The State of the Blog
The main SL for Nowt blog is on indefinite hiatus right now. I’m not sure that I have the heart to even continue it in the light of recent comments that I’ve received (but not published) and other (mainly online) things.
I have put three years of time, effort, love, and money into SL for Nowt (because yes, it may be a blog about freebies but I also blog cheapies, I host land inworld where newbies can start out, plus I pay for the blog’s hosting and domain name, and all of that has cost me a great deal of money over the years) but of late I don’t seem to be able to put a foot right anywhere I turn. The unpublished comments are, I fear, the final nail in the coffin for the blog and for my love of doing what I’ve done for three years. I’m not going into great detail about the comments here because to do so would be to identify the person concerned and I am not in the business of slandering large store owners or anyone else, but suffice to say I feel the comments are unjustified, unfair, and (after a quick bit of googling) hypocritical, but I don’t have the heart to defend myself anymore. I’d rather just close the blog and be done with it.
For all the happiness I’ve found through doing the blog and being able to give people a foothold in Second Life, this has just made me wonder why the hell I even bother anymore. SL for Nowt is just a minnow in a very big sea of much larger fishes. I know I have my faithful readers and I hate to let them down, but if the fun is no longer there for me then I would rather quit than keep going out of obligation. Not to mention the fact that I feel like I’m walking on eggshells now, because of the content of those comments.
It’s not just those comments (although if you decide to comment on this post, be aware that your comment will be published; I won’t hold anything back, so if you decide to come here and deride me for mentioning your comments in another blogpost after I expressly didn’t publish them on the main, more popular blog, as per your wishes, then your comments here will be published). There are other things that have been getting me down both in-world and in the general blogosphere and other SL-related areas, but the comments were the final nail.
I’m not posting this on the main blog because I haven’t made a final decision yet. If and when I do, there will be a simple ‘blog closed’ image post going up with a brief explanation.
6 thoughts on “The State of the Blog”
Hi Mar :)
This morning I wrote a post on my blog entitled “10 SL blogs you should read”. I’d already decided that yours was one of the 10 I was going to included before I happened to see this post here.
For whatever it’s worth, I hope you continue with SL for Nowt and don’t let other people force you to stop, and I say that as someone who is cautious about the freebie culture in SL. Your blog is great. It deserve recognition as such and, while my own blog is fairly low scale, I hope at least it helps a few more people find the great information you have on your blog.
More here if you are interested (with your blog at number 5): http://suellaember.posterous.com/59590301
Thank you for the mention on your blog and for this comment, Suella; it means a lot to me. Unfortunately, given today’s events it’s looking less and less likely that I’ll be returning to my blog. I have pretty irrefutable proof that I’ve been ‘checked up on’ over what caused me so much distress and made me want to give up completely. If it happens again then that’s it. I’m done.
Mar, it would be a crying shame if you closed your blog….I have no idea of the details, but it sounds like you’re being somewhat (more than somewhat?) bullied…maybe you can just step away to gather your strength back, and then see how you feel; I don’t know, of course. I’m not in your shoes…but I just wanted to say that I’m sure there a much bigger silent majority of readers who only wish you good. I just don’t know if that’s helpful enough right now…
Mauricette, thank you so much for commenting. I did need a breather, as those comments hit me at a time when I was feeling a bit low and a lot exhausted in my real life, and as a consequence of their timing they hit a lot harder than they normally would. Now that I’ve had a break from the blog I realise just how much fun it’s been and how much I miss doing it (not to mention how much it means to others, which is always a pleasant surprise to me), and to that end I’ve decided to shrug my shoulders at the person who got me down. I’m coming back :)
Hello, I dont want to advertise my name here (although you will be able to see who I am in SL by the email address, Mar), and I am not really sure what has happened, but I think you have to do what you feel is right, even though I would say yours is one of the best blogs for free and cheap things in SL I have found to date.
All I can do is send you my admiration for your skill and talent at presenting what you find in SL, and offer you a piece of advice someone gave me when I was leaving a crappy job years ago now: “Dont let the bastards grind you down”.
Hi there, Ms Yes I See Who You Are ;)
Thank you so much for commenting. What happened, happened at a time in my real life when I was feeling pretty exhausted, and so it all hit harder than it normally would. Having taken a bit of a breather (not to mention managing to recharge my RL batteries somewhat) I’ve realised that something is missing, and that something is the whole blog and what Mar does. I’ve missed her, I’ve missed writing tutorials and finding cheapie stuff; I’ve missed blogging in general.
That has always been great advice, and I’m gonna take it. I’ll be back very shortly :)
Comments are closed.