(no subject)

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I'm trying to decide what I want to use this space for, and I'm kind of tempted to use it for the posts that I tag as "thinky thoughts" over on tumblr.

tumblr's great for a lot of things - obviously, I've been blogging there for almost a decade. But it can also get overwhelming sometimes.

My personal account there is semi-dormant since I tend to think of that as a place where I can hyperfixate on my fandom of choice and interact with other people in that fandom - but I don't currently have a fandom that I'm obsessed with the way I was with my last one.

I do miss that feeling, though. A lot.

So I think I might use this space to dump all of these thoughts that I have about social media and fandom and the various discourses that keep me up at night. This is a better forum to have those kinds of conversations. Even when I reblog other people's opinions on tumblr, it feels too much like I'm an audience member watching a conversation rather than an actual participant in it. Especially when so many of the speakers are actually just whispering in their tags.

Comments

[feckyeslife]

Sounds like a great use of the platform! Right now I use mine as a sort of organization hub and a way to track fandom events that are ongoing. I think that fictional_fans might be a comm that interests you, too! It has discussion threads about fandom in general every few days or so depending on what the community is thinking about.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

ooh thanks for the tip!

[rubick]

I totally get that! I definitely feel like Tumblr is something I Look at, rather than participate in. Can't wait to see your thinky thoughts.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

❤

[razia]

That would be cool! It would give people way more space to talk to each other, as opposed to tumblr where, sometimes, I feel like I shouldn't add my commentary to a reblog cause it almost feels intrusive (thank the gods for rambly tags xD ). And sometimes reblogs can totally derail the topic, so having a space for actual comments and responses would be nice, and it keeps everything in one place.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I cherish commentary in the reblogs and I'm often sad when it's just in the tags and I can't share it with other people - but I also get it. I really want conversation instead of me just dropping what's basically a conversation starter onto my blog and then... yeah. Watching the result :(

[razia]

I'm cautiously optimistic to see how it goes here, because now I'm wondering how much the current state of social media has stunted people's ability to comment beyond a handful of words. I'm certainly going out of my comfort zone here, to respond to you, and that's because I'm so used to simply watching things happen in a timeline that it almost feels like I shouldn't answer.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

Well, I'm really glad that you're doing it *hugs*

For me, this feels totally normal and exactly what I've been missing on tumblr :) Imagine! We're having an actual conversation! Kind of amazing, isn't it? :D

[razia]

Yes :D I'm used to either staying silent on places like tumblr or talking freely in DMs on discord, and I feel like DW might be a good middle ground.

(speaking of discord, if you ever wanna start a server, I think it would go really well, but no pressure xD )

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

oh man. I've thought about it XD Someone suggested it way back in my first year running the blog and I don't know that I want that kind of responsibility XD I've never modded a server beyond the one I had for like 15 friends that one time. I don't even know what kinds of rules and things I'd need lol

I'm on discord, but it's a private server with my RP partner and we just write back and forth and chat about life. That's about my speed :)

[razia]

Fair! But if you ever decide to try, I'd love to help you moderate the little monster :D

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I'm holding you to that!! lol

[gothyringwald]

I think this is a great use for DW! I was originally intending to do something similar—I started writing a post about my relationship with (possible addiction to) stats, but I got a bit bogged down and overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to say and life happened, so I haven't, yet.

And, yeah, I definitely agree that tumblr feels more like observing, rather than participating. There seems to be a culture, or attitude in some circles, that people should start their own post, rather than add discussion, and I never know if the OP of a post I might want to add something onto will welcome it or not. And, yeah, when you've got the culture shift to whispering in tags that's come in the past however many years, it can lead to a lot of awkward feelings about whether or not to add to the conversation in a reblog.

And with threaded comments it makes it sooooo much easier to join in a conversation, rather than having to reblog 3 million versions of the same post XD

(As an aside, I was also thinking of using DW for maybe DVD commentary and/or research posts for my fics, but I haven't decided if it's the best platform for that, or if tumblr works fine so people can reblog the references if they want to save them)

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

Yeah. I'm really bad at getting all of my thoughts into a single post - especially because I continue to think after I've written and come up with 5 more things. I think the nice thing about a space like this is that I can continue my thought into a second or a third post over a week or two or three and still feel like it's not too disjointed. On tumblr, I'd feel obligated to try to track down my initial post and reblog with the addition because there's no other way anyone would ever find it.

I love the idea of the DVD commentary and research. You could also post that to AO3 with tags like "Fanworks Research & Guides" :)

[kaysa14]

I hope it's okay to butt in here 😅

I totally agree with everyone saying that tumblr is difficult for conversations: it doesn't feel like a place for that, you never know if you're welcome, I feel like everyone already knows each other in my fandom, I don't like having my posts out there completely in the open...
But from what I can tell, dw doesn't just work very differently, it also seems to have different etiquette. I like that. I'm normally a lurker and find it hard to find a community, tumblr lowkey terrifies me in that regard.

