The strongest force on earth?
 

well, if you think about it, penny arcade has produced an amazing amount of man power from a few a posts. they have people falling over each other trying to do good. if al the webcomics of the world banded together, or at least like, VGcats, PA, 8-bit, apple geeks and machall for good measure cooperated, could they possibly produce there own army? or convince us, our enough of us, that it could change a political election or sometin?

Personal opinion: People who would change their vote based on some webcomics are the same people that I absolutely fear in our society. This isn't to say that the authors of these comics are not smart or should not voice their opinion, becuase I think quite the opposite. But if anyone, much less thousands+ people would 'mobilize' (so to speak) based on their word...

Well, that would be bad.

b, b, but... that's such a big part of American history. consider the printing of "Common Sense," the document that really holds responsibility for making British Citizens consider rebelling and forming an independent America... we're HERE because of emotional arguments that make people mobilize, whether to war, to the polls, or anything else.

I doubt people would be so easily swayed to obey the whims of webcomic authors simply because they're webcomic authors. In respects to politics, at least, everyone probably already have their own opinion. As anyone who participates regularly in the Discussion forum knows, it's nearly impossible to change someone's mind about their political beliefs. As for Common Sense, I think that just inflamed feelings in the populace that were already there to begin with.

i would just like to site childs play as an evidence of these peoples influence. brian and gabe and tycho don't control us. but we respect them, and percieve them to be knoweledgeable and wise beyond their years, such so that there opinions merrit contemplation if they disagree with the norm.
example
a random hobo walks up to you on the street and tells you, "the gov'ment's tryin to take away radio!" you scoff and let him on his way
gabe does a post on broad band through power lines and mentions the possible negative effects this would have on radio transmissions and how radio still has an important role in our society and you do some thinking about it.

Well, it's not necessarily because they're webcomic authors or even figures of authority. In the case of Child's Play, I'm sure the response was due to the fact that most of us were unaware of the situation. I respect Brian's opinion as much as I do any intelligent individual, be it a friend, a fellow NPFer, or just anyone with a high school education. A random hobo, I might not trust.

Don't blame me, I voted for King Steve.

Edited by shiney:

4 day probation for spamming in the discussion forum. King Steve is not a valid contribution to a discussion.

As the saying goes "Don't underestimate the power of stupid people in groups"

If webcomic artist began putting biased material into there comic's. It wouldn't bother me or change my idea's on anything. They are probaly just using it to futher the story in a way we can not see.

Even if it wasn't a webcomic artist and someone of high important standing say.. a hobo, (kidding), or a Congressman. I would think about it but, in the end It'd my decision vs there opinion. If it's a extreamly valid thing they are putting forth I'll accept it and change it to a way which it is in my own kind of thinking.

But yes.. the poeple who do change there mind and mobolize off these things... well... see my first sentence...

People are very easily influenced.

If Brian posted on his main page to vote for Bush, I'm sure that at least 1% of his readers would change their minds to vote for Bush. It might work better the other way around, though (ie, vote for Kerry, most people who aren't voting for Bush already hate his guts).

This is even more true of Penny Arcade, which has the kind of humor that the... shall I say... less intelligent sect enjoys more. They tend to rely on non-sequitor, which, while it can be funny at first, it tires out quick. And the less intelligent can keep laughing at a joke for longer. Sometimes they do string together something humorous that's not non-sequitor, but most of the time they rely on that style of humor.

So I would say, yes, Penny Arcade could alter who wins the election. Maybe. Not much, but in concentrated amounts in certain states that could go either way, they could very well sway the election.

If people vote based on what other people think, they are voting "incorrectly" if that's possible. I've always believed that you should vote for the man who will most improve the country and your life. Some people would reverse the order of those two, which is OK.