Among the most annoying things about the Internet is the tendency it creates in people to say things online they would never say in real life. As far as I’m concerned, anything that would get me busted in the mouth if I say it to the guy at the next barstool should not be said online, either.

This comes to mind after reading some of the comments at Ryan Jordan’s blog after it was revealed that he hurt an ankle and had to pull out of his great Alaskan adventure. Most were of the “get well soon” variety, but a couple twits couldn’t resist the urge to rub salt in the guy’s wounds. An example:

But for a guy with hundreds of thousands of published words of condescension and disdain towards all aspects of conventional backpacking, this has got to be a bitter pill. After all, he was out to prove a point about lightweight making you more capable and he has proven the inverse: refusing to equip yourself for the unexpected can be disastrous. And just because you’ve gotten away with it on previous trips doesn’t make it safe.

So, like, Jordan had it coming, right? Geeze, the guy’s out there with grizzlies and ice floes and three weeks worth of food on his back, hiking over 20 miles a day with no trails, and a single step trips up the whole thing; as luck has it, the mishap didn’t kill him. If you have the gall to rag on a guy after something like that, say it to his face and take the punch you have coming. Your dentist will be happy to repair the damage.