The DVD commentary idea is great! I'd love to talk to people in my fandom (not just over my fic, but it's a start I guess?), but I don't feel like sharing stuff on tumblr. Posting there always feels to me like it's for other people, whereas posting here should feel more like writing a diary that other people can comment on if they want to :D
My fandom seems to be pretty much dead here, even though many authors who used to write there years ago are still here. But if I link my dw posts in the relevant fics, new people might come over and read them?

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

totally okay - and I don't think it's butting in so much as just joining :D

I think another big difference between tumblr and DW is context. On tumblr, you see posts floating in the ether with no idea when they were posted or which version of the conversation you're seeing. Here, the post stays put and it's nestled in between the posts that were written before and after it and you have your choice of which part of the discussion to engage in, to observe, or to avoid.

I don't know who's here, but I'm diving in and finding there are a lot of us after all! So I'm pretending to be an extrovert until further notice so that I can get back into the habit of chatting again lol

[kaysa14]

Oh yeah, the context is definitely a big difference! I used to post in forums as a teen and liked that. This feels a lot more similar to that than eg tumblr or twitter, which I really appreciate.

Pretending to be an extrovert 🙈 I'll have to try that! Socializing is so much easier for me in irl situations where I can just listen and throw in a question or funny comment now and then :'D

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I throw on my extrovert cosplay any time I need to be "social" and I'm really just flailing inside lol

[gothyringwald]

Totally OK!

And, yeah, I definitely agree that you never know if you're welcome on tumblr, and it definitely feels a lot more exposing to me.

TBH I haven't used DW much, and mostly for talking to myself so far, but I guess if the etiquette is similar to LJ, then yeah, it's definitely different. I don't even know how to find a community on tumblr! I just hope people find me, which isn't very proactive, but is kind of my style in life in general lol

And thank you! :D Yeah, same—I kinda like sharing stuff on tumblr, but then it often feels like standing in a room full of people and trying to get anyone to look your way and start a conversation. But, yeah, DW does feel more like a diary, so it doesn't bother if no one responds

Hopefully! That's definitely not a bad idea. I don't know if my fandoms are active here—one skews very young, and the other is a mixed bag, but the most active people, at the moment, are quite young so... *shrug*

[kaysa14]

I get the non-proactive thing, that's my usual approach too :'D I'm new on dw and wasn't there for lj, so I'm just... very new in general :D

Yeah, posting on tumblr would probably just make me anxious xD Both getting a response and not getting one in their own ways.

I'm only active in one and I think does kind of skew relatively young (the big bang currently going on has mostly people in their early 20s, but I know there are many young teens as well). What's really bothering me though is that there are way too many antis and other people who want to police what fics can be written. One of the BB mods got so many hateful messages about how she was running the event that she resigned.

[vriddy]

Oh, sounds like a super cool topic!! I'm thinking a lot about social media and fandom too lately, mostly because I left/disengaged with that part of fandom around the time LJ imploded and DW was created, and everything is so different since I'm trying to get involved again as of last year.

And it's already so cool to see the comments on your posts!! Cosy good conversational vibes :)

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I'm freakin' loving the conversations I've had in the past 24 hours. I already feel more connected to fandom than I have in years. It's so good!

and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one currently thinking (overthinking?) fandom and social media. I have a lot of proto thoughts that I'm starting to put into words, but I'd love to have someone to chat with about them

[vriddy]

I don't know if the "someone" was generic or particular, but either way I'm (clearly 😂) really looking forward to reading about and mulling over and discussing more of these thoughts!! Happy the DW experience is going well for you so far <3 I'm enjoying hopping over for the interactions and finding new people to follow too, haha.

[nrgburst]

Oooh, agreed! Can't wait to hear your meta thoughts about fandom. :D

This is a great space for that just because conversations can be parsed by thread and it's just so much neater/easier to follow than the unwieldy long thing a chain of reblogs can quickly become! Also you can tag your posts and keep them organized. Discord has its merits, but I think thoughtful discussion there can be hard just because statements gets washed downthread so quickly sometimes, and if there are like, 10 people commenting it can turn into a chaotic shouting match in seconds.😬

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

Yeah, I'm hoping other people decide to post things too - fandom specific or nonfandom or anything else. I'm eager to see a reading page full of posts for me to read and connect with.

I'm so freakin' excited for the possibilities!

[likethenight]

Chiming in mostly to echo everyone else!

I often don't feel comfortable actually commenting on Tumblr posts or reblogging with comments (not just yours, pretty much all of them) because I've seen so many people get piled on by the 'general public' on Tumblr who've misunderstood (wilfully or otherwise) the point they're trying to make, and I just don't have the mental energy to deal with that. So I'm an inveterate whisperer-in-tags, where it doesn't really show up but I can still ramble a bit. I think in some ways it's slightly too easy to comment on Tumblr, so people do it without thinking, whereas here it's a bit more of a process and a bit more structured, and maybe that encourages slightly more thought before pressing 'post comment'.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I think the other benefit of dreamwidth is that people will only see the discussion if they want to. On tumblr, things get thrown onto your dash whether you want to see them or not, and I think that's where some of the dumpsterfire pile ons can happen. Same thing with the additions to posts. If it's in a space like this then the OP has the ability to remove comments they don't want associated with their thoughts. On tumblr, once it's out there you have no ability to get it back.

