I haven’t been paying too much attention to the comment section in recent days, for obvious reasons… I’ve been far too busy, and my Internet access has been far too spotty, to read every comment on every post. But it’s come to my attention that commenters impersonating other commenters has become a problem in at least one thread, so I want to make a clear statement about this. Such behavior is completely unacceptable. Anyone impersonating another commenter with intent to deceive is subject to being immediately banned. If you see this happening, please e-mail me and point me to where it is occurring.
Beyond that, I am concerned about the devolution of the BrendanLoy.com comment section into a “stuck on stupid” mode, as General Honore would say. Watching the level of discourse asymptotically approach that of an AOL chatroom is not something I relish, as I hinted to CNET News. This isn’t about protecting a blog fiefdom from “outsiders”; it is about keeping the level of discourse at a tolerable level.
To be clear, I have absolutely no objection to the comments that the VAST MAJORITY of new readers have been making. I appreciate your readership and participation in this community. But as we all know, it only takes a few bad apples to make things worse for everyone.
I may eventually institute comment registration in an attempt to discourage trollish behavior and other unwanted crap, but that would be part and parcel of the longer-term blog migration to WordPress which has been significantly delayed by recent events. For now, there isn’t much I can do, except to ask everyone to please be at least moderately civil, and if you don’t have anything remotely intelligent to say, then don’t say anything at all. (Funny comments are OK, too, but please, don’t completely hijack serious threads with them.)
If you think I’m simply prejudiced against the “newbies,” you’re wrong. I welcome all of my new readers with open arms — all except the ones who engage in assholish behavior. Those are the ones I don’t like: the assholes. I think I can be forgiven that “prejudice.” (And yes, I have been known to upbraid some of the “regulars” in the past when they have behaved assholishly. I’ve even been known to criticize myself for the occasional instance of assholishness. So this has nothing to do with “newbies” vs. “regulars,” per se. Again, this is about the overall level of discourse.)
And if you think I’m being an insufferable censor, you are, again, wrong. I have no desire to censor anyone, which is why I have very rarely done so (and have never banned anyone, except spammers, in 3 1/2 years of blogging). But I also don’t want the comment section to become so poisonous that it loses all the people with intelligent and insightful things to say, and is populated only by trolls and morons.
One last note: this post is not an attack on anyone in particular. This is a broad concern, one which several regular commenters have brought to my attention, and I felt it needed to be addressed. If you feel personally attacked by this post, perhaps that means you perceive yourself as engaging in assholish behavior, in which case your perception is probably correct and you should probably think about modifying your behavior.
P.S. I’m thinking about adding a statement like this to the comment template:
The BrendanLoy.com comment section is a community. It is a “big tent” community; all are welcome to join. But if you wish to be a member in good standing of the community, you need to abide by certain guidelines of behavior. Be civil. Avoid profanity and vulgarity except when it’s central and necessary to your comment. Mark all links which are “not safe for work” as “NSFW.” Do not impersonate other commenters. Do not engage in pointless personal attacks as a substitute for meaningful debate. Endeavour not to “hijack” threads. Most of all, try to contribute something worthwhile to the discussion. Don’t lower the level of discourse; raise it. Help make this a community we all want to be a part of.
Comments, pro and con, and suggestions on additions or subtractions, are welcome.
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Categories: Uncategorized
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September 26th, 2005 at 3:09:48 am
Get over yourself
September 26th, 2005 at 7:44:40 am
It is too bad that you even had to post this entry. You think people would stop and think before they typed in their comment. Just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean you attack them. Being semi-anonymous on the internet does not give a person the right to spout moronic idiocy anywhere other than their own website/blog. I would hate to see you have to end comments, as Michael (interdictor) did, due to a massive influx of inflamatory comment postings.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:29:13 am
Some of the most interesting debates on this blog have been in the comment section. There will always be dimbulbs like anonymous up there who just don’t “get it”. Obviously this is someone who lacks both guts, and integrity, along with the intellectual ability to comment on a subject without personal attack.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:40:38 am
as a “newbie” I agree 100%. What makes me shake my head, is the fact it needs to be said. I spent Saturday at a local PTA meeting for people volunteering at local schools, and you know what they had to say the same thing “BE NICE”. What world do we live in that we have to, AS ADULTS, continually be reminded that if you disagree with someone you have to be nice. That should be a STANDARD. And people wonder what is happening with our kids today. (this is me shaking my head). Keep up the good work.
September 26th, 2005 at 9:35:12 am
A few thoughts:
-I grow weary of being accused of impersonating people from last Friday. Brendan, your failure to exonerate me in this respect is disappointing, and extremely prejudicial. I think we can all agree that I don’t need to impersonate Andrew to mock him, I’ve done a fine job of it as “Coach Leahy” (with help from the man himself).
-The fact that the level of discourse has “deteriorated” back here is due to one thing. I, and others, apparently, have grown weary of the Mt. Sinai-esque proclamations from the likes of Andrew, Alasdair, and to a lesser extent, David. I’ve chosen to respond to them in a manner which mirrors the pr*ckishness which infects all of their posts. These guys have had their little fiefdom, where Alasdair is free to throw around racial/ethnic slurs, while Andrew and David roam about unchecked, making absurd partisan statements both left and right, with the singular vanity of truly deranged megalomaniacs. God help anyone who criticizes these proclamations in a manner either civil or uncivil, for the response from the triumvirate will be full of vitriol and bile.
-Brendan has been out of the loop, with good reason, for a few days, so he hasn’t been able to moderate. However, it’s pretty clear to me that this is a blog for his family and friends, and he’s going to take their side, regardless of how uncivil they may be. For a guy who calls himself the “Irish”trojan, his failure to even comment on Alasdair’s repeated use of an Irish slur equivalent to calling a black a cottonpicker or a mexican a wetback is telling. Similarly, his attack on new “assholish” posters, when his own friends have been just as guilty of ill advised behavior, tells me that he isn’t interested in being fair. He’s interested in silencing dissent from people who challenge the sacred cows back here. Basically, he loves the notoriety and the fact that he can blog about his interviews in the MSM, but as far as comments go, he would rather have it the way it used to be, with 10-15 friends giving each other the reacharound.
I’m very disappointed, but I suppose I shouldn’t have expected more.
September 26th, 2005 at 9:46:46 am
P.S.- And one more thing.
Alasdair’s lame attempt to re-classify his slur as a response to my assignment of the nickname “Ally” is lame on its face. But it is also fails the sniff test, for a simple perusal of the records will show that the slur “steerage” appeared almost immediately after my first disagreement with Alasdair regarding Irish politics. As you can guess, I disagreed with his characterization of the Republic of Ireland as being filled with backward, cult like folk incapable of effective self governance.
September 26th, 2005 at 10:23:38 am
Ha!
You people miss me!
David even admitted it… :-)
And I never thought I would see David, Alasdair and Andrew on the same side.
“Nothing binds like a common enemy.”
September 26th, 2005 at 10:32:05 am
I grow weary of being accused of impersonating people from last Friday. Brendan, your failure to exonerate me in this respect is disappointing, and extremely prejudicial. I think we can all agree that I don’t need to impersonate Andrew to mock him, I’ve done a fine job of it as “Coach Leahy” (with help from the man himself).
Coach Leahy, I would ask you to re-read the paragraph which begins: “One last note: this post is not an attack on anyone in particular.”
I made NO comment — none — on whether you impersonated Andrew. All I know is that someone impersonated Andrew, and that is unacceptable. I am making a prospective statement that such behavior will not be tolerated in the future. As for who did it the other day… you say that I’ve “been out of the loop, with good reason, for a few days, so [I haven’t] been able to moderate,” but then you say that I should have gone back and investigated and exonerated you. What happened to your understanding that I’ve had “good reason” to not have time to moderate? I’m neither accusing nor exonerating you. I’m making a prospective statement and explicitly disavowing prejudice against any particular person.
As for the rest of your comment, well, frankly, you’re just wrong, and I don’t have much to say beyond that, especially considering that I already anticipated and addressed most of your lame arguments (that I’m prejudiced against newbies, that I never attack my friends for being assholes, etc.). Bottom line, the fact is that the level of discourse has deterioriated in the past month, and considering that Andrew, David and Alasdair have been around for a long time, saying it’s primarily their fault doesn’t really make sense. I have, at times in the past, criticized those three, especially Andrew, for comment misbehavior, but it never got to the point where it was necessary to make a broad appeal for civility like this. Back then, I was never afraid of the comment section becoming a poisonous AOL chatroom-like place. Now I am.
September 26th, 2005 at 10:33:57 am
P.S. If your description of me was accurate, I would have banned your IP address weeks ago.
September 26th, 2005 at 10:42:18 am
P.P.S. I don’t give a sh*t about your little pissing contest with Alasdair. If I intervened in every dispute between commenters where one person thought the other one said something offensive, I’d never have time to do anything else. And that’s back when the comments section was relatively civil! Bottom line, I do not make it my business to act as a “hand of God” moderator, swooping into individual comment-wars and making judgments about who is right and who is wrong. When I do participate in a discussion, it’s as an equal — a fellow commenter — not as a voice from On High. (This post is a different situation; I’m not judging an individual comment-war, but making a broad statement about civility on the blog.) But I’m under no more obligation to participate than anyone else, and as you acknowledeged, I’ve been rather busy lately, so I haven’t been following your discussions with Alasdair, and frankly I have no desire to, as it sounds like they are rather pointless. If you can’t accept that, well, I’m sorry, but I have better things to do with my time than protect you, of all people, from Internet insults.
September 26th, 2005 at 10:55:36 am
Loy,
For the record, I never asked you to “protect” me from Alasdair. My point, clearly stated, is that his slur is an insult to Irish folks in general. If you want to improve civility, stamping out ethnic slurs might be a good start. I don’t need the help with our pun-friendly pal Ally, but for civility sake, it might be a good idea to mention that ethnic slurs are a far greater pox on society than impersonating someone on a blog. Priorities, I suppose.
