20 May Contagious Media Showdown
Please help local artists xtine and Vasna Sdoeung launch their latest project, Mail A Virus, part of the Contagious Media Showdown sponsored by Eyebeam.
Visit Their Site and pass this on to everyone you know! Every click counts in this "showdown". Mail A Virus is a site where participants email fashionable retro-postcards highlighting their favorite computer viruses to friends. Unlike emailing actual viruses to lists of strangers (or soon to be enemies), Mail A Virus is a safe method of recalling old virus favorites, such as "I love you", "Good Times", "Melissa", "Klez", "NaughtyRobot" and more! Participants are able to include a short message and email recipients "pick up" their greetings on the Mail A Virus web site. A quick reassurance: you really won’t be mailing a virus, just a postcard (but I think we have the attention of anti-virus software makers!).
Mail A Virus combines two seemingly disparate conventional internet practices–sending e-cards and sending viruses. While some might think sending an e-card is a "nice" thing to do, I often wonder whether or not I’d rather receive a virus. Is "I love you" more meaningful when it corrupts files (ending with .vbs, .vbe, .js, .css, .wsh, .sct, .hta, .jpg, .jpeg, .mp2, .mp3) or when it is printed on a web site with hallow-sounding music and rudely animated flowers? Mail A Virus is a solution for the age-old question, "What to give?"
xtine
Posted at 23:51h, 25 MayIf you saw my most recent project with Vasna Sdoeung, you were quick-to-click on Friday or Saturday. And I thank you very much for the support. But if you’re wondering why I might have sent you a dead link, here’s the story:
The site was up and running on Friday and Saturday. In just one day, our standing in the contest jumped from 73rd place out of 100 (before we launched) to 43rd (determined by number of hits). On Monday morning I went to check the site and was surprised when there was none. So I went to my ftp application and alas, there was no such site on the server.
A few emails later, I found out that we had been disqualified from the contest because the service provider hosting the show claimed we violated a term of service. When I asked how a postcard site, much like Hallmark.com or Blue Mountain Cards violated a term of service, I received this email from Datagram:
Hi,
It’s not really a question of our opinion of the site or how or what it is doing, it comes right down to the fact that these IP addresses can and have already begun to be black listed because someone may think you are sending viruses – even if you are not actually doing anything bad, you are setting off way too many alarm bells. Ironically, this was probably your goal – but unfortunately we can not have it coming from our net-space. The world is just way too paranoid about viruses right now.
Perhaps, the nice folks at contagiousmedia can come up with a good consolation prize. : )
So, as you can imagine, we’ve bought a new domain (hoping that maybe without the pressure of the show it won’t be as problematic) which should be propogated in a day or two. If you didn’t get a chance to visit the site, it’s new home will be:
http://www.mailavirus.net
I promise, you won’t get a virus–but you will be able to send a virus-free postcard about a virus.
Yours truly,
xtine