capri0mni | I'm still alive; I've been on Tumblr (under the alias "capricorn-0mnikorn")

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I've been spending more time on Tumblr instead of here, mostly because there are more people there, and the things I have to say about disability and queer rights can reach a much bigger audience. Also, the structure of Tumblr encourages multiple short posts a day on a regular schedule... And once I got into such a schedule it's hard for me to break out of it.

But a recent post on Tumblr has got me feeling nostalgic for my days around here. So I'm making a concerted effort, starting now, to weave this Journal back into my schedule.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

pedanther

Hi!

From:

susanreads

Welcome back!

I haven't been posting anywhere.

From:

vilakins

I've become very negligent about posting, now that so many people I knew here have left, but I'm still here reading and commenting. Welcome back!

From:

capri0mni

It's hard with Tumblr, because I started my account there to "promote" (as low key as possible) my book Monsters' Rhapsody .... And the way the site's set up, you're encouraged to set up a queue, with a set schedule of a certain number of posts per day, at set times.

So I started posting about disability and culture issues, to link in with my book, and built up a number of followers. Then I got into the mindset that "People are expecting a post from me at 1:47 PM, so I can't let my queue get empty." And it became something of a job, even if half the posts I made were spreading the work of other people (Often writing image descriptions for art, and transcribing screenshots of text).

So Dreamwidth's more laid back (dreamy?) atmosphere slipped to the wayside.

From:

vilakins

Much the same reason I gave up on Wordle and Duolingo; the pressure to do something every day got to me. I wanted both of those to be fun and they became duty.

I have a Tumblr but only because some friends involved in fandom were there, but it didn't take.

From:

capri0mni

Hm.

On the other hand, I absolutely could not have designed the Disability Pride Flag without the large numbers of people who saw it (and they saw it because Tumblr reaches more people), and the sincere, and generous, help of people who helped make a new design when the one I did on my own turned out to be a seriously dangerous disaster (actually caused seizures in people who have strobe-triggered epilepsy).

And then, I get messages like this one (7 July, 2024) and this one: Proposing new meanings for the Disability Pride Flag stripes.

(July is Disability Pride Month)

So it's something of a job. But I think it's a job worth doing (and it's a whole lot less toxic than Twitter or Facebook, because it doesn't force an algorithm on you).

I just need to remind myself to back away and hang out in a more chill place, more often.

From:

vilakins

I'm glad it's so useful to you, and worth it if it reaches more people. I don't use Twitter|X and have an add-on that makes FB less annoying, and I'm only there because so many friends are.

From:

capri0mni

*nod*

I was thinking, after I posted my reply, that if I'd started a Tumblr account solely for the purposes of having fun/fandom, I too would have dropped out, or drifted away, long ago.