(with apologies to Neil Young)
OK, OK...I am already in my flame retardant underpants for this one (thanks to Ravenblack, my supplier of fine, comfortable flame retardant blogging wear....Raven, don't forget to sign the check for the ad this time!).
Up on the recent forum posts is yet another of the JU swan songs that have become far too typical of this site. What happens is this: someone comes onto JoeUser, asserts a controversial position consistently (usually pretty leftist, for the swan singers at least), and then becomes more and more frantic as they are not embodied as the pinnacle of their position. What they fail to realize is, their position has already been argued countless times before, and it's not some new epiphany that will suddenly steer our hearts to the left. Even THIS ARTICLE is not an original concept; I have seen the same subject brought about numerous times, but feel the sentiment bears repeating.
As Brad pointed out a month or so ago in his article on the life cycle of a net community, nobody is so indispensable to the community as to be sorely missed if they take their ball and go home (I'm paraphrasing...badly...you would do well to archive the article on draginol's site). Yes, your thoughts and opinions do add to the general "flavor" of the conversation, but, failing your presence, SOMEONE will step up and "represent". It has happened as long as JU has been here, to my understanding and empirical knowledge (archiving older articles).
So, maybe we need to do an etiquette article on how to LEAVE Joeuser; too many who proclaim their exit do so in a protracted manner that takes weeks, and soon take on the air of a sports star who's played a season too long or a pesky neighbor who JUST WON'T LEAVE. If the response on your "exit blogs" seems to indicate you're trending that way, it might be time to rethink your strategy.
You would be better remembered here if you exited with grace and style, and little fanfare.
signing off,
Gideon MacLeish