8 ms·

This website is beyond off-putting. I realize this was written 20 years ago, so I'm willing to forgive what, if written today, would essentially be adding cheap

This website is beyond off-putting. I realize this was written 20 years ago, so I'm willing to forgive what, if written today, would essentially be adding cheap punches to a person who fought widespread mental abuse for over a decade. But apart from that, why is there a "booble" search in the corner, and why are there charts following the cleavage line of (a quite possibly underage) Britney Spears?

Blikkentrekker 6y ago
Because it's humor that made me giggle. The humor is largely derived from there being no pædagogical answer to the quæstions you asked.
tunnuz 6y ago
Agreed, this aged terribly.
- Triv888 6y ago
  surprisingly, it does feature SSL though: https://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm https://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm
HenryBemis 6y ago
> and why are there charts following the cleavage line I always believe that these girls/boys who are dancing semi-naked, at the age of 10-17 need their parents/guardians removed/imprisoned (or worse). It cannot be that (in this example) Britney Spears was clearly being sexualized while underage. This can only cause issues later in life (if not early in life too), and for the example of Britney Spears we read about it in the news. Yes, 'normal' (not exposed to such degree) also may go off the rails and shave their heads, sue their dads, etc. but we (as a society) need to protect children better from unecessary exposure and hurtful exposure. And social media definitely do NOT help to improve things.
alimw 6y ago
Cheap punches? It would indeed be sad if Britney Spears herself were to see it like that, but let's hope she is more generous in her assessment of other people's motives than you are.
blumomo 6y ago
Came here to comment the same. The pictures of Mrs. B. Spears look terrible, disgusting, not in her favor. Poor lady, I feel sorry for her.
nsajko 6y ago
I think you're turning a blind eye towards the more than strong association of Spears' public image and marketing with her sexual appeal. I suspect that the way she was marketed as an idol was actually influential in the business. For instance, those photos of Spears were surely released on her behalf, to boost her career. Sex sells: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising
- truculent 6y ago
  There are ways to engage with sexuality which aren't demeaning or dismissive. Personally, I would not say that "Booble" qualifies in this respect. YMMV
  - nsajko 6y ago
    Could you be more explicit? "Booble" and the other stuff seems like just harmless fun to me. I'm not saying it's particularly funny, but I don't see how is it demeaning or dismissive. Is joking about this off-limits because Spears is female? If there was a fan-site dedicated to, e.g., a male bodybuilder; with similar attention given to his biceps muscles as is given to Spears' breasts here; would you think of it as demeaning or dismissive?
    - nsajko 6y ago
      Another possibly interesting comparison would be with Black Sabbath. That band is responsible for a lot of groundbreaking and beautiful music, but they're are also associated with "heavy metal", which makes them absurd in most people's eyes AFAIK, sadly tainting the perception of Black Sabbath's music. On the other hand, can you really blame anyone for making fun of the metal steretypes they let themselves be pigeonholed into? Their reputation isn't even an accident, it's connected with their target audience, giving them their niche. Arguably their music was even influential in creating the "metal" culture. The takeaway here could be that there are usually different angles from which it is possible to appreciate (pop) culture, and it's stupid to let one aspect taint another, but also that there's no point in pretending an aspect doesn't exist or treating it with excessive respect (i.e., making a fuss about people joking about it). EDIT: another relevant subject here is whether there should be subjects one can't joke with. I think I would like it if nothing was off-limits to jokes (even though I'm not especially funny). E.g., I'm pretty sure September 11 is sacrosanct in USA in this regard, and there are other subjects joking about which could get many a person quite uncomfortable, like child molestation, rape, murder, suicide, etc. I myself sometimes get quite uncomfortable when I hear jokes about Holocaust and Jews, but the real issue there is not the jokes, the jokes are just a symptom of societal issues which should make one uncomfortable. I don't know what's the best way to deal with those issues, but I'm sure that making those jokes taboo is precisely what gives them a certain attractiveness and power.
WnZ39p0Dgydaz1 6y ago
I love this comment. It demonstrates nicely how the web and (mostly American, I think other nationalities react differently) culture has changed over the past 20 years. 20 years ago this was simply funny. Nobody took it seriously. It even got an "awards" page. These days, nobody would ever want to be associated with such a site out of fear of press and social media jumping at them and ruining their career forever. Not here to judge right or wrong, I think it's somewhere in the middle, but it's an interesting observation.
- jahnu 6y ago
  I wouldn't want to be associated with such things not because I'm afraid of being lynched but because I've learned that it's demeaning to people. Pitchforks and pile are the excesses of a generally good movement to excise mean spirited or just unintentionally demeaning stuff from our culture but growing and learning to respect others is not a bad impulse. So I wouldn't pile on the author of this site but definitely will not be sharing it amongst my peers.
  - captainredbeard 6y ago
    > Pitchforks and pile are the excesses of a generally good movement to excise mean spirited or just unintentionally demeaning stuff from our culture ...just gonna point out this isn’t a universally accepted notion. Were the Salem Witch Trials governed by this “righteous” fury?
    - jahnu 6y ago
      Totally fair.
- throwaway45067 6y ago
  The other reply already said what needed to be said. I too genuinely find the site distasteful and am not just virtue-signaling for social status. I would just like to add that I'm, in fact, not American (nor Western European) and that we dislike low-key misogyny in other parts of the world too.
- 6y ago
ffgjjj64chj 6y ago
Yes and no. I think it is possible to appreciate it for what it is while acknowledging the ways in which it is problematic. I mean, can we all agree that this is neither a great work of art in the vein of a Voltaire or Boticelli, nor is it “Mein Kampf”? The site is irreverent and crass. The level of humor you is what you would expect to find on the door of a middle school boys’ bathroom stall. Imo that is about all the merit and demerit this deserves. That someone seems to have put a significant amount of time and effort into this is an amusing and sad little bit of meta.
stareatgoats 6y ago
While I sympathize with your points I believe they are missing the mark. This isn't cringeworthy today because of the mental abuse that Spears was subjected to, or her possible underage status: this has aged terribly because there has been a seismic shift in how we (as a society in the west) talk about people in general, and women in particular. In my view, bullying and sexually tainted degradation has gone (is going) out of fashion, and not a moment too soon.
- throwaway45067 6y ago
  That was my point as well, I guess I just didn't explicitly state it. Thank you for adding this comment
aaron695 6y ago
> I'm willing to forgive This website was ~7 years before her mental health issues became apparent. They don't need your forgiveness. Her breakdown was handled very badly those 7 years later by society. The Internets lack of empathy for mental illness in 2007 has been replace by the toxic virtual signalling we see today. It follows all the same patterns. > why is there a "booble" search If that's a genuine question, it might have been Brittney 'gif art' they have grabbed from somewhere, the logo seems to pre-date the website. Internet humour in 2000, was like all societies as they progress, simplistic. It's a simple match of a 'rude' (but not extremely 'rude') kinda rhyme with Google. Google also was not then what it is today, it might have been seen as somewhat of an in joke (I'm cool because I know Google and get the riff) Britney Spears was also marketed around sex at that time. The internet allowed people to leave the medias bounds and parody it or cut to the chase. See https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/memes-then-memes-now https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/memes-then-memes-now
ok123456 6y ago
It's meant to be absurd. It was never intended to be "laugh out loud" funny. The point was the juxtaposition of semiconductor physics and a pop star who made music for tweens. Remember that she was the most popular search query on the internet for a long time, and a lot of those queries were a lot more explicit than "britney spears cleavage." Look at it as a joke attempt at SEO at making basic semi-conductor physics rank higher.
shureluck 6y ago
Are you a fundamentalist Christian? You kindof sound like one.

