8.16.2011

Comments Come Lately: Hate Mail

Here we are at another edition of Comments Come Lately, the Strictly Average production that seems to inevitably follow a Tuesday Bell of Lost Souls article.

My article this week was a hatchet job for Big Red.  What's that, you say?  Yup, you read it correctly.  Sometimes my job is to write an article designed to drive up the comment's count, and that's what Witch Hunter's Eulogy was.  Still, I wrote it, I like it, and it still strikes me as funny.

But yea, it wasn't hard to predict the Hate Mail.




I usually try to stay more subtle than that.


This one was a personal favorite, an example of the differences in taste... followed up by the type of comment we've come to expect from Comments Come Lately.  Speaking of which...


(I almost like this guy, strangely enough.)

So... this will be the first Comments Come Lately with a Part II.  What does that say about the article?

On second thought, don't answer that.

28 comments:

Jonathan Boynton said...

Heh, personally I loved your article. I don't agree with you on your opinion of the Witch Hunters codex, but I definitely laughed at Eldrad's eulogy...

Xaereth said...

Lol. This is why I would be hesitant to write for BoLS. I'd just be annoyed at half (or more) of the comments that came my way.

I swear, the place is like a vacuum for negativity in the comments section.

I like your stuff though... one of the only people I actually read on BoLS :-p

neverness said...

I thought it was a fun article. My advice: don't fall for the troll-bait.
For a few years in the early days of 4th edition I stood poised to receive the Xenohunters Codex, but in the end, we were denied....:(

Michael said...

This was even funnier than the article. You riff like a champ. like a wargaming version of Kevin Smith

Unknown said...

Considering the trash BoLS puts out, seeing an article of Brent's usual intellect is refreshing and I always make a point of reading them. TBH, I only do this to see the idiot comments these days!

I still enjoy your articles Brent...honest!

An Enemy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quite_Thor said...

It is quite amusing to watch the trolls jump and snap as you hold a raw fish on occasion. Mind you, that comment thread is nothing to the collection of casual misogyny and outright vileness after the article posted by "The Girl" earlier in the week.

I am sure Kirby's effort (gasp! numbers!) will be equally attacked.

I often quite enjoy BOLS comment threads but every now and then they do go badly wrong.

Brent said...

An Enemy has left a new comment on your post "Comments Come Lately: Hate Mail":

You realize that the dude you were mocking for having a picture of him and his girlfriend standing together is linking his Facebook profile for commenting right?

Cam off really childish.

...

That's the comment the author deleted; not sure why he or she did, because I thought the point was valid.

Of course it's childish!

I don't care that the dude has a picture of himself with his girlfriend as his avatar - why should I?

Still, he went out of his way to make a cutting comment, so I returned the favor. I thought mine was better, but that's really where it begins and ends for me.

Normally I don't bother responding to random jibes and insults - it just isn't worth the time invested.

TJ Atwell said...

My friends and I had a good laugh at the you-googily (Zoolander ref.). In fact, the only time I read BoLS is when you, Kirby and sometimes Goatboy (though I just read him on his blog) post an article.
One of the reasons I never submitted an article to BoLS after my FnP/ USR mechanics article is simply because none of the 158 comments had anything to do with the content of my article, with the exception of some good feedback from Abuse Puppy.
I applaud you guys for continuously posting your stuff there, though I am sure it feels like you are just pissing in the wind sometimes.
Keep up the good work, Brent. The non-commenting reader/lurkers love it!

Krisken said...

Internet people being jerks, details at 11:00.

In all seriousness, I try to skip most of the comments there. You're always going to have the couple jack-asses who just can't figure out something constructive to say and just want to lash out.

Hope it doesn't deter you from reading and responding to valid criticisms. You're pretty good telling the difference so far, though.

idget said...

I replied to that first guy as well, a bit of a douchebag I thought especially the part where he claimed you were idiotic like many other writers on BoLS. Maybe I'm being harsh there, but your articles have a standard of their own, being quite intellectual in the way they are presented and phrased, something which sadly goes over the heads of many readers.
What really irks me, is that I called you Brentypoo publicly yet received no form of acknolegement, even for my hugs and gropings...
You are tearing me apart Brent!

Lord Gir said...

@idget: Calm down! You're being hysterical!

Anonymous said...

Brent how are you so hated?

I mean i try my best to encourage attacks and hatred but i cant quite compete with you.

I insult ppl, their armies, their painting, their children....and still half as much hate

lol teach me

stetson

muffinman said...

wow, this is great. I personally enjoy your articles, they have a sense of humor to them that fits my own odd humor.

