I Smell a Rat
Will somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on? Today I heard that 9rules was actually removing some sites from their network, and not half an hour after hearing this, I learned that Girlspoke was probably the first site to get the axe. The reason? Apparently Girlspoke features too much sexually explicit content, so they can no longer be a part of the 9rules values network, which now appears nightly on ABC Family.
Wait a minute, though…I remember reading something where Scrivs talked about how much he loved Girlspoke. Oh, that’s right, he talked about it on the 9rules blog! How convenient is that? Moreover, how freaking weird is that? Let’s do a little thought experiment here where you’re in Scrivs’ shoes. Why would you, at the drop of a hat, decide that a departure from your network’s stated values suddenly warrants the booting of a site that you previously listed as one of your favorites?
You know what? This looks extremely fishy to me, and I’ll tell ya why. Remember all that shit that went down in late January about Cowboy, and then later he had to step up and apologize for being such a snarky assmunch? Word on the street was that Scrivs was pretty pissed about the whole deal, and it only served to stoke the flames when a “confidential” announcement of a new sex network (sexnotwork.com) got leaked out to the masses (but what the fuck do you expect with e-mail this day in age?). Anyway, Cowboy was clearly in a bad way with Scrivs.
I don’t know dick about what’s happened behind the scenes, and I have never spoken with Cowboy about Scrivs. I want that to be perfectly clear to all you who would conjecture that I’m Cowboy, Sidekick, The Deuce, Matt, Jesus, Mohammed, Allah, Buddha, and that bald guy from the top of the mountain in Ace Ventura 2. I’m none of these assholes; I’m just an observer. Moreover, I’m not friends with Cowboy either. That’s like trying to be friends with Stephen King – he’s a fucking hermit.
Anyway, if you were to take a snapshot of all the 9rules member sites before Scrivs made this announcement about cutting the fat, you would see that no site had a higher “Cowboy correlation factor” than Girlspoke. Girlspoke linked directly to Cowboyspoke, and I think the connection therein was probably enough to piss off, scare, or instill paranoia in the 9rules team. As a result, Girlspoke, one of the best content sites the 9rules network will ever have the pleasure of associating with, got the proverbial boot.
And thus, it came to pass that Scrivs dissed a site that he said “might be my favorite because it is continuously updated and continuously funny.”
We will see how deep the rabbit hole goes, but sources are telling me that the snowball is still at the top of the hill. From a purely objective viewpoint, I think 9rules has made a critical mistake here. I agree that sites need to be looked over time and again to make sure that content does not go sour or stagnant, but cutting a grade A site like Girlspoke under the name of sexually explicit content? That’s just stupid. Is this a potshot at Cowboy? Is this the knee-jerk reaction of a team of young professionals who simply got pissed off? Time will tell.
One thing is for sure – whatever protocol Scrivs established for cutting member sites, he ought to follow to a “T.” The blogosphere has a way of using words against you, and being a high profile individual means that you’re going to be under a lot more scrutiny than the average Joe. Either way, I think this raises some interesting questions for 9rules in the future, and I am confident that we will all be keeping this issue very close to the hip in the days to come.
[ Update: 2/15/06 ] Tyme White has accepted responsibility for this mess and also honored us with a post about the reasoning behind this whole clusterbang. I appreciate her explanation, and I’m sure many others out there do too. Although it looks as though this site and also Blog Herald were assholes in retrospect, I’ll gladly offer up my complete disagreement with that idea. Here’s why we’re not assholes…
The smart move for 9rules would have been to openly discuss the fact that people are concerned over sexually explicit content. Since Scrivs was apparently bummed about having to potentially remove Girlspoke from the network (and I’m glad to know that he was concerned), he probably should have posted something indicating that certain members’ status may likely be jeopardized by a changing network policy. In hindsight, this would have been a much better way to handle the issue, and it probably would have saved a lot of headaches over the last day or so. I’m sorry to see that Tyme was so upset over this whole deal, but again, had it been handled differently, all this could have been avoided.
Note to would be commeting jerkoffs – It’s NOT ok that Scrivs mentioned a month or so ago that 9rules would be trimming the fat. Cutting sites due to a changing policy versus cutting sites due to lackluster performance are two very different things.
Thanks, and remember – don’t be a Dick!
Nice one… and thanks for keeping your dick to yourself.
Sidekick said this on February 14, 2006 10:30 pm
Wah wah wah. Cry baby. Scrivs can do whatever he wants. It’s his network. Payback is a bitch huh.
Loren Feldman said this on February 15, 2006 7:12 am
Who the fuck is that guy?
The Deuce said this on February 15, 2006 7:34 am
Do you think he read what Dick wrote, or do you think he did the ole’ “scan the first paragraph, make ridiculous assumptions, comment and look like a retard?”
The Deuce said this on February 15, 2006 7:35 am
Hey, you know the cool thing.
This is our network and we can do whatever we want too.
Matt
Matt said this on February 15, 2006 8:26 am
I don’t know what he did… but he looks like a retard.
Sidekick said this on February 15, 2006 9:17 am
Ohh I’m gonna go for a ‘reasoned argument’ here.
A policy decision has been made. Unfortunately some sites now fall outside that policy. I’d venture that GirlSpoke isn’t the only one.
So when you say “Why would you, at the drop of a hat, decide that a departure from your network’s stated values suddenly warrants the booting of a site that you previously listed as one of your favorites?” it reads false to me. The policy is NEW, so it’s not like the site had ALWAYS been outside the policy. Just that, unfortunately, it now falls over the line.
Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be shot down but, as a 9rules member (one of the quieter ones) I felt I had to say something. This post spanks of nothing less than hot air and an attempt to enflame.
