Whither Wayne?
October 20, 2006 1:42 PM Subscribe
What is your opinion of Wayne Madsen?
It seems pretty clear to me that at least 95% of the stuff he posts is completely unsubstantiated and unreferenced fantasy but perhaps this is in keeping with what appears to be the stated intention of running a sensationalist rumour mill. However, I often scan his site--usually for the entertainment value--and notice that every now and again he'll post something that seems both very detailed and very obscure to the point of causing me to wonder why it is even there.
The general vibe I get is that he plays something of a "useful idiot" role in that if there is a legitimate story that the power players are afraid might leak, somebody makes sure it leaks to Madsen well in advance so that by the time everybody else hears about it there will be a good chance it blends in with the rest of his tabloid absurdities. It's this suspicion that keeps me scanning his site. Am I giving him too much credit or not enough?
It seems pretty clear to me that at least 95% of the stuff he posts is completely unsubstantiated and unreferenced fantasy but perhaps this is in keeping with what appears to be the stated intention of running a sensationalist rumour mill. However, I often scan his site--usually for the entertainment value--and notice that every now and again he'll post something that seems both very detailed and very obscure to the point of causing me to wonder why it is even there.
The general vibe I get is that he plays something of a "useful idiot" role in that if there is a legitimate story that the power players are afraid might leak, somebody makes sure it leaks to Madsen well in advance so that by the time everybody else hears about it there will be a good chance it blends in with the rest of his tabloid absurdities. It's this suspicion that keeps me scanning his site. Am I giving him too much credit or not enough?
This post was deleted for the following reason: chatfilter, "what's the deal with x?" doesn't make a good question
What specific problem are you trying to solve, and how will you recognize the correct answer when you see it?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:00 PM on October 20, 2006
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:00 PM on October 20, 2006
Response by poster: True, but I guess I'm only interested in opinions from people who are already familiar with him.
posted by well_balanced at 3:01 PM on October 20, 2006
posted by well_balanced at 3:01 PM on October 20, 2006
Response by poster: Steven C: No specific problem, just asking for opinion out of curiousity. Perhaps not the usual Ask Mefi question but not entirely out of bounds I think.
posted by well_balanced at 3:04 PM on October 20, 2006
posted by well_balanced at 3:04 PM on October 20, 2006
Best answer: From the FAQ:
Ask Metafilter questions need to have some possible answer or should be asking for information that will be put to some practical use. Chatty open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of Ask Metafilter and push other questions off the front page. If you want to avoid having your question flagged and possibly removed, here are some things to avoid.
- Questions where everyone's answer is equally valid along the lines of "What's your favorite X?". Maybe there is a reason you want to know? Super, just put it in your question.
- Asking the question and giving your own answer before getting the answers of others, saying some variant of "I'll go first" If you can authoritatively answer your own question, it's probably not right for AskMe.
- Questions with no problem to be solved or where the problem is some variant of "I'm curious if other people feel like I do"
- Open ended unanswerable hypothetical questions like "What if Hitler had never been born?"
- Questions that are some version of "What is the deal with X?"or "X sucks, am I right?" tend to not go well on Ask MetaFilter.
Put another way "...if your motivation for asking the question is 'I would like to participate in a discussion about X,' then you shouldn't be doing it in AskMe. If your motivation is 'I would like others to explain X to me,' then you're probably OK."
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:11 PM on October 20, 2006
Ask Metafilter questions need to have some possible answer or should be asking for information that will be put to some practical use. Chatty open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of Ask Metafilter and push other questions off the front page. If you want to avoid having your question flagged and possibly removed, here are some things to avoid.
- Questions where everyone's answer is equally valid along the lines of "What's your favorite X?". Maybe there is a reason you want to know? Super, just put it in your question.
- Asking the question and giving your own answer before getting the answers of others, saying some variant of "I'll go first" If you can authoritatively answer your own question, it's probably not right for AskMe.
- Questions with no problem to be solved or where the problem is some variant of "I'm curious if other people feel like I do"
- Open ended unanswerable hypothetical questions like "What if Hitler had never been born?"
- Questions that are some version of "What is the deal with X?"or "X sucks, am I right?" tend to not go well on Ask MetaFilter.
Put another way "...if your motivation for asking the question is 'I would like to participate in a discussion about X,' then you shouldn't be doing it in AskMe. If your motivation is 'I would like others to explain X to me,' then you're probably OK."
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:11 PM on October 20, 2006
My bet is that well_balanced actually is this Wayne Madsen guy and just wants to know what people think of him.
So may I be the first to say that Wayne Madsen is creepy.
posted by jlowen at 3:27 PM on October 20, 2006
So may I be the first to say that Wayne Madsen is creepy.
posted by jlowen at 3:27 PM on October 20, 2006
Response by poster: Steven C: I guess you are right. I suppose according to the FAQ my question is indeed out of bounds for Ask Mefi. Feel free to flag this.
Which brings up the point of that there should be an Opinion Filter for this kind of thing perhaps. I just wanted to get Mefi's general opinion, which seemed like a legitimate objective. Perhaps I should have phrased it in the form of a question that would have specifically produced answers related to Madsen's historical credibility, if any. And, um no, I am not Wayne Madsen.
posted by well_balanced at 3:38 PM on October 20, 2006
Which brings up the point of that there should be an Opinion Filter for this kind of thing perhaps. I just wanted to get Mefi's general opinion, which seemed like a legitimate objective. Perhaps I should have phrased it in the form of a question that would have specifically produced answers related to Madsen's historical credibility, if any. And, um no, I am not Wayne Madsen.
posted by well_balanced at 3:38 PM on October 20, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Rash at 2:56 PM on October 20, 2006