Never said that it did. I said that the task facing those of us who love webcomics is to avoid falling into that mindset (new emphasis). That includes you, me, and everybody else that loves these crazy things.

Where creators are doing good work, we ought to try to make sure that people are aware of it. When people aren’t ready for prime time, we ought to provide constructive feedback.

We shouldn’t declare that certain topics, styles, or implementations are, on their face, unworthy. As we both know, some people in the ongoing dialogue about [web]comics have a tendency in that direction (and a general Us/Them mindset), and anybody with broadband and strong opinions (me, for example) has the potential to fall into that trap. And if I fall into that trap, I hope you’ll call me on it.

FYI, Eric Burns was buddies with one of the earliest webcomics pioneers, and even appeared in his friend’s strip. See http://webcomicsreview.com/?p=104
for details.

I don’t think it was that you were old-timers that Gary found ironic (or at least, not solely). I don’t think Eric Burns is an old-timer. I think it was that it was such an insular group. There are old-timers much further afield than you chose to speak to.

I look back and see myself lapsing into that mode of thinking, too. The let’s-all-work-together! initiatives I pushed last year, like the call for OhNoRobot subscriptions and the early calls for History feedback, were written for a tighter-knit community than what we’ve become. I see the changes now, but others may need help.

So, if the center includes bloggers who focus on the medium, I’m not all that entrenched… as of yet.

And I don’t think their responses were at all defensive or self-congratulatory; for the most part they were saying what the article was saying, that the old center of webcomics (to the extent that such a thing can be defined) is stagnant, a bit hostile, irrelevant and sometimes full of shit.

I’m a bit baffled by your link to a description of the French Academy. Nowhere does the article suggest our imply that such an institution should be set up in the realm of webcomics.

BTW, when I was talking about the “center” of webcomics, I merely meant that some websites (like Fleen, for instance), message boards, and individuals are devoted to a general interest in webcomics, rather than an interest in a particular artist or genre. I certainly don’t think that these generalists are more “important” than anybody else.