Dec 27
Classy commenters
Imagine you see a guy in a park painting the scene in front of him. Maybe he has a few more paintings propped up nearby.
You don’t think he’s doing a particularly good job. But can you imagine going up to him and saying, "You know, your paintings aren’t very good."
What would you think of a person who went up to strangers, unrequested, and told them that she didn’t think much of whatever they were doing?
And yet, the first comment to this blog from someone I don’t know does exactly that. "This blog reminds me of your new neighborhood, Short Pump," writes ‘Flop Sweat Sally’."They’re both mundane, clichéd, and a little depressing."
My first thought was to quote James Bond from Casino Royale, when asked if he wanted his martini shaken or stirred: "Do I look like a man who gives a damn?"
My second thought was that there are always people who like to insult other people just because they were raised that way. It never worked for me, but to each her own. Thanks for the welcome, Sally. Good to see there’s class everywhere.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Welcome to the internet. Anonymity brings out the best in all of us ;)
December 27th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Why do people suck via Internet? Whether someone is commenting on someone else’s blog or blogging on their own, people get this fun Napoleon complex that’s like, “Hey, I’m gonna be an a-hole just because I’d never have the balls to do it in public! I have nothing else to do with my life!” Screw them. Keep blogging about DirecTV. It’s your blog and your life.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
From USAToday.com:
“It continues to amaze me how little thought people give to their online reputations. It’s been more than a decade since the birth of the modern Internet — many of its users don’t know a world without it. And yet they’re still clueless.”
You said it yourself. Sally’s probably one of those people who just discovered the “anonymous button” after all his/her scandalous “family reunion” pix go him/her fired.
December 28th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Its good to be classy by comparison…
January 9th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I agree with all the above, too many people have very little regard for their behavior online.
However, you do have a blog - basically a public forum where your post your opinions … rants……taradiddles… whatever. I think you basically sign up for other people’s opinions when you post something in such a forum, for better or worse.
Sorry I’m on today responding to all this old stuff. I just found your year in Richmond today and was intrigued.
W
January 12th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I would be less amazed by this kind of behavior (in online gaming circles, the current word is, “asshat”), if it didn’t take people so much effort.
I was playing Team Fortress 2, a very fun first-person shooter game, and one person (appropriately named Judas) would go onto a team, and just sit there in order to hurt the team he was on.
This would be your standard-issue asshattery, but he actually took the time to move back and forth every minute or so in order to avoid being kicked off the server for inactivity.
The idea that people actually spend time out of their lives to do this is what confuses me. Also, it makes me want to find them and find out what the hell is the matter with them.