* * *

Here's a joke I just made up, tell me if you like it:


What do uptight web people and asterisks - * - have in common?



They're both kinda like assholes.



I have been taught my first lesson in proper net etiquette. Interesting. I have had the very same reaction as I did when, as a 13-year-old Sunday School student at a Baptist church, my youth group leader taught all of us that it was a sin to dance.

This is TOTAL Bullshit.

Last post, I put up a short essay by a seemingly cool fellow who is an artist and a new dad. I dig new dads that openly celebrate their love for their kids. I immediately received a comment from someone that my post was "totally uncool" and "very bad netiquette". She went on to say that she felt the need to alert the author 'via email'.

Being brand new to the 'blogoshpere' (I am feeling less like a nerd knowing there are people who actually USE this word), I had no idea that posting a short essay with full credits and positive commentary was a naughty thing to do. OOOOhh, how wrong I was.

The author of the post DID read his email from 'ms. anonymous uptight web author lady' and felt compelled to write to me.

From: r___@m_____________s.com
Subject: Posting From My Blog
Date: March 19, 2006 6:41:40 PM EST
To: bkoppbikes@adelphia.net
It recently came to my intention that you lifted an entire blog entry of mine (from Heading East) and posted it on your site. While I'm glad you enjoyed the post and I see that you have attributed it, it's not cool to do this. The whole point of the web is that we link to other people's content. The proper way to do this is to post a link with a short description or a to post a short excerpt with the link below. I don't know if you are new to blogging or not, but if you continue to lift other people's entries attributions notwithstanding you will invariably piss people off.
all best,
r

Ok. In the range of responses from "Do this again and I'll sue your ass!" to "Its cool, man, thanks for the kind words!" - what he sent is somewhere in the middle. So mr. r is not an *. He wished me all the best.

But he really needs to rethink what the 'whole point of the web' is, because I'm fairly sure it has little to do with 'linking other people's content' and more more to do with an 'open exchange of ideas'.

We'll call it a misunderstanding, and leave it at that. At the end of the day, we both love our kids.

Did I learn my lesson? Yeah, I learned. I learned several things from this whole experience:

1. Moral elitists piss me off. Not far removed from religious zealots, those who believe that they know the 'proper' use of a world-wide media, or anything for that matter, can bite me.

2. This here interblogweb is ours. And it has lots of channels, so if you don't like mine, hit the, um, remote. Yeah.

3. People who get pissed off when receiving a compliment are loco.

4. I will try to be good about asking before I borrow other people's things, even if I intend to praise, promote, etc.

5. People who use the word 'via' outside of a professional setting are loco.

6. I am still the greatest parent in the world.

7. People who make lists may be compulsive in nature.

I hereby give everyone permission to use and reuse any and all anything you find on my interblog site. Copy it, sell it to your mother for a hundred bucks, or tell your wife that you wrote it. Its cool with me.


ÜberDaddy is the Grateful Dead of the blog world. Copy and trade, my friend.

I need a miracle.













ciaofernow