clevermanka (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clevermanka) wrote2007-05-08 11:23 am
clevermanka) wrote2007-05-08 11:23 am
Entry tags:
A common thread
Some of you might know I'm the listmom for a Yahoo! group that focuses on sewing and repair of vintage/repro clothing. I started the group in 1998 on a majordomo listserv (anyone remember those?) as a way to get away from one particulary unpleasant person on the old vintage clothing listserv that I'd been on since the early 90s. I moved the group to Yahoo! in 1999 and it has steadily grown to a membership of just over 400 members. It has ups and downs as far as traffic and content, but I've never had any major problems with unpleasant posters, flames, or disregard for the basic rule I set, ages ago: Play Nice and Be Polite.
Today, someone posted a message that began "I hope you don't mind that I am sharing this, but I think everyone should know the type of people in this group." For a moment, my heart sank. But no--the message was one of gratitude and happiness over how the poster was greatly cheered by a package in the mail from a listmember, who didn't even ask to be reimbursed for shipping. What a wonderful reversal of mood for both the poster and myself! The past year or so, traffic on the group has been pretty slow. I've considered dissolving it more than once. It was wonderful to be reminded that the list is still helpful, appreciated, and continues to aid people in forming connections with other sewing-types all over the world.
I've formed aquaintanceships and a couple very good friendships through the group. Like LJ, listservs and usenet news (now I'm really dating myself) have provided millions of people a way to expand their social network and develop friendships that would not have been possible twenty years ago. Myself, I value these connections greatly. I realize they aren't the same as face-to-face interactions, but they are not so trivial as many would like to think.
Last Thursday, out with the guys, one of them (whom I don't know well) denigrated the concept of online friendships. He stressed that electronic communication could not possibly be as intimate or important as "facetime" (his word). I think electronic communication is different, yes of course, but I think it can be just as influential in forming, building, and continuing a friendship. I have friends with whom I have built a better friendship through email and LJ whom I see regularly, and I have friends on LJ whom I very likely might never meet in person. I value them all. While I don't think our current human psyches will cease to need physical interaction anytime soon, disparaging electronic interactions as something less than friendship does two things, both negative: It insults me and many of my relationships, and it denies the naysayer a great opportunity to expand a potential, wonderful, and diverse network of friends.
A pity, that.
Today, someone posted a message that began "I hope you don't mind that I am sharing this, but I think everyone should know the type of people in this group." For a moment, my heart sank. But no--the message was one of gratitude and happiness over how the poster was greatly cheered by a package in the mail from a listmember, who didn't even ask to be reimbursed for shipping. What a wonderful reversal of mood for both the poster and myself! The past year or so, traffic on the group has been pretty slow. I've considered dissolving it more than once. It was wonderful to be reminded that the list is still helpful, appreciated, and continues to aid people in forming connections with other sewing-types all over the world.
I've formed aquaintanceships and a couple very good friendships through the group. Like LJ, listservs and usenet news (now I'm really dating myself) have provided millions of people a way to expand their social network and develop friendships that would not have been possible twenty years ago. Myself, I value these connections greatly. I realize they aren't the same as face-to-face interactions, but they are not so trivial as many would like to think.
Last Thursday, out with the guys, one of them (whom I don't know well) denigrated the concept of online friendships. He stressed that electronic communication could not possibly be as intimate or important as "facetime" (his word). I think electronic communication is different, yes of course, but I think it can be just as influential in forming, building, and continuing a friendship. I have friends with whom I have built a better friendship through email and LJ whom I see regularly, and I have friends on LJ whom I very likely might never meet in person. I value them all. While I don't think our current human psyches will cease to need physical interaction anytime soon, disparaging electronic interactions as something less than friendship does two things, both negative: It insults me and many of my relationships, and it denies the naysayer a great opportunity to expand a potential, wonderful, and diverse network of friends.
A pity, that.