How interesting that you used Van Gogh as an example for your “people shouldn’t write in journals” diatribe, rather than Anne Frank…
Writing things down helps you work things out, you stupid fuckstick, and it doesn’t have to be a work of art every time you type. And avoiding LJ is a lot easier than avoiding the news, so if you don’t like it, just stretch you holier-than-thou hand over to your mouse and go do something more enriching and worthwhile, like Yahoo Fantasy Football, which I notice you play. Christ, talk about having no life…
As opposed to the MPSIMS world of: My kid shit on my cat. My cat shit on my kid. I shit on my cat and kid. My kid ate today. My kid said ____ today. My kid killed someone today while taking a shit on them.
What’s your point? The SDMB is more intelligent. Feh. Livejournals aren’t? Well, of course they shouldn’t. If we are smart on the boards, there is no reason why we would be smart in our LiveJournals.
Who the fuck are you to tell us what we can and can’t do with the internet? Does it look like we’re all in the People’s Republic of China? Oh, that’s not it. I’m sorry Mr. Gore, can I pull the stick out of your ass with my teeth?
It’s called “Friends”, maybe you should get some.
Who says we don’t do any of these things? In the past 2 weeks I’ve done every single thing you’ve listed. All our lives aren’t sad. If you have a LiveJournal you must be sad :rolleyes:
Again, who says we don’t do any of these things? If a fucking LiveJournal is therapeutic to someone, what does it matter? Good for them, they’ve found a way to make themselves happier. The fuck do you care? And if something is no longer important, why the fuck would it sent us back into some spiraling depression?
Are you reading my LiveJournal? Are you watching any of the webcams out there? Does having either one of the two affect you in any wya? Slow down the board? Let the Red Commies into our computers? Make your anus clench harder so that the stick in your ass is so high up it that you can chew on the bark? No.
It’s not a question of accepting or rejecting commentary. I already knew that there were people who really enjoyed writing in livejournals…why else would there be so many of them? I was just hoping for fewer testimonials and more of a general debate on the subject.
Uh…it’s a game you idiot. You know…“game”…a test of skill? Something that has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of sharing the mundane details of your life with the whole world? Well, I guess you wouldn’t know much about skill seeing as how your response to my argument is based on a complete non sequitur.
Oh, and as for the Anne Frank argument…
If you even have a livejournal, it already says a lot about your socioeconomic position in the world. It says that you have access to a computer, an internet connection (which is still considered a luxury in many parts of the world) and presumably food and shelter. As soon as persecuted people in Kenya or Bosnia start putting up livejournals, then let me know so I can pay attention. The rest is just inconsequential.
I have already conceded this point earlier in the thread. You didn’t read the whole thing, did you? Seeing as how you didn’t, and probably also missed the part where I conceded that keeping a livejournal was, in fact, a matter of personal preference, I’ll just ignore the rest of your ranting.
I knew you’d dive behind the semantics Outrider, so here’s the exact quote. I’m sorry, assholes was incorrect:
self worshipping ignoramus is a lot nicer. :rolleyes:
If you want a debate, go to Great Debates and ask what the purpose of a journal is. If you want your nuts chewed off, come in here and make sweeping generalizations about people you don’t know.
First off Van Gogh may not have kept a live journal, but in effect he was doing the same thing in his letters to his brother Theo, I’ve read them and they do seem like they would fit into the live journal format.
Secondly, it seems to me that you feel that the only uses for the Internet are the ones that meet your criteria…why do you think that you should be the ultimate arbitrator of taste and standards for what may or may not go on the Internet.
Thirdly you attack the narcicistic element of having a live journal. I know that for most people that have a journal there is a shock when you realize that there are people who are actually reading it, I can guarantee that most people start journals not because they want the world to sniff their rose scented farts but because they have something that needs to be let out. Most of the people who’s journals I read are people I interact with on other levels, and I know that sometimes I don’t get the opportunity to talk with them as much as I want to…and their journals help me to keep in touch with their lives. It may be mundane and pointless to you, but I can guarantee that any phone calls you make with your parents, brothers and sisters and friends are full of mundane stuff that only means something to you and them. Of course you could attack everybodies home pages too, because I can guarantee that they are full of things that have meaning for their friends and them.
