gas prices

[spacefem]

First off, I want to say thank you to dreamwidth for being here and being a supportive community for me, with new friends and everything. Leaving livejournal was a really tough call for me after 20 years of writing. I had a few lj friends who said they will not come over, and I will miss them. But yesterday I thought again that maybe I should cross post, and I went over to see that the main page top post on lj is a 700+ comment conspiracy theory about how COVID-19 was made in a lab at a US army base and American owes the world for releasing a bio weapon, it is definitely made up propaganda and it's being held up by some kind of google bot force and that's the kind of crap you'd only see on livejournal. I'd already complained to them last year about showing my readers russian dating ads, even though I have a paid account, and they said it was okay.

so that's it. no cross posting. I'm really glad I had somewhere else to go, because so MANY friends came here it's like a non-event from a community perspective. I really miss being able to schedule posts. but I'll tough it out.

In local, non-internet news, I am suffering from the tiny world around me in Kansas complaining about high gas prices. I am so incredibly done with listening to this. We're in wichita and gas isn't even that bad... It's $3.89 right now. I've read that if we adjust for inflation gas was definitely over $5 during the bush years. plus our cars are more efficient now. we will be fine.

I work with people who can buy huge trucks, so much that I almost wondered if I should get a truck, but then I saw how much they were and ZOMG! Like, $80K! They finance the things for seven years!

But forget the fact that we all earn enough to buy trucks... we also aren't getting bombed. I haven't had to wait in my car for days with my children for a boarder crossing because my city is being attacked.

first world problems. there IS GAS. I have working cars. I have work.

if I catch my mind drifting off for one second and I am worried about gas prices or my stock picks, I pledge to slap myself, and donate to refugee relief.

Comments

[cactus_rs]

genuinely, the most baffling thing to me in all of the LJ brouhaha is the snotty tone so many people are taking in their unsolicited responses to people saying they're leaving.

A journal: "hey guys, I'm not comfortable on LJ anymore, you can find me on Dreamwidth"

A comment: "Well *I'm* not panicking, *I'll* be here at LiveJournal, *I'll* never leave until I have to!"

like... okay? the brand loyalty to LJ, a demonstrably shit company just on the anglophone customer service front, is weird, and the need to aggressively assert that loyalty is extra weird. I guess it's people lashing out because they don't want to lose contact with their friends.... but they can easily prevent that from happening by also joining Dreamwidth!

[solteronita]

I've noticed the snotty attitude! I've been lurking so I can keep up with a few friends who don't want to leave LJ and it's very weird. Somewhat mean-spirited, even, which makes no sense.

[cactus_rs]

glad it's not just me noticing! it really makes no sense.

[teaviant]

I've noticed it too! If you want to stay there stay but why is it such a big deal if I don't?

[spacefem]

I kinda get it because I used to be a huge advocate FOR staying on livejournal, not always chasing the new cool shiny thing. and now I'm an advocate the other way. my last two posts on lj were basically "it's wrong to stay here". hopefully not snotty, just stating my facts.

[cactus_rs]

In your defense, DW is hardly "the shiny new thing" ;)

[xinas_island]

I guess it's people lashing out because they don't want to lose contact with their friends.... but they can easily prevent that from happening by also joining Dreamwidth!

You are probably right!
Sadly, some people are more than willing to fully sever ties than figure out a new way to stay in touch. The 'convenience' of passive connections in one space wins out a lot.

I had that happen when I left Facebook for a year. So many other ways to keep in touch, but when push came to shove no one really wanted to go outside of the group space to stay in touch. Not even family.

Modern Social Media has become like some sort of weird members-only club for some people. You're "friends forever" with lots of people while you are on a site (FB, LJ, etc). But gawd forbid you ever leave for any reason and want to keep ties open outside of that forum. Most will just wave bye, and you'll not hear from them again even after trying to stay in touch other ways. *sigh*

In a time of seemingly endless ways to stay in touch (if one wants to), it seems an awful lot like more and more people have started deciding to draw a line in the sand of an online friendship. Essentially saying "we're done if you cross that line and leave". *shrugs*

I'm heading towards 50 in a few years. I honestly don't know if I want to dedicate any more time to that sort of thing.

[cactus_rs]

I don't think it's quite that malicious or intentional, necessarily, but I DO think that we've forgotten how to have one-on-one friendships on the internet thanks to the broadcast-style socializing of social media. Add to that the fact that people are busy, and it makes sense for them to fall into a rut with social media and to just let people drift down the memory hole instead of overcoming the inertia to maintain contact some other way.

But that's just a crackpot theory I can't back up with data, so!

[xinas_island]

Oh I totally agree that it's probably not malicious or 100% intentional. The online world has been slowly rewiring people to lean more towards Brand loyalty and quick & convenient interactions for some time now.

There have been many 'Don't let the door hit you on the ass' type posts on all sorts of forums happening for ages, that part is not a new phenomenon at least either. 🤣