Yellow Journalism

It is all drama, all the time.

I suppose it isn't healthy to trade in gossip, or to let myself be distracted by nonsense like this, but I have my old grudges too.

In October 2017, I wrote this unkind post about Frank Mentzer.  I started it with slapping myself on the wrist about spreading gossip, just as I've started this post today.  Gossip is a dirty little vice.

Eric Tenkar at Tenkar's Tavern posted this today: Frank Mentzer shares on Facebook.  It's a carefully presented, reassuring requested for consideration of the man as a reasonable and occasionally flawed person, the sort of letter we might write ourselves if mistakes we had made got us into hot water.  It comes from Mentzer's facebook, which Eric dutifully links; I will as well:

https://www.facebook.com/frank.mentzer/posts/2166010183478721

There is an outpouring of support below, leading to where Mentzer explains,

"I erred greatly in not addressing these matters earlier. I was advised in the strongest terms, by friends and Powers, to shut up and sit down -- and that it would all go away. I am still learning about unSocial media, so I took their advice. They were wrong, and I was wrong. Time for sunlight."

As I read that, I nearly jumped in to write that sunlight has a way of revealing a lot more than people who like you.  As I've learned with my blog, there are always going to be people you connect with, who "get" you ... and there are always going to be other people.  This is everywhere on the internet, as we well know.

But as I was scrolling down the page to write the comment, I came across the post's first rebuttal.  Surprised me.  When I across through a comments list where every comment is positive, I've stopped expecting to see the person who dares stick their head up in this crowd.  Paul Stuart Tucker did, however.

And then a link to this screed by Mentzer.  I won't copy it here.

For me, the line isn't the insults, though quite a lot of these are playground name-calling.  I like my screeds to be more on point.  I'm fine with the defense of his work; anyone is entitled to defend his work with as much vigor and passion as they can muster.  However much some might think I'm a sensitive guy, I'll stand in front of a lot of abuse like this and see it as justified.

But there are four direct threats in this post where Frank states he's going to do something.  The first is fairly common: I'll sic my lawyer on you.  The second is light-weight ... except that its coming from someone who is famous.  No famous person should ever state they're going to pollute a person's name with the industry.  That is not what your fame is for.

The third, which Mentzer wrote in bold, is that he's going to write the target's name into the story.  Writers love this.  A writer put it into his Chaucer character's mouth in A Knight's Tale, where it certainly works with Chaucer.  With Mentzer, not so much.

And finally, the promise that if Mentzer finds out the target's real name ...

Now, that is pure troll behaviour itself.

I think my worst action here is in reporting the above at all.  I should have written a nice post about the difference between gnomes and dwarves, or the momentum of ships in combat.  Instead, I chose to jaundice the blog with this.

But should I ever obtain the level of fame that Mentzer has, I should hope that when I'm speaking with everyday people, I won't let myself off the chain to where I'm using my name to threaten relatively harmless and powerless board monitors.  Surely, if I had Mentzer's name, I could start my own board and expect people to participate there.