Talk:Underground Literary Alliance

I think Emerson's edits mischaracterize the criticisms of the ULA on alt.zines and slant them in Karl and the ULA's favor. I know he is a member of the groups and is definitely the one to be filling out their goals and history, but perhaps he should consider limiting his editing on the section of criticism of the group so it doesn't appear so biased?

I do realize I was one of the biggest critics ULA when they were more active on alt.zines a few years ago and really shouldn't be the person to present that section as well, but it's frustrating when I attempted to present the feelings that were aired on alt.zines to find them so severely edited in the ULA's favor. Maybe a more neutral party at some point could read through the fairly lively discussions and summerize the criticisms from other zinesters? It was certainly a lot more than just of "the organization's stated emphasis on spin and ballyhoo" and I don't even have a firm grasp on what "openly narcissistic post-modern writing" even means :) --Dan Halligan

I thought your edits were overtly biased, and I think the standing version is more neutral. For the record, I am listed as a "supporter" of the ULA (not a "member"), and I'm not interested in using this space to make them look good. If you examine the edits, you'll noticed I toned down Steve K's rhetoric much more than yours. Edameron 18:41, 14 July 2006 (EDT)

You are listed on their Membership Roster on this webpage and have a profile there: http://www.literaryrevolution.com/members.html Believe me, I checked before making any comment. I really think there were a lot of legitimate criticisms of the ULA from many members of the zine community that you reduced to something very trivial. While years later it doesn't really matter, I didn't even know they were still around, but I'd hate for history to be rewritten incorrectly. --Dan

Trust me, Dan, I don't care about protecting the ULA's image here. I just want the wiki to be as neutral as possible, not a soapbox for one party or the other. I thought you and Steve K both went overboard on making your personal positions known. I tried to focus the "criticism" section more on the facts of the debates and less on your assumptions about the ULA's motives and expectations. If you want to re-write it, go ahead, it's all yours. I've already invested all that this is worth to me.

If you can't parse "narcissistic postmodern writing," I direct you to a much simpler Italian expression: "All smoke, no meat." I think that saying, coincidentally, sums up a lot of people's denunciations of the ULA (if not yours): "The ULA is all smoke (hype) and no meat (writing)." Edameron 19:00, 14 July 2006 (EDT)

I gave it one more edit, which I hope you won't find dismissive. Your move, Dan. Edameron 19:13, 14 July 2006 (EDT)

Hey, boys. I just wanted to let you know that my name appears as a recent edit on the Criticisms section because I corrected a spelling error. I promise I didn't sneak any bias into that "n" that I inserted. Actually, I wanted to add that, as a non-biased reader (which I am -- feel free to Google my name, Dan, to make sure I'm not a sneak; I'm quite unaffiliated), I think the section is absolutely neutral as is. It's succinct and seems to fairly treat all parties. As you were. Kate 18:53, 14 July 2006 (CDT)