Frank and the Fora

(sounds like a 50's a ccappela group)

Since Frank magazine, Canada's (formerly) Satire and (formerly) humour magazine, has shut down its online fora, I'm at a loss as for where to go to get my fair share of online abuse. Former Frank forumites have emigrated to two places. Most have moved to an ez-board site, and a few are hanging out at the lower-key, lower-traffic dooneyscafe.com Forums. Unfortunately, the ez-board is missing some of the more interesting (former) forumites, and Dooney's isn't weasel-proof.

Ah well. There's an interesting piece on the imminent death of Frank at betterlivingcentre.ca.

And now for a couple of reasons Frank has sunk so fast.

1. While alienating regular readers with broad pronouncements about how the mag was going to be "less puerile" it in fact managed to actually become more puerile and less entertaining. This is no mean feat, since we Frank readers love our puerile, we do! But more puerile from "humour" writers with no sense of humour seems, well, just puerile or something.

2. There appears to be an ideological shift going on. Frank was great because it slammed everyone across the board, regardless of political affiliation. The new unimproved Frank, however, seems keener on kicking those who are down. Far as I can see, there ain't a lotta yucks in afflicting the afflicted and comforting the comfortable. Bashing welfare bums and civil servants for the simple fact that they live off my tax dollars is neither good muckraking nor funny. And if I wanted to hear how shitty some moron thinks public healthcare is, I'd buy the Toronto sun.