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The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
The Russian Bear Slashes a Social Network
The face of a $747 strike price
Six Apart exec on LiveJournal founder: "Waaaaay down the path to madness"
Just ignore us
PopSugar publisher's Tumblr clone
Commenters Take Over Internet, Run Bloggers Out on Rails
World's Saddest Millionaire Quits Internet
LiveJournal now even more Russian
Social network's advisory-board election sparks talk of death threats

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unclevanya
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Waiter, there's a bitter taste to my free lunch today. And the chef keeps giving me dirty looks from the kitchen door.

All I did was notice the restaurant, come in and eat. Tell me again why your problems are my fault?
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Hydroceph
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Dirty Hairy Potter stories? "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Bone"?
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Owen Thomas
01/11/09

@Hydroceph: Much, much worse. For your own sanity, I beg you not to go find out.
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/12/09

@Owen Thomas: oh, he will. he probably has already. knowing him, he was probably about to ask you if you look anything like your avatar and...

I'll just stop there.
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Hydroceph
01/12/09

@Owen Thomas: No worries. I'm one of the last people on the planet who has not actually read those books. But you can't search "gay" on YouTube w/o finding videos on that subject. it's kind of creepy.
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iansghost
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
'm jst wndrng wht wll gt m klld gn frst. Cmplnng bt Nck's llgl mngmnt r l'l Gb's blnd spprt f t. r th cmbntn rsltng n wk, knd f sd Gwkr. dn't vn hv tm t rgstr why s mny ppl sm t gt pssd t wn's psts.
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/11/09

@iansghost: ian (if you are ian), we were wondering this elsewhere: if you have the goods on nick, why haven't you simply called the IRS? it seems so - obvious.

and owen, if commenters serve no useful function on a site but to drive away advertisers when they run amock, why does gawker keep them? so far this article has 2.758 views, but only a dozen people or so have commented - if we're such a hassle, why bother? what is the advantage?

these are both meant as serious questions, by someone not working in media. there is absolutely not the slightest bit of snark intended in either - I'm sincerely curious. (sincerity on gawker? I'll be banned for that !!!)
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Trixie from Toronto
01/11/09

@iansghost: Oh hi!

People seemed to really get their tits in a knot over the Travolta posts. I didn't really have a problem with them because I believe there is sinister business afoot in that whole tragic affair.

But it's been downhill since then.
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iansghost
01/11/09

@Monsignor Xtravagante D'ouchestache: Yes, I am me. Until Gabe kills me again.

I do not have a case against Nick. I was only the weekend guy here. I can't make a case that I was an employee in the traditional sense. Any who worked for him 40+ hours a week can, though. His deal with me was legal. I was truly part time and I've been working as a freelancer for years and years.

That is not true at all of his staff writers. They work full time, and act as full time employees. Nick and Gabriel paying them as "contractors" is completely illegal in the state of New York. No part of the legal code covers that or makes it okay. It's a felony. Nick is a tax cheat and worse under the laws of this state. It is laid out simply. He thinks he is protected because he hired bad lawyers, and a bad editor.

The rest will come out. Nick is trying to fix the books already because he know this is the year that he gets examined. Because he's lied too long, because former employees are targeting him, and because everyone who ever worked for him hates him now.

I have no part in it. But he and his last liar, Noah, and silly, simple, Gabriel, are caught.

They will, of course execute me again. But they can't execute me in real life. They wish they could. I'll keep coming back and telling the truth. Someone must.

Gabe was once one of the most decent men I knew. He wanted to become managment, though. Look what he is managing.
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Iceland Spar
01/11/09

@Monsignor Xtravagante D'ouchestache: OMG - Monsignor Xtravagante D'ouchestache is trying to kill us all!!!!

@iansghost: Ian, I've greatly (greatly) missed your weekend contributions. If you stick your head in at the Globes post, you'll notice that this place has become a bit of a ghost town on the weekends. I hope your doing well in the New Year and with whatever your current projects are and wish you all the best in the year ahead!
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/11/09

@iansghost: interesting - thanks for the response

@Iceland_Spar: as if they haven't considered it already
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Hydroceph
01/11/09

@iansghost: So the presence of us all here makes us 1) enablers; 2) accessories; and/or 3) witnesses.

