(Cross posted as a comment on the fabulous CityGirlBlogs.com regarding her latest triumph.)
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Dear CityGirl,
Wow. Obviously no one ever told Buckeyes Boy not to pick fights with (wo)men who buy ink by the barrel. I think having a popular blog is the modern equivalent. You’d think he would be more aware of the risk if he runs with a crowd of professional communicators . And he got off very easy. Let me tell you a story.
Earlier this decade, before Facebook and Twitter, a cliquish IRL social circle emerged around the “D.C. Blogs Scene”(*) There was no charitable or professional networking component to this community- they just held “Blogger Happy Hours” in dive bars, got sloppy-ass drunk, and treated the herpes triangle** like a 1970’s key party. Attendance was taken by meangirl “Kathryn,” who in the morning would recap what people wore, how much they drank, and who she liked the best.
As you can imagine, things eventually got ugly. Everyone started trashing each other on their blogs- who was fat, who was ugly, who put out, who nailed who, who cheated, etc. Remember, even though they knew each other, their blogs were still pseudonymous, so there was no accountability outside the circle.
They escalated to publishing cruel “parody blogs” mocking people’s writing and content. http://thongspeedz.blogspot.com is still up but the original blog isn’t.)
Then they started outing each other’s true identities. Names, addresses, phone numbers, places of work, and family photos were published and dirty laundry was aired across the interwebs. When people wanted to be especially evil, they used the LNS forum.
Next, people’s employers were harassed, and many bloggers were severely reprimanded and banned from blogging. I know at least one girl was fired outright. There were constant online threats of violence, and more than a few actual fights. They vandalized a guy’s house one weekend when his pregnant wife was home alone. There were allegations of abortions and rape.*** Lawyers weighed in.
As a spectator sport, it was sublime- pure insanity delivered on the half hour via the DCBlogs.com Live Feed. After the final implosion (somewhere between the break-in and the rape charge) the “official” happy hours ceased. People were too scared to go and give people something to write about. Blogs across the “DCsphere” withdrew behind passwords and or went permanently dark.
(I do want to say I so admire KassyK for sticking it out after all they put her through. She’s a sweet, strong person and deserves good things in her life. I still read you, Kassy, even though I’ve never seen Lost.)
Show this to Buckeyes Boy so he knows how deeply you could have scorched the earth. All you did was tell the truth about your experience without taking unnecessary pot shots, and you still protected his identity (to the degree that you could.) He’s lucky you are handling this with such class.
I work in new media too, temporarily relocated to the southeast for a political campaign. When I get back to D.C., I hope our paths cross so I can say hello in person.
Does anybody out there remember all this madness?
Best,
Sally
P.S. I’ll go back and link to everybody when I have a chance.
Disclaimer: I’ve never met any of these people or interacted with them in person. All of this information came from exchanging email and reading their blogs in 2006-2007.
*Absolutely no offense meant to Patrick of DCBlogs.com! You rock!)
**The “herpes triangle” refers to 20th and M Streets, NW in Washington, D.C., known for its pickup scene. And brunch.
***The rape charge was universally accepted to be true by both the guys and the girls, but I was never clear on who was involved vs. who was just talking about it. Bad situation, and I am in no way making light of it, just telling the tale as it unfolded.
