My blog survives for '25
Dec. 27th, 2024 03:56 pmIn my November 17 post, I deliberated whether to renew my paid account or take a temporary or permanent leave of absence from blogging on Dreamwidth. Well, I'm still here, folks, at least for now. My paid account lapsed on December 11 but a week later, a kind-hearted Secret Santa renewed it for another year.
This crisis of faith was sparked by an upsetting comment I received from another Dreamwidth member. I have successfully banned this person from commenting directly on any of my posts but they are still out there, woven into the warp and the woof and the meow of our dysfunctional Dreamwidth family. Well, it's a truism that you can't choose your family, nor can you help it if you're a bastard. And if you tug on a loose thread and oust it from the fabric of a family or a community, there's always the risk that the family or community could eventually unravel completely.
OK, enough of that dreadful extended metaphor. In addition to banning the person from commenting on my blog, I also asked a Dreamwidth administrator to investigate what I believed to be a violation of the Member Code of Conduct. The administrator informed me that Dreamwidth encourages expression of a wide variety of views and that derogatory comments are not considered a violation of the Code even if they are rude, aggressive and insulting. To their credit, they did also say that if I was dissatisfied with their services or felt there were certain things they could be doing better, I could send my suggestions to their Feedback mailbox. I'm considering doing just that.
So there it stands. I'll probably continue mostly as I have for the past 13 years, except that I may be a little more circumspect when it comes to posting on hot-button issues.
That concludes my end-of-year update.
This crisis of faith was sparked by an upsetting comment I received from another Dreamwidth member. I have successfully banned this person from commenting directly on any of my posts but they are still out there, woven into the warp and the woof and the meow of our dysfunctional Dreamwidth family. Well, it's a truism that you can't choose your family, nor can you help it if you're a bastard. And if you tug on a loose thread and oust it from the fabric of a family or a community, there's always the risk that the family or community could eventually unravel completely.
OK, enough of that dreadful extended metaphor. In addition to banning the person from commenting on my blog, I also asked a Dreamwidth administrator to investigate what I believed to be a violation of the Member Code of Conduct. The administrator informed me that Dreamwidth encourages expression of a wide variety of views and that derogatory comments are not considered a violation of the Code even if they are rude, aggressive and insulting. To their credit, they did also say that if I was dissatisfied with their services or felt there were certain things they could be doing better, I could send my suggestions to their Feedback mailbox. I'm considering doing just that.
So there it stands. I'll probably continue mostly as I have for the past 13 years, except that I may be a little more circumspect when it comes to posting on hot-button issues.
That concludes my end-of-year update.