Blikkentrekker 6y ago

Because it's humor that made me giggle. The humor is largely derived from there being no pædagogical answer to the quæstions you asked.

tunnuz 6y ago

Agreed, this aged terribly.

Triv888 6y ago
surprisingly, it does feature SSL though: https://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm https://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm

HenryBemis 6y ago

> and why are there charts following the cleavage line I always believe that these girls/boys who are dancing semi-naked, at the age of 10-17 need their parents/guardians removed/imprisoned (or worse). It cannot be that (in this example) Britney Spears was clearly being sexualized while underage. This can only cause issues later in life (if not early in life too), and for the example of Britney Spears we read about it in the news. Yes, 'normal' (not exposed to such degree) also may go off the rails and shave their heads, sue their dads, etc. but we (as a society) need to protect children better from unecessary exposure and hurtful exposure. And social media definitely do NOT help to improve things.

alimw 6y ago

Cheap punches? It would indeed be sad if Britney Spears herself were to see it like that, but let's hope she is more generous in her assessment of other people's motives than you are.

blumomo 6y ago

Came here to comment the same. The pictures of Mrs. B. Spears look terrible, disgusting, not in her favor. Poor lady, I feel sorry for her.

nsajko 6y ago

I think you're turning a blind eye towards the more than strong association of Spears' public image and marketing with her sexual appeal. I suspect that the way she was marketed as an idol was actually influential in the business. For instance, those photos of Spears were surely released on her behalf, to boost her career. Sex sells: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising

