Lib, I should like to advise that mere compliments, however richly deserved, will not mollify my righteous indignation. If I could keep a straight face.
John:
Being a non-partisan hack is an improvement? And which of these subjects is beneath your attention, too trivial for your serious consideration? Global warming? The state of the Iraqi government? Provocative sabre rattling in a delicate situation? Should we confine ourselves to debates on the Hegelian roots of Objectivist philosophy, or the proper place of daffodils in flower arrangements?
We live in interesting times. For most of us, all we can do is speak. It is not enough, but it is all we have.
And, of course, my comment was intended as jocular, good-natured encouragement for one undeservedly abused. Being a clever man, I’m pretty sure you know that, but chose to ignore it in a feeble grasp for one more nasty thing to say. Beneath you, my dear Boswell, or it should be. Work on that, won’t you, there’s a good fellow…
You asked. I answered. Do as you will.
You misunderstand. There was no rebuke in my comment.
Talk about your false dichotomies…
Pffft. It’s all just good natured ribbing. After all, these are just words on a Message Board, nothing more.
Hmmm. “Good natured ribbing”, eh? Glad to have that all cleared up.
The “straight face” line seemed to imply that you were unable to take me seriously. I meant what I said. It wasn’t empty praise. I know that a gift can be a burden. But you have a gift for lifting people, and since it’s so rare in our society, every time you use your gift to tear people down, it is a terrible waste. Yeah, I know. Bummer. But there it is.
No. That I could not pretend such modesty without cracking up. I have occassional spasms of humility, but I lie down, and they pass…
And thanks again for the gracious remarks. I shall have to buy new hats…
No problem at all. How’s that burden doing?
You wouldn’t understand. Excuse, I have some preening to do.
IMHO, it’s a stroke fest because there’s no reasonable defense of BG’s posting style. His only support is from people who agree with his politics to begin with.
If a rightard had a similiar posting style, say, posting a link to Drudge and a one-line comment, folks like luci would be all over him like white on rice. BG does the equivalent, but from a left-wing perspective, and he’s a “genius”. :rolleyes:
Personally, I have 2 guidelines:
-
Try not to create more than 1 new thread per day.
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It’s good form to monitor and guide the threads you create. Not necessary obligatory, but good form. It’s bad form to create more threads than you can guide.
Empirical, fact based analysis
The board rejected my attempts to view threads recently started by BG – until now.
The 7 threads with the latest posts are all in Great Debates. I’ll list the start dates of the 10 GD threads by BG with the latest posts:
8/30/2007
9/6/2007
9/5/2007 (2 sentence wonder on Arctic ice)
8/30/2007
9/6/2004
9/3/2007
9/6/2007 (2 sentence wonder on FBI & National Security Letters under US Patriot Act)
6/9/2007 (old thread, not a typo)
8/24/2007 (link and question: “Who’s behind this (really), and why?”)
8/29/2007
Ok, he seems to have peaked recently. I count 2 from 9/6 and 2 from 8/30. That’s a lotta threads.
The critique that BrainGlutton only offers a link and a sentence is a crock. By my count that only applies to 3 out of 10 threads. The other ones present decent questions.
Furthermore, in my experience his thread maintenance has been fine.
My conclusion: there are a lot of broadbrush characterizations of BrainGlutton’s posts in this thread that are mostly off base. At the same time, I’d recommend that BG follow guidelines 1 and 2 and maybe cut his thread creation by 30% or so.
Others are welcome to provide their own analysis of course, preferably with --you know-- facts and examples, as opposed to unsubstantiated commentary.
Setting aside any argument about the significance of nearly a third of all threads being toss-offs, just presenting questions in Great Debates is not enough. It isn’t Great Questions. I think the typical OP in Great Debates ought to frame a debate, take a side, and argue that side. It’s okay to ask questions, but not as a means of launching a show that you intend to sit back and watch until participation suits you.
Hentor, your four examples fit my pattern of “link, quote, and one to four lines of text asking questions.” But, you know with this point:
You’re absolutely right. If fellow dopers are enjoying the threads, so be it. I’ll just STFU.
BTW, I heard a tune from one of your most successful albums last night.
Whatever happened to Swimming Riddles?
She was hot.
The people who are attacking BG’s posts are for the most part well to his right, so to me it feels like partisan squabbling rather than any sort of legitimate attack on BG’s posting style.
Not that I mind partisan squabbling. 