[ note: for serious answers, read texts by lish: tattoo faq: http://compunction.dyndns.org/healing.txt piercing faq: http://compunction.dyndns.org/healing2.txt ] Note: Remember what I said, freaks. I'm not replying to anything on this newsgroup publically. This doesnt count. I told you I'd post an essay or FAQ from time to time. So dont even start. Yttrx's rec.arts.bodayrt Survival Guide Part One: What is rec.arts.bodyart? Rec.arts.bodyart is a newsgroup for freaks who like to pointed sticks shoved into their bodies for the purpose of permanent pictures and/or non/semi-permanent perforations held open by metal or wood or something. Part Two: Who posts to rec.arts.bodyart? A bunch of freaks. A few immature whiners. A couple two three piercers. A tattoo artist here and there. One or two self important twats. Some wise men. Some wise women. An evil clown. About a zillion computer programmers/analysts/system administrators/tech support people. A sideshow weirdo or five. Part Three: Should I post to rec.arts.bodyart? Not if you're a fucking idiot. If you're a fucking idiot, GO AWAY. We're all full up. If you're anything other than a fucking idiot, by all means post. We'd all like very much to read what you have to type. Except if you have a question thats been asked a million times already. We hate that. Look, if you have any doubts, or you are about to begin your post with something like "I know this has probably been asked a million times" or "I'm sorry if this has been asked before" go immediately to dejanews and LOOK IT UP. Dont be a clueless ninny. And dont ask about how to use dejanews either. Part Four: What kinda stuff usually gets posted? Heres a fairly good cross section of quotes from recent threads: "Hello there, I'm new to RAB and from what i've seen i like it very much so far. Just thought I'd introduce myself and my piercings & tats. Piercings: 00ga in left lobe, 14(soon to be 12 or 10)ga CBR in right lobe. 10ga(soon to be 8) in tongue, 14ga CBR in navel, and 14ga(soon to be 12) PA. Also soon getting an ampallang thanks to my girlfriend being a piercer. :)" "My piercing jewelry never sets off the metal detectors, but the eyelets in my Doc Martens always seems to. But maybe it does- I should say that I always beep at the detectors, but the hand wand only beeps at my boots, not at any of my extremeties...;-) you may be luckier than me, though..." "5. All females will have unhingable jaw implants immediately apon their 15th birthdays" "To quote Alice Walker (author of Warrior Marks a book on FGM, and other famous works) - "Torture is not culture."" "Right. Like we believe this." Alright, im being nice. Admittedly, RAB occasionally gets consumed by in-fighting and general cattiness. Alright, im being nice still. The fact is that rab occasionally degenerates into a bunch of screaming little girls sticking gum in eachother's hair. The fact is also that most of the time it isnt like that; most of the time its a bastion of valuble information and lasting friendships. Most of the time. Part Five: How to avoid elitism Every time a group of people with a similar interest clump together for the purpose of sharing and exploring that interest, elitism is inevitable. Most of the cause of this is, I think, the tendency of humans that have clustered to 'peck' at those individuals that they see as 'weak' or 'different'. This is very natural for humans, so dont let it get you down. In this particular venue, the tendency is (rather commonly, I suspect) to caltrop a specific type of newbie; namely the 'Friggin Idiot'. The Friggin Idiot is the kind of newbie who makes some, most, or all of the following assumptions: -RAB exists solely to serve them -RAB is a venue where all knowledge is shared freely and without a fight -RAB consists of friendly and calm individuals who want to help you -RAB consists of people who are interested in what theyre selling -RAB consists of people who are demented and sorely in need of professional counseling. -RAB is the end-all be-all of knowledge and information concerning piercing, tattooing, implants, branding, scarification, suspensions, geeking, block- heading, fire eating, head splitting, subincision, amputation, etc. Another tendency that makes itself quite apparant to the more experienced denzien of RAB is stratification. There is a definitive level system to RAB which allows for slow ascension for those patient enough to endure it. At the top of this system are a handful of extremely old and experienced posters who find themselves the subject of the idolatry of the populous of the levels below them. Mostly, theyve achieved this status by contributing large amounts of valuble information to the RAB and bodyart communities at large for a very long period of time. Occasionally an individual rises to this level by simply being around longer than anyone can remember. The levels below this mirror the one on top; at every level there exists the idolatry of all of the levels above it, to a degree reflecting the distance of the level idolatrized to their own. Elitism within this complex stratification is common. Its most usually regarded with multiple grains of salt, but occasionally ends up in very long threads concerning something along the lines of the number of lines in one's sig file. The most common reason for this is something which should be avoided at all costs, except by the most experienced RABbits: Level jumping. Level jumping occurs when an individual within a level that is not the uppermost one 'jumps' upward on their own volition. Repeatedly challenging (disagreeing, flaming, pointing out that they to shit in the woods; its different for every case) a denzien of a level above theirs is the most common way of 'jumping'. This almost always results in absolutely nothing; the member of the lower level stays at their level, the member of the upper level stays at their level, there are no hard feelings and no one is the worse for wear. Every once in a while however, it results in a clash which depending on severity, may result in anything from some hurt feelings and static leveling to extreme anger and one or both RABbits 'fucking off'. Avoiding the elitism of RAB is very simple: Dont take it too seriously. If your feelings get hurt, take five. Calm down. Think before you post something which could pull other RABbits into the fray. Those RABbits who consistently play well with others and post responsibly end up being some of the happiest and most respected of them all. They also tend to ascend through the strata quickly and easily, and without offense. Part Six: The Lifecycle of a RABbit Here is a run down of the birth and development of the Common Internet RABbit: 1. The Lurk The would be RABbit keeps their mouths shut and just reads every post they can for a period of time. This is recommended for ALL would be RABbits. 2. The De-Lurk The RABbit is born. On this joyous occasion, the brand spanking-new RABbit makes their very first post, usually something along the lines of 'Hi im new here, ive been lurking for a while, and heres my mods' or 'hey-ho, ive been lurking for a while, ive got a piercing coming up and I need some advice'. Sometimes the infant RABbit makes a complete fool of themselves on the De-Lurk. The strong refuse to fall back into a still-birth and continue learning and posting. This is recommended for ALL RABbits. 3. The Questioner RABbit This RABbits got a million and one questions, and asks them all at once in a downpour of posts that annoys everyone. This is an extremely important stage in the development of the RABbit. Most of the information that they gain about bodyart (at least for a long while) is gained at this stage. Enduring the barrage of "How long till I can talk again after I get my tongue pierced" and "how much will my labret hurt when I get it pierced", etc is one of the many gauntlets that the adult RABbit must run. 4. The Answerer RABbit This RABbits got a million answers, half of them wrong, and posts them all at once in a downpour that annoys everyone. This is also an extremely important stage in the development of the RABbit. The reaction of the populous of RAB to their answers along with their own will shape their adult RABbit persona. Their opinionated and egotistical attitudes will melt away if all goes well, and then one AND ONLY ONE of the following two stages will occur: 5. The Social RABbit The Social RABbit has pretty much stopped asking questions as well as stopped answering them, and posts almost solely to talk to their friends. Very amusing threads often result on topics including beer, fun lines from movies, the latest skinny on what some famous piercer/tattoo artist is doing, and detailed essays on more advanced body modifications. The Social RABbit is locked in place and development stops until the last stage. 5a. The Idol RABbit The Idol RABbit is a RABbit who has decided to forego the Social route (mostly, occasionally they cross over) and gives themselves to offering massive amounts of information or services or both to the RABbit/bodyart community. This is the very pinnacle of the forementioned stratification of RAB. The group of Idol RABbits includes well known performers, tattoo artists, piercers, magazine/ ezine editors and archivists. 6. The Geriatric RABbit This RABbit doesnt post too much anymore, and when they do its usually something brief and on topic. Theyve found other things to do besides post to RAB and are almost always off doing them. There is a due amount of respect for these RABbits; they are the 'silver- backs' of our warren and they deserve to be treated right. 7. The Dead RABbit This is a RABbit who has stopped posting for a variety of reasons including Real Life (TM), sudden and permanent lack of internet access, sudden and permanent lack of interest, and 'jumping'. Respect them. A large clump of them used to be Idol RABbits and deserve to have nice things said about them. Part 7: A bit of advice Rec.arts.bodyart is a newsgroup. As such, it consists only of very large ascii files. Ascii cant hurt you. Ascii is your friend. Ascii is valuble. Ascii is full of useful and valuble information. Treat ascii with respect. And above all: THINK BEFORE YOU TYPE -----yttrx