The obligatory Site FAQ! [Last Updated: 19th April 2008 (Are you a dude or a lady?)]

Q: Who are you?
A: Mythor! You might know me from such sites as MOSH – Australian Comedy Forums, Kill Michael Vaughn, my regular blog at www.mythor.net, or possibly even from the (defunct) Cardsmyth site. You may also have seen me as part of the staff over at Spores Illustrated, where I help with forum moderation and make Jube look smart and sophisticated in the Mail Bag.
Or floating around on the official Biggest Loser forums, of course!
Other than that, I’m just a fan of The Biggest Loser. What else do you need to know? :-)

Q: Are you a dude or a lady?
A: I have no idea why this comes up so often, it’s very peculiar to me. But it does, and so here’s the answer: Yes, I’m a dude.
Yes, that is why I’ll occasionally say mean things about women. You’re all evil, conniving, whining, nagging bitches.
Love me? :-)

Q: How can I contact you directly?
A: I’m not sure why on Earth you would want to do such a thing, but if you want to drop me a line via email, I can be reached by sending an email to recap then the funny at symbol, followed by mythor.net
I’m sorry for the slightly lengthy instruction, but that ought to protect it from casual spammers. I get enough of that. And if that’s why you want to email me, err, go away. :-P

Q: Why are you writing this blog?
A: During the first season of The Biggest Loser I made a lot of posts on my LiveJournal (no you may not have the address) about the show and quite a few people joined in the discussion with me, and it was a lot of fun, at least for me!
For the second season I decided I wanted something a bit more useful than a typical LiveJournal post. Creating a proper blog has also given me a good understanding of how WordPress operates, which came in handy when setting up my regular blog.
This season? Well, people seemed to like what I did last season, and while it’s a monumental amount of work, it’s also quite fun and keeps my typing skills somewhat up to scratch.

Q: Are you associated with the show? A producer? A part of the crew? A contestant? A family member of a contestant?
A: No, no, no, no, no and a bunch more no’s for good measure. I am just a fan of the show. Presumably, just like you!
Only cooler. Definitely cooler.

Q: Why didn’t my comment appear?
A: It was most probably caught by the spam catcher. If you tried to put a URL in your post, that is almost certainly what happened. If you mentioned various sexual potency medications, it’s also quite likely to have been marked spam. Don’t worry, I get an email letting me know and I’ll approve it ASAP if it’s obviously not spamtastic.

Q: Why do you refer to them as “Fatties” rather than “Losers”?
A: Because they’re fat? Losers has more of a negative connotation in my mind, whereas Fatties is more just descriptive. You’re welcome to use Losers instead, if you’d rather not use Fatties, just don’t go trying to make me do the same – it won’t happen. :-)
Other sites use different words for it – I’ve seen them referred to as hamsters on the TWoP forums, for example.
It is definitely not meant disrespectfully. If I am disrespecting one of the Fatties, it will be much more obvious.

Q: Aren’t you infringing copyright by posting images/text/advertisements/clips from the official website or the television?
A: By my understanding of copyright law, no. I am reusing the images/text as an aid to review/critique of the show, which is, as far as I’m aware/concerned, a legitimate use. This is a fansite that can only help to promote the show – but if Channel 10 or the producers of the show want a fight, they better be prepared for me to fight back. And they better bear in mind I have no money to speak of. Ringing their lawyers will cost them more than they’ll ever recoup. :-P

Seriously, if someone at Channel 10 does have an issue with what I’m doing I am more than willing to discuss it with them. It is not my intent to damage the show in any way. I feel my blog contributes, rather than detracts from, much as regular media coverage would do so. The images and text are either just reproductions of whatever is on the official site, or created by myself. Advertisements are specifically designed to be seen by as many people as possible – there is no good reason to block their distribution, other than being a dick about things.
If I decide to upload video clips – and I am very doubtful I will do so – they will be kept short and to the point.

Q: Do you know where I can download episode X from date Y? Can you upload it to YouTube/Rapidshare for me? Can you email it to me?
A: Try mininova, they may have BitTorrent links, or they may not. I can’t provide the episodes from here directly, sorry. Ditto for uploading them to YouTube. Whilst my commentary on the episodes does count as criticism or review and would provide some latitude under fair use laws… uploading the entire episode is clearly not a “fair use”.
Whether it is legal for you to download the episodes is not my place to decide. If you can find them on the internet, that’s great, go for your life. But I won’t be doing it myself, sorry!

Q: Why did you delete/edit/fold/mutilate/spindle my comment? I have a right to free speech!
A: 1. No you do not.
2. I’ll generally note why/what I edited if/when I do so, unless it’s really obvious. If you have a problem with how/what I edit, leave. My site, my decision. :-)

Q: Do you have a list of rules to follow when commenting?
A: Strictly speaking, no. There’s really only one rule:
1. Don’t be a dick.
Seriously, if your comment is just telling everyone that Jim is a total doucheface, you’re an idiot and will be treated as such.
In general, don’t abuse other commenters (or me!) and don’t abuse contestants without due cause – if one of the men starts pushing around one of the women, by all means tear into him. Just don’t do it because you think he’s ugly or weird or whatever. That’s my job! :-)

Q: Is there a way to know when you’ve made a new recap post, other than refreshing the front page constantly and sucking up all your bandwidth?
A: There are two ways to do this.
Firstly, there is an RSS Feed linked from the top of the page. Use that in your favourite RSS Reader (I recommend Google Reader) and it ought to update you when there’s a new post.
If you do not want to use RSS or you just prefer to use LiveJournal, you can subscribe to the LiveJournal syndication feed available here. Note however that while I do have that feed on my own LiveJournal account, I may or may not notice and respond to comments left there. You are much better off commenting here on the main blog.

Q: Can you create a poll on subject X? What are your thoughts on topic Y?
A: During the season I will probably have various polls on various topics of interest, such as the inevitable twists, inviting comments from all and sundry. If I don’t have a specific post for a specific topic, you can always go back to the recap of the episode that whatever it is happened in and discuss it there!

Q: I have another question! Can I ask it?
A: See the comments box below? Fire away. Can’t promise I’ll answer but I’ll certainly read it!