Cracked.com is terrible and horrible. May 1, 2012 11:29 AM   Subscribe

Cracked.com's posts are SPLIT INTO TWO PAGES. Also, most of their posts are nothing but linkbate. Over 31 worthless FPP posts have been made linking to this waste of time. Thank goodness so many comments in the most recent "post" saw through their evil schemes! I say we reinstitute the previously-requested ban of anyone linking to cracked.com.
posted by rebent to Etiquette/Policy at 11:29 AM (145 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite

Is this serious, or a joke? I'm having a hard time telling.
posted by koeselitz at 11:31 AM on May 1, 2012 [10 favorites]


Cracked.com is but the mortal vessel of David Wong, he who is to be revered. Pointless Waste of Time forever. Out blasphemy.
posted by Apocryphon at 11:32 AM on May 1, 2012 [6 favorites]


But, I like Cracked! Have ever since I could fold the pages of the magazine to make a completely different picture. That was the pinnacle of hilarity.

Or was that MAD magazine?
posted by Grither at 11:32 AM on May 1, 2012


I say we reinstitute the previously-requested ban of anyone linking to cracked.com

Which will continue to be denied. There may be really good reasons to not link to cracked.com but there's basically nothing that gets you an insta-ban here besides spamming and self-linking and there won't be.

I don't get why you could spell linkbait correctly in your tags but not in this post. Is this a joke I am missing? Because I am really really missing it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:33 AM on May 1, 2012 [18 favorites]


I see your point, but is Cracked.com always a "waste of time"? They do actually post some insightful and even funny articles from time to time.

Anyway, even you have posted linkbait on MetaFilter.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:33 AM on May 1, 2012 [9 favorites]


"linkbate?"
posted by sweetkid at 11:33 AM on May 1, 2012


Not to quibble, but the never-implemented ban that you link to cannot, by definition, be reinstituted.

Also, as you know, the mods have considered and rejected that ban. In all honesty, what new information do you have that will make this request successful?
posted by gauche at 11:34 AM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


Yeah that 368-comment FPP about growing up impoverished sure was some bullshit.
posted by griphus at 11:35 AM on May 1, 2012 [51 favorites]


I'm decently sure the voice in this post is that of sarcasm, but I don't think it's executed especially well, nor is such an enterprise advisable or useful. I think rebent is frustrated with the Meta-y complaints that are in that thread and is trying to draw them over here.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:36 AM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


...I think rebent is actually in favor of Cracked posts, and is facetiously framing the meta post to take a shot at the Cracked haters who immediately derailed this post. Although I could be wrong.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:36 AM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


I SAY WE RE-INSTITUTE THE "HAMBURGER" TAG.
posted by griphus at 11:37 AM on May 1, 2012 [9 favorites]


I say we burn the witch.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:37 AM on May 1, 2012 [4 favorites]


No one is responsible for your time but you.

If those posts are a waste of your time, don't read them.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:37 AM on May 1, 2012 [5 favorites]


I know from context that you're being sarcastic, rebent, but over-the-top sarcasm is a pretty poor way to kick off a Metatalk post.

I think today's piece is fine—David Wong is a good writer, this is more a funny/angry rant about political rubbernecking jammed into Top 5 List form than an actual piece-of-crap Top 5 List—but I am not at all surprised at people's Cracked fatigue, and the post itself has gotten a fair number of flags, so it's not just people beefing in comments. I feel like this one deserves to stay around, but it's got a lot of baggage for being from where it's from.

We've deleted a number of Cracked posts over the years, and they get posted a little too freely and not all of the ones that have been allowed to stand were really solid gold stuff. It's a balancing act with this stuff. Better for people to just flag and move on than to complain in the thread itself, but lord knows I understand where they're coming from.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:38 AM on May 1, 2012 [5 favorites]


Anyone making a Monty Python reference past this point will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
posted by griphus at 11:38 AM on May 1, 2012 [4 favorites]


Oh, wait, this was a stunt post? Never mind, then.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:39 AM on May 1, 2012


But, I like Cracked! Have ever since I could fold the pages of the magazine to make a completely different picture. That was the pinnacle of hilarity.

