Friday, August 05, 2005

Internet Pet Peeve People

So as a relatively techno-savvy kind of gal, I read (and post) on a few different message boards. Some of them are sports related and some of them aren't. Over the years, I've come across many different kinds of annoying people. I decide to identify my Top Five Internet Pet Peeve People and give an example of a post typical of that person. As M. from my office would say, "See that guy? Don't BE that guy..."

1. The Moderator Suck-up.
Description:
This poster is quite common on the sports boards, They gush on and on about how wonderful the content of the site is and thank the moderators profusely for providing "inside info". This poster also often feigns a personal relationship with the moderators which is generally based on either meeting the moderator (usually at a game, happy hour, etc) or having a couple of emails/questions answered. They give off the vibe of the nerd kid in junior high who happens to be tutoring a "cool kid" and acts like they're friends at the lunch table.

Typical Post: RE: This site RULZ! Dear Moderators, Thanks SO much for your AWESOME article about the football team yesterday. This is the world's greatest (insert college name here) site and you guys give the best info ever. When I met you at Buffalo Wild Wings the other day, thanks for telling me about _____(insert common knowledge sports fact here). U R The best!! XOXO, Kimmie Kiss-Up

2. "Inside Info" Guy.
Description: Also found frequenting sports recruiting sites, this guy usually has some sort of vague relationship with a recruit, AAU team, HS team, etc, etc. He's got "connections" and wants to share them with you. Except he's not willing to spill all the beans, so instead he drops "hints" and gets everyone all riled up for no reason. These guys are out en masse as Signing Day nears.
Typical Post: RE: Roy Recruit
Roy Recruit has a press conference today at 4:00. ;) --InsideDude
Followed by a flurry of "What do you mean InsideDude? Is this good news for us? Give us more info! I think InsideDude must mean he's committing, right?" posts.

3. The Butt-In-Ski
Description: This poster finds it necessary to insert him/her into all threads, even if they don't pertain to him/her. They also come out of the woodwork during heated arguments/discussions between a small group of posters. They usually take one of two tactics: either trying to "reconcile" the two feuding parties, or to stirring the pot further by adding their own personal spin on the situation. Annoying because they usually escalate the situation and make things MORE contentious instead of helping.
Typical Post: RE: Stop fighting, Be friends
What So-and-So meant to say was, _____. I don't know why that upset you, Whatsherface. Besides, I think you totally overreacted and that So-and-So was being a total bitch
. Sincerely, AnnoyingAnnie

4. The "Milcher".
Description: First let me give you the definition of milch, a word invented by my friend Sv's mom.
Milch (verb): To attempt to get compliments, encouragement, etc by
putting yourself and/or your accomplishments down, in the hopes that others will boost your spirits by disagreeing with you (noun:milcher
)

This poster doesn't seem to have much self esteem and is constantly asking for reassuring responses to everything they say and do. My guess is that these people don't have a lot of friends in regular life and are looking for self esteem via the internet. This sounds harsh, but can be true.
Typical Post: RE: I suck. I hate myself and my life. I never do anything worthwhile. No one appreciates me--WoeIsMe
Response by other posters: "Dear WoeIsMe, You're an awesome person and we all love you. You're great at X, Y & Z"

5. "Down in a Blaze of Glory" Poster
Description: This person for one reason or another has decided to leave your online community. Often it's over a disagreement or argument with one or more posters. Instead of just acting like an adult and NOT posting anymore, this person feels it necessary to slam everyone and everything in one last post on the board. Often he/she portrays him/herself as the ultimate martyr, being "forced to leave" by other "rude" posters. They're usually looking for other people to encourage them to stay, but most of the time this person is really someone that nobody likes.
Typical Post: RE: Goodbye
I've decided that I can no longer be a part of this message board. So-and-so is just too mean and I can't deal with the daily attacks. I want everyone to know how much I loved this board, before so-and-so started posting. To my friends, thank you for posting. To so-and-so, you're a jerk and I hate you for ruining this board.-- Sincerely, Molly Martyr

***See these guys? Don't BE these guys.***

1 Comments:

At 2:05 PM, Blogger Sv said...

Nice list - I could list about 15 handles from Rivals that fit those.

 

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