Tempest in a Chamber Pot
December 11, 2012 7:19 AM Subscribe
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is one of those "high profile people on the interwebs acting horribly" things. The rape joke is down; this is a lot of after-the-fact click grabbing posturing. -- jessamyn
"Predictable results" meaning Matt Inman inches a little closer to convincing me he's not a total douchebag, then torpedoes the whole thing by prominently posting a picture of the reporter and trying to "out" said reporter on as many embarrassing details in his personal life as he can, all as some kind of twisted revenge.
So here we are again. Douchebag. Jack Stuef and Buzzfeed shouldn't be wasting their time. When people repeatedly make rape jokes and consistently tend toward really gross sexist humor, it doesn't mean they have some dark past that needs airing out; it just means they're probably a run-of-the-mill jerk. Exposés aren't really the best way to go with run-of-the-mill jerks. You're probably best off just ignoring them.
posted by koeselitz at 7:28 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
So here we are again. Douchebag. Jack Stuef and Buzzfeed shouldn't be wasting their time. When people repeatedly make rape jokes and consistently tend toward really gross sexist humor, it doesn't mean they have some dark past that needs airing out; it just means they're probably a run-of-the-mill jerk. Exposés aren't really the best way to go with run-of-the-mill jerks. You're probably best off just ignoring them.
posted by koeselitz at 7:28 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
My first thought after hearing about this was that Jack Stuef should be really embarrassed to have his name attached to such a horrible, error-filled hit piece. The Oatmeal's now-deleted rape joke panel was just Stuef's excuse to spew a ton of bile without fact-checking basic stuff like whether the "obscure personal profile" he found was actually the real thing.
Buzzfeed's deleted that part, but notice there's no apology in their correction at the bottom of the piece, nor even a tiny "regret the error" statement. What horseshit. Having the guts to apologize when you get things wrong is a basic part of journalism. That Buzzfeed and Stuef can't be bothered to do that is very telling.
posted by mediareport at 7:29 AM on December 11, 2012 [4 favorites]
Buzzfeed's deleted that part, but notice there's no apology in their correction at the bottom of the piece, nor even a tiny "regret the error" statement. What horseshit. Having the guts to apologize when you get things wrong is a basic part of journalism. That Buzzfeed and Stuef can't be bothered to do that is very telling.
posted by mediareport at 7:29 AM on December 11, 2012 [4 favorites]
It's been getting tons of exposure and I can't let this go without defending myself.
Well then that's your problem right there.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:29 AM on December 11, 2012
Well then that's your problem right there.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:29 AM on December 11, 2012
Metafilter:what actually happened is that you emailed my MOTHER, and she had no idea what Buzzfeed was so she said no.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
I gave both of these organizations a click. I regret that, and I would like those clicks back.
posted by gauche at 7:31 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by gauche at 7:31 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
mediareport - there is a note at the bottom of the buzzfeed piece (with a link to Inman's rebuttal):
"Update: A previous version of this piece linked to a profile that implied Inman was married, had children, and holds certain political beliefs. The profile is a fake. Inman refused to comment for this story, but posted an extended challenge to it on his website."
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 7:32 AM on December 11, 2012
"Update: A previous version of this piece linked to a profile that implied Inman was married, had children, and holds certain political beliefs. The profile is a fake. Inman refused to comment for this story, but posted an extended challenge to it on his website."
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 7:32 AM on December 11, 2012
We've already done this.
Rape jokes are bad.
The guy who draws The Oatmeal is kind of a jerk.
Buzzfeed complaining about SEO evokes maxims about pots and kettles.
Hatchet-job articles, and ensuing poo-slinging contests are kind of like the Web 2.0 equivalent of Mutually Assured Destruction.
Did I miss anything? None of this is new, and while I'm sure that this could turn into a nasty thread, I really don't think that any of these things are all that debatable...
posted by schmod at 7:33 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Rape jokes are bad.
The guy who draws The Oatmeal is kind of a jerk.
Buzzfeed complaining about SEO evokes maxims about pots and kettles.
Hatchet-job articles, and ensuing poo-slinging contests are kind of like the Web 2.0 equivalent of Mutually Assured Destruction.
Did I miss anything? None of this is new, and while I'm sure that this could turn into a nasty thread, I really don't think that any of these things are all that debatable...
posted by schmod at 7:33 AM on December 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Buzzfeed and The Oatmeal are both taking editorial risks by publishing anything that isn't a top 10 list with the words "FAIL" or "BACON", so good for them, really.
posted by hellojed at 7:34 AM on December 11, 2012 [9 favorites]
posted by hellojed at 7:34 AM on December 11, 2012 [9 favorites]
Poorly fact-checked hit pieces are bad. So is returning the favor, as it makes you no better than the original author.
But rape jokes are generally really bad, too--as in, nearly always, they're not as funny as the would-be joker is, and are most often made by those who won't ever have to worry about such things happening to them. Can the Internet give them a rest for a while, along with zombies, mustaches, pirates, and bacon obsession, in that order? You can still do cats, though. Kthxbai.
posted by smirkette at 7:34 AM on December 11, 2012
But rape jokes are generally really bad, too--as in, nearly always, they're not as funny as the would-be joker is, and are most often made by those who won't ever have to worry about such things happening to them. Can the Internet give them a rest for a while, along with zombies, mustaches, pirates, and bacon obsession, in that order? You can still do cats, though. Kthxbai.
posted by smirkette at 7:34 AM on December 11, 2012
That which has been clicked cannot be unclicked, gauche.
Perhaps to right the karmic balance you could do what Inman did and make a completely insincere and insulting non-apology coupled with a token donation to a charity.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:35 AM on December 11, 2012
Perhaps to right the karmic balance you could do what Inman did and make a completely insincere and insulting non-apology coupled with a token donation to a charity.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:35 AM on December 11, 2012
That Inman response was... eye-opening. Can I have my click and my faith in humanity back?
posted by Stagger Lee at 7:37 AM on December 11, 2012
posted by Stagger Lee at 7:37 AM on December 11, 2012
mediareport - there is a note at the bottom of the buzzfeed piece
Yeah, womble, I mentioned the correction in my comment. Again, my point is that they don't apologize. To me, that's basic.
And I dunno, koeselitz, I'm not some huge Oatmeal fan (not a fan at all, it's ok sometimes) but it seems to me fair game when you're being painted as an insensitive jerk to point out that the person doing the painting has been making "retard" jokes.
posted by mediareport at 7:38 AM on December 11, 2012
Yeah, womble, I mentioned the correction in my comment. Again, my point is that they don't apologize. To me, that's basic.
And I dunno, koeselitz, I'm not some huge Oatmeal fan (not a fan at all, it's ok sometimes) but it seems to me fair game when you're being painted as an insensitive jerk to point out that the person doing the painting has been making "retard" jokes.
posted by mediareport at 7:38 AM on December 11, 2012
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posted by NoMich at 7:27 AM on December 11, 2012