Or was that MAD magazine?


It was MAD, but Cracked did it sometimes, too.

What was the other magazine in that niche, the one that was like the RC Cola to MAD's Coke and Cracked's Pepsi? Sick?
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:40 AM on May 1, 2012


I believe that was "Crazy".
posted by Ipsifendus at 11:42 AM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


If you are going to try to be over-the-top sarcastic, you need to properly calibrate your value of "top". And that value is pretty high for MetaTalk.
posted by smackfu at 11:43 AM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


And while I'm here...I liked the article. I like David Wong, I like Seanbaby, don't have any particular feelings about Cracked as a site apart from that. I wouldn't necessarily want to see every article over there posted to metafilter, but the griping about the source in today's thread is beyond boring.
posted by Ipsifendus at 11:44 AM on May 1, 2012


5 Ways to Spot a B.S. Call-Out
posted by jabberjaw at 11:44 AM on May 1, 2012 [5 favorites]


"Go away, linkbatin!'"
posted by obscurator at 11:44 AM on May 1, 2012 [6 favorites]


gauche: " Also, as you know, the mods have considered and rejected that ban. In all honesty, what new information do you have that will make this request successful?"

Outrage, apparently.
posted by zarq at 11:46 AM on May 1, 2012


At least it's not Buzzfeed.
posted by inigo2 at 11:46 AM on May 1, 2012


"linkbate?"

Ugh, easily the worst choice I made as a 13 year old with barely-fettered access to the Internet and boundless curiousity.

What was I even supposed to do with all those sausages afterwards?
posted by Copronymus at 11:46 AM on May 1, 2012


Oh, FFS, he was being sarcastic. Well, to be equally annoying, all I have to say is "use your words, bro."
posted by KokuRyu at 11:47 AM on May 1, 2012


Yes people the post is obviously sarcastic. Rebent was calling out the people complaining about cracked.com in the thread itself.

Like half of the first few posts were complaints about the fact that it was a link to cracked.com
posted by delmoi at 11:47 AM on May 1, 2012


Cracked.com contains some shockingly good writing. I agree that FPPs need more heft, but I refuse to consider an argument that Cracked.com should be dismissed out of hand.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:47 AM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


previously-requested ban

Boy were there a lot of Cracked posts back then. I think since that time its become more of a if-they-do-somethjng-really-special thing, like The Onion and xckd.
posted by Artw at 11:48 AM on May 1, 2012


Hey, I have an idea: let's judge links on their individual merits rather than on where they happen to be hosted.

It's crazy I know but it just might work
posted by ook at 11:50 AM on May 1, 2012 [18 favorites]


I find excellent quality and value in this MT post and the original blue post.
--Professional appraiser of MT posts and blue posts
posted by jng at 11:54 AM on May 1, 2012


To actually say the thing that I think rebent was sort of trying to say through sarcasm:

It would be kind of completely awesome if people would stop going into threads for Cracked posts and making annoying little jokes about how Cracked is stupid. I know they think they're being clever and knowing, but what they're really demonstrating is that they haven't actually read the linked article or any other Cracked article for the past few years. It's kind of an annoying drive-by thing that people do, is all.
posted by koeselitz at 11:55 AM on May 1, 2012 [12 favorites]


Oh, wait, this was a stunt post? Never mind, then.

Do not taunt happy fun mod.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:57 AM on May 1, 2012 [38 favorites]


rebent is bent out of shape.
posted by dfriedman at 11:58 AM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


again!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:00 PM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


I suffer from Cracked fatigue, but then my list of sites like this are long, so I just move on. I'm tired of NYT links (like no one would ever find an article there on their own). HuffPo, Onion, xkcd, Oatmeal, BoingBoing, Wired, etc. In fact, let's just shut down the internet.
posted by cjorgensen at 12:01 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


We apologise for the fault in the jokes. Those responsible have been sacked.
posted by k5.user at 12:03 PM on May 1, 2012 [8 favorites]


Before we ban Cracked for not being funny, let's ban Huffington Post for not being journalistic.
posted by Ardiril at 12:03 PM on May 1, 2012 [13 favorites]




So let me get this straight, rebent was being sarcastic? FFS, he should shape up and forge a new relationship with the site and find a way to not get all heated about this stuff.

