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So simple. A blank page. I couldn't ask for a better interface. Look how these words populate the page so magically. It's a sight to behold, considering the clutter we are subjected to in other online spaces.
I was a bit unsure about what to write here. I created this blog as a backup space in case my WordPress blog went out of commission for some reason. Usually the reasons aren't communicated from the get-go and they urge you to take action in case you wish to recover all content you no longer have access to. It's confusing and I wasn't prepared to take in the idea that what I write in platforms owned by others doesn't actually belong to me. Pretty basic concept I was blissfully unaware of.
I'm still trying to figure out how this blog works, so this first post will be shorter and against the rules, or maybe not. Having less options for customization doesn't mean I get way faster at figuring things out. I can no longer give the excuse of my age because there's many people my age who are way better than me at navigating online platforms and using software. If there's one thing I've learned when I started using Mastodon was that I must be extremely techno-stupid. Mea culpa.
One day I told my wife: “A day will come when I'm going to get banned from Facebook or some other very well-known network and it will be for some stupid reason involving spam filters or because I chose the wrong react emoticon or something. Mark my words.” So yeah, let's wait and see. I can say that I'm a proud owner of a Mastodon account for almost (or probably exactly) one year and nothing happened yet, I haven't offended anyone and didn't crash the instance. I also never got angry, and that is a first.
I could start by saying where the name of this blog came from but I'll keep it for another time. It's not important. What's more important is that I'm in good company here – of this I'm absolutely sure – and I hope to fit well. I really do. What I'm not going to use this blog for is writing about video games, because I already do it somewhere else, unless in comes from an ongoing stream of consciousness. I could write about books but in order to do that I have to read them, and many other activities are just in the way, sometimes my own thoughts are in the way.
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I've been using Discord a bit more often to connect with other bloggers. For some reason that I'm yet to understand I can't seem to like the chat. It surely is great to exchange tips about video games and other hobbies but I find it very difficult to keep a conversation going. It's like I go there, check the latest chats, send one or two comments and that's it. I struggle to communicate with people and I feel that chatting amplifies this shortcoming. I managed to keep it going once, with one person, and it was actually pretty cool. For a brief moment I was thrown back to my IRC times, where the chat window was brimming with activity and people constantly cycled between private and public chat. At the time, we had about five or more private chat windows and then just shitposted on general chat. It was fun, and we could always get to know people.
Now on Discord we have profiles that say “Ask to DM” and I wonder what that means. DM used to be the default so I think people must have changed. Or the internet changed. And where are we supposed to ask? If it's a private message wouldn't announcing ourselves in public defeat the purpose? “Illustrious person, could I please send you a private message about a given situation I'd very much like to discuss with you in private because it only concerns you and I don't see any reason to go off-topic in this general chat?” My goodness. The best course of action, I think, is to refrain from DMs altogether and react only if someone sends one to me. I miss IRC though. Some people were crap but at least we learned first-hand why.
I know why it is so. I know what trolling and abuse are and I've also been on the receiving end of it. I just wanted to rant a little and dwell in my own thoughts for a brief moment. There's a Norwegian expression that I enjoy very much: å ha mye på hjertet. It means, in direct translation, to have a lot in our heart, meaning that we have a lot to process, to communicate and to put out there. It can also mean that we have a lot of opinions about a subject. So let's relax a little. I think this blank page is the best place to start.