Blogs vs. public forums . . .

[Gaze]

Do you judge or evaluate or adjust how you respond to a member based on their blogs or rather what they post on the public forums, or both?


Do you respond to members differently on the public forums depending on how they write or what they write about in their blogs?


Do you consider the blogs a direct reflection of a member's true self or identity (if such a thing exists)?

 

[KazeCraven]

I rarely post in others' blogs, but when I do I'm a lot more concerned about relating what I say to them or for their benefit.

I see the blogs as a more private space, so if someone gets really into themselves with a post it makes sense, whereas I'm not too keen on that when I see it elsewhere. Not that I have a problem with it, but more that I just tend to see it as saying something about that person. That's probably why I tend to make posts that make a pass at being applicable to everyone when they really don't and are all about me.

 

[Gaze]

I rarely post in others' blogs, but when I do I'm a lot more concerned about relating what I say to them or for their benefit.

I see the blogs as a more private space, so if someone gets really into themselves with a post it makes sense, whereas I'm not too keen on that when I see it elsewhere. Not that I have a problem with it, but more that I just tend to see it as saying something about that person. That's probably why I tend to make posts that make a pass at being applicable to everyone when they really don't and are all about me.

Yeah, when i first started posting here, i'd only discuss personal feelings or experiences on the blog, and leave more general questions for the forum. Some thought it was somehow being secretive to start a thread topic about something personal and not identify it as something personal. Apparently, some thought i was trying to hide that i was going through a situation by posting a generic question about it. When it was really that I didn't want to make a public thread about me. I wanted people to feel comfortable relating to the subject the way they could.

When i do mention personal experiences or feelings on a public forum, i do it as a way to provide an example or a case to work with or to illustrate a point, but i don't expect the thread to become focused on the personal experience or feeling i mention. That's why most of my questions are very generic, because i'm more interested in how other's think about the subject from their own experience. I tend to leave personal feelings/experiences for blog comments. But i notice, and this is Ni or maybe me assuming too much, that people respond to some of the posts on the public forum, based on how someone presents themselves on the blog.

I think people think they know you if when they read your blog, when it's really just a snippet. I'm not sure if this is clear, but when i write in a blog, i write for myself, to work out some issues. If someone can relate to it, i understand but that space is private.

Just interesting to see people's responses to posts/blogs.

 

[DoveAlexa]

that people respond to some of the posts on the public forum, based on how someone presents themselves on the blog.

I tend to avoid reading people's blogs for this reason. It's hard not to have a different perspective of someone's posts based on what other posts they have written, and those in a blog tend to have an extreme personal and emotionally negative bent I feel. Also, I don't post in a person's blog unless I really have a personal connection with the person or their story is particularly compelling.

 

[894tt3h9]

I almost never read any of the blogs on here. Sometimes I pop in and browse them a bit, but I usually don't read them start to finish, so I don't worry about how I perceive their posts in the regular forum. I suppose if I were to read more of the blogs and get an idea of how members are on a more personal level that might change though.

 

[Gaze]

I tend to avoid reading people's blogs for this reason. It's hard not to have a different perspective of someone's posts based on what other posts they have written, and those in a blog tend to have an extreme personal and emotionally negative bent I feel.

Yeah, it would be hard not to, but i think it's more than that. Blogs do provide a little insight into someone but it's not the entire picture; it's context. When i write in a blog, i'm writing to work out personal issues, not to relate to anyone in particular. But someone reading personal thoughts in a blog, especially the more personal or "negative" stuff which i don't have a problem with since a blog is sometimes, the only place someone may feel comfortable venting and dealing with personal issues, may think this is all this person is or chooses to be.

But, at least for me, my blog is not me. So, it feels a bit weird when you notice posters responding to something said on the public forum because of how they think you are based on a blog. It think some would assume that if they ever met someone, they'd expect the person to be fairly close to how they present themselves in a blog. And, at least in my case, i would never talk about anything i write in my blog with anyone here if i ever met them in person, unless they're good friends and wanted to talk about something they're experiencing which is similar.

