Betrayal of Society, The

Symposium Mandated Bibliognostic 'Cyclopedia
User avatar
Laneth
Plot of Hemingway and Gags
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:09 pm
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Laneth »

Image
Betrayal of Society, The

Known to have been a deciding factor in ending the Blogosphere Offensive, the Betrayal of Society is a matter of great contention among historians today.

Seen from two very different perspectives by the descendents of those lost / arrested during this time and those directly affected by the Offensive itself, it is often the case that brawls result from loose conversations about this period in history. Usually triggered by conversations about the shadowy figure of Society (whose true identity is still much debated), these debates are often detrimental to the truth of the matter which is commonly lost on those who seek not to know themselves and punish others for the same lack of knowledge.

Society came to Generaland in October 2011 from the far reaches of the Inter-Net, bringing word from Indranet that Spam-bots had assaulted and destroyed the town. He was the sole survivor of his militant unit, which acted in the interests of city protection. It was while pinned down protecting his city that Society was exposed to atrocities not yet fully known to historians and thankfully prevented from occurring in Generaland as a byproduct of Zach the Magnificent initialising the Blogosphere Offensive.

Joining up with the Saturday Militia, Society was installed in Charlie Company with his rank of 2nd Lieutenant restored in recognition of his service to the now destroyed Indranet.

It was while on a standard drilling exercise that 2nd Lieutenant Society overheard his superiors discussing results from the preliminary assaults on various web servers using the reprogrammed Spam-bots. The atrocities witnessed were still too fresh for 2nd Lieutenant Society to let this go, and so decided to address his concerns to General Malaise directly.

Though disciplined for eavesdropping on his superiors, 2nd Lieutenant Society was heavily questioned about his involvement with the assault and battle for Indranet; how he survived, why he came to Generaland, what his plan was in the Generaland Military, revenge is not an option, etc. His answers helped Gen. Malaise formulate a plan of attack, which was approved and initialised by Zach the Magnificent himself.

Again concern gnawed at 2nd Lieutenant Society and it is said he had befriended a fellow new recruit in Bravo Company, one Edminster, and confessed to him his fears that something was amiss with the projected ease that the upcoming assaults were going to be won.

In late December 2011, some two weeks before Gen. Malaise’s plans were to be put in place, 2nd Lieutenant Society volunteered for a reconnaissance mission (of his own devising) to survey the battlefield terrain and the enemy’s fortifications. It was towards the end of this mission that 2nd Lieutenant Society discovered the paddocks that housed the vast number of Spam-bots that were provided to Zach the Magnificent.

The mental wounds caused by Indranet still fresh, Society feared for the citizens on both sides of the impending battle, having witnessed Spam-bots turn on the soldiers they fought with.

It was around this time that Edminster took an opportunity to pass communiqué to General Malaise reporting the conversation he’d had with Society prior to his departure. When questioned Edminster said he’d not had a chance to report the conversation sooner as he’d departed on drills immediately after he and Society had spoken and his company had no communication with Generaland whilst in the field.

Estimating the result of this upcoming battle based upon his first-hand experience, 2nd Lieutenant Society saw a potential loss of life that would far outweigh the destruction of Indranet. Knowing that he was too far from base without any form of communication and would be stuck in debriefing for days before getting to see the General, Society knew it was impossible to stop the attacks.

Seeking to circumvent a major disaster, Society defected from duty and made contact with the closest web-host in Canadia, explaining who he was and imploring them to send word to all other web-hosts in Canadia that a planned, broad-spectrum attack was set for all hosts and was coming within days.

While Society was getting set to return to Generaland and the impending battle, he was gunned down from a great distance by sharp-shooter <<Lethal Interjection>>, under orders by Zach the Magnificent himself. Words of gratitude for a warning had reached Zach from an allied Canadian web hosting provider, claiming that they’d been contacted by a soldier in his own military.

Despite the fact they were not going to be attacked, their thanks contained a veiled threat that if the attacks occurred on their fellow providers in Canadia, swift retaliation would occur.

News of the <<Death of General Malaise>> and a handful of others reached Generaland just as the waves of assault forces streamed out onto the battlefields to engage with surprisingly prepared and fortified web servers. The Spam-bots were all but destroyed, with a good number of soldiers captured in their wake.

More deaths had been confirmed and dozens of reports came streaming in to Generaland of entire units and battalions of soldiers being seized and arrested. The actions of 2nd Lieutenant Society contributed to at least 500 of the total 700 hundred arrests that resulted from these planned assaults, thus effectively rendering Generaland’s military crippled and ending the Blogosphere Offensive.

