Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
I wrote a post in Just Shelley about my reasons for dropping Burningbird. Chief among them is not having the energy to continue to ‘feed the monster’, as Sheila aptly puts it.
What does feed the monster are posts such as this: over the top, sensationalist, faked outrage, petty bickering. There’s such a desperate need to be linked, I felt one should be given–for pity if no other reason.
I also wanted to commend Dare Obasanjo on his patience and the honesty of his reponses in comments. Dare doesn’t need my support, as he managed extremely well on his own. Dare’s also a popular weblogger and doesn’t need my link. I give both for no other reason than I think he’s one of the most ethical and decent webloggers I know; it’s a joy to be able to link to someone who truly deserves it, rather than a monkey flinging feces around his cage.
(OK, that last wasn’t part of a dignified debate. Luckily, I’m not part of this debate, so I don’t have to worry about being dignified.)
I also liked what Mike Torres wrote:
Me: I really don’t care what people think the word blog means. I just want people to have tools that allow them to communicate with friends, family, and the rest of the world. Not everyone wants to be “famous”, so it’s important that these tools promote privacy, safety, and control to the meet everyone’s unique needs – and that they aren’t limited to text, but incorporate other types of media as well. Call it a blog or don’t. Whatever. As Bruce Lee used to say, “it’s just a name, don’t fuss over it.”
Another link I was happy to give, especially since I couldn’t comment. Note to the LiveSpaces gang: pleeaasseee remove the LiveID requirement to comment on Spaces. It’s ucky poo.
(Ucky poo is a technical term meaning: cumbersome, and requiring more effort on the part of the end user than would be returned as benefit.)