[ms_katonic]

I've had the same experience with Tumblr, with Thoughts on a post, but not wanting to verbalise them for fear of either derailing a discussion or dogpiling from other people. Even reblogging with thoughts in the tags is no longer a guarantee you won't get negativity, not now those get sent to the OP as well.

And then I saw a link to your other post on a Tumblr post someone reblogged and felt very excited at Dreamwidth being a thing again and realised what I'd missed. So, er, here I am. I don't know if we share fandoms but an awful lot of the general meta applies cross-fandom, and DW is so much better for actual conversations. I hardly had to block anyone on LJ, but on Tumblr I seem to be doing it every five minutes.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I'm vaguely interested in a hundred fandoms or more, but I'm not actively creating or consuming in any of them. If I see stuff, I smile and enjoy it but that's about as far as I'm going these days. I'm in a meta headspace, for whatever reason, and I think that DW is the place for that more than tumblr.

I do still like tumblr, but not for conversation. There, it feels like even when I clearly state that a post is my opinion, people still take it like I'm stating facts. No! I'm doing it to start a conversation, not just to have people agree with me and reblog and leave it there. XD

[roselightfairy]

This is an interesting thought I don't know if I would have had pre-pandemic and remote-world, but the culture of adding commentary in tags on tumblr almost feels to me like the same thing as commenting in the chat in a Zoom meeting instead of speaking aloud. Some people will see it, there might still be conversation in the chat, but it flies under the radar and it feels like a more "acceptable" way of speaking - feels more like shouting into a void than actually adding your voice to the conversation.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

I think you've definitely got something there. But I wish that wasn't the case in fandom spaces. I want to hear everyone and I want everyone to feel like they can speak up if they so choose. I don't want people to have to dampen themselves just to fit in. Be loud. I want to hear you :)

[hhimring]

I am wondering whether you might perhaps be interested in the upcoming sunshine challenge: https://sunshine-challenge.dreamwidth.org/

It is a sister challenge, I believe, to the Snowflake Challenge that runs on Dreamwidth in January. They encourage thinky thoughts and are not fandom-specific

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

someone else mentioned this in a comment somewhere and it definitely sounds cool. Thanks for the link! I've joined :D

[unatorre]

Isn't it the worst when one is between fandoms to hyperfixate about? I always feel somewhat adrift….

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

the woOOOoorst (said in the voice of Jean Ralphio)

I've been without hyperfixation for like 2.5 years now and I miss it so sososoo much

[unatorre]

Oh no, that's rough.
I always end up trying to watch shit i know i won't like in an attempt to find literally anything that can hold my attention, and i hate it. And sometimes i find something and i'm like “oh that's cute, let's see if there's some fanfic about it” and I read a couple of one shots and then completely forget about it ever again. Rinse and repeat for the next attempt.
Is fandom itself an addiction? Like, is the feeling itself of being consumed by an interest something that at one point you can't live without? Idk. It's not even like i don't have other hobbies….

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

For me, I have what could probably be considered "normal amounts" of interest in all sorts of fandoms, but none are currently grabbing me enough to make me desperate to create for them. I've only really had that two or three times in 20 years, so I might just have to accept I've got another 5 years of wandering aimlessly before I hit paydirt again.

I think there might be something to that addiction thing, but it's probably more about the joy and the community than it is about the interest itself - at least for me.

[wolfish_willow]

Oh man, I was in the same boat for about the same amount of time even. There was fic that I could read in that time, but creating was out of the question. Tried really hard to write for what I was reading but it wasn't the same as it had been when I'd been neck deep in Supernatural fic for a while there.

Heh so yeah being between hyperfixations is rough!

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

lol I actually got an FFN favourite on a Supernatural fic last week and I was like "did I write SPN fic?" Turns out I wrote a few back in like 2012 or 2013.

my last neck-deep fandom was Agents of SHIELD and I just haven't found something to replace it since I left it in season 5. Give me a show with humour and found family and a ship where they're both nerds who are also bantery. There are probably a million with those elements and yet, I can't seem to find one XD

[wolfish_willow]

It sounds like it should be so easy, but unfortunately we get absolutely no say in what we obsess over. It's not fair darnit!

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

right? I totally disapprove of this unfair system! XD

[feast_of_regrets]

Hi! It's A Beautiful Wasteland from Tumblr. Glad to see you over here; I love your thought posts. I haven't figured out how to make Dreamwidth 'go' myself in terms of community, but I like it here. It could be a really great community if I could figure some features out probably. And probably if I could scrape together more energy to blog myself LOL.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

lol I know what you mean. I'm basically cosplaying as an extrovert at the moment because community doesn't happen without work, so I'm putting in the work.

the slower pace on DW is a bonus, though. I can scroll back to the start of my reading page in no time at all, even if I'm commenting here and there as I go. :D

[feast_of_regrets]

Definitely a shift from the firehose of Tumblr. A very enjoyable shift I agree.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

lol firehose is exactly the word for it XD