While it needn't be one or the other, I'm not sure how DeLappe's actions can really be considered art, rather than or beyond just a classic political protest in a type of forum that is quite new.

This is an active and valid protest. It stands in the way of something that slips under the radar of most. During the Vietnam war, many used the phrase "what if they had a war and no one showed up?" What they meant was if you could change the mindset of those they recruit for war, then there would be no fodder for the cannons. I agree that this is a very legitimate strategy. This is not a protest, this is a strategy to win the hearts and minds of those most susceptible to recruitment. Those people who play these games and think that they can separate themselves from the underlying message are kidding themselves.

I will meet you in this game. Where and when?

Every Congressman, every Congresswoman every SENATOR, Janitor or Civil Servant who sets foot upon and receives recompense from the TAX Payers of these Untidy States of Americana should be given an OPRAH Present of this 'Gamesmanship' Video before they head for HOME.

Perhaps each should have their "Nomenclature' placed upon their Backside, that perhaps every one of these men and women who call themselves 'Patriots' would "Walk the Walk", before they "Talk the Talk". George Bush you never spoke in Crawford, and probably hid somewhere around Burmingham, or pehaps at an Elementery School in Florida on your Summer Vacation. We sent Karl Rove ing away from Austin, at least he showed up, collecting payment, BLOOD MONEY from those diners at the "Rennisance Hotel", few identified themselves as "AGGIES", as an Aggie will no tolerate one who LIES.

There ARE Chicken Hawks (CH) and there are others; I live in College Station (CS), as do your parents, your (mom and dad). I know what (CS) stands for here in Texas; however I question what (CS) stands for in Crawford, Texas. I am not certain that Video Games are your preference but this new STOP LOSS Video Generation is just up your alley. YOU GEORGE can be that same 'PREDATOR' spying the terraine of some Land, unseen by you, and you too "CAN BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE" with just the touch of a 'Joystick', touch down and declare "EYE ONE"! Just like your touchdown outside San Diego, same 'joystick feel' merely different Souls on the landing; then on Land not on an Aircraft Carrier at Sea.

When I left Camp Casey III in Crawford, after setting the Cornerstone for a MEMORIAL for our gleaning of IRAQ, I witnessed the Shoes of the WOMEN, the CHILDREN, the INFANTS of your "Shock and Awe" bombings, strafings and shootings.

Perhaps if you had really cared about American Values, you would have shown your face and told Cindy Sheehan for "what noble cause" her son Casey and 2,669 Americans have died. Then perhaps you can tell the Congress and the Senate and The Judiciary which 'Appointed' you; for what Nobel Prize Insurgents blow themselves up. Perhaps because they don't like Freedom, Justice or the Liberty which you represent. OR IS IT JUST A VIDEO GAME TO YOU? I WENT TO THE GATE to ask you myself, but Tony and Vlad were there first and my Passport just didn't matter. They must have made early arrangements for their invitation, and I wonder what they got for their visit.

Sub sole sub umbra virens

One sometimes hears the phrase "If just one person thinks again, it will have all been worth it" to justify protests like this.

And so, for this effort, it's worth asking "Thinks again about what?"

The "media artist" doesn't say.

At the normal rate and frequency and length of comments posted in such games, it's hard to see how that critical "one person" would even notice a long line of text at the top of the screen, visible for a fraction of a second, let alone connect that text with any clear thought.

Gamers are far more likely to be thinking about avoiding getting shot -- it is a war game, after all.

As for someone running about offering themselves up to be killed, well, despite the emotive description of that in the article, the clearest coherent thought a gamer would have about that would probably be "What an idiot!" which clearly limits the "connection" with the text posted after the event.

As is often the case, this cannot be anything other than a protest for the benefit of the protester. The critical "one person thinking again" simply doesn't exist in this case.

And so I really do hope it makes him feel better, and wish him well. I take it he's not interested in effectively protesting the war in Iraq and so his real motives are, frankly, obscure and of little interest.

I know, I game. Most of these games involve killing another player in some way or another, Battlefield2, Red Orchestra, World of Warcarft, etc. The reason gamers fight and kill each other online has nothing to do with wanting to actually kill a person or even fight a war, it's because the limits of artificial intelligence means the only really skilled opponents are other gamers.

Gamer is much like a sport is the sense of community, and those that upset this sense of community really piss off the players.

It's a game, against competitive people, if you die, you simply respawn again. It's not real.

Typing in names of those who actually died will not convince gamers about the War, and if anything will have the opposite affect. This protester is seen as nothing more than an idiot and gamers won't want to be associated with anything having to do with said idiot.

Also, far too many of those who don't game make assumption about us that do. We understand it's a game, and because gaming means you met a very large group of people, even if it's only online, we all know people who we only know online that have died in real life. Listing deaths will not be taken as a form of protest but an attack on gaming itself, and that won't lead to any sympathy to the person's agenda.