Because Enquiring Minds want to know...greenspun.com : LUSENET : Xeney : One Thread |
For various reasons, not the least of which was an astoundingly cruel journal entry written by a very popular journaler this weekend, I am taking a month long hiatus. Not from writing, but from reading. Cold turkey; no goddamn online journals.I KNOW I'm not the only one that's really curious about this cryptic paragraph. Anybody have any ideas on who or what it's all about?
And before you all go flipping out on me for having the balls to ask...think about it, You guys want to know too. Don't even think about acting like you don't.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Erm, yeah. In fact I just mentioned it in my entry for today, asking if anyone knew who the hell it was, because I was too chickenshit to post it here.So, no, you're not the only one who's curious. In fact I (sigh) cruised around like twenty journals this morning, trying to figure out who it was. Yes, I am 1) that bored and 2) that nosy.
Signing off in sheepish embarrassment,
Jan
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Hmm. I guess this journal isn't as popular as I thought it was. Glad to hear it.But no, I won't tell you who it is, because the person at whom the entry appeared to be directed has apparently not seen it. I'd just as soon it stayed that way.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
It's your perogative Beth (it is your journal entry after all)But it does tend to suck when you're not one of the people "in the know" and read cryptic entries like that.
Jan, no need to be embarrassed. There's nothing wrong with being curious about something and trying to find out an answer.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
My feeling is that if you're going to say something negative about a member of "the community," it's best to either be up front about whom you are criticizing, or to not say anything at all. I say this from experience: I once made a veiled barb at another diarist and was subsequently inundated with e-mail from diarists (many of whom I'd never even heard of) who were sure I was talking about THEM.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I have always emphatically disagreed with the notion that journalers who tell you that something is going on, but they can't give you details, are just being terrible teases. I know that journalers don't reveal everything in their journals. I don't expect them to tell me everything. I also think it's nice to have a hint that something else is going on, even if they can't or don't wish to elaborate.I'm pretty disgusted with the online journal community right now, and I'm not going to elaborate. If that bothers you or makes you feel that I'm part of some elite circle that's in the know, I'm sorry.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
OH!Tease! Now you must tell, otherwise we will all end up believing the mystery entry is about ourselves. (ourself?)
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Oh, all right. It was Kristin. She's evil. Hide your pets.JOKING.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
AACCCKKK!!!This discussion is too tantalizing.
I. MUST. KNOW. WHO. IT. IS.
However, I do respect Beth's position. But I still can't help but wonder whose journal is being referenced and this is going to drive me insane for the rest of the week. I shall have no peace.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Ok, it was me...I wrote some shit about that damned Beth Campbell! Quick - go read me!heehee!
I think there is something to be said for stepping back from the uglier aspects of online life, though. Diary-L is a good example of this, as is Just Desserts, but there are others. Surround yourself with negativity in one aspect of your life, and it just pervades every aspect. It took me a long time to realize that Diary-L is just about ten people, being as mindlessly bitchy as they can be on a consistent basis, and not an example of the olj community as a whole.
But what is so amusing is that, although this is apparently a very popular olj-er, no one has a clue who it is. Really, how funny is that? But then again, I am so clueless about who is and isn't cool in the cabal. We need a list..sort of like the webloggers have.
See, normally I'd agree that we should try to be mature adults and not get involved in tacky nasty messy things, but. But I'm -bored- and I'm -curious-. sigh.I'll just go over here and wallow in frustration for a while.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Oh, dammit. As soon as I read Beth's opening paragraph I immediately spawned another Netscape window and started tearing through what I considered the top possibilities. Zilch. So I planned to come to the forum and ask, even had a subject line all picked out (namely, Which way to the astounding cruelty?) only to discover that curiosity has already been expressed and the answer remains unrevealed.Hmm. It has just occurred to me that the culprit is probably someone in Beth's "Links" webring. And I am probably going to be spending a lot of time around the house today because my foster cat, Squeak, had her kittens on Saturday morning (going into labor at 7 a.m. in MY BED... my jersey cotton sheets will never be the same) and I am loathe to leave my five fuzzy love-bundles here alone. Actually, they're still pretty damn ugly, with their little twig-like umbilical cords still protruding from their milk-engorged bellies, but I am sure they will be cute in no time at all. And I promise not to natter on about them for the next eight weeks, really (I mean, I like Karawynn Long as much as the next person, but since Jenna whelped she has clearly lost her mind.)
