Friday Q&A

Questionable Collaboration

Greetings, crickets and trolls. Welcome to another edition of the Friday Q&A. I'm glad you're here, because we have a lot to talk about this week. Recently, word was handed down from Drew about plans for a possible joint venture between Fark and the nascent image mangling community that has emerged at Fox News. Apparently, the Right wing media giant is seeking Photoshop talent. Drew knows some people at FNC, and ideas about cross-pollination between the two sites had been kicked around.

Q: How was the idea received by Fark's Photoshoppers?

A: Not at all well, and I think this really illustrates the partisan divide that exists in our country. Remember, it wasn't like FNC propositioned us to Photoshop a bunch of Right wing propaganda. But that was a conclusion that many of us were very quick to jump to. What I can say is that there don't seem to be many Liberal entries featured, which may have something to do with the rigorous submission process. Unlike Fark, all "Photo Op-inion" entries must be judged worthy by the Fox powers that be (who are so diligent that they allow watermarked images from Worth1000).

Q: Why is cooperation between Fark and Fox surprising?

A: I think shocking is a better word. I would never have thought Drew would get involved with Fox after this happened. Back in 2007, an employee of a Fox affiliate in Memphis phished Fark's modmins and attempted to hack the site. His attack failed on a spectacular level, but conspiracy theorists were abuzz with talk that he may have been acting on behalf of Newscorp, which has long had an interest in replicating certain aspects of Fark's design.

Q: Is involvement with Newscorp a bad thing?

A: To answer that question, I'll just refer you to the fabulous success stories of Photobucket and Myspace. The latter is now a virtual ghost town, and the former so heavily moderated that pictures of classical art get deleted as obscene. I think users of any political stripe would be hesitant to let Newscorp put its tentacles within striking distance of Fark. I don't see it as a matter of politics. Rupert Murdoch seemingly has no idea how to develop a web property. The fact that Fox's "Photo Op-inion" challenges display in slideshow format is not exactly doing much to prove me wrong.

That's all for this time, gentle reader. I will now attempt to assuage any fears my Liberal brethren may have of a potential corporate buyout by Rupert Murdoch's global hegemony. Something like that would only be possible if Drew really liked money. Have you seen Fark's main page recently? There is still a small portion not devoted to ad space. We obviously have nothing to worry about.

Stay tuned for more sarcastic reassurance from the Doctor!