NY Times Outs the Wine Geeks

Since it's already been posted on the other two cited sites (Squires and Therapy), here's a link to the most recent attempt to enlighten the public about what we do here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/dinin ... ref=slogin

[Robin Garr]

Hmm ... he didn't spend a heck of a lot of time checking out the details, did he?

Hmm ... he didn't spend a heck of a lot of time checking out the details, did he?

You mean the WLDG link that didn't actually lead to the forum?

That is one of the most inane articles on the subject that I have read in a long time. But I don't think the subject can be done any other way...

[James Roscoe]

Hmm ... he didn't spend a heck of a lot of time checking out the details, did he?

You mean the WLDG link that didn't actually lead to the forum?

It worked for me Rashaan. I was wondering how eBob got mentioned in the same breath as WLDG and Therapy? I would hardly call eBob a geek site. Would anyone else? In the meantime we could all go over to Therapy and make fun of Dressner!

[Robin Garr]

You mean the WLDG link that didn't actually lead to the forum?

No, that's reasonable. For both us and eRobertParker, he links to the main site of which the forum is a pardon-the-expression lieu-dit. From a business standpoint, if I'm going to get a NY Times mention, I'm delighted that he did it that way.

I just thought there was a lot of superficiality there. He lumps three forums with very different personalities together as if they were essentially identical. He indicates that posters are anonymous, where here (and, I believe on eBob), anonymity is frowned upon. He alludes briefly to CompuServe and Prodigy without, apparently, understanding that this forum's original roots are in CompuServe and eBob's on Prodigy. And he indicates that the early computer services predated Parker, whereas in fact Prodigy's entire shtick was based on Parker.

Just picking a few nits here, but basically it appears that he took a basic and not entirely accurate assumption and ran with it without doing much more research than calling SFJoe and the guy from Polaner.

You mean the "paper of record" was inaccurate about something?

But that can't be.........

You mean the WLDG link that didn't actually lead to the forum?

No, that's reasonable. For both us and eRobertParker, he links to the main site of which the forum is a pardon-the-expression lieu-dit. From a business standpoint, if I'm going to get a NY Times mention, I'm delighted that he did it that way.

I just thought there was a lot of superficiality there. He lumps three forums with very different personalities together as if they were essentially identical. He indicates that posters are anonymous, where here (and, I believe on eBob), anonymity is frowned upon. He alludes briefly to CompuServe and Prodigy without, apparently, understanding that this forum's original roots are in CompuServe and eBob's on Prodigy. And he indicates that the early computer services predated Parker, whereas in fact Prodigy's entire shtick was based on Parker.

Just picking a few nits here, but basically it appears that he took a basic and not entirely accurate assumption and ran with it without doing much more research than calling SFJoe and the guy from Polaner.

Was going to bring up the same criticisms, Robin, but you beat me to it. Of course, we shouldn't count on a thorough historical account of the origins and development of the Wine Internet, but it would have been nice to have at least an accurate gloss.

In the meantime we could all go over to Therapy and make fun of Dressner!

I believe you are expected.

Of course, we shouldn't count on a thorough historical account of the origins and development of the Wine Internet.

Perhaps a book just waiting to be written?

They study all sorts of things like this in business schools and journalism schools. Don't they.

In the meantime we could all go over to Therapy and make fun of Dressner!

I believe you are expected.

Provocateur!
Best, Jim

Of course, we shouldn't count on a thorough historical account of the origins and development of the Wine Internet.

Perhaps a book just waiting to be written?

They study all sorts of things like this in business schools and journalism schools. Don't they.

Well, I think that's why my plan for a PhD dissertation on disco and Foucault was such a huge hit back in the day...

But seriously, I've seen lots of books from academic presses these days that sound a lot more trivial (not to say loony) than A Perfectly Honest Bit of Crazy; A Brief History of the Wine Internet by Dr. Rahsaan Maxwell, PhD.

I'm just extending the welcome mat, Jim. With a bit more notice I would have arranged for a red carpet and all, even some limos.

I'm just extending the welcome mat, Jim. With a bit more notice I would have arranged for a red carpet and all, even some limos.

Please, don't drool.
Best, Jim

[James Roscoe]

I'm just extending the welcome mat, Jim. With a bit more notice I would have arranged for a red carpet and all, even some limos.

Please, don't drool.
Best, Jim

Damn! Is this a trap?

