<nettime> Peace offer snubbed as Nettime Brouhaha approaches third week

[Danny Butt <db {AT} dannybutt.net>]

ANYTOWN, U.S. (AP) - In a dramatic move to end the 'Nettime  
Brouhaha', listmember James Smith today sent a private email rather  
than publicly continuing the conflict over "gender issues", which is  
now entering its third week.

The email, sent to a number of recent contributors, expressed concern  
that the list was "getting bored" with this discussion, and he hoped  
that his offer to "take it offline" would soon restore order in the  
troublespot.

Smith's close associate, John Citizen, expressed his admiration and  
relief at the move. "It's driving me crazy. They sound just like my  
wife when she asks me to do the housework. It's like I can never do  
anything right.  I come to the Internet to get away from that stuff."

However, representatives of the feminist network who have been making  
life unbearable for male members over the past 14 days were  
understood to be unmoved by the offer.  A continuation of the  
brouhaha, which has seen record numbers of women posting to the  
mailing list, appears likely.

One person connected to the feminist network, who did not wish to be  
named, said that they could not guarantee when or if the brouhaha  
would end, and denied Smith's version of events. "I think 'scared' is  
a better description than 'bored'."

The spokesperson was unrepentant about the carnage, which has seen a  
longtime contributor, also male, tarred, feathered, crucified, and  
driven from the list. However, the contributor in question has  
bravely continued to send his missives to the list via a third party.

Smith was especially sickened by men being repeatedly compared to the  
KKK, a charge that feminists deny. Another longtime contributor to  
the list was simply baffled by the constant harping and negativity.  
"I don't know what they're talking about. I go to work and my boss is  
a woman, and she just bought a new car. In fact, there are more women  
than men in our company, more than ever. So it's a joke to talk about  
sexism on nettime. If they're real feminists, why aren't they talking  
about women in Iraq or Afghanistan or North Korea."

He also defended the original incident. "I know of a number of women  
who have posed as men on nettime. In fact just last week one of them  
posted under the name of 'Dick'. It's a double-standard."

Most listmembers looked forward to returning to their real work of  
speculating on the future of the Internet. Previous incidents have  
tended to pass quickly, as the nettime list was not usually seen as a  
high-profile target for feminist activity, due to its rugged terrain  
and a recent decline in natural resources.




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