MUSINGS

Intellectual Derpism

This is where wank becomes discourse and we whip out our codpieces like gents to discuss the finer points of being an idiot. It is a more sophisticated and occassionally philosophical echo chamber where I pretend like the world outside it has no bearing on anything I consider to be reality and truth.

Why Follow Me?

I know that F4F is a pretty big part of online culture now, but I also wish people were a little more reserved with their following list. I don't always follow someone to be followed back. Usually I just like their content and, if they like my content, that's all good and great. It's when we're clearly on entirely different pages that I get confused. I am not angry or annoyed, I just don't get it. Why follow someone who doesn't post what you want to see? Do the numbers matter that much? We don't talk so ????? I wish I could beam the concept into their heads. "You don't have to follow me back." I get weirded out and it makes me act like a fool from time to time, too. Maybe that's what they're sticking around for hahaha.

It's one of the major drawbacks of Neocities and Nekoweb, in my humble opinion. The social features create this push and pull reaction with follows and links. I really don't like it. I don't want people to link me because I'm linking them. Moot culture IS annoying because it's often so parasocial that there is this sense of entitlement. "I didn't know my moots were like that!" Yeah, man, you didn't know them at all. That is why. They mistake it for friendship. If I don't know your favorite color, I do not consider you a friend. Maybe I can consider them an acquaintance at best if I care on a slightly more personal level, but that's sorta rare and often my own sin of parasocialization.

In an ideal world, no one would follow me out of obligation. We could exist in the same sphere while having complex lives and interests of our own that don't need to hinge on stupid little numbers. In that way, I miss when the internet felt smaller because it was a nearly impossible task to funnel most people online into a couple spaces. They've mastered the are of doing so via Twitter clones, though, and it's such a damningly successful format that you just can NOT catch a break wherever you go. Follow, repost, like, scroll, repeat. Keywords, algorithm, boosted, for you, recommendations. All I want is a quiet place at the edge of the internet where I can escape all that noise and push. I don't want to be the product. I don't want to be punished for not playing along with this stupid game.

That's Not A Baby Game

If you're like me and addicted to the kind of nonsensical things journalists can say out of willful ignorance about games, you might have been there for the guy who decided to pick Yoshi and the Mysterious Book as his effigy to burn in his case to be made about Nintendo pretty much only making games for babies. While I will admit Yoshi was made to be appealing to children first, I'd also argue it's a low entry barrier game. Just because something isn't mature doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it. Disney movies can be a great example of this since they do often, on some level, make attempts to appeal to the parents in the room. Insisting that something NEEDS maturity to be enjoyable is the mark of personal immaturity. It's the spiritual flailing of a child reminding everyone in the room they're a big kid now. If you want to play more mature games, it's okay to just say so without gigging a company for making games you wouldn't enjoy. Of course, I have the sneaking feeling anyone complaining about this sort of thing hasn't really played a game for their own enjoyment since they were a child. That's pretty depressing.