Comments on: New Year’s Resolutions

By: KatieR

KatieR — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:37:21 +0000

wow, hadn’t seen that Chad Brock thing. Also, who IS Chad Brock? I was listening to country music at that point, but I don’t recall him….guess I’ll have to check out youtube later.

By: Libby

Libby — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:07:47 +0000

More is better. :)

CU is my favorite blog. The tone of this site is great. And for the most part any comments submitted are made with respect. I certainly don’t expect to agree with everything and that is a good thing. But I don’t enjoy having what could be a good discussion ruined by some comment that is not called for.

I’m very excited for the 100 Greatest Men series. I’ve been waiting for it since, well, the 100 Greatest Women’s ended.

By: Ben Foster

Ben Foster — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:33:30 +0000

This is true. There’s not as much accountibility when you say something on an Internet thread, so it’s easy to become uncharacteristically forceful or opinionated. I try to be diplomatic in blog discussions, but I know there have been times when I’ve said things in comments that I probably wouldn’t have said right to someone’s face.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:24:17 +0000

PS. Nobody is a jerk all the time, but we all can be sometimes.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:23:21 +0000

I suspect most of us are better in person than the animity of the internet. Not to rehash that thread here, but Ben simply simply said that he was indifferent to the song, Brock attacked his age rather insultingly in return. Ben wasn’t even acting as a critic as Brock claimed, but as a commenter on a blog. While I thought the fake news story was funny, I would have understood if he was angry about it. I would have also understood if he lashed out at some follow up comments, but Ben’s pretty innocuous comment was a lame target to hit. If anything, Brock’s response was not an equal reaction to Ben’s initial comment.

CMW is pretty sure that it was the real Chad Brock. Most bloggers have ways of all but knowing these things.

By: Dan Milliken

Dan Milliken — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:19:37 +0000

“Say what you want about that Chad Brock thread but no one looked good in that.”

You must not have read my comment. Hey-oh!

In all seriousness, I think it was a worthwhile discussion simply for demonstrating support for Ben after he came under rather vicious personal attack for expressing a completely fair, respectful opinion. Sure, there’s always the chance that you can get personally attacked for expressing an opinion on the internet, and you should know that before you do it. But that doesn’t mean you should never express it, or that people shouldn’t defend you if you’re attacked. To draw an admittedly extreme analogy, there’s always a chance you can collide with a drunk driver on the road; that doesn’t mean you should never drive, or that people shouldn’t offer support if you have a collision with one.

By: Tara Seetharam

Tara Seetharam — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:15:55 +0000

I also resolve to write more this year – I don’t think 2011 will be less busy for me, but I do plan on putting myself on a stricter writing schedule with CU and some other projects. We’ll see how that works out :)

Happy New Year, y’all!

By: Paul Dennis

Paul Dennis — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 22:36:48 +0000

I’ve metthe real Chad Brock – he was a DJ for a radio station in Ocala for a while – he never came off as a jerk so I suspect the online version is an imposter

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 22:22:59 +0000

As for my resolution- I want to be successful for a change so I resolve to continue to not take up smoking.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 22:21:46 +0000

Say what you want about that Chad Brock thread but no one looked good in that. Before I start let me say that I’m not a fan of that song, “Yes.” One of my least favorite songs ever.

Ben expresses that opinion and then gets called on it. If you’re going to express negative opinions on a public forum you have to expect to get some blowback for that. Brock’s argument is insipid but he is allowed to express it.

Then Brock continues saying dumb things and the entire thread eventually devolves into a bunch of people arguing over the Internet. No one wins in that scenario, and no one looks good. Also, was it really the real Chad Brock or just someone who was pulling an overly elaborate ruse?