responses
I got an odd surprise when I opened the Cosmos aggregator yesterday and discovered that one of my posts had "22 responses":
//portal.mozz.us/gemini/skyjake.fi/~Cosmos/thread?34118
Given the dates, I'm guessing these are not actually responses to my post, but rather posts that are in some way related to mine maybe?
I find it very interesting how many discuss the concept/problem/method(s) of managing responses to other people's posts in Geminispace. These range from several entries on the Gemini Mention project specifically (a Gemini-capable version of Webmention) to opinions on the problems of commenting/communicating/making references more generally.
As someone who is very much a writer and very little a programmer and whose take was requested by absolutely no one, here's my view:
Personally, I don't want responses to gemlog posts to be easier than they are.
I don't mind if other folks make it easier for themselves to receive or respond to responses. You do you. But as I noted in a post a few days back, analytics/comments and I have a fraught relationship:
Lately, I've even been reconsidering whether to leave my email address available on my website/blog/capsule/gemlog. Some of the emails I get are delightful. Some are...not. But my best online interactions have all happened in places I sought out for the purpose of interacting, like forums and message boards. Making my email available isn't net-negative, but it's not really net-positive either.
I do not use Webmention, and I wouldn't use a Gemini version. Webmention seems to have the same risks for me that analytics and comments do: If I see too many of them, I start writing in anticipation of how audiences will respond. I end up in a weird mirror universe where I write to shape how I am seen. Then I get obsessed with how I *am seen* and forget to notice how *I see.* Then my writing goes to shit as I try to anticipate every possible response in advance. Then my therapist gets even more of my money than usual.
Earlier today, I needed to refer to a Bear blog post I wrote about a month ago. So I typed my Bear username and the post title into the search bar, forgetting yet again I was on my work computer and that search bar was going to give me unfiltered Google crap.
...It gave me another Bear post that referenced the post I was looking for and a tweet in which someone had shared the link. I wasn't aware either of these existed, and honestly, I was happier not knowing. (Google did not give me the link to my own post. What happened to you, man? You were so cool when we used to hang out back in 2003.)
You're welcome to send me links to your stuff. Shoot me an email if you're so inclined. But I'm not going to look for actual responses to my posts. I'm better off without that search.
PS: Here's the weirdest thing I have seen today: A site that exhaustively researches and categorizes bread tabs as a species. I love it:
https://www.horg.com/horg/?page_id=2
/gemlog/