Humorous Clown Monkey Reply

Geez, I was beginning to feel neglected by the Clown Monkey Coalition because they hadn't spammed me for a while. I finally got a new email from them yesterday. They announced the 8th $100 t-shirt slogan winner.

Now, before I say what the slogan was, allow me to remind you that per their own site, they are about "humorous t-shirts and hoodies."

They posted the winner on the message board: "Jesus can only do so much."

Fair enough. At the time I looked at the board there was a reply (which frankly I can't believe made it past the moderators).

I though you guys were looking for something funny???

LOL But wait! It gets better!

....how is this funny? Where's the humor?

really??

Yeah that is pretty terrible.

turns out, they are easily excited with no sense of humor..lol "IM HUGE IN MEXICO IS FUNNY"?

Clown monkey who picks the winner? you guyz have either been trapped in a closet since the 80s and dont get out very much or have no if any sense of humor. By the way why are you screening posts you should just let people express themselves. I can say "Im huge in Mexico" to all of my friends over and over again and I guarentee you they wont crack a smile. "Im huge in Mexico" is not funny at all. What IS funny is that you think it is lol. Not hating tho hope you make great sales on these corny shirts.

No sure about this one.....

Not only is it not funny but it is offensive.

Yea, a little confused as to why they would pick this one. Very controversial.

Mine was funnier - but then you had to think to get it!

Of Internet Drama, Trolls and Hissy Fits (Part 1)

For a long time now, I've wonder what exactly it is about the Internet that makes people post crude and harassing posts to each other. I understand that it's easy for person to get sucked into a board controversy, take things personally, and lash out in ways they wouldn't dream of if the conflict was with a neighbor or someone in the workplace.

One of my oldest and most productive online friendships is with a person (I'll refer to her here as "Lois") who was routinely vilified on a message board, even though at the time I began posting there, she wasn't. Many discussions centered around how awful this person was and her supposed character flaws were dissected ad nauseum. I was accused of being this other person for months, I guess because our posting styles and opinions were similar. This had gone on for months when she made an appearance.

I was rather in awe. She was famous, if nothing else, for having made a definite impression on those boards. Tentatively, I emailed her and was a little thrilled when she replied. That was way back in 1998 and today we are not only online friends, we've met several times in real life and currently collaborate on various projects.

The intervening years have never been dull, however, as posters continued to accuse us of being the same person. The one who continues to cyberstalk Lois eventually and grudgingly accepted that we were not -- but only after she stalked us and gathered enough information to realize that we were in fact different people. Even though those boards have been pretty much dead since the host changed their format a few years ago, this woman continues to dredge up every bit of info she can on Lois. She posts a question on some obscure board, and her stalker is there commenting on it. Stalky even presumes to know intimate details of my friend's marriage and her husband's death. She has created multiple discussions about Lois' marriage, birth of her daughter, the relationship between Lois and her husband Ralph.

The stalker in question has claimed to be a teacher and if so, god help us all. Although after so many years online and after having seen scams of many stripes being circulated, I think it may very well be that she is simply a convict in a jail cell with a laptop and lots and lots of time on her hands.

To be Continued....

FaceBook

I've gotten various invites to FaceBook over the last couple of years and couldn't work up too much interest in it. Last week I got another one and signed up just so I could view a pal's Obama inauguration pics. I have to say that I am having a blast.

Such a blast in fact that I find I've been neglecting this blog. But FB is satisfying on so many levels. The invites I'd received in the past were still there. As part of the registration process I was prompted to allow it to search through my email address book. Although I find this sort of thing generally unsettling, I went for it. The result was that I was able to connect with people I thought I had lost contact with forever. People I dated, people I worked with, friends who had come and gone, friends of friends. My niece, my cousin. Finding out more on a daily basis about people I've been in regular email contact with for 10 years.

On the whole, FaceBook participation has been very rewarding and a lot of fun. I feel a little bit dumb that it took me so long, but ultimately very glad that I did.