Thursday, 9 October 2008

It's A Shame

This could be a bit of a ramble, faithful reader, so bare with me. Or is it "bear"? I can never remember...

I had a rant a week or so ago about a couple of gobshites on OG. Now, I have to qualify that. OG is a wonderful forum. It is full of intelligent, friendly, clever and funny people with a love for the television programme we all adore. We don't always agree - how boring would that be - but we discuss it, anally, with each other in, mostly, a reasonable, adult, amiable manner. Mostly.

Now, let me explain. I worked for the Beeb in a freelance capacity for years. I know the series intimately. I know the production, the cast, the writers, mostly, and I know how it works. I don't work there any more. The reasons are long and varied, but suffice to say I don't. I was asked though, discreetly, to keep an eye on the spoiler zones, and see what was happening. I was also told that certain things could be "leaked" to pique the interest of the average fanboy and was sanctioned to post these, with a little discreet editing. And that's what I did. Now, I thought I would get "wow, those are great" or "i hope this happens" etc... and, on the whole, I did. Nice guys and gals at OG, proper people. Then, boom. I couldn't believe it. Two posters in particular - not just two, but usually - began a tirade. I mean viscious. I was a liar, a conman, a piss taker. I was undermining the very fabric of reality. I interfered with vulnerable groups. They demanded to know my date of birth and national insurance number, my mothers maiden name and, more importantly, my sources! How dare I post a juicy piece of gossip on a fan forum about a television programme without being credit checked, located on a register and shot. I have to say it surprised, shocked and offended me. Occasionally I fought back. Now, this just made it worse. I should have realised. I was feeding the trolls. I mean, sad little individuals who live in their mum's spare room and hide behind an internet connection they probably don't even pay for, an, occasionally go "muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum! I'll be down presently MOTHER, I am at this juncure fighting off the Moldorn with my virtual magic bean bag, I shall have my hoops in due course!" don't need much encouragement to be centre of attention, because, if i dig out my first degree, I'm sure psychologists would say that a naughty boy will be naughty for attention, whether that attention is good or bad. I mean, I can't believe someone would be so worthy as to make themselves so unpopular with absolutely everyone just to stand up on the moral high ground they pile for themselves for the very people who are going "you know what? can you shut the fuck up? no one is listening...". Or, for that matter, care. It's a fucking television programme! Best one in the world, of course, to us, but Jesus Christ (non blasmphemous comment, being wiccan!), it's not like I worried a sheep or scared a child! I said "Patrick Stewart Might Be The Meddling Monk". Jeesh, shoot me now, I'm such a bad man! However, for guys who would embalm their own mother then dress like her after she dies, maybe that is the height of drama in their little lives. Making themselves unpopular with people they will never meet. A look at their profiles tells you that, no friends, no details, just blank. Like the look in their eyes whilst doing the one handed typing to YouPorn or wondering what a grown woman looks like naked in real life. Terrible, little men. As I've said before - to a little anger it has to be said - I'm a man, a guy, a lad. I drink bud and I go to the football. I have a girlfriend. Sometimes, I even have sex. With her. And I go "ref, you're having a fucking laugh mate!". Not at the same time, of course. No referees in my bedroom. My point is, that, if I have a problem with another man, in a man's way, I'd say, ok mate, let's meet up, let's discuss it, like adults, in person. That doesn't mean "I'm going to kick fuck out you, you stupid little turd" it means "Stop hiding, be a man, stand up, be accountable" and offer to do the same. But no, that wasn't to happen.

So then another occurance yesterday, after Lee and I had discussed maybe just ignoring them, that I received an email from, indirectly, the top dawgs of the programme saying "look, thanks, we appreciate the publicity, and the flack you took, but, basically, can you stop now?" Looks like the smokescreen of real spoilers was a ruse to send a stinger to find out where the unofficial ones where coming from. Most that would be Paul McGann (the stinger, not the leak) and, with his permission, McGanngate was set up. I kinda knew, mostly, eventually, cos I never stopped digging, and my phone call at the weekend and email yesterday confirmed that. Pity, it would have been a great story. Now it's a great story for another reason.

So, by request of the the Powers That Be, I'm stepping back from the Spoiler Business. Make no mistake that I do that due to respect for them and the programme. If every one of my spoilers turns out to be a lie, then, you know what? I'm glad. Cos you know what it's done? It's deflected the spies away from the actual business of making this fantastic programme, it's kept the real secrets secret, and that's a good thing. Isn't it?

