scrawnytreedemon

So,

I've been off Tumblr for several months, only checking back occasionally to see how things were going, which only confirmed that, yep-- I can't stand this place anymore. It's a shame, too, because I like Tumblr's functionality, buggy as it may be at times. It's the community, Tumblr's biggest charm and second largest problem (thanks, PhotoMatt), that's ultimately pushed me off. I just cannot stand how people conduct themselves there, even when they have something interesting to say or a good-to-okay point to be made. So many of those discussions are poisoned with moral superiority and a willingness to label people as cause-traitors for stepping out of line for the mildest of infringements.

So then I checked Cohost... to find that it went read-only at the start of this month, and that it's slated to shut down at the end of this year. I commend the devs tremendously. This was a huge undertaking, and they did everything they could to stick to their guns. It's hard to stay afloat in a business where your competitors make their living with algorithms crushing people's souls, robbing them of their privacy, and driving them to extremism.

Which leaves Dreamwidth!

I really like how the format of this website prompts people to give thought-out entries that are often more personal than ones posted to other websites. You don't really have to worry about your posts making their way onto the timeline or tag-scroll of random people who might not appreciate it. If they're finding it, they're looking for it. That's comforting, for someone who has Many Thoughts™ but is often too chickenshit to share them, lol. It also means that chance encounters are less likely... But, hey! Less likely is not zero 😆

I'm in a hectic time in my life right now, so regular posting is unlikely to be a thing in any case, but I do want to put something out here. I think the low-stakes environment of this platform is pretty good for that. I want to do more to make this place a bit livelier-- Unfortunately, some of the things I want would involve me creating and thus running communities here, and as much as I want to be the change I see in the world, I am admittedly very scared of royally messing this up. I can be absent for days, weeks, months at a time, and that habit a good moderator does not make 😔

In any case, I could probably start by rewriting some old posts I had on my tumblr. As much as I love the core of some of them... Hoo boy my writing style had a frenetic, vulgar quality that did not make for great reading and I think often undercut the point I was making. It's something I'm very much working on now. One of my friends has described as seeming like a "nervous little dog" at times (said very much with compassion), and I think that came out in some of those old posts, lol.

Who knows, I might even write down my thoughts about Zant and gender that would get me eviscerated on Tumblr <3 Anything is possible!