From db0a636dbd9c340ad664dd274ced4415663fe45f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "prompt.ac/@jeffrey" Date: Sat, 5 Sep 2026 11:02:47 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] whistlegraph wild: a field guide to the sightings --- lith/Caddyfile | 8 ++ system/public/whistlegraph.org/NOTES.md | 13 ++ system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild.html | 128 +++++++++++++++++ system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild/wild.json | 130 ++++++++++++++++++ toolchain/whistlegraph/ALEX-BACKLOG.md | 2 +- toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md | 111 +++++++++++++++ 6 files changed, 391 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild.html create mode 100644 system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild/wild.json create mode 100644 toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md diff --git a/lith/Caddyfile b/lith/Caddyfile index b61fbcadcf..dfb45f27f6 100644 --- a/lith/Caddyfile +++ b/lith/Caddyfile @@ -321,6 +321,14 @@ header Cache-Control "public, max-age=60, stale-while-revalidate=300" file_server } + # /wild is the field guide of third-party sightings — whistlegraph + # content found loose on the open web. + @wgwild path /wild /wild/ + handle @wgwild { + rewrite * /wild.html + header Cache-Control "public, max-age=60, stale-while-revalidate=300" + file_server + } # Bare / deep links (e.g. /imab, /clth) go to lith, which returns # index.html with THAT work's og:title / og:image / og:video injected — # so iMessage, Slack, Twitter, etc. unfurl the specific whistlegraph diff --git a/system/public/whistlegraph.org/NOTES.md b/system/public/whistlegraph.org/NOTES.md index ae587cb761..73393a323a 100644 --- a/system/public/whistlegraph.org/NOTES.md +++ b/system/public/whistlegraph.org/NOTES.md @@ -62,6 +62,19 @@ metadata per work, downloadable. Needs a data model (likely `samples:[…]` per work or a `samples//` convention) once the pop pipeline starts emitting library folders; design it alongside the per-page source-video list below. +## Whistlegraph in the wild — /wild (2026-09-05) + +A field guide of third-party sightings across the open web: Reddit ARG hunts, +the fan wiki, the 252M-view butterfly reupload, fan works, mockery threads, +press outside the known list, tech-world mentions, and the Wiktionary entry. +Gathered by a coordinated seven-agent search sweep with link verification; +ledger of record is `toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md`. The page (`wild.html`) +renders `wild/wild.json` (sections → entries with date/platform/url/gist and +≤15-word excerpts); Caddy claims `/wild` above the bare-code matcher like +`/stars` and `/comments`. Indexable on purpose — unlike the comment room this +is front of house. New sightings: add an entry to `wild/wild.json` and mirror +it in `WILD.md`. + ## Bigger feature — needs a data model (2026-07-11) - **Per-page source-video list.** On each whistlegraph's detail page, list *every* TikTok video feeding its aggregate data, each with its own view count — so we can diff --git a/system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild.html b/system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..463b57a7d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild.html @@ -0,0 +1,128 @@ + + + + + +Whistlegraph in the Wild + + + + + + +
+

whistlegraphin the wild

+ opening the field guide… +
+
+
+ Third-party sightings across the open web, gathered by coordinated search + sweeps and link-verified before listing. Some pages may have drifted or died + since; that is the wild for you. +
+ + + + diff --git a/system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild/wild.json b/system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild/wild.json new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..4e2a829cd1 --- /dev/null +++ b/system/public/whistlegraph.org/wild/wild.json @@ -0,0 +1,130 @@ +{ + "about": "Sightings of whistlegraph in the wild — third-party content across the open web, gathered by coordinated search agents on 2026-09-05 and link-verified. Source ledger: toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md.", + "updated": "2026-09-05", + "sections": [ + { + "title": "the lore machine", + "blurb": "The October 2022 incident — Jeffrey vanishing from videos, the blood video, the TikTok ban — set off a genuine ARG hunt across Reddit's theory subreddits.", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2022-11-01", "platform": "r/ARG", "title": "Anyone know what's going on with whistlegraph?", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/ARG/comments/yjevha/anyone_know_whats_going_on_with_whistlegraph/", "gist": "The ARG community asks if it's a live ARG; a commenter recounts the whole lore for outsiders." }, + { "date": "2022-11-01", "platform": "r/GameTheorists", "title": "TikTok mystery (I think?)", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/yivwwx/tiktok_mystery_i_think/", "gist": "MatPat's community flags whistlegraph as an unsolved TikTok mystery." }, + { "date": "2022-11-02", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "WHISTLEGRAPH LORE????????????", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yklzpj/whistlegraph_lore/", "gist": "The imposter-Jeffrey theory; still drawing comments as late as June 2024.", "excerpt": "even jeffrey himself said that wasnt the real jeffrey" }, + { "date": "2022-11-05", "platform": "r/ARG", "title": "Whistlegraphs", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/ARG/comments/ymem0m/whistlegraphs/", "gist": "The third member vanishes from main videos but appears in cryptic ones — Halloween bit or real ARG?" }, + { "date": "2022-11-11", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "What the heck is going on with the whistlegraph account", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yryd77/what_the_heck_is_going_on_with_the_whistlegraph/", "excerpt": "some sort of cult and Guy #3 has been missing", "gist": "Fans tracked Jeffrey's on-camera disappearance as ongoing lore." }, + { "date": "2022-11-16", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "So the numbers in this video are suspicious", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yx7nzz/whistlegraphs_so_the_numbers_in_this_video_are/", "gist": "Fans ran the five-number sequences through Wolfram Alpha and got December 19 of 2020 and 2018." }, + { "date": "2022-11-19", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "Butterfly symbolism thread", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yz59o6/whistlegraphs_i_couldnt_upload_all_the_butterfly/", "excerpt": "There are no happy butterflies", "gist": "\"Jeffrey is the butterfly, right?