The comics internet is fucked! And we’re all part of the problem. Really, you’re not pushing comics forward. We’re folks on the internet writing about stuff, and we don’t matter to anybody but ourselves and the few other people who read us. Just kick back, have fun writing about stuff, and don’t worry about the forward momentum of the art form.
I think we can all agree that the final sentence of Rose’s post was ill-advised. A very bad idea. If you read everything Rose has written about this and think she’s accusing anybody of being misogynist or claiming she knows what anybody was thinking during recruiting for CBG, you need to work on your reading comprehension skills. The only badly behaved people in that comments thread are Alan David Doane, Steven Berg and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Christopher Allen.
You all are protesting way too much. Why is that?
You spend—let me count—one and a half years writing about comics, then you make a couple of fairly mild criticisms of Comic Book Galaxy (and one ill-advised final sentence, yes, we all remember that) and you’re suddenly PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!
You are all very silly and hysterical. So am I. Maybe you should get over it now, Logan and friends. I myself am getting over it… now. Now you try.*
P.S. Rose did bring up race, Logan. Thanks for reading before ranting.
P.P.S. No, really, we don’t want to write for CBG. So sorry.
* Yes, actually, this post is part of our shameful secret “agenda.” If I used smilies, I’d put one of those eye-rolling smilies right here.
James Meeley says:
Yeah, isn’t it odd and sad how people will take a comment or two completely out of context, even when they don’t know the person they are talking about, but still make sweeping judgements about them? Man, I’d hate to be on the receiving end of something like that. (insert eye-rolling smilies here)
As for Rose’s final “ill-advised” comment, maybe she’s not a sophisticated enough writer to broach such topics. After all, if someone were sophisticated enough of a writer, they’d not make such an utterly amaturish mistake, right? And they certainly wouldn’t point out such things to others. Glad Rose is of that high caliber. (insert eye-rolling smilies here)
Speaking from personal experience, it seems that people, especially when online, just want something to rail against and vent on. Doesn’t matter if it’s real or not, just so long as they get to rip it apart. It just goes back to my old point about how “disposable” people consider their online ramblings. The fact it’s a real person who is attatched to the text they are blasting means less than nothing to them. They stop caring about it, as soon as their comp is turned off.
While the Internet has brought the world closer to us all, and made the ability to communicate much easier, it seems that it has also taken the very humanity right out of a lot of its users (either by people not treating someone with consideration, or by making others seem less than human because there is no “face” attatched to the words they read). In truth, those people are probably in serious need of stepping away from their computer and getting out into the real world a bit more. They obviously need a reminder that just because you say it online, doesn’t mean it’s forgotten or unimportant, just because you turn off your comp.
Just one fan’s thoughts… your miles may vary.
— 20 July 2005 at 2:57 am (Permalink)
Leigh Walton says:
Writing an outraged “get over it” post on your blog, five days after the last post (and six days after the discussion was declared dead), is hardly a display of maturity. “Get over it” means “stop talking about it.” No one’s said anything on that thread in five days! FIVE! That’s an eternity in internet time. You’re just resurrecting it now. Drop the martyr complex, drop the outrage, just drop it all together. Hell, delete this post: it serves no purpose and benefits no one. Rose had some good points, but they were completely squashed by the hysterical hissyfit thrown by both sides. Let it die, man.
— 20 July 2005 at 3:26 am (Permalink)
Steven says:
James,
Honestly, you of all people should probably not be criticizing others’ ill-advised statements. Sorry, though, I’m still not sure why you think we don’t think of you as a real person.
Leigh,
In my defense, I never claimed to be a representative of maturity. My outrage is a posture, honestly, but I did mean it about getting over it—after my last venting, for which I take full responsibility. I decided to write this post after laughing at the tut-tutting about Rose’s apparent failure to take responsibility for her infamous sentence over at Logan Polk’s blog. We do take responsibility for what we write here at Peiratikos, and not deleting published posts is part of that. I’ll be replying to comments here, but other than that I’ll be getting back to writing about stuff.
— 20 July 2005 at 3:56 am (Permalink)
James Meeley says:
Steven:
I guess it’s true that irony is lost on the Internet. The whole point of MY criticizing the fact of Rose’s ill-advised statement, is because of her (and you) criticizing me for the same. You know, it was my little way of suggesting how easy it is to have happen to you, which is why criticizing me the way I was is probably not the best thing to do, given that anyone could easily fall into such a situation.
Or, to give the short version, “next time you want to hit me with a rock, make sure your own house isn’t made of glass.”
And I know you probably won’t believe me, but I actually felt a bit sorry for Rose (although, watching events unfold was also rather amusing for me), since I know only too well just how it feels to have your words twisted against you, when what you meant (or actually said) was nothing of the kind. Maybe Rose was just having an “unsophisticated day” that day, huh? I only hope that her own experience has helped her (and you) to see how easy it is to get overly judgemental towards someone, over what is usually, and ultimately, a matter of opinion.
