Suck.com: Difference between revisions
grammar |
imported>GreenC bot Rescued 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#villagevoice.com |
||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
| type = [[Politics]] & [[Popular culture]] | | type = [[Politics]] & [[Popular culture]] | ||
| registration = | | registration = | ||
| language = | | language = English | ||
| owner = [[Automatic Media]] (from 2000) | | owner = [[Automatic Media]] (from 2000) | ||
| founder = Joey Anuff and [[Carl Steadman]] | | founder = Joey Anuff and [[Carl Steadman]] | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
''Suck'' was initiated in 1995 by writer Joey Anuff and editor [[Carl Steadman]], two former employees of ''[[HotWired]]'', the first commercial online magazine.<ref name=Quittner>[[Josh Quittner|Quittner, Josh]]. [https://www.wired.com/1996/11/web-dreams-2/ "CULTURE: Web Dreams: Young punks and Old Media hacks. They're all on the Web chasing the same dream: money, power, ego-fulfillment - and the quick Sell Out. This is the story of Suck, by Josh Quittner, the hopelessly conflicted editor of Time's Netly News,"] ''Wired'' (Nov. 1, 1996).</ref> The name of the website, Suck.com, was chosen as a [[domain name]] with possibly offensive connotations — though apparently not enough to be disallowed by [[Network Solutions]], which controlled the [[InterNIC]] system for the distribution of domain names before [[ICANN]] acquired that authority.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} The name also described the nature of "[[news aggregator]]" sites that "sucked" stories from the internet and published them in magazine-like formats.<ref name=Quittner /> | ''Suck'' was initiated in 1995 by writer Joey Anuff and editor [[Carl Steadman]], two former employees of ''[[HotWired]]'', the first commercial online magazine.<ref name=Quittner>[[Josh Quittner|Quittner, Josh]]. [https://www.wired.com/1996/11/web-dreams-2/ "CULTURE: Web Dreams: Young punks and Old Media hacks. They're all on the Web chasing the same dream: money, power, ego-fulfillment - and the quick Sell Out. This is the story of Suck, by Josh Quittner, the hopelessly conflicted editor of Time's Netly News,"] ''Wired'' (Nov. 1, 1996).</ref> The name of the website, Suck.com, was chosen as a [[domain name]] with possibly offensive connotations — though apparently not enough to be disallowed by [[Network Solutions]], which controlled the [[InterNIC]] system for the distribution of domain names before [[ICANN]] acquired that authority.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} The name also described the nature of "[[news aggregator]]" sites that "sucked" stories from the internet and published them in magazine-like formats.<ref name=Quittner /> | ||
During 1996, ''Suck'' | During 1996, ''Suck'' hired writer [[Heather Havrilesky]], who wrote the column ''Filler'' under the [[pseudonym]] of "Polly Esther". | ||
In 1997, ''Suck'' published a compilation of the site's most popular essays in ''Suck: Worst-Case Scenarios in Media, Culture, Advertising and the Internet'' ({{ISBN|1-888869-27-5}}). | In 1997, ''Suck'' published a compilation of the site's most popular essays in ''Suck: Worst-Case Scenarios in Media, Culture, Advertising and the Internet'' ({{ISBN|1-888869-27-5}}). | ||
| Line 55: | Line 55: | ||
==Regular columns== | ==Regular columns== | ||
*''Hit & Run'' — a link-driven summary of recent events.{{efn|In 2002, after Suck.com's demise, editors [[Nick Gillespie]] and [[Tim Cavanaugh]] brought ''Hit & Run'' to ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' magazine website as the group [[blog]]. Gillespie and Cavanaugh brought along several other Suck.com writers to contribute, and fostered a style in the blog matching ''Suck''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sarcastic attitude. ''Reason'' editors referred to this co-opting of the former website as the "''Suck''-ification of ''Reason''".<ref>{{cite news |first=Cynthia |last=Cotts |title= A Marriage Made Online: How 'Reason' Came to 'Suck' |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0304,cotts,41332,6.html |work=The Village Voice |date=January 21, 2003}}</ref> In 2005, ''Hit & Run'' was named one of the best political blogs by ''[[Playboy]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Top 10 Political Blogs |journal=Playboy |date=November 2006}}</ref> }} | *''Hit & Run'' — a link-driven summary of recent events.{{efn|In 2002, after Suck.com's demise, editors [[Nick Gillespie]] and [[Tim Cavanaugh]] brought ''Hit & Run'' to ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' magazine website as the group [[blog]]. Gillespie and Cavanaugh brought along several other Suck.com writers to contribute, and fostered a style in the blog matching ''Suck''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sarcastic attitude. ''Reason'' editors referred to this co-opting of the former website as the "''Suck''-ification of ''Reason''".<ref>{{cite news |first=Cynthia |last=Cotts |title= A Marriage Made Online: How 'Reason' Came to 'Suck' |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0304,cotts,41332,6.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050210134134/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0304,cotts,41332,6.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 10, 2005 |work=The Village Voice |date=January 21, 2003}}</ref> In 2005, ''Hit & Run'' was named one of the best political blogs by ''[[Playboy]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Top 10 Political Blogs |journal=Playboy |date=November 2006}}</ref> }} | ||
