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I deflate you kindly and anonymously

Web applications and sites seem to be good for a lot of things, like bringing friends together, enabling anonymous misanthropic deeds, or in the case of one Web site, delivering ostensibly helpful criticism to your loud, smelly, unproductive cubicle mate — the one who might also need a haircut. The Washington Post reports the relatively new NiceCritic.com delivers preformed e-mails anonymously to someone you designate.

The messages are courteous — in the language a British butler would use, the site’s founder Erik Riesenberg says — to dull the embarrassment that the recipient no doubt feels.

Such as: “Please do not remove your shoes. Your feet tend to give off an aroma.”

We’ll see if this site actually fills a need — or constructs one. But it looks like the site’s creator might make some money from it.

He’s not making any profit from advertisements on the site yet, but says he’s been approached by a few literary agents to write a book on constructive criticism and the lure of anonymity.

Given that a recent internet meme, garfieldminusgarfield.net, led to a book deal for that site’s creator, perhaps building a Web site will make you an accidental book author.

• August 15, 2008 — Dalasie Michaelis

• tags: alienation, Garfield, internet, NiceCritic