I do however have one last piece of very, very interesting news, and this is uniquely for my blog. The guys at OG who know me will read this, and those are the guys it is for. It's not, as we say in Scotland, for the bawbags to comment on. So, after a little i dotting and t crossing, I'll have this final - for now - bombshell with you before the day is out.

Happy Times and Places

Eddie

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for the spoilers...as a complete spoilerphile (totally addicted lol) i really appreciated reading them. I never commented on the spoiler thread on OG (to be honest, i only really comment on the non DW parts of the forum, cause i think it'd be bad for my blood pressure to start getting involved in the new series section) so i thought i'd give my thanks here.

Unknown said...

The main thing is not to lose your temper with the OG trolls. I did and got an irreversible life time ban for my pains whilst my irksome troll continues to post to this day.

BaaBaaDooFarm said...

Eddie -

Even if you can't do spoilers anymore, I hope you continue this blog. We've grown attached to you! Er...not literally, but you know what I mean!

- Gyrf

JohnB said...

Ta for the spoilers on O.G. - fortunately I didn't see any of the nasty posts as they had been deleted.

Honestly, why do folk get so het up? I've never bothered if a spoiler turns out to be false. It's all rumour, speculation with a wee bit insider knowledge thrown in.

Also, folk have to consider that the production team probably feed stuff out to send folk of on the wrong tracks; also, plans get changed at the last minute. That doesn't mean the poster of the spoiler is a big fibber! And even if the poster was, so what?

Regards,
JohnB

Nina K. said...

Mostly, OG is a fine place. But sometimes, just sometimes, I think it's too forgiving for trolls and rude people. Stronger moderation would be a good thing. Oh well...

Thank you for everything so far, Eddie! As I've said before, don't let unworthy people ruin your mood. :) arwyn-t from OG

pixletwin said...

Thanks Eddie. I have appreciated every spoiler you posted and you said (and like I told TDT) if none of them makes it to the final cut so much the better because the joy is in the ride as much as in the destination.

Hope you don't leave posting OG. Sans spoilers I have found your posts and a few of the threads you have started to be a great read.

Brave hart Tegan! er... I mean Eddie.

Kevin said...

Fuck 'em, dude. I was excited as the rest of them when I thought McGann was coming back...like, really excited. Now when I see it is unlikely for the time being, all I can do is chuckle. A whistfull chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless. Anyway, spoilers or not, I will continue to check out your blog as I appreciate your perspective.

Your pal,
Kev

PS "guys who would embalm their own mother then dress like her after she dies" is pretty hilarious.

neofish said...

Well, pretty much I just lurked in the spoiler thread, not having anything constructive to say. But I hugely appreciated your spoilers, and the spirit in which they were passed on. I'm not certain why the entire thread had to be closed, when the judicious removal of the guilty parties would have sufficed, but it seems that the spoilers from yourself were drawing to a close anyway. Still, thanks for providing such great food for thought. I look forward to anything else that percolates out via your blog.

Christopher D. Heer said...

You'll certainly be missed in the spoiler thread at OG, Eddie (assuming it ever reopens...), but I'll happily follow your blog for both spoiler-related and non-spoiler-related musings, as I enjoy your writing on most any topic.

Frank Collins said...

Thanks Eddie for explaining the position on OG in detail.

It is a shame that all this behaviour - both by the posters and Mods on OG and, in a way, coupled with Upper Boat's 'sting' operation, has back-fired and closed down the Spoiler Thread. I can understand Upper Boat's desire to stop the flow of damaging spoiler info to an extent but did it really have to come down to shutting down the thread permanently?

Or maybe that was Upper Boat's intention all along? Yeah, call me paranoid.

But in the end if the spoilers don't bear fruit it doesn't matter. If some do, then whoopie. But thanks for sharing and hopefully if you do make it back to OG you won't get such a rough ride again. I enjoyed having you around.

Keep the blog going if you can.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Eddie, your spoilers were greate and you deserved not one iota of the bile you received. Likewise, Lee.

But please don't leave DWF, even if you're not going to spoil anymore. Like I said before, your posts are invaluable for cutting through the chaff. Keep it up.

Cheers

Nic