I Rarely Speak Out Against Things, But.....
I had this whole post written up in my head regarding the fears of being OOC and the writing of Mary Sues when younger, but....
I'm going to post something else instead. Something I've been thinking of for days.
The Pay It Forward meme is all over my Flist. And I really do think the heart of it is an awesome idea. For those who don't know, the meme goes like this: 'I will send a handmade* gift to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your journal.
*The "gift" you send doesn't have to be handmade. It can be fic, icons, whatever.'
The only problem I have is the 'first three people to comment'. That just smacks to me of competitive and kind of, well, lazy. I don't know, I suck at explaining why it doesn't sit well with me. Maybe because it just defeats the whole idea of Pay It Forward in the first place. Which is spontaneous and not premeditated acts of kindness. Why not just pick three people who could use a little something to cheer them up and do it without warning them? That, to me, would be staying true to the original idea.
And before anyone jumps on me, I don't think it's a bad meme or think anything of the people who are doing it. This is just how I feel about it. We're all allowed to have our own opinions, remember.
I'm going to post something else instead. Something I've been thinking of for days.
The Pay It Forward meme is all over my Flist. And I really do think the heart of it is an awesome idea. For those who don't know, the meme goes like this: 'I will send a handmade* gift to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your journal.
*The "gift" you send doesn't have to be handmade. It can be fic, icons, whatever.'
The only problem I have is the 'first three people to comment'. That just smacks to me of competitive and kind of, well, lazy. I don't know, I suck at explaining why it doesn't sit well with me. Maybe because it just defeats the whole idea of Pay It Forward in the first place. Which is spontaneous and not premeditated acts of kindness. Why not just pick three people who could use a little something to cheer them up and do it without warning them? That, to me, would be staying true to the original idea.
And before anyone jumps on me, I don't think it's a bad meme or think anything of the people who are doing it. This is just how I feel about it. We're all allowed to have our own opinions, remember.