Of the three main drivers of internet culture-blogs, social networking sites and forums-most people in the media and in the general Internet-using public only understand two. Blogs work in a very obvious way: they're like magazines or newspapers, but light. Information spreads from blog to blog up and down the food chain, but it's pretty traceable. Social networks work in a different but equally obvious way: they're like real-world word of mouth, but easier to track, though still much tougher to control or predict than blogs.

But forums can be inscrutable to outsiders. And they get far less attention than the other two culture-drivers. "Everyone" uses Facebook and Twitter, [...]

/b/b/b/– That's all, folks!

Now, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but this is the internet, and beating a dead horse is an Olympic sport around here. So for those of you seemingly out of the loop about this Gawker v 4chan nonsense, here's a bit of context.

The titanic battle between 4Chan and Gawker seems to have shifted in 4Chan's favor, with many of the Gawker media sites available only intermittently today. Can't we all GET ALONG? Seriously, if I miss today's Gawker etiquette piece on "How To Blow Your Nose On The Subway (For Gays)" because of this I am gonna be pissed.