Seriously, this is just twisted.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:06 PM on May 1, 2012


My favorite Python sketch is the one where the guy can't think of the name of Citizen Kane.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:07 PM on May 1, 2012 [6 favorites]


Rebate is rebent's evil (or good) twin.
posted by inturnaround at 12:07 PM on May 1, 2012


Ah, I meant linkbate. My joke's ruined on account of not being funny, guys!
posted by inturnaround at 12:07 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


My favorite is the one where Louis the 19th is a Scottish shake-down guy who's got more important things to do than go around remembering his number! It also featured exceptionally effete Montgolfier action!
posted by Mister_A at 12:09 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


My other favorite Python sketch is the one where the guy is recounting the story of how he climbed Everest but he keeps knocking over the thimbles on the wall.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:10 PM on May 1, 2012 [6 favorites]


Pantomime Horse
posted by Sys Rq at 12:13 PM on May 1, 2012


Mr. Neutron
posted by Mister_A at 12:15 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


My hovercraft is full of eels.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:17 PM on May 1, 2012 [4 favorites]


At least it's not Buzzfeed.

Good point. Hate that crap.
posted by Gator at 12:19 PM on May 1, 2012


See, there's Gator. At least one of the people being called out by this post actually showed up. That's nice.
posted by koeselitz at 12:19 PM on May 1, 2012


Thank you!
posted by Gator at 12:21 PM on May 1, 2012


What was the other magazine in that niche, the one that was like the RC Cola to MAD's Coke and Cracked's Pepsi? Sick?

Was it Plop? I don't remember much about that one, except that it was owned by DC (Was it? Find out. —ed.) and the title was funny (to a 10 year old).

In the spirit of this thread, I give you The Uggly Family.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:21 PM on May 1, 2012


Gator: “Thank you!”

You're welcome! Now that you're here, I guess asking that you not do this might be a little much, but perhaps you could spend some time reading the link before snarking. But then, you're free to do what you want; that's just a request.
posted by koeselitz at 12:23 PM on May 1, 2012


Duly noted! It is good to know that I am free to do what I want. Thank you for the affirmation.
posted by Gator at 12:24 PM on May 1, 2012


Would a Buzzfeed post about the 37 Saddest Failed Kickstarter Projects be suitable as an FPP?
posted by KokuRyu at 12:26 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'm very glad we had this little chat, then. I'll just be down in the basement if you need me.
posted by koeselitz at 12:26 PM on May 1, 2012


ook: "Hey, I have an idea: let's judge links on their individual merits rather than on where they happen to be hosted.

It's crazy I know but it just might work
"

I cannot possibly favorite this comment enough.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:26 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


You literally can.
posted by Mister_A at 12:29 PM on May 1, 2012


Would a Buzzfeed post about the 37 Saddest Failed Kickstarter Projects be suitable as an FPP?

Please gosh no.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:31 PM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


Sarcasm!
posted by KokuRyu at 12:32 PM on May 1, 2012


I have a pea under my previously requested ban mattress.
posted by y2karl at 12:36 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


Wait, I thought we wern't supposed to do the whole poking fun at people for meaninglessly intelligible misspellings thing. So I guess what I'm trying to ask is, could we not do the whole poking fun at people for meaninglessly intelligible misspellings thing?
posted by Blasdelb at 12:37 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


I got beat up at a Neil Diamond concert by a guy named "Scrunchie."
posted by griphus at 12:37 PM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


What sketch is that from, Blasdelb? Also, my brain threw a rod trying to parse 'meaninglessly intelligible misspelling'.
posted by Mister_A at 12:39 PM on May 1, 2012


I think it's from the same Monty Python episode as their 'Who's on first' thing.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:40 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


What was the other magazine in that niche, the one that was like the RC Cola to MAD's Coke and Cracked's Pepsi? Sick?