I also think its great when authors can hold their own so well against the idiots that put up those comments. I know some authors on Bols just get annoyed and prickly when people insult their work, you take it in stride very well.

Jack Boland said...

it was just a poorly written article, get over it, do better next time. How is using Facebook childish?

also, im not sure what the problem is, you wrote a bad article and you posted it online, whats the problem with being critical?

you tried to be clever, you failed, you really prefer people pretending interest?

I didn't attack you, I attacked your writing. As a blogger and a writer who posts on the internet, take it into account next time. Sure it looks cool to respond with an insult, and sure you can drum up support since you have a blog and I don't. Instead of taking this as a you verse me, how bout you take it and display it in a better piece of work next time.

Brent said...

Jack:

I can't get over it; I was never on it. I've written for Bell for a year now, and believe me when I tell you the comment's section rarely represents reality. Your comment bothered me not at all.

Sure, I responded in a negative way, but mostly as an illustration. Read the comment; I very clearly was demonstrating a more intelligent way of insulting someone. I don't personally care that you're using your Facebook avatar, but the best insults (and lies) are anchored in truth - there you go, an in.

Still, I don't respond to criticism with attacks or crappy comments. If you don't believe that, go look. That's constructive, or it's opinion, and either way I try to encourage that.

I'm not perfect.

You attacked me. Your words. You made a shitty little comment - and it wasn't, "This is poorly written." That's fine.

I don't agree, but it's fine.

"This is what happens when a gamer tries to sound clever," is a snarky little attack.

That's what drives me nuts. The uselessness of it all! Say something with meaning, or drop an opinion and keep it at that.

I would not have responded at all had you left it at the first line.

Now, about the content: sorry, but I can't agree. The writing was not poor, it was fine. There were no errors in grammar or syntax that weren't deliberate, and there were no spelling errors.

I don't buy the, "It's poorly written," nonsense. What I am willing to accept is, "I didn't like the construction," or, "I hated the concept," or, "You failed to write a quality article," and so on.

I'd still submit those are opinions, but they have more merit. Next time, do that.

Jack Boland said...

saying it is poorly written, entails that there is something wrong with the structure or the concept, and in this case there was both.

Saying that you were trying to be clever is not a "snarky attack", you WERE trying to be clever. It didn't work.

I did not attack you, when an article is based around a concept that is suppose to be clever, criticizing that is not an attack on you, it is an attack on the article. Somehow insinuating from a profile picture that i'm controlled by my gf, is.

When I refer to writing, I'm not talking about spelling, i believe most people can use spell check. It was poorly written. Roundabout, unique, different is all ways of saying poor. The sentence structure, the execution, the use of tenses, the dialogue, everything was poorly done.

and come on that was not an "intelligent" way of insulting. Cliched yes, intelligent no.

Crimsonshark said...

@Jack

Your last post was poorly written :
"Roundabout, unique, different is all ways of saying poor." should have been written as "Roundabout, unique, and different are all ways of saying poor."

Brent I have said it before, keep on doing what you do, your post made me laugh and so got the Thumbs up from me!

Jack Boland said...

hahah the difference is i'm not writing articles online

way to use every bodies favorite online come back

Mark said...

"Where e'er you go
you never know
the reason someone hates you,
but those, as such,
don't mean as much
as who appreciates you."
(Mark Evanier, in an issue of Groo the Wanderer)

Keep doing what you're doing, Brent. You're doing just fine ;)

Jack Boland said...

how are people thinking I don't like this guy????? if you read any of the posts you will see I have no problem with him.

All i have ever been saying is he wrote a bad article, people... read

Messanger of Death said...

We love you, Brent!!!

Wyatt said...

Brent, I don't know if you noticed, but we are using your likeness for Plastic Dudesmen comics. Now you will dance like a marionette on my strings.

-Wyatt

jTrain said...

What's the point Brent? I always like reading your blog and check it every day. But garbage posts like this really affect my opinion of you (not that you should care). Who cares what some random person on bols comments says? Do you really need the 'support' of internet 'yes men' to make you feel better? Does this deserve a post? No.

Brent said...

jTrain: I don't, no, and maybe not.

But it's fun - and sometimes even educational. I don't agree with Jack's comments, for example, but learning there was no useless animosity behind them is a much better resolution than thinking it was random sniping or useless hate.

But sometimes it is.

For what it's worth, I don't write crappy comments in reply to legit criticism. I've won over a number of readers by being willing to talk about their point of view, and sometimes agree with where they're coming from.

But pure hate? They're welcome to bring it, I'm not going to delete it - baring racism or something - but it doesn't mean I have to be polite!

