Vicious, condescending article on "Science 2.0"

[darkshines]

Oooh, they have a contact form! *fills in*

[Major Wolfram Quicksilver]

I've been in contact with Ryan McMann, and it seems it wasn't him who wrote that post under the name 'Professor Killian Killjoy'.  I'd like to apologise to Ryan for casting aspersions and bad feelings upon his general character.

[Madame Curatrix]

If it is indeed the case that Mr. McMann did not write that post, I suggest he take highly visible and immediate measures to distance himself from the comments therein, and to condemn them. Posting a notice on the Wild Wild West Con website would be a good start.

Regardless of who the real author was, they are some of the vilest and reprehensible things I have read coming out of this scene and I hope that they truly do not represent the values of someone affiliated with organizing Steampunk events.

[Killjoy]

Science 2.0 Comment: I DID NOT WRITE IT!!

I want the people in the Steampunk community to know that I love all of you regardless of your size, shape, color and wether you lean towards copper, brass, gold or steel. I am and always we be the complete anti-costume nazi and will continue to be until my steam one day runs out. For those of you have shown me support thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those of you haters out there you truly don't know the warm and kind community you are missing out on. I suppose your hating heart must be filled with the thing us Steampunkers dread the most "LEAD", cause it keeps our airships down. God speed and clear skys to all you Steampunk lovers out there!


Greetings Hank Campbell,
 
Since you will not take the corrective action it is my duty to inform you that I will be pursueing legal action to have the post removed.
 
Voltage Entertainment LLC is the copyright holder of Wild Wild West Con & WWWC and the remarks made within the blog have caused a nightmare of damage control. The statement does not reflect the opinion of Wild Wild West Con, Voltage Entertainment LLC or Old Tucson Studios. I have now recorded countless emails to which I have had reply stating that I did not write the comment. I have been called names which I will not repeat. Your lack of action in this matter has cost me a considerable amount of time and stress.
 
You hide behind the claim of censorship when this is a case of identity theft. The right to free speach is about truth, not lies or rumors. The right to free speech does not give someone the right to pretend to be me and speak with my voice. I speak with my voice not you or anyone else does!!
 
I suggest you start reading up and prepare your defense.
 
Thank You,
Ryan McMann
Wild Wild West Con President
 
 
Orginal Email:
 
Greetings Hank,
 
Someone took the liberty of using my name to post a comment within your blog using my Steampunk alias Killjoy. They added Professor and Killian to it as well. The remarks that were made are not made by me or my orginization at Wild Wild West Con. Please remove the comment as soon as possible. If you are truly an upstanding member of the science community I know that you will honor this request.
 
I have registered on your site and tried to log on but discovered I must be approved. The approval process states: spammers will go to any length to gain access
 
Well one of these spammers did you and I injustice. Please do the right thing.
 
Thank You,
Ryan McMann
Wild Wild West Con President

[Killjoy]

With that attitude, I'm sure Prof. Killjoy's next event will go smoothly.  A little too smoothly, in fact.  Because I can't see as it'll get much custom, he having just alienated about 99.9% of his intended audience.  Of course, if some of us choose to go it's up to the individuals concerned.  It's also their concern as to how to greet this opinionated, thoroughly despicable and toxic guy who seems to be willing to take our money whilst spiting our faces. Personally I'd start with a cane dagger and proceed from there...

~Addendum~

It would appear my google-fu is unusually focussed today.  Incredibly he has an account with us, under the name 'Killjoy'.  The one and only post he has contributed has been to hawk tickets for his precious WWWCon...

I did not write said comment and would never say such garbage. Please do not believe what you have read. Most of my postings are mostly done on Steampunk Empire!
~Ryan McMann
~Wild Wild West Con President

[James Harrison]

Sir;

In which case I retract any and all aspersions I may have cast upon your character in my previous post. 

[VampirateMace]

room temperature IQ

Hope you don't mind me using that the next time someone of questionable intelligence comes up.

The thing that acturally bothers me the most about the page is Steampunk Palin... even though I've seen it before. I don't care if some *explicative* decides I'm ugly without seeing me first, he's obviously no one I want to meet anyways.

[MWBailey]

The only minor problems with that article is that it's factually incorrect and written by an utter cock.

 

Oh, well said. I concur.

[Argus Fairbrass]

Agreed.

