Paper IO 02/15/24
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My son was playing on paper-io.com and I thought I'd join him this
morning just for kicks. I used the name 'tfurrows', and was tickled
when some other random person signed in with my real name, 'joelyman'
as their username (due to ham radio, my name isn't all that secret, as
you probably know). My son was blown away by it, like there was some
glitch in the matrix, but it didn't shock me, really. I told him that
I had a lot of friends who were computer geeks, and that I was a part
of several unix servers filled with people who might play games like
that.
Anyway, he was wide-eyed and impressed that someone on the wild
internet might recognize his dad's username. Thanks for helping me
blow my kid's mind, random stranger!
I really wanted to tie this back to a gopher post I read the other
day, but I'm having a hard time finding the link at the moment. In
that post, the author was talking about gopherspace as a primary
social circle; at least, I think that's what it was. While gopher and
public access unix aren't my main social opportunities, they are
certainly important to me. I love the pace, the togetherness without
the pulling that comes with in-person interaction. I don't love it
more than personal interaction, just differently.
Like dreams: I love my dreams, usually. They feel amazing. But they're
nothing like life; I don't really compare the two, because they're so
entirely separate. Just because dreams aren't life, doesn't mean I
can't love them. I don't mean to belabor the point, it just felt like
something to make clear.
Certainly, I'm aware of a giant sense of lack out there, among many.
I'm a member over at tilde.town, for example, and I see in the feels
section many who are depressed, lonely, drifting, etc. And so, if
someone feels like they like gopher or pubnix better than what life is
offering in the way of socialization right now, I'm not going to tell
them they're wrong. But I can't help hoping that they find something
more out in the world. If I were nearby, I'd invite them over for a
board game or a movie, to get things rolling.
And what about caring for others? Society is built on that. I'd call
it love, but that word is disputed territory these days (along with
hate), and I don't wish to be unclear. I believe society is built on
caring for other people. Gopher and pubnix are no different. The most
recent example that comes to mind is SDF user and anonradio host Tob
having a stroke. It was announced in BBOARD by another user, and the
outpouring of love--said I wouldn't use it, but it is clear in this
context--was enormous. I don't really know Tob, but I cared for him in
that moment. Shouldn't that happen in a society?
Perhaps all I mean by that is that even though this isn't meatspace,
perhaps gopher and unix and being together digitally IS quite real. I
know, it's been said before. But I was thinking about it this morning.
I hope you're all well, gopher and pubnix friends.
