It seemed like a stupid question -- one which deservedly got a heaping helping of ridicule from Mac bloggers: Why doesn't Apple participate in the "Intel Inside" marketing program, earning the company big wads of cash just for putting a tiny little sticker on Macs?

The answer reveals some interesting insights into the inner workings of Apple -- or, at least, how Mac fans perceive the inner workings of Apple. And Mac bloggers' reaction to the question provides an exasperating example of Apple fans getting worked up over someone failing to show sufficient deference to Steve Jobs, Apple, and the Apple user community.

Here's what happened:

When Apple held a news conference last week to announce a new line of iMacs and software, the company opened the floor to Q&A. This is rare, journalists don't usually get a chance to question Jobs like that.

Bob Keefe, technology correspondent for the Cox Newspapers chain, took the opportunity to ask Jobs why the company wasn't participating in the "Intel Inside" marketing program by putting Intel stickers on Macs. Jobs quipped in response, "We like our own stickers better," and added that stickers would be redundant since Apple's use of Intel chips is well-known.

Well, the Apple blogosphere gave Keefe a going-over about that question. Keefe writes:

He adds:

One Mac fan started a Fake Bob Keefe blog to ridicule Keefe.

We joined in the fun ourselves. Why not? It did indeed seem like a stupid question.

But Keefe explains that he actually had a good reason to ask that question: He was working on an article on the Intel Inside campaign. It was perfectly reasonable to ask the third-largest PC maker in the United States why it's not participating.

Macjournals.com has further explanation, noting that Apple executives said in a recent earnings report that its margins are slipping -- from 36.9% in the June quarter to 29.5% in the current quarter "as a result of the back-to-school promotion [that gives student buyers a free iPod Nano when purchasing a Mac], higher commodity costs, and product transition."

Macjournals goes on to point out that Intel pays -- or used to pay -- a fat wad of cash to companies that went along with the "Intel Inside" program.

Jobs is not the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz, whose time is as precious as diamonds. Steve Jobs's time is precisely as valuable as yours, mine -- and Bob Keefe's.

And Keefe doesn't work for the Mac community, and therefore they can't claim that Keefe wasted their time. Keefe's time, and the time at the news conference, is not the Mac community's to waste.

All of this causes me to pinch the bridge of my nose, look away, and roll my eyes in exasperation. It reminds me of the bad old days, more than a decade ago, when journalist received searing flame-mail from Apple fans whenever they wrote anything about Apple. Or whenever they didn't write about Apple. This contributed to a reputation for craziness that Apple fans are still struggling to get over.

Although I loved the comment from "Joe," who writes: