Dev Posts = Twitter.

The problem isn't your post, Slick, and I apologize for making you feel singled out, but rather this general feeling that comes across every time I mention that "Oh, I'm not on Facebook", or twitter, or whatever the site-du-jour is. You simply provided a convenient word for it.

A few years back, I was the victim of a stalker. Fairly tame, as stalkers go- just a girl I used to work with who had developed an unhealthy infatuation with me, but with how easily she was able to get my address and home phone number, and use them to harass me. It finally came to an end when I made several threats of physical violence that I'm not especially proud of, then moved out of town. (because of school, not the stalker) I haven't seen her in person since, but I know she still harbours this obsession.

The whole gave me a clearer idea of how exposed I could be. I'm generally reluctant to open my life up to the public, or even make it easier to find me. Especially given the fact that I know she's still looking for an avenue to contact me- She sent my sister a message a few months back through Facebook asking after me. Thankfully, the my sister was simply able to say "Oh, I don't know who you're talking about", and that was the last she's heard of her.

As for the value of the content, in the end I suppose it's like a gossip mag, only the gossip comes straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, and it's not limited to celebrities. That's fine if you're into that sort of thing, but put plainly, I don't get it. I'm not sure I ever will.

So, and I address this to anyone reading and who likes sites like these, if you like your site of choice- fine. But if you ask if someone else is on it, and they tell you "no", for everyone's sake just leave it at that. They don't need to hear how "great" it is, or what you can do with it. They most certainly don't need to be teased about their choice. (And I'll further clarify here that I don't mean that there has been harassment or anything other than a civil discussion about the merits of these sites here, in this thread, just that it does happen and people should be aware.) Accept that it's not their thing and move on.

*whew*

Ok, so I have a bit of pent up frustration.

Sure, BAB's, the animator guy, will get right on fixing the dev digest, that web developer guy thing. Yeah.

Logic? We can no haz it?

And a tweet takes, what, five to ten seconds to write? Obviously the EONS that have been wasted by devs on this are completely ruining the game...

I'm a young person, but the iPod part is the only thing that matches what I do
So just sitting on your lawn listening to music is ok, right?

Sounds like you need a better fence around your lawn

Too bad this thread has reached the tag max... I was going to add MATLOCK!

It's probably more amusing if you read the entire blog entry...

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

You posted that on a forum for an online game where you pretend to be a superhero

One of my biggest gripes with social networking sites is how recklessly they are used. Too many folks have surrendered their anonimity to the internet and publicized every aspect of their lives. Worst yet, they'll publicize yours. Many employers now check social sites when reviewing potential new employees. At work, I get daily reports about what other co-workers are posting their social sites.

SI Radio has many DJs and listeners whom hold City of Heroes close to their hearts. We will be supporting many efforts to keep CoH ALIVE!!

I never go to bars. I don't enjoy meeting random people in bars. None of my friends enjoy meeting in bars and most of them don't live in the same country anyway. There is no reason I would ever want to go to a bar.

I am not *perplexed* by the existence of bars. I do not ask people "yes, but what is the POINT of bars?", with the implication that if they can't present a good answer, then there is no point and bars should not exist. If someone tells me "I meet my friends at the bar", I do not insist that I meet my friends in a CoH global channel, and therefore one of us is Doing It Wrong (and it definitely is not me).

I do not argue that since I am an intelligent person, and I don't enjoy bars, then no intelligent person can possibly enjoy bars, and anyone who goes to bars is thus in some way limited compared to myself. I do not see the existence of bars as some symptom of the decline and upcoming ruin of society.

I just don't go to bars.

Great post, may I use it if someone asks me that question again?

Information wants to be free.

That's all there is to it. The fact that people use the conduit for boring, mundane stuff is simply a consequence of the immaturity of the technology.

When the world wide web expanded beyond its original intended purpose of making it easier to fetch academic documents remotely, it didn't immediately turn into the multi-media sea of interactivity that most of us incorrectly call "The Internet".

Commercial web pages were originally not much more than attempts to copy print material and publish it online. Personal pages were typically boring, mundane stuff like "I'm George and I live with five cats and this is my web page. Look! I have a page view counter!"

