Today is Be Nice to Someone on the Internet Day.
The rules are simple. The Internet has too many grumpy, lonely, broken, discouraged people. Get out there and show someone on the Internet a little kindness!
Today, you can brighten the life of someone on the Internet. Today, you can let someone know he or she is valued and appreciated.
Today, the Internet needs you.
Quit reading this blog post and go make someone’s day!
This Wednesday, March 4, is Be Nice to Someone on the Internet Day.
The Internet fascinates me. It’s a wonderful, dangerous place: a chiaroscuro mess of light and darkness. With its worldwide reach, teh internetz enables communication, creativity, cruelty, corruption, and the propagation of funny cat pictures. It offers invaluable services like email, social media, and online commerce, along with dangers like fraud, false advertising, malicious software, addictive porn, and trailers for Michael Bay’s movies.
One of the worst things about the Internet is that it can be really, really mean. People use it to scoff, scam, argue, insult, bully, rage, and slander. It has even created brand new forms of abuse like doxing and trolling.
Yes, the Internet can be awful. What can we do? Well, I have a suggestion.
So… who is with me?
(I should point out that my sign and its slogan have nothing to do with the recent ruling by the FCC to protect net neutrality—which is a fantastic idea, by the way. Nah, my sign is just a reminder than the Internet is a mess, and it needs saving in a way that goes far beyond net equality.)
The Internet has problems, but there’s hope. If I may echo the words of Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas, “It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”
All the Internet needs is love.
This Wednesday, March 4, is Be Nice to Someone on the Internet Day. This is the fourth time we’ve done this, so you may already know how it goes!
On Wednesday, send someone an encouraging message or email. Go to someone’s personal profile, account, channel, blog, or webpage and leave an uplifting comment. Find someone you appreciate—whether an artist, musician, blogger, friend, or total stranger—and let that person know he or she is appreciated!
Do something—anything—to show the Internet a little love. After all, the Internet is basically a community of people, and loving people is one of the best things we can do.
Amor vincit Interretium, dear reader: Love conquers the Internet. This Wednesday, March 4, please be nice to someone online and make the World Wide Web a better place.
Let’s save the Internet!
Geeks are fascinating creatures.
Believe me, I should know. I’ve spent a lot of time among geeks, observing their behaviors and gathering data. In fact, in the interests of full disclosure and journalistic integrity… I must confess that I myself am totally a geek.
Yes, I can imagine the disbelieving astonishment in your expression. Who could have imagined that Adam Stück, of all solemn and serious people, has been a geek all along? I’ll give you a moment to get over your shock.
As I said, geeks are strange and marvelous creatures. Geeks, and the cultures they create, are worth studying.
Geek culture, you say? Fascinating! I must science it immediately!
What is a geek? The simplest definition for a geek is a person with a strong interest in something. A geek is not a nerd, though a person can be both. A nerd is intelligent, generally introverted or asocial, and sometimes (but not always) socially inept. Although geeks are often stereotyped as nerds, anyone can be a geek. Sports fans, college professors, or motorcycle enthusiasts can be geeky about their respective interests.
Geeks are usually ordinary people with a passion for something trivial—a book, sport, hobby, video game, television series, or something else. Besides having a strong attachment to their objects of interest, geeks usually know a lot about them. Once you get geeks talking, it can be really hard to shut them up. Geeks can have more than one object of interest, of course. I have many!
The thing that fascinates me most about geeks is the instant solidarity and understanding that often springs up between them. A common interest, no matter how trivial, can unite people of all cultures, races, nations, languages, beliefs, and opinions. A shared love of soccer, Star Wars, or world history brings together the most unlikely people. Geeks frequently set aside personal differences; the wolf lives with the lamb; the calf and the lion and the yearling quit arguing about religion or politics and go out for coffee.
I’ve done a little informal research into geek culture, and I’d like to do more. Brief studies of geek culture shall join About Storytelling posts, TMTF Reviews, and Why [Insert Author Name] Is Awesome posts as an occasional feature on this blog.
Anthropology isn’t exactly my field, true, yet I have what Liam Neeson would call “a particular set of skills.” My skills, unlike Liam Neeson’s, mostly involve geeky things like winning Mario Kart races and rambling about J.R.R. Tolkien. I consider myself highly qualified to discuss geek culture. In fact, some time ago, I went so far as to create a geek studies tag for TMTF and add it to a bunch of old posts… which, I suppose, makes me guilty of retconning my own blog.
What’s that? You’re wondering what retconning means? Don’t worry about it. Retconning is a geek thing.
After a two-week hiatus, TMTF is back with new content! My typewriter monkeys and I have resumed… whatever it is we do around here. I don’t know.