You are thinking of the often hilarious Schizoaffective Disorder Magazine.
posted by Mister_A at 12:41 PM on May 1, 2012


As long as we're all still agreed that posting angry one-liners right at the top of a thread about why something doesn't belong on the blue and isn't "best of the web" and suchlike continues to be just goddamn fascinating and a wonderful example of the commenter's superior taste, I think we'll all be okay.
posted by gompa at 12:42 PM on May 1, 2012


Crazy Magazine is the one you're thinking of.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:42 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


"the RC Cola to MAD's Coke and Cracked's Pepsi? Sick?"

Sick was like the slush pile for Mad and Cracked's rejects.

http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterkid4/jdavis2.html
posted by Ardiril at 12:43 PM on May 1, 2012


Right, that's enough of that! This thread has gotten too silly!

Let's see something decent and military- some precision drilling.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:44 PM on May 1, 2012


cortex: "Would a Buzzfeed post about the 37 Saddest Failed Kickstarter Projects be suitable as an FPP?

Please gosh no.
"

You know, that looks like it could be a contender for Worst Post Ever. Really, it hits almost all of the notes.
posted by schmod at 12:48 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


See the violence inherent in the meTa!
posted by rtha at 12:50 PM on May 1, 2012 [5 favorites]


Wow, he was trying to get people banned for nothing all the way back then, too.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:53 PM on May 1, 2012


Blasdelb: "Wait, I thought we wern't supposed to do the whole poking fun at people for meaninglessly intelligible misspellings thing. So I guess what I'm trying to ask is, could we not do the whole poking fun at people for meaninglessly intelligible misspellings thing?"

Mister_A: "What sketch is that from, Blasdelb? Also, my brain threw a rod trying to parse 'meaninglessly intelligible misspelling'."

Sorry I wasn't clear, I meant the nonstandard spelling of 'linkbate' at the top of the page.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:55 PM on May 1, 2012


Ahh. Perhaps you meant misintelligible unspelling ? Or unspellable mistelling?
posted by Mister_A at 12:56 PM on May 1, 2012


Please excuse my behavior, I'm playing that game where you do a shot of whiskey every time someone at work misuses per se and I'm really hammered.
posted by Mister_A at 1:02 PM on May 1, 2012 [7 favorites]


We need to expand into the northeastern markets per se our satellite offices there.
posted by griphus at 1:06 PM on May 1, 2012


I liked the Monty Python sketch where the guy wanted to dip his balls in everything, and then the other guy said "I'm outta heeeeeah."
posted by SpiffyRob at 1:12 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


Let's get a table at Per Se, we don't need a reservation, right?

Nailed it!
posted by SpiffyRob at 1:13 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


But I would not feel so all alone

Everybody must post linkbait on Metafilter
posted by Naberius at 1:18 PM on May 1, 2012


Two peanuts were posting in a thread.

One was a-salted.
posted by chaff at 1:23 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


God I hate the Rolling Stones.
posted by griphus at 1:24 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


God I hate the Rolling Stones.

Flagged as offensive.
posted by entropicamericana at 1:25 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


Isn't Per Se the name of the French national anthem
posted by shakespeherian at 1:25 PM on May 1, 2012


My sister used to read Tigerbate.
posted by cjorgensen at 1:27 PM on May 1, 2012 [4 favorites]


Anyone making a Monty Python reference past this point will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

When I came across this list of MST3k one-liners the other day, it occurred to me that even though I grew up watching Monty Python and even though I had friends who owned all the records, the whole "making Monty Python references" thing never really caught on among the people I knew. But when MST3K came out—oh, Holy Christ. I look back at the early and mid-'90s through a haze of MST3K and Animaniacs-obscured gibberish. Phrases that I'd forgotten even came from MST3K still show up in my speech now and then ("I'm passing the buck ... on to you!") Dunno, must've had something to do with grad school and lots of drinking.

No, there's no point to this any of this, I just wanted an opportunity to link to that list.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:28 PM on May 1, 2012 [7 favorites]


Thank you, John Goodman.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:30 PM on May 1, 2012


"How much Keeffe is in this movie anyway?" STILL makes me reflexively wet my pants.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:34 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


oh god no again
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:35 PM on May 1, 2012


octobersurprise, all I can say to you is: Big McLargeHuge.
posted by maryr at 1:37 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


every time someone at work misuses per se and I'm really hammered.