Judging by your response, I assume that if I were to refer to Mexicans and blacks by the above referenced cottonpicker and wetback, you would keep mum.
September 26th, 2005 at 10:56:02 am
Sigh, it is unfortunate this post needed to made — but it did and it was well said.
I agree whole heartedly with Brendan on this post.
I’ve been around on this blog from it’s formative first steps; I have engaged in vigorous comment discussions — discussions that have devolved to pitched battles and snipping back and forth and I have instigated the devolution of discussions as well as pleaded for the level of discourse be raised; however, despite my disagreements and squabbling with Andrew and others things never got as bad as they are now.
Coach Leahy, I’m afraid you do not understand the situation as well as you think. I have been arguing with Andrew for years now and he has never been tentative in his comments. And he has often been chided and admonished for his bad behavior — as have almost all the regular commentors on this site; I have never know Brendan to play favorites — he has no qualms about calling a spade a spade.
That being said, I think it is high time everyone take a nice deep breath, relax, calm down, have some dip, and then comment.
September 26th, 2005 at 11:31:18 am
Wow see what happens when I dont log on for a few days.:) I happen to enjoy most everyones posts, although I havent looked at the ones from the past couple of days. I think I can learn from everyone on here, as well can everyone else, maybe we can all look at it this way.
September 26th, 2005 at 11:47:15 am
The internet is like a giant city. It has everthing one could possibly want, from shopping, sports, games, music, knoweldge, art, and a red-light district. Just like real life, there are scam artists and people looking to hurt you, and well as people looking to share stories and knowledge. One great thing about the internet is you can access much of it quickly and safely.
Using the metpahor of a city, where does BrendanLoy.com fit in? I would suggest it is the after-work happy hour bar. It does a decent lunch business, has the plasma TVs with the most current news (mostly weather & politics), a friendly bartender / proprietor who frequently has an interesting story to tell, and generally a good group of regulars always up for some lively debate.
Every now and then, some one - either a regular or someone who comes in from time to time - has a little too much to drink, and forgets this isn’t the honkey-tonk biker bar, gun and knife club down the street. When that happens, the bouncers need to give them a friendly reminder that the after-work crowd doesn’t appreciate this kind of behavior and they should move on, perhaps even giving them a sugestion of where they would be more welcome. This is what has happened today.
Going forward, if everyone were to think about how they want to act in this bar (it’s actually Brendan’s bar, but the regulars set the tone), we can have a place where we all enjoy hanging out.
September 26th, 2005 at 11:55:05 am
Russell, I just have to say that was quite eloquent. Brendan, you should try and work the bar analogy into your comment guidelines.
Hmm, I need to think of something else to say so this is not just a “me too” comment. But I said everything I really needed to say before, so umm, I guess — me too…
September 26th, 2005 at 12:02:59 pm
I am glad someone brought this to Brendan’s attention because he has been busy elsewhere and I did not want to preocupy him with the state of the comment section while he mourns and job hunts.
September 26th, 2005 at 12:06:42 pm
To the happy hour analogy I might add that when we end up in the heated arguments that border–or spill over into–the uncivil, a couple beers to mellow us out would not be a bad idea.. :)
September 26th, 2005 at 12:08:52 pm
Leahy, you still dont seem to get that YOU are probably the biggest problem around here, not because of your opinions necessarilly but because of how you act. The fact that you accuse the rest of us of being such trouble when a quick trip through the archives will clearly show that you are the one who more often then not resorts to ad hominem attacks, belittling comments, etc. well if you expect anyone here to take your complaints seriously you need a serious reality check.
While its true that some of us have been around longer than others, it is also true that in the pre-Katrina days we still had new commenters come in, commenters who have stuck around and commenters who have left.
The problems however really and truly started more recently when the influx of new readers brought with it a few tasteless rif-raf like yourself who have managed to avoid civility in the vast majority of your interaction here.
As for the steerage comment, apparently you don’t understand your history very well. Steerage did not refer specifically to any one ethnic group, steerage was where the lower class, the rif-raf so to speak were kept on the ship. Heck, watch Titanic and you’ll see that. While it is true that many poor Irish were often relegated to steerage class, its not like they were the only ones.
Alasdair may be a lot of things, and if you ask me, most of them won’t be complimentary, but I don’t think i have ever seen him be racist. Me thinks you doth protest too much.
But hey, thanks for the laugh, its amusing to watch YOU call people like us the problem. Its a delicious irony.
September 26th, 2005 at 12:21:11 pm
Coach, perhaps this is their way of saying it’s time for you and I to find another village where we are more welcome, which is fine by me. There is so much more that can be accomplished without the petty squables. The Samurai and the farmers can never live together.
I’m off to search the web for a new adventure.
September 26th, 2005 at 12:30:50 pm
Russell,
I have a different analogy. Brendanloy.com is like the unpopular kid’s dorm room on a Friday night. Lots of know it all sausage (KIA’s), the occasional average/ugly chick dropping by who’s revered by the geeks (Queen of the Tools, if you will). She’s friendly enough, but mainly because her personality is what makes her friends, unlike the hot chicks who can act as they please. Bea most likely fits this description.
The KIA’s, spiteful that they are sitting around eating pizza and watching LOTR while the rest of campus attends parties, socializes and gets laid, develops a warped sense of superiority regarding the in crowd (and by in crowd, I mean the other 80% of the campus). Not only do the KIA’s revile the in crowd because they have what they don’t, they convince themselves that the KIA lifestyle is superior, as if rehashing Harry Potter books, worshipping the Queen of the Tools, and eating greasy food is some kind of Nirvana.
When one of the in crowd feels bad for these KIA’s, he or she stops by to chat. (note that if it’s a she, the Queen will watch her like a hawk, for clearly any female member of the in crowd is a threat to the Queen’s hegemony). The in crowd person finds some of the banter amusing, while at the same time wondering how it’s possible to memorize every line of the LOTR trilogy and the Hobbit (or why the f*ck they would bother to do it even if it was possible).
After a couple of snide remarks by the KIA’s regarding the superiority of geek lifestyle, the in crowd member rightfully challenges this warped worldview. Whereupon the geeks set upon her/him, pouring out 20-24 years of pent up frustration at their lot in life. The fact that such venom erupts from a self professed “happy” crowd is not lost on the shocked in-crowder. She recoils in horror at the pettiness of the KIA’s and the Queen.
Free of the presence of a well adjusted member of society, the KIA’s and the Queen are free to resume normal activity.
So, Russell, whaddya think?
September 26th, 2005 at 12:38:38 pm
I grow weary of being accused of impersonating people from last Friday. Brendan, your failure to exonerate me in this respect is disappointing, and extremely prejudicial.
“Let’s not bicker and argue ’bout who killed who.”
Seriously, I don’t think I ever accused you specifically of impersonating me, I basically lumped you, A&A, and Champion Sound together and figured it was one of you guys. If you bristle so at the accusation, then perhaps you ought to consider the “steerage” you often travel with. Brendan could probably have looked at IP addressed to find out who it was, but the point of this post was not to place blame, accuse, or exonerate.
If we’re going to use the bar analogy, we need the tap flowing. And where are the busty waitresses?
By the way, Leahy, I have personally hiked to the peak of Mt. Sinai, and while I didn’t find any engraved stone tablets or misty Yahwehs (just a few Bedouin charging up the ass for a warm cup of tea and a blanket), I did find a nice desert sunrise. Anyway. If I was wrong more often, I might hesitate about being so strongly proclamative. And back to the bar analogy, you need to lay off the whine. I hear whiners are even less appreciated than us arrogant bastards.
September 26th, 2005 at 12:40:47 pm
I am the ugly queen of bloy.com and you are the unwelcome asshole. We like the way we live, so f*ck off if you do not like Brendan’s room, I apparently have enough men to worship me already anywyas :)
September 26th, 2005 at 12:44:20 pm
Please. The idea that Brendan doesn’t criticize his own for being offensive is laughable on its face. The person most regularly criticized for bad behavior in the comment section is Andrew, Brendan’s soon-to-be best man (for the very good reason that he’s one of the most likely to be out of line). Other than in the past week, next up is probably Becky, Brendan’s fiance, and she’s most often chided by Brendan himself because of her preference for being provocative. Alasdair, David, dcl, Toni, Charles, Sean, josh, Patrick, and even Brendan’s own parents have been admonished for inappropriate comments. Brendan’s also accepted criticism that he’s been out of line in his own statements, and has apologized for some of them. To the best of my recollection, the only pre-Katrina commenters to escape those specific criticisms have been Bea, Scientizzle, and me, which I presume is because we’re the least likely to become emotional in our writing, and consequently the least likely to become offensive in the heat of the moment–though if anyone can demonstrate otherwise, feel free to do so. I admit that with the archives being semi-crippled, I’m just working from memory. Of the new crowd, I think it’s primarily Peter and Brenda who haven’t been criticized for their behavior by anyone, but remarkably few people have actually been criticized directly by Brendan of late, as he’s just been too busy to deal with it. To say that Brendan’s unwilling to criticize his own associates for things he chides other for is just foolish, as it’s demonstratably not true.
Oh, and Brendan as the unpopular kid with social rejects for friends and Bea ruling it over all with her feminine wiles and feeling threatened by any other female who comes in sight? Classy, coach. And spot on accurate, too. If there’s one descriptor of Brendan that comes to mind easily, it’s that he’s massively unpopular and that no one outside his little clique of losers gets along with him. I am so glad to see that such analysis displays your status as a well-adjusted member of society…
September 26th, 2005 at 12:45:51 pm
Wow Leahy, you hit the nail on the head! We’re all geeks, nerds, and dorks! Brilliant observation! Any other bright insights you wish to share with us? Perhaps next you’ll tell us the sky is blue, or the sun rises in the East?
While I certainly disagree with your description of my girlfriend as the “average/ugly chick dropping by who’s revered by the geeks (Queen of the Tools, if you will)”, I’m happy to know that your talents extend to judging physical beauty of commenters through HaloScan. I think there might be a market out there for someone with those skills. Why don’t you go look into it?