Before I get carried away with new posts, there’s some stuff we need to discuss—mostly following up on last month’s charity fundraisers, and also asking an urgent question about hats. Prepare yourself, dear reader, for some Important Business Things. We’ll cover them one at a time. Here we go!
TMTF’s charity fundraisers were a success!
Because of your support, TMTF’s charity fundraisers last month were successful!
The Child’s Play fundraiser didn’t quite reach its goal, yet contributed a respectable $75 toward purchasing toys and video games for kids in hospitals. (I like to think that every cent of our donations was spent on Legend of Zelda games, but that’s just me.) While the Child’s Play fundraiser didn’t meet its goal, I’m thankful we were able to give as much as we did.
The Living Water International fundraiser, which is ongoing, surpassed its goal. Thanks to you, we’ve given $375 toward providing clean water to people in impoverished areas! That’s one hundred twenty-five percent of the fundraiser’s original goal, which is just bonkers.
When we started raising funds last month for charity, I honestly wasn’t sure we would meet our goals. You guys have amazed me. Thank you so much for making this possible. You are my heroes. Well done.
The Living Water International fundraiser is still going strong!
Even though the clean water fundraiser was meant to be a Christmas project, it won’t end for another few weeks. (I didn’t have much flexibility in planning its duration.) For as long as it’s up and running, this blog’s rewards for donors will remain in effect, so feel free to give!
I’m still working on donor rewards, and I will get them to donors as soon as I can.
If you haven’t received your rewards for donating to one or both of TMTF’s fundraisers, I haven’t forgotten you! I’m still working on them, and I’ll send them your way as soon as I can.
By the way, there were a few anonymous donations. If you donated anonymously and would like to receive donor rewards, it’s not too late to contact me. I want to say thank you!
Should charity fundraisers become a Christmas tradition for this blog?
I don’t know. What do you think?
All right, enough talk about fundraising. Let’s discuss hats.
Top hats or fezzes?
Discuss.
I think that’s everything!
I guess those are all the Important Business Things we have to discuss for now. Thanks again, dear readers, for making last month’s charity events a success!
In conclusion, fezzes are less expensive, but top hats lend a certain dignity to any aspiring gentleman. They’re both pretty great.
Due to writing commitments and threats of arson, TMTF will be taking a two-week break.
I suppose I’d better start with the threats. My typewriter monkeys, my reluctant assistants for this blog, want to visit Costa Rica for some reason. (I suppose it must be the bananas and warm weather.) They’re demanding a vacation, and threatening to burn down my apartment building if I refuse their demands.
For the readers fortunate enough never to have met my monkeys, I should mention their terrifying ability to set fire to anything under any conditions. I don’t recall how many times they’ve been arrested for arson; I think the number is in the high sixties. My monkeys’ rap sheet is nearly as long as the unabridged works of Shakespeare, and that’s just for the time I’ve spent in Berne, Indiana. A complete collection of their criminal records would fill a library… which they would probably burn down.
This is a fragment from a fire started by my monkeys last winter. I’m surprised anything survived that fire. Heck, I’m surprised I survived that fire.
My point is that my monkeys like burning down buildings, and I like having a home. I have surrendered and accepted their demands.
My typewriter monkeys are on their way to Costa Rica. With any luck, they’ll stay there. TMTF will be on break until they return—or else until I hire some new animal assistants. I’ve always liked squirrels. Typewriter Squirrel Task Force has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
In the meantime, I plan to spend my two-week break from blogging catching up with backer rewards from last month’s charity fundraisers. I have some writing to do!
(The Living Water fundraiser will be up and running for nearly two more months, by the way, so please feel free to donate to provide clean water to people in need! This blog’s rewards for donors will remain in effect for the duration of the fundraiser!)
This blog will not go dark during the break! For the next two weeks, TMTF will rerun previous posts on the usual schedule (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) because recycling is good for the environment.
As we begin a new year, I’m going to have a Serious Adam Moment and thank you for reading. Seriously. Thank you so much. As I’ve said before, the greatest joy of a writer is to be read. I would like also to give extra-special thanks to everyone who participated in the charity fundraisers last month. You guys are awesome.
TMTF will resume with new content on Monday, January 19. Happy New Year! Stay fabulous!
I meant to publish a proper blog post today, but I’m traveling and forgot to pack my typewriter monkeys. There’s no way I’ll actually type out an entire post myself, so today I’m defaulting on the blog. TMTF will return on Wednesday!
What? Vacationing is hard work, man.
We’ll be back!
A long time ago, I began reviewing books. It’s a vice, I know. I can’t help it. Some time later, I started reviewing video games. Look, I know I have a problem. Don’t judge me for judging things.
