THIS is what we saw last summer, starting with our posts that were opposed to the Google/Yahoo search deal. The community just skips on by, but this stuff turns very real. It should never turn to this, but it always does. And I end up with a police car parked in front of my house for two weeks.

In other words: “Did you get that for free?” Leading question, but not the end of the world; probably not going to start me cursing, yelling, and taking my toys away to go play with the other kids in the neighborhood.

On the other hand, “You got that for free! You’re cozy with them!” might completely flip me out, because now you’ve falsely accused me. I have a hard time handling all the conclusions you jumped to- without even asking me for some background first- to get to the point where you’re saying that.

THAT might be infuriating- not *questioning* me to determine where I stand, but *telling* me where I stand without even asking me first.

Even then, if I was the great Leo LaPorte, I might think twice before I broke out into curses and insults – it looks unprofessional in any situation.

Tech is this guy’s *work* so he should act “*work*manlike – professional. This isn’t some unknown dude who writes some unknown hacker blog from his mother’s basement who got lucky enough to get invited onto the show one day; this is one of the Faces of Tech for the last however-many-years – he should conduct himself in a manner fitting his stature in the tech world, not act like a kid ready to fight in the back alley with the guy in gym who just called him a dweeb. The public deserves better than to see him throw a fit simply because someone asks a question that jars his unhealthy ego.

Being ethical does not give you the right to act ugly because someone questioned your ethics.

If you want to get angry, fine, but at least leave the cursing, insults, and attitude (”turn the cameras off, we’re done”) out of it, if you don’t want to seem like the only person on Earth who could possibly think that much of yourself.

Even the other guys there didn’t believe Leo could mean a word he was saying and laughed it off until Leo made it painfully obvious that he was *really* throwing a fit; that should tell you something (that Leo was so out of line it’s almost unbelievable).

Search Google for ‘Palm Pre review usual suspects’, there’s an echo across main stream media and blogging calling David Pogue and Walt Mossberg ‘usual suspects’.

A dictionary definition of usual suspects:

‘the persons most often involved or suspected in an activity, esp. criminal; also, the persons predictably involved in a certain context’

What’s going on here?

Disclosure was fine at a review model and if the journalist says he returns review models I believe him.

If I were Mike I would not consider someone who publicly curses me out and insults me on video for the entire world to see a “friend” (I keep seeing that word used here and I don’t know why – I don’t care if they’ve known each other for years and sleep over each other’s houses every weekend, that is not his “friend”).

That to me is simply a guy who seems to feel he’s more important than others and more entitled to his own opinion than others are to theirs. His behavior was a complete turnoff in every way imaginable. I don’t follow Leo anyway, never have, and after this, most likely never will.

Mike, if you’re a troll (you’re not), you are the best troll ever – keep up the good work, and don’t let people who think they are more important than and better than you hold you back (and maybe stop apologizing, too – he looks – and sounds- much more wrong here than you do).

I guess I’m the kind of guy who thinks critically about everything.. I love Leo.. and so many of his podcasts.. been listening to them religiously for… well I guess a few years now? And its one of the things I really love and respect about Leo.. how well he treats people.. among other things.. but.. especially as I grow more sophisticated about particular subjects.. I do think more critically about what he’s putting out there..

I don’t understand Leo’s reaction.. but I figure we all can have our moments.. and just cause you’re a tech celebrity doesn’t mean you’re suddenly not human like the rest of us.. I kinda feel a little bad for him that this video is out there..

And I certainly don’t look at you, Arrington, and think “oh you were a dick” or anything like that.. I’m not sure I’d come down exactly where you do on.. how you interpret the issue of getting an advanced issue of a Pre, and how that might prejudice a journalists review.. But I surely think it’s a totally legitimate point of view.. and its the kind of questions we all have to be asking our selves.. and thinking about..

In any event I just hope you guys are able to.. not have this negatively effect your relationship and all that..

And you know.. in the big picture.. I mean.. compared to my grandmother dying a couple weeks ago.. what does it matter anyway? I mean.. things getting a little out of hand for this one thing? Its just life.

Arrington, you did come off as a little accusatory, I will say that. It seems both parties just took things way wrong here, and hey? We move on. No point in dwelling on it forever. Misunderstandings happen.

The last thing that I would want is for someone to accuse me of giving in to that bias, let alone ANOTHER JOURNALIST.

That, in my and quite likely many others’ opinions, is quite inexcusable and very much unprofessional.

Legitimacy is what we are all working for and scared of not being granted same and for someone to open up the question of that legitimacy in front of an open audience undermines all that tech journalism stands for. This is a topic that is just best not brought up as it simply has no redeeming value in its accusation nor subjectiveness.

Leo had every right to be p*ssed off, though his manner of addressing the matter was not professional either, admittedly.