Lack of interest can be a good thing

[vakkotaur]

A fellow I knew some years ago was, and presumably still is, fond of saying, "When we're rich and famous..." I'd often reply that I would settle for rich and not famous as it would be less hassle. I can't confirm the rich part, much as I might like to, but having seen what jmaynard initially went through and some of the lingering nonsense, I think I can confirm that relative obscurity is less hassle than relative fame.

The City Pages article was the first time I'd been mentioned along with Jay in regard to the Tron Guy stuff. As Orvan was revealed (I simply replied truthfully when asked if I had any costumes beyond renfaire attire as it's just easier that way) and then it hit Fark, I was bracing for a flood of st00p1d in my journals and e-mail. If not from Fark directly, then indirectly as it filtered through the net. It didn't happen.

Oh, it filtered through the net alright. Links to that article show up in several places. But most seem to just be links to the Fark entry, and the others have little if any comment. I have a couple examples. A link to the article was posted on a site called Snarkfest. In a thread with Julia Child being revealed as spy for the Allies in WWII, modern science bringing invisibility cloaks grudgingly into reality, a couple people in costumes just aren't very interesting. Another site, vivisector, that claims to be a sort of anthropological study of furry in all aspects, good and bad, also had someone point out the City Pages article. That person is either more furry-aware (understandable given the site) or did the truly basic level of internet research needed to find a couple images of Orvan and Orvan's journal. And... that thread is empty save for the initial post. And it's been bumped down as a particular web site experienced another outage and that's more interesting.

I am not displeased by the lack of attention. While I believe there are plenty of jerks around, it's nice to not have to deal with them. It amuses me to see a couple potential pot-stirrers get no followup. Evidently Jay's schoolyard classification is about right as the other sites seem a bit more mature and nothing much happens. Why should anything? As malterre said about an earlier post, "I see stranger shit taking public transportation."

And then there is also the benefit of the doubt. I don't like to believe that most people are idiots. That doesn't mean I can't be convinced that someone really is an idiot, however. Reading though the Fark comments, I found myself wondering how many of the people posting stupid things really believed the stupid things they were posting. Were they that stupid or gullible, or were they trolling each other, or was it all one big in-joke that anyone looking in might mistake for real rather than fake idiocy? Faking idiocy seems to be one of those things that's only amusing to the one doing it, so when it isn't amusing it just seems stupid, or at best ignorant.

The misspelling of Orvan's name in the City Pages article reveals something interesting as well. If I do searches using the correct spelling, I get the ACME Delivery site, Orvan's journal, and mentions of him by other folks in a generally positive way. But if I do a search for the misspelling I get the City Pages article, the Fark entry, and various folks linking to one or the other, often with a "more than you wanted to know" comment that seems to asking for OMGWTFICBM responses. The difference seems to be a simple enough one. The folks using the correct spelling have met or seen Orvan at conventions and found him friendly or amusing or at least mostly harmless, while those using or copying the misspelling have only seen the short mention in one article - and then either jump to conclusions or hope for others to do so. In way, though probably not the one intended, it manages to be a bit amusing.

Comments

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm not famous, I've seen it do horrible things to people. Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, etc. were all relatively normal children once....

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

One thing Jay mentioned after the Jimmy Kimmel Live appearances was that he now understood how real celebrities could turn to drugs and alcohol and who knows what else. When things are going, you get amazingly great treatment (met at the airport, limo, nice hotel, etc.) and when it's done... it can be quite a crash back to the mundane world. So some will try to recreate that high one way or another. Or, they can easily start to believe that they really are so amazingly special that they can do or get away with things other can't. And he only got a rather small dose of that treatment, and could see how some things might result if people aren't careful and realistic.

[sheryl67.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that you aren't getting a shit-storm from a bunch of people who have nothing better to do. That makes me happy.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

As am I. Thank you.

[malterre.livejournal.com]

Ditto on that. I was very happy to see my visage quietly slip away from the "funny caption" contest

[brodycatsmouth.livejournal.com]

Depending on whether you are an optimist or a pessimist means whether you self-google for Orvan or Orven.

Oh, and I'd tend to agree with the in-joke comment. Obviously they're all just a bit smarter than their comments, but I've noticed an interesting thing - essays on things that squick mundanes are in short supply now. Unsure why exactly netizens are becoming less verbose (my thought is that the mainstream is now getting into the act faster than ever before), but there it is.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I've checked both. Call it research.

Maybe enough people have realized that the joke about I-you-they works both ways?

That is:

I am normal.
You are eccentric.
They are messed up.

or:

I am sensual.
You are kinky.
They are perverted.

But everyone is included in almost everyone else's They.

Also, the whole internet outrage bit is aging. I don't know how many times I've seen folks go on and on about something only to see, a couple days later, that it was badly misrepresented by either someone with an agenda or someone without a clue and that the whole thing was really no big deal at all.

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

Strictly out of curiosity, I just googled "Orvon Ox", "Orvin Ox", and "Orvun Ox". I found nothing of interest.