And before ya say it, Monsignor, we all know what kind of accessory you are and where it goes. ;-)
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Iceland Spar
01/11/09

@Monsignor Xtravagante D'ouchestache: Denton - always playing the long game. Expanded the commenting universe in an attempt to dilute the commenting pool and then flush us all down the drain! (Though, obviously, under no circumstances would I promote or otherwise associate myself in any way with conspiracy theories.)
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/11/09

@Iceland_Spar: uh, yeah. just for the record: that was a serious question, the intent of which included but was not limited to: do committed commenters add value to a site? make it more attractive to advertisers? does gawker present itself to potential advertisers in terms of hits AND number of comments, and even as to quality of comments? are potential advertisers trawling thru the various threads, to gauge user satisfaction? education level? suitability of hypothetical goods offered to potential clientele? all of the above? things I haven't yet considered, wouldn't know to consider? I'm not trying to be a bitch here - I am honestly curious, and where better to ask than here? it seems relevant to the topic at hand, at least to me. 100% honest question, asked sincerely.
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/11/09

the essence of which is: if gawker's cutting costs, as we know they are, what actually is our theoretical benefit to them? it's not as though they haven't considered this question themselves, and so obviously (since we're still here) there is an advantage - what is that advantage?

owen seems like he'd be in a position to know the details, I'm just basically curious. no snark.
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MissVolare
01/12/09

@Monsignor Xtravagante D'ouchestache: It seems logical that in the rapidly changing "cyberscape" that is the commenting phenomenon, that there are a certain percentage of actual commenters who form the core group of Gawker's denizens, and that one could calculate the percentages fairly easily to determine the value per each in regards to traffic on the site, right? So with the current model, the probability that those people have a certain amount of disposable income is limited to that core group, then the aggregate value those users bring to the site is quite limited. The model, if built on "value per page view" then is probably not commensurate with the rate of investment by outside sources. With the condensation of posts per page, the apparent increase in page views is deceptive as a selling point for advertising. That seems to provide some argument against the utility of the maintenance costs for commenting capability.

And I am having a sneaking suspicion that Iceland_Spar, katastic, Hydrocepgh, trixie, and I'm_a_bottle are all the one and same person!!
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i'm a bottle
01/12/09

@MissVolare:

And I am having a sneaking suspicion that Iceland_Spar, katastic, Hydrocepgh, trixie, and I'm_a_bottle are all the one and same person!!

That is so paranoid! We are not the same person. You have turned into Oedipa Maas in Crying of Lot 49.
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katastic
01/12/09

@MissVolare: And I am having a sneaking suspicion that Iceland_Spar, katastic, Hydrocepgh, trixie, and I'm_a_bottle are all the one and same person!!
Uh, if we are, I don't know about it.
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i'm a bottle
01/12/09

@katastic: And how is my other self -- "my better fifth" -- doing this fine morning?
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katastic
01/12/09

@i'm_a_bottle: Well, I just had a nice breakfast- but we already know that, don't we? I'm so glad we decided to toast the bagel first. It was delicious to us.
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/12/09

@MissVolare: I agree, therefore it must be something else. my bets are on using the activity of the commenting threads as a demonstration to potential advertisers as to durable activity on the site, as opposed to people who click thru, read the first paragraph and leave

denton's no fool. I'm sure someone, somewhere has done the math. (also, your theory is flawed, as the part can be used to estimate the whole, albeit only roughly)
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/12/09

@katastic: squirrel chips?
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Hydroceph
01/12/09

@MissVolare: And I am having a sneaking suspicion that Iceland_Spar, katastic, Hydrocepgh, trixie, and I'm_a_bottle are all the one and same person!!

While i can't speak for Iceland, Katastic, Trixie, and Bottle, the Monsignor and I are not the same person. But i find it amusing that we've all been mistaken for each other. I'm honored (or something) to be among their number.
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Pinekatz
01/13/09

@iansghost: Love
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Pinekatz
01/13/09

@MissVolare: That was the serpentine way of saying anything. So, bottom line? Commenters don't matter? I'm sorry I don't mean to offend or be too obtuse but I'm trying to figure this out.
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Calraigh
01/14/09

@Pinekatz: TESTING
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SeaBassTian
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
If one can crush an on line community by coddling its self-indulgent freaks, what does that say about G commenters? But at least our freaks are literate.
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Hydroceph
01/11/09

@SeaBassTian: Yeah, but they let the Facebookers in.

[gawker.com]

No, not all the commenters are literate, and some are far too literal.