Myspace began life as a "social network" but it's evolved beyond that now to become a primary place for independent musical and arts performers to show off their work and gain the early recognition that can lead to that "big break".

Twitter is evolving into a way for "leaders" to immediately be in contact with their "followers" and influence them. Nathan Fillion is a good example of someone who has earned a fan-base through his acting work and who has embraced "social networks" like Myspace and Twitter as avenues to pass on his wit and wisdom to those fans and to organize them into an organized group to achieve a goal, whether it's voting him "Mr. Twitter" or raising $10,000 to support "Team Castle" and help fund a Children's Hospital.

The "problem" that a lot of people have with social networks is the implied hubris. If you make a Myspace page or startup a Twitter account, in the minds of many people you are essentially communicating that "My life is so important or interesting that other people will want to know about it and I therefore am providing a source to feed that need." The critics tend to overlook that the average non-celebrity Twitterer is primarily expecting that his friends and family are the intended audience. They see that the whole world COULD follow your life and so they make the intuitive leap that such exposure is the motivating factor of the social networker.

In a nutshell, the "point" is that some people are information consumers and social networks provide information for consumption. That's basically it. If you say, "But that motivation is no different than a forum" then you're right. It's just a difference of format. A forum is an exchange but it's not typically a network. You follow topics, not people. Social networks bend the other way. They promote a focus on individuals instead of on discussion topics. That's the "point".

And, as I mentioned, that is what irks so many critics. The idea that anyone who uses a "social network" is sending a message that they feel themselves to be "important" moreso than their "actual" importance. Those same critics are more often attacking the entire concept of the social network rather than attacking individuals on the actual quality of their information, based on the idea that it's somehow "bad" for individuals to believe in their own importance.

I liken this to the people who were raised by parents who taught that any exercise of pride was bad; even, or especially, if the pride is justified. If you don't think your life is interesting to put online while I think my equally mundane life IS worth putting online, then it's not seen as an expression of my fascination with modern technology and gimmickry, it's seen as a social statement that I think my life is more important than yours and my "social networking" is, in essence, a way of passing judgement on the inadequacy of your life.

Nothing could be further than the truth, but that doesn't change the feelings it inspires.

In any case, the point in the end is that I want information and that person has it, and social networks let me get it. In addition, the "network" lets me see where THAT person is getting their information and I can decide if I want some of what they're eating in addtion to what I've already ordered.

Thank you for quoting me and then completely misrepresenting me as a bigot. It is appreciated.

Why is it so wrong if I want to understand why other people do the things they do, hm? What is wrong with asking someone doing something I don't understand "Why are you doing this?" If I understand why people do the things they do, maybe I would find ways to like them, myself. But then there are people who claim I am stupid for asking and I shouldn't want an answer and never care about understanding other people. That's not how that works.

I don't hold people to task for not being able to explain to me why they like the things they do, but I will not be held to task for asking the question.

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Hmm... You know, I think that's the best answer I've gotten so far. That makes sense, explains the popularity, and explains the point above and beyond the technology and infrastructure that already exists for information exchange.

I certainly wouldn't be asking "why use forums" because I know forums are a tool, not a purpose. Presenting social networks as person-centric tools of information exchange, in contrast to forums being topic-centric tools is a good way of putting it. It makes sense, and that's all I was asking for.

*edit*
Also, I really appreciate informative posts. They do a lot more good than the various "You're stupid for asking that!" that resolve nothing but to try to make some people shut up.

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Yeah, sorry about that. Although the "I can't see the point so it has to be pointless" subtext is depressingly common, you of all people probably *do* mean "please help me understand this" when you ask that question.

Well, no harm done, and I apologise for being grumpy. Should have probably asked for clarification first.

And yes, that really was a question for understanding. I'm a conservative type person, so I just don't "get" a lot of the new technological and social advancements that are constantly being made, and what I don't get I can't use. It always helps when someone who uses them can give me a good explanation of why they are good. The one I got was enlightening, and while I still don't see myself using them, at least I can understand why people like these services so much. To each their own, in the end.

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Followed by

...I wish they were that crazy...