September 26th, 2005 at 12:52:38 pm
I assume LOTR is Lord of the Rings - the Hobbit reference gave it away.
I understand that in your metaphor, you view yourself as an ‘in-crowder’ stumbling upon a dorm room full of know it all, fantasy movie watching, pent-up frustrated b/c of their role men and a lone female friend.
Is the female friend lashing out at your to start a cat-fight? Is she afraid you will open up their eyes that she is not attractive? I cannot follow her relevance.
Setting her aside, your role in the metaphor is to occasionally poke your head in and rattle their sense of the world. To what ends? What do you seek to accomplish? Are you trying to steal their girl? Is it that they actually posses some small world smugness that grates on you?
Whether a bar or a dorm-room, to a certain extent it’s irrelevant. Whether the people inside are mature adults in a classy bar, or kids watching the sci-fi (or The Weather) channel in a dorm room, it’s their hang-out and they are entitled to respect in their ‘castle’.
September 26th, 2005 at 12:58:26 pm
Excellent analogy Coach. For you folks to consider yourselves in any other manner is ridiculous. You are all geeks and nerds of one stripe or another. Before you get offended, let me point out that this characteriztion is not meant to be an insult; I’ve got no problem with geeks and nerds, some of my friends and family would fit into these categories very nicely. What I do have a problem with is the overwhelming sense of self-importance that is pervasive on this blog. The firm belief that your opinions and ideas are somehow important to anyone other than yourselves is completely without basis. If regurgitating partyline politics is what constitutes “debate” around here then you would be better served listening to Rush or Air America, where you can be reassured that your point of view is the right one. I find it hilarious that you are all so quick to jump down Leahy’s throat and blame him for everything that’s ever gone wrong on this blog. Why? Because he is one of the few people who will regularly call bullsh*t on grandstanding from people of any and every political stripe and is therefore the enemy of all self-important jackasses, regardless of political affiliation. Good work Coach. The fact that you seem to have riled everyone around here is very much a point in your favor. For the record, I was the one who impersonated both Andrew and Texican. If you wish to ban me for doing so, feel free. However, non-partisans (if ther are any) will agree that my posts under their names were far more entertaining than anything they have posted themselves. If I am not banned, I promise to refrain from hijacking other people’s “personalities” (to the extent that any of you actually have one) in the future, not because I believe it to be the heinous crime that the rest of you seem to, but because Brendan has asked me to do so and he is one of the few people on this blog worthy of any kind of respect (based on his Katrina efforts). The true value of this blog is in the disaster and weather information that it provides and the regulars would do well to remember that the next time they start thinking that they are the reason that people come here.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:00:13 pm
Incidentally, Andrew does raise a legitimate point that we *are* almost all nerds, geeks, dorks, or some combination thereof. We also know that, make no pretense that we aren’t, and for the most part are rather unashamed of it (see descriptors in the left-hand column on the home page which involve phrases such as “proud fellow nerd”). But just because we’re nerds/geeks/dorks doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re losers with no social skills and are massively unpopular, nor that we consider ourselves superior to people with different interests and hobbies than our own. People don’t actually have to be two dimensional stereotypes, as much as certain others would prefer that to be the case.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:00:41 pm
To the best of my recollection, the only pre-Katrina commenters to escape those specific criticisms have been Bea, Scientizzle, and me, which I presume is because we’re the least likely to become emotional in our writing
I don’t think it’s a matter of emotion. Bea is a far more emotional person than I am. I think if you knew me in person rather than through bloy.com, you’d be a bit surprised about the inaccuracy of your assessment. I get labeled stoic and unemotional more than anything else, except people who know me well also know that I am a few other things as well: When it comes to comedy, I’m easily amused and laugh a lot; I get totally into sports games; I’m a very happy and chummy fellow when I’m drinking; and sappy movies tend to make me tear up a bit (I deny the accusation that said tears are a ploy to sucker my dates into letting me get into their pants).
Anyway, I think it comes down to the simple fact that, rhetorically speaking, I like to smack people upside the head when they’re being stupid, and I get in trouble for it. You and Scientizzle are more inclined to cite the facts and calmly point out the error of their ways. Different styles is all.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:05:10 pm
What I do have a problem with is the overwhelming sense of self-importance that is pervasive on this blog. The firm belief that your opinions and ideas are somehow important to anyone other than yourselves is completely without basis.
Actually Champion, having spent my first career briefly in politics, I am quite aware of the concept of futility. I’m well aware that, no matter how right I am usually, the world will hum along stupidly anyways no matter what I say. I’m just trying to figure out why you think your opinion matters….
September 26th, 2005 at 1:05:36 pm
Champion, you just dont get it do you? Brendan, and everyone else, really, calls everyone on their bullshit ALL THE TIME around here. We are all probably confortable being called nerds and geeks, even ugly queen geek :) but this ongoing criticism that the bloy.com community cannot smell its own shit is unfounded. It is not that it never got unvivl around here, that David and Andrew did not have foods fights, that somehow all was peachy until Katrina rif raf showed up. It is that some of the new commenters are even more uncivil and more nasty (yes, the bestiality comments in the middle of policy discussion are just not right) than the old commenters. Which, quite frankly it is hard to believe, considering we have had plenty of showdowns and ferocious name-calling pre Katrina. Not one person here shares the same views on everything, so why you think your political views are rocking this boat is beyond me.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:11:11 pm
I am far more emotional than Andrew, which is not saying much, since pretty much anyone can be far more emotional than the stoic Mr. Long. I am often too rational for my own good sometimes, and I certainly try to avoid emotion ruining my arguments on bloy.com. If I sound emotional, it is probably the latin coming out, feisty and loud, but I cannot help myself :) I was born to be dramatic!
September 26th, 2005 at 1:15:22 pm
Queen Bea,
You don’t get it. Read Champion’s post. He’s not espousing a particular political view. He’s reinforcing the principle that I live by, which is that ideologues on both sides are full of it. Any partisan b.s. stinks, regardless of which side it’s coming from. And that particular talent that I have, calling you political hacks from both sides on your bs, is why you revile me. Queen Bea, you just latched on to an argument that wasn’t there and used it to attack Champion
Well, that and the fact that I can’t name one f*cking Harry Potter book, you tools.
Champion, for what it’s worth, your Andrew and Texican posts were not only more entertaining than anything either of them has ever penned, but no doubt more closely reflect the inner demons that they wrestle with every day.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:17:01 pm
ps- these sentences are best read together…
And that particular talent that I have, calling you political hacks from both sides on your bs, is why you revile me. Well, that and the fact that I can’t name one f*cking Harry Potter book, you tools.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:19:00 pm
Heh. Does anyone here (with the obvious and reasonable exception of Brendan) think that they’re the reason that most people visit this site? Anyone? I certainly don’t. But Champion, you’re making the mistake of assuming that your opinion in an objective fact when you talk about what the true value of this blog is. The weather and disaster information is certainly an aspect of it, but it’s not all there is to this site. There are others who primarily value this site for the debates, either to participate in or to watch. There are others who use it primarily to keep up to date on Brendan’s life. And I’m sure there are still others who use it for entierly different reasons than what I’ve listed above. Just because it’s not what you see as valuable doesn’t mean that it isn’t valuable to others. And also, why are you so sure that we think our opinions are valuable to others outside of the debating group? Perhaps we only think that the others in that circle care what we think, but that that makes it worthwhile to write out our thoughts anyway. You make a similar mistake in believing your opinion to be an objective fact when you state that any non-partisan would agree that your impersonations were more entertaining than the comments made by those you were impersonating–given that humor is inherently subjective, you’re basically defining as non-partisan all those who agree with you.
Fundamentally, few people here have a big problem having their statements attacked–if they did, they’d be unlikely to get along with Brendan, as he’s argued with just about everyone. But some of us, at least, see a difference between that and going after someone personally, and that’s what riles us. Andrew does both–and gets called out regularly for doing the latter–but there have been a growing number of attacks that are entirely personal and not at all in regards to the points or positions, and from more than just him. Brendan will call anyone on those times he feels either they’re out of line or their argument is flawed, and people have hardly ganged up on him for it. The same applies to me. Essentially, the methodology matters.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:30:07 pm
So, Coach, why do you stick around if we are a bunch of self-important nerds chanting party talking points, unchallaged by anyone, why do you waist your time here? This is not a Harry Potter secret password private club, just a window into Brendan’s life. If you are not ready to play by his rules then why bother to visit? We were having our own food fights well before you came along, as any brief perusal of the archived comment sections would atest to. Many new people have stumbled onto bloy.com and stayed. This is not the first time an influx of new commenters has shown up. Back when Pope JPII passed away and we we were having a lot of Catholic-related discussions we had a lot of new people show up, and despite things getting heated, we went on in our own marry way. Why do you think we never challenged each other’s arguments before? Why do you think Brendan does not have the balls to take on anyone’s argument?
September 26th, 2005 at 1:38:35 pm
When did I say Loy has no balls?
My point: it’s foolish to devote numerous paragraphs in order to chastize folks for “impersonating” others and claim that it has contributed to a reduction in civility without also mentioning that perhaps we should refrain from ethnic slurs… As if internet impersonation is a more insidious problem than bigotry.
Again, Bea, what are you talking about?
September 26th, 2005 at 1:41:49 pm
Hmm, superior feelings to the “in crowd”? Well, if you count bemused horror at a pair of frat boys that felt the need to chase shots of Grey Goose vodka with Coors Light at a going away party we were having for a roommate — well then I suppose your right. Actually, when you think about it, it is really rather funny that a pair of frat boys can’t take a shot.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:46:28 pm
I know I hardly comment, but I often refresh this site many times a day just to see what has been posted and to read the (mostly) interesting debates that have occurred over the year I’ve been reading this blog. Between the great hurricane coverage to the occasional joke posts (for some reason the Britney drinking picture comes to mind) to the multitude of other discussions (gay rights, abortion, etc), this place has always been a refuge from the mundane world of corporate america. I also come here to keep in touch/learn about some people from Newington that I would have no other way of communicating with.
Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, it seems like there have been more personal attacks against specific individuals for whatever reason. I’m not placing any blame, but there were posts last week that had more fbombs dropped than a bunch of drunken sailors. Maybe it is because there are so many new people and we haven’t had time to adjust to each person’s sense of humor/style?
Just to throw it out there, but might it be time to eliminate “anonymous” postings?
Finally, Coach, for crying out loud, give up the racial/ethnic slur comment. He said it one time. You make it seem like Alasdair is the grandwizard himself.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:48:08 pm
dcl,
Clearly you are a man among men. Anyone who brags about their alcohol consumption prowess is clearly someone in whose company I long to be.
I take it your point is that fraternity members cannot drink a lot. If so, I agree wholeheartedly. They are girlie men, surely.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:50:25 pm
Mike,
I assure you the that appellation “steerage” has appeared nearly a dozen times. Not that it matters, as I’ve stated before I’m not personally offended, since I’m not Irish.
What I won’t countenace is hypocrisy.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:53:34 pm
Coach, I did not say YOU said Loy has no balls. I am saying that those who feel attacked by Brendan’s call to order are implying that Brendan does not challenge his own friends, does not call them on their bs, the way he does new commenters. This accusation is unfounded and untrue (too bad ther ei sno archives up and running to disprove it). THAT is what I mean. If you do not agree with this accusation I feel has been levied agaisnt Brendan, then by all means, reasure us that you think Brendan is willing and able to challenge anyone who is uncivil or toxic or contrarian, from Andrew and Becky (his best mand and fiancee) to any no name poster or new commer who shows up, and that he is not blind to the smell of shit from his own friends.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:55:48 pm
The one point that you all seem to be missing is that I don’t think that my opinion is particularly important. Take it or leave it, I don’t care. I don’t expect to change anyone’s opinion on anything around these parts. I am actually one of the few people around here who has:
1) Admitted that they weren’t always right, or didn’t know enough about a certain subject to offer a valid opinion.
2) Apologized for their behavior and acknowledged that they may have stepped over the line periodically.
Not too bad for “riff-raff”. Meanwhile, all of the regulars continue to point fingers at everyone except for themselves. I don’t doubt that there are a few people that actually come here to read or take part in these “debates”, but they are certainly not the reason that Brendan ended up on CNN, are they?
September 26th, 2005 at 1:59:21 pm
Champion Sound,
I admit that your feaux postings were entertaining.Certainly they were far more entertaining than anything I could’ve or would’ve come up with if left to my own devices.
And I apologize to Coach Leahy for thinking ill of him. But I don’t know of these “inner demons” of which you speak. Just because someone has a differeent opinion than you doesn’t mean we wrestle with inner demons.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:01:03 pm
Huh? Champion, we are well aware that we are imperfect debaters who often fall prey to name calling. Nobody has thus far claimed being above anyone else, or excused the regulars of engaging in food fighting. Brendan ended up on CNN because he did an awsome covegare of the hurracane, and nobody here is claiming otherwise. I was not sure if you were implying that any one of us thought he made it big because of our outstanding policy debates? hahahhaha.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:08:52 pm
Can’t we all just get along?
September 26th, 2005 at 2:09:12 pm
Nobody has thus far claimed being above anyone else
No? So the constant reference to “riff-raff” and “steerage” is not meant to imply that you (the “regulars”, not just yourself) are above the likes of Leahy and myself?
September 26th, 2005 at 2:10:21 pm
Bea, you big beautiful hunk of lady, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to you and everyone else on this blog for my occassionally disrepectful tone. In the future, I promise to be serious, respectful, on-point and interesting. But please, for the love of God, Brendan, let me stay. I can do better. So much better. You won’t be disappointed.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:13:19 pm
I would add, for the record, that my issues is not that anyone is resorted to name calling in place of an argument (nothing new here) but that the comment section looks more like, as Brendan aptly put it, an AOL chat room than like bloy.com. If the new commenters who feel attacked and offended by this criticism cannot tell the difference bewteen an AOL chat room and bloy.com pre-Katrina, and cannot understand the difference of that complaint to complaining of arguments that escalate into personal attacks without rhyme or reason, then, uhm, I have nothing mroe to add.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:15:02 pm
Why is everyone engaged in this debate? It’s mindless finger-pointing and waiving like this that has to make Brendan feel like he is hosting gymboree in his bar (or dorm room, whichever metaphor you prefer).
September 26th, 2005 at 2:18:14 pm
Bea,
Per usual, you are dead on the mark. That’s why I come here. It is a step up in class from an AOL chat room. It is a haven for intelligent discussion. It rocks.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:18:48 pm
Coach, you misunderstood my comment. It tends to happen when I attempt to be pithy — I really should know better by now. Frat boys can and do drink a lot, they do not know how to drink well was rather the point I was making. (Also, a fair share of them don’t handle the amount they drink well)
No one in their right mind would think you need to chase top shelf vodka with the cheapest beer imaginable — and yet they did it.
I don’t really drink much, and when I do, I generally find the practice of doing shots to be rather asinine and pointless (there are some good shots out there, but many of them are rather complicated, and take a lot of experience to mix just right.) — this is generally because I tend to prefer the types of alcohol that can be sipped and don’t need to be taken as a shot to get it down. That I know the difference, and can tell the difference, between different brands and qualities of alcohol know which modifiers go well with them, and what mixers to use, and to what purpose does not mean I like to drink a lot. I’m far more bar tender than drinker.
On the other hand, frat boys are use to cheep booze to get trashed of their assess, and, as anecdotally demonstrated, do not know what to do when faced with decent alcohol.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:22:47 pm
What I mean is, nobody is claiming they are sooo above everyone else that they deny engaging in unbecoming behavior. Some of the “regulars” offer some vitriolic name calling here and there, and nobody is denying this. You and others seem to imply we think we the regulars have never thown a stone or a tantrum at bloy.com, or that we come unequipped with a bullshit meter that works on the regulars. Some of you even think we are so self important that THE WORLD–as opposed to the rest of the bloy.com community–cares what we say on bloy.com. If you really knew any of us, you would know that most of us do not give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks about us :) (as is documented in the comments). Maybe you did not imply, and I infered :) but it seems pretty clear that some of you out there think WE think WE are above reproach, hahahha. To the contrary, we could barely handle the level of uncivility we sometimes experienced pre-Katrina, and we are trying to save bloy.com from plunging into the depths of a cheap cess pool of a public forum.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:24:34 pm
Rusell is right, we are becoming part of the problem. I am going back to work.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:26:50 pm
Texican,
You took my appropriation of your identity very well. While I may not agree with you politically, I certainly respect the fact that you are able to laugh at yourself and appreciate a good, or bad, as the case may be, joke. Considering the fact that what I wrote when I posted as you was much more offensive than what I wrote when I posted as Andrew, your ability to take it in stride says much about your level of maturity and humility. An opponent who copes so well when confronted with such underhanded tactics is a worthy foe indeed.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:32:40 pm
Bea and Rusell are correct, it is getting on time to lay this thread to rest, lest it get ugly.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:40:18 pm
Oh come on guys, don’t give up now, we are already halfway to 100!
September 26th, 2005 at 2:46:21 pm
Before I order the calamari appetizer at Brendan’s Happy Hour Pub, a couple of things…
1. Alasdair–quit using “steerage,” it ain’t particularly amusing and it’s clearly an issue for some. [I, honestly, had little knowledge of its potential implications, nor do I think it’s a big deal.] An apology isn’t necessary, just take the high road out o’ the pissing match…I think we’re all ready to get over this.
2. I don’t mind the new blood here. Often they’re funny; occasionally they’ve been insightful. Sophomoric humor and ad hominem attacks aren’t new or unusual here, but previously they were generally confined to single comment threads.
3. I’m all for funny comments, but I’d prefer some measure of deference for academic debate. Thread hijacking can be exceedingly frustrating even if you’re as funny as friggin’ Lenny Bruce.
4. Notre Dame is totally overrated.
5. Thanks, Champion Sound, for owning up to the counterfeit comments. I respect your honesty. I didn’t think your comments were particularly funny, more confusing-as-hell than amusing. You shouldn’t be banned (and I doubt you will) but that kind of action is about as serious an offence as one can commit in a semi-anonymous, quasi-professional, sorta-personal environment. Mostly, it’s not very gentlemanly.
6. I really want to know what jalypso smokes–that cat writes some funny shiznit. I’m vexed, really.
7. I am a nerd. A socially-adept, funny science freak. I’ve been a “regular” here for about a year because I’ve enjoyed the academic debates of folks of many stripes as well as a good deal of irreverent humor. We can all do better to foster the intellectual, creative and freak-nasty hilarious interpersonal relationships in this forum.
8. Brendan, I’ll take whatever IPA you’ve got on tap to go with my fried squid. Thanks.
September 26th, 2005 at 2:54:09 pm
Scientizzle,
Why don’t you take a seat next to Mohammed and Jugdish.
September 26th, 2005 at 3:22:53 pm
Brendan is toughest on his best man.
He is next toughest on his fiancee.
I will tell you all that he is VERY tough on his own mother when she behaves assholishly, but he has the charity to take most of it off the blog.
What a response Brendan’s suggestion/inquiry generated! 58 (now 59) responses so quickly! That says something. I guess we all would not agree on what that is.
Love,
Mom
September 26th, 2005 at 3:24:34 pm
We can all do better to foster the intellectual, creative and freak-nasty hilarious interpersonal relationships in this forum.
I’d like to see that. Seriously.
As for the funniness, or lack thereof, of my hijacking others’ identities, it wasn’t actually meant to be funny. It’s definitely the metaphorical turd-in-the-punchbowl of blogging etiquette, but it tends to be an effective means of finding out a little more about the general personalities of your fellow bloggers; those who can take it in their stride clearly aren’t taking themselves, or anything else too seriously. However, those who treat it as some sort of crime against humanity are clearly taking themselves and the blog way too seriously. After all, it’s not like I stole someone’s credit card number; I assumed someone’s identity on a blog, and in a manner so inconsistent with their general posts that it should be all too obvious to anyone who knows them that it’s a fake post. What’s the harm, really? I mean, come on, did anyone really believe that was Andrew?
