Babylon Sticks: Your Vote Counts

Two mushrooms - for meta-metahumor :)

As someone whose friend attempted suicide, I don't find this at all funny. Things like this are only funny in the abstract, when you can't connect a person you care about to the situation. You may claim "artistic license," but there's nothing artistic about a gag comic making fun of suicide. Then again, hasn't this site previously featured games that showcase suicide? I guess anything is considered funny if you have no objections to laughing at other beings' pain.

"There's always Friday!"

I'm tempted to give this comic two mushrooms, but it's just too funny.

I'm sorry for the pain your friend has gone through, but I think you're overreacting. If you can say this about this comic, then what about all the games that are posted on this site that involve being shot down in planes, dying when falling off buildings, being shot by weapons and killed by a variety of other things. I also think the focus of the comic is not on the suicide but poking fun at the ratings...the suicide was just a method of showing his overreaction to the rating his game received. I understand your feeling that you need to stand up for your friend and others in similar situations, but I would be so bold as to say that it's better to express things publicly in any form than repress them and pretend they don't exist.

Hoping someone say that these are mushrooms like "Good game, 5 mushrooms." 5 mushes to the comic.

@ Not Laughing, Jay said last week that people can skip the comics.

As someone who deals with depression on a daily basis, I can understand where Not Laughing is coming from. Personally, I'm not offended at this cartoon; but then, I've been offended at other fairly begign comments out there on the net.

I just wanted to add my thoughts and say to Not Laughing: my best wishes to you and your friend, and my understanding. :)

I voted it 2 mushrooms because meta.

He's not contemplating suicide, he's thinking about throwing pennies... or something.

Is it bad that this is the first thing I've ever given two mushrooms?

Who is Paul Coker Jr.?

Re: Not Laughing

As someone whose father committed suicide (+ several other friends and relatives committed or attempted) I agree it hits close to home, and I myself am not laughing.
That doesn't mean the subject should be avoided in comedy.
No matter the subject, there is always someone having objections, in fact, that's kind of the point with comedy. Almost all comedy worth the name is based on things that might be offensive to someone. Common subjects are embarrassment, intelligence, sexuality, ideology, morbidity, and obscenity.
Things like this might hurt me, or even ruin my day. But that's life.

Paul Coker is an american illustrator, for whoever was wondering.

I think its worth analyzing the comic in more detail before objecting in principle. Its basic message is "do not commit suicide if you are set back", so I do not see any problem with. Comedy is not necessarily about misery. Most of the time it is based on sensemaking, we consider something funny, if an otherwise situation making sense is emptied of meaning through bizareness. In this case about a thing, a bad community rating, we never would consider as a reason anyway.

As Gedankenexperiment if the comic would the person splatted on the street and the passant saying "that you get when you got only 2 mushrooms" than I agree, thats not funny. (and sorry for bringing this example) but this comic is valid.

babylonstick, you really know the dilemma of developers with ratings ;) .

@funnyface--even though your second paragraph got garbled somehow, your point is so valid, as is the point made by the JIGuest two comments up. Comedy is the thing that most clearly points to the worst in us as people, the most malign, the most sinister, and the most sad.

But, having had more than one friend commit suicide, I did not take it at all in the negative way some of the folks here did. In fact, this is one of the funniest yet. And the fact that it's completely, 100% metanarrative on our little JIG community (at least, I for one don't know any other games sites that give mushrooms as ratings!), makes it extra funny.

Great job, Babylon Sticks!

Dots, again was definitely the BEST! Loved it!

I find it extremely scary that people get offended by generalized comedy and satire (as opposed to jokes that SPECIFICALLY target them or their situation).

I didn't find the comic very funny. The joke's very unoriginal and weak compared to the usual material of BS.
The Paul Coker Jr. banner is a cool little detail though :)

Oh goodie! A new BS! Let the drama begin. (I see it already has.) @Sonic I'd peg you for a google head and I bet you looked the name up right after you posted.

The funniest thing for me is that nothing ever rates a 2 on JiG.

Is it weird that all I can think of when I see this is "why is there a big peanut on his back?"

As someone whose friend's game only got two mushrooms I find this cartoon in very poor taste.

=D

(I know it's wrooong...)