bad - in a good way?

by mg at 11:17 PM on June 06, 2001

So apparently my boy Justin over at FUBAR thinks I’m "Bad." And I really don’t know what to think about that.

He used to have me listed in his links section as a "Rival." Which, I suppose, we are. We both have similar websites that exist within a little circle of online friends. We both get more hits then most of the other folks in that circle. We both post really frequently. We both post long. We link up, and are linked by, a lot of the same sites. We talk about a lot of the same things.

The whole "Rival" thing actually started because were fighting it out to be the top site on the FatWeb's topsites list. Even though it has always been sort of a loving rivalry we’ve both done some subtle things that could be seen as stirring up the rivalry. We've linked up some of the same people, talked about the same movies, and pined over the same girls. But that can be explained by the fact we've got the same unique tastes - not that there aren't lots of guys out there who have a thing for Kirsten Dunst.

Actually, I was honored when I first saw the "Rival" tag next to my name. If Justin actually thinks of me as a rival, I must have finally arrived on the e/n scene. When I first started up my site, Justin's was one of my models. FUBAR is one of my favorite sites, and has been almost a year. For the love of god, I visit it at least ten times a day! So to be considered by Justin as rival was thoroughly cool. One of the definitions of rival is "equal of," and I know Justin is a smart guy, so I kind of took it that way more than offensively.

But, I’m just not sure how to take the "Bad" tag that he has recently added next to my link.

Is it a moral judgment? Does Justin think that I am a bad person? There are certainly enough people out there in the Internet world (not to mention out there in the real world) who would probably think I'm a pretty evil person after having read some of what I've written. I'm sure there are people out there who would condemn me to hell for my turns of the phrase. But Justin? I didn't think he was all wacko-religious like that.

So, is "Bad" a qualitative assessment? Does he think my writing sucks? This would bother me more than if he thought I was evil. I may be pretty self-deprecating about it, but I have a lot of pride in my writing abilities. I think I'm pretty damn good, actually. But I think Justin is a damn fine writer as well, and if someone I respect as an "artist" doesn't respect me, man, that would be rough. I don't want to believe that option because it would just make me sad.

Does he mean "Bad" in a produce sort of way? Like "Taste this milk, did it go bad?" Have things here passed their "Best Used By" date? I think I’ve tried to keep things mixed up. I don't talk about one thing all the time (like DVDs or how much Doritos cost), I change up the design pretty frequently, and I've even added a couple hot new writers. This site is, by its very definition, fresh.

Then, what else could Justin mean by "Bad" then? I know he doesn’t mean it in a Michael Jackson circa 1987 way. Like in a "that MG is so bad I have to grab by crotch and scream now" kind of way. No, I can't imagine Justin being that into the King of Pop, even if he is from another country.

So, Justin, I can't figure it out. If you are reading this, please explain yourself. I just want to know why, all of a sudden, I’m "Bad." You know, I don't want a war. Unless you're sending me emails for free long distance, I'm a pretty peaceful guy and war never really solved anything. But if that is what it comes down to, I'll be awfully sad, but let's be realistic now – I'd kick your ass.