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It's _That_ Time Again (Please Reply!)
Dec. 1st, 2007 01:59 amI think everyone's already seen this one before...but here's where I give you the explicit opportunity to opt-in/out of seeing most of my LJ entries, which can admittedly not be for the faint of heart. And there is NOTHING wrong with not really wanting to be exposed to the gory details of my life. God knows sometimes I wish I wasn't... :)
BTW, I reserve the right to soften the words I'm using here if I can think of a less stark way to put things. I'm not out to hurt anyone, but it's important that there not be any miscommunication either.
As you all are (or maybe aren't) aware, most of my entries are protected. The ones that aren't usually aren't because a) they're essentially meaningless to me, b) they contain information I would like to see widely distributed, or c) it would defeat the purpose to hide them. Note that this can mean all you get is bitchy PSA's, so I guess not being in on the other entries can cut both ways.
What I'd like to know, if you're reading this journal, is whether you want more than a, b, and c. Do you want access to the "good stuff"? Do you want to know what's actually going on in my life instead of just getting the distilled polls, memes and PSA's? In short, do you want to know who I am, or is this LJ more of a curiosity to you? I'll warn you right here that the "good stuff" sometimes (some might say often) involves things like me railing out against people I actually do care for (which could mean you), bitching about a lack of feedback here and elsewhere, talking about why the world sucks, etc. It's NOT for the faint-hearted, but it IS who I am. You simply being on the short list is pretty meaningful to me, for better or worse.
Before you say "Yes! Give it all to me!" there's a contingency. What I ask of you, in return for you reading about me, is that you let me know what you think. You don't need to reply to every entry (I'd have to give some sort of award for that), but I need a sense of presence from you. If you aren't updating your own LJ, I obviously don't expect you to be reading mine, but I don't want to see you posting daily and _never saying anything_ to me. I've walked that road before, and the impression it gives is that you _don't_ actually care what's going on. So, don't say you care and you're interested if you don't think you're likely to express it once in a while. And before you get all huffy and tell me how demanding I'm being, I'm pretty damn lax as far as what constitutes a worthwhile reply. Even an "I'm sorry you're going through that crap (hug)," can make a huge difference. I don't actually tend to get draconian about this unless you're speaking up here less than once/month (and clearly writing in your own LJ far more often).
Obviously, if we're talking about my LJ via non-LJ-means, I'm not going to hold a lack of Comments against you. That would be dumb-assed.
You're also welcome to say that you're not interested in my LJ and you don't give a crap whether I read yours. I'd just as soon know if I'm wasting my time giving a damn.
I'm doing this just as much for you as for me. I've been accused of pestering people to speak up and talk to me. Well, if I already know you aren't really up for the more intense conversation, I'm not particularly likely to pester you, now am I?
I'm posting this now so that there's no sense of pressure. You've got until the end of the year to think about what my friendship means to you, and what your friendship could mean to me. If you say nothing though...then you've said nothing.
All that being said-
[Poll #1098329]
BTW, I reserve the right to soften the words I'm using here if I can think of a less stark way to put things. I'm not out to hurt anyone, but it's important that there not be any miscommunication either.
As you all are (or maybe aren't) aware, most of my entries are protected. The ones that aren't usually aren't because a) they're essentially meaningless to me, b) they contain information I would like to see widely distributed, or c) it would defeat the purpose to hide them. Note that this can mean all you get is bitchy PSA's, so I guess not being in on the other entries can cut both ways.
What I'd like to know, if you're reading this journal, is whether you want more than a, b, and c. Do you want access to the "good stuff"? Do you want to know what's actually going on in my life instead of just getting the distilled polls, memes and PSA's? In short, do you want to know who I am, or is this LJ more of a curiosity to you? I'll warn you right here that the "good stuff" sometimes (some might say often) involves things like me railing out against people I actually do care for (which could mean you), bitching about a lack of feedback here and elsewhere, talking about why the world sucks, etc. It's NOT for the faint-hearted, but it IS who I am. You simply being on the short list is pretty meaningful to me, for better or worse.
Before you say "Yes! Give it all to me!" there's a contingency. What I ask of you, in return for you reading about me, is that you let me know what you think. You don't need to reply to every entry (I'd have to give some sort of award for that), but I need a sense of presence from you. If you aren't updating your own LJ, I obviously don't expect you to be reading mine, but I don't want to see you posting daily and _never saying anything_ to me. I've walked that road before, and the impression it gives is that you _don't_ actually care what's going on. So, don't say you care and you're interested if you don't think you're likely to express it once in a while. And before you get all huffy and tell me how demanding I'm being, I'm pretty damn lax as far as what constitutes a worthwhile reply. Even an "I'm sorry you're going through that crap (hug)," can make a huge difference. I don't actually tend to get draconian about this unless you're speaking up here less than once/month (and clearly writing in your own LJ far more often).
Obviously, if we're talking about my LJ via non-LJ-means, I'm not going to hold a lack of Comments against you. That would be dumb-assed.
You're also welcome to say that you're not interested in my LJ and you don't give a crap whether I read yours. I'd just as soon know if I'm wasting my time giving a damn.
I'm doing this just as much for you as for me. I've been accused of pestering people to speak up and talk to me. Well, if I already know you aren't really up for the more intense conversation, I'm not particularly likely to pester you, now am I?
I'm posting this now so that there's no sense of pressure. You've got until the end of the year to think about what my friendship means to you, and what your friendship could mean to me. If you say nothing though...then you've said nothing.
All that being said-
[Poll #1098329]
