• Business Insider, Thursday, January 13, 2011 2:59 PM

Business Insider was never a fan of AOL's decision to buy TechCrunch. Now, four months after the deal, it's laughing out loud as TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington goes after AOL's top tech blog, Engadget -- and its editor, Joshua Topolsky -- calling Engadget "a plasticized caricature of a real blog." What's more, in a direct email to Business Insider, Arrington calls AOL "plodding and conservative."

Sources tell Business Insider that Arrington's "bomb" led to phone calls to AOL senior executives, "but management does not appear to have regarded it as 'crossing the line.'" Meanwhile, the Engadget team is reportedly "infuriated," sources tell Business Insider. "Sources familiar with Engadget's view of the situation say the site's managers regard Arrington as 'crazy' and 'beyond a loose cannon,'" it writes. Why doesn't AOL senior management just tell Arrington to take it down a few notches? Well, "If AOL tries to do that, it will risk infuriating Arrington himself. And that might lead to more such declarations of independence -- and, eventually, Arrington's departure from the company."

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