Programming 2: sending out spam poems

The second program logic has been drafted. It took me almost two days to finish the programming.
*outstanding thing:
1/ think of how to select around 8k emails
2/ dedicated IP -> trial run -> load test for consecutive days of code running

Almost latest idea - writing to spammers

Artwork title: Writing to Spammers

The work is about:
- intervening the spam system
- understanding the techno-materiality of spam system e.g server, coding and mail library
- understanding the cultural logic of reading and writing spam
- criticizing the massive cultural spam industry
- counter suggesting to response to spam rather than filter it in the mailbox

How it works:

1/ Display of the animated spam address

• A program is written to extract a spammer list for every 24 hours
• getting latest zip file, unzip and put on web server again
• a screen displays with fade in/out or running text of a spammer email address, one follows the other 

2/ Writing a poem to spammers 

•  A program is written to keep sending out a spam poem to each of the spammer
• random selection of one of my spam poems
• need to know which one has been sent and which one hasn't 
• need to display the sending process e.g which email address, which poem to send, status such as start sending, successfully delivered etc. 
• auto scroll/process to display the next spam poem, logic repeats
• * specify sender email address, subject, content, to-address

 3/ Reading spammer' email

• A python script is written to keep listening to the email server and see if any auto reply or bounce back email 
• continuous check (poll) request to mail server
• download the email content, email address, timestamp, subject etc and able to mark read/delete the email on server
• Display the email content on screen

Technical equipment and architecture:

1/ Dedicated IP server
2/ A web domain e.g www.writingtospammers.com
3/ a email address such as reply@writingtospammers.com
4/ #1> display email address }  a web page (html, jquery, php)   or python with UI framework
5/ #2> writing spam email } either php or a python script 
6/ #3> reading spam email } either php or a python script

Next actions:
1/ test script1: python ftp and get zip file, unzip and then display the text on terminal; then check UI, adjust font color, text size, animated effect and full screen
2/ test script2: python sending dummy email (smtp) and check delay/sleep syntax
3/ test script3: python receiving dummy email (pop3) 

thinking about writeme.spampoem

 

GA2012 – XV Generative Art Conference - writing by Oliver Gingrich

"In artificial intelligence and robotics, the term “autonomy” has played a crucial role to refine both control and intelligence. From the outset, artificial intelligence served as a conceptual backdrop for generative arts"

excluding human - " “performed without human guidance” a robot can be called Autonomous.This definition clearly earmarks autonomy as a concept defined through the exclusion of human interaction."

"The theoretic framework of generative art is deeply rooted in artificial intelligence and cybernetics - both in practise (Roy Ascott, Gordon Pask) and theory"

"Generative Art is subject to controllable directives, capable of self-control and predictable as it relies on a set of rules for its creation"





reference: http://www.generativeart.com/GA2012/oliver.pdf
 

Mutability

I am trying to search for different terms that are have similar meaning, but at the same time regard as the characteristics of liveness.

1. unpredictability 
2. dynamics
3. mutability

Well the term "unpredictability" found in many writings that are related to the field of media and performances. For example in reality TV show, the unpredictable behaviors of the actor or invited guest. Sometimes the term 'out of control' is used (Palmer) to indicate the sudden interruption of a TV program running such as breaking news. Even in the music scene, Sanden uses the term "spontaneity"and unpredictability (p.11) that are related to musicians' performance.

Software is no doubt that is regarded as one of the performances. I would say it is performative as does things once it runs, or use a more specific term "executes". Both Adrian Mackenzie (2006, p.6)  and Matthew Fuller (2003) describe software as "social software"and use the term mutability to address code as "an unstable volatile material" (from Mackenzie), a concept based on physics. Whilst Fuller uses his own collective artwork The Web Stalker to discuss the notion of mutation that associates a wider cultural process of production. He explicitly mentions the relation of mutability with liveness where subjectivity is embodied in software. In addition, that processual live is infinite (p.64).

At least both scholars who are in the field of software studies use the term 'mutability' to think about liveness in a boarder sense, towards social and material and not only focus on human actants. 

Analogue Generativity - artworks and artists

Artworks: http://cmuems.com/2013/a/lectures/lecture-01/

Generative artist: http://cmuems.com/2013/a/resources/artists-generative/

Generative and liveness

I am interested in the dynamics of network and what I call 'network happening. Again, to me liveness exist through the entanglement of data, software and network.

The reason why I dig into the notion of generative aesthetics is because I have some assumptions.

1/ The idea of generative art (system base) comes from rules that are defined through algorithms
2/ The rules can be something simple like turn 80 degree when you meet x, or upon certain requirement meets, polling or getting data from somewhere, here the network.
3/ By entering the data relation, the complexity of generativity increased because there are additional agents, here the network and humans.
5/ The notion of generative aesthetics include two parts: traditional idea of generative aesthetics + user generated content, the action of content generation through data flow i.e entering into the database and retrieving from there through different interfaces. Here i am not interested in the "content", that is the meaning of the data from a linguistic perspective
6/ The complexity is unpredictable and is partially subject to network happening. There is no end result.