the times they are a changin'

I've been writing this blog for nearly eighteen months now. And what a hunkydory time it has been.

I was contacted recently by someone who was writing an article on blogging for a stitching magazine, and I extolled the virtues of craft blogs, the wonderful circles of like-minded people they incorporate, their sense of interest, enthusiasm, creativity and, above all, support.

I feel now I may have been a little dewy-eyed. For I have noticed a change over the last month or two in the dynamics of blogging and commenting. I'm not naive, I know changes happen all the time, that adpating to the new is the only way to survive. But it saddens me to see this hint of negative change.

When I was fresh-faced blogger, I was surprised by the nature of the comments I not only read on other blogs, but also received myself. Positive, good-humoured, polite, funny, clever, reflective, encouraging, witty and generous.

But now I see, creeping into the comments sections of many fellow bloggers and my own in-box, a disturbing type of comment. Recently I've read personal, critical, unpleasant, negative, nit-picking comments and it bothers me.

When you write a blog you expose yourself, your vision, your ideas and your thoughts. Of course it's up to the individual just how much you share, but you can't write a blog without some degree of exposure. These blogs are utterly free to read, a significant bonus in an increasingly commercial world and no-one coerces anyone else into reading a blog. And yet still some readers feel they have the right to ask for more, to criticise the content, to act as a 'friend' and defend one blogger on another's blog.

When I compose a post, I do so with no particular reader in mind. It's my blog, it's my life, I write to please myself. But more and more I am aware of a growing self-consciousness about what I'm doing. I really don't care if people think I use too many e-numbers/bully my husband/have a neatness problem (that one just makes me laugh like a drain), but I really don't understand their need to say so either on my blog or on another blog.

Now I am passionate about freedom of speech, and I am concerned about how it can be used in blogs and blogging. We all know that freedom of speech can be used to create or to destroy. If misapplied, freedom of speech becomes a freedom to undermine, to critcise, to make simplistic, vacuous and judgmental comments which deaden the energy and life of creative blogs.

If used in a thoughtful, constructive, positive manner, freedom of speech on blogs can contribute enormously to, and sustain, the fluidity of creativity, the exchange of ideas, the liveliness which keeps crafty blogs alive and ever-changing.

If the support and friendship of craft blogs (I have been told that political blogs are breeding grounds for resentment and argument and I have seen that literary blogs are places to posture and pose) are eroded by readers who haven't anything better to say than negative, mean, often anonymous, email-less snipes, then the blog writers will soon start to cover up, edit, blanket their blogs with inoffensive blandness and stop showing their wonderful output and, more importantly, their wonderful selves.

I know that I am sticking my neck out by writing this post. But it's dawning on me that unless the craft-blogging community keeps its special character and tenor, it will feel like we are back in the playground, when we thought we were in a grown-up virtual bar/cafe/knitting group. And I never, ever want to go back to school.

Comments

[Kim]

Well said!

[Lisa]

I have been on the receiving end of nasty, pointless comments and it really hurt. Then I have to ask myself, "Why do you care what this faceless, mean person says?"
Why do we care?
Please don't change, you are a delight to me.

[molly!]

Very well put. I haven't had any experience with this kind of negative feedback myself, but it seems kind of sad for the commenter more than anything else. What kind of person wastes their time making negative comments on craft blogs? Don't let the turkeys get you down!

[Allisone]

I read many blogs, and each is written by someone whom I respect. I value your contribution to my day, and otherwise would not spend my (rather limited) time "with you." That being said, why would I try and censor you? Reading only what I agree with, or taking in only art similar to what I would produce would seriously limit my world.

I really enjoy what you do. Thank you for the time and energy you put into your blog daily.

[teresa c.]

I've been reading yuor (and other) blogs through bloglines, so i often don't go to the comment box. Is this going as unpleaseant as it sounds? That makes me question the way I read blogs. Maybe I should take some time to tell how much I appreciate the ones I read (and long for) for some time now. As in any other relationship, maybe I should care a little more. And maybe I (and everyone else) should not take Yarnstorm for granted - nor to expect any else than it is: yours.

[Bee]

Jane I adore your blog and your beautiful pictures.
I'm so saddened to hear you have received unkind comments.
Bee.

[Leslie]

I love your blog and hope you'll keep on inspiring us! I haven't received negative comments myself, and it seems so inappropriate on a blog of this kind. Hopefully the good will continue to outweigh the bad!

[Diane Watermeier]

Jane,Your blog is THE very best! There are a lot lot mean and hateful people in our world. But, I believe there are more good than bad out there. Everyday I look forward to reading your wonderful words and seeing your beautiful pictures. Thank you!

[Carole]

Dear Jane, I've been reading knitting/craft blogs for about 6 months now and they give me a good deal of pleasure and inspiration. As you so rightly point out they're free and personal and, in my view, one of the best things about the internet. I've never bothered to read the comments before so have just looked at a few to see what's going on but assume you delete the nasties. Quite right too. Good luck and keep blogging.

[Tania Ho]

How sad to hear such things are happening. Like teresa, I also read most blogs through Bloglines, so I'm not aware of most of the comments and hadn't realised it was getting bad. As a huge fan of your blog, I hope yours won't change because of this.

[amanda]

here, here, sister. very eloqently said, as always.

[Sarah]

Jane, I've been realizing this plague on blogs everywhere, myself. (Apartment Therapy is particularly bad at times.) I don't understand how so many people don't see the difference between constructive criticism and cruel put-downs. It saddens me no end that this boundary has been blurred so dangerously.

