By the Light …

Still on a LJ honeymoon. Is it the agreeable sensation of wasting time at work? Or the feeling of being at a party where you get to talk to folks for exactly as long as you want? As a person who takes a long time to feel comfortable and warm up in unstructured situations, I love having to get a glimpse inside peoples’ psyches before having to make the halting first bits of conversation. Two quick bits of reflection about online life: Does anyone else have the feeling that LJ is killing off the Bears Mailing List? Traffic on the BML seems way down, and mostly restricted to club announcements. I know several prominent posters have made their way over to here. Personally I find it a much more workable and richer format here. Secondly, I’m finally on Friendster and I find it completely daunting and baffling. Lots of work for a thin gruel of endorsements and truncated messages. Is this a generational problem? When I browse though there everyone seems a good 15-20 years younger than me. Maybe it’s just one of the many things I’m not getting these days.

0 Comments +

  1. before i turned 18, i really wanted to sign up for the BML and get to know all the bears. i got a LiveJournal when i was 17…it was slow at first, but i eventually found a bunch of friends here. i signed up for the BML on my 18th birthday and read my first few digests with interest, but i’ve been having issues with not getting a lot of the digests, and, as you mentioned, it’s mostly club announcements.

    actually a lot of my Bear life is thru LJ…

    i don’t use friendster…LJ’s good enough…after all, beardom is inbred enough ;P

  2. wow, that was fast…

    yeah, i had a very “good boy” attitude about that at the time…hell, for the longest time, i wouldn’t look at porn cos of all the 18+/21+ warnings…i did get caught and mini-lectured by the webmasters of bearprofiles.com for having an ad up there once, and that set me off for a bit…

    i personally don’t understand drinking-as-recreation, but i’d certainly go for it in a food/wine context…

    tobacco, for me, is out of the question – asthma. sure, i’ll admit i don’t mind looking at a guy smoking a cigar or pipe, but otherwise…

    you’re a horrible influence on me 😉

  3. Howdy

    Howdy…..been meaning to say hello to you. I am a member of Pipebears, also. I am in CT, but run into NY ever so often and keep hoping we will cross paths. Glad to find you on LJ. I have recently joined Friendster, but the site seems to run to slow for my liking. I personally prefer to read everyone’s rants and raves here on LJ….makes me feel like I am not the only one who bitches. Take care.

    Wallace

  4. Re: Howdy

    It does feel more personal here. And having had the chance to talk here , it’s now much more likely that we’ll cross paths, since I’m not really out at the usual haunts around town. Keep me posted on when you’re heading here and let’s share a bowl! Thanks for saying hi, and it’s great to know you’re here.

  5. Re: Howdy

    It does feel more personal here. And having had the chance to talk here , it’s now much more likely that we’ll cross paths, since I’m not really out at the usual haunts around town. Keep me posted on when you’re heading here and let’s share a bowl! Thanks for saying hi, and it’s great to know you’re here.

  6. “Alfred” Ed from Friendster

    Not that I’d ever try to compete with, or compare LJ to Friendster but…I appreciate your presence on the latter. I feel like I’m a little intimidated by the blood and guts of LJ and Friendster offers a tidy, controlled dose of other people’s lives that my obsessive & voyeuristic sides can handle. While it is more impersonal than LJ, it’s still some nice crumbs for the folks that enjoy seeing your mug pop up in their little Friendster pool window every morning (or hour, as in my case). Plus, I’ve found people I haven’t seen in over ten years on it. I feel like I’m keeping them around without being too obligated to contact so often.

  7. Re: “Alfred” Ed from Friendster

    Ed – you are the delightful exception that proves the rule. And actually I didn’t mean to engage in Friendster bashing here – I was and am more interested in what has happened to the BML, the loss of personal tone there.

  8. Re: “Alfred” Ed from Friendster

    Ed – you are the delightful exception that proves the rule. And actually I didn’t mean to engage in Friendster bashing here – I was and am more interested in what has happened to the BML, the loss of personal tone there.

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