Guardian Savaged By Blog Comments

We’ve been passed over a link (thanks Mike) to a travel piece published today on the Guardian Web site.

The article — the first blog post of a 19 year old student, Max Gogarty, in his gap year, who ‘just happened’ to be the son of the travel editor freelance travel writer, Paul Gogarty — itself isn’t the main source of interest, but the masses of comments that followed it that are.

Clearly commenters are keen to share the love on this, Valentines day.

We’ve never seen a more vitriolic and frankly funny collection of comments – Nick Denton and his closed circle of Gawker commenters are going to be choking on their frappuccinos when they read these and realise how lame their supposedly sharp comments are by comparison.

Within about five hours the article publishing, the “oh, we’re so open and _love_ users comments” Guardian took the decision to close the comments, citing

As we are increasingly having to take down vicious personal abuse directed against the writer, in open contravention of the community standards, this discussion will shortly close. But thanks for the suggestions that we did receive, and for your criticisms, which have been noted.

saxonwhittle summed up a lot of the comments with

Oh God, please spare us from poor little middle-class children trying to tout themselves on Daddy’s/Mummy’s newspaper, so they can follow in their parent’s footsteps.

LynW has a great point

Last week the Graun (Gaurdian) was scandalised about an MP putting his kids on his payroll and giving them a massive foot-up in his profession (politics). This week, it allows one of its journalists to give his son a column to subsidise a trip to India and give him a massive leg-up in his profession (journalism). And it’s rubbish. Although you’d expect that. CiF writers are always banging on about how nepotism keeps out poor, hard working and talented people. Until it comes to their own kids, of course.

Other gems are comments such as Cassle‘s

In the same way that children who are caught smoking are made to smoke a whole packet to teach them a lesson, the Guardian should be made to go through with this, in the hope that it learns its own lesson. I suggest that the Guardian be required to publish:

1) a daily blog by Max, for the rest of his natural life

2) daily blogs by all his children thereafter

3) annual compilations (in hardback) of the best of Max’s entries, together with the best of the comments, in time for the Christmas market

This should continue until Alan Rusbridger personally admits that his editorial team are lazy talentless nepotists, and promises never to allow this to happen again.

Msay has an amusing, barbed poke too

I once went to my Dad’s place of work, and he let me do some of it for a few weeks. Unfortunately, my Dad was a Doctor, and a few people died, but aaaaanyway. Good luck Max, you’re quite cute, and I’d do you.
Have fun in Thailand, as when you return you’ll be the laughing stock of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Her Realms and Dominions Overseas.

There’s tons more great comment on there, but we’ll leave the final comment quote to thankyoumaskedman

You know something? Seeing the sheer level of vitriol directed at Max has given me something of a warm glow inside. When we all club together, it seems, we can hurl at him the kind of abuse he’ll never have encountered (yet thoroughly deserved) throughout his cosseted, mollycoddled public school existence.

Of course, there are some who’ll accuse us of having chips on our shoulders. Wow – what insight. You mean we’re all a little bit angry because some despicable chancer has obtained instantly the kind of opportunity and privilege that most of us have to work hard for, through no other factor than being a Barleyesque daddy’s boy? Well, blow me down. Any other revelations?

Summary
When the crowd moves against you, there’s no amount of knowledge of the press that’s going to save you from being savaged.