At any rate, I will ferret out any astounding cruelty and report back. Maybe. Unless it's too mean to attract attention to. Or it's mean to me personally.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Jesus. Never mind. Beth, you read way too many journals. Me, you need to get a faster modem than that 38400 bps thing you have now if you want sleuthing such as the aforementioned to be at all practical.Shit, does this mean I have to read a book instead?
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Reading a book instead might be a good idea--I can recommend a few, but that might overlap too much with book discussion group threads or something. Dunno.Luckily, the excitement of finally venturing onto a forum is fighting my boredom pretty effectively, although my gossip-whore tendencies are still screaming for satisfaction. I'm so petty when work is slow.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
i needed something to keep me occupied/awake at my desk today, but after searching through three different journal lists (and following links to journals, and checking out the awards sites trying to figure out just who the hell is "popular" in the journal world) I got zilch. Lots of easter chat. Bunnies. coloring eggs. Dinner with grandma. I haven't come across a single thing I'd consider to be controversial or even a rant. Hateful? Mean spirited? maybe my judgement is different from Beth and maybe I saw it and just overlooked it... but I can't find anything that would make me up and walk away from journaling. (uh, ahem!) I mean, nothing that anybody wrote over this ~past weekend~, I walked away from the whole thing a long time ago, but not over anybody else's writing.
there, i'm not much help. course, I didn't check that Dave vanzan site... what's that url again? ;)
- t
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I just assumed she was talking about Rob Rum-Hud and his entry about the passive aggressive whining of certain people who felt snubbed by his non-presence in their New York lives. While he didn't name names, I again assumed he was referring to Kymm, among others, who wrote a rather heartbreaking entry about people not liking her.I didn't find the entry, or more correctly section of entry, particularly cruel, but I can see how a person more sensitive than I might.
Of course, I may be making connections that just aren't there.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Gosh, but I just feel so much better about the online journal community now.If I could go back and delete the reference right now, I would, but I can't FTP from here. Please, just drop it. I should have realized that the only thing anyone cared about is the goddamn gossip.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
No, no Beth, wait! We only just got started on Rob, and I was sharpening up a Dav Van diatribe. Can't we please keep the nasty speculation going just a little longer?
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Oh, come on, you can't say something like, "I read something really amazingly cruel that made me want to quit reading online journals for a whole month," and then expect people not to wonder what the heck you were talking about.Well, maybe you can. But I don't think it's reasonable to get mad at people for exhibiting natural curiosity.
Wow, look at me opening my big mouth and putting my foot in it. I'm shutting up now.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Hmmm. If it was about me, I don't know what to say. It wasn't intended to be an expression of cruelty, but anger and exasperation. I expressed an opinion of Kymm's "heartbreaking" entry as it pertained to me.In any case, I think all the parties involved have pretty much said all we have to say, at least in a public forum, so if this was the cause of all this, I'm sorry to disappoint. I think the fireworks are probably over, such as they were.
Anyway, I can't imagine that it was about me. Beth has made it very clear that she no longer reads my journal. Which is probably wise...
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I should have realized that the only thing anyone cared about is the goddamn gossip...Call me freaking goofy, but did you ever think that maybe that's NOT what everyone cared about? Some of us might actually give a shit enough to be curious beyond just idle gossip.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I've been reading this forum as it has unfolded. I must admit I was curious about Beth's entry today as well. Cryptic references will always pique my curiosity, and obviously I am not alone. And isn't that why most of us read online journals anyway? Don't we all want a peek into someone else's world? And don't we want to feel like we have special access?But the thing is, it sounds like Beth is regretting posting that entry today, and she is obviously upset that her forum has been hijacked. And it also appears that the speculation has taken on a life of it's own, and now fingers are being pointed and feelings are being hurt and that's really not cool. This IS Beth's forum after all.
So why don't we all do her a favor and back off?
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Rob, you rat-bastard, don't be coy. I believe you know *perfectly well* that Beth is referring to the fact that you stole "Thank you, Easter Bunny! Bock! Bock!" from me, when *I* was planning on using it for my Easter journal entry, and not only STOLE it, but used it before I could.That's just not right.
http://www.bitchypoo.com/bitchypoo.html
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Yes it is Beth's forum, and I understand her feelings of regret and of indignation, but you can't blame people for their curiosity.The paragraph that was written in the BHD journal is so passionate and vehement, its easy to see why it would inspire wonder and questions -- because it's more than a gossip factor; it's become personal to Beth, and thereby personal to her readers.