I know all this was a bit long, but i have this irritating need to explain stuff

 

[TinyBubbles]

i read blogs sometimes. i have my own which i occasionally update with pretty pictures and random musings =D agree with [MENTION=1516]KazeCraven[/MENTION] that blog posts feel much more private than other posts, and for that reason i can be hesitant to reply to them.

do i judge people differently based on their blog posts? only to the extent that it unveils a different part of their character. it's a good way to learn more about a person i think.. and maybe that's why people post, so others can understand them? or maybe just to express themselves.

i sometimes assume (often incorrectly) that what a person says in their private blog has direct links to what they say on their rest of the forum. sometimes there IS a link - but it'd be hard to infer it accurately based only on their posts, and even if you could, there are question marks against whether you SHOULD - obviously they are compartmentalizing them for a reason, so why are YOU drawing them together, you know? if the person wants their public posts to be considered in relation to their blog posts, they'd probably mention that themselves.

 

[DoveAlexa]

Yeah, it would be hard not to, but i think it's more than that. Blogs do provide a little insight into someone but it's not the entire picture; it's context. When i write in a blog, I'm writing to work out personal issues, not to relate to anyone in particular. But someone reading personal thoughts in a blog, especially the more personal or "negative" stuff which i don't have a problem with since a blog is sometimes, the only place someone may feel comfortable venting and dealing with personal issues, may think this is all this person is or chooses to be.

But, at least for me, my blog is not me. So, it feels a bit weird when you notice posters responding to something said on the public forum because of how they think you are based on a blog. It think some would assume that if they ever met someone, they'd expect the person to be fairly close to how they present themselves in a blog. And, at least in my case, i would never talk about anything i write in my blog with anyone here if i ever met them in person, unless they're good friends and wanted to talk about something they're experiencing which is similar.

I know all this was a bit long, but i have this irritating need to explain stuff

Np, explanations are good.

Though, honestly, I feel that if you don't want someone to judge you for saying something, you don't say it. While some may be able to put a blind spot on someone's emotional pain filled words spoken a few hours past when reading a non-blog post somewhere else, that emotional pain post is more likely than anything to stick in ones mind and make an impression. I'm not saying don't post, what I am saying is expecting people to somehow put in perspective your whole personality when given repeated and maybe even voluminous examples of only one part (while other parts remain hidden) isn't terribly fair. What most of us know of you is written in your posts, most of us don't think we even should separate out the blog posts you make as somehow not being applicable to all that is you. I certainly don't.

 

[Gaze]

i sometimes assume (often incorrectly) that what a person says in their private blog has direct links to what they say on their rest of the forum. sometimes there IS a link - but it'd be hard to infer it accurately based only on their posts, and even if you could, there are question marks against whether you SHOULD - obviously they are compartmentalizing them for a reason, so why are YOU drawing them together, you know? if the person wants their public posts to be considered in relation to their blog posts, they'd probably mention that themselves.

Yeah, what's said in a blog can affect how someone responds on the forums, but i think there's compartmentalizing involved as well. On the public forums, i'm more conscious of how i post - i try to be more objective and inclusive, and avoid (and sometimes i know i fail ) to keep it general/generic. But it can be kinda weird when you share a personal thought or experience as an example or to make a point and then someone decides to make it the focus of the thread, although that's not the intent. Although, i guess if i was honest with myself, i sometimes make a personal issue the focus of a thread as well. *bad res*

 

[Gaze]

I'm not saying don't post, what I am saying is expecting people to somehow put in perspective your whole personality when given repeated and maybe even voluminous examples of only one part (while other parts remain hidden) isn't terribly fair. What most of us know of you is written in your posts, most of us don't think we even should separate out the blog posts you make as somehow not being applicable to all that is you. I certainly don't.

No one is required to read a blog - it's a choice to read them. Just keep in mind that it's not the complete pic. We have control over how we feel or think about things, and we have the ability to make adjustments to our way of thinking. My point would be, respond to the content of the post, not what you think someone is or what you think their motivation is based on your impressions of their blog posts. This implies they can't respond to a topic or post without getting personal feelings involved. By doing so, you're assuming that they lack the capacity to be objective, and that's not necessarily true. Won't say that comments in a blog may not seem contradictory to what's posted on the forums, but it's possible to compartmentalize.