“Snarking is cultural vandalism. I have arrived at this conclusion belatedly. I have been guilty of snarking, and of enjoying snarks. In the matter of snarking, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But it has grown entirely out of hand. It is time to put away childish things. I must restore my balance, view the world in a fair way, hope to inspire more appreciation than ridicule. No doubt there will always be a role for snarking, given the proper target and an appropriate venue, and I reserve the right to snark when it is deserved, as in certain movie reviews. But in general I must become more well-behaved.”

Roger Ebert, opening an essay on snark, its destructive power, its difference from satire (satire exaggerates, snark punishes; satire shows affection, snark shows none), its failure to address reality, its ability to turn the snarker into a moron, and his promise to avoid snark.

I think it’s a promise I should make.

Roger Ebert’s Journal: Hunt not the Snark but the Snarker (via natashavc)