I discovered the hard way that in Finnish, perse (pronounced that way, don't know the spelling) means "ass" or "arse" depending on where you learnt your English.
posted by infini at 1:39 PM on May 1, 2012


My wife lost her keys once.

It turned out that they were at the bottom of her per se
posted by double block and bleed at 1:42 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


Can anyone of you prove you're not Hoyt Axton?
posted by The Whelk at 1:48 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


Crazy Magazine is the one you're thinking of.

Crazy! magazine was Marvel’s attempt at a humour mag, and was about as funny as you might expect that to turn out.

But in the same way that 75% of broadcast television is the dream of an autistic child, Crazy’s mascot, Obnoxio the Clown actually had his own team-up with the X-Men, which arguably renders all of the Crazy satire material part of the extended Marvel multiverse. Combined with Jesus in Ghost Rider and all that Alan Moore Captain Britain stuff, this just solidifies the fact that everything is part of the extended Marvel Multiverse.
posted by Shepherd at 1:57 PM on May 1, 2012


Anyone making a Monty Python reference past this point will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
posted by griphus at 11:38 AM on May 1 [1 favorite +] [!]

But what if your parrot is dead?
posted by Cranberry at 1:57 PM on May 1, 2012


Rosdower
posted by The Whelk at 1:58 PM on May 1, 2012


Why did I drink all that coconut milk!??!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:00 PM on May 1, 2012


as I responded to Gator when he began the derail in the original thread:

Step One: Don't click on cracked.com links?

Or don't click on the links of sites who break up stories/lists into MORE THAN two pieces.

Cracked has become good enough to be worth the second click, but if they go to three, they may be in trouble.


Cracked does 3-4 articles per day, including the photoshop contests inherited from PWOT (and I kinda like the format they use for them; yes, clicking is required but it doesn't load new ads when you do, it just scrolls). If we average one Cracked piece worthy of MetaFilter per week, that's a 5% success rate, which is up there with the NYT, Forbes and New Yorker. And it makes me giggle to be grouping those 4 media entities together.

Also, I have noticed that a more of their articles lately have NOT been in numerical-list-format. WE MUST ENCOURAGE THAT TREND. Unfortunately, none of them recently have been as good as the 'BS Political Stories' piece.

I'm sorry. Has this thread passed the Serious phase into the wacky phase already? Or, to quote an already referenced song, "Now let me get this straight..."
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:06 PM on May 1, 2012


10 Meaner Dogs than You've Ever Seen.
posted by The Deej at 2:10 PM on May 1, 2012


I suffer from Cracked fatigue, but then my list of sites like this are long, so I just move on. I'm tired of NYT links (like no one would ever find an article there on their own). HuffPo, Onion, xkcd, Oatmeal, BoingBoing, Wired, etc.

While we're airing our grievances, I am personally sick unto death of TED talks. Fortunately my scroll button is working, but I just wanted to leap onto the grouchiness bandwagon. (It's surprisingly comfortable up here!)
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:25 PM on May 1, 2012


Linkbate is clearly a portmanteau of linkbait and masturbate. Thus making linkbate self-pleasuringly linking to crappy articles?
posted by IndigoRain at 2:28 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


It's all for naught unless your directive comes from the Ministry of Silly Walks.
posted by Lynsey at 2:32 PM on May 1, 2012


That is one of the better SNL bits.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:35 PM on May 1, 2012


It turned out that they were at the bottom of her per se

That sounds terribly uncomfortable.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:42 PM on May 1, 2012


Metafilter: meaninglessly intelligible
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:01 PM on May 1, 2012


I draw the line at splitting a Top 5 list over two pages.

I wouldn't respect myself.
posted by Trurl at 3:06 PM on May 1, 2012


I know, right? Even Letterman wouldn't stoop that low.
posted by Gator at 3:20 PM on May 1, 2012


IndigoRain: "Linkbate is clearly a portmanteau of linkbait and masturbate. Thus making linkbate self-pleasuringly linking to crappy articles?"

