Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Contact
Ace:aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com Recent Entries
Javi Milei Defunds the Bureaucrats Tasked with Reducing Violence Against Women and Yet the Murder Rate of Women Somehow Drops 10% Anyway
America's Worst Previous President, Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100 THE MORNING RANT: Government is Paying Manufacturers to Produce Electric School Buses, and Then Paying School Districts to Buy Them Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 12/30/24 Daily Tech News 30 December 2024 Sunday Overnight Open Thread - December 29, 2024 [Doof] Gun Thread: Post Christmas and Pre-New Year 2024 Edition! Food Thread: Raccoons, Brisket, And Latkes...A Match Made In Heaven! First-World Problems... Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Pre-ONT -- flying freaking cars! [Purp] |
Main
| Top Headline Comments 2-22-12 »
February 21, 2013
Overnight Open Thread for Thursday, 2-21-2013Last night's ONT found me extolling the virtues of the internet as a tool for creative-types and lamenting the seemingly inverse relationship between the availability of rich, high quality content on the web and the average person's capacity to fully absorb it. Upon reflection, it occurs to me that I was essentially making a point, however scattered, about the double-edged-sword nature of the explosion in the availability of rich, high-quality content. Consuming media on the internet these days is a wharrgarblian task. There's another aspect of the internet that carries a similar trade-off as it relates to person-to-person interaction. (I realize this is at least the fifth post ever written on the internet about its dehumanizing effects, but bear with me here.) It seems that for a lot of people, along with the ability to instantly communicate with people comes the irresistible compulsion to do it shabbily. Well, I'm here to help. Call me a babe in the woods, but I happen to think there's still something to be said for basic common courtesy in person-to-person correspondence, no matter how informal. I've always found that in communicating with someone, whether through email or a blog comment, it's best to start off on a reasonably polite note. Greetings and salutations might be a bit much, but alternatively, if you jump right in with a simpering philippic most normal people will give it a cursory scan and conjure the mental image below: Ironically enough, I think the tendency to behave that way on the internet has a great deal to do with the image a person is trying to put forth; they honestly believe they look better by coming off as an insufferable prig than they would if they were more mannerly and civil. They just don't understand how they really look to everyone else around them. I've been trying to come up with a good analogy to describe it, and I think it is pretty well summed up in this story. "The water did have a funny taste," Sabrina Baugh told CNN on Wednesday. She and her husband used the water for eight days. If you imagine everyone else around you as the guests in that hotel, and you and your comment as the source of that funny-tasting water, you have a pretty good idea of just what kind of impression you're making on others. Now, I'll admit to less than pristine hands on the matter. I've composed my share of dyspeptic screeds over the years. But, that's generally a consequence of having major disagreements on matters I feel passionately about -- particularly as it relates to politics. But, I'm talking about something else, here. What I'm talking about is the immediate and uncontrollable urge among some people to fling poo over the most minor point of contention. (Click image to view in full.) The surprising thing about this phenomenon is how long people will persist in such behavior before it dawns on them that they're not really coming off as the too-hip-for-the-room, irreverent anti-hero they imagine themselves to be. Almost invariably, the person who delights in always being the loudest, most caustic voice in the room will end up in a flame war, suddenly look around at everyone else, note all the furrowed brows, and wonder why no one's there to back them up. All of this would be fine if the consequences of that kind of behavior stopped with the person who engaged in it. Unfortunately, it doesn't. In fact, like the body in the water tank in the story linked above, that kind of attitude taints everything around it. And the ultimate result is that people of generally good will have less reason to assume that the other people they're dealing with share that good will, which in turn leads to communication breakdown. Suddenly, the idea of creating a new class of punctuation for the sake of clarity seems reasonable. (Click image to view in full.) Thankfully, though, there are still people in the world who appreciate the importance of communicating with others in a forthright and reasonably humble manner. We all forget it sometimes, but on those occasions when we do, taking the time to rectify the situation in such a way is often all that's needed. I can't begin to count the number of times I've felt pangs of regret for something I've said or done and remedied the entire matter by simply acknowledging my culpability and doing my best to set things right. Now, maybe you're one of those people, and maybe you're not. Deep-down, though, you know whether or not you are. And maybe you're just the kind of sociopath who actually enjoys being that way -- in which case, I pity you. You'll eventually get your comeuppance. But, if you do a little self-reflection and determine that you don't really want people to have that kind of an impression of you, then you're well on your way to becoming a normal, functioning adult. The first, most important step in becoming a better person is admitting you have a problem. Tonight's ONT is brought to you by bards. | Recent Comments
[i]Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM)[/b][/i][/s][/u]:
"
James Earl Carter was a meddlesome twat ... The ..."
scampydog: "June Lockhart in Lassie. What the hell is wrong ..." Citizen Cake: ">>>The natural gas thing was among the regionally ..." SMOD: "On July 15, 1979, then president Jimmy Carter went ..." blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (tT6L1): "Young gals in pj's at the store I sort of get. Guy ..." The ARC of History!: "[i]What kind of mean shit can the executive branch ..." Thomas Bender: "@311 >>For details, see the Law & Order episode ..." TheJamesMadison, trying to figure out Joel Schumacher: "332 Decency, yet Biden fingerbanged a staffer. Po ..." naturalfake: "[i]Airline deregulation gave us people wearing paj ..." Quarter Twenty : "268 Why do I suspect Biden's "eulogy" will involve ..." eleven: "They'll try to rub the Carter funeral ball sack i ..." Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden: "Decency, yet Biden fingerbanged a staffer. ..." Recent Entries
Javi Milei Defunds the Bureaucrats Tasked with Reducing Violence Against Women and Yet the Murder Rate of Women Somehow Drops 10% Anyway
America's Worst Previous President, Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100 THE MORNING RANT: Government is Paying Manufacturers to Produce Electric School Buses, and Then Paying School Districts to Buy Them Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 12/30/24 Daily Tech News 30 December 2024 Sunday Overnight Open Thread - December 29, 2024 [Doof] Gun Thread: Post Christmas and Pre-New Year 2024 Edition! Food Thread: Raccoons, Brisket, And Latkes...A Match Made In Heaven! First-World Problems... Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |