Vainland

[MASCARO at humnet.ucla.edu]

Warning: A longish post ensues---

It is interesting to me that in a post titled *Vainland* Andrew includes among his closing 
thoughts this remark:

 >I don't think the book is
>without merit - it does, after all, provide a slice of list life which
>though pretty trivial and of limited interest to most of us will be a
>revelation to most non-Internet-savvy readers.

I am not sure what you mean by *revelation* Andrew, but you may be staring into your 
own vanity mirror to expect the book to be of any interest to anyone else.  I am tickled by 
the thought that any  *non-Internet-savvy readers* will even see Jules' book.  I agree w/ 
much of the other commentary in Andrew's post, but I come away with a fundamentally 
different take from his.
As the first person Jules contacted w/ the revelation of his book, I think I should 
publically give my side of what ensued, as a few private correspondents suggested.  
Trouble is, Jules may put my remarks in his next book,* Lineland II: How Tom Pynchon 
Still Won't Talk to Me* (just kidding, Jules).  But making a point too: Jules little caper has 
opened up interesting (equals $$$, right,jimmy?) legal areas, and revealed interesting 
ethical differences--these have defenders on both sides.  But I think it will also have 
something of a chilling effect on the kind of forum this list is. We'll see.  It has certainly 
taught me a few things I guess I should have been cynical enough to know in the first 
place.
Anyway, when Jules  and Dale first got in touch with me, it was clear that they were 
operating on the assumption that people like me and the few others whose posts were 
fairly extensively quoted needed to give permission; other, shorter quotes were assumed 
to fall under FAIR USE doctrine.
When I got my galley, I had a pretty complicated reaction,  Naturally, it was embarrassing 
to see my stupid flame war w/ Jules reprinted when I had assumed it would just 
evaporate into the aether.  But despite what some may think when they see the book, I 
don't really care too much about that.  My intuition, which I strongly trust, screamed 
*scam* the instant I saw the galley.  Here was Jules still trying pathetically to milk his 
moribund connection to TRP, still pimping his wife as the salacious hook of the story, still 
claiming that he too would have been a great writer  if only his principles hadn't gotten in 
the way (this last one, the trope of the principled man, one of Jules' major themes, is a 
particular hoot given the way he treats people whom he feels are no longer exploitable 
allies).  Believe it or not, it was out of a sense of loyalty to TP, but moreso out of my own 
personal scruples--which do not require justification any more than do Jules'--that I in all 
innocence replied to Jules that while I wished him luck, I would prefer not to be a part of 
his book. The innocence being that, since he'd asked me to give permission, I assumed 
that meant I was allowed to say *no*.  Guess again.  From that moment on, Jules no 
longer spoke to me, and I've been dealing with Dale ever since.  I think Dale is a decent 
guy trying to run a decent business.  I think he's shrewd and aggressive, as Jules described 
him in his post to me.  No crimes there. I also think Dale is honest enough.  But I think 
he's hitched his cart to the wrong star here.  Well, so be it; it's his business and I sincerely 
wish him well too. 
It's curious that as soon as I requested to pass on inclusion in LINELAND, I was told that 
in fact my permission was not needed, nor did anybody else in the book need to be asked, 
or even told they were going to be in it.  I argued this point w/ Dale for a few days, but it 
soon became clear that he wasn't budging.  I am not going to sue anybody over this, so I 
surrendered.  Jules had earlier asked me to write a prefatory note to the book, and I 
requested to Dale that I still do that and please include it.  I did so, but Dale still hasn'tr 
gotten around to telling me whether or not it's going to be in the final draft.  On a related 
note, Jules had asked my permission to quote from some private mail to him.  I 
unequivocally said I wanted no private mail used; again, Dale hasn't gotten around to 
telling me the outcome of that request.  (For the record, there are some private posts 
included in the galley.  Perhaps these are all from  avowed Friends of Jules who are 
pleased to assist him in his career rejuvenation ploy.) Dale has assured me that he and 
Jules are trying very hard to accomodate my needs.  So here I am, still trusting them to be 
as good as their words.
In the galley I receivd, the front matter clearly includes a copyright notice extended to all 
who are therein quoted--I do not know if that little point will disappear from the final 
copy either.
I acknowledge Andrew's comments about the analogy between the list and a public 
forum.  I think if Jules wanted to write his book and post it on the net for all to read, that 
that would be a fair reuse of the list's efforts in talking to him.  I think that, editing,    
rearranging and repackaging--and here I am not as sanguine as Andrew that Jules has 
made only silent and proper editorial changes--is a ballsy move that may or may not turn 
out successfully.  But I think that, given the apparent subterfuge and backhanded way 
with which the book was conceived and executed, that at the very least Jules and Dale 
would allow folks to opt out of it (especially, as I said yesterday in my only previous public 
comment on this,  when they are also claiming that none of the posts are really essential 
to the book's *art*).  Backpedalling away as they've done, shifting grounds, claiming on 
one hand to be doing something good (showing the world how profound Jules interaction 
w/ the plist is) while using at best questionable methods to do it--these are the realities of 
the situation.  And they smack of sleazy exploitation, IMO.

Folks who think objections to Jules' book are based narrowly on some misguided vanitas 
of the posters might want to think about the texture of this thing as it unfolds.

All this said, I wouldn't call in the KGB, er, I mean, FCC, to toss Jules and Dale in the 
dungeon where the torture never stops,  If they put my little note in, I will at least have 
the chance to include my side.  Beyond that, hey, I believe in karma.

Sorry again about the length of this post.

john m