I’ve been thinking lately of how to improve TMTF Reviews. It occurred to me that they could be more streamlined and better organized. It’s time for a change.
That said, today’s review is a little different. It’s shorter than usual, bizarrely meta, and unexpectedly significant. We’re going to figure out how to make these reviews more helpful and easier to read.
This time, TMTF reviews TMTF Reviews.
Wait, what?
The Good…
Up to this point, TMTF Reviews have been bleak, black-and-white blocks of words broken only by the occasional picture. We’re adding titles! Besides breaking up the monotony of prose, titles will make navigating reviews quicker and easier.
The style and content of reviews shan’t change. I’ve always tried to give thoughtful evaluations of things. My reviews aren’t great, but at least they give unique, honest perspectives and impressions of books and video games.
We’re making one more major change to TMTF Reviews, but I’ll get to that one in just a bit.
The Bad…
TMTF Reviews have plenty of problems. I’m neither a gaming pro nor a literary expert, and my reviews are far from professional. In fact, TMTF Reviews mostly consist of me rambling about stuff I’ve read and played, and throwing my ramblings into the lives of innocent, unsuspecting readers.
And the Fabulous
All in all, TMTF Reviews are as much a part of this blog as personal reflections and Legend of Zelda references. I can hardly imagine TMTF without its reviews, despite their faults, and I’m excited to make them a little easier to read.
This brings me to that final change I mentioned before. Inspired by the superb reviewing format used by Kotaku, I’ve decided to summarize each TMTF Review in a simple, colorful, fabulous graphic!
All right, the graphic isn’t that fabulous. Still, I hope it helps. Now you don’t even have to read TMTF Reviews anymore! You can just skip to the summary for the most important information!
Wait… it’s probably a bad thing if readers quit reading my reviews. Ah, well. Alea iacta est. (That’s Latin for “Such is the price for fabulous things,” or something like that. I could be wrong.)
Having improved the format for reviews, I’m eager to review the heck out of things… but I suppose I’ll have to go read a book or a play a game first.
I should probably get a start on that.
My connection to the weird, wonderful, wireless network known as teh internetz has been tragically broken.
A recent thunderstorm seems to have damaged my router, which blinks feebly and then dies every time it’s plugged in. I’ve called my Internet service provider, but they keep refusing to send technicians to resolve the problem.
Look, is it my fault that one of my typewriter monkeys bit the last technician they sent? Can’t we forgive and forget? Honestly.
My Internet connection won’t be restored for at least a few more days. For this and other reasons, TMTF must take a break for one week.
This blog took a break just a few weeks ago, and my honest intention was not to take another for a long time. I apologize for failing to update TMTF more regularly. I also blame my monkeys. If one of them hadn’t bit that technician, my Internet might have been fixed by now.
TMTF shall return (I hope) on Monday, June 30.
Thanks for your patience, dear reader, and thanks for reading!
Due to a frightening case of culinary arson, TMTF will be taking a two-week break.
My typewriter monkeys decided yesterday to bake muffins. Ignoring my dad’s useful muffin-making tips, they cranked up the oven to its hottest setting, threw in the muffins and forgot about them. My brother and I got home from church to find smoke pouring out of the windows and flames dancing merrily on the roof.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire… or muffins, in this case.
My monkeys have been known to play with fire now and then, so this latest incident is no surprise. What has astonished me this time is that my monkeys have fled to Canada, either to evade arrest for arson or else to escape my righteous fury. They sent me an email last night promising to return before the end of the month.
Since I can’t maintain this blog without my typewriter monkeys, I must put it on hold for a couple of weeks. TMTF will be back on May 26. I sure hope my monkeys have returned by then.
In the meantime, I had better start cleaning up my apartment. It’s looking a bit… ashen.
We’ll be back on Monday, May 26. Thanks for reading!
Today is Be Nice to Someone on the Internet Day!
Go to someone’s Facebook profile, blog page, YouTube channel, deviantART page, Twitter profile or Tumblr account and leave a sincere, encouraging comment! Send someone an appreciative note, message or email! Find some other way to be nice to someone on the Internet!
Go quickly, before I run out of exclamation points! Let someone know he or she is appreciated! This is your mission!
That’s it, I’m out of exclamation points.
In seriousness, take a minute today to make the Internet awesome, and spread the word about Be Nice to Someone on the Internet Day.
In the meantime, I’ll order more exclamation points for this blog. I’m also short on the letters Q and K. I wonder why that is. I hardly ever use those letters. Oh, well.
Hey, here’s one last exclamation point. I’d better use it carefully.
Here goes: Go be nice to someone on the Internet!
Typewriter Monkey Task Force 