2
started last week but isn't a very popular show so far with our members.We
welcome any fans or non-fans even to join in a discussion though.
Our Funniest Post this Week came from Dadd regarding a thread entitled
'Give the Guidos a Break' on our
Amazing
Race forum. Dadd replied, "Give 'em a break??? Alright, I'll be fair,
just like they are fair....Where's Tonya Harding's Pipe????? "
Tanstaafl is our insightful poster of the week. You can always read his
posts on our forums, or his
own sites: The
Amazing Race - (Episode 5 summary now on-line) or The Mole 2: The Next
Betrayal.
Brian Shaw is our Recapper of the Week. You can read his latest Preview
for Survivor 3, Episode 3
here,
where he speculates on what might happen. He does a preview article before each
new episode airs, so check back often.
Best Signature goes to Borgia. It says: "Real Stupidity beats
Artificial Intelligence every time."--Terry Pratchett.
Best Thread is "Reality TV in an age of anthrax" started by
Infidel in the Temple.
We would like to send out our sympathies to Queen and Beachdreams who
have recently been going through some tough times with members of their
families with medical problems. We hope everyone gets better soon.
You may have heard that our site had some problems with another site and we
want everyone to know that we consider it over and done with and hope everyone
can just get back to talking about the shows and not each other. |
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It seems we now have competition in the reality
rag trade. Reality Lowdown has
opened its doors and promises to dish more and dirtier trash than we do. And we
like the theme song.
The Elite TV BB game continues, and we
still have our bets on Lissajo, the alternate to be the big winner.
We are planning a suprising special issue in the near future - don't miss
it! |
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Yet another nomination from
LetzTalk:
I find myself torn between two nominations, so, I am gonna write one for each
of them in this nomination letter and let you make the decision who deserves it
more.
My first Nominee is... (is the suspense killing you yet... of course it is, i
can tell) Kiki Banana
... ahhh, the ever witty miss Kiki... she is a regular poster at LetzTalk.com
yet I have seen her posts on a number of other boards as well, I hope that she
calls LetzTalk home cause I sure enjoy her. Kiki Banana always has a fun
carefree postin demeanor about her, forever good for a laugh. Thanks Kiki for
bringin a smile to my face everytime you are around!
I guess we made our decision - congrats Kiki! |
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Have some trash? Send it to us!
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If you have some good scoop on the reality web
scene, or want to nominate a favorite poster, send it to us at
realitytrash@yahoo.com and we will
try to get it into our next issue. And thanks to all of you who have
contributed!
We are also looking for article submissions from our readers. We will give you
your own byline and let you be part of our "Who Runs Reality Trash"
game! |
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Reality Trash is published twice weekly on
Tuesday and Friday if we get enough dirt. Please bookmark us and send us some
TRASH!
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