02/20/2012

So there has been quite a dust-up here on OD over the Diarymaster’s absence, eh?

(Sorry. Sometimes I get annoyed that everyone in Minnesota begins every sentence with the word “So”, and there I’ve done it…)

Anyway, I haven’t been following the discussion around this closely, I rarely dip into the Boards (hah, I briefly typed “broads”).

I know this is the internet, and the internet is a place where people go to get really worked up over things that aren’t worth getting worked up at all over. But I still think this has been blown out of proportion.

I’ve been around OD since 2000, and I think I have seen it all. The hack attack, the sassafras fiasco, the country*gal drama, etc. (You are old school if you remember those things!) I even had my own regrettable drama episode, if I can be permitted to strip my sleeve for a moment here. One of my close OD friends turned out to be basically a made up person. This place has been great and weird. That is my 10 year summary.

Everyone (like the DM) has mentioned that the internet has changed, and social media didn’t exist 5 years ago (really), let alone 10 years ago, and the world is different now. My view is a little different. I don’t think much has changed.

The aberration was that period between 2001 and 2003 where the site was massively, massively trafficked. It was a new thing back then. It has broad appeal, it was a type of social networking before any of the others.

But really, writing is and has always been a niche. Journals are not the norm, they’re something only a minority of people do. That’s why this place is special. Everyone uses email – everyone uses Gmail. Gmail isn’t special, it’s ubiquitous. OD is special because there are a few of us here, and it’s a very diverse and close knit group.

Most of you wouldn’t hang out with me in real life, but on OD we’re spiritually friends. You read me, I read you, sometimes we note. It lets you “get” people in a way that doesn’t or wouldn’t matter in the real world.

I don’t want to be one of those people who posts a million useless things on Facebook or uses it is a blog, irritating people with politics and useless thoughts, and pictures of your dinner, and all of that… that’s what a blog is. Blog recognize blog.

OD lets you show your true self, or whatever side of yourself you choose, to people who don’t exist in real life and who can give you feedback honestly, without you worrying about what will happen if they judge you.

I mean, there are many, many people here who write in minute detail about their sex lives, to be read by complete strangers. In public entries! And just a few entries forward or back are photos that identify you. Anybody could stumble in and see that. Where else do people do this?

Really, what are we doing here? It’s exhibitionism. You know how women have regrettably started to go out in public wearing those stretch pants? It’s like proudly walking around naked, but in a different color? That’s what we are doing here on OD. We’re showing our bare selves to anyone who cares to look, and not the least reason is for the attention.

This is not normal behavior – showing your inner self instead of hiding, throwing yourself outward instead of being guarded. We writers are always going to be a niche.

That’s why it doesn’t surprise me that traffic on the site has sort of returned to the real ‘normal’ level.

Solomon was a writer too. He said it – there is nothing new under the sun.

As far as the DM – so he had to get a day job. Well, good for him. He’s developed a skill, established a community online – done big things really. His project paid the bills for a while but it’s not meant to be a career, so he went back to the work force. If you know what web hosting costs and what web advertising pays, this is no surprise And self-determination is a good thing.

My view here is really pretty simple. The site costs nothing to use. It’s up, there has been only one little downtime lately that I’ve noticed. The community is available and running the way it always has. What’s the big deal? I pay to use the site – a fee that is so small to be a pittance. Even if you are a lifetime member, you can’t really expect to be served like the Queen for life on account of $100. Can we all just chill? Go back to the state we were in, before unanswered emails to the DM were the end of the world…? You’re going to start your own website because there was no link for February Music Month?

Doesn’t this all seem a little dramatic?

I don’t see getting all worked up about it. OD is a hobbyist pursuit. It’s not paying the guy’s bills, so I don’t blame him for not being available full time. Life’s a bit too short for all of this.

I know it’s the internet, and this is a place where people hate, hate, hate each other because one person doesn’t breastfeed, or uses disposable diapers, or doesn’t like your political candidates, or whatever else… it takes almost nothing on the internet to make people hate you… can we just exercise a little deference and be the first people in the history of the internet to say “You know, the subject we’re fighting about is really not that big of a deal.” ?

As you were!