Interview: Drew Curtis of Fark.com
By Drift on Jan 10, 2010 in Drift Magazine
By Ant Perrucci
Drew Curtis is the owner and proprietor of Fark.com, a popular news aggregator Web site. User-provided content is given a (usually humorous) headline and a topic tag, then commented on by other users until something new happens or all the funny has been beaten out of it three or four times over.
Where some topics tags, like “Amusing,” “Stupid” and “Dumbass” have obvious connections to their stories, Florida is in a league of its own. Our fair state’s weirdness has given Florida the unique distinction of being the only state to have its own tag on Fark.
Curtis spoke with Drift recently to explain how he came to recognize the wonderful Florida-ness of Florida and why it’s so nuts down here.
Drift: How did the Florida tag come into existence?
Drew Curtis: It was probably early 2001, because everybody started pushing for it after the crazy presidential election down there.
I didn’t believe there would be enough articles for the Florida tag. I thought it would be [used] maybe once a week, turned out it was three or four times a day.
D: What is it about Florida that makes it so weird?
DC: I think it’s probably culture clash. You’ve got such a really weird cross section of people running around there. You’ve got rednecks, old Jews, Cubans, Haitians, tourists. Plus weird weather and dangerous animals that can kill you just by looking at you.
I guess a lot of people know that Florida’s crazy. Every once in a while something completely unexplainable will happen. My favorite was a police chase in Tampa that wound up driving 2/3ds of the way across the air force base.
D: People have been asking for a Texas or Ohio tag. Why does Florida deserve to be singled out?
DC: Florida doesn’t really have an excuse. There doesn’t really seem to be a reason for it. It’s not that they’re known for anything in particular.
Ohio is a close second, but I’m resisting it because Ohio sucks. Not a very interesting state.
Fark on Florida:
July 24, 2008: Three people injured in horse drawn carriage accident. This is not a repeat from 1512.
Jan. 6, 2006: Deputy uses Taser to drop charging black bear. Critics complain any other kind of bear would have been let off with a warning
Mar. 12, 2007: Palm Beach County prosecutor survives shark attack while surfing. Was let go due to professional courtesy
Oct. 16, 2007: Why Fark has a “Florida” tag, reason No. 12,794: Central Florida strip club offers free flu shots with the purchase of two lap dances
Sept. 13, 2006: Florida gets its first ethanol gas station. In related news, reports of Floridians going blind mysteriously on the rise
Dec. 1, 2009: Florida player gets a DUI the week before the SEC championship. Expected to be suspended for at least the entire coin toss
Feb. 3, 2006: Man arrested for trying to sell cocaine to uniformed police officer sitting in a marked cop car. “Florida” tag barely edges out “Dumbass”
June 27, 2007: Today’s “Man wakes up with a headache, goes to an emergency room, and discovers he’s been shot in the head” story brought to you by Florida. Again
Oct. 13, 2009: Warning issued after python is seen in neighborhood: “Residents are advised to be vigilant and call authorities if approached by the snake, which is said to be unarmed”
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3 Comment(s)
By Dave on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply
Drew Curtis pushes a very bias, republican agenda and supports some very draconian adminstrative policies regarding his website. He consistently belittles the progressive agenda with his pro-republican agenda while unfairly penalizing any thoughtful discussions that don’t fit his birther, anti-gay views.
In short, if you are a progressive and have even a slight bit of rational thinking, avoid Fark.com. Most of the trolling right wingers there are either one of Drew’s many logins, or simply moderators that he pays to stir up a flame war. Don’t waste your time with Fark. It’s a complete waste.
By Ant on Feb 5, 2010 | Reply
Dave: You’ll get over it.
By @ Dave on Feb 5, 2010 | Reply
As a member of the Fark and Total Fark community since 2002, you don’t know what the hell you are talking about.
Carl Hiaasen explained Florida’s “wackiness” best… The state has rather liberal bankruptcy laws (you can rob your shareholders blind, but your $5 million house will remain yours if you file for bankruptcy). He says, and I paraphrase, that it is as if someone picked up the country and tilted it SE… all the sludge and dregs of society ended up in, what is affectionally called (not a Hiaasen quote), the country’s wang.