Or more mostly, one thing in particular.
Arrogant jerks who think that the anonymity of the Internet gives them carte blanche to do or say whatever they want. I've seen this very assinine attitude cripple or destroy various sites, one which I was as administrator for and truly loved until it changed, and now over at Leoville drastic changes are being made just because of the actions of a few who left Leo Laporte no other choice but to remove some of the most popular forum areas. AND on top of that, some loudmouth critical jerk who hangs out over on the forums for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction is insulting both me and Mr. Piers Anthony by insinuating I PAID for his review of my book!
I really don't give a rat's you know what (trying to remain civil tongued here, at least today), what he thinks about me, but Mr. Anthony did me a favor by even taking a few moments to glance at my book (something he rarely does), and to think that he then subsequently read it all the way through and then to actually give me a review on his site?? I still can't believe it. So let me make this emphatically clear for the deaf, dumb, and the cynical.
There was NO orchestration, NO plot, NO plan, NO lying, NO premeditation, AND NO PAY!!!
It was solely through the generous offer of a friend named CD Moulton, whom I asked to review my book prior to release and give me a blurb for it, that this all happened. He thought enough of my work to ask Mr. Anthony to at least take a peek at it, telling me upfront that Mr. Anthony may very well decline. And the rest, as the old tired, cliche goes, is history.
I've dealt with far more clever and offensive people then this guy, and I honestly shouldn't even give him the satisfaction of seeing how he's getting under my skin (since I'm sure that's all he's really after), but I don't like seeing people take cheap shots at others, particularly ones I know to be truly classy and full of integrity. It's almost like having Mr. Anthony taking undue criticism merely because of me, from a jackass (oops! So much for civil tongues, huh?), that knows nothing about me or my work. At least if he had read the damn book he'd have a legititmate (despite whether it's ultimately fair or honest) base from which to criticize. Though being the normally meek, soft-spoken, person that I am ("cough, cough*), nothing riles me up more than seeing someone being unfairly disrespected that way.
Grrrrrr!
I'll get over it, I'm sure, and most everyone over at the F&SF boards already knows the guy for what he really is. I think I just needed to vent, because it's something I'm seeing far too often on the Net these days. People think freedoms are a license to do whatever they want, but that's far from true. Freedom is a right, (a God-given one, if you're of that kind of belief, as I am), but it's also a responsibility. And if you abuse your rights then ultimately they will be taken away, as we're seeing happening inch by inch during the post 9-11 era.
Don't believe me? Check out the article here. Big Brother is turning his eyes toward the Internet now. Apparenly many are now speaking much too freely for his taste.
As for the resident jerk of the week, he can kiss my, um, feet. Yeah, that's it. ;)
*WheelMan steps down from soapbox now, and returns to his normally subdued self (*cough, cough*)*
- The WheelMan
Whew! I thought I was going to make this list!
Posted by: darci | March 06, 2005 at 06:20 PM