I scrolled alll thw ay down to make much the same joke (although a much simpler portmanteau - links to masturbate to), knowing in my heart that someone would have beaten me to it. Stupid slow reading.
posted by dg at 3:25 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm sorry I had to bring the goat, he's not well. Well it's not a goat per se, but it is a goat se.

On preview, did you know Gator is an anagram for Groat?
posted by George_Spiggott at 3:25 PM on May 1, 2012


As I went through a garden gap,
Who should I meet but Dick Red-Cap!
A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat,
If you'll tell me this riddle,
I'll give you a groat.


I still remember this from an ancient book of nursery rhymes I inherited as a kid. It drove me absolutely berserk that I couldn't find "groat" in the dictionary no matter how many times I looked.
posted by Gator at 3:29 PM on May 1, 2012


Flag it and move the fuck on. What the fuck is up with all the whining about "I don't like it so make it go away"? Other people like X website and X meme and X whatthefuckever. You are not a special fucking snowflake and MetaFilter is not your fucking website. Fuck!

Yes, I feel better. Thanks for asking.
posted by deborah at 3:43 PM on May 1, 2012 [11 favorites]



What was the other magazine in that niche, the one that was like the RC Cola to MAD's Coke and Cracked's Pepsi? Sick?


I believe you are thinking of Marvel's mad rip-off "Crazy".
posted by the bricabrac man at 3:51 PM on May 1, 2012


Oh, I was beat. sorry.
posted by the bricabrac man at 3:54 PM on May 1, 2012


Pagination is bad, but some stuff on Cracked is good.
posted by Eideteker at 3:58 PM on May 1, 2012


Sick Magazine
Crazy Magazine
posted by jabberjaw at 4:04 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


Thank you, jabberjaw. I am feeling all nostalgic for a 20-cent can of Cott grape soda now.
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:13 PM on May 1, 2012


What isn't linkbait, anyway? It's the rare writer who puts their work on the Internet and doesn't hope people will link to it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:29 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


As I went through a garden gap,
Who should I meet but Dick Red-Cap!
A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat,
If you'll tell me this riddle,
I'll give you a groat.


I'll forego the groat but you need to tell me what the hell the answer is, so I don't lie awake all night thinking.
posted by tracicle at 4:42 PM on May 1, 2012


Oh, it's a cherry.
posted by Gator at 4:44 PM on May 1, 2012 [1 favorite]


For me it's the distinction between putting energy into making something good and putting energy into making something seem like it might be good. If you write the best goddam article about x that you can, that just honest effort. If you try and figure out what will make people click on your article about x regardless of whether the article is all that good itself, that's linkbait.

Great stuff can be marketed aggressively. So can meh stuff. This is the whole reason that headline writing and SEO alike can be awfully sleazy endeavors. There's nothing wrong with a snappy headline, but a snappy headline that overpromises and underdelivers is a waste of my time and gets my contempt. So too with sites that more or less specialize in using presentational hijinks to snare clicks and reblogs and backlinks and so on for not-very-good material. And that stuff is annoying enough, and endemic enough, that even people writing great stuff and doing that sort of thing get a bit of an odor regardless of the quality of their actual product.

Basically, people who suck are ruining it for people who don't.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:45 PM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


"What do you think about linkbait? Answer in the comments!"
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:50 PM on May 1, 2012 [2 favorites]


I remember when Cracked was the bargain store version of Mad. (Crazy was the 99c store version but that's a whole other story). What it is now is a mixed bag.
posted by jonmc at 5:18 PM on May 1, 2012


There are worse things. Imagine being the unpaid HuffPo intern who has to slap together shit like"The 50 Prettiest College Campuses", which is a slideshow, one per page, of the first 50 usable images they found when the hit the home pages of various universities in no particular order.
posted by George_Spiggott at 5:40 PM on May 1, 2012


What gets me is how retro Kraftwerk is. At the time, during the early 80s / New Wave, at least if you were young it seemed like the most modern and original work - nobody had ever had such clean and technical sensibilities in modern music, holy shit good thing we're calling it New Wave because this is the newest new thing ever and what an original time to be here.