Reports later revealed that defences on several highly populated web servers had not been activated until hearing word from Society, thus his actions may have saved several hundred-thousand lives.


Author’s Commentary:
Though it has been said that 2nd Lieutenant Society’s actions could have been a major contributing factor to the lives saved during the Blogosphere Offensive, he is viewed by many descendents of the original citizens of Generaland (at least those at the time of the Offensive) to have been a traitor and coward.

While it has been said that Edminster could have extended his effort to report the conversation, his apparent initial thought was that Society would not act on his concerns. According to a scrap of journal reported to have belonged to Edminster himself, he chose to report the conversation upon returning to Generaland and discovering Society’s volunteered misson. The journal entry is as follows:
Edminster – 28th December 2011 wrote:…stupid enough to do something. I’ve spoken briefly with General Malaise regarding my conversation with Society. The General wanted to know first hand what Society had said, and the only thing that really caught his attention was how I described Society’s eyes which were darting all around the place as he spoke. I said that he looked haunted, which seemed to meant something to the Gen…
The veracity of this scrap is debated, as it lacks the tell-tale linguistic style of the questionably sane scientist-turned-soldier. However, because Edminster was the only person known to have kept a journal who also had contact with Society, the claim that it is authentic cannot be dismissed out of hand.

Indranet was a small web hosting service based in Canadia that never made a splash in any major markets and its destruction could have been one of several casualties-of-war between two larger corporations vying for extra space and power in the Inter-Net.
Laneth Sffarlenn
Almost like a memory, this phantasm has reappeared...

User avatar
mountainmage
Mage of the Mountains
Posts: 9595
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 11:42 am
Location: Right here. Right now.

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by mountainmage »

This raises many questions.

First of all, according to my records Society came to The Forum in 2005, even before Outlandia was annexed.

Secondly, in this section:
While Society was getting set to return to Generaland and the impending battle, he was gunned down from a great distance by sharp-shooter <<Lethal Interjection>>, under orders by Zach the Magnificent himself. Words of gratitude for a warning had reached Zach from an allied Canadian web hosting provider, claiming that they’d been contacted by a soldier in his own military.

Despite the fact they were not going to be attacked, their thanks contained a veiled threat that if the attacks occurred on their fellow providers in Canadia, swift retaliation would occur.

News of the <<Death of General Malaise>> and a handful of others reached Generaland just as the waves of assault forces streamed out onto the battlefields to engage with surprisingly prepared and fortified web servers. The Spam-bots were all but destroyed, with a good number of soldiers captured in their wake.
you jump straight from the death of Society to the death of General Malaise. Did General Malaise die in the same time frame? I'm horribly confused.

Lastly, in the 2nd paragraph (right after the 1st sentence) you misspelled affected as effected.
No more white horses ♬ ♫ ♪ ılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılı ♪ ♫ ♬ for you to ride away

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Edminster »

mountainmage wrote:according to my records Society came to The Forum in 2005, even before Outlandia was annexed.
When Society first registered allegiance with the Forum, the laws were much more lax. For instance, members were not reguired to denounce all previous loyalties and stay solely on the premesis. As we all know, the Loyalty Clause was only added to the Terms Of Use when the Forum was re-established in March of 2012. Further, if you take a closer look at your records, you will note that he was around for two full months after the establishment of Outlandia. Finally, note that at no time did Laneth claim that Society was a complete stranger. Rather, the entry is about his return from the Wastes of Canadia, and the betrayal that followed.

I will admit that I also missed the typographical error in the second paragraph, and have corrected this mistake. As for missing the leap in narration to the Death of General Malaise, I can only blame the incredible party thrown by Scholastrix Steffles for muddying my concentration.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Oldrac the Chitinous
Chicken O' the Sea
Posts: 3476
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:41 pm
Location: The Perfect Stillness of the Deep
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Oldrac the Chitinous »

Given that the Heresy, Sedition, and Illiteracy Acts were repealed with the signing of the Treaty of Aol'gun, I will say (though not without some lingering trepidation, even after two decades) that the Blogosphere Offensive was, in my opinion, a grave error on the part of His Magnificence. It led to the unnecessary loss of many lives, and would have led to much worse had Society not acted. On the other hand, his betrayal meant that hundreds of Forum citizens spent the rest of their lives in prison for their patriotism. I commend you on a very even-handed coverage of such a divisive figure.
I disagree, however, with your assessment of just how many lives he did save. Recall that the 2010's Inter-Net was not yet habitable, and people of the era were capable of survival even in locations where the Inter-Net was totally absent (anomalous cases like Indranet notwithstanding). If the assault had succeeded, the damage to world infrastructure would have been catastrophic, certainly, but it wouldn't have directly killed anyone. How many would have later died as a consequence is open to speculation, of course, but I think even the most generous estimates would put the total in the thousands, not hundreds of thousands.
Police said they spent some time working out if they could charge the man with being armed with a weapon, as technically he was armed with part of a fish.

