Friday, May 09, 2008

the ladies on the internet

i think it's more or less impossible to address the subject of women on the internet

if you address that there are some women in here, then you run the risk of being called a creep. if you call someone a creep, then you run the risk of being called a white knight. if you call someone a white knight, then you run an increased risk of being called a creep, etc, etc

there's pretty much no way out, and all some girl has to do to start the whole thing again is mention that she's a girl.

this is why they're working on internet2

15 Comments:

kaiki said...: I am still not sure, what is a "white knight" and why is it bad to be one?; May 09, 2008 1:54 AM
Nateman said...: I like the fact that people assume a girl can't defend herself on the net. Or, being offended from her very first foray into a given chat room, log off.; May 09, 2008 2:29 AM
Chipacabra said...: kaiki-

A white knight is someone who draws attention to how much they're standing up for women. What they really come of as, though, is saying that women are fragile damsels that NEED defending. It's a particularly insidious form of Nice Guy Syndrome.; May 09, 2008 3:25 AM
Simon Roberts said...: Okay, but then what does that make those of us who fight off these same knights? Insofar as we're defending the world from a particular nuisance, we're also defending women in a roundabout way -- which makes us another twist on the very thing we're up against. "Battle not with monsters" and all that.; May 09, 2008 5:49 AM
Ray Merkler said...: The moral of the story is, never ever defend a woman.; May 09, 2008 6:13 AM
dave said...: The important lesson here is that xkcd is terrible.; May 09, 2008 7:12 AM
Donovan said...: Oh cool! White knighting!

Now I finally know what to call people on the internet doing that particular thing that cheeses me off!

Thanks Kris Straub!; May 09, 2008 9:31 AM
Rev. Layle said...: this is why i try to be a jerk to EVERYONE

just trying to be fair here. this way i do not come off as a creep or a white knight.

ok, maybe a creep for OTHER reasons; May 09, 2008 10:20 AM
Kaare said...: So, um, this strip is obviously an xkcd parody. This makes me think - is the reason I don't get most of the chainsawsuit comics that I don't know what they are parodying?; May 09, 2008 1:56 PM
Anonymous said...: If this is an XKCD parody, where's the alt-text?; May 09, 2008 2:28 PM
William said...: As a sidenote, there are girls on the internet. Just not on the places you frequent, because you're a jerk.; May 09, 2008 7:50 PM
Johnny said...: All right, chainsawsuit is pretty awesome, but I'll admit it... I'm disappointed with this one. Parody of xkcd, sure, but not particularly clever or well-done. Also, just rehashing a single strip is less "parody" and more "rip-off." Your PBF strip was much better; better luck next time.; May 09, 2008 9:04 PM
Tyler said...: johnny must be an xkdzc4 fan, this comic is awesome. totally shows how much of idiots white knights are, because at least 90% of the time they're defending dudes on accident.; May 10, 2008 12:49 AM
Nomi said...: Don't be daft - there are no girls on the internet; May 10, 2008 7:48 AM
RiOT said...: Humans feel the need to categorize _everything_. It's why issues like this even exist.; May 10, 2008 3:25 PM