Friday Q&A

Questionable Perfection

Greetings, crickets and trolls. Welcome to another edition of the Friday Q&A, your source for worthless opinions and drawn-out Internet grudges. I hope everyone had a great week, unless you disagree with me, in which case I hope you drowned in dog shit while choking on a horse's cock. Anyone not asphyxiated by canine fecal matter and equine genitalia is free to join me for some questions.

Q: Will people ever stop using cliches?

A: I sure hope not. After all, I know how much cliches piss people off. The creation and dissemination of Internet memes can actually be pretty interesting, if you're able to pay attention and stop foaming at the mouth for a few minutes. Complaining about how much you hate a particular cliche only breathes more life into it. Regardless of your zeal or bluster, no one is going to read your ill-conceived diatribe and think "I'd better stop using Mustard Man, this guy sounds serious."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: cliches have a shelf life. If you don't like a particular meme, don't vote for it and don't use it in your work. That is the one and only way to make a cliche disappear. Trying to shame others into following your example is an exercise in futility, as it has been proven time and again that people on the Internet have no shame.

Q: Are you encouraging cliche abuse?

A: One thing that separates me from a lot of my photoshop peers is that I don't perceive cliche usage to be a problem. People have the right to post whatever they want in a Fark contest, assuming they can work within the rather amorphous guidelines of the posting rules. A cliche is just a choice of concept for a photoshop entry. Being critical of an other's concept leaves you open to criticism of your own, something I more than proved to our good friend TheSniperZERO.

Q: Doesn't cliche usage limit the creativity in a thread?

A: You're assuming that people choose between posting a well-crafted image or a Q&D cliche pic. Not everyone has the time or even the ability to put out a masterpiece. I applaud those who do, but the beauty of Fark is that anyone can compete and win. Cliches even the playing field, which can sometimes be frustrating. After all, no one likes to see their carefully-crafted original image go down in flames against a cut/pasted Paint Huffer. Next time this happens to you, try taking a second look at your own concept instead of damning the ubiquitous cliche user. If your work isn't good enough to beat Pat Tribbett, then you have no one to blame but yourself.

That's all for this time, gentle reader. As usual, thanks for stopping by. Blogging has taught me that while you can't change anyone's mind on the Internet, you can always insult people with whom you disagree. Who cares about intelligent discourse, when you can just tell someone to fuck off and DIAF?

Stay tuned for more incendiary rhetoric from the Doctor!