Livejournal Questions

[lettered]

This actually has nothing to do with the recent drama.

I have a confession to make. I'm a genius. But I'm really tragically stupid also.


-how to put on a header. And why everyone can figure it out but me.
-what a DDoS attack is. Looked it up on Wikipedia. Still really don't understand.
-where everyone gets the equipment to do all the icons and everything they do. Seems to me that stuff costs a fortune.
-how to write short fanfic.
-who Rodney is.
-Henry Jenkins.
-GIP.
-how NOT to hotlink some images. I can do it if the image is in a format Photobucket will upload, otherwise I don't understand.
-how people keep up with their flists.
-how people keep up with stuff like which new cat macro is funniest.
-how anyone keeps up with anything.
-why seraphcelene can't be here RIGHT NOW, I dunno, making pie with me.
-how people find out people are talking about them when said people are not talking to them. It's not that I don't like gossip. It's that I don't understand it. I literally seem to have trouble paying attention to anything not aimed straight at me with a missile launcher.
-why I like Harry/Draco.
-flangst.
-how people not being able to post really isn't connected to the Great Strikethrough.
-how to play most online videos, or dl the equipment.
-birthdays.
-why I didn't find a plane ticket to NYC for an earlier day so I could watch DB with a2zmom.
-Spike.
-betas.
-most emoticons.
-who Jo is.
-what Due South is.


In other news, The Sound of Music in Sparta. (link courtesy imnotacommittee.)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/peasant_/]

I agree that there are instances when silence is the appropriate response - not dignifying idiots with an answer definitely has its place. But on the other hand we are talking about a society where reputation is very important. Most of the usual currencies are irrelevant here - age, wealth, appearance - and reputation is one of the two or three keys to access to the things that are most highly valued in our society, namely feedback and the ability to persuade others to pay attention to what we are saying and respond. So to damage somebody's reputation is to directly damage their access to those rewards. As such, I would never criticise anyone for wishing to defend their own or their friend's reputation. (And incidentally, that defence would include checking out rumours to find out if someone actually is being slandered.)

But again, each case is unique and depends on the circumstances, for example the reputation of the person doing the slandering. So those hate memes that spring up from time to time are usually best ignored IMO, since they are an acknowledged form for people to let off steam and are disregarded as a valid source of information accordingly, especially since the haters are normally anonymous. But if a MNF or BNF starts insulting another individual that is a very different matter, because like it or not the opinions of BNFs count for something on LJ.

Maybe as you say this comes down again to a fundamental difference in how we view LJ interaction. I am always aware of the larger audience, and thus always thinking about things like reputation, if someone sees LJ as a series of closed rooms then they will not allow for reputation and thus not allow for the harm that can be done.

Ultimately though, for me it comes down to a simple matter of 'are they being kind, or are they being helpful', if the answer is no then I am going to view their actions with suspicion and they had better have a very good alternative reason for their behaviour, because my natural inclination is to support the person being insulted and their right to defend themselves or have others provide a defence for them. And part of that defence is finding out about the (public) insults in the first place. As such I don't see gossip as a bad thing but a valid and useful tool for the dissemination of information that people benefit from having. Yes, sometimes we would all be happier if we never found out what people are saying behind our backs, but it is far better to come across the bad things at an early stage and try to nip them in the bud than to leave things to fester for years so that the bad-mouthers become more and more convinced they have some sort of right to be rude about other people in public. Personally I have a guilty feeling that if enough people had stood up to the wankers in the recent round of nastiness a couple of years ago, when this all started, then things would never have got to the current state where the fandom is pretty much irretrievably split in two (except for a few awkward souls left balancing on the divide, who have my sympathy because that is never a fun position to be in).

Anyway, this all became a lot longer than I expected, but the real question is do you think you can cross the question off your list - do you reckon you understand how and why people find out about these things? :o)

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think we'll have to agree to see things differently. Thanks for your thoughts on the matter. I'm glad to have them, because even though I think we disagree on several key points, like you I think that it is important to think of other people when speaking/posting. Even if in the end it does not change my viewpoint or what I say when posting, it helps me to better respond to people who feel as you do.

On that note, you have also been extremely helpful as regards the statement in the list of things I don't understand. Similarly to "how people keep up with their flists", I think lots of people have a different answer to this and that it's not something that has a universal answer. But, you brought up several ways people find out others are talking of them, I think most of which probably are the simplest answer, so yes, I'm crossing it off. Thanks again.