Website Hall of Infamy
September, 2003 Winner: Heroes of the World Trade Center Trading Cards
September 11, 2001 was one of the most tragic days in U.S. history. Two years later the U.S. is still reeling from the ramifications of those horrible attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Unfortunately some people have the idea that this tragic day in history is a great opportunity to make money. The Heroes of the World Trade Center Trading Cards is one such example. Just reading this excerpt from front page alone would let you conclude that this site gives capitalism a bad name:
On September 11, 2001, the most vicious and destructive suicide attack in the history of the world erased 220 stories of the World Trade Center from the skyline of New York City.
The Pentagon, a symbol of the United States' military might and an icon for the nation's independence, was seriously broken.Four commercial aircrafts were destroyed. Seven other buildings came down or were seriously damaged. The New York Stock Exchange was closed. Hundreds of thousands of Manhattanites couldn't return to their homes for weeks. And over 3,000 human lives were taken.
Chestnut Publications, Inc., employing a team of highly skilled writers, researchers and editors, has put a "human face" on the victims and heroes of the World Trade Center attack. The families of these Heroes have provided us with stories, biographies, poems, drawings, and photographs. Through these we have put together a series forged out of the heroism of others, and done with the utmost respect, appreciation, and a sincere sense of privilege.
We are offering you a chance to share the history of these heroes for generations to come, through a 202 collector card sets entitled "The Heroes of the World Trade Center." These cards are considerably less expensive than the cost of traditional collector cards, and much more valuable. An 8% royalty of gross sales will be paid to these families; a significant contribution being made to the people who deserve it the most. We are helping to give recognition to those whose faces and stories may never have been known. It's a piece of history, a heart-warming collection, a touching gift, and an investment for the future.
So these trading cards are not just a way of remembering those who died or helping the victims' families but they are also "an investment for the future"?!? So are the people behind this site saying that I can buy a limited edition Complete 202-Card Collectors Set for $39.99 that contains profiles of firefighters and police officers who died in that tragedy then turn around one day in the far-off future and sell the same set on eBay and hope that someone bids $100 or higher for this set? Give me a break!
There are a lot of ways that one can respectfully honor those who died on September 11, 2001. Buying these trading cards is not one of them.
UPDATE (July 13, 2004): This site appears to be off-line now. Click here to check out a screenshot of this site in its prime.
August, 2003 Winner: The Internet is Shit
Okay, let me get this straight. The person behind this site thinks that the Internet sucks so much that he/she finds the time to get a web hosting account complete with a unique domain name, learn some rudimentary HTML, create this site, then post it on the very same Internet that the site creator thinks is a piece of shit.
This is just like having a right-wing Fundamentalist Christian pay money to go into a porn theater and denounce pornography in front of the other people in attendance.
Granted, the writer does make a few legitimate points. Yes, I do agree the Internet should not be the sole source of information and that people should try visiting their local libraries, reading newspapers and/or magazines, and watching the news on television in order to get other information that the Internet may have overlooked. I agree that people should spend more time trying to meet each other in person in a bricks-and-mortar public place instead of hiding behind some user ID in an online messageboard or Usenet newsgroup. I agree that the Internet has been overcommercialized and there are too many sites that are little more than glorified advertisements for consumer products. I agree that many sites are not neutral in their opinions and that too many sites have inaccurate or overblown facts (especially the ones that have a particular political agenda). I also agree that there are lots of crummy sites with thin content out there (like The Internet is Shit).
But saying that the entire Internet is a piece of shit that should be abandoned or shut down or whatever because a few sites suck or some people spend way too much time online is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Here is how the website is urging visitors to revolt against the Internet:
"There's no point in undoing what has been done. What we need to do is change our attitude. The internet isn't new any more. The evangelists have done their job. Everyone's heard of it even if they don't spend their lives logged on. Now its the job of the congregation to revolt. Chant it from the rooftops, spread it across your server, email it to your friends. The internet is shit."
What good does chanting "The internet is shit" from your rooftop or sending messages to your friends and enemies will accomplish? And why use the Internet to organize an anti-Internet movement if you think the Internet is an awful way to organize other people into a new movement?
If you think the Internet in its current form sucks, try doing something constructive about it. Create your own site that articulates your original vision. It could be a blog of your own writings (including short stories and poems), a site that's full of your original Flash animations, an online shrine devoted to a historical figure who has been unjustly relegated to obscurity, or a messageboard that's devoted to a single topic. Try doing a site on a topic that either hasn't been done before online or it hasn't been covered competently on other sites.
Just don't sit around moaning and groaning about how the Internet really sucks if you're not willing to take a stab at reforming it in some small way.
July, 2003 Winner: AnOreXic AdDiCt
This site was started by a person who states on her site (complete with spelling and punctuation errors) "I just want to inform everyone that I am in fact not anorexic. What I am is bulimic, which is not to my liking. Why do I run a pro-anorexic site and not a pro bulimic site? Mostly because for one thing, I dont' want to be bulimic, and I would much rather be anorexic."
This is just like having a woman with breast cancer stating that she hates her condition and would rather have colon cancer because she doesn't have to risk being less beautiful if she sacrifices a piece of her colon instead of one of her breasts. The point I'm trying to make here is that just as breast cancer and colon cancer are potentially life-threatening diseases, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are also life-threatening conditions. You aren't doing yourself any favors if you switch one life-threatening condition for another.
Yes, it can be more gross to vomit your food on a regular basis (as most bulimics do) than to just simply starving yourself (as most anorexics do). But the results of anorexia are still nasty, including hair loss and having that skeletal look that resembles a Jew who has just been liberated from a Nazi concentration camp.
As someone who nearly became obese (but has since recovered), I can understand with her quest to be thin. But there is a healthy way to go about it (by exercising and eating a balanced meal that's low in sugar and saturated fat) and an unhealthy way (by vomiting or starving oneself).
This person clearily needs professional help. I hope a member of her family or one of her closest friends sees this site and convinces her to get help.
UPDATE (July 13, 2004): The site is now off-line. I hope that the woman behind this site got the help that she needed. Check out a screenshot of this site in its prime.