And whether or not it's seen as a teasing sort of thing and/or something that Beth has long agreed annoys her about other writers, it was a tease. Perhaps without the specifics, it wouldn't have been. But it seemed like Beth gave us just enough to make us wonder, and not enough to stop the gossip.
(this is why I try to avoid any meta talk at all in my writing. Though I know it makes it boring, it also means I never (or rarely) have to worry about situations like this)
..
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
and she is obviously upset that her forum has been hijacked...Excuse me, since when is POSTING in a FORUM hijacking?
I'm thinking that some people are way too sensitive...
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
If someone that I consider intelligent and reasonable says that she has read an entry so appalling as to cause her to tar the entire journalling community with the same brush and temporarily abandon it as a whole -- then I'm sure as hell going to wonder what that entry said. I don't even care who wrote it or about whom it was written; I want to see what words that powerful look like. Am I a gossip-mongering rubbernecker? Well, at least one person thinks so, so I'll drop it.BTW, Tess, I disagree that not discussing meta-issues makes for a boring journal. Although I did participate in diary-l back in the day (and here in the present) I always avoided such yappery in my journal proper and I think people liked it that way. I like journals that are a recounting of a life and work as stand-alone documents just as much as those that weave themselves into the community. Some media outlets are about the media (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting's magazine, which I forget the name of right now, for example) but some are just about the news. A steady diet of nothing but media about the media would probably lead to the intellectual equivalent of malnutrition. Journals that are too much about journals eventually drown in their own solipism.
Woo! Didn't I just say I would shut up?
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Beth has been around this scene for enough years to know exactly how people react when you put something tantalizing in front of their noses.To claim disappointment in the expressed curiousity is disingenious.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
That line has been deleted. I'm not going to win any friends by saying this, but Jesus, you guys. Way to show the journaling community in a great light. Way to make me proud to have you as my readers.Yes, if someone else had written that line, I would have been curious. I might even have asked. I damn sure wouldn't have joined in on a forum topic to speculate about it, especially not after the person who made the original comment said she wasn't naming names because she didn't want someone to have their feelings hurt.
Honestly, you guys are real assholes sometimes. This whole fucking "community" makes me want to vomit.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Oh good lord. I'm illiterate: "disingenuous".I'm having serious aphasia today.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Yes, if someone else had written that line, I would have been curious. I might even have asked. I damn sure wouldn't have joined in on a forum topic to speculate about it, especially not after the person who made the original comment said she wasn't naming names because she didn't want someone to have their feelings hurt.Then why mention it in an online journal?
Dictionary fo*rum: A formal discusion of a subject from various points of view.
Having a forum and dictating what can and cannot be said makes me want to vomit.
Sincerely, One of the assholes.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Honestly, you guys are real assholes sometimes. This whole fucking "community" makes me want to vomit.Wow. I feel like my social circle just got a lot bigger. Welcome, everyone...
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Jo, did I delete your topic? I don't think I did. I think I expressed my opinion of what you said, which is pretty much what you're doing to me, right?On the one hand you try to justify your curiosity by saying your concern goes beyond gossip, but this sure as hell looks like gossip to me.
Something made me very angry this morning. I wrote about it. I clearly said too much. I asked you to let it drop, and you didn't do so. Don't fucking act like I am the one who's out of line here. I acknowledged my mistake in including a "teaser" this morning; as I said, I was angry and I obviously wasn't being very careful. But I asked you not to pursue this, and you did. I'll be as mad at you as I please, because I think you've acted pretty badly.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I don't know why your getting your knickers in such a twist. I was simply expressing my opinion in a public forum. Obviously only opinions that agree with yours are the ones that can be stated here.Excuse me.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Clearly, Beth does not value her regular readers, as she just expressed the opinion that the lot of you, as are represented in this forum, are assholes. That speaks volumes, Beth. But you've always been one for cutting off your nose to spite your face, like destroying your entire mailing list because I unsubbed.T-minus uh, how long before you give up on your journal yet again, Beth, in disgust at the community?
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Oh, I get it, Nance. You're one of those people who wants to act as pissy as you please, but if anyone disagrees with you, then they're trying to stifle your expression of your opinion. You weren't trying to stifle me or anything when you pounced on something I said and wouldn't let me drop the subject when I acknowledged that bringing it up was a mistake, but if I'd like you to knock it off, then I'm just a big meanie censoring your free expression.I'll make a note of that and try not to disagree with you next time, since you take it so hard.
