Where is that conversational nexus I used to know

[alicebentley]

I had great experiences with LiveJournal back in the Way Before. I was entertained and informed by early Usenet. I deeply miss the community at Making Light (and what the heck is going on their website this week?).

I've enjoyed aspects of DreamWidth, Tumblr and BlueSky but haven't connected with enough folks on any of them to create a solid conversation.

But it's been recently pounded into me that if I want to keep the friendships I have I need to be much better than I have been about keeping channels open.

Intellectually I understand that people who don't hear from me for years (or decades) might feel that we are not really friends. Emotionally that's just not the case for me. The fun times and fond memories are still bright in my mind, and I would greet you with the same joy no matter how long it's been.

I bow to reality - and will actively search out where these connecting conversations might be occurring, and do what I can to get myself there.

Comments

[autopope]

I heard (from Abi, back in September) that Patrick and Theresa were working with some folks from Wordpress on migrating the entire Making Light system onto a new platform -- presumably WP hosting of some kind. So last week's flickering lights are probably a good sign.

(A big Movable Type system like ML is an absolute beast to do anything with: we're probably talking thousands of blog posts and hundreds of thousands of comments to back up, massage into a new format, and import into someone else's database. So watch the skies, I guess.)

[redbird]

I know the feeling, for whatever that's worth.

[pameladean]

I have the same feeling: I may not have seen someone for a long time, or interacted with them, but I remember a warm lively amalgam of our interactions, and it takes a collection of deliberately bad behavior, not just absence, to change that.

I'm struggling to post regularly. Sometimes the world is too much with us.

P.

[arlesstra]

A couple of days ago Patrick posted that ML should be up "quite soon — we’re looking at weeks, and not many."

[minnehaha]

Post more! The lurkers won't support you in email, but they will accrete to a place that has a lot of action.

K.

[jreynoldsward]

Oh, I need to stir myself to interact more with people I know and like these days. I've turned into a right old hermit of late for assorted reasons and, well...

[minnehaha]

Just one connection a day will go a long way!

K.

[minnehaha]

Also, at Minicon in 2019, I wrote this:

Social Media Manifesto


Whereas: Fandom is at its best when it provides communities a place to gather;

Whereas: Fans have perfected the art of the personal essay;

Whereas: Livejournal was an exceptional gathering place for Fandom;

Whereas: Russia, a hostile foreign power, controls Livejournal;

Whereas: Hostile entities have disproportionate representation on Facebook and Twitter, with serious impacts on their pleasantness and utility; moreover, bots and trolls infest these platforms;

Whereas: The curated feed allows these companies to determine what we see and in what order;

Whereas: Dreamwidth is the logical successor to Livejournal, and uses the same code;

Whereas: Dreamwidth does not have a surveillance-based corporate profit-driven business model;

THEREFORE, we, the undersigned call upon Fandom to recreate their online community and to do it on Dreamwidth.

Signed,

Lots of people, including you?

[alicebentley]

I'm going to try! I don't always feel I have something worthwhile to contribute, but hopefully general nattering will be enough.

[alicebentley]

I look forward to it!
The weirdness I encountered last week was when the page auto-loaded me to a "Are you a Robot" inquiry, which had my Safari browser howling about Bad Evil Virus-ridden Hellhole. So that was new.

[minnehaha]

Honestly... worthwhile is not so much the point. Post at great length about your package mailed and mis-delivered.

K.