I'm just extending the welcome mat, Jim. With a bit more notice I would have arranged for a red carpet and all, even some limos.

Please, don't drool.
Best, Jim

Damn! Is this a trap?

Trap? Naaaaaah... Over there we're just good, honest, hospitable folk, always ready with a smile, a bottle and a bon mot. We're arranging for a live feed to You Tube, because these days there's no way in hell the revolution will not be televised. In HD.

Well, I think that's why my plan for a PhD dissertation on disco and Foucault was such a huge hit back in the day...

But seriously, I've seen lots of books from academic presses these days that sound a lot more trivial (not to say loony) than A Perfectly Honest Bit of Crazy; A Brief History of the Wine Internet by Dr. Rahsaan Maxwell, PhD.

I'm a relative latecomer to this infernal, accursed hobby, but I think it would be kinda interesting to hear what it was like for the true pioneers - you know, the guys who had to walk to school in the snow, and it was uphill, both ways.

Something like, "I was on Prodigy over a 128 baud US Robotics modem, and once I was late for an offline, and I didn't have anything to bring with me, so I slipped into Acker and grabbed a bottle of 1961 La Chappelle Hermitage for $9.99 from the close-out bin, and when I finally got to the restaurant, they were in the midst of a furious quarrel about premature oxidation in the 1964's from Mesnil".

pointed opinions, tenaciously held and contentiously delivered, usually with all the subtlety of a Molotov cocktail through a window.

What has he been drinking/smoking? This describes about 1% of what I see (and, OK, 2% of what I post) on WLDG.

[Jenise]

He alludes briefly to CompuServe and Prodigy without, apparently, understanding that this forum's original roots are in CompuServe and eBob's on Prodigy.

Robin, I'm surprised by your nit. Maybe he does understand but didn't think it worth mentioning? For the purposes of his article, I think he got it right: regardless of the players, wine internet discussion started on Compuserve and Prodigy, and now WLDG is one of the best forums available.

Well, I think that's why my plan for a PhD dissertation on disco and Foucault was such a huge hit back in the day...

But seriously, I've seen lots of books from academic presses these days that sound a lot more trivial (not to say loony) than A Perfectly Honest Bit of Crazy; A Brief History of the Wine Internet by Dr. Rahsaan Maxwell, PhD.

I'm a relative latecomer to this infernal, accursed hobby, but I think it would be kinda interesting to hear what it was like for the true pioneers - you know, the guys who had to walk to school in the snow, and it was uphill, both ways.

Something like, "I was on Prodigy over a 128 baud US Robotics modem, and once I was late for an offline, and I didn't have anything to bring with me, so I slipped into Acker and grabbed a bottle of 1961 La Chappelle Hermitage for $9.99 from the close-out bin, and when I finally got to the restaurant, they were in the midst of a furious quarrel about premature oxidation in the 1964's from Mesnil".

And to think that only a decade ago I was a newbie and boards were all pretty much the same shade of beige... Of course, I can't really say much about Prodigy or alt.food.wine. For that, I think we have much more veteran veterans.

Oh, and I htink it was aprt of my schtick as a newbie to be late for every offline.

But that was then, this is now.

[Robin Garr]

Maybe he does understand but didn't think it worth mentioning? For the purposes of his article, I think he got it right: regardless of the players, wine internet discussion started on Compuserve and Prodigy, and now WLDG is one of the best forums available.

Well, sort of ... although as we both remember from back in those days, Prodigy (then a joint venture of Sears and IBM, an odd pairing indeed) came along several years after CompuServe, directly copied CompuServe's forum system, and in their wine "Club", added the then less-well-known Parker in hope that having a guru would be an additional draw. (Which makes it rather amusing that some of the same people did very much the same thing with eBob, years after WLDG. )

Whatever, dudes. What I wanna know is, is anybody bottling Vaccarèse as a varietal wine?

Whatever, dudes. What I wanna know is, is anybody bottling Vaccarèse as a varietal wine?

Dave,

Are you implying that "there is no there, there?"

Inane remains my choice of words for it.

pointed opinions, tenaciously held and contentiously delivered, usually with all the subtlety of a Molotov cocktail through a window.

What has he been drinking/smoking? This describes about 1% of what I see (and, OK, 2% of what I post) on WLDG.

Yeah, he must have been referring to Wine Therapy because WLDG is really mild for the most part. My husband, who posts on several non-wine related forums, said once with disdain that WLDG is a big "love-fest".

Personally, that's what I like about it