\" — noting the destroyed spider web and the account's reply." }, + { "date": "2022-11-22", "platform": "r/GameTheorists", "title": "Theory Suggestions Megathread pitch", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/p12qd6/theory_suggestions_megathread/ixbg8u0/", "gist": "A fan formally pitched whistlegraph for a MatPat episode." }, + { "date": "2022-12-11", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "The channel keeps deleting their videos", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/zihafa/so_the_whistlegraph_channel_keeps_deleting_their/", "excerpt": "Jeffrey might've been traded for the girl?", "gist": "A fan archived videos as fast as they vanished, hunting hidden messages in a commercial." }, + { "date": "2022-12-12", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "Dropping lore but idk how to decode it", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/zjlnht/whistlegraph_tiktok_is_dropping_lore_but_idk_how/", "gist": "Spectrogram-hunting the static in album teasers; cross-posted to r/ARG for backup." }, + { "date": "2022-12-13", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "The mystery includes a trippy art app", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/zl8afp/the_whistlegraph_mystery_includes_a_trippy_art/", "gist": "The ARG hunt led fans into nopaint.art." }, + { "date": "2022-12-23", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "Y'all, there's been a lore drop! Their new album!", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/ztrocl/yall_theres_been_a_whistlegraph_lore_drop_their/", "gist": "Fan gallery of the 12/22/22 album release, plus an image from a deleted video." }, + { "date": "2024-03-09", "platform": "r/FilmTheorists", "title": "The retrospective", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/1b9wgqe/what_it_a_franchise_or_show_you_really_wanted/ku1dpyf/", "excerpt": "an ARG that involved trying to literally make a new art form", "gist": "The main theorist, remembering it two years later." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "the fan wiki", + "blurb": "An organized fan community wrote a fourteen-article encyclopedia at whistlegraph.fandom.com.", + "entries": [ + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "Whistlegraph Wiki", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Whistlegraph_Wiki", "excerpt": "The official wiki for all things Whistlegraph. Lore. People. More.", "gist": "The main page, featuring trio fanart credited to Mikaela Hamilton." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "Whistlegraph lore", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Whistlegraph_lore", "excerpt": "He is trapped inside of a computer", "gist": "The richest fan-theory document found anywhere: the October Incident, the ban, the petition." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "The Whistlegraph trio", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/The_Whistlegraph_trio", "excerpt": "Organization Type: Performance Trio, Band, Religious coven", "gist": "Fan-written history from the 2020 Ashland cabin to a 'Disbandment' section dated Nov 2023." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "Whistlegraph (Concept)", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Whistlegraph_(Concept)", "gist": "A fan-authored definition of the art form, with lyrics transcribed from memory." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "Perry (Periyala)", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Perry_(Periyala)", "gist": "A wiki page about a superfan: her Zoom interview, cassette documentary, Discord ban, and continued activity on aesthetic.computer." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "Ella Fleck", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Ella_Fleck", "gist": "Fans tracking peripheral collaborators — the Whistlegraph dance, 'Hair doodle for Ella'." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "The Whistlegraph House", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/The_Whistlegraph_House", "gist": "The Ashland cabin as a lore location." }, + { "platform": "Fandom", "title": "Squeezy", "url": "https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Squeezy", "excerpt": "Squeezy is something.", "gist": "The entire body text of the page." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "the 252-million-view butterfly", + "blurb": "The biggest whistlegraph artifact in the wild is a reupload.", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2021-02-11", "platform": "YouTube · Viral Queens", "title": "I Am A Butterfly (reupload)", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xslk5WclnRw", "gist": "~252 million views, 4.9M likes, ~10,000 comments — dwarfing the official channel; its comment section is a live fan archive." }, + { "date": "2021-04-12", "platform": "YouTube · Viral Saga", "title": "I Am A Butterfly TikTok WhistleGraph", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj-sOdKS2Fs", "gist": "Another compilation channel riding the 2021 wave." }, + { "date": "2021-09-26", "platform": "YouTube · Drawing For Kids", "title": "Butterfly reupload", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rWhUeAb6hI", "gist": "The butterfly recirculated as children's drawing content." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "fan works", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2022-05-18", "platform": "Archive of Our Own", "title": "Dot, Dot, Kiss", "url": "https://archiveofourown.org/works/39079263", "excerpt": "credits to the \"song\" go to whistlegraph on tiktok!", "gist": "A 2,091-word One Piece songfic structured scene-by-scene on a whistlegraph's strokes — the only whistlegraph hit on all of AO3." }, + { "date": "2022-06-11", "platform": "YouTube", "title": "whistlegraphblocks & whistlegraph", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBHR7VwU6ys", "gist": "A fan channel invented a 'whistlegraphblocks' spin-off concept — the first of at least three tribute videos." }, + { "date": "2022-10-25", "platform": "Change.org", "title": "#SAVEWHISTLEGRAPH", "url": "https://www.change.org/p/bring-back-whistlegraph", "gist": "The petition Perry started when TikTok banned the account; 21 signatures; the fan wiki credits it with the restoration." }, + { "date": "2023-06-05", "platform": "YouTube · LBBWhistlegraphs", "title": "Student whistlegraphs, 2022–23 school year", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNg4XssVyoM", "gist": "A teacher's channel dedicated to whistlegraphs made with students — the form taught in classrooms." }, + { "date": "2023-06-05", "platform": "YouTube · LBBWhistlegraphs", "title": "Student-inspired whistlegraph", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LY6VvVIdco", "gist": "With a companion blog at lbbwhistlegraphs.com, now offline." }, + { "platform": "Pinterest", "title": "My First Whistlegraph", "url": "https://www.pinterest.com/pin/my-first-whistlegraph--624100460884046714/", "excerpt": "I decided to create a whistlegraph of my own!", "gist": "An original fan-made whistlegraph — a smiling figure with a heart." }, + { "platform": "Pinterest", "title": "Lady Bradi Bug Whistlegraphs", "url": "https://www.pinterest.com/lbbwhistlegraphs/", "gist": "Teacher and blogger Bradi Harrington built a whole personal practice of original whistlegraphs." }, + { "date": "2023-06-11", "platform": "YouTube", "title": "@whistlegraph (tribute)", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykO8AkXREn8", "gist": "A third tribute from the same dedicated fan channel." }, + { "date": "2024-08-06", "platform": "YouTube · bo en archive", "title": "some of the time (unreleased)", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRwwiNvglfw", "gist": "A fan-run archive channel preserving an unreleased whistlegraph × bo en collaboration from a livestream." }, + { "date": "2024-08-06", "platform": "YouTube · bo en archive", "title": "butterfly (extended instrumental)", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgvA4kvMShA", "gist": "Rescued from a special mixtape and mirrored on archive.org." }, + { "date": "2024-08-19", "platform": "YouTube", "title": "(cursed video) Triaingle", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L--nKFXq6bI", "gist": "The songs circulating as meme raw material years after the peak." }, + { "date": "2025-06-03", "platform": "YouTube", "title": "@whistlegraph But Nickelodeon Creatures", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5552rV8PC4w", "gist": "A kid-culture mashup redrawing whistlegraph performances as Nickelodeon characters." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "haters and doubters", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2020-04-23", "platform": "r/delusionalartists", "title": "This video is trying way too hard to be artistic", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/delusionalartists/comments/g6oqtk/i_get_what_hes_trying_to_say_but_this_video_is/", "gist": "An early mockery thread (42 points) — u/whistlegraph replied in person, explaining the work." }, + { "date": "2020-04-23", "platform": "r/delusionalartists", "title": "This fully grown man considers himself an artist", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/delusionalartists/comments/g6nb1e/this_fully_grown_man_considers_himself_an_artist/", "excerpt": "He calls his work \"Whistlegraphs\". He's 100% serious.", "gist": "Deleted by a mod for pearl-clutching; comments split between mockers and defenders." }, + { "date": "2022-04-07", "platform": "r/AskReddit", "title": "What shouldn't irritate you as much as it does?", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/tyai70/whats_something_that_shouldnt_irritate_you_as/i3r3ahz/", "excerpt": "idk why I just really can't stand them", "gist": "Broad-audience irritation as a measure of reach." }, + { "date": "2022-04-22", "platform": "r/AskReddit", "title": "What TikToker do you hate the most and why?", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/u9hud3/what_tiktoker_do_you_hate_the_most_and_why/i5s1vqh/", "excerpt": "Whistlegraph. I don't know why though. Just something about them.", "gist": "The same user, two weeks later." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "memory, recognition, and the word escaping", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2020-04-07", "platform": "r/Documentaries", "title": "Meeting Mr. Kid Pix comment", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/comments/fvfmel/meeting_mr_kid_pix_2020_description_in_comments/fmn8k4e/", "gist": "A commenter connects the filmmaker to 'a tiktok account called Whistlegraphs'." }, + { "date": "2020-06-18", "platform": "r/InternetIsBeautiful", "title": "No Paint thread", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/InternetIsBeautiful/comments/hb6qa6/no_paint_a_simple_website_for_creating_unique_art/fv93964/", "excerpt": "made by whistlegraph on tiktok! hes a nice guy", "gist": "Commenters identify No Paint's author." }, + { "date": "2020-07-29", "platform": "r/tipofmytongue", "title": "The rhythm-doodles