ADMIN: FAQ Supplement 6 *** Other Fun Stuff
Bill Keyes
Last-modified: 2002/12/15
***** ALT.DEVILBUNNIES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS *****
Supplemental FAQ Part 6
Other Fun and Interesting Things about alt.devilbunnies
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Created on 19Jan1997. Updated on 23Mar1997, 22Jul1997, 18Nov1999,
20Jun2001.
Compiled, written, and edited by Bill Keyes (bke...@lamar.colostate.edu),
with help from almost everyone out there, lurkers and writers included.
Thanks all.
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***** OTHER FUN STUFF *****
Q. Are there any Devilbunny-related World Wide Web sites out there?
A. There is, of course, the alt.devilbunnies archive, lovingly maintained
by our very own Snowhare. This award-winning site can be found at
http://www.devilbunnies.org
Other ones that I know of include:
Ambitious Wench: http://members.cox.net/ehowe/devilbunnies/DBIndex.html
Attily the Bun: http://members.tripod.com/~Atilly/DB.html
Axe-Wielding Fuddite: http://members.toast.net/scottm/mcgregor.htm
BHX: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~bkeyes
Dylan Madeley: http://www.geocities.com/metallic85/devilbun.html
ed: http://www.equus.demon.co.uk/adbdir/index.html
Linwood Briley: http://users.rcn.com/maskimxuul/
Moxie Man: http://home.gwi.net/~moxieman/altdbs.html
Panacea: http://home.teleport.com/~panacea/altdbs.htm
Parlor City: http://www.parlorcity.net/archive.htm
Sadie Squirrel: http://home.graffiti.net/sadie/
Takashi Miyamoto's Japanese: http://www.imasy.or.jp/~miyamoto/dbj.html
Winnersh WWWarren: http://www.fairbruk.demon.co.uk/whome.html
Wynn: http://www.ziplink.net/users/wynn/wynn.htm
Q. What other information is available?
A. There are currently fifteen Supplements to the FAQ, each of them
detailing one aspect of the war. All are relatively short. They
are:
Supplement Title Posted
One: The Devilbunnies Address List Twice Monthly
One A: Who's Who: The Fudds Twice Monthly
One B: Who's Who: The Bunnies Twice Monthly
One C: Where's Where Twice Monthly
Two: Bunny hunting technology Twice Monthly
Two A: Moxie Occasionally
Two B: NoCoAnDBHQ Occasionally
Three: Evil Bunny technology Twice Monthly
Three A: Nanotechnology Occassionally
Three B: Morph Armor Occassionally
Three C: The Bunny Virus Occasionally
Three D: Bunny Transportation Occasionally
Three E: Squirrels Occasionally
Four: Ancient history of the Bunnies Twice Monthly
Four A: Recent history and timeline Occasionally
Five: The Ferrotti FAQ Twice Monthly
Five A: The Ferrotti Language Occassionally
Six: Other Fun Stuff Twice Monthly
Q. What about Supplement four A? I looked and couldn't find it!
A. Supplement four A is also under construction at the moment. I included
it in the list mainly to remind me to get it done soon! Any volunteers?
Q. Where did the alt.devilbunnies newsgroup come from?
A. That is a mystery better left to the great scientific minds of our age.
But there is much speculation, many rumors, and lots of debate.
According to Patrick Tufts <zi...@opal.cs.brandeis.edu>:
"...alt.devilbunnies was created pre-1991 by some clueless or inspired
user at Brandeis (near Boston MA) and became the local chat group. The
name "devilbunnies" comes from a song by My Life With the Thrill Kill
Kult. Brandeis had NEARNet cut off the alt.devilbunnies news feed since
they didn't see the point in paying for national distribution of a local
group. Or they just didn't like the name. Or something. To this day,
brandeis.devilbunnies is the University's catch-all discussion group."
Jym Dyer (j...@remarque.berkeley.edu) mentions that:
"Berke Breathed used the word "Devilbunnies" in a Bloom County strip
around 1983, several years before the Thrill Kill Kult song (1989).
Before that, of course, it was cooked up by Berke Breathed as a secret
message played backwards on a heavy metal record (or perhaps it was a
Debbie Boone record, I forget) somewhere in Bloom County: "Devilbunnies!
I snort the nose, Lucifer! Banana, banana!" Or something to that
effect.
If you have any more rumors, myths, or facts about the creation of
alt.dbs, please let me know!
