E-chair? L-inject? Hang? Draw & quarter?

March 19, 2005 10:10 AM

9 year old Jessica Lunsford's body has been found. A registered sex offender has confessed to the kidnapping and murder.
posted by jfuller (29 comments total)

Yeah I read it in the paper, this morning.

How is this the best of the web?
posted by jpburns at 10:11 AM on March 19, 2005

Um...am I missing something? Someone kills a kid, confesses, they find the body...Why is this being posted? What am I missing?
posted by bugbread at 10:16 AM on March 19, 2005

Hey, it's really sad but it's on CNN too, all day I think!
posted by moonbird at 10:17 AM on March 19, 2005

> How is this the best of the web?

Swift knowledge of the world around us is the best thing the web offers. There really isn't a second place, nothing at all until you get down to fifth or sixth.

Oh, and it's very apt following the Eugene Volokh thread. Incidentally, Volokh just jumped off the retribution train.
posted by jfuller at 10:17 AM on March 19, 2005

jfuller, if that's your actual rationale, why not link to the front page of cnn.com? I mean, that gives you swift knowledge about all kinds of things in the world, not just one single random kid.

You could make a multipost, with links to the front page of cnn.com, and ap.org, and even msnbc.com if you wanted to make it super best-of-the-web.
posted by bugbread at 10:21 AM on March 19, 2005

"How is this the best of the web?" : Cuz deep down, every man fantasizes about raping and killing little girls. [/sarcasm]
posted by mischief at 10:26 AM on March 19, 2005

Pedageddon is here! How can we keep our children safe? If this trend continues, every child in the US will be killed by a pedophile.
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:31 AM on March 19, 2005

so we put him in prison and throw away the key ... it's tragic, but what purpose does this fpp serve? ... we've heard it all before with other names ... no one's going to defend the man or what he did ... why is this useful?
posted by pyramid termite at 10:35 AM on March 19, 2005

How is this the best of the web?

Ask the centipede vagina guy.


And my heart goes out to the Lunsford family.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:35 AM on March 19, 2005

Mayor Curley : " Pedageddon is here! How can we keep our children safe? If this trend continues, every child in the US will be killed by a pedophile."

What a horrible slippery slope fallacy! It's clear that the logical conclusion is that if this trend continues, every child killer will confess, and there will be no more serial killings!

Oriole Adams : "How is this the best of the web?

"Ask the centipede vagina guy."

Uh, ok. Angry Modem, how is this post the best of the web?
posted by bugbread at 10:38 AM on March 19, 2005

bugbread says...

Um...am I missing something? Someone kills a kid, confesses, they find the body...Why is this being posted? What am I missing?

and then, not satisfied with making his point only once, posts again...

...why not link to the front page of cnn.com? I mean, that gives you swift knowledge about all kinds of things in the world, not just one single random kid.

Give it a break, bugbread. I agree that this isn't fpp material, but surely the fact that jfuller actually seems to care about that "one single random kid" matters more than whatever inconvenience you've been subjected to by his post. Twit.
posted by 327.ca at 10:38 AM on March 19, 2005

327.ca : " and then, not satisfied with making his point only once, posts again"

Not quite. My first question didn't have a "point", it was a request for more info. I really didn't know if I was missing something. I don't live in the US. I don't have the same type of media exposure as USians. There may have been something really interesting / unique / unusual about this case, which I couldn't determine from the article. It was a serious, legitimate question.

Then, when the response was "because it's news, which is best of the web and 4 or 5 places superior to everything else", THAT'S when I made a response with an opinion. THAT'S when I first made my point.

And the post after that (slippery slope / serial killers), that was just being flippant. Sorry about that.

As for being inconvenienced by the post: Well, it didn't inconvenience me. It's against the mission and guidelines of Mefi, but I suppose in that case putting something on the grey would have been a better choice. Sorry.
posted by bugbread at 10:44 AM on March 19, 2005

I bet Munch caught him.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 10:45 AM on March 19, 2005

The post was misguided, but the justification is fatuous. Swift knowledge of the world around us is most assuredly not what the Web offers. First of all, this report is swift information, not knowledge. Second, quick info arrived with radio, not the Web.
posted by QuietDesperation at 10:50 AM on March 19, 2005

Uh, ok. Angry Modem, how is this post the best of the web?

'Best of the Web' is a dubious term, because everyone's idea of 'Best of the Web' is different. And the second you take an average, you end up with, you guessed it, lots of porn involving women with naturally large breasts and a general smattering of political articles. In short, the premise was always flawed.

Please don't capitalize my username.
posted by angry modem at 10:51 AM on March 19, 2005

My first question didn't have a "point", it was a request for more info. I really didn't know if I was missing something. I don't live in the US. I don't have the same type of media exposure as USians. There may have been something really interesting / unique / unusual about this case, which I couldn't determine from the article. It was a serious, legitimate question.

Spare me. Here's a big clue, bugbread (as you yourself pointed out):

http://www.cnn.com/

All you need to know about this particular case is right there on the front page. If you don't even know how to look up a prominent news story, then maybe you shouldn't be getting all pissy with the original poster.
posted by 327.ca at 10:52 AM on March 19, 2005

I heard that Robert Blake fella' is in the news as well lately.
posted by Space Coyote at 10:54 AM on March 19, 2005

Which complete stranger's well-being can I latch onto now?
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 10:56 AM on March 19, 2005

Using this as a catchall, how's a 'bout a non-too-pleasant story of one who survived, and the man who did it. Outrage for everybody.
posted by Wulfgar! at 10:57 AM on March 19, 2005

327.ca : " All you need to know about this particular case is right there on the front page. If you don't even know how to look up a prominent news story, then maybe you shouldn't be getting all pissy with the original poster."

I wasn't aware you had to research a topic to ask a question in a thread. I just wanted to know what was special about the topic. So I asked. Why is that making you so angry? I can understand my followup making you angry, but asking the initial question?
posted by bugbread at 10:58 AM on March 19, 2005

I agree that this isn't fpp material, but surely the fact that jfuller actually seems to care about that "one single random kid" matters more than whatever inconvenience you've been subjected to by his post.

By this rationale, everything is appropriate for MetaFilter, so long as someone cares about it. And apparently, they only have to care about it enough to post it. Or do you have some way of knowing that jfuller has been keeping up a round-the-clock vigil?
posted by anapestic at 11:11 AM on March 19, 2005

Next.
posted by margarita at 11:12 AM on March 19, 2005

Can we move the meta-discussion to MetaTalk? Thanks.
posted by DaShiv at 11:58 AM on March 19, 2005

Only if someone wants to use their once-a-week posting.
posted by delmoi at 12:31 PM on March 19, 2005

Sorry, I should've mentioned that it's been moved.
posted by bugbread at 12:36 PM on March 19, 2005

Only if someone wants to use their once-a-week posting.

Good point! From that basis alone, expect callouts to continue in-thread. Carry on.
posted by mischief at 12:41 PM on March 19, 2005

Who the hell is Jessica Lunsford? I can't keep all these missing children straight.
posted by Arch Stanton at 1:00 PM on March 19, 2005

Is Michael Jackson on trial or something?
posted by fixedgear at 1:31 PM on March 19, 2005

Would I have to be an American to know about this?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:34 PM on March 19, 2005