As for you not seeing me as a real person, maybe you do and maybe you don’t. I can’t say for sure if that’s the case. My point there was how many people tend to forget that the people they are talking to and about online are real people, not just the text they read. I truly believe that people have created a “detatchment” of sorts to what they say online, as opposed to what they say in front of real people. That’s why getting uppity and judgemental on someone online happens so much and doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. Because I know that some of the nasty things I’ve seen people say to each other online, they’d probably never have the courage or fortitiude to say to a person face-to-face (and that’s not a comment on you or Rose, just in general).
I guess, in the end, I found it a bit amusing to see Rose go through the very thing she chastised me for. Maybe there is a lesson in that for all of us. I hope it’s one we all learn and take to heart. Thanks. :-)
— 20 July 2005 at 4:30 am (Permalink)
Steven says:
Thanks, James, I got it the first time.
— 20 July 2005 at 4:35 am (Permalink)
Christopher Allen says:
Steven,
I think, maybe, I could get over it (having seethed all weekend and the past two weekdays) if you would just accept the, we feel, more than generous offer, and write for CBG already! Talk about hardball! You’re turning me into a misopenist! :)
CA
— 20 July 2005 at 6:33 am (Permalink)
ADD says:
Wow, that’s just about the most juvenile thing I’ve ever read, anywhere. And I used to edit reviews at Silver Bullet.
“Really, you????????re not pushing comics forward.”
Good to see our motto is pushing your buttons, although it’s sad to see how easily they are pushed.
“Just kick back, have fun writing about stuff, and don????????t worry about the forward momentum of the art form.”
I’ll let you know when I need to to tell me what to do, thanks.
“The only badly behaved people in that comments thread are Alan David Doane, Steven Berg and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Christopher Allen.”
I didn’t behave badly, I was actually almost startlingly civil, and the overwhelming show of support from people I don’t even know certainly made it easier to maintain that stance. Why get worked up when everyone can so clearly see how petulant and frankly ridiculous you two are being?
“You all are protesting way too much. Why is that?”
I suggest you devote the rest of your life to this quest. Judging by the amount of time you clearly spend thinking about other sites, their motives, design and intentions, clearly this could be the greatest thing in the world for you, someone who clearly has too much time on his hands and way too little isea of how recreation time might best be spent.
“You spend????????let me count????????one and a half years writing about comics, then you make a couple of fairly mild criticisms of Comic Book Galaxy (and one ill-advised final sentence, yes, we all remember that) and you????????re suddenly PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!”
No, actually, if the problem is insomnia, you’re the solution.
“You are all very silly and hysterical. So am I. Maybe you should get over it now, Logan and friends. I myself am getting over it??????? now.”
Yes, we can all see that in every successively unhinged post.
“P.P.S. No, really, we don????????t want to write for CBG. So sorry.”
Who cares? Anyone who we consider qualified has already been invited, so again, maybe you should take up a better hobby than railing against people who at this point are only engaging you because we have a pool going over which day this week the white foam will rise above your chin, you rabid, internet-saving evangelist, you.
— 20 July 2005 at 4:56 pm (Permalink)
Steven says:
Why are you wasting your time with this passive-aggressive wankfest, Alan?
— 20 July 2005 at 5:10 pm (Permalink)
ADD says:
“Ah-ha! I’ll use his own phrases against him, a master stroke! Good thing he didn’t notice when I told him I’m smarter than he is!”
— 20 July 2005 at 5:18 pm (Permalink)
Steven says:
No, Alan, I wanted you to notice that I used your own phrase. I used your phrase ironically.
So why are you wasting your time with this passive-aggressive wankfest?
— 20 July 2005 at 5:25 pm (Permalink)
ADD says:
Perhaps I am addicted to arrogant condescension. Or maybe I just enjoy all the hits you’ve generated for me the past couple of weeks while humiliating yourself in front of your peers. Or maybe both, and other hidden motives to boot. Luckily I am in the hands of two experienced comics internerd profilers who are putting their book learnin’ to great use by reading the minds of their intellectual inferiors.
— 20 July 2005 at 5:30 pm (Permalink)
Steven says:
You’re a funny man, Mr. Doane. This is a very entertaining conversation, but I’m afraid I have important stuff to do now.
— 20 July 2005 at 5:35 pm (Permalink)
ADD says:
I bet you actually don’t, but even if you let something “more important” sweep you away, we know you’ll be back, because another thing we’ve all learned about you here these past couple of weeks is that you allergic to allowing anyone but yourselves to have the last word. Ahhh-CHOO!
— 20 July 2005 at 5:37 pm (Permalink)
Tom Spurgeon says:
Isn’t Maggie Thompson still editing CBG? What the hell are you people talking about?
— 21 July 2005 at 6:40 pm (Permalink)
Milos George says:
This exchange is really funny if you read Berg’s posts in Lisa Simpson’s voice, Doane’s and Meeley’s posts in Comic Shop Guy’s and Spurgeon as Grandpa Simpson.
HAH ha!
— 23 July 2005 at 1:49 am (Permalink)
James Meeley says:
And it’s even funnier, when you read Milos post in Nelson’s voice. “Hah-ha” indeed. ;)
— 23 July 2005 at 2:41 am (Permalink)