Saturday, April 11, 2009

I can't figure it out

Alas, us snarkers must move on. (Though I admit Adam's new blog has become a guilty pleasure. I'm enjoying it too much to snark at it - Adam's wonderfully flip attitude almost immunizes him against snark - almost. We'll see if it lasts).

But, I was looking at the Gulag Archipelago over at http://www.ldsblogs.org/, and at first I couldn't figure out their rankings. Why are 9moonies and New Cooler Thing Thang rated as "Isles" whereas M&M* (which, while somewhat lethargic is practically on fire when compared to those other two) is the smaller "Isles of the Sea"?

Why on earth is "Bloggernacle Times" a "Big Island" when it's been dead (killed by Guy Murry and ECS's pathetic and crazed rantings) for over two years?

Also LDS Liberace Front is gone, yet still has a high ranking. Moron Mentality is even more active than MMMMM* or 9barebutts, but has the "Isles of the sea" ranking. Splendid Sun is also defunct, yet is still highly ranked.

But then I looked at the people who run it. That explains it all. Look at where the admins post, and which blogs have the higher rankings.

In other words, the Mormon Gulag Archipelago isn't really about honest rankings of the blogs. It's all about stroking their already inflated egos. Nothing surprising there, I guess. But they should be honest. The about page should have the following sentence "Don't expect accurate rankings - we created this list purely to make ourselves feel important relative to the rest of y'all."

I seem to recall someone talking once about the dangers of "get[ting] no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest."

Well, that's what the Gulag is all about. Having "more" of it than the next blog, even if it's obviously based on false premises.

7 comments:

Anonymous2 said...

J. Max Wilson posted on this over at his Sixteen Small Stones blog sometime ago. Where were you when he started his own aggregator? Those were good times . . .

Mister Correlation said...

J. Max -

I had forgotten about him. Didn't he exempt himself from the 'Nacle?

He's off my radar, so I was unaware. Thanks for the notice.

Anonymous2 said...

Depends how you define 'Nacle. I think there was a brouhaha where he got booted off the Gulag because he wouldn't shut up about how Evans et al. were apostates; so he set up his own rival aggregator called NothingWavering or something.

Anonymous said...

If those guys were smart, they'd take money to put your blog in the top rank when you visit from your IP address. Everyone else would still see you down in the sand bars of the arctic ocean category, but since the blogging is just an ego trip anyway they'd still get good business.

J. Max Wilson said...

Hey Mister Correlation,

Here's the link:

A Critical Look at LDS Blog Portals - Part 2 : The History of LDS Blog Portals

And here is my portal:

www.NothingWavering.org

Might as well put me back on the radar. :p

Anonymous said...

Miter Correlation, are you new around here? Get a clue, please, before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.

The MA started back in the bad old days when Times and Seasons was The Behemoth of the Bloggernacle. A group of little guys started an aggregator and grouped blogs together in whatever way they wanted to. So big whoop.

This was common knowledge three years ago, and you're acting like you're letting people in on a big conspiracy you just discovered. Have you upgraded to XP yet?

Mister Correlation said...

That was the second best comment I've ever had at this site: the mix of total cluelessness, a complete lack of any sense of humor, and a reflexive defensiveness.

My guess it that was Steve Evans again, but if not, whatever.

If you want to know if I'm new around here or not, read my archives.

Also, at the very least this post shows the MA is horrible at maintinence, since some of the higher ranked blogs have vanished.

I make no claims to originality, deep insights, or fresh perspectives. I am what I am - an immaterial being that only exists on the net, composed of tiny pieces of everyone on the 'Nacle.

And I use Linux.