Negativity

illithid235

I was surfing the web and I found this website. Basically it is a very extensive blog dedicated to getting people to stop writing because they're bad at it. The blogger says that because there is so much terrible writing out there, all these aspiring writers should just quit to make room for the 0.1% of writers actually worth a damn. I find this website so depressing it makes me want to curl up and die. I'm sure all of you know of other websites like this, Maddox for example, where the owner systematically shits on everything in the world. Of course, Maddox's leans a bit more toward humor, but this website has a purpose, and that purpose just makes me sad.

Of course, I agree with him in that there is a lot of bad writing out there, writing that doesn't make sense or doesn't say anything or is just generic or cliched. But should people really just stop writing because they can't produce superior works? If writing makes a person happy, should someone shit all over it because they don't produce anything groundbreaking?

I don't know how to respond to this type of thing, other than to make this tiny little outcry and say that I think it's just.... overwhelmingly saddening. Shouldn't we be embracing the things that make us happy, and allowing others to do the same?

X'o'Lore

Never stop writing! If only the greatest of people in history wrote then what kind of picture would that have painted fo us? Even bad writing says something about a culture, and for many people, even if they are not skilled at it, writing helps them. Seriously, if you have people stop writing, then reading would follow behind and you are right back into the dark ages. A far better way to approach this is to seek a solution that leads to filling people with a strong desire to write better. We need to teach story telling. We need to teach people they ways of writing a novel! We also need to re-evaluate "research" papers. The internet is changing the dynamics of research in a huge way and all the research paper writing in school isn't keeping pace.

KhanFusion

I want to be a popular bloggist. How do I do that?

Can people give me a bunch of reasons not to be a bloggist, so as to help me figure out what makes a talented blogger so good?

X'o'Lore

Discuss things people care about! You must convince them that you are a beacon of light, a wise man on the mount and they will come far and wide to read what you have to write. Even better is to remove the "mount". They must percieve you as "one of them" if you really want to be the greatest. How to do this? *shrug*

EDIT: Saying controversial things can draw attention, but people will think you are a total dick and send you hate mail which is far less rewarding.

jc

Okay, the difference between now and pre-internet is that all terrible writers can now easily share their terrible works. The answer isn't to stop writing, it's to maybe practice more in private like people used to.

No big deal.

MrCheeze

Or just don't read bad stuff.

kukopanki

jc wrote: »

Okay, the difference between now and pre-internet is that all terrible writers can now easily share their terrible works. The answer isn't to stop writing, it's to maybe practice more in private like people used to.

No big deal.

Sure, that OR go on an epic quest full of risks and dangers in a faraway land in search of the mythical pen that allows he who bears it to produce the most marvelous literary creations.

NoLonger

I heard that the pen you speak of is in Thaiwan.

Mish42

How bout, instead of demanding anyone who's not amazing at writing to just give up on something they either enjoy or do not have the choice to change (i.e. writing papers for school), the people who have such a huge problem reading such crap just stop reading stuff on the internet... I'm sure there are a LOT more less-than-perfect writers on the internet than people who can't stand horrible writing. It would make everything easier. Everyone wins!

Agentcel

jc wrote: »

Okay, the difference between now and pre-internet is that all terrible writers can now easily share their terrible works. The answer isn't to stop writing, it's to maybe practice more in private like people used to.

No big deal.

*points to Hamelin's signature*
I have his signature written on my English binder...

Amoeba Boy

Pssst, Hammy's sig is now about him being the good, pure Khan.

It's true that there's a lot of less than stupendous writing out there, no one's forcing this guy to read it and it's hardly making it tough for good writers to get noticed. I've always thought that if you were really good in a field swamped by crap, you'd cut through it all and stand out.

Serephel

Saying something controversial is alright, if you have the means to back up your claims.

Besides, it's important to note that what is considered good writing is subjective. The Da Vinci Code, for example, has obviously won acclaim and is well known, but most literary enthusiasts I know have been less than pleased with his style of writing.

Just because this asshole on this blog thinks this writing sucks doesn't mean it does. If somebody is passionate about writing, then they will get better over time.

This guy could also be more constructive. He could say why some writing sucks. There could be some structural or organizational problems in a writing of which the author is unaware.

Unknown

When it comes to writing, I've haven't shared many of my works with people online. My friends have read them and said they were really good, but they're my friends, what can I count on them for but a compliment? The only things I'm willing to share are scripts that I want to be worked on, but I never share them publically. It's not that I fear criticism. It's the complete opposite. I fear that people won't pay enough attention to my work, that they might say "it's good" or "it's bad" and just move on, when I really want constructive criticism that I can never seem to get. It's quite distressing, really.

As for negativity on the internet, there are many sites, like one I took a very open stand against a while back: http://www.antigamer.com/

It's basically a gamer hate group. I haven't spent any time near it in a while, but looking at it now, the fact that it's still active just kills me inside. Why would people even bother with this site anymore?

Unknown

Pardon the necroposting.

(Irrational) Pokemon haters still exist?!?


This site is also against:
Liberals
Islamics
African-Americans
etc.
This makes STR the worst hate site on the internet; screw Maddox.

Now this site says that it is satire; however, many other sites claim that it is serious and only claims to be satire to avoid lawsuits/hate crimes/etc. I feel a need to agree with them. See the site for yourself.

What do you think?

Serephel

I don't think this is satire at all.

Zlamzambo

We all know that God is punishing sinners and God is always fair in his judgement. The worst sinners will be killed by the sword but light to medium sinners will often be punished by baldness, God’s way of exposing them to the sight of society. Bald men are most likely criminals. 10 of the 19 9/11-hijackers were bald!

If you take a good look around yourself you will find baldness. If you are in Prison or in a predominantly Liberal society, baldness is more common. If you live among the Godly, in Republican communities are if you visit a church, baldness is a rare sight. It’s clear indication for how God works.

I do hope it is satire.

kukopanki

To make it short: God don’t like it! Why does God not like it? Because sex is meant for procreation. Period. If you masturbate you spill your valuable seamen and God don’t like wasteful behavior! If you are a woman and you masturbate you are a slut and you deserve the cancer masturbation causes.

I lol'd.

Serephel

Okay, I've read a little more and it seems like maybe it is. But I dunno, there are long strings of material that I've heard serious people say before.