Q. Hey, I read about you guys in <article X>! You're famous!
A. <grin> Cool! As of this update, alt.devilbunnies has been featured in
several magazine and book articles. A partial list is:
* Internet World, Jan 1995, p42. "Most Fabulous FAQs" We win! We win!
* WiReD, July 1994, p66. A short article about fringe (FRINGE!?!)
groups.
* Mondo 2000, July (?) 1994, issue 12, p35. A two sentence mention
under the "Top 20 most interesting newsgroups." (thanks to A. Ryder!)
* The Cyberpoet's Guide to Virtual Culture, in part III. Written by the
guy that wrote the Mondo 2000 article. Thanks again to Andy Ryder.
* The Internet Yellow Pages. One paragraph, under "Bizarre stuff."
* Planet Internet by Steve Kimmer. One page, plus pictures of
Devilbunnies!
* @discovery.ca. A Canadian TV show, the alt.dbs WWW site and FAQs were
included in Kate Halloway's "Top Ten Best of the Internet" feature.
http://www.discovery.ca (thanks to Neil DeBoni!)
* My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult's album _Kooler than Jesus_ features
the song "Devilbunnies" (track 2). It's sort of a Techno-dance mix.
* The Net After Dark, by Lamont Wood, under Way Out There in the Net
Fringes: UFOS, Alien Possesion, Dark Conspiracies, and Other
Madness chapter (p.267) (thanks to Ryan Olson)
* The Best of the Net, edited by Seth Godin, p100-1. He reproduced much
of the FAQ, and he forgot to mention my name in the credits. However,
I recently got a very nice email from Mr. Godin in which he humbly
apologized, so all is forgiven. If you can find a copy of this book,
purchase it multiple times. =:)
* NetChat, p 113 (Thanks to Simon Miller) A veritable dossier, under
"Bizarre Humor."
* .Net -- All You Need to Know About the Internet, p.159. "Them darned
rabbits." (Thanks to Simon Miller)
* AOL's Internet for Windows, pg 111 (used as an example of FAQs).
(Thanks to David Susman).
* Australia's PC Magazine, January 1996, includes a "Roadmap to the
Internet Underground. Look under "Subversive." (Thanks to Devious).
* January 1996 Internet World, in Jerry Pournelle's article. Something
along the lines of "As long as you don't waste all your time reading
alt.devilbunnies..." (Thanks to Snowhare).
* In January of 1996, alt.devilbunnies was reviewed in AOL's "Newsgroup
Scoop," thus precipating the much-feared AoL Onslaught (tm)! (Thanks
to Chris Curtis).
* January/February 1996 Oracle Magazine. Editor Julie Gibbs gives us a
brief mention in her editorial. (Thanks to Steve Butler).
* The British magazine NetUser, reviewed of "Weird Web Sites:"
"Strange as it may seem, but a whole Web site has dedicated itself to
teaching people about these Devil Bunnies, who apparently are going to
take over the Earth. (...) It's plain and simple - this site is
brilliant. OK, it's fictional, but the humour, brilliantly written
text and content (bunny pictures, sounds, etc.) make it really good
fun..." (review by: Simon Lovell, rating given by NetUser: 5 stars -
the possible maximum rating...) (Special thanks to Andreas!)
* Spotted in an article titled "Spam In A Can" regarding the scientology
war, in the magazine "internet.au" regarding alt newsgroups:
"To say that here, nothing is sacred, is to understate by some orders
of magnitude the philosophy behind newsgroups like alt.devilbunnies or
alt.pave.the.earth." (Thanks to Roger Lee!)
* INTERNET Australasia, vol 2 iss 10, November 1996, "Usenet is
literally teeming with groups that are stupid or irreverent, but
groups that manage to keep up a steady flow of nonsense in a carefully
orchestrated format are rare." It follows with a nice and very
accurate review! (Thanks to Heidi Kneale)
* Internet Underground, April 1996 (volumn 1 issue 5), there is
apparently an interview with me in their FAQ portion. Funny... I
don't remember doing an interview! (Thanks to Rob O'Hara!)
* The 1997 Page-A-Day Whole Internet Calendar, May 24th: "NOT JUST
FLUFF: President Carter went fishing and was attacked by a crazed
rabbit. It was such big news that folksinger Tom Paxton wrote a
song about it. Well, these crazed rabbits still live on the
DevilBunnies Web Page, the weird and hilarious Web version of
that famous Usenet group dedicated to wiping out the Fudds of
the world. Visitors should pwoceed with extweme caution."
(Thanks to Alik S. Widge!)