hunt", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/i04w7h/tomt_tiktok_account_where_he_makes_rhythm_doodles/", "gist": "The work stuck in memory before the name did — solved by commenters as Whistlegraph." }, + { "date": "2020-12-09", "platform": "r/AnimalsOnReddit", "title": "Wild voice recognition", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalsOnReddit/comments/k9ryvn/big_fur/gf61fvj/", "excerpt": "your voice sounds exactly like the whistlegraphs guy on tiktok", "gist": "On an unrelated animal video." }, + { "date": "2021-01-16", "platform": "r/whistlegraph", "title": "Join the No Paint Discord", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/whistlegraph/comments/kyaahy/join_the_no_paint_discord/", "gist": "A dedicated fan subreddit exists, created January 2021." }, + { "date": "2022-12-13", "platform": "r/whistlegraph", "title": "I'm excited about the album 12/22/22!", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/whistlegraph/comments/zkfoqd/im_excited_about_the_album_122222/", "gist": "The superfan brought the hype to the fan subreddit." }, + { "date": "2023-04-24", "platform": "r/oddlysatisfying", "title": "Pen plotter synced to piano", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlysatisfying/comments/12x9ie1/pen_plotter_programmed_to_sync_with_piano_piece/jhjuuxp/", "excerpt": "Whistlegraph?", "gist": "The coined word used as a genre label for a stranger's work." }, + { "date": "2023-09-10", "platform": "r/tipofmytongue", "title": "The second hunt", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/16eognd/tomt_word_or_account_20212022_help_me_find_the/", "gist": "'A really lovely song/drawing style on TikTok' — solved in February 2024; people still re-finding it years later." }, + { "date": "2024-01-27", "platform": "r/4tran4", "title": "Anyone know what this image means?", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/4tran4/comments/1abv3tt/anyone_know_what_this_image_means/kjr3jh4/", "excerpt": "Apparently this is a whistlegraph", "gist": "A whistlegraph image circulating out of context in a shitposting subreddit." }, + { "date": "2026-07-16", "platform": "Wiktionary", "title": "whistlegraph, n.", "url": "https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whistlegraph", "excerpt": "a piece of art created via whistlegraphing", "gist": "A third-party editor added the noun — and 'whistlegraphing' the same day. The coined word entered a crowd-edited dictionary." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "press, criticism, institutions", + "blurb": "Coverage beyond the archive's known press list.", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2020-02-01", "platform": "Twitter", "title": "bo en announces the butterfly collab", "url": "https://x.com/boenyeah/status/1223732726597066757", "gist": "Musician bo en (Calum Bowen) quoting the lyric to his followers." }, + { "date": "2021-03-16", "platform": "Schneider Museum of Art", "title": "Art Beyond 2021", "url": "https://sma.sou.edu/whistlegraph/", "gist": "The hometown museum featured Whistlegraph at Lithia Park, Ashland." }, + { "date": "2021-05-27", "platform": "Schneider Museum of Art", "title": "Creative Industries Discussion", "url": "https://sma.sou.edu/virtual-creative-industries-discussion-whistlegraph/", "gist": "A public talk hosted by the museum; recorded on their channel." }, + { "date": "2021-06-11", "platform": "YouTube · Schneider Museum", "title": "Creative Industries Discussion (video)", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZRVTHLu10I", "gist": "The talk, uploaded on the museum's own channel." }, + { "date": "2021", "platform": "Schneider Museum of Art", "title": "Free Family Days with Whistlegraph", "url": "https://sma.sou.edu/free-family-days-with-whistlegraph/", "gist": "Sketchbook giveaways and drawing prompts at Lithia Park." }, + { "date": "2021-10-05", "platform": "The Adam McBride Show", "title": "An Artist's View on NFTs, Art, and Apes", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-artists-view-on-nfts-art-and-apes-jeffrey-alan-scudder/id1410811576?i=1000537658640", "gist": "A podcast interview; the host recommends the whistlegraph TikTok." }, + { "date": "2021-11-10", "platform": "TrendHunter", "title": "Whistlegraphs Combines Music and Drawing to Create Poetic Images", "url": "https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/whistlegraphs", "gist": "The trend industry files whistlegraphs under brand opportunity." }, + { "date": "2022-03-02", "platform": "Rhizome", "title": "Apply to Whistlegraph Workshops", "url": "https://rhizome.org/editorial/2022/mar/02/apply-to-whistlegraph-workshops/", "gist": "Free Write-a-Whistlegraph workshops for teens ahead of the New Museum performance." }, + { "date": "2022-05-20", "platform": "Twitter", "title": "Taipei Dangdai announces the Launch Stage", "url": "https://x.com/taipeidangdai/status/1527708136865337344", "gist": "The art fair opened its Launch Stage with a live whistlegraph performance and a conversation with Casey Reas and Feral File." }, + { "date": "2022-05-20", "platform": "christopheradams.io", "title": "Launch Stage", "url": "https://github.com/christopheradams/christopheradams.io/blob/master/_posts/2022-05-20-launch-stage.md", "gist": "The stage's builder lists Whistlegraph for Feral File among four featured digital-art platform artists." }, + { "date": "2022-06-03", "platform": "YouTube", "title": "Live at Cold Spring Hollow", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3p1WlvGgus", "gist": "Audience-shot recording of a live performance in Belchertown, Massachusetts." }, + { "date": "2022-09-13", "platform": "Rhizome", "title": "First Look: The Longest Whistlegraph Ever (so far)", "url": "https://rhizome.org/editorial/2022/sep/13/first-look-the-longest-whistlegraph-ever-so-far/", "gist": "The commissioned work's online debut announcement." }, + { "date": "2022-10-05", "platform": "Rhizome", "title": "Write-a-Whistlegraph