However, as stated previously, I will respect Brendan’s wishes and refrain from any such behavior in the future.
September 26th, 2005 at 3:28:04 pm
Scientizzle - you offer a provocative challenge …
I respect the office that is head by a coach, teaching and training and mentoring … for my lights, “Coach” is a term of respect … so I don’t use it lightly …
Since I am being politely asked to reconsider my use of the S-word for one specific individual - Leahy - then my challenge is to find another conceptually-related word like the S-word to convey that slope of respect from First Class to “Coach” to ???
After all, I do not want to be niggardly in my praise of Leahy …
So … after much consideration … how about stand-by Leahy ? Does anyone have any objection to *that* for ethnic or religious or other reasons ?
The S-word that I was using does have the Titanic implications that another commenter referenced - I almost used that allusion, too, but my logorrhea is already pronounced, so I chose a different refrain …
And, like you, I am proud of my status as a Computer Geek from WAY back … as is anyone who could and can both insert and delete characters into punched card statements …
Oh - and before Joe makes the obvious comment - the High Road is the ONLY one to take in a pissin’ contest ! (Laws of Gravity, dontcha know !)
September 26th, 2005 at 3:42:20 pm
Count Alasdair,
I have it on good authority that all members of the European aristocracy regularly traffic on internet blogs. Give my love to Monte Carlo…
September 26th, 2005 at 3:46:14 pm
Champion Sound,
I certainly do not take life so serious as to let something like this upset me greatly. Besides, all of the banter had the extra benefit of agitating Coach Leahy. That in and of itself made it all worth the price of admission.
Let’s face it, most people have valid reasons for believing as they do politically. None of us are apt to change anybody elses minds, no matter how reasonable we feel our thinking to be. So why not just have some fun with it.
I save most of my really serious comments to keep the wife in her place anyhow!
(sarcasm alert for above comment)
September 26th, 2005 at 3:47:15 pm
Tough on his own Mom? Methinks Joe should be in charge of handling that…Perhaps a cuff to the head is in order for the ungrateful lad.
September 26th, 2005 at 3:50:34 pm
Texican,
If you think I’ve been agitated, you’ve gravely misunderstood my purpose here…
September 26th, 2005 at 3:55:22 pm
Champion, if you were up on stage roasting me with your impersonations, perhaps that might be funny, but in the middle of a semi-serious policy debate? Not so amusing. And that’s especially true when it just doesn’t fit. I mean, in order for something to be funny, it has to have some element of truth to it, and your characterization of me had very little. Coach Leahy was onto something much more promising with his Sinai comment.
There are quite a few ways to lampoon me successfully, but suffice it to say you haven’t stumbled upon one of them yet.
September 26th, 2005 at 4:13:58 pm
Champion, if you were up on stage roasting me with your impersonations, perhaps that might be funny, but in the middle of a semi-serious policy debate? Not so amusing. And that’s especially true when it just doesn’t fit. I mean, in order for something to be funny, it has to have some element of truth to it, and your characterization of me had very little.
As for the funniness, or lack thereof, of my hijacking others’ identities, it wasn’t actually meant to be funny. It’s definitely the metaphorical turd-in-the-punchbowl of blogging etiquette, but it tends to be an effective means of finding out a little more about the general personalities of your fellow bloggers; those who can take it in their stride clearly aren’t taking themselves, or anything else too seriously. However, those who treat it as some sort of crime against humanity are clearly taking themselves and the blog way too seriously. After all, it’s not like I stole someone’s credit card number; I assumed someone’s identity on a blog, and in a manner so inconsistent with their general posts that it should be all too obvious to anyone who knows them that it’s a fake post. What’s the harm, really? I mean, come on, did anyone really believe that was Andrew?
September 26th, 2005 at 4:16:52 pm
Once again, the reading comprehension skills of those back here shine on.
To paraphrase that exchange
Champion: Andrew, I wasn’t trying to be funny.
Andrew: But it wasn’t funny!
Champion (gently patting Andrew’s head): There, there, boy. Now run along and try to stay out of traffic.
September 26th, 2005 at 4:18:03 pm
Mr. Coach Leahy,
It’s not so much that I have misunderstood your purpose here. It’s more that I really don’t have any interest in your purpose here. The only thing that I am concerned with are my purposes here.
The great thing about blogs is that they can have different meanings to anyone who reads/comments on them. Yours may be changing the world/pointing out hypocracies/whatever.
Mine is entertainment. I use these forums to provide a brief respite from my workday. Even if it is with Champion Sound lampooning me, it is still entertaining. I get to have all sorts of worldviews to read and rejoice in.
I find great joy in reading your many self-tighteous postings. If that can somehow be ratcheted up a notch, then I am pleased and entertained by it.
Is that so wrong?
September 26th, 2005 at 4:24:29 pm
No? So the constant reference to “riff-raff” and “steerage” is not meant to imply that you (the “regulars”, not just yourself) are above the likes of Leahy and myself?
Based on your behavior I would classify most of the people who post here, new and old as above you. It has absolutely nothing to do with how long you have been posting, but instead the manner in which you have chosen to represent yourselves.
As has been pointed out above, no one is claiming perfection here. People have come and gone before you showed up, and they will continue to come and go. Those who can raise themselves above the level of a 3 year old will be welcomed, regardless of their views.
It seems to me the only people here who are really acting as if they are above anyone are those who are trying to belittle the rest of us, tell Brendan (and the rest of us) how this site should be, and act as if they are somehow entitled to a respect that frankly they haven’t earned.
September 26th, 2005 at 4:25:53 pm
Texican,
You appear to have a healthy attitude regarding this blog, and far be it from me to challenge your worldview. I merely meant to correct any misapprehension you had that I was upset or agitated.
Hint: Our “purposes” are not dissimilar.
Hint 2: I don’t give a rat’s ass about changing the world. The world is skullf*cked already, the best we can do is laugh at it while it goes down…
September 26th, 2005 at 4:36:20 pm
Based on your behavior I would classify most of the people who post here, new and old as above you.
Thanks, Davie, that means a lot to me. You people are so friendly and welcoming that it’s a bit overwhelming….sorry, it’s hard to type when I’m all choked up like this. The fact that a self-important 23 year old humorless jerk-off like yourself considers me below him is truly gratifying. If I have managed to get under your skin, and I so clearly have, then all of my time here has been worthwhile. Your insults are like kisses on my brow. They are delicious and soothing. I find that people who are quick to put themselves above others are the best kind of people. Think about it, there’s the white supremacists, fundamentalists of all stripes, the Third Reich; you are indeed in glorious company my friend. I will avert my eyes when I address you in the future.
September 26th, 2005 at 4:38:31 pm
David,
Like the proverbial fart in the conference room, you’ve just undone a day’s worth of detente on behalf of your fellow old school posters. At least you’re honest though. Most of them don’t have the stones to admit that they think they are better than the new folks.
You don’t seem constrained by traditional notions of egotism and d*ckery. For that, I applaud you. Embrace your special abilities and see where they take you, son.
One possible destination:
http://www.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/default.htm
September 26th, 2005 at 4:48:41 pm
Coach, you do realize that you are basically the first commentor I thought about when I read Brendan’s original post, right? I think I wasn’t the only one either…
September 26th, 2005 at 4:49:19 pm
It seems to me the only people here who are really acting as if they are above anyone are those who are trying to belittle the rest of us, tell Brendan (and the rest of us) how this site should be, and act as if they are somehow entitled to a respect that frankly they haven’t earned.
(eyes averted)
It seems to me that the only people telling Brendan how to run the blog are whiny little p*ssies like yourselves. I have perhaps criticized some of the “regulars” (god forbid!), but I haven’t criticized Brendan, or how he runs this blog. If you came away with a different idea after reading my posts, then I would recommend enrolling in a remedial reading class, because your comprehension level is obviously very low. As for respect, if it must be earned, then none of the regulars have earned it yet. Why in the hell should I show you, or any of the other whining nancy boy regulars any respect? Because some of you are Brendan’s friends? Like I give a f*ck. You have repeatedly referred to myself and others as “riff-raff”, you have indicated more than once that you don’t take any argument that doesn’t come from one of your number seriously and you have repeatedly stated that you are “above” me. What in the world about any of that should I respect? I don’t respect smug know-it-all pr*cks who place themselves above everyone else and I never will. As for my earning your respect, I believe that if I somehow actaully managed to accidentally do that, I might have to commit seppuku to restore my honor. Your respect is something that I neither value nor seek.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:02:26 pm
I would like to point out that few of the regulars are friends WITH each other. Many of us know Brendan and he is our friend, but we are not friends amongst ourselves. The only people I have physically met, from this blog are Andrew, Brendan and Becky. I have never met anyone else, and the same goes for many of those who post here. If anything, this little turf war has managed to put the likes of Andrew, David, Alasdair and Dane on the same page :) wow.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:06:47 pm
Bea,
Of course they are on the same page. They are above us all, just as is their Queen.
