Retardus

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Last updated on July 24th, 2017 at 12:42 pm

Margo minion Marilyn Shepherd—who believes the language spoken in the Philippines is Dogalog—favours us with another controversial opinion:

So it is not illegal or against the constitution to lock up kids for life for no crime – so long as they dare to come to a f….g island on a boat. Unlike all of our ancestors who said “beam me up Scotty” and just got here. Maybe in a tardus.

I for one welcome our new ant-based transport system. In other Webdiary news, the problem of comments—they must be edited! and managed! and edited again!—remains insoluble, as Margo explains to reader Craig:

After the changeover to the new publishing system last September, the ever increasing number of Webdiarist’s comments bogged me down in editing them. Now I’m independent, and am paying Hamish Alcorn and Kerri Browne to work full time on editing comments, publishing pieces, and co-ordinating the technical development of the permanent site. I have dreams of being able to cover big stories in every State, but they’re dreams for now, Craig. Feel like helping make my dream come true? If you’d like to help, in any way you want, email me.

On the other matter you raise, comments editing is full on, Craig, and is absolutely punishing on anyone who does the job for more than a few weeks. Yes, mistakes are made, but we’re trying always to get consistency in editing. I made and announced an editorial policy decision on content this week, that no comment questioning the fact of the holocaust would be posted. I’ll make more editorial policy decisions as issues arise, and on the permanent site these will be listed, along with the date they are made.

It’s a tough business running your own independent online newspaper.

UPDATE. A fortuitous blow to the head achieves dramatic results!

Posted by Tim B. on 09/21/2005 at 02:19 AM
    1. Marilyn herself would speak dogalog, being a bitch

      Posted by graboy on 09/21 at 02:33 AM • permalink

 

    1. It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it.

      Posted by slammer on 09/21 at 02:53 AM • permalink

 

    1. According to The Age article linked to above:

      Taking ads on the site is possible, but some potential supporters are very “anti-ads”, so a decision on that has been deferred, Roffey says. He mentions, but declines to outline, another “extremely innovative” funding idea being worked up by some Web Diary members.

      Could this be the key to funding the new but not-so-improved Webdiary?

      Also an innovative funding idea raising money for Katrina victims.

      Posted by kisdm001 on 09/21 at 03:03 AM • permalink

 

    1. Feel like helping make my dream come true? If you’d like to help, in any way you want, email me.

      Sounds like a line from Margo’s ad in the personals.  And there’s the answer to her cashflow problem: if it’s good enough for Fred Hilmer, it’s good enough for Margo.

      Posted by cuckoo on 09/21 at 03:06 AM • permalink

 

    1. Anti-ads, anti-subscriptions?  Quite a reasonable policy when you realise that both WD authors and readers have zero value.

      But what else is there to charge for?  Here’s a possible business model!

      Posted by Mr Hackenbacker on 09/21 at 03:28 AM • permalink

 

    1. Tim, I still think that Miz Shepherd’s ‘This bloody country kidnaps babies from the sea’ is her best yet.

      Wasn’t Margo the one bitching about the lack of democracy shown in this country? There are plenty of “I made’s”. The power of ‘one’ perhaps?

      Posted by Nic on 09/21 at 03:33 AM • permalink

 

    1. Without a firm business model but with great faith in the site’s potential…

      If anyone deserves to spectacularly self-destruct, it’s Margo, but even so this is all really sad. Is there any practical way to show her how sympathetic I am without actually encouraging her in any way?

      Posted by blandwagon on 09/21 at 03:59 AM • permalink

 

    1. These people are not for real, are they? I’ve not been able to bring myself to visit webdiary after my last unsuccessful foray into that world, but the snippets Tim finds just hurt my head.

      Haven’t they ever heard of English? Hell, my three year old can string together more sense than these idiots. Where did they go to school? Dingbat Valley (in)Comprehensive?

      Maybe a nice break with the anti-christ himself could shock them back into reality.

      Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 09/21 at 04:07 AM • permalink

 

    1. Sounds like a line from Margo’s ad in the personals.

      She must be expecting a licentious phone call from George Soros any day now…

      Posted by Vexorg on 09/21 at 04:12 AM • permalink

 

    1. I thought Webdiary may have gone backwards post the silly.

      Sounds like Margo is taking that quality on-line publication forward. She’s making the transition into a fully fledged capitalist successfully. Bravo.

      Next she will be floating on the ASX. Small Caps to start but who knows from there?

