Kibology
Encyclopedia
Kibology is a parody religion
. It grew out of the Usenet
newsgroup
alt.religion.kibology named after Kibo, the central figure. Practitioners of Kibology are called Kibologists or (sometimes more disdainfully) Kibozos.
James "Kibo" Parry and his friends began Kibology about 1989
at the suggestion of Mark Jason Dominus
. In its early Usenet days it was centered in the newsgroups talk.bizarre and alt.slack
, until the creation of alt.religion.kibology in late 1991. The faux religion aspect faded in the mid 1990s, and the newsgroup became oriented to the sense of humor of Kibo and his "followers". The newsgroup also follows various internet "mad scientist
s" and "crackpots" such as Archimedes Plutonium, Kurt Stocklmeir, and Time Cube
inventor Gene Ray with a mixture of mockery and appreciation for the unintended humor they produce. A similar Internet phenomenon exists surrounding the Church of the SubGenius
. Some posters also "wackyparse," which is to say, they comment on misreadings with humorous effect.
In addition to "Leader Kibo," other Kibologists have developed cult followings of their own from their unusual and humorous writing. The most prominent of these include David Pacheco, Lisa Pea (Elisabeth Rea Higgins), Matt McIrvin, Stephen Will Tanner, Stefan Kapusniak, M Otis Beard, Joe Bay, Gardner S Trask III,Dag Ågren, and E Teflon Piano. In 2003, the group spawned a band, Interröbang
Cartel, which by early late 2011 had written and recorded more than 80 songs.
Parody religion
A parody religion or mock religion is a parody of a religion, sect or cult. A parody religion can be a parody of several religions, sects, gurus and cults at the same time. Or, it can be a parody of no particular religion, instead parodying the concept of religious belief...
. It grew out of the Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
newsgroup
Newsgroup
A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...
alt.religion.kibology named after Kibo, the central figure. Practitioners of Kibology are called Kibologists or (sometimes more disdainfully) Kibozos.
James "Kibo" Parry and his friends began Kibology about 1989
at the suggestion of Mark Jason Dominus
Mark Jason Dominus
Mark•Jason Dominus is one of the founders of Kibology and a leading Perl programmer. He was the managing editor of and was a columnist for The Perl Journal for several years. Mark's other Perl-related articles have appeared in magazines such as Wired and IEEE Software...
. In its early Usenet days it was centered in the newsgroups talk.bizarre and alt.slack
Church of the SubGenius
The Church of the SubGenius is a "parody religion" organization that satirizes religion, conspiracy theories, unidentified flying objects, and popular culture. Originally based in Dallas, Texas, the Church of the SubGenius gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s and maintains an active presence on...
, until the creation of alt.religion.kibology in late 1991. The faux religion aspect faded in the mid 1990s, and the newsgroup became oriented to the sense of humor of Kibo and his "followers". The newsgroup also follows various internet "mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
s" and "crackpots" such as Archimedes Plutonium, Kurt Stocklmeir, and Time Cube
Time Cube
Time Cube is a website created by Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray, in 1997 where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming religion to be evil, specifically Christianity, and the idea of family...
inventor Gene Ray with a mixture of mockery and appreciation for the unintended humor they produce. A similar Internet phenomenon exists surrounding the Church of the SubGenius
Church of the SubGenius
The Church of the SubGenius is a "parody religion" organization that satirizes religion, conspiracy theories, unidentified flying objects, and popular culture. Originally based in Dallas, Texas, the Church of the SubGenius gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s and maintains an active presence on...
. Some posters also "wackyparse," which is to say, they comment on misreadings with humorous effect.
In addition to "Leader Kibo," other Kibologists have developed cult followings of their own from their unusual and humorous writing. The most prominent of these include David Pacheco, Lisa Pea (Elisabeth Rea Higgins), Matt McIrvin, Stephen Will Tanner, Stefan Kapusniak, M Otis Beard, Joe Bay, Gardner S Trask III,Dag Ågren, and E Teflon Piano. In 2003, the group spawned a band, Interröbang
Interrobang
The interrobang, interabang , , is a nonstandard punctuation mark used in various written languages and intended to combine the functions of the question mark and the exclamation mark or exclamation point . The glyph is a superimposition of these two marks...
Cartel, which by early late 2011 had written and recorded more than 80 songs.
External links
- kibo.com — Kibo's website
- The alt.religion.kibology newsgroup via Google GroupsGoogle GroupsGoogle Groups is a service from Google Inc. that supports discussion groups, including many Usenet newsgroups, based on common interests. The service was started in 1995 as Deja News, and was transitioned to Google Groups after a February 2001 buyout....
- Matt McIrvin's Kibology humorous articles and a brief history of alt.religion.kibology
- David DeLaney's random arkhive Another collection of posts from the newsgroup, saved for various reasons or none at all.
- The Wiblovian Institute of Kibology Home of the Kibological Gourmet, an archive of recipes posted to ARK over the years, as well as random bits of weirdness and bozosity.
- Kibology.com
- Alternative Interröbang Cartel web site
- Official Interröbang Cartel web site