I guess it bears repeating, but the fact that I’ve managed to get under the skin of a few self-important pr*cks is a good thing in my book. I take great joy in the fact that many of the regulars trot out that argument as if it were some sort of Leahy kryptonite.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:14:02 pm
How about this: Coach and Champion stop bitching about how regulars dont like them, recognize all theregulars have no qualms about calling everyone else’s bs, and stop posting incendiary crap that leads to pointless posts like this one. Then, we can carry on as we did pre-Katrina, and if Coach and Campion like it they can hang around, and if not they can find a blog that better suits their needs. We will still have the unavoidable food fights and crass jokes, like we always did, but perhaps things will be a little more civil (no bestiality for me, thanks). I think everyone is tired of this little fight so people, just play by Brendan’s rules and move on :)
September 26th, 2005 at 5:14:39 pm
Leahy,
You have truly done your job well. You are the first to be condemned when someone gets their panties in a twist. I think that you have managed to raise the hackles of every humorless sod on this blog. For this, you are to be congratulated on a job well done. Three cheers for the Coach.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:16:07 pm
By the way, Coach, you are not under my skin, you can call me ugly queen if you want, I find it funny and grossly inaccuarate, but to each his own. All I want is for my friend’s website to NOT turn into a dirty, nasty window into his life, and remain the radiant bloy.com that I have enjoyed for well over two years :)
September 26th, 2005 at 5:21:03 pm
Oh, and it is kinda pathetic how much pride you two find in telling us you are here to be assholes and do not care about us.. yet keep coming back and keep posting. You want to make fun of us humorless nerds, but, uhm, you do not get how pahetic you look. I actually quite enjoyed some of my conversations with Coach et al last week, but I felt the level of discourse deteriorating to a new low and that troubled me, not for my ego, but because I do not want Brendan’s pride and joy, his baby, his 24/7 project, to turn into shit. I think most of those commenting here would agree with me, and that is why they find the instrusive crap annoying, not their egos–which surely have taken a bruising before during the regular bloy.com foos fights we are used to having, if these resident egos can ever take such a thing as a brusing :)
September 26th, 2005 at 5:26:20 pm
Bea,
Perhaps you and David can carpool; I have not once bitched about how the regulars don’t like me. I don’t care if you like me. In fact, I consider it a badge of honor that the most humorless and self-righteous tw*ts in these parts can’t stand me. You seem to regularly lump myself and the Coach together and while I think that is about the best company that I could be in on this blog, we are not the same person. I never argued that you guys didn’t bitch at each other just as much as you bitch at us riff-raff. Afterall, on a blog where nearly everyone is right nearly all of the time, there will be some disagreements. As for behaving civilly, I have indicated and shown through my posts that I will reply civilly to those who address me civilly. If you are tired of the “bitching” on this post, I suggest that you move to one of the many other fine posts that Brendan has on offer.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:31:33 pm
Oh, and it is kinda pathetic how much pride you two find in telling us you are here to be assholes and do not care about us.. yet keep coming back and keep posting. You want to make fun of us humorless nerds, but, uhm, you do not get how pahetic you look.
Pathetic to who? To you? Heaven forbid! We keep coming back, much like yourself, who keeps saying how stupid all of this is and then proceeds to post 3 times in 7 minutes about it. Do you realize how pathetic you look?
September 26th, 2005 at 5:35:52 pm
I wasn’t gonna jump in but this thread fascinates me. Leahy, I can’t understand why you get upset at the regulars’ condescension.
(Before this devolves in “I am not upset!” “Are too!” “Am not!” - I’ll try to finish quickly).
I’d never ever host a blog. I’d dread being a regular. Brendan and his buddies have brass balls for maintaining this place - why? Because we’re all a bit like icebergs, the ostensible facts above the surface and the much-larger implications underneath.
Brendan and his friends reveal A LOT of personal information that can easily serve as the basis for speculation about what their lives are really like. Leahy you made some interesting guesses to that extent earlier in this thread, perhaps a few of your bombs were aimed at places that other lurkers might have considered too…
That said, noone here knows a damn thing about you, Leahy. Don’t you prefer that arrangement? Staying hidden doesn’t take as much courage as showing your hand (though god knows I prefer it). I don’t know the basis for the condescension, but if it is because you cover off against any Harry Potter-esque skeletons in your own closet, Leahy, you absolutely deserve such condescension.
That said, please don’t leave the bar. You make things a lot more interesting here.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:35:56 pm
Champion, I will pass. David and I do not really get along all that well. We tolerate each other. But it is telling that David and I can agree that you are annoying. We do not agree on nearly anything else :)
I might look pathetic to you, and I really do not give a shit. All I want is for Brendan’s website notto turn into shit because people like you want to run around being assholes. But my time is wasted with you, you have no respect for Brendan and his website, if you insist on saying all that stuff you are posting, so yeah, I will leave you be. I am not asking you to respect me, I just wish you were not trying to hard to make Brendan’s website such an inhospitable place.
Have a good life.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:38:22 pm
Champion,
I’m glad you picked up on Bea and David’s annoying habit of commingling our posts. While I agree with you that if I were to be confused with another poster, I wish it were you or Swarthy, our arguments are not very similar.
Regardless, they lump us in together and in their feeding frenzy to play “gotcha”, often strike the wrong target. Very similar to that night Andrew thought he was grinding his junk into a drag queen for 3 or 4 hours, only to “discover” that it was merely a muscular woman with hairy arms.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:44:17 pm
This discussion is the crack pipe of blog discourse, it’s ugly, nothing good will come of it, and yet I can’t stop looking. When it’s over, I know it will all be a waste of precious time.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:48:22 pm
Bea - an interesting comparison - Mr CS and stand-by Leahy as a sorta A&D ointment !
(innocent grin)
September 26th, 2005 at 5:49:42 pm
Jazz,
-I shall stay in the dorm room for as long as I’m able.
I’m glad you picked up on what I was laying down above. It’s not my argument strategy to carpet bomb, but rather to use laser guided ordinance, repeatedly. I found my mark, and I think you know it.
You’re missing the point re: condescension.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:53:30 pm
Bea darling,
Please point out the instances of my being an asshole that I have not already apologized for. Are you a Christian? If so, I believe that forgiveness plays a fairly important role in your faith. I have returned fire from yourself and David, but I have not taken the offensive even once on this post. I have reacted to being generally demeaned and disrespected just like anyone else would. Please go ahead and justify your behavior by saying what a jerk I am. I have never been anything but civil to you and I get nothing but bullsh*t in return.
Interesting that you tell me how much you don’t care about my opinion just five minutes after telling me how pathetic I am for saying the same thing. I am beginning to think that you are suffering from some sort of brain damage or disorder. You rarely, if ever, grasp what I am saying in a post and do the exact same thing that you have chastised me for doing not five minutes earlier.
September 26th, 2005 at 5:58:16 pm
Alasdair,
Is there a racial epithet for the British stronger than “limey”? Just curious?
September 26th, 2005 at 6:06:32 pm
Champ,
Actually, I think Alasdair is a Scot. Funny story about them. I used to parry back and forth with an English colleague about the Brits. He joked that the Irish get a bad rap for drinking, considering that rate of alcoholism in Scotland was 6X higher than that of England at the time. His quote: those cheeky bastards would drink the runoff from a North Sea oil platform if they thought it would give them a buzz. Good times.
The Irish- happy drunks.
The Scottish- bitter alcoholics.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:07:55 pm
Wow.
There is not a point to this whole pissing contest.
At least when David, Andrew and I had a war thread, there was a political point. Andrew is still confounded by my logic…and I like it that way.
I called David a barrel full of motherfuckers.
There has been no one more admonished on this blog than me. And when I was wrong or rude, I took my little man pill, took responsibility and said I was sorry for anything out of line I said.
It is time to act like humans.
Be kind to the host, Brendan, and respect his wishes.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:12:09 pm
Champion, sweetie, stop. I had no issue with one commenter in particular, just with the general tone of the blog as of late. That Coach and you thought this complaint–and Brendan’s complaint–was directed at you only led me to think that, yeah, you two thought you were the ones who had turned this blog into an AOL chat room, to use Brendan’s words. I truly do not care what you think of me, and yes it is pathetic that Coach and you keep saying how much your pride yourselves in being contrarian and how we cannot take it–we can, really, you have not met Bekcy yet apaprently, contrarian queen of the blog yet we all love her, hi Becky :)–yet, uhm, you keep coming back. So, what is it going to be? You are going to be an welcome addition to the blog or an annoyance we have to suffer through? That is what this whole dam useless post is all about. For the sake of Brendan’s pet ptoject, I hope it is the former and not the latter. My intial complaint was of bestiality by a racist being a joke. Then today it turned into some diatribe of us humerless nerds cannot take the heat because nobody ever challenged you before and who dare you think anyone cares what you have to say. No, we do not think the world at large gives a shit about our policy debates on bloy.com, but we want it to be a fun place to turn to. You (and Coach) saw Brendan’s request that civility remain and no impersonations be made as a personal atatck on yourselves, and dished out all sorts of crap to go with your sorry ass defense,like your pride inbeing an ass, etc. That sounds like a personal problem to me, my only beef here (hey beef where have you been?) is with the attitude you have displayed today, which is really not a nice development for this blog. But, hey, to each his own. Coach is funnier than you, so please, do not think I cannot tell you apart :)
September 26th, 2005 at 6:16:49 pm
There has been no one more admonished on this blog than me. And when I was wrong or rude, I took my little man pill, took responsibility and said I was sorry for anything out of line I said.
It is time to act like humans.
Be kind to the host, Brendan, and respect his wishes.
Good advice, Chuck. I have done exactly as you have suggested and yet I get nothing but abuse from every quarter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I quite enjoy it actually. Reading peoples’ posts about what an uncivil asshole I am after I have more than once owned up to my bad behavior and even apologized is quite illuminating, especially when it comes from the Christians in the room, who wont let the concept of forgiveness get in the way of a good sh*t slinging.
“Barrel of motherf*ckers”
Excellent, quite excellent.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:22:45 pm
Come on boyos, we are almost to 100, don’t stop now!
September 26th, 2005 at 6:28:29 pm
Mr CS - actually, “limey” is not a racial epithet - it *is* a cultural referent, to explain why British sailors had teeth at a time when few other nations’ sailors had teeth … but perhaps you could not C that …
Oh - and, theologically, the forgiveness associated with most Christianity is predicated upon genuine repentance … it is a shame that that sorta precludes you, dosen’t it ?
Hmmm … stand-by may be too respectful a term for Mr Leahy … if he is only now starting to surmise that I may be a Scot - OY lutefisk !
LOL - I had not intended to be so directly insulting, but could it be that the respected commenter is actually Senator Leahy himself, in all his logical splendour ?