But look at it with some broader perspective and Kraftwerk is really just a tiny seed of interesting music wrapped up in a repackaged hodgepodge of kitsch. They have thrown everything into the pot, from Bauhaus to Triumph of the Will to Fritz Lang's Metropolis to 1950s USA.

They're still good. Maybe they are even better when you realize how much cultural reference they've packed into such a minimalist presentation.
posted by Meatbomb at 5:41 PM on May 1, 2012


The first time I heard Kraftwerk I literally shat myself. I was three months old, that was the in thing at the time.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:08 PM on May 1, 2012 [6 favorites]


While we're airing our grievances, I am personally sick unto death of TED talks.

NPR now has just the show for you!
posted by mykescipark at 6:18 PM on May 1, 2012


Sick Magazine
Crazy Magazine


Bent Magazine.

While we're airing our grievances, I am personally sick unto death of TED talks.

I'd support a moratorium on Dr Who.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:00 PM on May 1, 2012


I'd like a moratorium on moratoria. The rate of morating around here is too high.
posted by subbes at 7:05 PM on May 1, 2012 [6 favorites]


PeterMcDermott: "While we're airing our grievances, I am personally sick unto death of TED talks.

I'd support a moratorium on Dr Who."

I'd pay good money to watch a decent Doctor Who TED talk.


Don't
posted by zarq at 7:16 PM on May 1, 2012


I'd like a moratorium on moratoria. The rate of morating around here is too high.

Can we get this added to the metatalk new post form?
posted by cjorgensen at 7:55 PM on May 1, 2012


No, the answer is "a cherry." The "stick" is the stem, and the "stone" is the cherry pit.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:10 PM on May 1, 2012


The stick is a stick. The stem is the hand.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:27 PM on May 1, 2012


Talk to the stem.
posted by y2karl at 10:47 PM on May 1, 2012


Yes, what you said, Sys Rq. This is my brain on drugs. It is not as delicious as a fried egg, sadly.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:51 PM on May 1, 2012


And now, all please stand for the Moratorian National Anthem...

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up your face!

posted by oneswellfoop at 11:11 PM on May 1, 2012 [3 favorites]


What's a matta you?
posted by Sys Rq at 11:38 PM on May 1, 2012


I'd support a moratorium on Dr Who.

The hell you say! Sonic screwdrivers at dawn, sirrah!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:53 AM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


There is only one rule: Pantera rules.
posted by maryr at 6:59 AM on May 2, 2012


I'm tired of NYT links (like no one would ever find an article there on their own).

I never look at the NYT - not being in NY it just isn't so much on my radar - so I'm glad when people link things here on Metafilter.
posted by mippy at 8:08 AM on May 2, 2012


I would really be happy if I never saw another Daily Mash link for as long as I live, though. YES I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE
posted by mippy at 8:09 AM on May 2, 2012


"Linkbate is clearly a portmanteau of linkbait and masturbate. Thus making linkbate self-pleasuringly linking to crappy articles?"

STOP MASTURDEBATING

MASTUR

DEBATING

DO YOU SEE?
posted by mippy at 8:23 AM on May 2, 2012


Definitely getting a Red Dragon vibe from that.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:50 AM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Can anyone of you prove you're not Hoyt Axton?
posted by The Whelk at 1:48 PM on May 1 [2 favorites ]


I thought I was the only person in the world who knew who Hoyt Axton was. I only know because I bought a button at Goodwill in Klamath Falls, Oregon that said something like, "I'm a Hoyt Axton Fan!" and I figured I should know who he was if I wore his name on my button.

I thought it was awesome. Most people were just confused.
posted by guster4lovers at 11:19 AM on May 2, 2012


I am not Hoyt Axton, and Jeremiah was not a bullfrog. Or a good friend of mine.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:27 AM on May 2, 2012


We were acquaintances at best and he usually bought his wine at Trader Joe's.
posted by maryr at 12:19 PM on May 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


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