      Posted by gubbaboy on 09/21 at 04:25 AM • permalink

 

    1. Marilyn S Chairwoman of the Board.
      Send me a proxy via a tardus now.

      Posted by gubbaboy on 09/21 at 04:33 AM • permalink

 

    1. Mock if you will, but this week the two paid staffers have edited 150 comments across no fewer than seven postings.

      Posted by Imre on 09/21 at 04:40 AM • permalink

 

    1. Don’t know about a tardus, but Mazza certainly gets about in her own turdis– and sustainable as well- it’s powered by the shit she spruiks.
      This ‘tard claims an IQ of 155- I think she omitted the decimal point.
      Seeing as I now publish an independent online newspaper, will I get a slice of the changes to media ownership legislation? I reckon a hostile takeover of News Ltd could be the go; silly me, thinking I snorked away on a weblog.

      Posted by Habib on 09/21 at 04:42 AM • permalink

 

    1. Taking ads on the site is possible, but some potential supporters are very “anti-ads”…

      I trust that “potential supporters” really means “potential financial supporters”.

      But probably not….I suspect that Margo regards “capitalism” as a part of spelling.

      Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 09/21 at 04:43 AM • permalink

 

    1. the ever increasing number of Webdiarist’s comments bogged me down in editing them

      Then politely ask Webdiarist to stop posting so many.

      Ain’t punctuation a bitch?

      Posted by Dan Lewis on 09/21 at 05:03 AM • permalink

 

    1. Marilyn Sheppo with an IQ of 155? She may be intelligent but she’s as mad as a cut snake.

      Posted by Deo Vindice on 09/21 at 05:11 AM • permalink

 

    1. Eye demand that my comment’s be edited!

      Posted by TimT on 09/21 at 05:23 AM • permalink

 

    1. Isn’t the IQ concept just wonderful?  No-one ever carries around a certified copy showing the result and the date of the test, and most people have never sat for the real thing.  In other words, we can all just make up a number, and no-one can ever disprove it.  Beautiful stuff!  I note, with much amusement, that Marilyn has chosen an IQ for herself that is the exact IQ at, and beyond, which people are categorized as a genius.

      Wonder what Marilyn made of the recent comments by an academic that some races have lower IQs than others (to summaries his points a little crassly).  Did she send in umpteenth comments to WD whooping it up in support of the academic, or did she admit that any average person can be taught how to do very well in certain tests, including IQ tests.  On the other hand, she may just be incredibly good at mathematics, and therefore, would excel at IQ tests, which may help to explain her verbal problems.

      Re: the piece about WD in The Age – I’m still struggling with the claim of “2000 INDIVIDUAL reader comments”.  Don’t they have the art of ambiguity and self promotion down pat!! Very sharp indeed.  Just as they can’t tell anyone how many unique visitors contributed to the 29,000 page views – plenty of free software on the Internet could help them out with that simple question.  I did a ‘random survey’ of one thread, a while ago, and of about 90 comments, around 35 were submitted by just one person; others were also multiple-submitters, but I only counted the one with the most.

      WD is an online newspaper?  Kingston is officially, certifiably, delusional and psychotic.  Worse, though, is that The Age journalist was not incredulous at the claim, and didn’t question the substance of what Kingston was saying.

      As for “she has had a crash course in independent publishing”.  Huh?  Other people have set up and manage the web site; other people write the material; and it still looks and behaves exactly as it did at the SMH, including the same 15 to 25 hardcore daily multiple-commentators.  She took a crash course in what, exactly?

      Posted by Ck on 09/21 at 06:57 AM • permalink

 

    1. She took a crash course in what, exactly?

      How To Crash In Anything”, taught by Mark Latham.

      Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 09/21 at 07:09 AM • permalink

 

    1. I made and announced an editorial policy decision on content this week, that no comment questioning the fact of the holocaust would be posted.

      Rather telling that she has to make that policy, no?

      Posted by Rob Crawford on 09/21 at 07:24 AM • permalink

 

    1. I made and announced an editorial policy decision on content this week, that no comment questioning the fact of the holocaust would be posted.

      Are there those fancy editorial policies on this site?  I mean other than Andrea’s “Don’t be a asshat” policy.

      Posted by Blue on 09/21 at 08:02 AM • permalink

 

    1. I think my pooch speaks Dogalog. But then, he’s a flatcoated retriever.

      Posted by scaramouche on 09/21 at 08:04 AM • permalink

 

    1. Has she ever actually posted anything about anything, as opposed to posting about the enormous burden of running a weblog (which is surely the reason why so few people have started them)?

      Posted by Mike G on 09/21 at 08:17 AM • permalink

 

    1. no-one seems to have asked yet WHY The Age
      saw fit to give a massive free advertisement in its NEWS section for Margo’s vaporware business. I wrote for Fairfax/Age for 30 years and believe the “news” item on Margo fails the test of newsworthiness – normally we would tell such a person – ‘go buy an ad’. Maybe The Age has a special set of (lax) rules for writing about leftist friends of journos who think about creating their own commercial enterprises?

