Entry tags:

cruel shoes, genderblah, godwin's, jokes that don't go over well, parents taking shit too seriously, sexism, shoes for industry!, tags are serious business, think of the children, whining in comments

Wank? In my snark comm?
It's more likely than you think.

So, over at ugly_crap on LJ, the comm members amuse themselves by doing the equivalent of telling ghost stories: finding the ugliest/most tasteless products possible and snarking them. Most of the time, things are pretty quiet there - it's quite rare that commenters disagree with the OP's judgement, and when it happens, it's usually pretty civil.

But when moira_aoibheane posts these high heels for babies, things get a little messy.

We have accusations that commenters have no sense of humour, cries of misogyny, and your standard "This isn't funny!" "That's because you have no sense of humour!" "ZOMG U JUST INSULTED MY SENSE OF HUMOUR U H00R!".

And, because no wank would be complete without it: invocation of Godwin's Law for absolutely no reason at all!

Small, but tasty.

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	notjo 2008-06-18 06:15 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not really seeing what's funny here. Mostly, it looks like people staking their claims on something serious (i.e. - is this sexualizing children?) with bonus "were you molested as a child" commentary. Can you explain it to me? (Reply to this)(Thread)

jaythenerdkid
2008-06-18 06:18 pm UTC (link)

Mainly the "you have no sense of humour!" "NO U!" "Um...your mother." and the unjustified "Godwin's!" I did consider posting it in

unfunnybusiness instead, but figured it worked here.

I agree that there was some serious discussion going on - or that there was the potential for the same - but the way in which the commenters about it was what brought the wank, IMO.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jaythenerdkid 2008-06-18 06:30 pm UTC (link)
	Sorry, way in which the commenters went about it. It's 3:30 in the morning here. I am, perhaps, not quite at my best. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	llama_treats 2008-06-18 06:41 pm UTC (link)
	Actually, I think the shoes themselves are hilarious in a frightening kind of way. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	notjo 2008-06-18 06:45 pm UTC (link)
	They're heelarious, even. ;) (No really, that's what they're called.) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	puipui 2008-06-18 06:50 pm UTC (link)
	I saw the words "training them for prostitution" and could read no further, personally. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	notjo 2008-06-18 06:52 pm UTC (link)
	You haven't missed anything exciting. Or funny, really. sigh (Reply to this)(Parent)

	jaythenerdkid 2008-06-18 06:52 pm UTC (link)
	Do you think I should have posted it in unfunnybusiness instead, then? (That was a serious question - I'm (obviously!) very new to this whole posting wank thing.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	puipui 2008-06-18 07:02 pm UTC (link)
	No idea, as I haven't actually read it. I don't often follow the actual links, to be honest, I go by what people quote here, but "these high heels for babies" was kind of irresistible. I'm not willing to slog through all the potential unfunnyness on display there for funny quotes, though, so if you've got any, I'd love to hear them! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

jaythenerdkid
2008-06-18 07:13 pm UTC (link)

Um, funny quotes...well, I don't know if they're funny, but:

nephron attempts to put a bit of perspective on things (sort of):

At 0-6 months I think the chance of your infant girl walking is pretty slim. I'm sure that "high heels" made of soft slipper material will make her walking much more difficult.

Have you heard of this novel concept called a "joke"?

daft is not on their high horse at all when they respond:

Oh god, I've been found out.
Obviously I have no sense of humor whatsoever because I find infant high heels revolting and not "funny".
Thank you for the edification.

And

bluestareyed...well, at least they're willing to stick to their guns?

i'll laugh at jokes when they are funny. this. is. not. funny.

--

if you think you are going to get me to "lighten up" about this or things like this, i recommend you stop wasting your time. It will be about as productive as getting a cinder block to change color simply by convincing it to.

--

you find it to be a joke. i do not. its that simple. using godwin to make it more than that on either side is ludicrous

(For the record, Nazis were not even indirectly mentioned once.)

--

Godwin's law is something that we are both doing to each other in this thread by making the other person's perspective out to be worse than it actually is. its using weighted language to overstate the actuality of a situation.

(My reaction: "...whut?")

And there was something about whoopee cushions in there too.

I found it funny, but that's because the accusations of misogyny really seemed like they were coming out of nowhere, which made me laugh, and the random Godwin's had me boggling. I know that sexism wank is never funny, but I didn't really see this as sexism wank, so I figured it was all right to post.

(And I hardly ever bother to click the links, either, by the way.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	napalmnacey 2008-06-19 01:13 pm UTC (link)
	Hey, nephron is my RL compadre! Gawww, I'm so proud!! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	doomsday 2008-06-18 07:08 pm UTC (link)
	Helpful hint: if there's any question in your mind, take it to UFB. I don't think anyone's going to get upset with you for posting something there that's more on the funny side, but the reverse is definitely not true. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jaythenerdkid 2008-06-18 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks, I'll remember that for next time! (Reply to this)(Parent)

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