about friending

Anyone out there reading my journal? No? That´s fine. Yes? That´s fine, too. Lurkers may lurk, trolls may troll...wait, did I just say that? No trolls, then. But lurkers are welcome. I´m a lurker, too. Look at my friends list. Not an extended one, right? That´s because I have given up on forging friendships on LJ. Too complicated. Too many people out there with a life more shielded than the British Queen´s one. Hey, at least this Lady has her staff to blat out secrets! Not a chance with  Friends Only journals! There is always some troll outside who has to be kept off, a lurking boss who is intent on tracking down his employers, an envious former follower who has brought drama into the serene world of the journal´s owner. I wonder how many of them have unwittingly friended exactly the one person they tried to block out! And on goes the drama, now behind their back, because that´s what trolls and other unwanted eavesdropper are famous for. So I decided to never completely bare my private life. That I have in common with friends lockers. Your cat died? Tell the others, it may lessen your pain to a certain degree. There are lots of cat owners outside in Livejournal land, no way that you´ll be picked out and identified. Well, unless some of your friends know you better and live nearer than you suspect and knock at your door with a babycat in tow.  Your boss was in a car crash because he had inbibed a bit too much after the last work party and broke his left arm? Uh oh. It´s not this difficult to track your dwelling place. So tell your friends he had an accident and broke his arm, if you must, wish him a speedy reconvalescence and leave the rest of the story to your colleagues on Facebook, because they even have the Like It button. Now I´ve gotten off the track. It was one problem with the Friends Only journals I wanted to discuss, or, because of the lack of discussion partners, float a suggestion: Many of those journals have the Friends Only banner and that´s it. Some of them add the witty comment "Let me know from where we know each other, and maybe I´ll friend you!" Ha ha, kind of funny, but certainly not brainy. I haven´t told you that I compile statstics alongside my regular occupation, have I? It´s a hobby of mine, and sometimes, a bane. What I want to say: You can´t make new friends with this kind of friending policy, unless that is what you are striving for: to entertain a limited number of faithful followers. The yearly obligatory friends cut( statistic says 35% do it) will finish your journal off at some point of time. The procedure can be accelerated if you are not interested in communities, commenting to show you are alive and well and not dwelling solely in your journal. Are you really aiming for this? Then keep on going. No trolls, now who wants to have them, no discussions, nothing to worry. But if you are interested in making new acquaintances, drop a private line from time to time to let others get to know you. Just don´t talk about your journal with collegues, real life friends and relatives, that will preserve your secrecy!

(no subject)

Johann Gottfried Seume:" Wo man singt, da laß´ dich ruhig nieder,
                                      böse Menschen haben keine Lieder."
Da ich gerade mit sehr unwilligem Sohn die Texte mehrerer in der Hitlerjugend gesungener Lieder analysieren durfte, wage ich den Wahrheitsgehalt dieser  Aussage in Frage zu stellen. Der andere Lösungsansatz wäre nämlich echt an den Haaren herbeigezogen.