Agreed, however the primary attribute of the Douchebag is that they know it, and enjoy being one. Negative attention is still attention.

Two word counter argument: Chubby Chasers. I am one. More for me.

Nope, it's the reward for building a ladder of other people's bodies to climb your way to the top.

Also, at what point has humanity not been comprised mainly of a wasteland of stupidity? And what, exactly is wrong with that? Some people were born/raised with the capacity to appreciate subtle culture. Other people were born/raised with the propensity to post pictures of their friends/family and talk about it online with each other.

If they enjoy playing a simplistic treadmill game and spending money on it, why shouldn't people develop content for that. It's not like Michelangelo-2012 is going to decide to shy away from creating a masterpiece so he can draw virtual cows for people to click on and breed.

Right, but Mr Ryan isn't addressing users, he is addressing people who are considering spending development money to create programs that will separate end users from their money. He is right that there are more of these types of people on Facebook.

There was still a "fall". The evolution of consciousness brings us the "fruit of the garden of eden" i.e. the knowledge of right/wrong, good/evil, i.e. free will. In this particular nugget, they are compatible.

Now if only "Jesus" can be transferred back into metaphor, and salvation to be considered knowing what good is and pursuing it, and asking for forgiveness when we transgress, rather than literally being interpreted as a magical bearded man born a few thousand years ago. That and forgiving me for terrible run-on sentences.

You are very judgmental and close minded. Also, a little short sighted. I read, text, daydream, talk with my friends, draw, listen to music on public transit. Waste of life? It is life. Sitting in a car, where I can't really dedicate much thought to a complex topic that isn't the road? That is a waste of life.

Again, you're stretching here. I regularly carry groceries and things that are essential on my bike. Things that are larger, I have a bike rig that I connect to the back. It's convenient, easy. It takes less time to get to and from the store than in a car.

I'm glad that you've decided that riding the bus and riding a bike are wastes of time for you. It's your life. I'm shaming you for deciding that everyone else who had chosen to do these things is making a poor use of their time.

Really? The cars slow down for the bikes? I ride 20 miles a day, and those cars are pretty stationary waiting for the light to change during rush hour while I zoom past them. I easily shave half my commute time by riding a bike. So, "wasting my life" is a fallacy. Net time saving. I don't have to shower after every ride. I also don't get into an accident every time I ride. It seems as if you are reaching for something to be wrong with this.

1) You are classist and are putting an artificial premium on your preference to use a very specific computer in a very specific way.

2) I would argue that the vast majority of people do not need to know how to use a computer. If they have a hand gadget that lets them watch video, listen to music, and stay in touch with people then the invisible hand has spoken

3) Don't all the slashdot form-factor fascists *want* these people off the PC platform so they stop influencing desktop OS design and bugfix priorities? I think the scouring throngs who are sunshine deprived would love for a second, separate internet / gadget platform to fork and splinter off so that they can wipe their cheeto stained hands on their shirt and return to their clackity and clunky desktops, unencumbered by the silent majority of luddites.

It's been happening since the dawn of slashdot. What are technology cry-babies, except for hipsters that aren't cool (Just like the stereotype hipster who "likes everything before you ever did" isn't cool.

Listening to slashdot members cry tears over people using the internet in ways they don't approve (facebook, twitter, flash, ipods, etc) is so parallel to the stereotype of a hipster, but with programs replacing music and art.

No, being politically correct is respecting diversity and realizing that, for example, the white mens' club is extremely offensive to racial minorities, women, political minorities, etc. For example, being politically correct means that having a business meeting at a strip club is now frowned upon. Or, perhaps a black person might like to work in an office where being referred to as a "nigger" is banned. This is not tiptoeing. This is common fucking courtesy.

Unfortunately, many members of said club disliked losing their former free reign and exaggerated the practice to walking on eggshells, lest they make the slightest transgression against the smallest of sub-groups. This cartoon of political correctness is a shame, because most sane people believe they should be able to work in an environment without prejudice or bigotry.

There are also, however, instances when the smallest of sub-groups cry wolf and raise a big fuss. Overall theses annoyances are worth the tradeoff. For example, women can now wear pants in the workplace, which makes them much more fun to chase.

Well, she's certainly more influential than a sweaty nerd who wouldn't understand talent or normal human sexuality if it were walking around right outside his mother's basement bedroom window.

I am in love with this idea! I'm sure that this will do so much better than my fax-me-a-burrito service that I drove into the ground in the early 90s.

Would you prefer that Google scanned your emails and figured out she was your ex-wife and kept her off the list?