blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
blamebrampton ([personal profile] blamebrampton) wrote2008-06-23 01:10 pm

Flames I have not written ...

There have been a lot of flame-related posts of late, from people receiving their first ones, to a sweet young one on a comm who was cross about one that turned out to be harshly worded concrit (a fine distinction, I grant you).
It made me think about the art of flaming. I don't think it's a good idea on principle, because surely you could receive a more visceral buzz from going out and actually kicking a puppy or stealing a small child's sweets (easier to do than you might think, they have short attention spans). However, I recently made the mistake of mentioning to some friends that I had read the worst story ever. They hastily corrected me and pointed me in the direction of the actual worst stories ever.  I suspect the nadir may have been reached. And I could see why people flamed. Indeed, I had Strong Urges.

So strong, in fact, that I wrote them all down, but here, not in the several theres that inspired them. Rest assured, dear flist and casual readers, none of these were directed at any of you.

* If that is truly how you believe gay men behave, you need to change your reference material from Teletubbies to Queer as Fuck.

* Stop now, remove Word from your computer, and contemplate accountancy. It pays very well.

* That manoeuvre would have resulted in hospitalisation and a very embarrassing recuperation.

* No English person, in the history of the world, has ever said that. There are laws against it.

* No Malfoy would ever shop there.

* The Dursleys are Middle Class, not retarded. There is a clear distinction.

* Boys do quite often shag just because they would like to have sex now, thank you. It is unusual for them to wait for a lengthy monologue on the nature of love to be completed first. Not impossible, I grant you, but unlikely. Most boys I have known would have made a cup of tea, played a quick game of internet spaceships, or had one off the wrist in that fifteen minutes. The nice ones would have made two cups of tea.

* I pride myself on a willing suspension of disbelief, but Isambard Kingdom Brunel could not have bridged these plot gaps.

* Is it just the HP women, or all women who make you this angry?

* Have you ever actually seen a penis?

* I admit I have not exhausted the variations, but I am fairly sure that you can't have sex like that. Unless you are an elephant. In which case you missed an animagus scene.

* The Queen is not happy with what you have done to her English.


What about you lot? Anything you've wanted to rant on but have kept inside? Stop bottling, let it out. No names, no URLs, just vent the badness ...

[identity profile] corpus-delecti.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
This made me laugh so hard.

It also filled me with the morbid desire to actually read these fics. Yeah... some people rubberneck to look at car crashes. I read terribly written fanfiction. It's a thing. I'm working on it.

On the topic of flames, as a whole... I think that people take the internet way too seriously. I mean, you are dealing with real people, with real emotions, which you do have to take into account. But honestly, when you really think about it, does anyone really care about what someone they will never meet, never see, or even be in the same city with thinks about them?

Not to spout the whole "why can't we all get along?" line, but... if we can't all get along... why can't we just leave each other alone?

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 08:50 am (UTC)(link)
Just say no! And never mention to any of your good fandom friends that you think you have found the worst story ever, as they will all be Ever So Helpful in correcting you ...

You are so right on the response part, though. I remember in the early days of the net a scientist friend of mine was explaining it to me. "And," he said, "if anyone give you a hard time, just remember that you're being harassed by a bald man with a small penis in a dingy flat. Not being him is a daily victory."

[identity profile] corpus-delecti.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 09:30 am (UTC)(link)
I'm so framing that quote and putting it on my wall, so I can read it everyday.

I think that someone should put together a rec list of the worst fics ever. You know, like the Razzberry awards. I should get on that.

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 09:50 am (UTC)(link)
We would have to pass it quietly from hand to hand, carefully vetting the recipients so that no one ever knows, otherwise the quite bad would start writing *worse* fics in a bid to be on the list.

[identity profile] corpus-delecti.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 10:12 am (UTC)(link)
See I was thinking of going the other way. We could email them banners that say "congrats, your fic sucks."

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 10:24 am (UTC)(link)
Your magnificent Slytherinity is showing through ...

[identity profile] corpus-delecti.livejournal.com 2008-06-23 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
Damn. And here I was trying to be all subtle.