I would, however, like to apologize for my indiscriminate use of the word "asshole" earlier. I don't think everyone who reads my journal, posts on this forum, or expresses curiosity about what I was discussing today is an asshole. I do think Nance is behaving like an asshole, for reasons previously stated. She may be a perfectly nice person otherwise. I think Dreama is an asshole, for a whole host of reasons, including but not limited to this obnoxious discussion and her gleeful and vulture-like descent tonight. I think the person to whom I alluded in my journal this morning is an asshole for reasons which I've chosen not to discuss.
I don't think that most of the rest of you are assholes. I will, however, remain open minded on the subject; you are free to change my mind.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I think the person to whom I alluded in my journal this morning is an asshole for reasons which I've chosen not to discuss.You may rest assured, Beth, that the sentiment is entirely mutual...
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Well Baffle Me with Bullshit!I don't recall being pissy about anything. I was merely stating my opinion through posts. How you choose to interpret my posts is your business, but to call me an "asshole" because my position is not the same as yours is laughable at best.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Thanks for that other forum link, Beth, that made interesting reading indeed. I must say it made me feel far more nauseous towards certain members of the journalling community than the present discussion (or even the not-so-long-ago shitfights over Messrs Valvis and Scalzi) has done; must say I'm not entirely disappointed to be out of said community now.Yours in occasional assholery,
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Hey, now I remember why I unsubscribed from journals-l.I like reading journals, but sometimes I find it best to stay away from those with frequent "meta" entries. You'll get wrinkles from your face scrunching up so often. Beth, maybe when you decide to start reading journals again, that could be your deciding point on which ones to read. Ignore "journal community" devotees who write about it often, and enjoy journals from people who write about their offline lives.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
Oh, Dreama. Nice try with the troll, but it doesn't appear that any of Beth's regular readers are all to concerned with what she said.I know I am not, and I am a pretty regular reader. In fact, I am pretty sympathetic towards her right now, for having to put up with this kind of crap on her own forum, and I have a lot of respect for her for not just deleting the whole thread ages ago.
At any rate, Dreama, while you may enjoy sitting up there on your high horse, keep in mind that from down where the rest of us sit, all we can see is the horse's ass.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
The Queen is generally allowed, and most certainly even expected to occasionally lop off the heads of some of her subjects.Her "subjects" referring in this case to, "anyone on the property."
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I for one would just like to apologize for any part I had in this entire debacle. Yes, I was curious, but no, I did not intend to hurt anyone's feelings, so, I apologize.As for Dreama, that thread on Metajournals is what made me permanently give her opinions zero worth.
I hope I'm not one of the aforementioned "assholes," but hey, I've been called worse.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
See, this is why it doesn't pay to be vague and hintful in your writing. Which of us, exactly, are assholes? Unless it's specified, shall we all assume ourselves assholes? I insist on Beth's naming the assholes' names!
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I look forward to reading Beth's forum everyday. Some of the posts today made me cringe. I was embarrassed for the "community". I didn't know a pack of jackals constituted a community. Yuck.
-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000
I guess the worst part of all this for me is that as I was looking through some old old archived email, I found some really nice and sweet emails that Beth and I exchanged a while back. It made me a little sad to think how far things have gone down the toilet between us.I'm not saying that I don't understand her disapproval of me or my writing, and I am certainly pretty solid about my issues with her. It just made me a little sad, that's all. I'm never happy when a friendship goes to shit, even if it does so for perfectly logical reasons.
I wrote in haste earlier, beth. I don't think you're an asshole. I think you are wrong, but not an asshole.
Sorry, everyone. I had sort of a rough night, and I'm not quite the flinty-hearted prick that some of you have come to expect. Don't worry, I'll be back up to speed tomorrow...
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
I'm really sorry about your cat, Rob.But I promise to return to being an asshole tomorrow, too.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Deal. And thanks.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Hey, Carmen. Jackal packs need love, too.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Hey, wait a second -- this topic isn't going to turn all touchy-feely, is it? Group hug!-- Diane
ps - I just want to know how Beth can go cold turkey on everyone, including Stee. (Diane wails, gnashes teeth, wonders how Beth can abandon Diane's journal so easily.)
pps - For a few seconds this morning, I honestly thought that what Beth wrote was sort of a Rorschach test, by which everyone who writes a journal would stop and think, "Does she mean me?" But I may be showing my paranoid side too much.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Well, if I ever needed a reason to continue resisting posting an online journal, than this thread is it.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Ah, Jackie, go with the Force, you must.Every balloon fears a sharp pin.
