I’m just saying…

I’d really like to expound on the current debate of the week, if only it were in a place where it’d have more significance. But the argument is basically over, even though there was no place for it to specifically end. As is the nature of opinion-based arguments. Or even opinion-based arguments on opinion-based arguments, for fuck’s sake.

But I thought of a nice colorful visual to make analogy of the argument in question would be fun. So here I go:

When I was but a child growing up in the daycare my mom ran back in the day, we had this card game we would play known as “Spit.” The way you played Spit where we grew up, as best as I can recall, was relatively simple mechanically but very fast paced. Each player started with an equal share of the deck. They had four imaginary slots in front of them that they could place Trash Cards, and there was one stack for each player. At the start of each round of spit, each player would shout “SPIT!” and put the top card of their deck onto the empty space. Then, each player would work through their deck by placing the next card onto their pile or their opponent’s pile if the card was either one rank higher or lower or the same suit. They could place a card that didn’t work into one of their trash slots if needed, and were free to call on that card if it worked later. The objective of each round was to empty your deck out into the piles, and when your deck was empty, you got to slap the pile of your choosing (naturally, the smallest pile). You’d then shuffle and then have a new round, and keep going until a player manages to slap an empty pile, and therefore win. If it was more than two people playing, you would go until one person wound up with all the cards. It was a fun game.

This argument has been one gigantic game of Spit. Everyone came into this thing with a portion of cards, and people were going through their decks as they do day to day. Suddenly, someone had an empty hand, and found the best opportunity for them to make their slap. The game was afoot, and it was time for everyone else to slap. There were many, many piles to slap, and some slapped the same pile. As is natural, everyone wants the best pile they can slap. But the game escalated to such a level where there were many, many participants. So many, many people slapped the same piles.

Now, when a pile is slapped in Spit, let me tell you… It’s damn well slapped. The person who got the first slap on a given pile got to take that pile and add it to their deck, rather than that other pile they didn’t want to slap. But, because of the fast-paced nature of Spit, many people made for the same pile. So everyone’s hands got stacked on top of the first slapper’s hand. At this point, all they’re contributing is superfluous and repetitive slaps. And wishing they were the ones to make that initial slap.

So slappers needed to find a new pile to slap. They rushed for the next pile and the next, until all piles were claimed. Everyone’s made their slap (and on that note, here I make my slap). We’ve reached the part of the round where everyone’s slapped, and what normally comes next are shouts and hollers of who cheated, who’s the best, who sucks, and so on. Then, everyone gets ready for the next round.

And that’s what the big, dramatic arguments in webcomics really strike me as. A big game. Everyone throws their skills, thoughts, opinions, and influence into the mash and try to come out a winner. Which, right there, is the very thing. Spit can take hours to finish, if the players are very good. And when the drama rolls around, there are a lot of good players. More bad players, but still enough good players to perpetuate the game. This is why I don’t get involved much in the argument game. It takes too long, nothing truly gets accomplished, and everyone’s really in it for themselves. And the game usually doesn’t end until enough people flat-out quit in frustration or lack of interest.

If I remember right, I fucking hated playing Spit back in the day.

I could go on an on about where I stand in the numerous arguments of the day… The necessities of criticism, where it crosses the line into pretension, creative intent vs. critical interpretation, and all the flat-out mudslinging. But I’m not. Because I feel that it’s wholly unnecessary, and irrelevant. If I were to say my piece, would that change how you, the reader, or the rest of the community felt about drama argument du juor?

Although, I will speak on one topic, the issue brought up of “If we want Webcomics to grow…” etc. That’s a damned tricky question, left up to subjectivity in its own right. Some people want webcomics to achieve financial growth, others artistic growth, still others mainstream growth, and yet others personal growth. So it’s really up to the individual, isn’t it? Where they want to take their Webcomics. Where they want to see the growth. This, I hypothesize, is a predominant reason on the recent insurgence of Webcomic Collectives. Folks uniting under a common goal, working towards that goal. Like in the book world, some want to be pro writers, some want to go down in the annals of history, some want to just plain get more people to read, and some are content to write fan fiction.

So what’s my point? The inherent pointlessness of most webcomics-drama debate. People are gonna do and think what they’re gonna do and think no matter what some “influential” guy on the internet says. So why get all up ons? Why sully yourself? Just do what you want to do.

Professionals, keep making that buck. Artists, keep developing this form. Advocates, keep spreading the word. Hobbyists, keep enjoying yourself.

And critics? Keep on criticizing. However the hell you see fit.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 20th, 2005 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Webcomics, The Bigger Picture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.