Thanks for this post and for being so lovely and open.

[Mary K. in Rockport]

What do I look for in a craft blog? Consistency, regularity, provocative hand-made items of any sort with an explanation, very beautiful photos, a little humor if possible, good writing, and a glimpse (and only a glimpse) into the author's daily life especially if it includes her children and little issues thereof. So, yours is just perfect as is. Thanks!

[Merenia]

Your blog is the only one I vist - as I am busy with my baby girl. I thought you might like some feedback that for me it is a delightful window on the world and it has also educated my taste in textiles greatly. I am always quoting you to my craft friends... "Yarnstorm has a lot of this colour in her latest quilt, or Yarnstorm buys great buttons on ebay" etc etc. I am always half expecting your blog will be taken over by a publisher and marketed into a magazine it is so good!
So sorry to hear of the mean-spiritedness but please keep going - I can't do without my daily Yarnstorm. (I'm also bowled over that you take the trouble to reply to people's comments personally when appropriate. I was very touched when you made that effort once.)

[korinthe]

Jane,

Your perspective as shared through your blog has quite literally changed the way I look at the world (especially with regard to color combinations). Thank you for that. If you were to stop blogging tomorrow (please don't!) I would still see things in a different light because of what you have already written AND the thoughtfulness with which you've phrased it.

I apologize if my comments have been a bit sour at times. Sometimes I mean them to be wry or tongue-in-cheek and that doesn't necessarily come across so well in text.

Regarding anonymity -- I always post under the same screen name, but I still don't like giving out my email address for bots to harvest. I hope TypePad authentication is an acceptable halfway-meeting-point to the hosts and hostesses of these blogs.

Sincerely and gratefully,
Korinthe
(Curran)

[Jill]

I love your blog, too. It's one of my few daily reads!

[Jennifer]

I think they're jealous. Your entries are always fresh and colorful--full of insight and beauty. Such a carefully crafted, well-written blog must take a lot of effort. Others may try to appear breezy and off-the-cuff, but often fail. Personally, I think you are extremely brave. I see blogs as diaries, and I couldn't imagine putting it all down for the world to see. I'm just so glad that you do.

[Alpaca Woman]

Oh, how right you are. I've seen this type of behaviour reported by many bloggers (both craft and non-craft.) Ironically it's usually once they've become popular. My thought process took this one step further to celebrity and celebrity=bashing because once in the public domain they’re fair game, right? And isn’t a popular blogger a celebrity? It's typical playground stuff made worse by the anonymity that the internet affords. Sadly, those people (I like to think of them as green-inkers) are always going to be with us in one form or another…
That said, please don’t stop doing what you do. Your blog is an oasis of calm and colour and creativity and cakes! The web would be a lesser place without you.

[amy [knitty]]

Jane, I've been a lurker here for a while. i LOVE your blog and your post today is a perfect example of why.

I hope it's okay with you -- I've posted a short excerpt of your post on my blog along with a link back to your site. I feel, just as you do, that trash talking and bringing people down is a waste of our energy and highly destructive to the community we're trying to create, whether it's our right to do so or not. But you said it better than I ever have.

Thank you, Jane.

[Willow Caroline]

I just found your blog, and am enjoying it. Craft blogs are new to me this summer... I have been a knit blogger prior to this. Working full time in the school year means I cram it all into summers. I am sorry you have had to deal with ugly comments... I guess any time you expose yourself to the public it is a risk.. but I hate to see a good thing ruined by uneccesary ugliness.

[Jane]

Wow! this is the second one of my favorite blogs that's been infiltrated. I was in love with a French cross stitching blog and someone posted a nasty comment to her and she shut the whole shebang down - a huge loss to the cross stitch world.
Anyway! PLease don't let the bastards get you down. I just can't take another favorite blog being affected by the nasties out there.

[ysolda]

I don't think I've ever commented before, but I just wanted to tell you that I love your blog and all that you give of yourself. Keep doing what you're doing and don't let the anonymous snidey comments get you down. They are far outnumbered by the many people who greatly appreciate what you do, even if most of us rarely speak up and say thankyou.

[Shirley]

Consider the source of unpleasant comments: unpleasant, negative people. Let's NOT consider them or give them any recognition whatsoever because that is what they crave: attention. I enjoy your blog, it's one of three I read daily. My favorites? Your photos and your color sense. Mah-ve-lous! Thank you.

[twigagirl]

Ah, the anonymity of the internet! I am a crafter who has taught middle school for many years, and each year we have at least one, if not many, explosive conflicts involving cruel things students write to each other on AOL Instant Messenger, MySpace and other such tools. Fortunately, we are a small school and can sit down and talk with students about this, and I can tell you they are always CHAGRINED when they realize what they have done by writing something they would never dream of saying.
The veil of anonymity provided by our virtual communitiets can be so dangerous to our sometimes feeble ability to empathize with another person. Your writing and crafting are wonderful and an inspiration! Please don't stop! From my experiences with children, I believe that were you able to sit down with the writers of these rude comments, they would be appropriately embarrassed and apologetic and would give you some accounting of their behavior. Those comments are about them and not about you.

[ness]

Oh Jane I am sorry this has been happening to you. I have delighted in finding creative and personable blogs for so many reasons but one major being that the writers and commentors were so positive, uplifting and inspiring and generous with their sharing and craft, it is horrible when something special and precious is negated this way.

Thank you for sharing this with us.