Thank you for visiting "The Navigator – Live." Today's chat ended at 3 p.m. EST.

Today's guest was self-styled cybersatirist Bob Hirschfeld (www.bobsfridge.com). He answered questions about humor online -- what's funny, what's not, and the wisdom to know the difference.

"The Navigator – Live" appears each Thursday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time. It's a live, moderated discussion offering washingtonpost.com users the chance to talk directly to intriguing and sometimes unusual guests who are shaping the digital world. "The Navigator" appears in The Washington Post print edition every Thursday. You can read past columns by following this link.

Linton Weeks: All hail, greetings, salutations and welcome to another reading-edge episode of Navigator--Live. Welcome especially to our guest, Bob Hirschfeld. Let's get right to the questions.

Linton Weeks: Bob, what exactly is Bob's Fridge?

Bob Hirschfeld: Bob's Fridge Door is an e-commerce site that aggregates the buying power for spies and campaign donors of nuclear secrets as an Internet solution. It's also a source of topical and technology satire based on the familiar concept that people post humor on their fridge doors, though no one knows why.

Linton Weeks: We seem to be having some technical difficulties. As they say at the nudist camp, bear with us.

Linton Weeks: What's your story?

Bob Hirschfeld: After inventing not only the Internet, but MP3 compression technology for quality pirating of music, I still felt directionless with too much free time on my hands. It was a choice between running for president or becoming a satirist, both of which ironically require very similar job skills.

Linton Weeks: Where did you get the idea to do an online humor site?

Bob Hirschfeld: After years of satirical newspaper columns, including this paper's Outlook section, the Internet presented the opportunity to bypass pesky…er beloved editors and reach readers directly on a daily basis instead of waiting (well actually praying) for acceptance of a submitted column. It's provided me a continual outlet for the warped skew on the news that comes to mind each day when I read the papers and encounter all the hypocrisy and stupidity in current events. Satire is best when it's fresh and the Internet enables this. I also like the ability to create interactive satire, which you can't do in print, as I do with a feature called "Newstron" or my "America Outtaline" parody of a certain big online service.

Linton Weeks: Who tells you if your stuff's funny or not?

Bob Hirschfeld: In addition to my feline editorial assistant who rubs against my laptop while I write, I like the direct feedback the Internet allows from readers. I always welcome fawning accolades and constructive criticism. If someone simply sends an email that reads "you're not funny," I unfortunately can't do anything about it for that person and wonder if they're just having a bad day or life. But I take comfort in the fact that I get around 100,000 coming to my site each month and, judging from the supportive email, this shows that companies need to monitor how their employees waste their time away at sites like mine.

Pittsburgh, Pa.: Hey, Bob. Love your stuff. Didn't I read about you in the Wall Street Journal? Not the Washington Wire--some other WSJ column. It was something about how you walked away from AOL or something. What was that all about--and how'd you get the WSJ to write up your story?

Bob Hirschfeld: Yes I was profiled in The Front Lines colum of the WSJ by te esteemed Tom Petzinger. Basically he ran out of interesting stories and did one on me in a crunch. I did do a feature for AOL for a year and moved on to the big world of the web

Washington, DC: Do you write all your own material? Do you write material for others?

Bob Hirschfeld: Yes all the material comes from the erratic synapse connections in my brain.

Washington : Who are your comic heros?

Bob Hirschfeld: Robert Klein, George Carlin, Jay Leno and Al Gore among many

New York City: I noticed on your site that Jay Leno calls you "one of the top satirists in the country." How did that come about?

Bob Hirschfeld: I just made that up-no one checks sources on the Internet. That's what I learned from online journalism. But seriously… I used to contribute to Jay's monologues when was still the "guest host" of The Tonight Show. We've remained in touch and he has been very supportive of my talent.

Texas: Mr Hirschfeld, will you please make the images on you site smaller in K size? Your pages take forever to download.

Bob Hirschfeld: All good things take time. Once you download the fridge door though the next time it's already in your cache so you don't have to wait. Perhaps I'll add an alternative page with no graphics but you lose the whole fridge door concept.

Washington: Have you ever heard from America Online? Have they objected to your parody?

Bob Hirschfeld: I never received an official AOL response, but I did hear from many AOL employees who thought it was wickedly funny.

Bethesda, MD: For some reason I expected your Web site to be more edgy and raunchy than it is. Do you avoid dirty jokes?

Bob Hirschfeld: Yes, I do. I think too much humor these days is so in your face--you can get acne. I prefer satire that is witty and uses clever concepts than writing a supposed parody story where President Clinton says "expletive" this "expletive" Lenny Bruce broke the profanity barrier in the '60's so it's already been done.

Washington: BOB, You are a funny looking person. Are there any topics that you avoid applying humor to? If so, what they be?

Bob Hirschfeld: In person I look more like Ross Perot. I'll avoid a current tragedy such as yesterday's plane crash. But there is a definition of comedy being tragedy+time so sometimes after a while I may see if there is a humorous angle on such a story.

Linton Weeks: What special challenges does the Internet present to a humor writer?

Bob Hirschfeld: Since the Internet is so instaneous, there is always the risk that something that may seem funny at the moment in retrospect, by which I mean about four seconds after I post it or perhaps a day, doesn't work. Fortunately I can easily go back and change it and pretend the inferior version of a story was never existed Much like statements that come out of the White House

Linton Weeks: What sites do you think try to be funny, but aren't?

