Signal Boost: Speak Out With Your Geek Out

So, the various nerdish Twitter feeds I follow have been afire this week about an article written by Alyssa Bereznak on the online Gizmondo magazine regarding her experience of the OK Cupid dating site and her meeting with Jon Finkel, world Magic:The Gathering champ of ten years ago. Normally I'd link, but as the author of the article gets paid per click, I'd rather not contribute to her pay packet for what was at best a badly written filler piece and at worst, a mean-spirited attack and link bait. For those who are wondering what she said, however, here's a direct cut and paste quote of the article, under the cut.

( My Brief OkCupid Affair With a World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player )

The Australian version of the same article was actually worse, but includes a disclaimer from Gizmodo:

( My OkCupid Affair With A World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player )

Okay, context established. Jon Finkel himself took to Twitter to post his version of the dates, which is collected in one easy to read version:

( Jon's response )

Mountains out of moleholes, basically, with Alyssa apparently being stuck for subject matter and seemingly deciding to go after Gawker/Gizmodo's demographic in an effort to ratchet up her page views. There's a lot of very good articles in rebuttal, take your pick:

“My Brief OkCupid Affair With a World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player” UGH UGH UGH by kiala

How A Girl Named Alyssa Stepped on The Internet’s Last Nerve by Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts

The Science of Gawker's Nerd Baiting by Paul Tassi

Don't Be A Jerk by The Nerdy Bird/Jill Pantozzi

An Open Letter To Gizmodo Regarding Alyssa Bereznak And Her "OKCupid" Article. by Geek Girl Diva

Alyssa Bereznak Just Reminded Us That Women Can Be Predators Online Too by Elly Hart (Gizmodo Australia)

Re: My Brief OkCupid Affair With a World Champion Magic: The Gathering Player by Pop Culture Monster

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Date Alyssa Bereznak by Geek Mom/Ruth Suehle

and finally, the Dork Tower response by John Kovalic

So, back to the original title of this post. In this article, Monica Valentinelli suggests a "let your nerd hang out" celebration as a more constructive response instead of the rather ugly trolling that's going on in the comments of the original article (and remember, trollers, each click earns Alyssa money, so well done there, d'uh). In Monica's words:

SPEAK OUT WITH YOUR GEEK OUT

Sometime during the week of Monday, September 12th to Friday, September 16th post about what geeky hobby you love. Then, tell us why we should try it, too. Leave your fears (and edition wars) at the door. Forget about your latest rant. Tap into that well of positive energy and share in the excitement of all things geek.

Let us invite those who would stereotype us to sit at our table and share our interests.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Who's in?

(There's also a Facebook page, for those who book the face.)

X-Project: An X-Men Movieverse RPG on Livejournal

Originally posted by x_advertising at X-Project: An X-Men Movieverse RPG on Livejournal

X-PROJECT: AN X-MEN MOVIEVERSE RPG

Name: KAROLINA DEAN

Taste The Rainbow

I know I’ve been a bit of a brat, but believe me, people can change! I’ve had time to grow up and appreciate the joy of having a player. Especially with my powers only half-developed - there’s still so much more for me to learn! And not just about my powers; there’s whole facets of my personality that haven’t been touched on yet! So if you’d like to try your hand at the quintessential New Age mutant lesbian, here I am!


X-Project is an X-Men movieverse RPG on Livejournal. Set after X2, we've been running since May 2003 and use a combination of in-character journals and email/IM logs. There's a number of settings for a range of play, whatever your preference, and while we accept new characters we strongly encourage people to adopt one of our orphans.


Check out the Wiki and the advertising community to see what's available. Readers are highly encouraged! If you're looking for X-Men based entertainment, X-Project welcomes you to read along and enjoy the ride!

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