SILENCE = DEATH
Many dear friends have chosen not to blog this week, striking in protest against Linden Lab's foolish and overreaching brand-protection policies. I've given quite a bit of thought to the issue over the past few days: it would be easy enough to join them by default: I don't have the time to blog this week anyway. Friendship and laziness could
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Now, I think we need to distinguish something here. The discussion at SL Bloggers is public, for anyone interested in finding it, but it's really about discussing our plans amongst ourselves. That's one great thing the strike has done, is bring us together to discuss where we go from here.
But this should be distinguished from public discussion of the issues, which you seem to believe these three days will somehow prevent. I disagree - there was widespread discussion in the blogosphere about the policy when it first came out, and it will pick back up again once the strike is over. You say you've learned a lot from reading my blog and Gwyn's - I don't think that's diminished by us not being around for three days.
You say "attention is power." This may be true, but it doesn't necessarily follow that silence is giving up that power. Your post in itself proves that speech isn't always necessary for attention. Your first post on the topic was occasioned by our silence, because silence itself can be speech, and can be a way of drawing attention to a cause.
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We posted *because we disagree with you*! Citing our breaking of the strike as evidence of its success seems... a very positive interpretation of the evidence! :)
How many posts would there have been - all on message, showing not a community divided over tactics but one united over message - if SL Bloggers had called for a day of education, instead of a day of silence? Twenty? Fifty?
It's *good* that SL Bloggers has coalesced. It's unfortunate that you've coalesced around a tactic that some of us disagree with, but that's not such a big deal.
But - now that you have solidarity, now that you have a feeling of empowerment from your discussion - *now,* you've got a tool for action.
Whatever the merits of the strike, I think we can agree that further steps should involve speaking, acting, grabbing attention and applying moral and economic pressure to achieve clear, fair policies and respectful treatment.
So, forward, yes?
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I actually DO think that getting you and others to write - even if it's on tactics, and criticizing ours, should be counted as a success, because it's attention. As they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity.
And while I love the idea of a "day of education," I don't think it would have had the effect that you do, and certainly not fifty posts. Gwyn, myself, and several others HAVE been doing educational posts for weeks now - a "day" for it would be nothing more than the same old, same old. Let's face it, we blabber away all the time on our blogs, one more post about the TM policy when so many have been written already will do very little except pile on. There's a reason "dog bites man" is not news, and "man bites dog" is. Bloggers blogging is the status quo, while silence is a change that will garner attention.
Soph, you know I adore you. You also know I've been reading your blog forever, I rarely comment on anything, and when I do I never disagree with you out loud. So, I hope you realize why I felt the need to do it now. Normally I would have let things slide but for the "complicity in oppression" and "moral failing" language in your original post - two things I don't feel that I, or any of the others participating in the strike, deserve to be tagged with.
Now, I've said my piece. Let's get back to playing Scrabulous, shall we?
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And, yes, drubbing Hamlet sounds like a *much* better way to pass the time! :)
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