Not think, Do
Dew the dew.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
I dunno. It all looks a bit fraught with bitchy asides for me. I didn't fare well in that kind of environment at school, and I don't think I'd enjoy it any more now.Besides, I read journals (Beth's, Pamie's, Patrick's, recently Stasi's, from today Rob's, and Anna and Georgina's in Australia) to hear about the lives of people I don't know, but who interest me - who write well and live in a world that is different from mine. Then I try and find common ground with them. Then I email them and comment incessantly on their journals.
I never read a journal to see who they're bitching about, though. That's why I stopped with Dave Van's efforts - I was two minutes away from contacting his wife personally and offering my condolences, so unpleasantly did he write about her.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Diane: it is entirely possible that I will cheat. It is entirely possible that I cheated abominably yesterday, although I will deny it if asked directly unless you actually have your referrer logs on hand, in which case I will still probably claim that it was Jeremy. But this reading hiatus does coincide with spring time, so I'm reading less, anyway.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Beth,This is a science experiment, yes?
You're trying to prove what gossip does to "online communities" or you're just evil and attempting to mess with the good folks who read this forum (or you're telling the truth). Either way, bravo! This little microcosm of online journalizers are so opinionated, it's always interesting when you all get riled up about something. It was a good read.
Kerri
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
God damn it Beth, how dare you have anything in your life that isn't completely open to us, your READING PUBLIC? How day you insinuate that there is something bothering you that you don't want to talk about? Why do you think we read your damn journal anyway - for the humor or the cute pictures of your dog or the gardening help? Don't you want lots of hits?? For god's sake, open a vein! Tell us all about your hatreds and feuds! Stick in links to the other journals so we can watch the unplesantness AS IT HAPPENS!(now if I can just get my tongue out of my damn cheek)
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Oh, good lord. All this nonsense was started by someone who has this disclaimer on the front of her journal:I do not intend for this journal to be a tool for people to criticize or offer negative opinions on the content. If you can't deal, feel free to go somewhere else.
What-fuckin'-ever.
Oh, and Lizzie's check is in the mail.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Beth, rest assured that any and all sentiments that you've expressed about me are mutual in ways I can't begin to express.Could you be more predictable or banal? Give me a freaking break.
And Kristin, sweetie, I think you may be looking in a mirror.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
I am now hijacking this topic! My youngest son just got into my hairgel, an OH. MY. GOD. doe he look like Vyvian! His father just asked me if he should draw the four stars on his forehead.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Two points:One: It's a disclaimer to my JOURNAL. I never criticized any of your entries or anyone else's in my posts on your forum. Big freaking difference.
Two: Note that I don't have a FORUM on my web site. And if I did I certainly wouldn't dictate what people could and could not say on it.
This is exactly why I've never gotten involved with the online journaling community ... It's just a bunch of dictators and ass kissing.
The only thing I did was make an make a curious observation and replied to posts regarding the initial observation. So sue me.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Does Dreama actually know what the word "banal" means? Hmm.Nance, you are very boring, but if you would like to show me exactly where I dictated anything, I'd be very pleased to hear it. You keep going on and on about this, but I don't really know what you're talking about.
Kat, do you have a digital camera? Pictures, please. If you take them, I'll post them.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Wait, I take that back. The opinion I expressed about Dreama apparently is "boringly commonplace and predictable," considering that everyone and her brother is expressing the same sentiment over at Metatalk. So I guess she did know what she was talking about. My bad.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
What started out as a simple "debate" (I use the term loosely)has turned into childish name calling and insults.And apparently there's quite a few people (according to emails that I've received over the last day and half) that agree that maybe you need to take a few Midols and call it a day on this thread. You win. Does that make you feel better? I'm a bad, bad, evil, person for daring to post my opinion on your wonderful forum.
Rest assured, this will be my last posting on your forum. So now you can have a free-for-all and say anything thing you want about me. And if calling me names and insulting me makes you feel better, you go for it, Girl!
At least I know that I didn't have to stoop to your level.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000
Methinks that Beth just doesn't like Pittsburgh girls, Nancy. Oh well, we'll see if she's so sure of herself when she's on our territory in October, when she comes to the oh-so-boring-and- annoyingly-planned JournalCon.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Wow, Dreama! You sound just like Jesse Helms!
