April 15, 1997
St Kilda
12:45am
Well here we have it. Vitriol all round. Or is it barely masked surprise? I bow before you and apologise. Yes I am a capitalist. I like to get things for free. I am happy to take a Geocities home page, colonise it, and not pay a cent. I like that. I don't have to apologise for it. I won't. Coincidence perhaps, but I also started up an on-line journal. Then I joined the appropraite Web Ring. Kat and Kymm were most welcoming, "more inclusive than exclusive." Great I thought.
I had been keeping up with some on-line journals for a while. Reading them daily, waiting with baited breath for updates, children, husbands, revealings of true nature, changes of identity. Then we lost Tracy-Lee. For me a big loss, sad still that she's gone. In my real life there is no one I look up to, but she had it. I felt inspired by her, strong successful woman, living an interesting life, full of day to day and out of the ordinary things. Honest, frank. True. I miss her still. Then more recently Sage. I had read along with her for less time, but was no less involved. I'm sad she's gone, and seemingly for the same reasons as Tracy-Lee.
Then while I was drifting about keeping up with my regular reading engagements of other Open Pages journals I came across a comment about the whole phenomenon, and the loss of Sage et al. Hmmm, I was a little stumped. The comments ran along the lines that the Open Pages ring is growing, and that in the final analysis there are "so many people who do a poor or uninteresting job of it [journaling as an Open Page member]. That really came as a slap in the face. Not personally, because who cares, she has a right to an opinion about each journal, and a right to express it, but to put it all down "...to the omnipresence of geocities�get a geocities page, start a web journal..." That is just plain pigeon holing and pique, snobbery even.
I am sure, like myself, each person writes, and maintains their journal for a purpose. Be it as a sounding board for ideas, to communicate with distant friends, to speak out, to satisfy an ego - whatever. Read if you're interested, keep-on-surfin if you're not. These things run their course, as a means of communication and writing out your feelings or working through problems they can serve a purpose.
But this will be transient. For awhile any abuse or harrassment coming your way can be quickly and simply dealt with. Fire off an email, put 'em in their place. But when the journey begins to reach an end, problems solved, new interests move in, and soon we are over the whole idea of keeping a journal. They have served their purpose, and we all move on. This will happen, others move on for new ones to take their place and keep the spirit moving on.
Most of the Open Pages started off simply - even the ones that have been there for years. Plain text based pages, those first few hesitant entries, voluminous excited ones, staid been-here-awhile entries - all those. Reflecting the ups and downs of life. Boring or not. Graphically enhanced or not. Pedestrian or not.
The Web Ring is open for people to join. More inclusive than Exclusive.
The Plums Au Revoir Sex Kitten
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