Now that's what I call a rant

As I'm sure many people do, I tend to keep an eye on certain mailing lists and groups that spew forth tons of useful information. Human nature tends to play a large role in quite a few of the discussions, mainly in the form of debates, rants, and the occasional flame war. One of the mailing lists I subscribe to, aptly named geeks, has a very large subscriber base with a very large number of differing opinions on just about every topic.

A recent rant that was posted to the list got me thinking more about the style of writing that earns the title of rant. I realized that ranting about topics we are close to is one of the most commonly practiced methods of getting your ideas out in the open. While ranting may not be the most productive, insightful, or tactful way of telling people what you think, when written in a way that expresses opinions and emotions simultaneously, rants can be a highly effective way of getting other people to see things from your point of view.

When we rant, we usually have a strong motive for doing so. Usually we are just irritated by some illogical policy or event that has upset the status quo. However, this is not always the case; I tend to rant about things that are completely out of my control and are unreasonable to expect other people to react to.

For instance, a few hours ago I was ranting about the Housing Operations office not being open at two in the morning. This is an extremely futile argument that has any number of counterpoints that hold far more potential than the original argument. I like to go off on such rants because they are a good way to vent stress, completely harmless to others, and if structured correctly, are capable of inducing laughter.

What are you ranting about today?