pet84rik recently wondered if a gophermap is really
necessary[1]. For me the answer is a resounding "no."
Not with an exclamation mark; just a regular not. I
don't see any evil in a gophermap, and I certain use
them, but I'm thinking more and more that things like
that just get in the way of the content.

I feel the same way about most scripts on gopher. I have
a few, but they aren't all useful. My phlog script over at
SDF, for example, is a waste of time. There's no value in
it, over just having a directory with text files in it.
Maybe I feel that way because SDF is always breaking their
PHP install, thus throwing an error on my phlog...

These things do have their place though. If you feel like
it would help you or your visitors, and it won't be too
much of a pain, then go for it. Otherwise, keep on keeping
on with what you're doing!

A phlog that I haven't seen popped up on the bongusta today
as well; Yin Feng's Chan Buddhist PHLOG[2]. I think I need
to look more into bongusta and see if I can find a list of
all the phlogs in there, not just the daily updates.

Yin Feng's phlog post from yesterday was interesting to me.
It makes me happy that he (saw a 'marc' email on the gopher
hole, so I think it's a 'he' but hopefully it won't offend
anyone if not) found a way to feel more at peace with his
beliefs. He talked in his post about minimizing his own
religious activities to fit in with his family. I hope that
he finds his family to be supportive of his beliefs, and
willing to build on commonality and truth, which exists all
over, and not just in one religion.

The fitting in vs. being accepted is an interesting topic.
He notes that being accepted "means we are accepted as we
are, without being required to shave off all the bits and
pieces that don't fit others' expectations." This, I think,
deserves more discussion, and also a very clear distinction:
we ought to accept others, but do we have to agree with
them? Can we accept others, without necessarily adopting all
of their views? I think we can, but I would like to think on
it more.

Though I'm Christian, I've always liked the few ideas that I
understand in Buddhism. And I certainly wouldn't want a
Buddhist to feel ill at ease practicing their faith and
beliefs around me.


[1] gopher://sdf.org:70/0/users/pet84rik/BLOG/JAN18/Jan08-01-Gophermap
[2] gopher://tomatobodhi.twilightparadox.com:70/1/phlog/01-09-18