[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation

It's something that's important in personal relationships I think, but the context and human tends to get lost over the internet.

If a friend's drowning in negativity, one can be present in some ways, but that can't be fixed by anyone else nor would that even really make sense. They could be in a bad situation, in which case maybe there's ways to directly help, but oftentimes it's something only they can work through and we also have to maintain some distance and boundaries and recognize we won't fix how they feel nor should we try to. And sometimes people just need to vent negativity and shout into the void or break down to a friend.

On the internet, we fire off walls of text under the presumption people will just read it and get it and fuck off and go change their whole worldview. It takes time and the ephemeral nature of communication on the Internet means we'll never be around for the context or resolution of someone's difficulties. (nor will they for our own.) So, even more than irl, we have to set boundaries on how invested we're willing to get. It's a constant frustration for me though.

ps muse dash looks cute as hell, have fun!!

There will always be negativity unfortunately. I’ve come to realize that engaging in it is a waste of one’s time and doesn’t help resolve whatever issue the person on the other side may be going through. I try to diffuse situations, but I can’t always spend all my time doing that.

Indeed, that's the most reasonable approach. I was a bit down because I had put a lot of energy into a community, but the mod didn't really seem to opening discussions with the members. I ended leaving, but that left a bitter taste