Fark Creator Slams 'the Wisdom of Crowds' 507
GovTechGuy writes with some harsh words from Fark.com founder Drew Curtis, speaking at a conference Tuesday in Washington, DC: "'The "wisdom of the crowds" is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Crowds are dumb,' Curtis said. 'It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter.' Curtis pointed to his own experience moderating comments on Fark, which allows users to give their often humorous take on the news of the day. He said only one percent of Web comments have any value and called the rest 'garbage.' Another example Curtis pointed to is the America Speaking Out website recently launched by House Republicans to allow the public to weigh in on the issues and vote for policy positions they support. Curtis called the site an 'absolute train wreck.' 'It's an absolute disaster. It's impossible to tell who was kidding and who wasn't,' Curtis said."
Re:It cuts both ways (Score:5, Funny)
Funny, that also seems to be the case with most articles. Garbage in, garbage out.
It's not news, it's Fark.com.
In other news (Score:5, Funny)
This Curtis guy... (Score:5, Funny)
..is he, like, new to the Internet?
Re:It's about Cherry Picking. (Score:5, Funny)
That's why I keep coming back here.
You mean its not for the endless jokes about living in the basement, not having a girlfriend, no social life, or the strong usage of the soviet russia meme?
Re:kettle, meet pot (Score:1, Funny)
Pfffft! They're not even smart enough to know that they're supposed to put the letters in their names...
I've always felt (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Charles Mackay (Score:3, Funny)
Kevin Rose used to use the "wisdom of crowds" phrase constantly when promoting Digg. I think that's enough evidence right there...
Re:In other news (Score:3, Funny)
I'd rather have him in charge than a lot of the jackasses who have been over the last 30-40+ years.
Re:It cuts both ways (Score:1, Funny)
On the plus side, that means with /. you can assume that any article with over 100 comments has at least 1 worth reading.
Re:Irony (Score:5, Funny)
Wait, did you just use "Youtube comments" as an example of intelligence? You're off your meds, man.
Re:Fuck it (Score:4, Funny)
At least you aren't shadowbanned.
Re:One man's "garbage"... (Score:4, Funny)
You'll get over it.
Re:One man's "garbage"... (Score:1, Funny)
Keep in mind that Drew is running Fark as a business, and certain comments that might rail against his corporate superiors will get modded or banned. Drew and his modmins are know to ban people based on petty rivalries and personality conflicts. Fark is no bastion of "free speech", and what would he know about "wisdom" from a site that is dedicated to goofball headlines and accelerated political trolling.
Worse than that, they're known for banning people in a way called a Shadowban and continuing to solicit for TotalFark Subscription renewals. What makes this so insidious is that when you are shadowbanned, you don't know you're banned. You are able to browse and post to the site as normal, though with a copious amount of fake DB errors being strewn about... and nobody can see what you've posted. This isn't a timeout, not a warning, nothing to indicate you are under any sort of ban. You log out and reload the thread or try to read the thread from another connection and your post is gone. Log into a PC and load the thread, your comment is there.
And keep in mind... they continue to solicit for your Total Fark subscription when this shadowban is placed on you.
Re:Irony (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Holy fucking shit! (Score:3, Funny)
Oh I love Libertarians. It is like 5 year olds arguing about why they should have chips & soda. Good on ya, and I'm pretty sure "mevets" has been called far worse things by far better people; to steal a phrase.
Re:It's about Cherry Picking. (Score:3, Funny)
But if you read between the lines and "cherry pick", there are usually hidden gems about a software package, a piece of advice or something truly fascinating.
...but when I talk to the evangelists on the street corners, they tell me all cherry-picking can get me is eternal damnation!
Re:It's about Cherry Picking. (Score:3, Funny)
In Soviet Russia meme uses you.
Re:It's about Cherry Picking. (Score:3, Funny)
Yes. Yes they are.
Re:Irony (Score:3, Funny)