[arg_discuss] GAM3R 7H30RY: a work in progress... in progress

[Joseph Matheny- {Non Serviam}]

http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2006/04/g4m3r_7h30ry_part_4.htm
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I'm pleased to report that the institute is gearing up for another book-blog
experiment to run alongside Mitchell Stephens' ongoing endeavor at Without
Gods -- this one a collaboration with McKenzie Wark, professor of cultural
and media studies at the New School and author most recently of A Hacker
Manifesto. Ken's next book, Gamer Theory, is an examination of single-player
video games that comes out of the analytic tradition of the Frankfurt School
(among other influences). Unlike Mitch's project (a history of atheism),
Ken's book is already written -- or a draft of it anyway -- so in putting
together a public portal, we are faced with a very different set of
challenges. 

As with Hacker Manifesto, Ken has written Gamer Theory in numbered
paragraphs, a modular structure that makes the text highly adaptable to
different formats and distribution schemes -- be it RSS syndication, ebook,
or print copy. We thought the obvious thing to do, then, would be to release
the book serially, chunk by chunk, and to gather commentary and feedback
from readers as it progressed. The trouble is that if you do only this --
that is, syndicate the book and gather feedback -- you forfeit the
possibility of a more free-flowing discussion, which could end up being just
as valuable (or more) as the direct critique of the book. After all, the
point of this experiment is to expose the book to the collective knowledge,
experience and multiple viewpoints of the network. If new ideas are to be
brought to light, then there ought to be ways for readers to contribute, not
just in direct response to material the author has put forth, but in their
own terms (this returns us to the tricky proprietary nature of blogs that
Dan discussed on Monday).