DISQUS

Shooting at Bubbles: Calling out Gabe and Techmeme over favoritism and censorship

  • Gabe Rivera · 3 months ago
    Dude, do you know what censorship is?

    Techmeme is trying to be best broad tech industry news aggregator out there, and that's it. It's not a forum, it doesn't guarantee everyone a voice. That's part of what makes it good.

    I think you know why I don't want Inquistr to appear much. I believe your boss makes up news as link bait. As in actually *fabricates* news. I know for sure he did that about me, and I have good reason to *believe* he did so about the $800 Macbooks (which Techmeme helped spread to my regret), and about things only *he* seems to hear on the radio, etc. etc. If you understand the role Techmeme plays, a site like Inquisitr can be poisonous to the mediasphere if Techmeme amplifies it.

    I'm not sure that Inquisitr will *never* appear on Techmeme, but I'm generally pleased that it usually does not.

    Easy solution for you: just work for someone else.

    BTW, *this* is Arrington's fault somehow? (LOL!)
  • StevenHodson · 3 months ago
    Yes I do know what it is Gabe - it is when a person, or group, decides what they want people to read. The moment you went from a pure algorithmic selection of post for listing to one that was human edited (even slightly) you are bringing in human bias. Granted even algorithms can be manipulated but the human decision making process makes it a lot easier to select what it printed and what isn't.

    No-one is asking for a guarantee only fairness - which you have decided not to do by your own admission - which by the way also backs up and suggestion of censorship because you yourself stated that at no time will you allow any Inquisitr story to appear on Techmeme - that is censorship.

    Manufacture news ... linkbaiting?? Oh give me a fucking break . so snappy headlines about yet another iphone story or Twitter earth shattering news on TechCrunch that is so tweaked in order to pull in reader is a news post and yet if Inquisitr does it it's linkbaiting. Pfft. It's okay for other major blogs to post "questionable" posts and yet The Inquisitr makes up stories .. give me a break.

    The Inquisitr is no more "poisonous" than any other blog. Every tech blog out and every old media newspaper through their online version that appears on Techmeme has at one time or another fucked up - some correct themselves others don't.

    As for working for someone else .. I doubt very much that anyone would be willing to better my current current working conditions Gabe - either in money or editorial freedom.
  • vanelsas · 3 months ago
    Gabe, your Techmeme always seemed to be an independent news source to me, in a world where we all know stories are played. Your response here proves me wrong. It's censorship, no matter what angle you look at it. And that's sad.
  • Corvida Raven · 3 months ago
    Stop worrying about Techmeme, you have bigger fish to fry Steve. It's pissy, but you can't control it so don't let it get to you. Focus on another site that appreciates your work. Your fans will follow suit and may have already jumped on the bandwagon.
  • StevenHodson · 3 months ago
    After a year of seeing this kind of shit happening even a cranky old fart has his limits Corvida :)
  • Duncan Riley · 3 months ago
    Corvida
    let me say you are the wise voice of wisdom.
  • Karoli · 3 months ago
    Wow, I would've liked to have known this, too. I was linked to that post with the malware. Could not believe that a NYT link would serve it up so readily, but there it was, screaming in my face. At the time, I couldn't find one thing on it, so started to figure that I was nuts, or the person who linked me had the malware.

    I'm having my own battle with one of the "power players" in the political blogosphere. It sucks, is unnecessary, and does not serve either person's readers well. I hope that Gabe will examine his algorithm, fix anything that needs to be fixed.
  • StevenHodson · 3 months ago
    He made it obvious with his reply Karoli that he has no intentions of changing anything - which doesn't surprise me.
  • tdhurst · 3 months ago
    It's not censorship, it's favoritism.
  • StevenHodson · 3 months ago
    see my reply to Gabe.
  • Paul OFlaherty · 3 months ago
    Steven, first off let me say I agree with Corvida on this one. Sit back, take a deep breath, a shot of brandy and don't let this stuff get to you.

    It's hard to tell how much Gabe is influenced by Mike Arrington in this, if at all, (even though they are friends) and it would appear that Gabe has a genuine problem with Duncans integrity.

    As for the truth behind it, I know not a jot, but I would trust that it is probably misguided as I trust YOUR judgement and wouldn't expect that you would work anywhere that would reflect badly on your integrity.

    I would suspect that until both Gabe and Duncan settle this issue then Techmeme is destined to be an Inquisitr free zone and getting yourself all worked up about it is futile my friend.

    Again I recommend sitting back, relaxing, having a brandy, whiskey (or 2, or 2 of each) and let it all slide by.

    That said, it would be great if Gabe and Duncan would settle this.
  • StevenHodson · 3 months ago
    As I said to Corvida even cranky old farts have their limits and since writing at The Inquisitr I have seen this happening over and over - at some point my frustration just bubbles over :)

    And you are right - if I felt there was any justification to what Gabe says I wouldn't be writing there but Duncan has always been fair and more than honest with me and that is all someone can ask for.
  • Paul OFlaherty · 3 months ago
    As an after thought, wouldn't it be in Duncans and The Inquisitrs best interests to make a statement one way or the other on this and either bury the hatchet with Gabe or at least make his position known?
  • StevenHodson · 3 months ago
  • Duncan Riley · 3 months ago
    Paul
    sorry I'm late to the thread. We've publicly offered proof previously on the Apple story, and the Radio story quoted here is a matter for the public record. See my other comment on the thread for more. I'm not sure how much more honest and open I can be on what I'm accused of. I am far from perfect, and we don't always get it right, but we've never made stuff up, period.
  • Paul OFlaherty · 3 months ago
    Thanks Duncan. I've read the posts Steven linked to and your own commentary and links on the thread and I thank you for being so forth coming and honest. For me, the greatest judge in all this is that Steven continues to work for you. I respect his judgment and that speaks volumes to me.

    Again, thank you :)
  • Duncan Riley · 3 months ago
    Thx Paul
    I think the youngest of those links is nearly 12 months old now, which is why I'm surprised to see it come up again today. I don't think I've so much as written about Techmeme, let alone read it since then, and although naturally Gabe and I will likely never eye to eye, I've well and truly moved on. We can't always change others, and I can only influence what I do myself in my actions. Despite his bitterness, I do wish Gabe all the best.
  • Duncan Riley · 3 months ago
    I find it fascinating at Gabe Rivera continues to slander me despite having presented evidence previously backing the two things he claims I made up.

    For the record, the radio interview he refers to was on the ABC (our BBC/ CBC) and when I wrote the post the transcript wasn't available. It was however available the following day (which I note is standard for the ABC, although sometimes they're quicker) and can still be found on this link:
    http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2009/s...
    The transcription is word for word perfect with what I wrote on The Inquisitr I should note.

    As for the $800 laptop, I received a tip that proved to be inaccurate. I have offered in the past, and will happily offer again proof of the tip, and access to my email logs to prove that it was an incoming tip (only on the basis that the source is not disclosed.... I give my word that I'd not disclose the name, and I'll stick to it.)
    Here however is a sample of the Twitter messages that started it all (with the name removed naturally)
    http://skitch.com/duncanriley/b9eg3/apple

    I'm not sure how much more transparent or honest one can be before the likes of Gabe Rivera will ever be satisfied. I've never made up a story in my life, but sure we've gotten some things wrong, as I would suggest most sites do at some time or another. That getting something wrong is a ground for exclusion is interesting given that a number of sites currently featured on Techmeme have made reporting mistakes far greater than we ever have.

    I welcome your sentiment Steven, but don't let it worry you. We've moved on and grown.