February 8, 2006
pet toys
There’s a new term I’ve been using a lot recently:
“Pet Toys”. Passive-aggressive bloggers and blog commenters who spend a disproportionate amount of time making lots of little sqeaky noises, not dissimilar to those chewy rubber things you find in pet stores.
Pet Toys are first cousins of “Happy Trolls”. Go visit Scoble’s blog and you’ll find them by the hundreds.
[Bonus Link:] From Laurent: “Ten rules of blog fighting”.
The visual of this is explained perfectly by the latest Fark cliche — “Honk Bag” — which was originally proposed as a new reality show wherein people take out their frustrations by using a sledgehammer to pound on a hefty bag full of squeak toys.
Perhaps it’s time that the term “Honk Bag” transcend Fark and become the meme for such bloggers/comments. It is a perfect description.
I suffer from the conceit that I am both Hugh
Steve, at least a troll knows he’s being a troll.
A pet toy doesn’t know he’s being a pet toy
New name for nuisance people: pet toys
I’m stealing this one from Hugh at Gaping Void, who says pet toys are “Passive-aggressive bloggers and blog commenters who spend a disproportionate amount of time making lots of little sqeaky noises, not dissimilar to those chewy rubber things you find…
Not sure what classification I’ll receive for this, but I’ll run the risk.
I thought the ‘happy trolls’ classification was quite valid, and it’s helpful to introduce an element of etiquette to blogging, commenting, etc.
Where I’m unclear is on the exact definition of a ‘pet toy.’ I spend a lot of time reading, commenting and discussing my favorite posts, and I’m certainly not alone. Should I feel guilty? Change my habits? Is it acceptable to agree, add one’s two cents and flee? Or is that kind of behavior now considered a burden on people with a lot of traffic, etc.?
Damn it. I’m squeaking, huh.
I love trolls. They can add spice to a boring thread. And some bloggers who have relatively few comments (like me, for example), would gladly pay professional trolls to comment on their blogs. I also love linkwhores (nsfw), maybe because I am one myself, but mostly because they help grow the blogosphere. Without them, blogosphere wouldn’t double in size every 48 hours (more or less).
I just clicked on “Sonia Belle,” and the sound that came outta me was definitely Pet-Toy-ish
How’s the view from the mountain top?
Like the view from the top of a big ol’ silo, Ben