Thursday, June 7, 2012

Who Wants To Come To An Intervention? (MKMOT June 7, 2102)

Greetings Friends.

Your esteemed moderator Marv Skeevy seems to be at a crossroads, and needs our help. He is under the misguided impression that the balog is on its way to irrelevancy. Page views are (slightly) down, and Skeevs thinks that with the return of Mad Bastards All, you fine folks won't come around here no more.

I think he's talking crazy, of course. Seems like there has been a lot of action in the open threads, with some quality discussions in addition to the usual Guy Whos and guest singer/songwriters. And with PowWow just around the corner, we're going to need a safe place to bitch discuss the changes in a constructive manner.

So today let's all come out in support of the balog and Skeevs, shall we? I'll bring the location and the music, you guys work out drinks and snacks. Anyone with a FREE MUMIA poster gets punched in the fucking mouth.


38 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Me too. I especially love the in-crowd feel of CJ talking about Marv's feelings while they and IMG given each other playful noogies. It reminds me of the best of DUAN when EMS, Echo, Sharting, and IMG just throw inside jokes at each other, except anonymous so they can all share a fun little secret - who doesn't love that!1!!

      Delete
    2. You don't love me.

      You just love my lax, "anything goes" editorial policy.

      Delete
  2. To clarify- pageviews are actually up recently, as you can see by all the posts from the last 2 weeks listed in the "most popular" to the right. It was IMG who (publicly) declared pageviews to be down.

    However, I did assert that MBA may render this balog obsolete, which is fine. I guess the days to come will tell.

    Regardless, I could use the day or two off. Thank you for your service, CJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No doubt due to CJ and me stepping in. Get your shut together.

      Delete
  3. Well, for what its worth - I'm about 4 weeks away from my annual summer of bachelorhood and look forward to stepping back into commenting more regularly ... and I have a strong feeling we'll all need somewhere to vent by then. So, from a purely selfish standpoint I hope you keep it going a bit longer.

    (And MBA serves an entirely different purpose - I'd hate to see [looks up] that over there.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Noted, thanks.

      I'll keep this thing going as long as the comments/views show that there's a reasonable audience for it. Well, not exactly "reasonable." But you know what I mean.

      Delete
  4. Thanks but no thanks, CJ. I'll be the one bringing the music today.

    ------------------------------------------------

    It's there in your smile when your +1'ed
    The blue circle arrives in your window
    Keep bringing the jokes, keep us laughing some more
    Then we'll have some beers at leaveher's

    Now we're here, there's no turning back
    We have each other
    We have no choice

    Band by band, I'll keep writing tracks
    Because the change is coming but you're not alone

    Come laugh with me
    Come on and DUAN all through the night
    Everybody DUAN all through the night

    There'll be no more trips to Hiney Hole to fear
    There'll be no more ninjas to scare you
    The future is yours - don't troll it please
    The balog is here if we need it

    We stayed here, we had a laugh
    We have +1's
    We give them by choice

    Side by side we are not afraid
    Because the change is coming but you're not alone

    Come laugh with me
    Come on and DUAN all through the night
    Everybody DUAN all through the night

    Did you get +1'ed - Not that much will change
    Oh, we are all big fans, amuse us
    We've all shared laughs, don't leave us now
    Trust in Craggs for guidance, he'll lead us

    We stayed here, we had a laugh
    We have +1's
    We give them by choice

    Side by side we are not afraid
    Because the change is coming but you're not alone

    Come laugh with me
    Come on and DUAN all through the night
    Everybody DUAN all through the night

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know about anyone else, but Sitehawk's return has made me substantially more critical of my own comments, and it definitely has me thinking twice before I hit "Submit." This is a good thing.

    Maybe it's just because I wasn't aware of MBA during his first go-around, but it's nice to know that the pressure is on, so to speak, with every comment.

    I'm glad he's back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Raysism has always thought twice before hitting "Submit".

      Once about how hilarious he is, and another time about how quickly he can point it out to everybody.

      Delete
    2. Clearly, I don't have this issue, though I probably should. I need to quit it with the sciencey-jokes.

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    3. @RMJ, I like science jokes and make a lot myself, none of which ever attract +1s. Let's keep them going, for all our friends from i09.

      Delete
    4. @IMG Steve U always does the best job balancing the subtle line between sciencey and funny. Mine always end up sounding like "THIS IS A SCIENCE JOKE!!!!"

      Delete
    5. @RMJ=H, IMG, I'd like to think this exchange inspired Steve_U's great 9/5's joke in the Metta World Peace post.

      Delete
    6. @DubaiatNight - at the very least his comment inspired me to remove my lukewarm comment.

      Delete
    7. Okay, full disclosure: I love Steve_U. He's one of the best, funniest commenters on the site. Okay?

      The nine fifths joke? It was just okay for me, dawg. It was a little pitchy, dawg.

      Delete
    8. @ RMJ - I love the science jokes, but like IMG says, they attract few +1's. But I always crack up.

      Delete
    9. THE CELTICS HAVE BEEN GETTING BY WITHOUT ONLY ONE LEN!! THE PLURALIZATION MADE IT DUMB!

      God, that felt great.

      Delete
    10. @RMJ: there's no shame in being the second best science joke maker on deadspin. The bar Steve U sets is consistently unreasonably high.

      Delete
  6. Hey Marv, if it makes you feel any better, we don't allow things like "fun" and "humor" and "not taking yourself too seriously" in the comments on MBA. If MKMUB goes away, there'll be a lot of Guys Who Change Their Name to Guy Who Wanders Aimlessly With a Knapsack Thrown Over His Shoulder and No Place to Call Home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Guy Who Is Pretending To Be Eddie Murray Sparkles But Is 100% Certainly UweBollocksJune 7, 2012 at 11:54 AM

      How much do I owe you for putting me in the best comments of the day yesterday?

