There is nothing useful on this web site.
Even though the internet is the source of all truth, the only truth here is that everything else is a lie.
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless.- Oscar Wilde
Put ths one in the ROTFLMAO file. Travis Martin responded yesterday with a post to his favorite discussion thread. Apparently, we, all of us, are NOT illiterate donkeys. We had it ALL wrong!
Ha-ha, good one Travis, didn't see THAT ONE coming at all.
Here is what Travis had to say (emphasis mine)
If you read what I wrote, on my facebook page, which is now displayed on this thread, and soon to be published, you will know that, in fact I do not view anyone in this group as an "illiterate donkey" and that the initial reactionary statements I posted were nothing more than calculated baiting to the hypothesis I was prodding at.
I am rather more interested in how a group of people, if attacked, would respond. Would they respond with the intent to educate, or would they wallow in the muck?
The vast majority of Canadians, to their own shame, do the latter. This is too bad. I would expect any group of people, on any political issue, however to act in like kind. What was shocking was how little of an attempt was made to educate the troll that you thought you had in your midst.
... the horror at finding virtually no effort to inform or enlighten a potentially hostile shill or CPC cronies . Whether you like the fact that you were unwilling participants in an informal social experiment the fact remains that you were and the results were not flattering.
My "methods", loose as they admittedly are, to test the hypothesis I was looking at, required offense so an apology on my part can only go so far. I am sorry for intentionally offending, but without being offended your responses would have been useless to me.
So Travis Martin, have we, the unread masses, proven or disproven your hypothesis? Are you going to keep us in suspense?
Now, there is the issue of "Martin Travis", who is posting in my name with my picture and will have to be stopped for impersonating. Facebook admin should be sufficient for this but really somewhat akin to identity theft - sadly I have to take the time to deal with this.
Perhaps you could have an addendum to your thesis about the "unintended consequences" of trolling? Just trying to help.
I am going to have to insist also that the silly web page posted in my name be removed as it unfairly represents my intent and purposes, which I have, for the most part, made astonishingly clear. The person who created it hopefully has the sense to remove it under his own accord. Given the context in which he encountered my the initial psuedo-rant, however, I completely understand, and find quite amusing, his sense of humor and have to say I found it quite funny. At present, however, its utility is no longer required and could be harmful, if abused, both to myself, that individual, and this group.
We also (and I know how I speak on behalf of all CAPP members here), were astonished at how clear your true intentions were. We thank-you for the deep insight you have given us with your scholarly study.
More from the Travis Martin Facebook Notes page:
If you are interested in the complete transcript of the thread I posted on the Canadians Against the Proroguing of Parliament page and do not wish to obtain it by joining their group please contact my secretary at hxiaoxiao@ymail.com.
I would also like to this opportunity to personally thank-you, Travis Martin, for this honorable mention in your most recent post. You are absolutely correct, the blog was intended mainly as humour, and I thank you for understanding that.
I have every confidence that it will be properly attributed to in your published results, and only offer a friendly reminder that it is considered good practice to include a reference, or at minimum, a web link, to such research.
Since we have never been contacted by you or your staff directly, we assumed this is a simple oversight. Indeed, please feel free to link to these pages to support your thesis and advance your research. Peer review is but one step to winning that Nobel prize that is your destiny.
In closing sir, it is only fitting that I close this blog with these inspirational words of your, once again, from your final post:
For all it is worth, I wish this group the best and hope that, like all Canadians, when expressing an opinion, have the means to defend it and avoid the muck that counter attackers will often take. This will be my final address on this thread, and again thank you for keeping political debate alive in Canada, no matter which side of the issue in which you find yourself.
Cheers
Travis Martin, that is one of the most inspiriational messages I have heard since Harper prorouged parliament! You should run for the Conservative Party of Canada. Harper needs you, democracy is broken, and the government needs your help to keep it that way!
Anybody for starting The Travis Martin Experiment wikipedia page?