Metaposting

[youarenotthewalrus]

See, the problem with Dreamwidth as a Tumblr replacement is that the dynamics of a LiveJournaloid platform are very different from those of a Tumbloid platform. I can't just sit back and let the feed wash over me, occasionally plucking out a particularly compelling or amusing bit of text or media and passing it on, I've got to, like, actually compose original thoughts and set them forth. People have mentioned how it feels like going back in time, somewhat, to a more Web 1.0/1.5 era, and this is I think a big part of it for me personally: rather than a cyberpunk swimming the infostream, data being blasted directly into my eyes and ears, I've actually got to read things and then write things in response. It's not enough to just hit a like button or add a couple of tags to a reblog, I've got to write whole sentences. Paragraphs, even.

This shouldn't feel alien. I've posted in forums before, old-fashioned ones that don't let you like posts or make threadmarks even. But fora are ubiquitous. They're a little retro, but they've never really gone out of style. But journal sites have. So while I can go to a forum and it won't (usually) feel like I'm stepping back in time to 2005, here, it does.

Not that that's a bad thing, per se. Sometimes retro is nice! But it's certainly different.