A Time and a Place

As is already known about me, I'm the type of person who objects to garbage being thrown on my front lawn. Not literally, mind you. I'm talking about people trying to sell me an item that has been falsely advertised. For example, do I really care about someone dressing up as Mario going to John Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity (which was a goddamn genius idea, by the way)? No, I don't care. Why is this on the front page of a website in such a large form? Why does it have equal status to a video game review?

Now, I've been in arguments about this with folks before, and I still don't care about what they think. Why? Because they're wrong, and if they try to argue with me, they're still wrong. If you made a mess in your pants, I don't really care if someone scared you so hard that your bowels loosened. You still smell like crap. It goes without saying that many websites have no idea where to place this sort of content, or how to handle it.

However, let's lend our ear to the other side of the argument. Some claim that there is a time and a place for this sort of content. This may shock you, but I absolutely agree. There is a part of me that has his interest piqued when he sees a Halloween lawn decoration that's a tribute to Pac Man. That's pretty neat. However, that's not all I want to see. I want to know how to get one. I want to know who owns this, and why. I want to know if there are other things like it. If you're guiding gamers, shouldn't you be telling them this information?!

This is what pisses me off so much. There are aspects of gamer culture that I love. For example, my sister grabbed a Portal image offline about "assuming the appropriate party position" and is going to put it on my birthday cake. That's freaking awesome, isn't it? What's better is that someone at the cake place will probably start laughing about it as well. Thing is, people want to know how this stuff comes about, and how they can get involved with it.

What I want to see from folks on websites (whether you be journalist or blogger) is to know exactly what these little tidbits have to do with gaming culture. It's neat to see people dressing up for conventions, but where do they take place? How can I get tickets? Give me more info about what's going down! Though pictures are worth a thousand words, those words don't often give details about what the hell it has to do with me. "This is cool" is not enough, kiddo.

On top of that, do the few of these little tidbits that are neat deserve as much attention as a game review, actual news, previews, or videos? No, and if you argue with me, you're wrong. Unless said culture post has something to do with legislation or shifts in the culture, it does not deserve to be given more attention than what people are actually visiting the site for. Heck, you could even make the argument that something about gaming culture that has to do with shifts or legislation is more news than anything.

So, what's the cure? Proper placement. In any and all websites, items need to be properly categorized, and weighed by their importance to the site. If this stuff is going to be posted, it needs to be posted in a fashion where the reader can get something out of it aside from a pair of breasts or something. If you see something at a con, tell us where the freaking con is! If you see a costume that you particularly enjoy, ask the person how they made it! This isn't difficult work! I would know!

Despite the thoughts about me, I enjoy little tidbits like neat costumes and such. Heck, I plan on going to Magfest one of these years dressed as the Heavy from Team Fortress 2. Why? Because stuff like that is fun, and gamers can really enjoy it. However, just posting pictures of it is downright silly, and a waste of time. I hope to see websites be much smarter about this content in the future, and maybe it'll come about.

Then again, we live in a world where some idiots who have a very odd understanding of the term "hard work" think that said work makes people free from criticism. I think it's safe to say that my general cynicism is understandable, eh?