Goodbye to Lurkers & Rats
Okay, I made a mistake. I assumed that because I'm selective about who can see my livejournal, that everyone was to be trusted. I assumed names were safe, and that we're all friends here. Again, my mistake.
Listen, I could never be accused of playing it safe on Livejournal. Sometimes I specifically aim to stir up shit, think out loud too loudly, and generally provoke. While I'm by no means completely candid, I reveal a great deal of very personal, sensitive information about myself, in addition to voicing opinions that might be better left unsaid. I do this because it is cathartic to me and interesting to readers, and because I use this journal as a refuge from the mundacity of daily life. But there's a reason it's a tightly controlled group of people that see this journal normally. I'm not going to broadcast my thoughts to the world at large, and I want commenters on my journal to feel safe enough to be unrestrained with their opinions as well.
Unfortunately, the seal has been broken. So the first thing I'm going to do is un-add anyone reading this journal who does not post often themselves. It's not personal, and it by no means I don't value your friendship. But it's patently unfair that I am sticking my neck out here, revealing things about myself and being free with my opinions, when other people aren't. I'm uncomfortable with people knowing things about my inner life when I know nothing about theirs. Some friendships just aren't meant to exist on livejournal.
I'm also going to be much more proactive with guarding identities, so expect to see a lot of "[redacted]s" around here from now on. Some of you don't mind being named or usernamed, but if I haven't received tacit or express approval from you, you will never appear here in any form. This excludes, of course, people who aren't my friends.
After that, I'm purging people I just don't know well enough. Sorry. Unlike Facebook, where a recent post of mine was recently re-posted without my permission, Livejournal is supposed to be a contained blast zone where both my friends and I can vent, postulate, and extoll joyfully without it leaking into the outer environment. If it can't be that, I can always start by doing nothing but complaining about Mondays and posting LOLcats.
Listen, I could never be accused of playing it safe on Livejournal. Sometimes I specifically aim to stir up shit, think out loud too loudly, and generally provoke. While I'm by no means completely candid, I reveal a great deal of very personal, sensitive information about myself, in addition to voicing opinions that might be better left unsaid. I do this because it is cathartic to me and interesting to readers, and because I use this journal as a refuge from the mundacity of daily life. But there's a reason it's a tightly controlled group of people that see this journal normally. I'm not going to broadcast my thoughts to the world at large, and I want commenters on my journal to feel safe enough to be unrestrained with their opinions as well.
Unfortunately, the seal has been broken. So the first thing I'm going to do is un-add anyone reading this journal who does not post often themselves. It's not personal, and it by no means I don't value your friendship. But it's patently unfair that I am sticking my neck out here, revealing things about myself and being free with my opinions, when other people aren't. I'm uncomfortable with people knowing things about my inner life when I know nothing about theirs. Some friendships just aren't meant to exist on livejournal.
I'm also going to be much more proactive with guarding identities, so expect to see a lot of "[redacted]s" around here from now on. Some of you don't mind being named or usernamed, but if I haven't received tacit or express approval from you, you will never appear here in any form. This excludes, of course, people who aren't my friends.
After that, I'm purging people I just don't know well enough. Sorry. Unlike Facebook, where a recent post of mine was recently re-posted without my permission, Livejournal is supposed to be a contained blast zone where both my friends and I can vent, postulate, and extoll joyfully without it leaking into the outer environment. If it can't be that, I can always start by doing nothing but complaining about Mondays and posting LOLcats.