by Marcuse » Wed May 27, 2015 3:03 pm
This article is basically the reason I've tired of content from Cracked. I suppose to be fair it'd be the reason I'd tire of content from anywhere, so it's not like it's a Cracked specific complaint, but it's where I see it so it's what I'm complaining about.
The theory goes that trolling readers keeps people coming back whether the content is any good or not, because the content is designed to create outrage and get people talking. It's the equivalent of tabloid journalism, but worse because it doesn't have the veneer of professionalism that journalism had, given it's apparently dead.
I suppose the annoying part is that it does work, in the same manner strip mining works. It's destructive, and short term and causes long term damage but it does, in the short term, work. I'm annoyed by the premise because it is harmful in the long term, but they characterise an exodus of long term users supplanted by a transient base of short term visitors with no reason to come back for tomorrow's content as genius when I feel like it's the problem that's making me not enjoy the site as much any more.
Obviously that's variable to different authors, but still, it seems like this trolling mentality is at the heart of modern Cracked and it's what keeps me away. It makes me sad and angry because I really do want to like the site, I just can't condone this kind of content creation and I don't enjoy it.