I'm Just Saying This Once...

I've just had someone leave two comments, both with hotlinks to his blog in them, and it bothers me. You need to know this: I don't visit blogs. I don't. Please don't leave me comments asking me to come check your blog out, 'cos I probably won't. Why?

There was a time a couple years ago when I became cyber addicted. I actually was pretty cyber-addicted for about three or four years. I began forming more online relationships than real life ones. It was easier, these online webs of contacts and such, than it was to hold real conversations and be with real people. There was about a two-year period where I was somewhat agoraphobic and socially anxious. I think it was a mix of acute depression and insecurity in the dark three years to follow Mom's death (I spent the first year forcing myself to be social, then just said fuck it and holed up in my home for the next couple). Whatever the case, the internet was my refuge. I hid from the world and stayed online. If my friends wanted to see me, they came to my house. Not often would we go out. I'd pretend I was broke and that was all I could afford. Realistically, though... I know now I was just hiding.

I'm still a somewhat anti-social person at times, we writers often can be, but I refuse to sit on my ass having MSN chats and endlessly surfing internet sites and/or blogs. There's a line I've drawn and I never cross it anymore. I'm protecting myself. It's what we do.

Besides, I get a reasonable amount of readers, almost all of whom have their own blogs, and I don't want to be playing favourites.

There comes a point when you need to ask yourself if spending as much time as you do on your computer is a healthy way to go. I'm still not at the point where I've properly balanced life-in-the-world against life-at-home, but being a scooter rider, I tend to be more of a homebody in the winter, but now I'm at that point where I'm slipping into a more social frame of mind since I'm able to get out without freezing my ass off, getting poured on, or being a victim waiting to happen in the dark Northern nights. I love social spring Steff. Yay Spring.

And praise GOD it's Friday. Oh, lordie, a beautiful thing. So's the 9.5 hours of sleep I just had!

Oh, and if you're one of these people (ahem, MBNJ) who only leaves comments so you can hotlink to your blog, you might want to rethink your practices. As a "young" blogger, I did that too. Then I had a blogger I respect tell me I was being a wanker and although he liked my writing and my blog, he'd never give me a link to it because, as far as he was concerned, I was just using him and was completely selfish in my motivations in leaving comments rather than genuinely having something to say about what the blogger struggled to write. That smartened me the fuck up. If you're one of those, then know this: I'm getting awful tired of people who just want to whore their own blogs, and there's going to come a time where I just start deleting the comment instead. It's just proper etiquette. If people like your comment, they'll check the link on your profile name and follow you there. I bust my ass to keep this blog kicking, and I dislike feeling that "I'm being used" sense, thanks.