I was going to title this post “Duncan Riley: Lessons in how to be an asshole,” but then I thought that would bring me down to the same level as Duncan, and I really don’t want to do that. I suppose it wouldn’t be a weekend without a Techmeme bitchfest (or what Frederic of The Last Podcast calls a “bitchmeme”), but the one Duncan started is really over the top. Despite the fact that I’m all relaxed from being in Florida for the past two weeks, I feel compelled to comment.
Disagreeing about the value of a Web app is hardly anything new — it happens all the time, and it’s largely a good thing, even if sometimes people get their knickers in a twist over a perceived slight. Differences of opinion can be instructive. But Duncan’s response to Louis Gray’s post about FriendFeed is in a whole different category. If Louis lobbed a hand grenade at Duncan with his post, the TechCrunch writer unleashed what amounts to a fleet of Apache attack helicopters in retaliation.
In fact, Louis lobbed what amounts to a wet squib, by questioning Duncan’s review of FriendFeed with a single phrase: “quasi-analytic.” Duncan then responds by calling Louis a nobody, and calls him a “pious, self-important c*nt.” Not satisfied with that, he goes on to tell his Twitter friends that he “truly held back” because he “only dropped the c word once,” and that Louis is an “uppity, self-important wanker.”
I know that many Aussies pride themselves on their ability to start (and in many cases finish) a scrap with just about anyone, and it could be that using words like c*nt constitute an intellectual argument in Duncan-land — but I think Louis deserves an apology. Either Duncan is so desperate for traffic to his blog that he descended to such depths deliberately, or he’s the kind of person who prefers ad hominem attacks to rational argument. In either case, I think it’s pretty pathetic.
Discussion
Comments for “Duncan Riley: Lessons in diplomacy”
Add New Comment
Viewing 46 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
I read Duncan's original post, Louis's reply, and thought it was all pretty ordinary. Duncan's response is more like that of a troll rather than the professional, respectable debate that is expected of someone in Duncan's position.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
I think I actually agree with Duncan's points, but I dunno, I'm AMERIKUNH and we like bombing crap and watching fights. Duncan, you're a better American than most of the blogosphere. God bless. His original points are lost because of dropping the cunt-bomb.
Will Gawker please please PLEASE buy TechCrunch already? PLEASE?
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 9:14 PM, Disqus
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
I'm entitled to post as I please on my personal blog, it wasn't on TechCrunch, but I love how you'll attack me without even reading any of it, from the beginning. Typical of the American lynch mob coming after me on this.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
However, just to clarify, the term 'Bitchmeme' was, as far as I know, coined by MG Siegler: http://www.parislemon.com/2007/10/case-for-bitc...
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
term, but wanted to link to your post specifically.
On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 9:50 PM, Disqus
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
that's a waaaaay no-no word. i consider it as bad as
the n-word.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
You mention rational debate, but go back to my original post, the one Louis ignored in his attack on me, where none of the core points I made (in particularly duplication) have been responded to.
As for traffic I couldn't give a shit about it on my personal blog, I wouldn't have logged into awstats for the site in 3 years.
Mathew, I know in your country openly responding to stuff like this is a foreign concept, but I'd rather respond openly then bottle it all up, eh. :-) Rational argument deserves rational argument, I'm not the person who took it down a peg, or perhaps you can point out where Gray actually put together a rational response because I cant see it. You're just another member of the Gray cheersquad who is cloaking your argument in the belief that Gray has a right to attack me but I have no right to respond.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
He said that you missed the point. How is that making it personal? He
certainly didn't call you a self-important c*nt or a wanker, or
comment on you in any way as far as I can tell.
I'm all for discussing things out in the open, but you went way over
the line this time, mate. If disagreeing with your approach makes me
part of Louis Gray's "cheer squad," then so be it.
On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 10:05 PM, Disqus
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
As a fairly neutral guy here, not knowing either you or Louis, I have to say I think you are picking fights you don't need to pick. Each time you've responded to anything negative, you've been lowering the bar. For example, by calling Mathew a member of some "Gray cheersquad" you are turning a deaf ear to his points, and making it personal yourself.
I think your original TC post had a pretty fair point. I think Louis' response did include some "personal" items but was not exactly a vicious attack. Your response on your personal blog was quite vicious, and I think Mathew reasonably called you out for it.
You can go anywhere you want with all this, but I'd suggest a hearty "deep breath" then think about what you really care about before lashing out further.
Best,
Jeremy
ps As a Canadian+American, I am both unbottling it, then declaring war on a small country somewhere as a distraction to the problems I have at home, but in turn, feeling quite guilty about it.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Step back, deep breath, etc.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
< / rodneyking >
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 11:10 PM, Disqus
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Typical of the American lynch mob coming after me on this.
Mathew, I know in your country openly responding to stuff like this is a foreign concept
Duncan how many countries and people are you going to try to label nonsensically during this exchange? You obviously had a bad day, then overreacted to Gray's critique of your review of Friendfeed, and now you are clenching teeth and fists as if this was a bar fight. Something is missing from this story ... is Arrington treating you OK?
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
His personal blog is is own business. He can posts what he wants. I honestly think his original post was fairly direct and on track, and then he was "attacked". So he hit back. Big deal.
From an outsiders POV.
I'm an American, btw.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.