EccentricCharacter

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In offline communities there can often be found ideosyncratic individuals that do something which is so wacky and offbeat, even counter culture. Often these people are either ignored or persecuted. Sometimes though they exist below the radar of public awareness yet over time effect a SeaChange? on the community.

: An example from my (current) home city is the story of ArthurStace -- EricScheid

There is probably a strong argument that these EccentricCharacters are a balancing force against the forces of the HiveMind and GroupThink.

Q: are there similar individuals at work within our online communities?

: Yes. Fridemar is whacky and offbeat. That's why I like him. And if we're the fringe of society, he's the fringe of our society, so to speak. It's important to have people like that around. He's a artist in his off time, you know? -- SunirShah

: so you're not saying Friedmar is a drunken reprobate like ArthurStace then ;-)

Q: does the HardSecurity of some communities deny this effect?

: Yes. Most of the moderation systems are designed to explicitly favour GroupThink.

CategoryToDo:

factor this into the RoleModel discussion somehow. Arthur Stace isn't a role model in my opinion, yet he figures into the picture somehow ...

think more about how diversity of identity leads to richness of community

FringeArtist? (to connect into PublicArt in some way)

I have a strong belief that until a community can attract its own artists, it doesn't really exist. But in the case of ArthurStace, note that "celebrity" doesn't equate to "hero". -- SunirShah

Fold into CourtJester?

CategoryRole

EccentricCharacter

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