Gordon said this on February 15, 2006 9:18 am
I think you’re assigning too much worth to yourself and your own blog.
Scrivs’ decision lies clearly within the bounds that are the foundation of the 9rules network. Girlspoke, although a great site that I will continue to enjoy regardless of it’s affiliations, is simply not the “type” of blog that fits in the 9rules community.
It is odd that the blog was praised earlier and is now being dropped, but that is obviously not a result of a decline in the quality of the site, but a reconsideration by the 9rules team of the types of blogs that they want in the network.
Thame said this on February 15, 2006 9:22 am
Thame, I couldn’t hear you. You had too much of Scrivs’ shit all over your face, and it muffled the words.
Remove head from said ass and repeat, please?
The Deuce said this on February 15, 2006 10:27 am
Im going to make my first official comment as someone who has been linked to Girlspoke. First off this is blatant and total vindicative sexism. This is looking at this from a business standpoint. Why did they drop Girlspoke and not drop AMansView which at times has sexually explicit content, or Phark which has horrible content, and as far as being in another network has anyone heard of fine fools almost all those sites have sexually explicit content. The Man Blog does as well. I could go on and on. Any site that has sexually explicit content should be removed and not just ones linked to “Cowboy”.
Cowboy said this on February 15, 2006 10:49 am
Everyone, be sure to read today’s update to this post before commenting!
Private Dick said this on February 15, 2006 10:59 am
David & Chris Pearson – AMV does have sexually-themed content, and that’s one of the main reasons why it’s not in 9rules, nor will it ever be. Also, just wanted to let you know that Phark is no longer in 9rules, in fact I already removed the badge as you won’t see it on the site. I agree that the content is shitty….. probably why I never write there anymore haha.
Mike Rundle said this on February 15, 2006 11:10 am
Might I also suggest Whitespace as another blog that should be removed from 9rules.
Cowboy said this on February 15, 2006 11:29 am
Oh Deuce to answer your question Loren Feldman lives across the fucking water in a little dirty town. He runs 1938 Media and smokes bongs, and reads porn.
Cowboy said this on February 15, 2006 11:37 am
Thame,
Get your facts straight – we do not have a stake in Girl Spoke. Cowboy is not Girl Spoke. We don’t have a stake in Spoke Media – Cowboy doesn’t have a stake in Spoke Media.
Are we the only ones that have sources and do research around here?
We do like Spoke Media. I like their stuff alot – it’s some of the best content – good original stuff – that’s out there today. So we’ve linked to them. So be it.
We are not them. They are not us.
Chew on that for awhile.
Matt
Matt said this on February 15, 2006 1:23 pm
@Matt:
This is absolutely precious…
The part of my comment you are referring to was actually from the Cowboy himself, it’s just that my blockquote’s didn’t make it into the comment.
“Are we the only ones that have sources and do research around here?”
Apparently not.
Thame said this on February 15, 2006 2:01 pm
Everyone, everyone. Calm down. It’s absolutely, unquestionably OK for the Jerks Of All Blogs to act like dickheads about whatever they want.
Because, hey, it’s not really them at all – it’s their ummm… ‘personas’ who are doing the typing, right.
Right?
barry bell said this on February 15, 2006 2:24 pm
Barry, yep… just like Sir Anthony Hopkins is not really Hannibal Lector, and Casey Kasem is not really Shaggy OR Scrappy Doo.
Sidekick said this on February 15, 2006 3:53 pm
[...] Yeah like that was the end of that, seems like the Cowboy doesn’t really want to rest tonight, so he’s written a couple of things as well. [...]
Broken Kode | We’re All Broken Kode » Blog Archive » Blogging Opera said this on February 15, 2006 5:26 pm
[...] strong>Jack of All Blogs: I Smell A Rat Another response to the “jihad”. This one, of course, was always going to be more controversial. [...]
blogHelper » 9rules: FineFools Mark II? said this on February 16, 2006 3:45 am
[...] The point I’m making is that whether 9rules likes it or not, an undermining has been established. Professionalism has been compromised. Emotion has been allowed in the door. Instead of making a decision based on policy, they’ve made a relative decision based on vague policy. Instead of just doing it, they’ve been talking about it for weeks. Now, everyone is gab gab gabbing like gossip hounds at a Mary Kay party. Did they have to axe Girlspoke based on sexual content? I don’t maybe I’m confused because Fine Fools has Sexerati, but Sexerati isn’t part of the Erati network, but Scrivs runs Fine Fools and 9rules, so maybe sexuality isn’t a problem? [...]
The Problem With Blog Networks at Dopamine Addict said this on February 17, 2006 9:28 am
Nobody “can do whatever the F he wants.” Not Scrivs, not anybody.
They have to okay it with me first, for I am indeed the Pathetic King of the Invisi-bloggers, Reigning Lord of the Zings, Triumphalist Blog Revolutionist Extraordinaire.
Vaspers said this on February 17, 2006 1:54 pm
[...] And we’re not just talking human bodily functions here. Dick-cognito unleashed the now-famous expose this past week, and at this point, all the sane individuals appear to be headed for the doors of blog networks, especially those of 9irrelevancies. It’s an exodus of biblical proportions – only, well, real! The king is dead, long live the king! [...]
A Jack of All Blogs » Blog Archive » Exits are Located at the Front and Rear said this on February 18, 2006 4:42 pm
Do you have a bad business experience or have something that NEEDS to be exposed?? Now You Can Tell!!
Tell Us All!!
Jeff said this on March 2, 2006 11:32 pm
Do you have a bad business experience or have something that NEEDS to be exposed?? Now You Can Tell!!
Tell Us All!!
ExposeARat.Com
Jeff said this on March 2, 2006 11:33 pm