      Delete
    2. I don't feel bad. If your blog costs us this balog, it is a clear net win. No delusions there.

      If the demand for this balog still exists, I'll keep her going. Maybe CJ will regardless. Either way, we're glad MBA is back, and we'll miss it when it's gone in 4 days.

      Delete
    3. In all seriousness, MBA's comments section should not ever become a good place to vent about PowWow or post songs or argue about the merits of trolling Gawker or make Guy Who jokes. I simply won't push those comments through the filter. This is the place for that stuff - an open thread. And I don't think the demand for an open thread is going away any time soon.

      Delete
  7. OUT OF OFFICE NOTIFICATION

    I will be traveling out of the country until Thursday, June 14, and will have limited access to Deadspin and MKMUB. Your [+1] is important to me, so please leave it here, and I will [cum] as soon as I return to the office.

    If you need immediate humor, please PM my assistant, RMJ=H, and he will provide you with what you need.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Hello, you've reached RMJ=H, I'm either away from my desk or I don't give fuck about answering that bastard's phone.

      Please leave a message I'll be sure to respond to it (wanking motion) as soon as possible."

      Delete
    2. I'm fairly certain there is internet in whatever country you are going to visit.

      Unless, of course, "traveling out of the country" is just code for "running away from a gang of pitchfork wielding Jezzies." In which case, stop running and just put up a "free cupcakes this way" sign pointing the other direction.

      Delete
    3. @ Dubai:

      STOP TROLLING!!!!!!!!

      Delete
    4. @Echo

      I'm not trolling. I am using humor to start [looks in drawer] a conversation that I hope elucidates an important point that [finds a roll of string] creates meaningful conversation [weaves it together into a stronger rope] which hopefully causes those women [finds stool] to rethink their hardened positions [ties rope to rafter] without violating their cultural norms [wraps rope around neck] except by challenging their long-held opinions [kicks away stool].

      [finally, peace]

      Delete
  8. Conspiracy Theory MKMU!AD

    So, at a pivotal moment in Deadspin commenting history, MBA brings back the roundup. In my opinion, the roundup tangibly improves the comment section as a whole. Top commenters are more consistently on top of their game, retired commenters come out of the woodwork, and non-featured commenters start making better jokes, all in an affort to make MBA's list. (There is also that terrifying moment before you click submit, where you can picture your comment in the duds, and you ask yourself one more time, is this funny?)

    The first time MBA started, the comments were in a lull after many featured guys left in a huff due to the redesign. I have no reservations in saying that the roundup had a big part to play in the revitalization that took place in spring 2011.

    So, conspiracy theory: Miserable Shitehawk is a Deadspin editor, or has been tapped by a Deadspin editor, to start the roundup again in the face of this potential disaster. If enough of the starred commenters stick around, and enough non-featured and non-approved guys stick with "make jokes," we will be more likely to make this PowWow shit work.

    Counterpoint: Miserable Shitehawk is some dude that likes Deadspin, and knows that the roundups improve the comment section. He knows that we (potentially) face a pretty tough challenge to keep this section relevant to us, and is helping us out with this burst of effort.

    Either way, if Shitehawk keeps it up, I will be grateful for the help. Maybe if enough guys continue to crack jokes, (and for "enough" we will need many more people than just featured commenters), we can carry over some semblance of the current culture, and make the Yahoo!'s feel out of place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jesus, man, if I were a Deadspin editor, there's absolutely no way I'd have time for this. You really can't imagine how much time the average Roundup takes. I'm self-employed and only really work 4 days a week and I still barely have time for Roundups. The first time around, I was only able to pull it off because I had the easiest job in history, working for the least attentive boss in all of America. I spent virtually my entire work day scanning Deadspin comments, tracking down obscure references, and fine-tuning the spelling of the word "moron". I did no actual work.

      I would feel like King of the World if I'd been tapped by a Deadspin editor to do anything - mop the floor, take out the trash, make coffee - but no. I get the sense they accept the presence of MBA without necessarily giving a shit, which is fine. They do what they do, I do what I do, they get paid for their work, I sob into my pillow.

      To your counterpoint, I don't actually believe the Roundups improve the comments. But I do think you needy fucks like reading about yourselves. Hopefully, the Roundups keep you in the commenting business during the PowWow transition. That's it! The whole truth.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for you response.

      I stand by my statement that the roundups improve commenting quality, however. Maybe it's not 100% culpable for upticks in quality and quantity, but it's definitely part of the reason. Already this week the quality of the grey comments has surged. Coincidence?

      Delete
  9. The Amazing SneijdermanJune 7, 2012 at 3:35 PM

    You have not truly lived until you've had your comment responded to by "meatbag von pussrocket."

    Is it just me, or is the sun brighter, the sky bluer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, that's pretty rough. At least he was trying to make a joke, though.

      I woke up this morning, checked Deadspin and saw that I had a new notification. I clicked on it, but didn't recognize the name "The Great Hambino." I thought to myself, "Hmm, I haven't been particularly funny lately, I wonder what joke it was in response to." Then I saw this comment. Then I flipped through his comment history, and took a look at his avatar.

      He doesn't seem to be a particularly pleasant fellow anyway, but I think he might still be bitter about the Warriors leaving.

      Delete
    2. Please, Sgt. Hammerclaw, I respect your lifetime of service hammering and clawing for our country, or perhaps some other country, but let's leave such clandestine work up to the Internet Pinkerton Agency.

      Delete