I was soooo grouchy yesterday. I woke up grouchy today. All of the people attempting to defend the creators and supporters (and by support I mean commenters, linkers and readers) of meankids. What are they thinking?
Meankids wasn’t satire and it wasn’t sarcasm and it wasn’t snark. It was bullying, manipulation, attack, and hatred. That’s it. If you want to defend that, then who ARE you?
Thanks Liz. The more people talking the better.
Technorati Tags: meankids, hatespeech
This is what’s wrong with the internet. Or more specifically online communities. Or even more specifically, online communities that don’t moderate themselves or their members. I can’t even believe I just typed that, but it’s true. And it’s why after all of these years I still moderate online communities. Even though I’m the moderator who usually rages against the machine in favor of less moderation, more freedom of expression, looser reins, more trust in the individuals who make up the community.
Bah.
For the record, I’ve never read anything on “meankids”. I do snark and sarcasm, I don’t do “mean”. Now, I’m playing catch up. Trying to sort out what went wrong and why. Like the always brilliant Shelley Powers, I’m not interested in pointing fingers at any individuals. Kathy can do that, with whatever evidence she has, and let the authorities take it from there if she has that kind of evidence or desire to push it.
I’m interested in what causes this. And how to stop it. Particularly since so much of it seems to be directed at women. And at children.
What gives someone the right to photoshop a kid’s photo. What gives someone the right to put a noose around Kathy Sierra’s neck? What gives someone the right to make sexual comments about a woman? What gives someone the right to degrade and threaten another human being – often a woman?
Patriarchy? Liz titled her post with a rage against patriarchy and I love her for that. It’s so easy to toss that phrase out. I do it everyday. Is it more than that? Is it something else entirely. The culture of the internet, Scoble said today. What’s driving us to create an internet space that looks the way it does today. That feels the way it felt today when I read Sierra’s post and just sat there not knowing what to say.
Nancy White helped organize and lead a small group of folks last year who wanted to discuss “us/them” situations within the Blogosphere and beyond. This is definitely an us/them situation. The problem is, the us/them line is getting more muddled everyday. The attacks back and forth and back again are growing and they’re getting uglier and more dangerous.
Kathy Sierra drew a line in the blogosphere today. I don’t know if it was the right line, but it was a line and I support her right to draw it. I support her right to tell people what she thinks and how she feels. I support her right to fight back in any way she feels is right for her.
Be careful of turning your back on her and on this issue. One day it may be you with a noose around your neck on a blog, it may be you with the death threats – your odds are great, especially if you’re a woman.
Technorati Tags: women, blogosphere, deaththreats, feminism, patriarchy, kathysierra, meankids, usthem
Mean Kids errr People Suck Read More »
Happy National Bubble Week!
In honor of the celebration, why not top your cupcakes with miniature bubbles? Oriental Trading has more varieties than you ever dreamed existed!
These princess wands are 4″ tall so if you push them down in there, they will probably be the perfect cupcake topper. Just make sure they haven’t leaked or your cupcakes will taste a bit soapy, heh. Check out this bright colored assortment, having a bunch of bubbles around is always a good idea so this would do the trick. Take the cord off of the sea life bubbles pictured and you’ll have some fun and fabulous cupcake toppers for a sea life birthday party.
Technorati Tags: cupcakes, cupcaketoppers, bubbles, bubblewands
Daily Dose of Cupcakes Read More »
Some tidbits from the trip home to Charleston:
Jenn’s new apartment is nice. Fewer stairs but too many for my taste (and my knee.) She’s following in her aunt’s footsteps and has a bedroom for the cat.
Riverview Holiday Inn was fun to stay in since I’ve wanted to stay there since I was tiny, tiny, tiny. (It’s a round Holiday Inn and it makes me think of Melissa and “North Carolina” now, which kind of messes with my head.)
The restaurant in the Riverview Holiday Inn, not so good since most people actually like to enjoy their food when they eat. I think they should go back to the old name (which was Prioleau’s) and maybe that will help the quality of the food.
Business sure is booming over there in West Ashley. Sheesh. It’s almost as “bad” as the north area! I do not like getting lost in my own home town, or feeling like I’m lost because NOTHING looks the same.
Cupcake was cute and interesting and fun to FINALLY find but my goodness what a lot of icing! I don’t really LIKE icing anyway, heh. If you like icing and a really sweet cupcake then you must track them down when you are in Charleston. (wrong end of King St! Don’t walk toward Broad, walk away from Broad) Pst… to the owners of Cupcake, your website is too hard to find. Whoever created it for you needs to do something about that.
