Thanks for the link to "Making A Better Internet" Will.  The phrase bottom half of the internet is a good one!

I'll read that tonight, when I am not on the internet :-/

Great topic.

Take when you go for a meal as an example, when you dislike the restaurant, you're more likely to mention that it was rubbish to a higher number of people, than if you had a good experience.  'Oh dont go to such and such a place, it was awful, the waiter was a jerk, the food was rubbish and expensive'.  It's almost as if you feel hard done by, by the experience, so rant about it.

I have thought about this alot over the past couple of years, with GnR and other bands in mind.  The internet gives us unprecedented access to the guys in bands we love.  We see almost too much.  Before, back in the day, you'd read a bit about them in a magazine, see some very small interviews on MTV or whatever, and that was it.  There was a detachment which made them seem cooler that they actually probably were as people, a bit of mystery thrown in too.  The music did the talking, and was always first.

Now, with alot of these guys you get every thought blurted on twitter, multiple interviews a week, youtube footage of them being a dick etc etc.

Take Sebastian Bach for instance, back in the day he was the cool looking dude in the photo's, sounded great on the records, was awesome live and that was it. Now, if you follow blabbermouth you'll see an interview a day, and you realise he is a bit of a dick. The mystery has gone, that guy you thought was cool, actually, would probably really get on your nerves if you spent an evening with him. 

Dave Mustaine, jesus, shut up already.

So, yes internet makes it easier to be negative, but its because we are exposed to more of what these guys are really like. And we will pick up on what we see as lies/falsehoods etc, and its very easy to make our distaste public now. Also perhaps a sense of annoyance that the guys I looked up to when I was a teenager, are a bunch of idiots in the main. (but thats my age, cynicism, and naivety of youth from a time when I did think these guys were awesome cool).

And on the Blabbermouth subject, I go there alot but dont post and in most cases the negativity is rightfully thrown at guys like Geoff Tate, Dave Mustaine, Kerry King, and some of it often appeals to my childish sense of humour.

On the other hand, bands and artists that appear to have integrity do get full praise on that site, look at the posts to the Carcass and Xentrix stories the past couple of days, not a negative post on there yet, nothing but praise, so far.  The same goes for posts relating to Iommi, DIO, in the main Zeppelin. 

I think integrity has a lot to do with it. Once any internet community sees a lack of integrity, for whatever reason, from people held up high within that community, its pounced upon. And perhaps rightly so.

I was just glad that I had a reason to pull that awesome BS smiley.  It made my morning.

Just in case it is him though, I sent an email, but since he's busy he may not read it.   

I wonder what " these things" are he's tired of reading online?

I gotta agree with you there. It's got isolation, paranoia, and awesome effects.  Plus Kurt Russell pouring liquor into a computer at the start.

Havent seen the recent re-remake, and kinda dont want to.