First of all, the word "loser" has a bad connotation.  It's a label society puts on those who we think are outsiders, inferior, and strange.  No one wants to be a "loser" w/ a big L.  Perhaps the labelling and name calling is more of a high school phenomena, but I assure you that name calling also exists in the cyberworld.  Not surprising, but also quite perplexing, especially if you find out that you, unknown to yourself, are a big loser w/ a big L.  It was a year ago, on a slow day, when I was doing some random searches on Altavista when I came upon my webpage(it's a useful web master trick to find out how popular your web page is) listed on a new site: Losers.org.

Probably like the other "losers" listed, I first experienced a state of shock, disbelief, and then anger.  How did they find me?  Did I really deserve to be called a loser?  Did I just not realize that I was a loser when in actuality I was?  Why ME?  What gives them the power to do this?  I later accepted my place on Losers.org; it was great for conversations.  Below is my online journal entry that I wrote the day I discovered my Losers.org fate which includes an email I never sent.

Losers.org is separated into different categories like "goths", "hobbyists"(that's me), and other such things that usually make up personal webpages.  I felt that Losers.org was a blatant attack on people's right to be who they want to be, their own unique selves.  I have two personal webpages and I know how people pour themselves into their personal webpages, whether they are just simple ones created with a WYSIWYG(What You See Is What You Get) software like Netscape Composer, or something that uses the latest Flash technology.  I respect criticism, but I don't understand how labelling someone a loser accomplishes anything.

Wow..i guess i deserve a huge pat on the back cuz I made the "hobbyists" page on losers.org.  This is what they(the labellers) have to say about me, whom they label a "hobbyist"(is it a crime to have a hobby these days anyway?): "They have bizarre interests. They spend their time in strange on [sic] unfruitful ways. They brag about it. They scare friends and relatives. They're hobbyists."  Hmm..oh do I?  Actually, this "labelling" was an attack on my midi pages, which were part of my first web page.  Their specific comment was "Hurray for you and your MIDI PAGES."  Well, thank you..and hurray for you and your pages of "losers".

Here is the email I was about to send them but decided not to(because I DO have a sense of humour).

You may post this email if you want.  Actually I WANT you to, please.  What an idea.  It's all in the name of fun eh?  Well, I did read your disclaimer and I still do not agree.  I do not intend to be hostile, but my opinion just happens to differ from yours.

Here are the reasons why I am disgusted by your site

1) a personal webpage is obviously a very PERSONAL thing and how do you classify anyone as a loser anyway?

2) it takes plenty of time to make a page(nice or ugly), and I don't find your site as any encouragement for anyone to create a personal webpage.  Rather, it is a discouragement for one to be oneself, which I feel personal webpages are all about.  We have enough judging and labelling going on in real life.  I see the WWW as a place where you can express yourself quite freely.  I feel that your immature, hypocritical, ridicule(see, i can be a name caller too)is merely a sign that you have nothing better to do.  You call yourselves losers, too and I can't help but to agree.

from Mayling's Themestream.com archive