Slowly, creepily, a web version of myself is coming into being.
The Arts Forum is a pleasant place to be. I tried several, but still opt for this one - it's so easily accessible and readable and pop-up free. And it's so interesting. Plus, Craigslist feels like a real community. It deals with almost every facet of life. People tell me it changed their lives; they found a mate there, or an apartment, or a job, or a job that led to an apartment that led to finding a mate. It's that simple.
So I guess it's just a matter of loyalty - and a homey feeling. The longer you're there, the less alienating the web becomes. people hide behind their handles - their online names - but you learn to recognize them eventually. And some people seem genuinely befriended, while others seem to attract nothing but hostilities.
Online debates heat up and burn out rapidly. New subjects range from the utterly bizarre to the daily SPAM to the heartbreakingly naive. Some threads are very educational and some are about other fields in art where I have no understanding and no interest. Art is vast.
They have a Sunday art thread and recently pushed into Saturday as well with a photography thread - people just post their pieces and get a lot of positive comments. Some art is interesting, but some makes for a huge yawn. There's also a rating system for posts, from -5 to +5. that's a bit odd, and people often get very emotional over "negs".
So where do I fit in in this web of whispers and moans? And how did I manage to get so addicted I actually check the thread every hour or two? Life is like the internet - ever changing and no certainties, so as i am writing this, i already get a glimpse of the future where Craigslist is no longer at the top of MYlist. Life is short and the internet long.
