Be serious and put yourself in the cyberspace firing line

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Published: 12:00am, 6 Jan 1998

There are no sacred cows on the Internet. The ease and speed with which people can build their own Web pages means no individual or institution is above criticism.

In fact, the more seriously people take themselves, the more likely it is that a parody of their site will soon appear.

The one thing most people hate about Wired magazine is that it takes itself very seriously. Both Wired and its Web persona, Hotwired, (www.hotwired.com) provide plenty of ammunition for the on-line satirist.

Underwired (www.covesoft.com/ underwired) is probably the best of the bunch, taking digs at everything from Wired's intense colours to the bragging details in its publisher's panel.

From the same stable as Hotwired, the Webzine Suck set out to be a radical, angry and elitist soapbox for Hotwired staff to air their grievances about the world, and it succeeded.

In the traditional style of Wired , the design is modern and irritates, especially the long columns with an average of five words per line.

A Suck sister site, Net.Moguls, (www.netmoguls.com) takes 52 of the most influential Internet personalities, from the obvious superstars (Scott McNealy, Esther Dyson) to the more obscure (John Doerr, Brenda Laurel), and caricatures them on the back of electronic bubblegum cards. Embarrassing or revealing quotes are offered from each celeb, along with their age, working history and estimated net worth (no pun intended). The cards are fairly large graphics, so be prepared for long download times.