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Being (thankfully) out of the loop when it comes to journal intrigues, who's this Dreama character? And why does she persist in visiting this site if it's all so banal and predictable?Can anybody provide a link to her site? I'd love to critique it, safe in the knowledge that nobody can do the same to me!
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
http://www.etherealgrace.cxI saw this link on another journal page yesterday.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Dreama, I assure you that I will be entirely self assured when I'm on "your territory." (I thought it was a journal community event; I wasn't planning on coming to your house or anything.) Unless you're insinuating that the Pittsburgh contingent is going to beat me up or something, in which case I'll be sure to carry a police whistle.And yes, I did register for JournalCon yesterday, and yes, I fully intend to behave myself. (I always did, you know.) I figure it's the most maddening thing I could possibly do.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Dreama -It must take a considerable amount of energy to maintain all that anger and bitterness. I am appalled that you would rush to post on Beth's forum as soon as things started to get ugly. In fact, the only time I've ever seen your name pop up on this forum is when the conversation turned nasty. I think that "speaks volumes" about what kind of person you are, and I'm sorry for you.
I'm disgusted by this whole situation. It's ok to be curious, but jesus, don't you people have lives? Let it go.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Wow, Dreama. You're so cool. I bet everyone's rushing to register for JournalCon right now so they can meet you.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
I'm tickled by this idea that I'm angry and bitter. Far from it. Very far.And I no longer have an online journal, for a variety of reasons. Ethereal Grace is written by someone named Tikvah.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
You couldn't get me near JournalCon if you paid me, not after reading posts on here and Metajournals written by some of the organizers of that event.In fact, I hope in future to stay far, far away from anyone who considers himself or herself a member of the "journalling community."
Beth, I hope this thread doesn't put you off reading journals forever. (And I'm not saying that because I got a DJR and you're one of the few people to publicly say good things about my journal. Okay, maybe partially for that ... I hate losing a good reader.) But what's important to remember is that people write wonderful things without any advice from some silly "community" crap, and without relying heavily on "meta" topics ... and it's worth it to find and enjoy those journals. And how you find them is not through Metajournals or diarist.net, but perhaps through people you like and trust.
Maybe we should start that thread again where people recommend journals they like, and say why. That would put a positive spin on this thread.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Good idea, Jette. Here you go.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Jette:Few people say good things about your journal? I must read it now! Pls advise where to find your URL, as am bored & requiring interesting entertainment for brain fodder.
Thx,
Jan
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Jan: check the DJR awards; she's listed there. Or you could just check her out for yourself.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
I think everyone wants to know to whom Beth was referring in her journal because references have been made all over the place lately as to how dark and dubious "the community" is right now.
I've seen it mentioned in several journals and by more than one person in Pamie's forums.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person who ran around the web reading the popular kids' journals to see who wrote the meanest note that day but, I didn't find anything either.
Writers are passionate and curious people. We want to know what other writers mean when they make a bold statement like Beth's and, I'm sure Beth understands that. It's sort of like a short-story writer putting this in a story: "Sam walked in and gave me the book," and then never again mentioning Sam or explaining who the hell he is!
But, the thing about journals is, although the writer, in this case Beth, is pouring out all this information about herself to the public, she's writing it for herself too. If she wants to slam down some stuff because she's frustrated, just like a poet need not explain every line to a reader, she doesn't have to explain her feelings to us. She just has to present them. And she certainly shouldn't have to defend her choice to critics, right? Because it's not for the critics.
We're spies. That's what's fun about it. And yeah, I'd like to know who she was talking about because, when a bunch of journallers make a habit of referencing each other on frequent basis (like Beth, Kymm, Pamie, Kim, Stee, etc.), it makes you feel like you are watching a big play with a large cast and you have all this background information on all of the characters and now, out of nowhere, you feel like you must have been in the bathroom when the good stuff happened.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
AMEN, ALLISON! Yeah! Beth, you have every right to say whatever you want to say -- it's your page and your forum, after all. I've been reading this thread off and on for a couple of days, and some of the reactions people have had have made me feel sick. Personally, I didn't think there was anything wrong with what you said -- I had a little curiosity, but really, I didn't give it that much thought. And I actually had a lot of respect for the fact that you didn't name names. You handled it in a mature way -- so I guess Dreama felt it was her duty to come in and start a catfight for you. She always does such a good job at it, after all.
-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000