Regardless of whether or not credential requirements are founded, those are some pretty dickhead email responses. Why cuss at someone asking a genuine question?
This is sad. I like Charles' writing (esp. Accelerando). But I think his curt, snarky replies were rather rude -- and spouting expletives to a highschool student is just over the top. I lost a little respect for him today. I will not be emailing him (ever). Hopefully I can overlook this offense enough to still read Rule34.
EDIT: The student was also in the wrong; he was being presumptuous. The best way to deal with these people is just move on.
To be honest the emails he got could have easily annoyed him and seem to have come from someone who believes he is not interrupting into someones time (especially after the first response which is reasonable for someone without "citable" credentials).
I'd like to think he gets a large amount of emails a day and the fact that this person wanted credentials but decided to email rather than research further could have hit a nerve.
Just look so far as the final response shown:
> I think that you shouldn't write articles under the mindset that you know what you're talking about...
sure, I admit the emailer went on to judge, but his initial email was:
> Hello, I'm citing your work for a debate article I'm using
> about space colonization and how it is improbable. I do
> need credentials however, and I've yet to find them online.
> If you could reply with your credentials that'd be great.
No harm in that email, very simple.
But then the blogger went on to whip out his e-peen and tell the kid to go to his wikipedia rather than just write "I'm a self taught novelist who thoroughly researches his topics he writes about but doesn't have credentials in the traditional sense".
EDIT: I apparently have no idea how to do quotes on HN despite my valiant attempt to do so. I apologize.
Because life is to short to waste on being artificially nice to dumbasses you'll never know. Sometimes it's just far more enjoyable to tell the truth and speak your mind. We should celebrate such occasions.
Furthermore, perhaps this is culturally dependent, but nothing about those questions strikes me as genuine.
There's a difference between being honest and being a self-absorbed jackass though. The original email sent by the student was harmless and sincere and the response from the blogger was pretentious and whiney.
Quite frankly, I wouldn't have posted this email exchange on my own blog if it was me because I feel it would portray me in a negative light. To each his own I suppose.
EDIT: The student was also in the wrong; he was being presumptuous. The best way to deal with these people is just move on.