In fact, Penny Arcade covered these events quite well with this little gem:

Click for uncensored version

Now, much like the social media flowcharts from last week, there’s a handy guide on Internet arguments, and the best ways to avoid them (take the high road). The chart was created by the Not Quite Wrong webcomic, which is overseen by Rosscott, Inc, the same guys who did the “So You Found Something Cool on the Internet…” flowchart that taught us how to correctly cite the content you’re sharing.

Their latest creation (via Laughing Squid) teaches us what to do when the something makes you mad on the Internet. While taking the high road is the obvious, most logical suggestion, sometimes pride takes over and people just have to let their opinions be known, no matter how petty or, well, sad it makes them look.

The chart in question:

Click for the full-sized version

From there, unless the high road is taken, it descends into a “YOUR GAY FACE DOESN’T EVEN MAKE GAY SENSE” morass. The goal is, quite clearly, to avoid getting to that point, something the creators indicate in the post that accompanies the flowchart:

I think we’ve all seen it before, the argument online that gets out of hand. Our message is simple, the minute you engage you probably should have walked away. So don’t get angry, just chill the fuck out and eat a sandwich. I mean look at Professor Internet. He seems like a smart cat. Better listen to him.

Smart words from smart people. Or, is letting the other person just how horribly incorrect they truly are really that important?

If so, perhaps the “You need help!” suggestion isn’t that far from being accurate.

Protests Grow Over Wikipedia Deletions

“[O]ver 50 articles on webcomics were deemed not to meet their notability guidelines and were deleted during January and February of 2007,” according to a Wikinews article.  And that article isn’t just an isolated complaint – when Howard Tayler, the creator of Schlock Mercenary, first addressed the subject, his five paragraphs received 133 responses.

That was six days ago.  Now the topic has reappeared on Slashdot, and hundreds more comments have been made.  Those who are against the articles’ deletion are frequently calling for people to ignore Wikimedia’s fundraising attempts.

Wikimedia depends on donations to survive, so these requests could have quite an effect.  What other effects this whole episode might have remain unknown – it’s been suggested that fighting is one of the reasons behind a drop in activity on Wikipedia.

Still, this could help resolve one of the biggest ongoing debates within the Wikipedia community: what sort of articles should be included in the online encyclopedia.  A lot of people are hoping that some of the lesser-known webcomics make the cut.