I've read quite a few of these kind of posts dotted about the internet, some of them date back years. They're always written by the same calibur of idiot. It's no suprise that idiocy has revealed itself in these comments any more than I'm sure they do in all the comments someone like this makes.

It's not something that posting lots of illustrations of model types in steampunk attire addresses. It's the idea that you have to look like one to have a right to be involved in the first place. And if you don't then somehow you're doing it wrong. It's a pretty typical mainstream attitude, unfortunately in this case aimed at the ladies. Other cases I've seen have been a little more all encompassing.

Basically the guys a prick, dunno what else to say really. 

[darkshines]

I must say I had no knowledge of the Killjoy chap in question before his name was sullied by this anonymous troll, but he took the time out of his day to personally email me and assure me the comments were not made by himself.

Sir, you are an asset to steampunk, and we are lucky to have such a nice chap in our community. Thank you.

[Flynn MacCallister]

*Shrugs* There Are No Women On The Internet, either.

So *that*'s why I keep getting mistaken for a guy around here.... ^^

You too, huh? ;p

[Flynn MacCallister]

Science 2.0 Comment: I DID NOT WRITE IT!!

I want the people in the Steampunk community to know that I love all of you regardless of your size, shape, color and wether you lean towards copper, brass, gold or steel. I am and always we be the complete anti-costume nazi and will continue to be until my steam one day runs out. For those of you have shown me support thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those of you haters out there you truly don't know the warm and kind community you are missing out on. I suppose your hating heart must be filled with the thing us Steampunkers dread the most "LEAD", cause it keeps our airships down. God speed and clear skys to all you Steampunk lovers out there!


Greetings Hank Campbell,
 
Since you will not take the corrective action it is my duty to inform you that I will be pursueing legal action to have the post removed.
 
Voltage Entertainment LLC is the copyright holder of Wild Wild West Con & WWWC and the remarks made within the blog have caused a nightmare of damage control. The statement does not reflect the opinion of Wild Wild West Con, Voltage Entertainment LLC or Old Tucson Studios. I have now recorded countless emails to which I have had reply stating that I did not write the comment. I have been called names which I will not repeat. Your lack of action in this matter has cost me a considerable amount of time and stress.
 
You hide behind the claim of censorship when this is a case of identity theft. The right to free speach is about truth, not lies or rumors. The right to free speech does not give someone the right to pretend to be me and speak with my voice. I speak with my voice not you or anyone else does!!
 
I suggest you start reading up and prepare your defense.
 
Thank You,
Ryan McMann
Wild Wild West Con President
 
 
Orginal Email:
 
Greetings Hank,
 
Someone took the liberty of using my name to post a comment within your blog using my Steampunk alias Killjoy. They added Professor and Killian to it as well. The remarks that were made are not made by me or my orginization at Wild Wild West Con. Please remove the comment as soon as possible. If you are truly an upstanding member of the science community I know that you will honor this request.
 
I have registered on your site and tried to log on but discovered I must be approved. The approval process states: spammers will go to any length to gain access
 
Well one of these spammers did you and I injustice. Please do the right thing.
 
Thank You,
Ryan McMann
Wild Wild West Con President

Thanks for taking the time to share that with us. I'm very sorry some bastard thought it would be funny to impersonate you and write such hateful things... : (

[Arceye]

Is the writer inferring that all biker 'chix' are hot, all Goths are hot, &c &c but Steampunks uniquely are not? To be honest I was expecting something a little more learned from a site called 'science 2.0'.

[bicyclebuilder]

Ehrm, did our well spoken, highly intelligent friend, Hank Campbell just compared Steampunk to KKK?

#snip from the science 2.0 blog#
Stay away from steampunk events so we don't have to endure your stupidity.


Stay away from gatherings that are all white people in costumes holding weapons and desiring to go back to the 19th century?   It seems more like a KKK rally than a fun event, so, yes, we stupid people are not going.

.Hank Campbell | 02/07/11 | 10:54 AM
Reply to This »Link
#snip from the science 2.0 blog#

I think there are some serious trolls on his blog and he's one of them.