* In June of 1996, the alt.devilbunnies archive (www.devilbunnies.org)
was selected as a "Wonder of the Web." You can find us listed at:
http://web.wt.net/~psherr/fun_sites.htm (thanks to Melissa Fullerton
and Paul Sherrill of P&M's Late Night Links).
* Devilbunnies can be found in the comic strip "Freefall," by Mark
Stanley Published in Yarf! Magazine. Thanks to Mark Stanley and
Remus Shepherd.
* Moore, Dinty W. _The Emperor's Virtual Clothes: The Naked Truth about
Internet Culture_. Page 13:
"... There are new groups being created every day, and the list of
topics is truly exhaustive: ...devil bunnies... Name any subject that
interests you and chances are very good that some group on Usenet is
discussing it right now. Chances are even better that they disagree."
(Thanks to Anne Michelle Forbes!)
* R.E. Berg, the Publisher, editor and copyboy of The Globe-Guardian
says: "Unless our position is unexpectedly overrun by Devilbunnies,
the Globe-Guardian will add a link to your site in March. We want
to do our part to end the worldwide menace presented by these
wascally wabbits. Check Missing Links: http://www.globe-guardian.com
* _Your Personal Net Guide_ by Michael Wolff. Page 166, under the FUN &
GAMES: Humor section, subsection "Newsgripes."
alt devilbunnies --A fantasy realm where users interactively construct
a new reality online. Fudds -- self-appointed defenders of humanity --
hunt down bloodthirsty rabbits world wide... Patience and a high
tolerance for nonsense are required for participation in this highly
social environment. Once you're initiated, however, you're free to
steer the action in pretty much any direction your fantasy might roam.
(Thanks to the CTfH).
* The Sacramento Bee's Webby reporter Bridgette Perdue wrote a brief
explanation back in 1997... "There is a subculture in society that
has remained hidden and secret for hundreds of years. They have lurked
in the shadows clad in Stetson hats and plaid hunting jackets. They
can be seen wielding axes wildly in the local park at what appear to
be hordes of cute bunny rabbits..."
* _The Spectacular Spiderman_, issue 256, April 1998 has on its front
cover a maniacally-laughing woman wearing pink-and-white rabbit-ears,
riding a huge rabbit-shaped robot. The title of the story is "Rabbit
Fire". (Thanks to Karol Burnett)
* The new "Rough Guide to the internet and the WWW" has alt.devilbunnies
mentioned under humour on page 346. "alt.devilbunnies: They're cute
but they want our planet" (Thanks to ed!)
* Lena Falkenhagen wrote a paper on the Devilbunnies community, which
can be found at http://www.fbls.uni-hannover.de/sdls/schlobi/index.htm
follow the "Sprache und Kommunikation im Internet" link. It is a PDF
file, and it is in German. You need to click on "HAL" in the left
menu bar, the third dot point is what you're looking for (HAL-3),
then hit the "Download HAL-3.PDF" link. Her paper is also quoted
in a university textbook: Jens Runkehl, Peter Schlobinski, Torsten
Siever "Sprache und Kommunikation im Internet, =DCberblick und
Analysen" Westdeutscher Verlag GmbH, Opladen/Wiesbaden, 1998 ISBN
3-531-13267-9
* In GURPS Villains, a role-playing supplement, one of the villains,
designed for use with GURPS Bunnies and Burrows, is a rabbit called
'White Spot'. He's a herbalist who experiments on his warren-mates,
making them bigger and smarter with each passing generation. A sidebar
on his activities casually mentions that he may be the reason for
reported sightings of "devil bunnies". (Thanks to Geoff Brent).
* From the Gatecrasher roleplaying game-
http://www.fudgerpg.com/gtcrasher:
"Hey, Kids! Summon your own Fuzzy Bunny! Just draw a circle on the
ground and say these words..." - ad in Supernatural Entity Monthly,
probably completely unrelated to a sudden spontaneous infestation of
Demon Bunnies.
* Airing on Tuesday, May 15 2001, CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)
had a woman running out of the house filled with sinister bunny
statues, rabbit pictures on the walls, and a man lying dead in
the house in a pool of blood. Don't tell us how it ends!
* Cheapass Games produce, among others, games entitled "Devil Bunny
Needs a Ham" and "Devil Bunny Hates the Earth". Go check out
http://www.cheapass.com/ -- they're actually a lot of fun!
Q. What about Devilbunnies in the Real World(tm)? Are there any stories
about that?
