May 2013

On the weighty issue of GIF pronunciation (hard G, of course), you might want to consider that the j-sound-preferring GIF inventor who everyone loves to cite as an authority, Steve Wilhite, was a nag and consummate bore on this subject since the 1980s. (And he's still at it.)

Says Charlie Reading:

I worked with the creator of GIF (Steve Wilhite) when I was still employed by CompuServe. Steve always pronounced it "jiff" and would correct those who pronounced it with a hard G. "Choosy developers choose GIF" (spinning off of a historically popular peanut butter commercial).

[Exaggerated eyeroll]

So it was not only counterintuitive to use a soft G, it was considered funny to pronounce it the same way as a food product with a lame, coined name. Philip Burgess writes:

Anyone who pronounces "GIF" with a hard G simply does not understand computer programmers (and any programmers who still insist on this silly pronunciation are simply unfit). No *decent* coder would pass up an opportunity to inflict a horrid pun on the world. And seeing as peanut butter is one of the principle three programmer foods (the other two being Pepsi and nacho cheese Doritos), the reference is immediately obvious.

So, in conclusion, use the hard G and feel good about it.

URL-shortener web utilities such as bit.ly, tinyurl, etc, which convert well crafted blog titles into Mxyzptlk (Superman's foe), messed up the whole naming scheme of the web, what was left of it, and the forced anonymity, duh, provided yet another tool for phishers and scammers to hide behind.
So, instead of the logical thing, which is to go back to clear and comprehensible URLs such as http://www.tommoody.us/archives/2013/05/23/short-urls-for-tiny-minds/ (which aren't really all that long), what we need is... another web utility to find out what long URLS are hiding behind short URLs! Behold once again the genius of Silicon Valley.

Salon:

Speaking live to a survivor of the deadly tornado in Moore, Okla., Blitzer declared the woman “blessed,” her husband “blessed,” and her son “blessed.” He then asked, “You’ve gotta thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?”

But as she held her 18-month-old son, Rebecca Vitsmun politely replied, “I’m actually an atheist.” A flummoxed Blitzer quickly lobbed back, “You are. All right. But you made the right call,” and Vitsmun graciously offered him a lifeline. “We are here,” she said, “and I don’t blame anyone for thanking the Lord.” Nicely done, Rebecca Vitsmun.

For the "get off my lawn" view on Yahoo's Tumblr acquisition, here's internet privacy and neutrality advocate Lauren Weinstein's take on the situation. Despite being a free speech devotee himself, he calls the sale "Yahoo's Big Tumble Into Big Porn, Big Sleaze, and Perhaps, Big Trouble."

Around here we're not as judgmental about content as Weinstein comes off sounding in his post, despite what certain YIBIs (young internet based idiots) think. But Weinstein's view of the multifaceted, polymorphously perverse Tumblr world as the domain of twisted "Uncle Ernies" gives us a foretaste of what will be the consensus establishment view, once people who've just heard about Tumblr start looking under the covers.

Facebook zealots of the hipster persuasion don't like to talk about that company's contractors in developing countries monitoring U.S. posts for bad words and subversive ideas. Possibly because, up until now, the zealots had Tumblr as a place where pre-Facebook-style transgressive net content thrived. David Karp just effectively said, f*ck your freedom, I'm getting paid today.

So, how many months will elapse before erotic Tumblrs start getting flagged by offshore hall proctors?

[edited for tone]