truculent 6y ago
There are ways to engage with sexuality which aren't demeaning or dismissive. Personally, I would not say that "Booble" qualifies in this respect. YMMV
- nsajko 6y ago
  Could you be more explicit? "Booble" and the other stuff seems like just harmless fun to me. I'm not saying it's particularly funny, but I don't see how is it demeaning or dismissive. Is joking about this off-limits because Spears is female? If there was a fan-site dedicated to, e.g., a male bodybuilder; with similar attention given to his biceps muscles as is given to Spears' breasts here; would you think of it as demeaning or dismissive?
  - nsajko 6y ago
    Another possibly interesting comparison would be with Black Sabbath. That band is responsible for a lot of groundbreaking and beautiful music, but they're are also associated with "heavy metal", which makes them absurd in most people's eyes AFAIK, sadly tainting the perception of Black Sabbath's music. On the other hand, can you really blame anyone for making fun of the metal steretypes they let themselves be pigeonholed into? Their reputation isn't even an accident, it's connected with their target audience, giving them their niche. Arguably their music was even influential in creating the "metal" culture. The takeaway here could be that there are usually different angles from which it is possible to appreciate (pop) culture, and it's stupid to let one aspect taint another, but also that there's no point in pretending an aspect doesn't exist or treating it with excessive respect (i.e., making a fuss about people joking about it). EDIT: another relevant subject here is whether there should be subjects one can't joke with. I think I would like it if nothing was off-limits to jokes (even though I'm not especially funny). E.g., I'm pretty sure September 11 is sacrosanct in USA in this regard, and there are other subjects joking about which could get many a person quite uncomfortable, like child molestation, rape, murder, suicide, etc. I myself sometimes get quite uncomfortable when I hear jokes about Holocaust and Jews, but the real issue there is not the jokes, the jokes are just a symptom of societal issues which should make one uncomfortable. I don't know what's the best way to deal with those issues, but I'm sure that making those jokes taboo is precisely what gives them a certain attractiveness and power.

WnZ39p0Dgydaz1 6y ago

I love this comment. It demonstrates nicely how the web and (mostly American, I think other nationalities react differently) culture has changed over the past 20 years. 20 years ago this was simply funny. Nobody took it seriously. It even got an "awards" page. These days, nobody would ever want to be associated with such a site out of fear of press and social media jumping at them and ruining their career forever. Not here to judge right or wrong, I think it's somewhere in the middle, but it's an interesting observation.

jahnu 6y ago
I wouldn't want to be associated with such things not because I'm afraid of being lynched but because I've learned that it's demeaning to people. Pitchforks and pile are the excesses of a generally good movement to excise mean spirited or just unintentionally demeaning stuff from our culture but growing and learning to respect others is not a bad impulse. So I wouldn't pile on the author of this site but definitely will not be sharing it amongst my peers.
- captainredbeard 6y ago
  > Pitchforks and pile are the excesses of a generally good movement to excise mean spirited or just unintentionally demeaning stuff from our culture ...just gonna point out this isn’t a universally accepted notion. Were the Salem Witch Trials governed by this “righteous” fury?
  - jahnu 6y ago
    Totally fair.
throwaway45067 6y ago
The other reply already said what needed to be said. I too genuinely find the site distasteful and am not just virtue-signaling for social status. I would just like to add that I'm, in fact, not American (nor Western European) and that we dislike low-key misogyny in other parts of the world too.
6y ago

ffgjjj64chj 6y ago

Yes and no. I think it is possible to appreciate it for what it is while acknowledging the ways in which it is problematic. I mean, can we all agree that this is neither a great work of art in the vein of a Voltaire or Boticelli, nor is it “Mein Kampf”? The site is irreverent and crass. The level of humor you is what you would expect to find on the door of a middle school boys’ bathroom stall. Imo that is about all the merit and demerit this deserves. That someone seems to have put a significant amount of time and effort into this is an amusing and sad little bit of meta.

stareatgoats 6y ago

While I sympathize with your points I believe they are missing the mark. This isn't cringeworthy today because of the mental abuse that Spears was subjected to, or her possible underage status: this has aged terribly because there has been a seismic shift in how we (as a society in the west) talk about people in general, and women in particular. In my view, bullying and sexually tainted degradation has gone (is going) out of fashion, and not a moment too soon.

throwaway45067 6y ago
That was my point as well, I guess I just didn't explicitly state it. Thank you for adding this comment

aaron695 6y ago

> I'm willing to forgive This website was ~7 years before her mental health issues became apparent. They don't need your forgiveness. Her breakdown was handled very badly those 7 years later by society. The Internets lack of empathy for mental illness in 2007 has been replace by the toxic virtual signalling we see today. It follows all the same patterns. > why is there a "booble" search If that's a genuine question, it might have been Brittney 'gif art' they have grabbed from somewhere, the logo seems to pre-date the website. Internet humour in 2000, was like all societies as they progress, simplistic. It's a simple match of a 'rude' (but not extremely 'rude') kinda rhyme with Google. Google also was not then what it is today, it might have been seen as somewhat of an in joke (I'm cool because I know Google and get the riff) Britney Spears was also marketed around sex at that time. The internet allowed people to leave the medias bounds and parody it or cut to the chase. See https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/memes-then-memes-now https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/memes-then-memes-now

ok123456 6y ago

It's meant to be absurd. It was never intended to be "laugh out loud" funny. The point was the juxtaposition of semiconductor physics and a pop star who made music for tweens. Remember that she was the most popular search query on the internet for a long time, and a lot of those queries were a lot more explicit than "britney spears cleavage." Look at it as a joke attempt at SEO at making basic semi-conductor physics rank higher.

shureluck 6y ago

Are you a fundamentalist Christian? You kindof sound like one.