      Posted by percypup on 09/21 at 08:25 AM • permalink

 

    1. percypup – Agree. Let’s wait to see how The Age, and other news outlets, cover the new WD “official launch”, whenever that happens (in Sydney). Could be interesting.

      Posted by Ck on 09/21 at 08:33 AM • permalink

 

    1. The site will feature less of Kingston’s own writing and more of its “web diarists”, a band of independent writers. It’s a model Kingston is calling “pro-am” journalism.

      Is that at all possible? Pro-Am, its Margolian for lazy bint

      Posted by Nic on 09/21 at 09:23 AM • permalink

 

    1. Eye demand that my comment’s be edited!
      Posted by TimT

      Why? you’re comment’s are all ready up to the Webdiary Standard™.Besides, if we force Andrea to edit comments, it would wreck the business model for this site, and Tim would have to eat very small lunches with very cheap wine.

      Posted by ErnieG on 09/21 at 09:33 AM • permalink

 

    1. Margo’s three step plan:

      1. Set up blog site dedicated to every tin-hat leftist conspiracy theory and staff it with half-mad amateurs who nobody else would publish

      2. [haven’t fully thought this through yet – readers please help me with this]

      3. Celebrate the defeat of John Howard.

      Can’t fail.

      E

      Posted by The_GOP_Elephant on 09/21 at 09:46 AM • permalink

 

    1. our f*****g island is girt by sea….

      Posted by crash on 09/21 at 09:54 AM • permalink

 

    1. But if her readers are “anti-ad,” how will we ever find out what her great “funding ideas” (I’m thinking Sullivan-esque blegathon) actually are?

      Posted by richard mcenroe on 09/21 at 10:02 AM • permalink

 

    1. I hope they do put ads on. Then at least there’ll be something worth reading!!

      Posted by TonyP on 09/21 at 10:16 AM • permalink

 

    1. Could someone please tell Marilyn to stop confusing her weight and her IQ?

      Posted by captain on 09/21 at 10:28 AM • permalink

 

    1. Um… small question.  Marilyn Shepherd believes her ancestors were beamed to Oz by Scotty?  Or possibly arrived by means of a magical phonebox?

      Seems WebDiary has a larger problem than even Margo knows.

      Posted by RebeccaH on 09/21 at 10:28 AM • permalink

 

    1. That post about being hit on the head by a giant tome was a piss-take right?  Margo appears to be one step or two away from living in a box by the side of the road, albeit with wireless access.

      Or, she strikes me as one of those wymmin who isolates themselves at home, albeit with 10 – 20 cats to keep her company. It’s all fun and games until the cat food runs out and the pretty kitties start eyeing other meat-bearing objects within reach…

      Honestly – it’s almost unfair for Tim to make fun of Margo anymore. She can barely fight back, what with all her editing requirements and hours bussing tables.

      Posted by dc981924 on 09/21 at 10:40 AM • permalink

 

    1. Whoa! I clicked on the link for the ant and then the link to Margo’s web site, and the resemblance between Margo and the Mycocepurus tardus is uncanny! Especially when it comes to the , er, “anteromedian pair of promesonotal spines” (the hair, check the hair!).

      Posted by paco on 09/21 at 12:45 PM • permalink

 

    1. paco,

      Did you also notice the ant page author is from Moonbat State?

      Curiouser and curiouser.

      Posted by Spiny Norman on 09/21 at 03:07 PM • permalink

 

    1. Down with the white ghost imperialist kidnappers of innocent sea babies!
      Denounce the Tardus tyranny!

      – The Daluk Anti-Fascist Tradition (D.A.F.T.)
      WD2 Brigade 504-522-614-616

      Posted by monkeyfan on 09/21 at 04:17 PM • permalink

 

    1. This is so confusing.  I thought Margot Kingston was the insightful columnist for a major OZ Paper (forgot which one).  Now I find her slinging hash and copping free computer time at a library while unsuccessfully dodging falling books.  I guess I missed the transition, not an unusual occurence in her columns.  Do I want to know what happened?  Hey, this is Margot Kingston.  No.

      Posted by billy hank on 09/22 at 04:36 AM • permalink

 

  1. Spiny: I’m glad that they’ve got at least SOME academic types who are doing something useful (studying ants, for example, instead of, say, White Male Oppression of Lesbian Basketweavers in Babylonia in the 4th Century B.C.)

    Posted by paco on 09/22 at 11:59 AM • permalink