[ SECRET POST #3237 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3237 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.









Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 052 secrets from Secret Submission Post #463.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

This. I have the same exact conversations with friends who used to be active on LJ but who now only lurk, if that. It's as if everyone is waiting for everyone else to revitalize LJ and they don't realize that IF it happens (doubtful IMO) it'll be a group effort. If you don't post, why would you expect anyone else to post?

[(Anonymous)]

I agree, but wanted to add that the reverse is true - you do post, but then no one responds. So I do think it's a bit of a vicious cycle that way. Or people post, but it's facebook type things that are hard to respond to as there's no "like" button.

[(Anonymous)]

"...things that are hard to respond to as there's no "like" button."

I don't mean to pick on you, but this neatly summarizes why places like LJ are so dead. So many users act like it's completely befuddling to communicate if they can't do it with a single click. It makes me a little sad, to be honest.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT - No, I didn't communicate that very well. I mean they post things like "I did the dishes then went shopping." On facebook, you like it, because there's nothing to say. On LJ... what can you possibly say? Good for you, you did the dishes?

[elaminator]

Well, to be fair to anon they did say but it's facebook type things that are hard to respond to, so I suspect they mean posts that are a sentence long about nothing at all, lol.

Maybe that's not what they meant, but I'm imagining a twitter type thing where the subject is the type of cereal they had or how nice the weather is today; that kind of thing is difficult to start up a meaningful conversation about.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT - Thank you; that's exactly what I meant. And there's nothing inherently wrong with posting about cereal or the weather - it's just that I have nothing to add to that.

[elaminator]

That's fair enough! I don't have a problem with them either, they just aren't the sort of topics that spark a lot of conversation.

[elaminator]

but wanted to add that the reverse is true - you do post, but then no one responds. So I do think it's a bit of a vicious cycle that way.

Exactly, it's really hard to win in this situation. You can post but if there's no one responding then it's probably going to get lonely and be difficult to stay motivated, and if the person in question doesn't know anyone else on the site (and they clearly know how to contact OP through other means, so that isn't a reason for them to log on) maybe they just 'can't be bothered' because they feel nothing will come of it.

Granted, you don't know until you try, but I don't exactly blame them for not being in the mood to start posting again.

I posted a lot back in the day but my friends list got smaller and smaller and people stopped replying to comments as well as commenting themselves, and past a certain point I couldn't bring myself to spend time on LJ when I wasn't getting anything out of it. I definitely wish LJ could make a comeback, but posting on a regular basis takes a lot of time and effort; if you feel like you're talking but no one's listening it gets disheartening and might start to feel like a waste of time.

(Though, surprisingly enough I have found a user on LJ in recent months who I have a common interest with and we've been talking up a storm, but I only log in with my DW account and the only other time I comment is on the occasional icon post or whatever.)

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT -

I posted a lot back in the day but my friends list got smaller and smaller and people stopped replying to comments as well as commenting themselves, and past a certain point I couldn't bring myself to spend time on LJ when I wasn't getting anything out of it.

Yeah, I'm getting there myself.

[elaminator]

:(

And I honestly do hate to see that happen because 'the golden days of LJ' were awesome, but there's only so much you can about it. Even if you do your part (posting regularly, advertising communities, whatever) it doesn't mean that other people will join in.

You can't really expect people to keep posting and attempting to actively engage on a platform if they aren't enjoying it. IMO once it stops being fun and starts being a chore then it's time to start considering finding something else to do with your time.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT - And I feel like the people who are still there are there for very different reasons. I think I lose people because they're either talking about their recent life traumas or what they had for breakfast. That's... not really what I signed up for, but I'm not what they signed up for.

SA

[(Anonymous)]

SA - Wanted to add this regarding the "life traumas" comment, since I just realized how awful that sounds. I have NO problem being supportive of my friends on my end of things. Absolutely none. What I meant was that I think I'm being nerdy and goofy or just really meta when they're talking about all these awful things in their lives. I can't blame them for side-eyeing me. (Although I dunno, I went through a HORRIBLE life crisis last year and I lived on the sillier, more meta posts. But I'm an escapist. A lot of people aren't.)

Re: SA

[elaminator]

I didn't think you meant anything harsh by it, but thanks for the clarification!

It's good to be there for your friends, that's what they're for, but I totally get that not everyone is in fandom for the same things, or experiences fandom in the same way. Some people are comfortable talking about RL and want to get close and share their personal difficulties with their fandom friends, and some people don't want to; they want to forget about that while they're here. Both are valid imo, though I think it's good to be there for someone when they need it, even if there's nothing you can really say that will change anything; you can share however much of your own self that you want.

So you posting meta or being silly on your journal is acceptable, and them posting about their RL problems is just as acceptable, though you might not always be each others target audience.

[(Anonymous)]

This is the problem I have. I want to post regularly to LJ, but when nobody ever comments it feels pretty pointless. When I had an active flist it was a lot easier to post because something would happen and I'd think, "Oh, so-and-so on LJ would love this!", etc. Now it doesn't seem worth it.

[elaminator]

I totally understand that feeling; I had it too.

If a ton of people migrated back to LJ and starts posting en-masse and you could easily find friends and people to converse with, that would be great. At this point it doesn't seem at all likely, and I can't blame anyone for wanting to 'move on' if they aren't digging it anymore.

There's only so many hours in the day, if you aren't getting any kind of happiness out of doing it, it only makes sense you wouldn't want to.

Different people have different needs, too. Some people might be fine posting and not getting comments (just like some people write because they like writing and will post fic and not worry about getting reviews), for others that doesn't work.