This Is Not a Game with Marc Fennell

By: Marc Fennell

Narrated by: Marc Fennell

This Is Not a Game is the extraordinary untold story of the internet’s first conspiracy theory, the legend of Ong’s Hat.

Marc Fennell will dive deep into a previously unexplored world of tech hippies, eccentric web subcultures and simmering paranoia, uncovering how this tongue-in-cheek artistic experiment backfired on its creator and went on to influence much of what’s wrong with the internet today.

Hosted and co-produced by Marc Fennell

A BBC Studios production for Audible

©2024 Marc Fennell (P)2024 BBC Studios Productions Ltd.

Aha!

An enlightening look at how utopias are created and destroyed, and how creativity and alternative realities seduce us.

this is not a game.

I enjoyed this program. it had several mythical stories that were quite intriguing. it is a mystery of all the stories that were in this program.

Brilliant

I could not wait till the end. This is one of the most entertaining pods out right now. As an internet user since 1994 it's absolutely fascinating to find out what was lurking inside the prehistoric web.

Holy sh*t!

What a wild ride!! This was very well produced!! I can’t believe how crazy this was!

A Fascinating Look at the Early Internet

This book positions itself as an account of how the conspiracy theory called Ong’s Hat got started. I suppose it did that but I learned more about Ong’s Hat reading Wikipedia than I did from this book. (Ong’s Hat was a 1990s conspiracy theory about a bunch of scientists who it was said had created a device called “the egg” and used it to visit a parallel earth.) What this book is really about, in my opinion, is how the early internet became a place where people could meet and talk about topics that no one else they knew was interested in. This actually became a breeding ground for conspiracy theories (although many such theories obviously existed before the internet). It’s an interesting book reminding us that the internet used to be a lot more primitive. I had forgotten what it was like in the early days and this brought back some memories. I would read it more for the early internet than for Ong’s Hat.

loved this docu

can you call it a documentary?
maybe so, but it was captivating from the start, and really interesting to listen, if you believe...

Super

Highly engaging and entertaining. Enjoyed every minute of it. I promise you will not regret this.

A SOCIOLOGICAL GOLDMINE!

As an amateur Sociologist and Social Psychologist who has spent a lifetime of observing, experiencing and being fascinated by human behavior, this INTRIGUING and ENLIGHTENING story is one that will be added to my “Keepers” Library.
History is one of our best “teachers”and hearing from the mouth of the key player, and others, in this tale REALLY helps to make connections and offer deeper understanding of present day.
I intend to pass this along to as many people as possible, my older grandchildren most especially.
A special “Thank You” to Marc for pursuing this ENTERTAINING and EDUCATIONAL Podcast and to the Creator of ‘Ong’s Hat’ for being willing to share his story (despite his trepidation!). I was spellbound as I listened to him share about where he came from, his attitude as a young man and his journey to where he is today.
AMAZING!

Story of a Game That Got Out of Hand

This is a tale about a fiction created during the early days of the Internet, that was a precursor for aspects of the Internet now. A man and his friends create a game. While the legend grows, not everyone knows it’s a game. Then the conspiracy folks get wind of it.

Fun & Thought-Provoking!

Well-narrated and produced. Great interview. Superb story-telling. But, most of all, just a really interesting (true) story that will make you think about yourself and about the internet in a deeper way.