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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scot who wrote (92047)	2/8/2000 11:24:00 AM
From: Scot	Respond to of 1576894

OT: but I thought everyone might enjoy this column from Dvorak on threads and message boards: -Scot The Dvorak haters' club By John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine January 11, 2000 10:18 AM PT URL: zdnet.com As we enter a decade of Internet-dominated computing, I suspect that we'll slowly see the end of useful dialog in open forums ? if we haven't already. I say this based on my observations of online behavior over the last 15 or so years. While the quality of dialog is the same as it ever was, the sheer volume of ankle-biting, nit-picking, and raw flaming will soon result in an out-of-control situation. Anyone who read the feedback that followed my column last week (read column) or even the week before (read column), (not to mention my Apple iBook column from last July; read column) knows that lots of online feedback can be plain idiotic. While thoughtful feedback still dominates the discussions, there are far too many anonymous postings that do no more than insult me or some other person in the discussion. Worse, too many people with too much time on their hands are looking for the most obscure things to complain about. I've categorized these folks in a vain effort to publicly humiliate them (even though I know that's impossible). The Uptight, Always-Right, Overly Sensitive Jerk The best example was someone last week who complained about my aside regarding the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. My brief comment about the movie's incorrect prediction of life in 2001 was ill-received by a Kubrick fanatic who went on a tirade telling me that I didn't have half the talent of Kubrick and that it was a crime against humanity that I would dare to say anything unflattering regarding the movie. Huh? Did anyone care to read such a rant in the context of a column regarding Y2K? What an egotist. The "YOU SUCK" Bigot People out there wonder why there is a paucity of outspoken columnists writing about technology. The "YOU SUCK" people are the main reason. Most writers can't put up with their never-ending attacks. This group is essentially a contingent of wanna-bes and "I'm smarter than you are" types (most of whom are pretty smart, but so what?) who seem annoyed that someone has developed an opinion without consulting them first! These guys (few seem to be women) love to dish it out when any sort of opinion is expressed, especially one that contains any sort of factual error ? whether the error is important to the point or not. You get comments like, "You said 1943, when any fool knows it was 1942. Now I can't believe anything you've ever said, and I'll never trust anything you ever write again!" "YOU SUCK" people view themselves as fountains of knowledge and love to use their real names in hopes of getting the recipient to notice them. The "You've Lost It" Commentator This type is the eye-roller for me. A typical comment: "I've been reading you for ten years and I've always liked you, but now you suck." My arguments are weak. My comments are lame. I see too many conspiracies. I'm boring. I'm bitter because I'm not rich. I'm old. I've lost touch. I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm missing the point. I'm a Mac basher. I'm a Microsoft basher. Blah, blah, blah....I've heard it all. This type of person is basically the intellectual, nonengineer version of the "YOU SUCK" bigot. He feels uniquely qualified to say I suck because he liked me when I was good. Yeah, right. The Fanatic Fanatics are moving targets. They think they've found the second coming of Christ in a product they use. Instead of promoting their beloved platform (Amiga, Mac, Windows NT, OS/2, Linux), they go gunning for anyone who is critical. This is cultlike behavior. Shout down or ruin the lives of the critics so your devotees won't hear anything bad. I used to be an OS/2 maven, was a Mac user for years, and believe the Amiga was a wonderful machine. But I have zero respect for these guys. The Long-Winded, Point-By-Point Bore You'll find these guys on every forum. Most are dreadful bores, but it's amazing the amount of good material and unique ideas they give away for nothing. I'm usually a fan. Keep them coming! Now, here are my predictions for what each one of these types will say about this column: Uptight, Always-Right, Overly Sensitive Jerk: "I reread what you said about Kubrick. You are a no-talent loser compared to him and I resent your even mentioning his name in future columns." YOU SUCK Bigot: "This column proves YOU SUCK!" "You've Lost It" Commentator: "If you manage to get any feedback for such a stupid column, I'll be shocked. You're trying too hard!" Fanatic: "Why was Linux last on your list? Are you shilling for Microsoft?" Long-Winded, Point-By-Point Bore: Curiously, this is the only group that knows when to keep quiet. Welcome to 2000.