workshop documentation", "url": "https://rhizome.org/editorial/2022/oct/05/write-a-whistlegraph-workshop-documentation/", "gist": "The Far Rockaway curriculum residency, preserving student-composed whistlegraphs like 'I Love Jim' and 'Third Eye'." }, + { "date": "2022", "platform": "New Museum", "title": "Rhizome Presents: TLWESF", "url": "https://www.newmuseum.org/event/rhizome-presents-the-longest-whistlegraph-ever-so-far/", "gist": "The museum-side listing of the chalkboard performance, debuted May 14, 2022." }, + { "date": "2022", "platform": "Feral File journal", "title": "Doodling Clockwork in Lore and Score", "url": "https://feralfile.com/journal/close-up/whistlegraph-doodling-clockwork-in-lore-and-score", "gist": "Dorothy Howard's commissioned close-up essay on the whistlegraph form." }, + { "date": "2022-11-06", "platform": "cmarthoughts.com", "title": "Whistlegraph: body language", "url": "https://cmarthoughts.com/whistlegraph-body-language/", "excerpt": "performance at its perfection", "gist": "An independent blog review analyzing the trio's body language — unsolicited criticism on no known press list." }, + { "date": "2023-03-07", "platform": "Galerie Yeche Lange", "title": "Whistlegraph survey talk", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD-6j1cNgMo", "gist": "The NYC gallery presents the work including Underpainting's debut at School of Truth." }, + { "date": "2023-09-06", "platform": "Dirt", "title": "What is a whistlegraph?", "url": "https://www.magazine.dirt.fyi/p/whistlegraph", "gist": "Nika Simovich Fisher's explainer, framing the trio as a pandemic-era introduction to conceptual art — cited as a source by the fan wiki." }, + { "platform": "KADIST", "title": "Jeffrey Alan Scudder", "url": "https://kadist.org/people/jeffrey-alan-scudder/", "gist": "Collection artist bio crediting the whistlegraph TikTok and its drawing tutorials set to music." }, + { "platform": "Wildxyz", "title": "Jeffrey Scudder", "url": "https://wild.xyz/jeffrey-scudder/", "gist": "Artist profile describing the founder of a performance group popularizing an art style by the same name." }, + { "platform": "left.gallery", "title": "whistlegraph [aka Jeffrey]", "url": "https://left.gallery/jeffrey-alan-scudder", "gist": "The gallery adopted the whistlegraph identity for his artist page." }, + { "platform": "celinekatzman.com", "title": "Curator portfolio", "url": "https://celinekatzman.com/entrance/tag:new+museum", "gist": "Celine Wong Katzman documents her commissioning of The Longest Whistlegraph Ever (so far)." }, + { "platform": "OpenSea", "title": "TLWESF collection", "url": "https://opensea.io/collection/the-longest-whistlegraph-ever-so-far", "gist": "Five tokens, two owners, and the Herbert W. Franke tribute edition on secondary-market infrastructure." } + ] + }, + { + "title": "tech and design worlds", + "entries": [ + { "date": "2021-08-05", "platform": "Hacker News", "title": "Kid Pix as a JavaScript App", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28077188", "excerpt": "It's by Jeffrey Alan Scudder aka Whistlegraph", "gist": "Greg Sadetsky recommends the Craig Hickman mini-documentary and calls No Paint fantastic." }, + { "date": "2021-10-23", "platform": "Are.na", "title": "the way conversations move", "url": "https://www.are.na/block/13686465", "gist": "leslie liu cites whistlegraphs while thinking about neurodivergent conversation cadence — a conceptual reference, not a bookmark." }, + { "date": "2023-02-08", "platform": "Are.na", "title": "Whistlegraph: Winter 2022", "url": "https://www.are.na/block/20283279", "gist": "Saved by designer-educator Rosa McElheny; roughly thirty whistlegraph blocks exist across Are.na." }, + { "date": "2024-06-16", "platform": "Grant Custer's blog", "title": "Inspiration: Meeting Mr. Kid Pix", "url": "https://feed.grantcuster.com/post/2024-06-16-19-33-19-Inspiration-Meeting-Mr-Kid-Pix", "excerpt": "So nice to see people putting effort to understand + be understood.", "gist": "Using the film to think through why delightful paint programs differ from video games." }, + { "date": "2024-06-19", "platform": "Hacker News", "title": "Don Hopkins quotes the praise", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40725172", "gist": "The HCI figure passes Custer's recommendation along." }, + { "date": "2024-09-13", "platform": "Hacker News", "title": "Mapping the ecosystem", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41528056", "gist": "A commenter shares the aesthetic-computer repo as background for other readers." }, + { "date": "2026-03-30", "platform": "Are.na", "title": "Whistlegraph TikTok Compilation No. 2", "url": "https://www.are.na/block/44887043", "gist": "Saved by artist Travess Smalley this past March — still circulating among artists." } + ] + } + ] +} diff --git a/toolchain/whistlegraph/ALEX-BACKLOG.md b/toolchain/whistlegraph/ALEX-BACKLOG.md index bda3f63907..3eab70641f 100644 --- a/toolchain/whistlegraph/ALEX-BACKLOG.md +++ b/toolchain/whistlegraph/ALEX-BACKLOG.md @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Status: `received` → `verified` → `applied` → `live` | Status | Request | |---|---| -| applied | Compile TikTok comment screenshots from over the years as a back-of-house archive to get sorted; not for the public site, though one or two may get used. Built the comment room at `/comments` (unlinked, noindex) with intake/sorting via `toolchain/whistlegraph/comments.mjs` — statuses unsorted → keeper / filed / ditch, optional work code, source post, capture date, and note per screenshot. Awaiting Alex's screenshots to fill it. | +| live | Compile TikTok comment screenshots from over the years as a back-of-house archive to get sorted; not for the public site, though one or two may get used. Built the comment room at `/comments` (unlinked, noindex) with intake/sorting via `toolchain/whistlegraph/comments.mjs` — statuses unsorted → keeper / filed / ditch, optional work code, source post, capture date, and note per screenshot. Filled 2026-09-05 with 246 screenshots harvested from Jeffrey's camera roll via the Photos OCR index (comment-panel text "Reply"/"pinned" cross-matched with "whistlegraph"), dated 2019–2025, plus one from Dropbox — 247 live, all unsorted, awaiting Alex's pass. A looser 161-screenshot remainder (video pages, profile grids) is parked in `downloads/comments-harvest/` for a second sweep if wanted. | ## Received August 18, 2026 diff --git a/toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md b/toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..315a72823f --- /dev/null +++ b/toolchain/whistlegraph/WILD.md @@ -0,0 +1,111 @@ +# Whistlegraph in the Wild + +Third-party whistlegraph content found on the open web — comments, theories, +fan works, mockery, press, and strange recirculations. Compiled 2026-09-05 by a +coordinated seven-agent search sweep (Reddit, YouTube, Twitter/X, fan +platforms, press/academic, memes/forums, wildcard) with every link +fetch-verified or archive-confirmed before inclusion; dead and off-topic +results were dropped. Companion to the comment-screenshot room at +`whistlegraph.org/comments`. + +Dates are the content's own dates where visible. Reddit threads confirmed via +the Pullpush archive where reddit.com blocked fetching. + +## The lore machine (Reddit theory-crafting, Oct–Dec 2022) + +The October 2022 incident — Jeffrey vanishing from videos, the blood video, +the TikTok ban — set off a genuine ARG-hunt across theory subreddits, much of +it driven by one prolific superfan (u/Dclnsfrd): + +- **2022-11-01** · r/ARG — [Anyone know what's going on with whistlegraph?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ARG/comments/yjevha/anyone_know_whats_going_on_with_whistlegraph/) — ARG community asks if it's a live ARG; a commenter recounts the whole lore for outsiders. +- **2022-11-01** · r/GameTheorists — [TikTok mystery (I think?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/yivwwx/tiktok_mystery_i_think/) — MatPat's community flags whistlegraph as an unsolved TikTok mystery. +- **2022-11-02** · r/FilmTheorists — [WHISTLEGRAPH LORE????????????](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yklzpj/whistlegraph_lore/) — the imposter-Jeffrey theory ("even jeffrey himself said that wasnt the real jeffrey"); still drawing comments as late as June 2024. +- **2022-11-05** · r/ARG — [Whistlegraphs](https://www.reddit.com/r/ARG/comments/ymem0m/whistlegraphs/) — the third member vanishing from main videos but appearing in cryptic ones: Halloween bit or real ARG? +- **2022-11-11** · r/FilmTheorists — [What the heck is going on with the whistlegraph…](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yryd77/what_the_heck_is_going_on_with_the_whistlegraph/) — "some sort of cult and Guy #3 has been missing." +- **2022-11-16** · r/FilmTheorists — [the numbers in this video are suspicious](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yx7nzz/whistlegraphs_so_the_numbers_in_this_video_are/) — fans ran the five-number sequences through Wolfram Alpha and got Dec 19, 2020 and Dec 19, 2018. +- **2022-11-19** · r/FilmTheorists — [butterfly symbolism thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/yz59o6/whistlegraphs_i_couldnt_upload_all_the_butterfly/) — "Jeffrey is the butterfly, right?"; cites the account's reply "There are no happy butterflies." +- **2022-11-22** · r/GameTheorists — [Theory Suggestions Megathread pitch](https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/p12qd6/theory_suggestions_megathread/ixbg8u0/) — a fan formally pitched whistlegraph for a MatPat episode. +- **2022-12-11** · r/FilmTheorists — [the channel keeps deleting their videos](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/zihafa/so_the_whistlegraph_channel_keeps_deleting_their/) — a fan archiving videos as fast as they vanished, theorizing "Jeffrey might've been traded for the girl." +- **2022-12-12** · r/FilmTheorists — [lore drop but idk how to decode it](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/zjlnht/whistlegraph_tiktok_is_dropping_lore_but_idk_how/) — spectrogram-hunting the static in album teasers; cross-posted to r/ARG. +- **2022-12-13** · r/FilmTheorists — [the mystery includes a trippy art app](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/zl8afp/the_whistlegraph_mystery_includes_a_trippy_art/) — the ARG hunt led fans into nopaint.art. +- **2022-12-23** · r/FilmTheorists — [Y'all, there's been a lore drop! Their new album!](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/ztrocl/yall_theres_been_a_whistlegraph_lore_drop_their/) — fan gallery of the 12/22/22 album release plus an image from a deleted video. +- **2024-03-09** · r/FilmTheorists — [retrospective](https://www.reddit.com/r/FilmTheorists/comments/1b9wgqe/what_it_a_franchise_or_show_you_really_wanted/ku1dpyf/) — the main theorist remembers it as "an ARG that involved trying to literally make a new art form." + +## The fan wiki (whistlegraph.fandom.com) + +An organized fan community wrote a fourteen-article encyclopedia: + +- [Whistlegraph Wiki main page](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Whistlegraph_Wiki) — "The official wiki for all things Whistlegraph. Lore. People. More."; features trio fanart credited to Mikaela Hamilton. +- [Whistlegraph lore](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Whistlegraph_lore) — the richest fan-theory document found anywhere: The October Incident, the ban, the petition, "He is trapped inside of a computer." +- [The Whistlegraph trio](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/The_Whistlegraph_trio) — fan-written history from the 2020 Ashland cabin to a "Disbandment" section dated Nov 2023; organization type: "Performance Trio, Band, Religious coven." +- [Whistlegraph (Concept)](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Whistlegraph_(Concept)) — fan-authored