I successfully avoided the dumb new bridge, though I did have to look at it from the hotel restaurant several times. And, I had to listen to a lot of touristy people and my dumb ex husband talk about it.
Jenn living West of the Ashley is going to cut our driving time. Taking 17 is much faster than going all of the way up to 26. If I can just avoid having to stop at my ex inlaw’s house… ah well, at least it will cut the trip in one direction. A visit to the lake is a requirement, my ex mil would be sad if she didn’t get to hang out with TW for a bit.
My new nephew (OK fine, ex nephew) is damn cute but his mother should not be old enough to have a baby. That stuff makes me feel old and people need to stop doing it. No more babies! No more nephews growing up. None of that. I’m done with it.
Gas is too damn expensive in Florida. I’m considering forcing Michelle to go to college in either Georgia or SC just for the gas prices.
Yarn shops are fascinating places. Even if they have very social dogs wandering around inside of them. If you’re a knitter and you are in Charleston, go to Knit. They’re nice people and the yarn is interesting. (I never thought I’d be talking about yarn shops on MY blog.) FYI there’s a parking garage right next door. How convenient is THAT?
OK enough with the Charleston recap, back to the real world.
Technorati Tags: charleston, holidayinn, cupcake, knit
Back to work, but first…. Read More »
St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes are so easy. There are millions of tiny St Patrick’s Day novelties to choose from. Mini leprechauns, Kiss Me I’m Irish pins and the tiny green coins in this picture. (FYI I bought a package of them three years ago and am always finding them scattered around the house which is odd since half of the package is still in the junk drawer!)
Pst… We are heading to the Cupcake store in Charleston today (and a yarn shop)…. how exciting!
Technorati Tags: cupcakes, cupcaketoppers, stpatricksday
Daily Dose of Cupcakes Read More »
hahahaha ok this might be the best interview, EVER. Don’t read the transcript, listen to the interview – and think of me, cause I’ve never killed a man either, not so you’d notice. hahahaha
Interview with a community moderator
Technorati Tags: onlinecommunities, communitymoderators
I only went to lure the shy TW into the group and what did we find when we arrived? Our old friend Laura who we originally met online YEARS ago. The same Laura who was also TW’s nurse the first time she was in the hospital for UC (now Crohn’s). Gainesville is a small, small town. And Laura had her spinning wheel.
The Stitch ‘n Bitchers were very nice, very welcoming, very yarn crazy. Very interesting to me, a non-yarn person. Heh. Two spinning wheels in attendance. INTERESTING. And it was cool to meet the famous Lorena from Snarkland in person. Finally.
Anyone want to take bets on how long it is before TW owns a spinning wheel?
So I went to a Stitch ‘n Bitch Read More »
I am so busy at work, I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how busy. And on top of that, my replacement work laptop arrived – so I took a break and set it up which isn’t really any kind of break at all. Then it hit me – Friday – I have to do cupcake toppers! But what’s the theme?
TW said “women’s history” – I rolled my eyes as she started describing some glass ceiling cupcakes. Err, right, like I can find glass ceiling cupcake toppers. I’m good but not that good. Then she’s rambling about hellcats and Roe V Wade buttons and I finally told her to shush and go read her email since her son is sending us poetry. Which makes me nervous. Heh.
So, in honor of 13 year old poetry lovers everywhere – I dub this Robert Frost Day and suggest miles to go cupcakes.
Updated for more details and add an image, because Lee needs the visuals or something…. This image comes from the link and the link takes you to a CafePress store. The image is actually a ceramic ornament which will be too expensive for cupcake toppers (though a nice keepsake for kids if you do have a poet party). You can, however, create a pin or a round magnet using this idea. Or, run down to Michaels and grab a button making machine and make your own buttons.
Daily Dose of Cupcake Toppers Read More »
Good grief, could you Gainesville folks get out and VOTE and make those poor polling place people happy? I thought they were going to hug us this morning, they were so darn pleased to see us. I am thinking the polls have been a wee bit slow and these people are bored stiff.
Go. Vote. I know it’s just a little vote, but it’s still important. And remember, if you don’t take part in democracy, the right to vote just might be taken away from you – it happened in our little corner of the world, just down the street in Alachua.
Go. Vote. NOW.
