Let's get one thing straight: We here at Light Reading endorse our message board monkeys and fully support their right to post whatever they want (that is, so long as it doesn't violate our hallowed "Terms of Use," which, like the Bible, are pretty much open to interpretation).

Like everyone else who reads our message boards, we cringe at the insults, giggle at the jokes, worry about the scatological tendencies, and generally wish folks would continue taking their prescription medication.

Following are a few of our favorite posts of the year – the ones that we think best capture the essence of our message board monkeys' hourly output. We think you'll enjoy our selections (supply your own [sic]s). And if you don’t, we're sure that you will, as usual, give us all kinds of Hell on the boards below:

No. 10: deer_in_the_light defends Redpoint Ventures' John McQuillan. Sort of:

pompus jerk , gasbag... what do you guys have against McQuillan, he made money telling you what you wanted to hear, if you believed him in the first place, that's YOUR problem not his problem.

BTW, I do think he is full of stinky gas.... yeah he got me too, I paid for going to NGN in 1999. Proud to say that I have not gone since.

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=56851"

No. 9: Dr_phill_SoHn hands down some provocative indictments to just about every level of the corporate food chain:

Fellow Disgruntled Dudes,

On H1Bs: There never was a shortage of engineers just a shortage of ones willing to work for under $30K. I have worked with many from universities I have never heard of whom supposedly had PhDs but did not know basic things like F=ma and just what is a dB. What's up with that? Well at least they work on the cheap.

Talent: If you stay at the same job for 10 years in your comfort zone and do the minimum at some corporation you are considered a genius because you built the exact same widget over and over and over and...

Hiring managers: Wake up! If you read a resume which is a perfect match then the person cut and pasted your job description as his resume. You may want to hire someone who can think on there feet and answer questions intelligently.

On PhDs: They are good only if they have some real experience after the degree, otherwise they are useless. I think the current down turn will get rid of some of their entitlement attitudes.

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=57303

No. 8: Lightwave Founder Drew Lanza shares a few good-natured insights on the extinction of his company and our Top Ten Turkeys List:

[...]You point out that you got burned on Lightwave Microsystems. By burned I assume you mean because you had it on your top 10 list and then, poof, it crashed into the wall. Don't feel bad. I started the damn thing in my mother's garage and I feel the same way. Heck, I was in the damn thing when it crashed...

I get asked all the time if I would do it differently knowing what I know now. Probably not. We set out in 1988 to build the world's best optical IC manufacturing company. We succeeded. Don't kid yourself. You can get a lot of satisfaction from recognition. Recognition is great. We're the King of the Forest. But recognition doesn't put food in our hungry belly. Well, at least we got to growl, eat meat, and prowl the forest for a little while. There are worse fates...

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=59031

No. 7: Routing guru Tony Li (or a facsimile thereof) weighs in with "The Daily Tony Report," a service designed to stem rumors of his departure from Procket:

Today is Tues., Apr. 9, 2002.

I am not leaving Procket.

Really.

Tony

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=34397

[Editor's Note: T.L. hasn't issued a report in quite a while. We wonder if he's quit his job already.]

No. 6: The amazingly astute (and tastefully named) Kornholio726 sees our correspondent for the wounded child he really is:

Sarcasm, whether subtle or overt, is an outward expression of internal insecurity. Sarcasm is a spoiler, a trip down a negative spiral for all who express it or condone it. But more than that, it's hurtful, and should not be wielded by anyone let alone a journalist with purported integrity. Who are you, Phil Harvey, to write such a thing? What makes you better than the rest of us?

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=39756

No. 5: In 2001, themaninblack and spinmeister penned six playlets in a series titled, "As The Company Collapses," a satirical send-up of the startup from Hell, Tachion Networks. Only one episode was posted in 2002, a "lost episode," from which this excerpt was taken:

[...]MIB: Hmmm, I need to head this off at the pass. I can’t let people trying to do what’s right and ethical get in the way of my dreams. Lets move the meeting to Atlantic City, call The Donald and see if Trump Casino is available, and don’t forget the suite for me, and my traveling companion.

CFO: Will do MIB, I’ll call your wife.

MIB: Don’t dare call my wife, if you do you’re fired. For the meeting make sure the Quaker Oats Man, and Fatish have ample agenda time. I’ll get one to lie about the product progress, and the other to babble incoherently about technology and architecture.

CFO: Which one does which? Are you sure this will satisfy the sales guys?

MIB: No, but we’ll be sure to give them lots of money to blow on the blackjack tables, and ply them with lots of drinks. That generally calms them down for awhile.

CFO: This sounds expensive MIB. I haven’t done the books lately, but I think we are going to run out of money soon.

MIB: Who cares about the cost? It’s not like it’s our money anyway. Since when did you get all weepy about VC’s capital? What else do the sales guys say in their emails, Curious George?

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=46696

No. 4: Sparxe employs the use of cheesy TV drama characters to explain Corvis's much-maligned purchase of Dorsal Networks (and he still comes off sounding more rational than David Huber on a conference call):

[...]A crusty Lt.Columbo starts to leave the CORV plant. As he exits, he turns and says "cuse me Mr Huber,,,,ah ...uh....why did you decide to do this Dorsal thing as a stock - ah, instead of a cash-ola purchase sir?" I mean you had the cash sir....right? and ...uh also ... your stock was lower then a horse's hangdown's at the time.... was it not?

Huber looks up and says... You see we use the stock while its low so the purchase price is really not $90 mill. I pass the stock to my other outfit, then we wait till it goes up (cause we know its gonna go up). My one company CORV only looks like it paid $90 million. In my other pocket, the stock is 'suddenly' worth much more, so instead of having $90 million ..we have a lot more.... we can show it as income and boy will wall street love that...

Columbo looks back and asks... Sir,,,but what if the stock goes down?

..as he exits... Huber sigh and say's ...we never thought of that.... ooops.

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=27625

No. 3: "dietaryfiber" offers a fresh perspective on Lucent's rationale for awarding its executives for utter and complete failure:

I think that its rational that Executives that trash their company should get large bonuses. It is also true that oral sex is not sex.

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=59685

No. 2: HarveyMudd, or perhaps an imposter, muses about Ciena and psychiatry:

I predicted the problems of Ciena. I don't like them. Nor do I like anyone, except Mike Tyson. They will be broke in one year.

I'll continue this message when I come back from my appointment with my psychiatrist.

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=28068

No. 1: Emirikol issues a correction to one of his previous posts. And, oh, what a correction it is:

Sorry... second sentence should have said:

The world would be much easier to manage if people would spend more effort saying fewer things but saying them correctly.

http://www.lightreading.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=56836

Happy Holidays!

— Larry, Monkey, Light Reading