A. Of course! The most famous, of course, is the story of former US
President Jimmy Carter, who was fishing one afternoon when a strange
and fierce-looking bunny jumped into the water and began swimming
towards him. President Carter began to row his boat away, and the
rabbit gave chase! Sadly, the story ends tragically. President
Carter escaped with his life, and his toes, intact. This is documented
at http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_019.html. There are other
stories as well, though!
* _Hoaxes and Scams_ by Carl Sifakis tells the story of Mary Toft, an
18th century englishwoman who repeatedly gave birth to several litters
of bunnies, having been raped by a giant bunny. (Thanks to A. Weitzman)
* Bunny burrows bring train chaos. "The 18.20 to Warren Hill has been
cancelled due to Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail." You may think
this is a childish excuse for more delays on the trains but rabbits
really have been causing commuter chaos. Railtrack, which manages
Britain's 11,000 miles of line, says bunnies are busy burrowing under
their embankments. And the growing 37.5 million rabbit population is
threatening services, adds New Scientist magazine. (By John Ingham
in the Daily Express of March 6, 1997) (Thanks to Lucky!)
* Mugg Rootbeer has an advertising slogan: The Foam Goes Straight to
your Brain. As part of this campaign, they've played this commercial
on both television and radio: (Thanks to Nite Rise)
There was a little bunny,
Who had the cutest face;
His ears would flop around,
As he hopped from place to place.
And if you see this bunny,
You best run for your life,
Because this bunny rabbit
Has teeth as sharp as knives.
He hops and hops and hops;
This bunny's on a mission --
Terrorizing countries
With his dreadful disposition.
This bunny wants MEAT.
* There is in existance something called "Anti-Cute Powder." The
warning on the label reads: (Thanks to lfren...@aol.com)
Warning: May be fatal to small children and animals. May cause some
toys and books to spontainiously combust. May short out televisions
to certain chanels and/or shows. Keep out of reach of children. Do
not use in closed spaces, may cause major local enviromental
damage. Health Warning: Do not ingest or use without total body
protection. If not fatal, may cause extream Mania or Depression.
* Gillian Richards & Kevin Farley report from News of the Wierd, 7/14/97
"Residents of a quiet Boston suburb can sleep peacefully once again.
Snowball, the pet rabbit that terrorized them for two weeks, has been
nabbed. The energized bunny attacked at least three adults and one
child. "Society is safe again," said Police Officer William Foster."
[Ashland, MA]
* From Newsweek: "[Japan] In the past year, more than 100 rabbits at
Japanese schools have been found brutally slaughtered. Police are
puzzling over whether the slayings might have been inspired by the
infamous beheading of a Kobe boy by a teenager earlier this summer;
the suspect's history of killing pets was well publicized... Police
are stumped, and investigations continue." (thanks to Alik Widge).
* "First the antitrust suit. Then the AOL-Netscape merger. Now -
bunnies? A few years ago, someone discarded a few domesticated
rabbits near Microsoft's Redmond campus. For some reason others
followed suit. Before you could say "Evil Empire," the furry ones
multiplied (surprise, surprise) until an estimated 1,000 bunnies
roamed several acres of raw land and office park. While they're
cute to look at, they've become something of a menace. Not only do
they bravely beg for handouts, they have a knack for getting run
over by cars..." (Thanks to Smokey)
* The Wells Blue Bunny Ice Cream plant in LeMars, Iowa exploded,
with a force that even surprised local firefighters. Although
the surrounding community needed to be evacuated for several
hours, there was only one minor injury as a result of the incident.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/local/state/iowa 28Mar1999
(Thanks to Remus Shepherd!)
* ABC News reports that a genetically modified rabbit named Alba
has been created as part of an artist's exhibit. The rabbit,
having been spliced with fluorescent jellyfish genes, glows
bright green in the darn and under a black light.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/rabbit000918.html
If you know of any others (no matter how trivial!) please email me and
I'll include them. Also, if you have the spare time, would you mind
sending a copy of any of these articles to me? Thanks!
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This is the end of The DevilBunny FAQ (Supplement six). Any questions,
comments, clarifications, flames, ect, should be sent to Bill Keyes
(bke...@lamar.colostate.edu).
This document and all information contained within is copyright (c) 1997
by Bill Keyes. All rights reserved. It may not be reproduced or reposted
by any means, electronic or otherwise, in part or in whole, without prior
permission from the author.
Bill.
* Bill Keyes /\ * bke...@lamar.colostate.edu *
* c////////=================|__|=> * Sic semper cuniculis daemoniacis! *
* Bunny hunter Extreme & / \ * alt.devilbunnies FAQ Keeper *
* Independent Fudd <______> * http://www.devilbunnies.org *