When Stickheads Fight

It appears Rachel Moran finally realizes that Sticks of Fire is a editorially schizophrenic blog with a passive-aggressive blog master. Her comment is a rare glimpse into how Tommy Duncan communicates through email.

Frankly, if you’re really looking for feedback, I’ll tell ya I don’t know what the hell you’re doing anymore.

Are you just editorials and boilerplate e-columns? Are you trying to get as many local views in as possible?

I’m not sure - the voices aren’t particularly cohesive, but they do seem somewhat uniformly aligned on the political continuum.

For awhile, I thought you were trying to be neo-news, but when I wrote you something that all the newspapers actually took quite happily from me, you sent me this pissed-off email telling me I was presumptuous and then asking me if I was getting paid (not that that was presumptuous or anything).

I never figured out why you were so annoyed, because I considered SoF a viable source of information equal in audience and respectability to the papers (and, also, you wouldn’t pick up your phone!).

The point being how can anyone say anything definitive about Sticks of Fire? You’ve got a ton of readers because there’s at least one post every few days that someone can kill some time with and think about, but other than that, it’s this jumble that defies any criticism of the sort you’re asking about simply because, well, your intentions are a little unclear, so who’s to say you haven’t fulfilled them perfectly or not?

Either way, I don’t know that I’d sweat an angry developer who did not actually mention you.

The intentions are that Tommy and Bill Sharpe or trying to make money off a commercial blog. The problem is they don't have the skill or savvy to go big time. I have lefty blogger friends who receive more traffic a day than SoF. What amazes me is that local bloggers get suckered into writing for free on someone's else's for-profit blog.

Rachel's comment was followed by the usual hostile reaction by a Stickhead.

Brett Says:

July 30th, 2007 at 11:00 pm.

You communist bastard.

I have always been fascinated with the Stickheads giving Tommy this Jim Jones-level of loyality. The Stickheads were mostly silent (some even defended) Rachel's pro-assault on homeless post. Tommy left Rachel to be chewed up by the lefty blogosphere (which is I played a hand in) and never wrote a post amount the largest controversy in SoF history. Hardly transparency or a profile in courage.

Let me spell this out to the Stickheads. Tommy is a backup singer in a cover band. He makes snarky comments in blog posts because he doesn't know what he is writing about most of the time. I have taken pains to point out that he is an expert on nothing. That is all he is. He is not the blog messiah and being buddies with him isn't going to give you more notoriety.

I also had the same problems with email conversations that Rachel had. Tommy took pains to point out that are email exchanges or "offline." Short answer: not to be republished on blog posts. He then wrote this wonderful piece of punditry.

Offline, Hussey and I have discussed politics now and again. Admittedly, he’s much further to the left than I. Specifically because of that, I asked him contribute to the voices here at Sticks, so his viewpoint can get the attention it deserves. He declined.

Tommy is so ethically challenged that it's really sad.

As for who is right or wrong in the Tommy/Rachel feud - I couldn't tell you. I do think Rachel's comment about SoF are on the money.