[Lucius Voltaic]

I'd just like to point out--blatant caddishness of the article aside--that perhaps we on the Steampunk Forum are occasionally a bit too defensive. Certainly, there are those who misunderstand steampunk, hate steampunk, and/or claim as representative of steampunk things that are clearly contrary to steampunk's quintessence. But we don't need to lash out at them--not only is it ungentlemanly/unladylike, but we don't really need to take them down to be happy ourselves. As George Bailey said, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter!" Or, as Catullus said, "rumoresque senum severiorum omnes unius aestimemus assis!"* I noticed this a while ago, when some among us were illogically hating on Lotus owners; and here, where we were quick to condemn Mr. McMann for something which it turned out he did not even say. Let's all calm down and, though we may be stern and corrective to our enemies, not be harsh and rude.

*"And let's value all the gossip of the severe old men at only a penny!"

[bicyclebuilder]

Noble words Mr. Voltaic.
I remember the Lotus thread, witch has some similarities to this story.
However, aside from all the trolls and posers, the blogger himself compares Steampunk with KKK. If you are fine with that, that's your parogitive, but I don't.
There are (eaven considering the freedom of speach) some things you just don't say, and this is one of them. An "intelligent" person like Mr. Campbell should know the boundries.

[Lucius Voltaic]

However, aside from all the trolls and posers, the blogger himself compares Steampunk with KKK. If you are fine with that, that's your parogitive, but I don't.
There are (eaven considering the freedom of speach) some things you just don't say, and this is one of them. An "intelligent" person like Mr. Campbell should know the boundries.

I am very much not fine with that, but that still doesn't mean we should stoop to his level.

[bicyclebuilder]

Your right, we shouldn't stoop to his level. Mr. Campbell is propably getting payed by the number of hit's he gets on his blogs.
I've lurked around on the other blogs and they are more of the same. Seems to me Science 2.0 is no more than a trollers heaven, although some articles have some form of science to them.
They are very keen on freedom of speach and don't moderate as much as they should.
I'm not saying this because I want to get "eaven" or something, it's just something I've discovered recently.

[Flynn MacCallister]

I'd just like to point out--blatant caddishness of the article aside--that perhaps we on the Steampunk Forum are occasionally a bit too defensive. Certainly, there are those who misunderstand steampunk, hate steampunk, and/or claim as representative of steampunk things that are clearly contrary to steampunk's quintessence. But we don't need to lash out at them--not only is it ungentlemanly/unladylike, but we don't really need to take them down to be happy ourselves. As George Bailey said, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter!" Or, as Catullus said, "rumoresque senum severiorum omnes unius aestimemus assis!"* I noticed this a while ago, when some among us were illogically hating on Lotus owners; and here, where we were quick to condemn Mr. McMann for something which it turned out he did not even say. Let's all calm down and, though we may be stern and corrective to our enemies, not be harsh and rude.

*"And let's value all the gossip of the severe old men at only a penny!"

If it was just about steampunk, that's fine. But any person who is of the opinion that women need "fixing" for not living up to their expectation and requirement of "hotness" needs a damn swift and public kick up the arse. This view is still too prevalent, and far too harmful, to let such statements pass without condemnation.

[pakled]

He committed 3 outrageous errors -
1) He referred to all women (girls) of any type (loosely associated, in reality) as 'the same'
2) He referred to women as 'girls' (one of those loaded words that can only be used by, well, females of any age, and
3) He seemed to think they need improvement.

Nonstarters all, with many women I've known through the years...I wasn't offended, because I couldn't really see if he wandered close to a 'point' at all...

[Lucius Voltaic]

If it was just about steampunk, that's fine. But any person who is of the opinion that women need "fixing" for not living up to their expectation and requirement of "hotness" needs a damn swift and public kick up the arse. This view is still too prevalent, and far too harmful, to let such statements pass without condemnation.

I'm not saying we should ignore him because he's beneath us and we shouldn't feel insulted. Darn right we should feel insulted, and I don't think we must ignore him, either. But our anger led us to start slanging the (apparently completely innocent) Ryan McMann! I'm not saying don't be angry, but control yourselves--don't give in to your darker emotions.

...wait, I think I'm starting to paraphrase Yoda here. Well, Yoda was right, anyway. So don't give in to the Dark Side of the Force, steampunks!

[Just call me Rob]

The article/blog clearly wasn't written to educate, it was written to incite rage and anger and to elicit a response.
The author may get his jollies from having people reply, but more likely he earns money from people linking to or from his blog.
Best to ignore it.