If all you do is talk about apps and services, you’re not really blogging.
I couldn’t give a shit about how you spent your money in a vain attempt to escape your real feelings.
Where are your fucking essays? Your small thoughts about big things? Your real talk?
Fucking. Write.
@maique @Gaby I don't like to make a habit of rolling out the hard questions, especially in short posts, but it's fair to say I see a lot of people expressing a strong belief and then acting in complete opposition to that.
No more. Instead, let's be honest.
This is how the bad parts of social networks became bad; everybody hid, and built their walls, and relied on an artificial reality to avoid the difficult parts of life. It is corrosive, and I think we're capable on Micro.blog of avoiding the repetition of disastrous history.
@issimonwoods I'm all for freedom. If you want to post about apps and services, for whatever reason, feel free to do so. I'm free to follow along, or not. If you feel about posting about your life, and how hard, or easy, you have it, feel free. I'll read, or not, learn, or not, and move on. I believe, but that's only my opinion, that the M.b community (or the people I'm following) manages to balance things quite nicely.
I've learned a lot about apps, as I have about life, since I started using M.b as my blog. I have posted more personal stuff here than anywhere else, and personal for me includes apps, services, family life, work life, and whatever goes through my mind at a particular moment. I like that freedom, and I enjoy being a part of this community.
@issimonwoods A couple of things. (1) You might be confusing the substantial blogging that goes on here with the timeline, which, yes, often fills up with chat about apps, phones, pens, notebooks. Whether anyone is doing that to escape their real feelings, I wouldn't know. (2) To get a different timeline, you can use the Discover feature and pick a collection of people whose posts are more to your liking. Update: Oops, after I wrote that I looked at your profile and saw that you don't need any educating about how MB works. Still, I say again, the timeline can be tailored a lot just by picking the people whose company you enjoy.
@issimonwoods sounds like a lot of today’s posts are living rent free in your head, amigo.
Yes, write! But also share—I learn so much about what others are doing with their setups. There value in those posts. And I write my posts for two people: myself, and non-micro bloggers who follow me. That second category has no idea who else writes those posts. And they find value in what I write, for them.
I suspect it’s much the same for everyone else.
@issimonwoods I just had a big issue with your comment there. I felt as if you are diminishing what people are writing about. In my case, it’s a weblog/personal blog, whatever you want to call it, thus I can put out there whatever the fuck. If you deem some posts , “not blogs” why you read them? Why you care? This really triggered me! Its the same as when people insinuate that if your are in Micro.blog , it’s not really a blog, I get defensive. It left a bad taste. I mean, someone that’s trying to get into blogging and the first thing they see that’s not blogging, they are just going to close themselves and not create anything.
I might have misunderstood your post, but to me it sound snobbish and I felt attacked.
Either way Happy blogging
@issimonwoods You recently wrote, "Everyone deserves the room to be who they are, and change." I find it frustrating that those wise words are followed so quickly by such close-minded thinking. If who I am is someone who posts about trivial things like apps and services because that makes me feel happy, then why isn't that fine? Who's to say that's not authentic? And also, I deserve the room to not change that behavior if I don't feel like it.
You're not entitled to my real feelings, my essays, or my real talk. Unless I choose to share personal things, nobody—not even you—gets to have them. That doesn't mean I'm trying to escape my real feelings. Perhaps I simply value my privacy.
I believe dogmatic ways of thinking, like what is or isn't blogging, are what's gotten the internet to the state it's in. It's places like Facebook and the like that say "you must do things this way because that's how we think it should be done" that are hurting things. It's not me blogging about my apps. The great thing about a place like Micro.blog is that I can write about whatever silly or serious thing I want because there are no rules about blogging, nor should there be.
And maybe you should have more trust in Manton and the team to continue guiding this service away from becoming something like Facebook. I don't think they want that to happen just as much as you don't.
People can like, or write about, whatever they want. Full stop. Please don't lecture other people about doing things your way. Micro.blog becomes better when people do things their way.
@maique I agree with everything you've said. I also failed to properly express myself, and let loose on a thought without enough consideration for the impact of my words. I'm sorry for doing that and will do better to properly express my feelings.
@JMaxB I also failed to take a breath, take a step back, and consider the reality of how my words were poorly constructed. I agree with you that Micro.blog has a dual nature.
This community has also previously taught me to be better than I was when publishing my original post.
@lukemperez "rent free in your head" -- nailed it there. I failed to properly consider what I was saying, and how crappy it was.
I agree with what you say; I have also literally been better off thanks to people's posts about apps and services. Makes what I said total crap, really.
@Gaby I'm sorry for my shitty post. I completely failed to remember the same lessons this community has been so great at teaching; compassion, patience, and the importance in taking this slowly with care.
Not only did I fail to keep to the standards of the community, I completely forgot to remember you and everybody else as the people here, the humanity. I apologise for this and will try to do much better from now on.
@dandycat You're right. I made a big mistake and forgot all of those important ideas of building a better web, specifically with regard to being compassionate and treating people with care.
It is important that people feel the freedom to talk about the things they choose, and whilst I have my own feelings about the choices we make as a community, in this instance I have utterly failed in expressing those feelings as befits a community that is trying to do better than before. Instead, I indulged in lazy and destructive gatekeeping which is shameful behaviour.
I'm sorry for failing you and will do better from now on.
@Burk Looking back on it; they weren't good, clearly! Ugh... what a bloody awful post to have on my blog.
@issimonwoods I read your comments first and then your original post. So all well. But knowing you over these years, I agree, that post could have been worded better.
@issimonwoods Don't mean to extend the discussion, but since I replied to your follow-up, I thought it made sense to say something here... Sometimes people need to escape their real feelings, or are paralysed by a fear of sharing their real thoughts. It can take practised effort to be able to just write. I think I understand your frustration, but I also agree with your own realisation that this post was not the solution to that frustration. Take care.
@issimonwoods I want you to know that I appreciate your consideration and thoughtful reply to what I posted. I harbor no ill will, but I forgive you all the same. Regardless of our individual feelings about whatever this community is and will become, I'm glad to know it's populated by good and thoughtful people, yourself always included.
And I hope you have a nice day!
