January 29, 2026
Protocol Fiction SIG: Fakes and Protocol Monsters
Participants: sachbenny, thewanderingeditor, randylubin, drevius.
The Protocol Fiction SIG met to discuss the monstrous nature of protocols through creative exercises. Participants planned to read the introduction to David Shields' Fakes anthology (a collection of fake artifacts) alongside Jeffrey Cohen's Monster Culture essay, then conduct an exercise where each participant would select a protocol, consider its monstrous qualities, and create an artifact representing that monstrosity. The discussion touched on related works like San Tilapian Studies, a collaborative narrative entertainment, and Dynamicland, suggesting connections between these fake/fictional forms and design fiction. The group emphasized their interest in developing small, reusable group exercises that could be explored both synchronously and asynchronously, creating what they termed a "proto fiction universe exercise."
- The SIG paired Jeffrey Cohen's Monster Culture theses with David Shields' Fakes anthology to explore how protocols themselves can be monstrous and represented through fake artifacts.
- The group aims to create small, collaborative exercises that can be completed in a group setting and then explored in greater depth asynchronously as part of a proto-fiction universe.
- There is a significant overlap between fake artifacts, design fiction, and interactive narrative forms like San Tilapian Studies that merit further exploration.