I enjoy Comments Come Lately - it's fun to write, and it highlights some of the uselessly unnecessary stuff for the enjoyment of (most) concerned.

jTrain said...

Well said. I have no arguement. I'm still going to enjoy your blog. Thanks!

Brent said...

Wyatt: Man, I missed that completely!

That's...

...uh, oh.

Anonymous said...

To anyone who dislikes this blog, or brent's posts, I have a question:

U mad?

(A new favorite!) Anon: I haven’t even bothered playing a game of 6th yet, cause I have read the rules, and actually understand how they interact with units. I know my armies no longer function how they should, and so I need to change them.

Strictly Average: 'cause 6-inches is all you get.

Stalking Jawaballs since 2009.

Jawaballs: "My butt just tightened up."

Brent, preferred 2-to-1 over Not Brent in a recent, scientific poll.

Brent: emptied the Kool Aid and DRINKING YOUR MILKSHAKE with an extra-long straw.

Unicorns don't exist.

Home of the Stormbuster, the Dyson Pattern Storm Raven.

I'm a comment whore and this whore is getting no play.

Not Brent hurts Brent's feelings.

I think, therefore I blog.

"You should stop writing for everyone else and worry about your crappy blog." - Anon.

Not Brent has been spotted lurking around with a green marker.

He's not like a bad guy from a cartoon, all devious but never quite evil, Not Brent is bad beans, man, bad beans.

Dethtron: "Again I feel obliged to remind you that trying to sound smart only works if you are."

MVB: "I am not one to join the unwashed masses of self-titled 40k experts out there distributing advice from their blogs about exactly how your list should be built..."

Shiner Bock on tap: that's how I choose hotels.

Strictly Average: The Home of Hugs and Gropings.

Don't feed the trolls!

MoD: "Welcome to Brent's head."

Competitive is Consistent.

Dethtron: "...you could use that extra time to figure out a way to get your panties unbunched and perform a sandectomy on your vagina."

Dethtron: “When calling someone an idiot, it's generally best to avoid making grammatical mistakes.”

Warboss Stalin: "You know, if it actually WAS funny, maybe I wouldn't mind."

Mike Brandt: "It's not a successful bachelor party if you don't misplace someone".

"The Master Manipulator (every store needs one): "...now, enough stroking."

Kirby: "I don't know about gropings. Seriously, Brent, keep it in the pants, please."

Loquacious: "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get Hugs & Gropings or Stalks Jawaballs into Brent's little tribute."

Captain Kellen: "I rate this article a Brent on the Faith Hill to Nancy Pelosi scale!"

Drathmere: "Come for the balls, stay for the Brent? Kind of disturbing, man."

Go no further, lest thee see something thine eyes would fain look past!

Isabelle: "So, thank you for supporting your local and not so local unicorns. A noble gesture like that can show some scared kids out there that they don't have to hide from everyone and it's ok to be who they really are."

There is nothing more interesting than We The People... in all our beautiful, ugly glory!

On Internet Advice: You see, I have an almost religious belief that's it's a huge, colossal waste of time.

...I think I'll call it the Gun Shy Pattern Stormbuster, because after the Internet destroyed my first humble effort, I find I'm a bit worried about the reaction to this one.

Lauby: "Is it left over from that time you thought that you could just complete step one 12 times to meet the mandates of that court order?"

Not Brent: "I guess we'll have to read on and find out. Signed, Not Brent. Especially today."

Cynthia Davis: "I think the scrolling text is from Glen Beck's new book."

Grimaldi: "Spamming certain units creates interesting possibilities but also fatal weaknesses."

Purgatus: "Math can inform decisions. It cannot make decisions."

Thoughts? Comments? Hugs and gropings?

You'd be that much quicker to figure out what I mean when I refer to a Unicorn if I covered it in a rainbow flag.

SinSynn: (To Brent) "Curse you and your insidious influence on the internets..."

Dave G (N++): "You know you're an internet celebrity when your following is more akin to tabloids."

I prefer the term Internet Personality (or IP) myself, seeing as how I coined it.

Lauby: "Your attempt to humanize him as failed. I feel nothing but scorn for his beard - it's like a warcrime or something."

BBF: "I've always thought you are a good player but I finally figured out that you are a great player. It's hard to see sometimes because your personality is engaging, sincere and quite charming - to me that is kind of a rare combination."

'Clearly cheating?' I didn't misspeak: you jumped to conclusions. If you'd like to apologize I'll be happy to send you an autographed picture of my ass.

Ass.

I thought I was doing alright before I realized I was losing.

Age and treachery beats youth and vigor every time.

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