DISQUS

greg · 6 months ago

It is a shame the way it all happened and totally unnecessary. I am a Leo fan but the way he overacted and was quick to do so was wrong. I believe that he has had bad feelings about Mike for a while as he has made comments about him previously which would lead you to believe that if the right moment came along the explosion would happen. A damn shame. I have subscribed to the Newsgang and Gillmore podcasts and even though they could be tough to get through because of the conflict within them but there were some good insight and information in them. I hope that Steve and Mike will come back with all their passion. Hope to hear from you all again. Take care/

Karoli · 6 months ago

greg, steve will be back. the Gillmor Gang will always live. Whether Newsgang Live does or not remains to be seen. But the Gillmor Gang is timeless.

cgerrish · 6 months ago

Karoli, thanks for writing this. Calling out bad behavior and establishing a civil and constructive tone in the social space of real time web is one of our new rights and responsibilities.

Jonathan Langdale · 6 months ago

Are you kidding? You're dreaming. That is never going to happen without severe moderation. It won't be "open." The first few minutes of the Wolfram Alpha webcast launch, the chat was filled with non-sense even before it began.

Need to first recognize that social real time web space is going to be anything but civil and deal with it. It's going to get worse in real time than it is on twitter. Google wave is said to show keystroke. You're not going to necessarily have people being able to edit that much in real-time.

And it's interesting to call out less than civil behavior by fans and respondents when the podcasters in question are dropping f-bombs and arbitrarily cutting off shows. Or others are continuing to bait people to get a good story or "interesting" reaction.

Karoli · 6 months ago

I'm not going to fault Leo for going off. That has been brewing for months, while for 30 years he has set an example of class and ethics in action and practice. One meltdown should not invite the adolescents to a feast.

Karoli · 6 months ago

Cliff -- it has always been a right and responsibility. It just matters more now than before, because the nature of real time means that setting a fire can cause an instant meltdown, as opposed to one that might be prevented with some interventions.

Stephen Downes · 6 months ago

If you value the content, always make a back-up, even if you think the archive is in good hands.

Karoli · 6 months ago

Hi Stephen,

I have backup copies, but I can't keep them on the Internet or point to them. They're Steve's shows. As I said, he has the right to do with them what he feels is right, but that doesn't make me any less angry about the reasons he felt he had to do it.

Jonathan Langdale · 6 months ago

I think it's wrong to blame the fans for a reaction to a public cast. Mike was very much wrong and initiated the problem.

Mike wouldn't have people saying dumb things if he wasn't a popular figure that does what he does. He choose that. You're never going to get rid of the dumb people that say dumb things when Mike is a dick, without considering the issues.

As far as Steve, I heard Steve laughing. I don't know him well enough to say what is what. Personally, it kinda looked like he thought it was all joke, then stopped when it got serious. But I can maybe see how some might think he was siding with Mike somehow. Steve brought up the question, then Mike jumped in. I don't think so, but I can see how some conspiracy theorists would suggest it was a planned "attack" on Leo for lack of a better work. I don't think that, but I can see how others would.

Just the same, nobody told him to go on a streaming show including popular figures with fans and starting laughing. Nobody told Mike to bait Leo or suggest he was unethical. If Mike and/or Steve wanted to bring up a Palm Pre marketing theory (discussed idea previously?), Mike didn't need to attack Leo or suggest he only got it cause he would kiss butt. There's other ways to talk about Palm's marketing. Did Mike and Steve really not know before hand Leo had the Pre? Sounded to me like one of those dumb late night pre-questions that get asked. Was this all discussed to talk about after the memorial of the Google guy? Give me a break. They totally come off butt hurt over their egos and directed it at Leo.

If the content was for you and your group then why publish it to the public? If you don't like that he pulled content down, blame Steve? or blame Mike? Don't blame the fans for reacting to watching something Steve decided to put there. Blame Steve or Mike.

You're sounding somewhat self-serving with this post.

Karoli · 6 months ago

Of course I'm self-serving. This is my blog, and it was my time invested in that podcast. I'm not going to apologize for being self-serving. This is my expression of my sadness at seeing something I participated in taken out of the public access stream. I'm not going to apologize for being self-serving.

As far as it being unfair to fans, all I have to say is that there are ways to express support that don't intentionally take whacks at people who put a lot of themselves out there. In fact, there are adult ways for people to express themselves. That they chose to behave like adolescents is their problem, not mine.

And this is my blog. I get to be self-serving here. Without apology.

Paul E. Ester · 6 months ago

Some podcasts don't get better with age. Much like there is no point in reading todays 'real time web' a year from now.

Karoli · 6 months ago

I beg to differ. A year from now, things will be completely different than they are today. But that podcast was made in and about the emerging days of the real time web. It will matter.

Jack · 6 months ago

It shold be noted that the itunes feed: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/... is unofficial. It contains recordings of the show from the live stream.