*''Filler'' — a weekly self-deprecating satire of cultural pretension and dating in [[postmodern]] times. | *''Filler'' — a weekly self-deprecating satire of cultural pretension and dating in [[postmodern]] times. | ||
Latest revision as of 06:14, 22 October 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "check for clobbered parameters". Suck.com was an online magazine, one of the earliest ad-supported content sites on the Internet. It featured daily editorial content on a great variety of topics, including politics and pop-culture.[1] Launched in 1995 and geared towards a Generation X audience, the website's motto was "A fish, a barrel, and a smoking gun".[2] Despite not publishing new content since 2001, the site remained online until December 2018.[3]
History
Suck was initiated in 1995 by writer Joey Anuff and editor Carl Steadman, two former employees of HotWired, the first commercial online magazine.[2] The name of the website, Suck.com, was chosen as a domain name with possibly offensive connotations — though apparently not enough to be disallowed by Network Solutions, which controlled the InterNIC system for the distribution of domain names before ICANN acquired that authority.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The name also described the nature of "news aggregator" sites that "sucked" stories from the internet and published them in magazine-like formats.[2]
During 1996, Suck hired writer Heather Havrilesky, who wrote the column Filler under the pseudonym of "Polly Esther".
In 1997, Suck published a compilation of the site's most popular essays in Suck: Worst-Case Scenarios in Media, Culture, Advertising and the Internet (Template:ISBN).
In the years 2000 to 2001, cartoonist Peter Bagge did a number of comics journalism stories for Suck on such topics as politics, the Miss America Pageant, bar culture, and the Oscars.
Closure
In July 2000, after a decrease in Internet investment, Suck.com merged with Feed Magazine to create Automatic Media.[4] The concept was to streamline operations and collaborate on boutique operations with low staffing costs. The joint project, Plastic.com, was founded with only four staffed employees.[5]
Despite the site's faithful following and a combined reader base of more than one million, however, Automatic Media ended in June 2001.[6][7] On June 8, 2001, Suck.com declared that they were "Gone Fishin'" indefinitely,[8] and the site ceased to publish new content.[9] Regarding the indefinite hiatus, co-founder Joey Anuff said, "It was a shame. On the other hand... it’s shocking how long Suck lasted."[10]
Archive email newsletter
During the autumn of 2015, software developer Mark MacDonald began serializing the website's archive in an email newsletter, which is sent on a daily basis 20 years to the day after its original publication on Suck.com.[11]
Style
From the beginning, site founders Anuff and Steadman created daily comically cynical commentary with a self-obsessed and satiric theme. The writing was accentuated by the art of cartoonist Terry Colon. In addition to Colon's distinctive artwork, the website also had many features common to its articles. The main text of each article was restricted to a table only 200 pixels wide.[2] Most articles featured links within the flow of the content rather than as in labeled footnotes or references, which was less common then than it would become a few years later.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Recognition
Suck.com was nominated for Webby Awards in both 1997 (Books and Magazines category) and 1999 (Humor category).
Regular columns
- Hit & Run — a link-driven summary of recent events.Template:Efn
- Filler — a weekly self-deprecating satire of cultural pretension and dating in postmodern times.
Staff and contributors
Staff
- Carl Steadman, co-founder, writer, and editor, became the owner of Plastic.com.
- Joey Anuff, co-founder, writer, and editor.
- Tim Cavanaugh, editor in chief from 1998 to 2001, became web editor of the Los Angeles Times opinion page, and then a contributor to Reason magazine.
- Ana Marie Cox, executive editor (who wrote as "Ann O'Tate"), was later the writer of the popular blog Wonkette and wrote for Time.com
- Heather Havrilesky
- Owen Thomas, copy editor and managing editor at Valleywag.
Contributors
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
See also
Notes
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Quittner, Josh. "CULTURE: Web Dreams: Young punks and Old Media hacks. They're all on the Web chasing the same dream: money, power, ego-fulfillment - and the quick Sell Out. This is the story of Suck, by Josh Quittner, the hopelessly conflicted editor of Time's Netly News," Wired (Nov. 1, 1996).
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Sharkey, Matt. The Big Fish: Ten years later, the story of Suck.com, the first great website Keep Going. September 1, 2015
- ↑ Bralker, Brian Gen Xers rejoice: Suck.com comes back as a daily newsletter Digiday. March 19, 2016.
- ↑ Tapper, Jake Jake Tapper on Twitter: "@owenthomas @carr2n @anamariecox that is some old school ish." Twitter. March 23, 2013
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".