It's just occurred to me, though, that perhaps the FBers are here so we have someone to sharper our teeth on. I just the little bastards' bones don't stick in my throat.
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@Hydroceph: The literal-mindedness of some people is mindboggling. As an illustration, take a look at what happened with a few hours ago. Be sure to roll over the link to which I pointed him.
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/12/09

@i'm_a_bottle: clicked thru, and again, and now I've got all SORTS of questions about the porn industry stimulus plan - will it be managed by fluffers? is viagra involved?
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televisionarie
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
I didn't know anyone still used LiveJournal except for 13-year old goths writing about how Cthulu rawks.
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lilbobbytables
01/11/09

@televisionarie: AND 26 year old lameos like me, who talk about how Cthulhu rawks.
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Trixie from Toronto
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
The mamby-pampy free beleivers are one thing, but what about the mamby-pampy free speech belIEvers? What do they have say about this?
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Iceland Spar
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Now I understand why the NYT has a public editor!
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@Iceland_Spar: Nick Denton should rehire Ian Spiegelman as the Gawker public editor.
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Dimples
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Does one deserve a free lunch if someone else's server brings the wrong meal?
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Owen Thomas
01/11/09

@Dimples: Such a deliciously baroque, deliberately opaque metaphor!
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htotheomo
01/11/09

@Owen Thomas: No, it's a metaphor, so it was, as a writing device, pretty clear!
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kitkatsplash
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Should I get banned, I'm devoting all my time to writing Nonsociety fan fiction.
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Owen Thomas
01/11/09

@kitkatsplash: You've been holding back on us.
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kitkatsplash
01/11/09

@Owen Thomas: You have no idea. Think I should start work on the first chapter? I'd like to send Denton a couple pages and see if he's likes to run it as a serial of sorts.
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kitkatsplash
01/11/09

@kitkatsplash: er, he'd like.
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@kitkatsplash: I will give you notes if you like.
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Private Hangnail
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Also, I just posted a dirty story about Harry Potter on my blog. You guys should check it out if you're into really dirty stories about Harry Potter.
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mmstk101
01/11/09

@Private Hangnail: Hah!
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@Private Hangnail: Harry Potter is so drekkig!
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Private Hangnail
01/11/09

@i'm_a_bottle: I don't know what that word means, but I'm going to emphatically agree with you!
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@i'm_a_bottle: Sorry! I don't know which Yiddish words have circulation and which ones do not: Dreck=dirt, ig=y. That all adds up to dirty.
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Private Hangnail
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Internet commenters are just so stupid. I hate them all.
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Calraigh
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
To me, coming from you,

Friend is a four letter word.

End is the only part of the word

That I heard.

Call me morbid or absurd.

But to me, coming from you,

Friend is a four letter word.

When I go fishing for the words

I am wishing you would say to me,

I'm really only praying

That the words you'll soon be saying

Might betray, the way you feel about me.
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scarletmenace
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
I have always been told that LiveJournal is the trailer park of social networking sites. What does that mean about Russia?
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@scarletmenace: HA!!
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RapidOffensiveUnit
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Owen has already executed me twice, but I just come back the next day under another handle, so you can see how effective this technique is.

Really, Owen, have you considered a career in government service?
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Hydroceph
01/11/09

@RapidOffensiveUnit: I can think of a few other people who keep popping back up from the grave like whack-a-mole.
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Iceland Spar
01/11/09

In reply to The Deathly Hallows of Online Community
Owen strikes back at the commentariat!!
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@Iceland_Spar: I'm going to be first against the wall.
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Iceland Spar
01/11/09

@i'm_a_bottle: This is a whole new strategy for a Gawker editor - head on attack. I'm very interested to see how it goes. Posting it on a Sunday evening won't give it the full, weekday exposure, but it seems most of the most prolific commentators do stop by on weekends. In any event, this should at least be an entertaining thread!
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Owen Thomas
01/11/09

@Sir Winston Thriller: Banned for boorishness!
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MincnglyWhrdL'mer
01/11/09

@i'm_a_bottle: oh, honey - when are you NOT the first against the wall?
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i'm a bottle
01/11/09

@Monsignor Xtravagante D'ouchestache: That may be true, but only when the right person is doing the splaying. Tee-hee-hee.
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Fishnets and Cigarettes
01/11/09

@Iceland_Spar: you don't know the half of it
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