Friday, June 11, 2010

The bloggicide


I recently caused someone to commit bloggicide. I'm rather shocked that I could do that, but I did. I regard myself in awe and say 'Awwww. He was out of his league, poor thing.' and I feel a bit puffed up and rather sorry at the same time.

I suppose the truth is that the poor fellow was goaded. He used to blog about his personal life, and as long as your opinions were approving, he'd lap it up. Then he did something I didn't approve of, and posted about that, and thus the trouble began. To tell you the truth, I think I was quite mild, though earthy, in expressing my criticism (in a private email), and I did add that it was none of my business anyway, but I got quite the tirade back. I was sticking my nose in where it didn't belong, I was making 'demands'. I should mind my own business. A four line paragraph warranted about two pages' worth of self-justification. I was called obnoxious and asked to abide by certain 'parameters' (unspecified).

I suppose this is the unfair bit, because apart from pointing out that I hadn't made any demands whatsoever and that I knew very well it wasn't my business and was thankful for it, I told him that putting his private life on a public forum made it public business. Opinions are formed, and they're not always flattering. Furthermore that his 'public' were entitled to evaluate him according to his self-made, self-expressed image, and remark on it, and that reading his blog was hardly 'sticking my nose where it doesn't belong'. I recommended that those who wish for privacy should be private.

I don't think it was very long after getting that mail that he bloggicided - deader than a dead blog - not abandoned, but deleted. Have I been wicked? Sigh. I suppose I have.
***********************************************
Here's a picture of me being wicked and obnoxious. Feel free to disapprove.


5 comments:

  1. The anonymity of the Internet allows people to feel comfortable in being complete twats. The first person I seriously offended was because she posted a quiz about herself and I accidentally got all the answers right. Although I was banned from commenting from that point forward, I continued to read her blog just to see how long she would stay depressed over the issue. I quit reading after she whined about it daily for a couple of weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. it's funny because a lot of blogs will let you post blogs & keep them private. When I get people who post comments saying my blog sucks, my writing stinks, or that my art is horrible I just find it funny & think it comes with the territory.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks guys, I'll admit I did wonder if I'm being obnoxious: but that's also part of the fun of the internet: you can say exactly what you think, and any demand for self-censorship seems out of line to me. As you point out, Karl: if people are fair and far off with their remarks, its just funny.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well- I committed bloggacide a couple of months ago- unrelated to anyone's comments- but very related to public versus private. I'm back blogging now with a new awareness. Feel free to visit me- I suspect I'm way too tame for your free spiritedness- but comment away.
    You write great- that's why I'm following.

    ReplyDelete
  5. To tell you the honest, honest truth, I killed a blog once too.

    ReplyDelete