An article about ATS on Uncyclopedia, the satire site!

Aww, lookit the Uncyclopedia editor and the Encyclopedia Dramatica editor, arguing over whose site's better. Cuter than a puppy and a kitten tryin' to climb into the same slipper!

reply to post by No1atall


Oh, he's an ED editor. Didn't know that, and it explains a lot. Thanks. And we do have a Puppy, so I guess we can claim that half of the slipper.

I think one point that this thread has drifted to may be the definition of satire and why it's important in the context of ATS. One way to "expose" secrets, or hypocrisy, or any form of interesting data that the public is not normally presented or hand-fed on news - even cable news - is by satire. Satirical renditions of important events or topics put enough distance between the people that want them hidden and the satirist that it's an acceptable form of communication. The "fools" in many historical Royal circles were often the only ones who could tell the truth to the King or even to the entire court, and were thus trusted advisors and confidants of royal families. In semi-recent American history it's Letterman and Leno, South Park, the Smothers Brothers, Stephen Colbert and other fools who have or had the ear of millions and could put a satirical spin on the events of the day. On the net, Uncyclopedia plays a role among other sites who try to do the same thing, but I think ours is a cleaner read because of the limited ads (I can't even look at Cracked because of the ad blitzes) and formating layout. In any case, these sites play their role, and there is an overlap to sites like ATS in that each give new twists to perceived opinion of their readers and add little nuggets of thought into the all important "what is important?" memes of society.

Oh. A troll from ED. <span style="sarcastic">That's new.</span>

Originally posted by Aleister
reply to post by No1atall

 

One way to "expose" secrets, or hypocrisy, or any form of interesting data that the public is not normally presented or hand-fed on news - even cable news - is by satire. Satirical renditions of important events or topics put enough distance between the people that want them hidden and the satirist that it's an acceptable form of communication. The "fools" in many historical Royal circles were often the only ones who could tell the truth to the King or even to the entire court, and were thus trusted advisors and confidants of royal families.

There are a few different places that go into the power of ridicule. Much of it is related back to looking at example directly, as opposed to looking at principle.

I don't like example as a primary argument, because it leads to false result. As an example, I once saw a preacher talking to a congregation talking about the power of prayer. He told people to raise their hands if they had prayed for something and it had come to fruition. Most of the congregation had their hands in the air. He used this to illustrate that God listens to prayers. I later asked the same congregation if they had ever prayed for something that hadn't come to fruition. Most of them had their hands in the air. Select examples are an easy way to bolster an argument without looking at underlying principle.

In he Power of Ridicule: An Analysis of Satire the author, LeBoeuf, states:

Satire is a powerful art form which has the ability to point out the deficiencies in certain human behaviors and the social issues which result from them in such a way that they become absurd, even hilarious, which is therefore entertaining and reaches a wide audience. Satire also has the ability to protect its creator from culpability for criticism, because it is implied rather than overtly stated; in this way, it becomes a powerful tool for dissenters in difficult or oppressive political and social periods.

One person cited in here is Stephen Colbert. He has been quoted (and I'm probably going to misquote slightly here) that all jokes contain some status shift. When used well, this can give a voice to an individual or a group who are generally voiceless. Of course it can also do the opposite, where a voiceless group can be further vilified by a satirical group. Westboro Baptist Church do exactly that.

Uncyclopedia isn't perfect. It's an "anyone can edit" site after all. How many posts and viewpoints are on ATS that have universal support? But the purpose of deleting a significant number of poor articles is creating a better core group of articles. The MLK article was mentioned before. It has been a hotly debated article and one that was recently nominated for deletion. The main argument against it is the lack of that article would have attracted an even more negative viewpoint. And there are similar sites that will publish hate speech disguised as satire.

Side-note: Richard Pryor was mentioned earlier. The amazing thing about Richard Pryor is - to me - how he turned away from his self-derogatory humor towards the end of his career, after a spiritual awakening that lead him to realize what he had been doing. Or, in a slightly different way of looking at it - he grew up.

reply to post by PuppyOnTheRadio

Guys, guys, guys! Before you give any more impassioned defenses of Uncyclopedia, lemme just re-state that guy's stance on why "Uncyclopedia is lame and Encyclopedia Dramatica roolz!":

"The crimes committed by Encyclopedia Dramatica editors are waaaaaaaay more serious than the crimes committed by Uncyclopedia editors! ED is, like, waaaaaaaay more big-time than you doodz! You're so lame, my GRAMMA commits bigger crimes in her rocket-powered wheelchair! Hahaha!"

That's ...basically what he's saying, right? That's...that's like the dumbest thing I have ever heard. In the history of ever. And you guys are...you're *responding* to something like that?

Like, for shame. Or something. UN:N

Well, that was a failpost...

The level of butthurt is amazing, this exchange has managed to have people from failopedia to register here solely for the purpose of defending it.

Originally posted by No1atall
reply to post by PuppyOnTheRadio

 

That's ...basically what he's saying, right? That's...that's like the dumbest thing I have ever heard. In the history of ever. And you guys are...you're *responding* to something like that?

I know, and I agree. In my own defense, I was fairly drunk last night. Damned Inner Circle Black Dot rum.

reply to post by DavidWillts


Zounds!! He's uncovered our nefarious plot -- quickly, Comrades! To the launching deck! Assemble our forces! Prepare the Tractor Beam! No message board shall withstand the power of our Poop Cannons!

First we take ATS! Then we take New York! Then we take Berlin!

reply to post by No1atall


Stay out of Berlin, unless you want some real beer. I talked to the fellow before I knew he was a troll from ED. It was like "Why is he saying these things, they aren't true?" and answering (I guess I should have known something was going on).

As for the subject of the thread, someone has said they may nominate the article on "Above Top Secret" for a feature position on the main page. So I polished it a bit more. If anyone knows of any amazing threads here that I missed linking to the article, please let me know or come over and play on Uncy yourself. People bring what they have to where they go, so there you are... to paraphrase Mr. Adams.

reply to post by Aleister


I thought we were here to promote the site. That's what I have written in the minutes from the last meeting.

Originally posted by No1atall
reply to post by DavidWillts

 

Zounds!! He's uncovered our nefarious plot -- quickly, Comrades! To the launching deck! Assemble our forces! Prepare the Tractor Beam! No message board shall withstand the power of our Poop Cannons!

First we take ATS! Then we take New York! Then we take Berlin!

www.abovetopsecret.com...
Not exactly hard to see

The article on ATS looks to be featured on uncy's main page within the next day or two.

The article on Above Top Secret will be featured on the main page of Uncyclopedia starting tonight (00:00 UTC time April 17, which is 7 p.m. U.S. Central time on the 16th) and all day tomorrow. Hopefully it will attract some uncy viewers to see a few threads, but one drawback is that when people sign in here they don't have an automatic revert back to the page they were looking at. That creates a roundabout sometimes, trying to find the original article if you didn't memorize the name. Enjoy the page!

[uncyclopedia.wikia.com... Here is the link to the article again.]

reply to post by DavidWillts


Actually, it was more an idea of Al, who is a regular in both places, to introduce the people he respects over there to here, and the people he respects over here to there. As Uncyc is a not-for-profit, we simply whore it out for the fun. Of whoring.