How many expressions of opinion are products of intestinal flatulence! They relieve the man giving vent to them, but pollute the intellectual air of others. This goes for insults, mockery, and exclamations.
— Paul Valéry, The Collected Works of Paul Valéry, Vol. 14
Ordinarily, I would be loath to descend to lowbrow humor, this being a respectable, high-minded, family-friendly blog, but if such an august personage as Valéry is leading the way, it would be rude not to follow. At any rate, it’s probably a good thing he never lived to experience the global Dutch oven known as social media.