“Go on, introduce yourself,” the webserver tells me.

I stand up from my chair, a rickety old wooden thing with worn off wood polish, and I step forward into the spotlight. I’m momentarily blinded but I can feel the audience, smell their boozy exhalations, and hear their low murmurs. In a moment my vision returns and I can see the rowdy bunch assembled before me below stage.

“H-hello.” I stammer. A few grunts of initial approval and some hooting follows.

“Tell them a little bit about yourself,” the webserver instructs me.

“My name is James Cooper,” I begin. “I’m a programmer in the Orange County area. I write a story blog called Visible Wear, I don’t know if you know…”

I’m cut short by calls of “Take it off!” and “Let’s see some skin!”

I shrink back a little but I’m jabbed in the back by the webserver’s cold pointy edges.

I try to stop my shaking legs and I begin swaying slightly as I lift my shirt. The crowd is getting really rowdy now and I wonder if I’m going to survive this night. You never know what’s going to happen when you put yourself before a bunch of commentors and other bloggers.

They’re all a little crazy, I’ve found. And as the crowd begins smashing beer bottles on the floor and throwing underwear at me, I realize that women bloggers may be the craziest of them all.