Circle Jerks
http://www.alistapart.com/stories/circlejerk/

Zeldman, Jeffrey
List Apart, A
2001

Abstract:

Recently, on several well-known community and personal sites, familiar cries were heard: 'A is a sellout. B, C, and D are much better than X, Y, and Z. N, O, and P are overrated, back-scratching link whores.' The web design community goes through this kind of self-examination every three months. Under the banner of honest criticism, names are named, guesses about motivation are sketched, and sometimes entire bodies of work are dismissed. Useful and reasonable criticism is often advanced in these debates. But too frequently it is overshadowed by those with the loudest voices, whose anger can sound like passionate truth to those who've nurtured similar thoughts but been afraid to express them publicly. Undoubtedly some people sell out, some are overrated, and some use links merely to advance their careers or promote their friends. But even when the accused are guilty as charged, the accusations change nothing—they simply create turmoil.