definition of the art form with a canon of notable whistlegraphs and lyrics transcribed from memory. +- [Perry (Periyala)](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Perry_(Periyala)) — a wiki page about a superfan: her Zoom interview, cassette documentary, Discord ban, and continued activity on aesthetic.computer. +- [Ella Fleck](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Ella_Fleck) — fans tracking peripheral collaborators (the Whistlegraph dance, "Hair doodle for Ella"). +- [The Whistlegraph House](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/The_Whistlegraph_House) — the Ashland cabin as lore location. +- [Squeezy](https://whistlegraph.fandom.com/wiki/Squeezy) — entire body text: "Squeezy is something." + +## The 252-million-view butterfly + +- **2021-02-11** · YouTube — [Viral Queens reupload of I Am A Butterfly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xslk5WclnRw) — **~252M views, 4.9M likes, ~10,000 comments**: by far the biggest whistlegraph artifact in the wild, dwarfing the official channel; its comment section is a live fan archive. +- **2021-04-12** · YouTube — [Viral Saga reupload](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj-sOdKS2Fs) — another compilation channel riding the 2021 wave. +- **2021-09-26** · YouTube — [Drawing For Kids reupload](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rWhUeAb6hI) — the butterfly recirculated as children's drawing content. + +## Fan works + +- **2022-05-18** · Archive of Our Own — [Dot, Dot, Kiss](https://archiveofourown.org/works/39079263) by sloshy33 — a 2,091-word One Piece songfic structured scene-by-scene on a whistlegraph's strokes; the only whistlegraph hit on all of AO3. +- **2022-06-11 → 2025-06-03** · YouTube — fan channel "Linea And Jjye Loves Jjye's Alphapals" made at least three tribute videos: [whistlegraphblocks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBHR7VwU6ys), [@whistlegraph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykO8AkXREn8), and [@whistlegraph But Nickelodeon Creatures](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5552rV8PC4w) (3.5K views). +- **2022-10-25** · Change.org — [#SAVEWHISTLEGRAPH petition](https://www.change.org/p/bring-back-whistlegraph) by Perry Johnson (Periyala of the wiki), 21 signatures, started during the ban; the fan wiki credits it with the restoration. +- **2023-06-05** · YouTube — teacher channel LBBWhistlegraphs: [student whistlegraphs of the 2022–23 school year](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNg4XssVyoM) and a [student-inspired whistlegraph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LY6VvVIdco) — the form taught in classrooms, with a companion blog (lbbwhistlegraphs.com, now offline). +- Pinterest — [My First Whistlegraph](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/my-first-whistlegraph--624100460884046714/) and the account [Lady Bradi Bug Whistlegraphs](https://www.pinterest.com/lbbwhistlegraphs/) by Bradi Harrington, the teacher behind LBBWhistlegraphs — a whole personal practice of original whistlegraphs. +- **2024-08-06** · YouTube — fan-run [bo en archive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRwwiNvglfw) preserving the unreleased whistlegraph × bo en track "some of the time" and a [butterfly extended instrumental](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgvA4kvMShA) rescued from a mixtape. +- **2024-08-19** · YouTube — [(cursed video) Triaingle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L--nKFXq6bI) — the songs circulating as meme raw material years after the peak. + +## Haters and doubters + +- **2020-04-23** · r/delusionalartists — [two](https://www.reddit.com/r/delusionalartists/comments/g6oqtk/i_get_what_hes_trying_to_say_but_this_video_is/) [threads](https://www.reddit.com/r/delusionalartists/comments/g6nb1e/this_fully_grown_man_considers_himself_an_artist/) mocking an early video ("He's 100% serious."); u/whistlegraph replied in one explaining the work; a mod removed the other for pearl-clutching. +- **2022-04-07 / 04-22** · r/AskReddit — the same user named Whistlegraph in ["what shouldn't irritate you as much as it does"](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/tyai70/whats_something_that_shouldnt_irritate_you_as/i3r3ahz/) and ["What TikToker do you hate the most"](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/u9hud3/what_tiktoker_do_you_hate_the_most_and_why/i5s1vqh/) — broad-audience irritation as a measure of reach. + +## Memory, recognition, and the word escaping + +- **2020-04-07** · r/Documentaries — [Meeting Mr. Kid Pix comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/comments/fvfmel/meeting_mr_kid_pix_2020_description_in_comments/fmn8k4e/) connecting the filmmaker to "a tiktok account called Whistlegraphs." +- **2020-06-18** · r/InternetIsBeautiful — [No Paint thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/InternetIsBeautiful/comments/hb6qa6/no_paint_a_simple_website_for_creating_unique_art/fv93964/) — "made by whistlegraph on tiktok! hes a nice guy." +- **2020-07-29** · r/tipofmytongue — [rhythm doodles hunt](https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/i04w7h/tomt_tiktok_account_where_he_makes_rhythm_doodles/) — the work stuck in memory before the name did. +- **2020-12-09** · r/AnimalsOnReddit — [wild voice recognition](https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalsOnReddit/comments/k9ryvn/big_fur/gf61fvj/) — "your voice sounds exactly like the whistlegraphs guy on tiktok." +- **2023-04-24** · r/oddlysatisfying — [pen-plotter comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlysatisfying/comments/12x9ie1/pen_plotter_programmed_to_sync_with_piano_piece/jhjuuxp/) — "Whistlegraph?" used as a genre label for someone else's work. +- **2023-09-10** · r/tipofmytongue — [second hunt](https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/16eognd/tomt_word_or_account_20212022_help_me_find_the/), solved