And this game is an example of how you spend your leisure time, I guess its something you like doing and find more or less therapeutic, well some people don’t like playing games and aren’t interested in tracking statistics and injury reports in their spare time, they like to write in their journal, is this a less valid use of the Internet, I think not, it is something they like doing. There are plenty of us that think its silly building a fake football team, but we don’t spend time writing threads attacking those that do…I think it all comes down to tolerance, we should have the right to do what we want with the Internet etc as long as nobody is getting hurt and nothing illegal is being done, a live journal is as valid an expression of this as belonging to a fantasy football league. This board is a microcosm of that, there are people who prefer MPSIMS because they like the lighter side of these boards (like me), and there are others who prefer GD…but they are all equally part of the Straight Dope Community, and believe me this is a community and we do have interactions with people off the boards, we exchange emails, we may participate in conversations in chat (which is not affiliated with or part of the Straight Dope or the Chicago Reader), and we may read the journals of people we talk with. It is all part of community building. I am sure you have had conversations and emails with people in your fantasy football league that aren’t strictly connected with the actual games you are "playing’, if not you should try it, the main resource on the Internet is people and who knows you may feel you need to put down your thoughts in writing…
I still dont get why he can’t voice an opinion?! Because you disagree with it he becomes the biggest asshole since Hitler?
In that case fuck you and being upset about musical cellphone alerts
and
Fuck you because you think pottery barn is a rip off
and
fuck you because you think chandra levy’s parents should leave Condit alone
and
fuck you and your makeup
and
fuck you and your cd packaging! (CD PACKAGING!!! WTF WAS THIS! Well that’s certainly pit worthy!)
You guys come off kind of hypocritical because you dont agree with his opinion about people keeping live journals. You say he shouldn’t voice his opinion but it’s okay for you to voice your opinions about his opinion? Augh… my head hurts.
PS: I still dont care about the actuall OP one way or the other… it’s the principle
pezpunk, he’s perfectly welcome to post an opinion, but by calling people who keep journals narcissistic, self worshipping ignoramuses, he’s calling ME an ignoramus, and I think i have a right to defend myself in that regard. and if he truly wanted to debate the value of journals, this is the wrong forum.
I did read that part, and I read the rest, which I also responded to. It appears you are coping out by not responding to me and the rest of my post because you know I’m right. What a fuckhead. I haven’t seen such a fucking filter quite like yours since the last GD troll rolled in.
I hope this thread hangs around because it is classic. I’ve had a better laugh off of this than any thread in a long time. You guys should go back and re-read the thread tomorrow. I think you’ll get a laugh out of it too. Outrider has a style of posting that reminds me of hama. He just happened to pick a topic that really set people off. I have no opinion of LJ one way or the other. I have lots of friends that have one, and that’s ok, I just don’t have the time. Outrider is entitled to his opinion, but when he lumps people together and does the name-calling deal then he can expect a lot of flack, which is exactly what he’s getting. But that’s ok, it’s the PIT.
I like you **Outrider[/] and I think you have a lot to offer the board, but you better put on your flame-retardant suit cause it’s just starting to warm up right now. You’ll be ripped a new one before it’s over. But, hey, welcome to the board.
All a bunch a freaks! Oh crap, I wasn’t supposed to say that to your faces. I was supposed to get a bunch of people together so that we could all make fun of you behind your backs. Then it would be all right.
Sarcasm Alert
Before generating vitriol filled responses, please note that the proceeding message contained heavy sarcasm. Please read the linked thread for further understanding or take my word for it.
In case you haven’t guessed as much, this was my first real post to the Pit. Yes, I got my ass handed to me, and for good reason.
What I was really looking for was something like what Odieman ended up saying - a well-reasoned, calm, logical attack on my points. He didn’t base his argument on calling me names or by saying “if you don’t like it, don’t read it.” He showed me why I was wrong, and did so skillfully.
Manservant Hecubus - holy shit, good detective work
I guess this was my Pit initiation thread, as ultress said. When I made the OP, I figured that you guys wanted a heated, generalized, and controversial statement that would inspire debate. Although I could have easily hedged my post so that it was something tame like: “I think livejournal is pointless” I’m actually glad that I ended up making the original post, because it gave me a chance to see the wide spectrum of tactics and perspectives that you guys bring to arguments.
I was shocked and impressed by the idea that people here actually cared enough to look up other threads that I had posted under and search the web to find information that damaged my argument. I wasn’t expecting that level of intensity, having spent most of my time at SMDB asking inane questions in GQ or adding “me too” posts under threads in IMHO.
Thanks for the rude welcome guys. I look forward to sparring with you in the future, maybe after I pick up a little more experience.
I like LJ because I can write whatever is on my mind and only people who WANT to read my journal can. I refrain from posting too much mpsims on this board because I’ll be subjecting too many people to a lot of boring crap. I know 99% of the people here couldn’t care less that I just found out I won a bidding war on a home (my first home), so I write about it on LJ. By writing in LJ I was trying to avoid reactions like the one Outrider had. And no, my cat’s bowel movements or my mortgage payments are not inspiring enough events to make me want to write poetry or paint a picture. Also, most of the stuff I share on LJ is also shared IRL with friends near me. So I do have somewhat of a social life. At least until I start paying that mortgage.
