On a BBS or mailing list or Usenet newsgroup, you at least knew the passion of the participants was sincere. On an advertising-supported website, there’s always that doubt, and not a little one either. On older media, such as print, radio, and television, there’s no shortage of mouthy commentators who obviously have their job not for their quality of content but mainly for their talent in being inflammatory and riling up people–and bringing in the advertising dollars. Ad-supported websites are just following this well-worn path.

(It’s also still amusing (mildly) to me to see just how many bloggers think they’re the first to invent things. "Blog wars" are just run-of-the-mill flamewars which happen to take place on a blog. Which are just a type of website, not some incredible new form of publishing. And blogging is just writing–I’ve lost count of how many "how to blog well" articles I’ve come across that are just an inferior rehashing of classic advice that can be found in decades-old books like The Elements of Style or On Writing Well. Flamewars are almost never good writing, and while masturbation is pleasurable, people might at least have the grace to not do so in public.)

If you haven’t you really have lead a much cleaner life than I have. I get more aggro than that in the line at Wendy’s.