[arg_discuss] ARGs as scams?

[Beth A. Long]

This is a great discussion. We need to be ready both to answer the
inquiries of the intelligent and to brace against the attacks of the
worry-mongers.

I do think a couple of key features differentiate ARGs from scams (and
from books like THE DA VINCI CODE):
- ARGs usually have a final curtain, at which point the PMs walk out on
stage and take a bow. (And the PM's don't insist on the alternate
reality being "real" reality.)
- ARGs have easily located groups of players who are fully aware of the
ARG's fictional nature and will quickly explain the situation to
newbies.

For these two reasons alone, I wouldn't want to call THE DA VINCI CODE
an ARG. Brown claims his book is non-fiction, yes? He may be a scam
artist or just a few pages short of a complete book, but he's not
created an ARG, despite some similarities between the two. I mean, the
acronym itself is a give-away: Alternate Reality *Game*. If I insisted
that "Candyland" was genuine cartography, my HMO might cover my
psychiatric bills, but...

Is this making sense?

The article you linked to brings up a stickier issue, in my mind, and
also makes me feel weary (so much paranoia!). It also reminds me of the
"War of the Worlds" debacle (the first ARG, perhaps!). Obviously, ARGs
need borders. In "i love bees," the randomly ringing pay phones required
a code word before the listener could hear the audio snippet; a simple
but effective way to prevent a curious stranger from being freaked out.

Any good examples of people failing to distinguish an ARGs fictionality?

-Beth Adele