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Edminster »

Oldrac the Chitinous wrote:If the assault had succeeded, the damage to world infrastructure would have been catastrophic, certainly, but it wouldn't have directly killed anyone. How many would have later died as a consequence is open to speculation, of course, but I think even the most generous estimates would put the total in the thousands, not hundreds of thousands.
That is one of the issues with a combination Cyber/Meatspace assault. While direct deaths are incredibly easy to count, there is a ripple effect. The secondary, tertiary, and quaternary effects are far more difficult to pin down. For a Wasteland such as Canadia, we can only speculate on how much they depended upon the Datacenters for communication. Personally, I would place the number in the tens of thousands of casualties which could be traced to downed data relay centers, but because of the actions of Society we will never know for certain.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
mountainmage
Mage of the Mountains
Posts: 9595
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 11:42 am
Location: Right here. Right now.

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by mountainmage »

Edminster wrote:
mountainmage wrote:according to my records Society came to The Forum in 2005, even before Outlandia was annexed.
Further, if you take a closer look at your records, you will note that he was around for two full months after the establishment of Outlandia. Finally, note that at no time did Laneth claim that Society was a complete stranger. Rather, the entry is about his return from the Wastes of Canadia, and the betrayal that followed.
What I meant to say was "first came". I knew full-well he was there after the establishment of Outlandia. Also, how was I supposed to know he was not a complete stranger in if, as you said, Laneth did not even mention the fact?
No more white horses ♬ ♫ ♪ ılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılı ♪ ♫ ♬ for you to ride away

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Edminster »

mountainmage wrote:Also, how was I supposed to know he was not a complete stranger in if, as you said, Laneth did not even mention the fact?
This article is meant to be about the causes and consequences of a pivotal moment in Forum History, not an exhaustive essay on the minutiae surrounding a controversial figure. Or is this your indirect way of asking for a biography on Society?
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
mountainmage
Mage of the Mountains
Posts: 9595
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 11:42 am
Location: Right here. Right now.

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by mountainmage »

Well if the things I point out are going to be refuted, I want a good reason why.
No more white horses ♬ ♫ ♪ ılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılı ♪ ♫ ♬ for you to ride away

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Edminster »

Very well, I shall attempt to compile an entry regarding the life and times of Society, as it is beyond the scope of this particular entry. It may take me some time, though. After all, my postion in this Symposium demands that I spend the vast majority of my time 'schmoozing', as it were. You would be amazed at how much of a correlation there is between how amazing a party is and how much funding is subsequently granted to the hosts.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Laneth
Plot of Hemingway and Gags
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:09 pm
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Laneth »

Society's Betrayal played a pivotal role in the closing chapter of the Blogosphere Offensive.
Whilst I did not touch upon Society's prior interactions with the Forum or the people therein involved, one must agree that the timing renders his past involvements obsolete when referencing an even some six years after his initial arrival and subsequent departure.

During his brief stay in 2005-6, Society held no rank in any organised military unit and indeed made very little impact on early communities within SMBC Forum-space. It could be said that his presence during these early years are completely inconsequential and irrelevant when examining the role he played in the years of the Blogosphere Offensive.


I did jump rather quickly to the death of Gen. Malaise, I agree, however this fact is backed up by the report of his death, along with twenty-five others in the Blogosphere Offensive entry, as illustrated below:
Blogosphere Offensive wrote:The results of the Campaign were universally unfavorable for the forum. The Spam-bots, despite their sweeping alterations, were still easily identified and disabled by server defenses. By the time the operation was over, fully 700 of the Militia had been arrested by local authorities. Twenty-five were killed, including Gen. Malaise.
Society's actions may have been a directly contributing factor to Gen. Malaise's death, however such hypotheses are useless without substantiating evidence to support such a claim. It is not known whether the time period between Society's act, his assassination and Gen. Malaise's death were concurrent or spaced apart by hours or even days, but it is known that very little occurred between these three significant occurrances.