Bob Hirschfeld: Other than news sites, which always crack me up until I remind myself it's the actual news, none come to mind. There are many people merely trying to be funny on the web and so am I. Funny is very subjective concept anyway.

Linton Weeks: We're about half-way through the hour. You all keep the questions coming and Bob'll keep on answering. I, meanwhile, will take a sip of iced tea.

Linton Weeks: What do you consider to be some of the funniest sites on the Internet?

Bob Hirschfeld: Well of course there's the Onion, though they don't create original content for the Internet nor make any special use of the technology with interactive features. There's SuBBrilliant News which is quite funny. Instead of listing other sites though I'd recommend going to About.com and looking at their humor and political humor sections. They're comprehensie and up to date which is hard to find in the humor sections of search engine...excuse me portals such as Yahoo. Humor sites come and go faster than Yeltsin's Prime Ministers.

Washington, DC: Are you able to pay your mortgage with your web site?

Bob Hirschfeld: I knew my bank would catch up with me. Actually it's virtually impossible right now to make much money off a content based web site. Fortunately I do quite well (not to IRS--not that well) giving speeches with a multimedia presentation I created lampooning all the foibles of the Digital Age. I'm making quite a niche aiming my satire at technology and it resonates with people more than Washington politics.

Washington: How much did you get paid to place the shopnow banner atop your home page?

Bob Hirschfeld: That annoying banner basically pays for the costs of hosting the site on a big computer somewhere in PA.

Pittsburgh, Pa.-: Bob, do you make a living at this stuff, or are you some spoiled-rotten Beltway rich kid?

Bob Hirschfeld: Spoiled rotten--of course. Rich--(note to IRS:pay attention here) not a chance. You nearly have to take a vow of poverty when you start out on the net. Hopefully if I can project losses for at least the next 10 years, I plan to go public and become an overnight billionaire.

Rockville MD: Is there really a difference in what is funny on the Internet and what is funny in the rest of the world?

Bob Hirschfeld: One thing the Internet or actually email does is ruin jokes since much of their humor in the telling of them. In fact it's not SPAM that is clogging up the net--it's dumb jokes that we'd be too embarrassed to tell in person but will glady email out to a hundred of our friends and associates. But basically being funny (or not) doesn't depend on technology thankfully.

Linton Weeks: Recently GQ listed the 75 Funniest Jokes. What is the funniest joke you ever heard?

Bob Hirschfeld: One that I couldn't possible tell on such a family values program as the Navigator puts on here

washington: what advice do you have for someone who wants to create his own web page?

Bob Hirschfeld: Learn from other web sites. Waste considerable time surfing around and try to come up with an original concept or theme for your web site. Otherwise just steal ideas and rip off the concepts of others if that doesn't work for you.

Linton Weeks: Why did the cybersatirist cross the road?

Bob Hirschfeld: He didn't cross the road--it was Al Gore's superinformation highway

Linton Weeks: Some folks would say that on the Internet, anything goes. Does anything go?

Bob Hirschfeld: Perhaps it goes into the Recycle Bin on the your computer's desktop. I like the unregulated free-form of the net though.

washington : how well do you have to understand html to do your site?

Bob Hirschfeld: html--is this a concept with which I should be familiar?
I think it stands for "hope this mess loads."

washington: what sort of foibles of the digital age are you talking about?

Bob Hirschfeld: For instance we hear how computers free up our time. Of course they do--everytime your computer crashes that frees us up to take care of errands. Why do think Microsoft uses the slogan "Where Do You Want To Go Today?" Let's see- tune up my car, buy new shoes...

Linton Weeks: Bob, you raised a good point. My colleague, Henry Allen, was asking just this morning: Why is it that a friend will e-forward millions of stupid, unedited jokes that he would never tell you in person or even in a letter?

Bob Hirschfeld: We do it without thinking. Just as we now write in mangled English with rotten spelling and grammar in emails because I believe spending vast quantities of time with a computer causes brain damage. Pretty much explains my site.

Linton Weeks: Hirschfeld: the IPO?

Bob Hirschfeld: I'll be announcing my IPO soon with preferred shares. I don't have purpose or business plan behind this so that increases the chances it will be a big success. Perhaps I'll call my site e-grifters.com

Linton Weeks: How much time do you spend massaging your site every week?

Bob Hirschfeld: Massaging it--that's an excellent metaphor for how I tend to approach it. If you also mean messaging, I try to respond to all my email and that does take up time. Especially from people who are mad I sent them all those stupid jokes by email.

Linton Weeks: Nahhh, I meant massaging.

Alexandria, Va: I loved your strunkandwhite virus ... and I understand some people actually took it seriously. Comment?

Bob Hirschfeld: Perhaps not surprisingly I did hear from some major corporations who were in a panic. I should have thought of quickly selling a virus remover for this. For those not familiar, I had a column last month in Outlook about an email virus that supposedly kept returning your message until you corrected all mistakes.

washington dc: So is this something you'll do for the rest of your life?

Bob Hirschfeld: If I can continue to make a career as a cybersatirist, absolutely. I'm having too much, well not too much, but I am having much fun and I love the feedback

Linton Weeks: And so we come to the end of another piercing, probing episode of Navigator--Live. Thanks to my guest, Bob Hirschfeld, to all the good folks at Washingtonpost.com and to you the online inquisitors. Next week my guest will be Cindy Simons Bennett, president of Child of My Dreams (www.childofmydreams.com) to answer questions about infertility and adoption. Until then...

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