in Feb 2024 — people still re-finding it years later. +- **2024-01-27** · r/4tran4 — [image circulating out of context](https://www.reddit.com/r/4tran4/comments/1abv3tt/anyone_know_what_this_image_means/kjr3jh4/) — "Apparently this is a whistlegraph." +- **2026-07-16** · Wiktionary — [whistlegraph](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whistlegraph) — a third-party editor added the noun (plus "whistlegraphing" the same day): the coined word entering a crowd-edited dictionary. +- r/whistlegraph — a dedicated fan subreddit exists (created Jan 2021); its [early Discord-invite post](https://www.reddit.com/r/whistlegraph/comments/kyaahy/join_the_no_paint_discord/) and the superfan's [album-hype post](https://www.reddit.com/r/whistlegraph/comments/zkfoqd/im_excited_about_the_album_122222/). + +## Press, criticism, institutions (beyond the site's known press list) + +- **2021-03-16** · Schneider Museum of Art — [Art Beyond 2021 feature](https://sma.sou.edu/whistlegraph/), plus a [Creative Industries Discussion](https://sma.sou.edu/virtual-creative-industries-discussion-whistlegraph/) ([video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZRVTHLu10I)) and [Family Days at Lithia Park](https://sma.sou.edu/free-family-days-with-whistlegraph/) — the hometown museum's arc of support. +- **2021-10-05** · The Adam McBride Show — [podcast interview](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-artists-view-on-nfts-art-and-apes-jeffrey-alan-scudder/id1410811576?i=1000537658640) on NFTs and art. +- **2021-11-10** · TrendHunter — [Whistlegraphs Combines Music and Drawing…](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/whistlegraphs) — trend-industry write-up (verified via Wayback). +- **2022-02-01 (2020)** · Twitter — [bo en announces the butterfly collab](https://x.com/boenyeah/status/1223732726597066757). +- **2022-03-02 / 09-13 / 10-05** · Rhizome — [workshop call](https://rhizome.org/editorial/2022/mar/02/apply-to-whistlegraph-workshops/), [First Look: TLWESF](https://rhizome.org/editorial/2022/sep/13/first-look-the-longest-whistlegraph-ever-so-far/), and [Far Rockaway workshop documentation](https://rhizome.org/editorial/2022/oct/05/write-a-whistlegraph-workshop-documentation/) preserving student-composed whistlegraphs ("I Love Jim," "Third Eye"). +- **2022-05-20** · Taipei Dangdai — [official tweet](https://x.com/taipeidangdai/status/1527708136865337344) announcing the Launch Stage performance with Casey Reas and Feral File; Christopher Adams' [Launch Stage post](https://github.com/christopheradams/christopheradams.io/blob/master/_posts/2022-05-20-launch-stage.md) lists Whistlegraph among the four featured artists. +- **2022** · New Museum — [TLWESF event page](https://www.newmuseum.org/event/rhizome-presents-the-longest-whistlegraph-ever-so-far/); curator [Celine Wong Katzman's portfolio](https://celinekatzman.com/entrance/tag:new+museum) documents the commission. +- **2022** · Feral File journal — [Doodling Clockwork in Lore and Score](https://feralfile.com/journal/close-up/whistlegraph-doodling-clockwork-in-lore-and-score) by Dorothy Howard. +- **2022-06-03** · Cold Spring Hollow — [audience-shot recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3p1WlvGgus) of a live performance in Belchertown MA. +- **2022-11-06** · cmarthoughts.com — [independent blog review](https://cmarthoughts.com/whistlegraph-body-language/) analyzing the trio's body language — unsolicited criticism on no known press list. +- **2023-03-07** · Galerie Yeche Lange — [survey talk video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD-6j1cNgMo) including the Underpainting debut at School of Truth. +- **2023-09-06** · Dirt — [What is a whistlegraph?](https://www.magazine.dirt.fyi/p/whistlegraph) by Nika Simovich Fisher (also at [dirt.fyi](https://dirt.fyi/article/2023/09/whistlegraph)) — cited as a source by the fan wiki. +- Artist-profile pages framing the project for collectors: [KADIST](https://kadist.org/people/jeffrey-alan-scudder/), [Wildxyz](https://wild.xyz/jeffrey-scudder/), [left.gallery](https://left.gallery/jeffrey-alan-scudder) ("whistlegraph [aka Jeffrey]"). +- OpenSea — [TLWESF collection](https://opensea.io/collection/the-longest-whistlegraph-ever-so-far) — 5 tokens, 2 owners, the Herbert W. Franke tribute edition. + +## Tech and design worlds + +- **2021-08-05** · Hacker News — [Kid Pix as a JavaScript App thread](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28077188) — Greg Sadetsky IDs "Jeffrey Alan Scudder aka Whistlegraph," calls No Paint fantastic. +- **2021-10-23** · Are.na — [the way conversations move](https://www.are.na/block/13686465) by leslie liu — whistlegraphs as a conceptual reference for conversation cadence. +- **2023-02-08** · Are.na — [Whistlegraph: Winter 2022](https://www.are.na/block/20283279) saved by Rosa McElheny (a Spring 2022 block saved by Jennifer Bui) — circulation in design education; the Are.na API shows ~30 whistlegraph blocks saved across users. +- **2024-06-16** · Grant Custer's blog — [Inspiration: Meeting Mr. Kid Pix](https://feed.grantcuster.com/post/2024-06-16-19-33-19-Inspiration-Meeting-Mr-Kid-Pix); quoted approvingly by Don Hopkins [on HN](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40725172) in 2024. +- **2024-09-13** · Hacker News — [tony-allan maps the ecosystem](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41528056) for other readers via the GitHub repo. +- **2026-03-30** · Are.na — [Travess Smalley saves a whistlegraph compilation](https://www.are.na/block/44887043) — still circulating among artists this year. + +## Dropped in verification + +Two Reddit threads deleted at the source (r/FilmTheorists ytkhyh, r/ARG +yfldku), one Mail Tribune listing gone, one YouTube video dead, and four +off-topic hits (a No Paint AppHookup deal, VS Code PR, unrelated HN item, +an off-topic r/whistlegraph post). -- 2.51.2