Yes, stand-by Leahy, I am indeed Scots … as I have told oftentimes in here with pride and confidence …
I’m one of 2 Scots on this planet who rarely drinks, and I only recently met the other one …
September 26th, 2005 at 6:29:48 pm
Coach is funnier than you, so please, do not think I cannot tell you apart :)
Funny, because you have once again ascribed posts and ideas that came from him to me.
I apologized. More than once. I quit using profanity without using a “*” in place of one of the letters. I have not impersonated anyone since Friday. How have I not respected Brendan’s wishes? Please tell me exactly what you have a problem with at this point. That I have taken offense at being singled out as “riff-raff”? Before you tell me that no one was singled out, please go back and read the posts (including yours) in which I am specifically mentioned.
How many times do I have to tell you that I will respond civilly when I am treated civilly? Go back and read my posts again. I have not attacked anyone who didn’t attack me first. How do you expect me to respond to that? Do you not return fire when fired upon? Please, practice what you preach and there will be no friction between us. I promise.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:36:18 pm
Oh - and, theologically, the forgiveness associated with most Christianity is predicated upon genuine repentance … it is a shame that that sorta precludes you, dosen’t it?
I have apologized more than once, only to be continually insulted by cretins like yourself. I have no respect for you and I do not apologize to you. You and David can return to giving each other hand jobs by the pool.
Just curious, but what exactly does someone of your age gain by sparring with a bunch of 20-somethings? Is your own age group too dismissive of your infantile drivel?
September 26th, 2005 at 6:36:20 pm
Most of them don’t have the stones to admit that they think they are better than the new folks.
Well thats because none of us think we ARE better than the “new folks”.
The only reason I or others might think we are better than someone is because of the behavior they choose to exhibit. Its not that we are trying to be better than anyone else, its that you seem to have a talent for lowering yourself to new levels in the way you present yourself.
You came onto this website with a blank slate. You had the opportunity to shape how the rest of us saw you, as someone interested in becoming a part of the community, or as someone who only wants to cause trouble. You chose the latter, why should we be at fault when we don’t like you because of it?
Throughout this thread you have thrown out insults and slurs, and you expect us to take you seriously?
If you paid attetion you would notice that very few people around here have a problem with people telling them they are wrong. If someone tells me i’m wrong and explains why, I’m likely to listen. If someone says I’m a stupid moron whose ideas come out of the backside of a dead cow, well oddly enough I’m not likely to listen.
You have done NOTHING to give anyone reason why they should listen to you, and EVERYTHING to give them a reason why they shouldn’t. Then you have the audacity to blame us for responding to your actions as any sane person would.
You are acting like a spoiled child. Note I did not call you names, or any other sort of insult, I merely made an observation about your choice of behavior.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:43:38 pm
To push it to 100.
Very cool, Champion.
I think I am the only accredited member of the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” and a Bible Thumping Catholic, therefore Christian, but not a member of the 700 Club…I am not as old as Alasdair, so therefore ineligable.
I can tell you that all of these folks can forgive but no one on this blog forgets, or spells every word correctly.
If we are going to have a war thread, let it be based on something worth while. But it is damn emberrassing when Brendan has to make a post about comment behavior.
Like I said, I am the worst on this blog and I never put a * in fucker. When I am cussing you, I mean it and for a good reason. The de-evolution of a war thread is ugly and when the host has to call us down, well that just is not right. Or cricket, for Alasdair and Joe.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:45:36 pm
Campion, I am sorry I am driving you crazy. I have this effect on men, and not in a good way. I will tell you what I personally found annoying with you, but cannot speak for the rest. Your smuggness about how you hijacked commenter’s names to see what commenters are really made of, is really annoying. If our comments cannot readuly be attributed to ourselves, how can we ever engage in civil–or uncivil-discourse? We cannot. To take pride in such childish actions and to repeatedly tell us we are humorless or self-important or whatever for not seeing the value in your antics is just dumb. Like I said, name calling is not new, and my boyfriend is lenty guilty of it, so I am not ready to fully chstise you for it. I franly was more annoyed atthe bestiality by a racist stuff that I found neither funny nor amuzing. That was not even you, it was Texican. More generally, I found it annoying that people can show up at a blog, pretend that it does not matter silch what people who regularly post here think, and carry on telling us we are misfits who think we are God’s gift to the blogosphere. You have apparnently apologized for this or for something, and asked that we forgive you. I have nothing to forgive, I was not personally insulted, just annoyed and cocerned for Brendan, so you do not need my forgiveness, good God, I am a mere human with myown annoying traits no doubt, but I nonetheless fogave you, hehe, I cant type it with a staright face :) and I am ready to move on. Maybe this was like the rite of passage into the world of bloy.com :)
September 26th, 2005 at 6:45:59 pm
Bea,
Thanks for the compliment. I think I’m funnier than Champion, too. ;>)
But he’s smarter than me.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:51:36 pm
Champion,
Never mind David. He has told me the same things he has just laid on you. But he is great kisser and gives good hugs, so don’t worry about the details of what he is saying.
Just stand your ground. You have said your “I’m sorries.” And that is as good as you can do.
Don’t quit the blog. Become on of us ‘Old Timers’ and see if you can bump Andrew from the “Best Man” slot.
Briandot missed a great war thread. He must be working.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:52:17 pm
Thanks, Davie, that means a lot to me. You people are so friendly and welcoming that it’s a bit overwhelming
Lets see, the first thing I remember reading (and responding to) was your accusation that Brendan somehow wanted more people to die so the hurricane could be more interesting based on nothing but your twisted reading of one of his posts. After which I did respond and did berate you. However I had believed that it was a misunderstanding and if you will recall did apologize and withdraw my comment. You then proceeded to make other unfounded accusations about people in other threads and proceed to act like an ass. Again, it wasn’t what you said, but how you were saying it that made people regard you as nothing but trouble. Same with Leahy.
People, including myself, have always been welcome here as long as they don’t make complete asses of themselves on a regular basis. No one is expecting you to be some sort of choir boy who only says nice things, but it is generally expected in a community like this that you will contribute something intelligent rather than spewing insults and baseless acusations. I’m sorry that you didn’t feel welcomed, but frankly you brought it upon yourself with your behavior.
You have repeatedly referred to myself and others as “riff-raff”, you have indicated more than once that you don’t take any argument that doesn’t come from one of your number seriously and you have repeatedly stated that you are “above” me. What in the world about any of that should I respect? I don’t respect smug know-it-all pr*cks who place themselves above everyone else and I never will. As for my earning your respect,
Actually the only person I have referred to is riff-raff is Leahy, and I do so because of his behavior, something he had full control over. I dont’ believe I am above someone else inherently, but when someone chooses to lower themself, that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to lower ourselves with them.
Perhaps thats the real problem here. You and Leahy, and a few others are used to AOL style pissing contests and are simply incapable of seperating insults from arguments. If so, I pity you because it means no one is going to listen even when you do have a good point. Believe me people have no problem disagreeing on this blog, and we even have moments of in-civility, but that doesn’t mean we revel in it and pride ourselves on it. And there is a difference between the occasional banter and insults that come along in a heated discussion and the constant need by certain recent comers to hurl insults left and right when people disagree with them.
I can’t think of any of the “regulars” who hasn’t admited atleast once to being wrong, and while we may occasionally be stubborn, none of us are know-it-alls, and if you weren’t so busy trying to feel opressed (”help i’m being opressed”) you might catch on to that.
The sad thing is you might very well have intelligent ideas to contribute, and you had the opportunity to become a respected commenter who people would enjoy debating with. Instead you decided to hurl insults and make baseless accusations. It was your choice, and you blew it. Funny thing is you could hop off your high horse and start discussing things in a semi-civil manner and people would quickly forget. Your choice.
September 26th, 2005 at 6:54:33 pm
David and I do not really get along all that well.
I don’t know be, that whole adversity bringing people together and all, by the time this all boils over, you, Charles, Andrew, Alasdair, dcl, Brian, heck we might all be pals :-) At the very least we can thank Leahy, Champ, et al. for making us appreciate our former foes.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:00:19 pm
Champion, for the record I had not made a single comment to you in this entire thread until you started accusing me of confusing you and Leahy and of insulting you personally, neither of which I had done. I have addressed your comments specifically in the last few minutes (therefore missing your last few posts). So if you still feel I was somehow singling you out, I’d like to ask for you to prove it. Show where I had mentioned you and insulted you. You claim that Bea and I were comingling your and Leahy’s posts yet you are doing the same with me.
Frankly, before this while I wasn’t much a fan of you or your commenting I would never have lumped you in with Leahy, whom I find completely contemptible. I’m hoping that again this has been a miscommunication and we can go back to merely disagreeing. I’d hate to see the Contemptible Club go up to a membership of two.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:02:49 pm
David,
Getting advice on how to make friends and influence people from the likes of you is clearly my Delicious Irony MomentTM. The fact that you are clearly the most reviled poster on this board is not lost on me (nor, I assume, Champion).
An outcast among outcasts, indeed. Save some pizza for me and my date Sydney, I’ll be home late.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:05:51 pm
I would just like to say how outraged I am by every single comment on Brendan’s blog today. I take each and every comment as a direct personal attack against me. To say that I burn with indignation would be a gross understatement. I seethe. If I do not receive a personal and heartfelt apology from each and every person that has posted here today, I swear to you, I shall never post here again. And it will be your pitiful loss.
Most affectionately,
September 26th, 2005 at 7:09:41 pm
Swarthy,
Don’t go!
We’ll always have Don Knotts…
September 26th, 2005 at 7:12:12 pm
AHA! So you really are me.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:15:35 pm
You got it. If I’m not you, how would we have the vaudevillian chemistry of Moe Howard and Larry Fine?
