The first Great Net Artist !

The following was posted to Brads appeal, but I felt it needed a new thread. We are always self-flagellating on this list, so here's a new take on an old issue. I must admit it was well fueled by some excellent Australian Cabernet, but I after watching Grand Hotel(1931) felt it was still a sober comment. I do think Brad Brace has been dealt a bad hand and deserves better acceptance (despite his curmudgeonly attitude). It's a simple thing to dismiss someone because of his bad behaviour and ignore his contribution to net art. The artists I mention below were both loved and reviled, and in some cases always reviled. Not that Brad is their equal, he isn't, in fact he can't be. But that was an old world that ignored personality in favour of the works produced. We live in a world where popularity reigns above talent and creativity. So be it. I can't alt(a|e)r that.
(notice the regular expression ;-) )

So I hope people on the list respond to this, it's very significant at this juncture.
Start:

I'm going to comment on this observation by Steve Dietz, who calls for a heroic effort on the part of a lucky new media artist.
http://www.afsnitp.dk/onoff/Texts/dietzwhyhavether.html
Dietz, like many others is looking for the Jackson Pollack, The Willem deKooning of *Great Net Artists*.
At first read it seems like a simple request.
But think of yourself in the world we live in.
Who is great at what they do in any field?
I can't think of anyone.
There are no deKoonings or Warhols lurking in the wings.
The very idea of *greatness* is now a retro-subterfuge brought on by memories that never existed but it would sure be convenient for critics and old world art admins.
Like a good hit of meth or smack the feeling is fleeting and deceitful.
There can't be a great net artist in the distributed world, it's not only counter intuitive, it's blasphemy.
What good is a hero/heroine on a medium that defines DIY?
We don't need no fukin heroes in the 21st century, they always lead to depression and self loathing.
You are , as Beuys and Hacke pointed out yrs ago, the subject of your own creation.
Let it go, find alternative funding, and maybe, just maybe someone will evolve from your idea and pass it on to someone else.
7 billion people on the planet and Dietz is still looking for a hero, pathetic.
Eric