💾 Archived View for kvothe.one › gemlog › 2020-08-03.gmi captured on 2020-09-24 at 00:49:09. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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Shufei wrote, in a eulogy for PuppyLinux's JohnMurga:
"The internet is a human beast."
Amongst all the talk of Gemini, curation, and the small Internet, it becomes easy to dismiss the modern web. After all, we're here largely to not be THERE, where "there" is seen as a monstrosity of Javascript, ad trackers, and profiteers.
But, as loath as I am to say it, there is good to be had there, too.
The Fediverse is not much different than the for-profit, infinitely scrolling timelines on other platforms. From a "how it feels to participate" perspective, clout continues to be the ever-elusive currency, just on a federated platform.
In past lives, I've participated in quite a few close-knit gaming communities. Also: programming communities. There is a point where the electronic becomes real; an uncanny valley, once crossed, where people you've never met become friends. Where it stops being an impersonal pastime and you have a genuine connection with people.
I am starting to get that sensation again, and that makes me happy! From hanging out with the anonradio/tilderadio crew on com and IRC to tooting with all sorts of neat people on Mastodon, this place is feeling more like a home than ever before.
In "real life," I often find myself checking my identity at the door. In work circles, I keep things professional. In other spaces, I sometimes feel like an imposter for being a "live and let live" sort of fellow. I can't rightly call myself centrist; I DO have strong beliefs about a great many subjects. Still, disagreement doesn't permit vilification.
Anyway, this small Internet is the sort of place where I can be myself, and I'm glad to share it with y'all.
On a closing note, solderpunk wrote in a toot reply about the gopher culture, and I'd like to share it here:
I guess I would be careful about saying too much about a unified "Gopher culture". I do think it exists, but it's a pretty thin layer of who people are. We are unified in our distaste for the web and many other aspects of modern computing, and there is a strong tendency toward wanting/appreciating a slower/simpler life, and a DIY ethos, but that's about it. You will find left wing and right wing people in Gopherspace, and folks in between, and folks entirely apolitical. There are Christians and atheists. It's not really a terribly diverse space, compared to somewhere like the Fediverse. There is a surprisingly small (but certainly non-zero) LGBTQ presence, for example. On the whole there's really very little in the way of activism or political discussion there, and I think a lot of people there are probably pretty happy for it. It's a quiet, chill place that I think it serves as an "escape" from heavier real world concerns for many.
Until next time, be well, sundogs!
kvothe.