XKCD
Some postin' from the webcomics megathread at Something Awful...

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I know better than to get involved in this sort of discussion, but whatever, I'm in the mood right now I guess.

Hentaikid:

Oh god it's like he wants to be successful. That bastard, it makes me sick.

Whatever. What is the point in being successful if it's not you who is successful; if you're not expressing yourself and doing your best to make a positive and worthwhile contribution to the culture. What is the point. Money? You can earn money any old how. When you are in a politically or -- as is the case with Munroe -- culturally influential position, you have a responsibility to improve people's lives; to add something good or interesting or thoughtful or helpful to the world.

XKCD doesn't do that. It feeds on shit, and shits that shit out again, tenfold -- out into the world, condoning, validating and encouraging even more shit.

Nobody wins here! XKCD's readers aren't challenged; their lives aren't enriched; and Munroe himself... Once, he expressed himself with XKCD. It mightn't have been brilliant, but it was at least honest and hopefully therapeutic. But now, it has fans. Fans who embrace and validate the very personality problems that Munroe might have otherwise used the comic to work through. They (and he) have made it too easy to be Randall Munroe. Now, he -- and as a consequence, his comic -- will stay the same, maybe for the rest of his life. And he's too young and stupid for that.

But fuck Munroe; I don't know the guy -- it's his comic that's the problem.

The issue with XKCD -- and all shitty webcomics -- is not whether it's a comic or not. The issue is not whether Munroe is more or less popular than other cartoonists who are more talented and have worked harder for success. The issue is that XKCD is shit. It is shit. And when I look at the culture we inhabit, one thing I can say without doubt or hesitation is that we

DON'T

NEED

MORE

SHIT.

No, I don't have to read XKCD, or Ctrl+Alt+Del, or Questionable Content. But they exist, and they retard the culture, and that affects me. So fuck them. The onus is not upon me to ignore them, the onus is upon them to fuck off and die.

Don't talk to me about success. Success is not something that makes the world worse.

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PresterJohn:

A responsibility to improve people's lives? Come on, dude.

While I can agree that extremely good comics might demonstrably improve readers' lives

Perhaps I should clarify. What I mean is that good art improves people's selves, which in turn improves their lives and the lives of those they interact with -- which is ultimately all of society.

Phylodox:

Yeah, I don't think people get retarded from reading XKCD or eating at McDonald's or watching reality television.

Well they certainly don't get any fucking smarter.

And what if there were no XKCD, no McDonald's, no reality television? What if the people who create things created them intelligently and responsibly; what if the whole culture was enriching, and not just bits of it? Would that perpetuate, do you think? I like to think that it would.

I'm speaking idealistically, of course. But ideals can and should inform pragmatic decisions.