Riddle me that, Swarthington.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:22:55 pm
Swarth, the Jack Daniles will have to do in lieu of the apologies :)
September 26th, 2005 at 7:31:53 pm
My God what a useless thread full of impotent whining this turned out to be.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:34:47 pm
Andrew,
This thread cries out for your manly touch. Get in there, smack some asses and dole out some wedgies, big boy.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:44:38 pm
For the last time: I treat people civilly who treat me civilly. If I have attacked anyone without good reason I apologize. Honestly. David, if I confused you with Bea and attacked you as a result, I am sorry for my mistake. Trust me, I know what it’s like to have someone else’s ideas be misattributed to you, since it happens to me frequently. I am not proud of hijacking anyone’s identity. I referred to it as underhanded and admitted that it was the turd-in-the-punchbowl of blogging etiquitte. I did it. I don’t think it’s as grave a crime as some, but I have not and will not do it again. All of this defending myself is getting rather tiresome. From now on, I will merely link to this post. People can think that I am not properly contrite, but whatever, I’ve said what needed saying. I am not an overly proud or egotisitcal person. I am wrong sometimes. I am a jerk sometimes. If you attack me, you can expect to get attacked in return. I am human (at least the part of me that wasn’t rebuilt after the crash). Swarthington, I apologize to you especially for having to read all of this. I am still perplexed as to why Leahy inspires such vitriol; he’s obnoxious at times, yes, but so are a lot of other posters. He’s also frequently funny, unlike a lot of other posters. So why do you all immediately attack Leahy when something goes wrong?
September 26th, 2005 at 7:48:23 pm
Champion,
I don’t have anything in common with these people. They’re nerds.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:53:27 pm
Yes. I am a nerd. But a fine looking one and an excellent dancer.
Ta-da!
September 26th, 2005 at 7:55:42 pm
I find it hilarious that you are all so quick to jump down Leahy’s throat and blame him for everything that’s ever gone wrong on this blog. Why? Because he is one of the few people who will regularly call bullsh*t on grandstanding from people of any and every political stripe and is therefore the enemy of all self-important jackasses, regardless of political affiliation.
Who is jumping? Brendan sure was not, but you both felt the need to take his attack as personal. He is one of the few people who calls other’s bullshit? That statement is factually incorrect, Champion, because like I said a hundred times, the archives clearly show that everyone calls bullshit around here. I think this is what has fueled so many of the attacks on you that followed this comment. Call us all you want, but not passive bystanders who just take in the talking points we feed each other.
The true value of this blog is in the disaster and weather information that it provides and the regulars would do well to remember that the next time they start thinking that they are the reason that people come here.
no, the true value of this website is in the eye of the beholder, I guess, and clearly in the insight into Brendan’s life. We all know full well why people come here: the regulars for the usualy day to day, and as of late many more for the hurracane updates. Nobody claimed people flocked here for the policy discussions, but we were having those long before you and other post-Katrina commenters showed up, and will be having them long after you get fed up with is and are long gone. I see this statement as vaguely insulting to the webmaster, as this is his pet project and he dedicates so much time to this blog that it probably drives his lovely Becky crazy, so for you to imply there is no inherent value to this blog besides the Katrina coverage clearly implies that you think there was no value to this place before the hrracane cmae on the radars, and do not care for Brendan’s hard work–which explains your boorish behavior.
However, those who treat [hijacking someone else’s name when commenting, not to be funny but to see if the person can take it “in stride”] as some sort of crime against humanity are clearly taking themselves and the blog way too seriously.
Well, the webmaster does take name hijacking seriously, so he must be taking himself way too seriously, then. Again, insulting Brendan. If there is one person here we ALL like, it is Brendan, so, uhm, cheap shots at Brendan will NOT get you anywhere.
I would continue but why waste my time. Champion, let’s put your poor comments behind us and move on, eh? You said you will be civil when we are civil to you. I am fairly civil most of the time, even if this whole comment thread does not atest to that, so I think if you really do wanna just move on and get along, we should justlay it to rest, now.
September 26th, 2005 at 7:58:38 pm
Bea,
If your point was a horse, it would have been shot days ago. Let’s move on and enjoy the glue, darling. ;>
September 26th, 2005 at 8:00:53 pm
ENOUGH
This is nuts. Look, I’ve been around this blog for a long time, and I’ve made a lot of comments. And, looking back on them, there are a lot of comments I regret, am embraced by, or flat disagree with now. I admit that, I accept that, I move on from it. But you know what really annoying with the recent posts? People that are reveling in being asshats. Enjoying and priding themselves on childish behavior and then getting upset when people tell them to cut it out. You see, I’ve tried to become more measured, more level headed, direct and articulate about my positions, opinions, and my reasoning behind them — at the same time retaining my good humored approach to things. On the other hand, there seem to be those amongst us that revel in the pointless food fighting and have no desire to actually discuss anything and you know what? I’m really tired of it.
So, ENOUGH already, lets put this too rest.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:02:54 pm
I agree Dane, but Champion kept asking WHY I accused him of this or that. Well, shit, there he goes, he can have his stupid post and eat it.
Goodnight!
September 26th, 2005 at 8:06:08 pm
Okey Dokey.
Not arguing, but just for the sake of clarification, when referring to Leahy in the above quote I merely meant that he was non-partisan in his attacks, not that the rest of you are passive. As for the hijacking part, I was not referring to Brendan when I made that comment. I will not hijack in the future in deference to his request. Even though I may not agree that it’s all that bad, I am honoring his wishes. I don’t know how much more respectful I can be than that. As for any other apologies, please reference my earlier post. I won’t bring any of this up again if you won’t, so as far as I’m concerned, end of discussion.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:10:21 pm
Charles,
I like your style. Post more often, please. I’m begging you.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:13:41 pm
I concur. You now have the entire asshole population of the blog firmly behind you.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:21:16 pm
Getting advice on how to make friends and influence people from the likes of you is clearly my Delicious Irony MomentTM. The fact that you are clearly the most reviled poster on this board is not lost on me (nor, I assume, Champion).
For the record, Brendan has only ever refered to one person on this blog as an ass (or something similar) and it was you. And while I may not get along with everyone, I know that I am not reviled by most of the people here. Again, you attempt to baselessly attack someone else instead of admitting that you are the problem.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:23:47 pm
Champ, I understand that a person will respond when attacked, I truly do, but if you are going to make a big deal and attack people as explosively as you do, you may want to be more careful about who you accuse of attacking you, or its likely to lead to people believing alot worse about your contributions around here than I think you are trying to do.
Thank you for apologizing for your mistake though, again I think anyone can be a welcome member of this group so long as they behave in a semi-civilized fashion.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:29:26 pm
Assholes of This Blog, Unite!
This comment thread has broken 125 comments.
That is significant and a fine day’s for any blogger/commentor.
I move that we ignore any further comments on this thread and wreck another.
Catch the de-evolution of a thread at the Don Knotts memorial posting.
(Brendan has never called me an ass, David?? We better research the archives. I am sure that Brendan has called me an ass. He’s had too! I have worked too hard and have been on the Right too long for Brendan not to have called me an ass at some point time. I am sure of it!)
September 26th, 2005 at 8:35:34 pm
Hey, even *I* do not revile David … at my meanest, I quote his own words … and then point out what they actually mean … (innocent grin) …
And, anyway, he’s more supercargo than anything else …
I’m just waiting for the comments to get to gross …
It doesn’t doesn’t look like it’ll take too much longer …
September 26th, 2005 at 8:35:41 pm
Leahy - dcl retired this post, so consider this a tangent from long, long, ago (~40 posts).
The bombs you dropped, which started this merriment, were accurate but a tad obvious. A bit like the lumberjack in Roxanne calling Steve Martin “Big Nose”. Since Loy gleefully admits to his geekdom, there’s little gain in calling him out on it.
To everyone who turned this into the crack pipe of blog posts, thank you. To Russell, for calling it such, thank you as well. Many posts ago I said I respected BLoy and friends for laying it out there, for better or worse, and part of laying it out is the condescension and clubbiness of highly educated youth, which outrages some - but why the outrage?
Aren’t Loy and his buddies mostly 23 year old kids? Don’t 23 year old kids with IQs of 165 often have sensibility quotients of about 80? In any event, its clear that Loy and his buddies are good guys, Mensches in the making, and working through the specifics the way 23 year olds do.
Part of working it out is the obnoxiousness you…decry? Put it this way - the mirror he holds to his life makes Loy a bit like Truman Burbank of the Truman Show. Calling out the obnoxious side is like being an annoying neighbor on that show, saying its staged, fake, whatever.
Kills the kitsch party man.
September 26th, 2005 at 10:22:44 pm
Charles,
I don’t think he has, I’m pretty sure I have but I don’t think Brendan has.
September 26th, 2005 at 11:59:08 pm
For the record, I would just like to state that I accept Champion Sound’s apology and I appreciate his willingness to abide by my basic guidelines for good blog behavior. I don’t ask much, but I do ask a few things, and I appreciate that he is willing to respect that.
Coach Leahy, on the other hand, appears to be declaring war on this community, saying that we are all a bunch of losers and delighting in deliberately pissing us off. I’m not sure what to do about that, but I certainly don’t like it. Coach, seriously, if you feel that way, why don’t you go somewhere else? Why would you want to hang out with a bunch of ugly, hopeless losers, geeks and Harry Potter freaks with no social skills and apparently no redeeming value? Anyway, if the endless personal attacks continue, I will have to take some action, though I certainly don’t want to do that. I hope that everyone — EVERYONE, newbies and old-timers alike — can abide by the basic principles of civility that I tried to outline in this post. Russell’s bar analogy is indeed excellent in this regard, too.
And now I would encourage everyone to end this debate and move on with your lives. It seems to me that further discussion on this thread is pointless. I could be wrong, but that’s my impression.
September 27th, 2005 at 12:18:25 am
I suggest a shunning. We can all simply ignore everything he says and encourage others to do so.
September 27th, 2005 at 12:47:45 am
But not til we have 11 more comments - 10 after this one ! (grin)
September 27th, 2005 at 1:51:04 am
a gross of comments? for what purpose?
September 30th, 2005 at 6:21:35 pm
Ummm … so we can claim to have a gross commentary on blog civility ?
Or … engrossing comment stream ?
Or …