I know who you are. You know who you are. You’re the ones that can’t resist a conflict. Especially a conflict involving high-profile so-called A-list tech bloggers who occasionally let their passion and their own egos spill over onto other people’s turf. I know, because I’ve read your comments, watched you go off half-cocked without all the facts, and seen you intentionally cause hurt to people who don’t deserve it.
Yesterday’s Gillmor Gang is a perfect example of that. One thing led to another, Leo Laporte loses his temper, the IRC chat is shut down and suddenly the Friendfeed chat is not only loaded with vitriol (a big word, look it up) aimed at Mike Arrington, but when that target wasn’t enough, you turned and aimed it at Steve Gillmor.
End result? Well, despite the rather civil rebuilding of bridges between Mike and Leo, Steve Gillmor was left trying to figure out how HIS show got hijacked without his consent.
The result of that was that a YEAR of Newsgang Live podcasts are now gone along with the Gillmor Gang podcasts for the past year.(Update: iTunes has the Gillmor Gang Podcasts)
That year of podcasts? They’re Steve’s shows. They’re his content. He owns them. But they represent OUR time, our collective thoughts, our discussions, and our phone bills, among other things. He owns them, but we were the contributors. All of us: Steve, Tina, Michael Markman, Warner Crocker, Francine Hardaway, Rob LaGesse, Debi Jones, Aron Michalski, me, Bruce Lerner, Christian Burns, WebPixie, and others who drifted in and back out of the discussions over time.
There was heart in those discussions. There was heat. And there was light. Not just about the politics of electing a black guy, but the politics of tech, where Twitter was going, and one really special podcast with David Sanborn after the final debate with John McCain.
Those discussions represented some of the best moments I’ve spent on the internet. We had a small, but vocal community. We all remain friends. I am leaving in a few hours to spend a week with Francine. I would never have known her if it weren’t for that show, for the common connection with everyone associated with the show.
And all it took were enough trolls dumping on Steve. I don’t blame him for pulling his content off Techcrunch. I’d have done it too. But it was completely avoidable.
The mob mentality on the internet comes with a price, whether it’s Kathy Sierra opting out of blogging, Michael Arrington going dark, or Steve Gillmor pulling all of his podcasts down. There is really no excuse for assuming that because you can say something, you should.
Next time, try stepping back before saying you wish someone died of cancer, or they only exist to cause trouble, or they’re a douchebag with a double dose of ego, because you don’t know who you might hit with your ill-aimed and venomous poison.
This time you hit me. Hard. Being deleted isn’t something I handle very well. I make it a point to think enough before hitting ’send’ to keep it civil. Too bad you didn’t do the same.
To Steve and Tina Gillmor – I hope those archives find a home somewhere. They’re not on archive.org. They’re nowhere that I can see. Twitter archives are gone too. I know you control it, but remember our contribution. There was value in those hours we spent. There IS value in those hours we spent.
To Michael Arrington – You didn’t deserve what you got. For the record, we’ve tangled, but no one deserves what you got. What annoys me the most is that no one really gave you credit for the class you showed in the second Gillmor Gang, where you took all responsibility for what happened and held out a hand to Leo, which he also shook. Unfortunately, people seem addicted to 90-second dramas instead of the longer resolution. I just want you to know that it shouldn’t have gone that way.
To Leo’s fans – Take a damn chill pill and follow the example of the guy you claim to love so much. If you had, this whole thing would be over.
If you had, I wouldn’t be sitting here in tears over a bunch of lost hours. Damn you.
Sphere: Related Content
