Taking back the community
It seems, to me, that things have been going rather badly here at JU. This has not been a unique trend, as the community over at DeviantArt took a big hit with the forced removal of one of the site's cofounders, Scott Jarkoff. But, that story is neither here, nor now, and I'll get to it in another article.
JoeUser, when I first arrived, was ideal. A small but continually expanding base of people wrote, replied, and created blogs that were of interest to the general populace, and were well written. Users like GemCityJoe and Capt. Cornbread were the norm, friendly users who worked together to form a coherent blogging community. Each person got their share of time, and each person got their bit of glory. Things were nice and laid out, and you didn't have to guess about secret alliances and pacts under the surface of the JU ocean.
Looking back, I'm going to deem this time frame The Age, and hinceforth, you get the picture. The Age wasn't about points or who was better than other people. It was about the ideal of blogging. People blogged and responded to blogs because it was something they enjoyed and got a lot of fufillment out of. It was a good time at JU to be a newbie blogger, and I'm glad I came into it when I did. If not, I have no clue as to whether I'd be doing what I'm doing now.
It seems to me, that JU is in some hot water. Long past is The Age where people did what they did because it was just blogging. Now there are pacts, secret alliances, undertones of corruption and manipulation that undermine the normal structure of the JoeUser blogsphere. Groups of three and four people have used continued methods to boost blogs, that are, unfortuantly IMO, not as good as other blogs.
JoeUser isn't going to die off. It isn't going to go anywhere. But whether you face it or not, the demographic is changing. It's a tide against the founders, and the events of Ashley Ryder and Manya and the like were just the beginning of what I feel is the eventual landslide and downfall of the JoeUser community. Now, users like Lucas Bailey pollute the blogsphere, and to what end? To manipulate the points system, to see themselves on a pedistal they may or may not deserve. I have a problem with that. I've read the crap, I've lurked the forums, and frankly, I'm sick and tired.
Now we, as Joeusers, are at a crossroads. There are quite a few paths to pick, but most lead to a degenerate and startling future. In my estimation, it is time to take back the community. It's time to return JoeUser to the way it was back when. I propose, as a JoeUser, that we set ourselves to the rebuilding of the community. I propose a new change in the way things are done.
1) Comment, and don't just get them back. A lot of times, when people comment, it is only because someone commented on their work first. Stop that cycle, and be a person that actively engages in debate, opens meaningful discussions, and creates insightful responses. When the quality of the blogging goes up, then the quality of the community goes up.
2) Write good blogs, and interact on a community level. Blogging is about the blogs, not the points. We're setting ourselves up for a downfall if you use the points system mentality. I suggest a return to original purpose of JoeUser, and that is to write good blogs. Poluting the blogsphere with articles that don't matter just for the points is selfish, and totally undermining of the blogging system.
3) I suggest a time of continual community. Setting aside a month, a week, or a day to just celebrate the community of JU, or setting aside a day to write about how you joined JU and your experiences here, to help other people know you better.
Comment, discuss, debate. That's what it's here for.