Before she had that major stroke, my mom used to hate it when people talk because they HAVE TO talk—I’m usually the one who causes her this annoyance, actually 😛 I needed to have somebody do this to me before I realized how annoying it really is.

In college, I’ve met idiots of every kind. And since I went to the Ateneo de Manila University for my collegiate education, it was usually the “smart idiots” that I encountered. That’s the kind of idiot that you could consider amusing—not exactly irritating. I mean, afterall, it wasn’t really their fault that they led such a sheltered life that you’d need to really watch them while crossing the street or they’d get run over even by a slow-moving tricycle! Besides, the “smart idiots” I’ve met in college were really good people—they’re just so gullible that I spend most of my time telling them silly things that they actually believed to be true.

I never really knew what my mom meant when she told me the anecdote: “Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools, because they have to say something.” Well, not until I joined the Philweavers 😛

Philweavers is a small community of Filipino web designers based here and abroad. There are a lot of smart people there, and very nice ones too. There are actually quite a few whom I can consider my friends (online or IRL). But like any other community, there will always be the ones who give “Fools” in the anecdote a whole new meaning.

The community used to have an email newsletter—the “main thing” that distinguished forum members from the actual Philweavers members other than the profile on the site’s directory. It was a good thing they scrapped the newsletter and just moved the interaction into the forums—I was already beginning to feel I was getting spam mail from the group everyday. And worse, it’s usually the fools who just had to say something that send those “spammy” emails.

If you still don’t get what I mean about those “fool-like” comments… Just think of it this way… Post a legitimate web design-related question, and get a variety of answers. The rainbow of answers you will get is very entertaining (if you’re in a good mood, but extremely iritating if it’s your period). There will be some who would sincerely like to help you, and offer really good suggestions and solutions. But there are some who just wanted the list to know they exist and say a just-brushing-the-topic-a-little kind of answer.

It’s one of those instances where you want to tell somebody, “oh, just shut up please,” you know? Well… Nasty me DID say that more than once already 😀 Sometimes I cloak it with carefully chosen words, but the meaning is basically the same: shut up. But there are those who just don’t get it.

I recently wrote an article regarding Web Design Piracy upon the request of Berg. I guess they were getting fed up with the increasing disregard for intellectual property—the ones who just don’t get the difference between “ripped” and “inspired.” I had a feeling that the article will get some flack from some (it was an editorial article, with my opinion, so it’s expected), but I got to admit that I was still a bit surprised that there would be an idiot who would comment for the sake of commenting 😛

He said something about the article being “bull,” and that I should check my grammar first before I write about piracy. HUH?! What does my grammar have to do with piracy? Understandable he’d think my article is “bull”—everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. But with the “reasoning” he gave, I don’t know whether I should laugh or just scratch my head in confusion.

Unfortunately, the moderators deleted his comment. I would have loved to keep it there so I’ll have something to go back to in case I needed a laugh. But I guess the moderators didn’t want prospect clients surfing the site to see that the Philweavers have a few idiots within. Oh well :p