Tall Oaks

Wow tal oakks was subfbdahfdafdsf cool. I am not

a professional writer.

Project Change : Warm the Homeless

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Now entering Hulu: please leave pwns at the door

XKCD: A Web Comic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math, and Language.

Comment threads and discussion forums tend to be the Internet’s 1st Grade classroom. YouTube’s comments are a 1st Grade classroom that’s into Metal and just read “F*ck Your F*ggot GAY n00b P*ssy: New Ways to Insult Strangers.”

cuntwitt5 (18 hours ago)
i cant believe how much better the jonas brothers are to this gay band metallica

Phantom20fo (1 day ago)
Metallica is fucking great. the jonas brothers suck. they admit that they just learned how ot play instruments while just starting. you need some fucking experience to start a band. what sounds more bad ass and straight? enter sandman or love bug? god i hope nick fucking dies of diabetes and in dimmu borgir’s words “he will burn in hell. Metal is better than any other fucking boy band

evilburper (1 day ago)
shut up u gay fag this is an impression of u ‘oh poo face i like the jonas sistersi want to be just like them’ thats what u say all day and how could u even say that gay language

RageRater (1 day ago)
FFS? The Jonas brothers are better then Metallica? Flaming Faggot.

lordnucklehead (1 day ago)
HAAAAA!!!!!!! U ARE FREAKIN’ GAY!!!!!! U JUST SAID POO FACE TO ACEHOODAND THAT IS HILLARIOUS!!!!! I AM 15 AND I KNOW THAT METTALICA WOULD ROCK THE JONAS SISTERS SO BAD THAT THEY WOULD SAY ” come on guys lets go find Micheal Jackson and have some fun.” FIND ME ONE SONG THAT IS MORE HARD THAN THIS AND I WILL TAKE IT ALL BACK!!!

In comparison to YouTube’s 1st Graders, Hulu’s users are working on their Master’s. Their conversations spur discussion and thought, without cries of FRST!, PWNED, or FAG! Related to shows or episodes, and styled in a minimalistic look, the forum doesn’t functionally do many things differently. You can post a new topic, reply to topics, or reply to replies.

But somehow Hulu’s discussions are filled with even tempered, supportive conversations. On the Dec. 9, 2008 episode of the Daily Show, Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee had a wonderfully even tempered discussion about gay marriage.

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Following that video, several topics about gay marriage were posted on Hulu.

Even the arguments were intelligent.

And there were plenty of arguments.

But nobody got called a fag.

Any sort of posting on YouTube would create chaos.

On A List Apart, Caroyln Wood warned against belligerent commenting in her article Putting our Hot Heads Together.

View a comment section as a brainstorming session or potential goldmine of creative exchanges, rather than your chance to choose between being a fanboy or a brawler. Purposefully interacting in the discussion section, rather than just reacting, doesn’t just broaden your horizons. People are watching—oh, so many people—from across the web, the world, and from businesses. Some may ask you to write articles or books. Some may hire you, collaborate with you, or even visit your site and purchase something through one of your cleverly disguised text ads.

It’s a good suggestion, but doesn’t examine what creates more productive comment/forum environments. Although, A List Apart is another example of intelligent comments. Users tend to add depth to articles, and authors often reply; this creates an interactive dialogue on the Internet. What a concept! A List Apart actively tries to maintain this kind of environment, though. Instead of letting users immediately comment on an article, A List Apart offers a “Join the Discussion” link.

Oh, A List Apart. It's always good for me.

This wording accomplishes two tasks:

1. Distinguishes their feedback as a “discussion” rather than a “comment.” Discussions are two-way exchanges, whereas comments are muttered under your breath after your boss walks away.
2. Forces the user to “join” something that already exists. This suggests you’re only a part of a group that has preset behavior and rules. It puts you into “polite mode.”

As Hulu gains popularity I’ll be interested to see how its discussions evolve. I can’t help but wonder if a simple shift from “comment” to “discuss” would alter YouTube’s environment. Or if it would take a greater reorganization of the site’s structure to encourage actual conversations. Since you can’t start new topics under a specific video on YouTube, commenting tends to feel pointless. On top of that, the sheer volume of comments makes a dialogue nearly impossible to track. It’s like shouting inside a tornado that’s picked up the YouTube 1st Grade classroom having a food fight: nobody’s gonna hear you, and you’ll probably get smacked in the face with meatloaf, even though you didn’t throw anything in the first place.

Hulu, on the other hand, makes users create topics for their discussions. Making users write headlines for their comments forces them to focus what they want to say. I’d argue that this extra moment makes them write with more care. Establishing topics also let users scroll through discussions more quickly, choosing when to participate.

It’s the difference between a trash dump that puts everything in one pile and a recycling center that sorts materials. One smells like shit, and the other helps the Earth. Which one would you rather visit?

A List Apart: Content-tious Strategy

Jeffrey MacIntyre writes a great post pointing out gaping hole in current Web design.

Content strategy needs to get past its “dark continent” reputation, or live forevermore as the here-be-dragons squiggle on the edge of the user experience design map.

Read it! A List Apart: Articles: Content-tious Strategy.

Insane Thundercats Fan Produces His Own Trailer – CollegeHumor video

IN-sane. But props to this dude’s passion.

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Typography on YouTube

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Shoes thrown at Bush on Iraq trip

Who throws a shoe? Honestly!That almost really hurt!

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