As pointed out by Fellow Oldrac, Inter-Net was not habitable in 2010, however some small advances were made towards this end during the closing stages of the Blogosphere Offensive. While it can be imagined that the deaths directly attributed to this event would be quite insubstantial in relation to a fully Meatspace attack, as seen in the Ancient World Wars, the figure I arrived at is in found among historical documentation of the individual and group motivations of people mentally unfit enough to survive peacefully without such stabilising activities as Inter-Net participation.

The Blogosphere Offensive could potentially have been a catalyst for mass hysteria, and not just in the Wastelands of Canadia where most efforts were concentrated. Observances of this assault from other colonies and countries set on edge the delicate political hold some governments had over their people, and with the media flooding into every home the news of such occurrences in other lands would make people fear the worst. Greed and Fear make people, both individual and group-alike, do stupid, desperate things and deaths are always the worst immediately after a tragedy as the people attempt to realign themselves within what society is left.

As for Affect and Effect:
This may be a case of preference or geographical difference, however I used "Affected" within the following context:
2. influenced in a harmful way; impaired, harmed, or attacked, as by climate or disease.
To review "Effected", please see: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/effected

As a student of Editing & Proofreading, I must provide the following:
Australian College QED wrote: Tutorial Two, Diploma of Publishing (Professional Book Editing, Proofreading and Publishing
'Effect' or 'affect'?

These two word tend to cause some confusion. The word 'effect' has a number of different meanings. For example:
The effect of it all. = The consequence of it all.
He liked the effect of it. = He liked the appearance of it.
The effect is wonderful! = The result is wonderful!

'Affect' means to transform. Try substituting the word 'affect' with the word 'transform' and see if it fits. For example:
It affected me greatly. = It transformed me greatly.
It didn't affect her. = It didn't transform her.

These wouldn't work:
It didn't consequence her.
It didn't appearance her.
It didn't result her.
Therefore, my usage of the word affected is correct, and I would appreciate it being changed back.
Laneth Sffarlenn
Almost like a memory, this phantasm has reappeared...

User avatar
Oldrac the Chitinous
Chicken O' the Sea
Posts: 3476
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:41 pm
Location: The Perfect Stillness of the Deep
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Oldrac the Chitinous »

Ah, it seems you've fallen victim to the daring MountanMage-Edminster Proofreading Maneuver.
It's a tricky one, all right.
Police said they spent some time working out if they could charge the man with being armed with a weapon, as technically he was armed with part of a fish.

User avatar
mountainmage
Mage of the Mountains
Posts: 9595
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 11:42 am
Location: Right here. Right now.

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by mountainmage »

You didn't say affected though, you said effected. The sentence originally said "those directly effected by the Offensive" which doesn't make sense in context.

As a grammar Nazi I must provide the following:
Wiktionary wrote: Effect is often confused with “affect”. The latter is used to convey the influence over existing ideas, emotions and entities; the former indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:

* “...new governing coalitions have effected major changes” indicates that major changes were made as a result of new governing coalitions.
* “...new governing coalitions have affected major changes” indicates that before new governing coalitions, major changes were in place, and that the new governing coalitions had some influence over these existing changes.
Last edited by mountainmage on Mon Feb 23, 2009 4:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
No more white horses ♬ ♫ ♪ ılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılı ♪ ♫ ♬ for you to ride away

User avatar
Laneth
Plot of Hemingway and Gags
Posts: 245
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:09 pm
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Laneth »

mountainmage wrote:You didn't say affected though, you said effected. The sentence originally said "those directly effected by the Offensive" which doesn't make sense in context.
Well...then, in that case...wait, what? *goes to check Word file...*
Humble apologies kind sirs :) I'm getting turned around and should be sleeping...this sunstroke headache has sent me home and instead of sleeping it off, I'm playing on here...gotta love my newfound priorities ;)
Laneth Sffarlenn
Almost like a memory, this phantasm has reappeared...

User avatar
mountainmage
Mage of the Mountains
Posts: 9595
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 11:42 am
Location: Right here. Right now.

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by mountainmage »

All that nerdrage (mine and yours) for nothing!
No more white horses ♬ ♫ ♪ ılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılı ♪ ♫ ♬ for you to ride away

User avatar
Oldrac the Chitinous
Chicken O' the Sea
Posts: 3476
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:41 pm
Location: The Perfect Stillness of the Deep
Contact:

Re: Betrayal of Society, The

Post by Oldrac the Chitinous »

You have a gift, Mage. Use it for good.
Police said they spent some time working out if they could charge the man with being armed with a weapon, as technically he was armed with part of a fish.

Post Reply