Saturday, November 14, 2009

It's a Saturday morning and it's one of those days where it's not quite raining but it's not dry either.  It's been like this for 3 days now.  I got up and showered and instead of going and getting breakfast and starting the laundry, I sat down with the computer.  Pk made some toast and the smell is making me hungry so breakfast will happen soon. 

But first, I wanted to respond to Bells' comment on my last post.  She wanted to know if I had come to "love ravelry".  And my answer is a qualified No.  There are parts I like.  For instance, I like being able to search patterns and to have interactions with other like-minded individuals.  I like that it collects information on yarns and techniques all in one place and they are easy to access. 

I'm not interested in uploading my collection of needles, my yarn or my projects.  I don't enjoy looking at other people's stash (I totally don't get the Flash Your Stash people at all).  I like to see what other people are working on and how their projects come out.  I loved looking at what  people made for holiday gifts (there are some really lucky  people out there this year who are going to get some gorgeous handknits!). 

I joined ravelry because so many people use it as a link for patterns and I couldn't see what they were talking about unless I could access the site.  I use it several times a week but I will admit, mostly to occupy myself during downtimes at work.  I'll pop on and see what's going on in a group and read posts and then pop off.

I think it's a genius idea and they timed it perfectly.  I wish it were less knitter-centric and open to more crafts.  There are a lot of creative folks out there who do amazing needlework of all kinds.  I like to look at embroidery arts (and I love Piecework magazine for this) and often I think some of the knitters look at this as an intrusion into "their space".  Not everyone, but often it seems like we are not as welcoming as we'd like to think.

I like the forums for their variety of discussion topics but they are so much cotton candy most of the time.  People post whatever comes into their heads and I sometimes wonder if they gave it any thought at all.  Some of the responses I read make me stop and say "whoa" because they're thoughtless or nasty.  The internet is somewhat anonymous but that shouldn't give people carte blanche to say what they're thinking.  We all have a filter between our brains and our mouths (or our fingers when we are typing) that should keep some thoughts inside.  Some people seem to have very thin filters. 

I don't think I'm smarter or have more common sense than anyone else.  I dont' think that my thoughts are worth more or are more considered.  I just try to make sure I give some thought to what I'm saying and how it will affect others before I post.  (This comes from growing up with a father who would say whatever he wanted no matter how hurtful, i.e. "your sister is the pretty one, it's a good thing you're smart", and didn't realize that you can forgive but you don't forget).

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will break my heart".  This is so true, it's a no brainer.  And I wish people would remember it before they blithely hit the reply button.

Having said all that, Ravelry is a good idea and I enjoy it.  Do I love it?  Nah but I don't hate it either.  Like all internet things, it's a way to reach out and make some connections and have some fun.  It's not the be all or end all but it doesn't have to be.

Wow.  A long answer to a short question.  I know there are those people who will disagree with me and that's ok.  I'm only one person and since Bells asked, I thought I'd answer.   

 Today I want to spin.  I should be spinning for my Ply by Night group but I want to work on Pk's alpaca so I'm going to ignore the shoulds and do what I want.  I do have to clean out my china closet and wash the things inside and polish the silver pieces.  The holidays are coming and some things can't wait any longer.  If we have a nice weekend soon, the curtains and windows have to be washed.  Unfortunately, when we have a rare nice weekend, I don't feel like doing chores.  Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny.  We'll see.

Have a good weekend!

7 comments:

roxie said...

Put on some cheery music, or a book on tape for that china washing. Unless you can get someone to help. It goes SO much faster with entertainment.

Hugs and good spinning mojo to your weekend!

Bells said...

Great response! I'm so glad I asked. I had been wondering. I think you've identified well what are the main faults with many, many areas of the internet, which is of course not a fault of the internet or the sites on it at all, but flaws in human nature.

The tendency to be nasty behind a thin veil of anonymity is a terrible human trait that the internet only makes worse.

I do try and keep away from all that stuff on ravelry. As for putting my stash up there, it's great to be at work and be able to look up my stash and see how much I have when I am planning a project! That's why I do it. Not to show it off!

Kaye said...

DITTO! It's nice, but if their servers exploded tomorrow and it never ever ever came back--I'd be OK. I think we're the minority.

I never got Flash Your Stash either ;-)

Rose Red said...

Despite the flaws you mention, I do love Ravelry - but you are totally right about people not appearing to think before they write a post or a reply. Sometimes I read some of those threads as a reminder to myself how not to behave. Oh dear!

I am so with you on not wanting to do housework when it is sunny! But then again, I just don't want to do housework anytime really!! Roxie is right I think, some good music makes it more bearable!

Amy Lane said...

I love that you can give a response like that and make it thoughtful and real but not offensive or angry. You REALLY are force of good in the universe!!!

DPUTiger said...

Fortunately, as with most things, it's good that we can all use things in a way that works best for us.

I use Ravelry a lot and enjoy it. Yes, I have (almost) all of my stash up on the site, but that's more for inventor/organizational purposes than as a "look what I have" kind of thing. I don't get the Flash your Stash stuff either, but that's just me.

As for projects, I do keep a pencil-and-paper notebook of my knitting, but it's nice to have that stuff up on Ravelry so that I can access it wherever I have internet access.

I didn't "get it" before I joined, and I wasn't all hot to join. The piece of info that pushed me "over the edge" was the ability to see what lots of other people had done with a specific yarn. I think it's a great tool for lots of things but I don't think I'd be heartbroken if it went bye-bye.

Olivia said...

My feelings about Ravelry are quite similar to yours. Though Bells is right, a lot of the negatives are really common all over the net, once any forum reaches a certain level of size and popularity. I have always been much more of a lurker, sorry, reader than a contributer online and sometimes I consciously try to contribute a little more.

On ravelry I do like being able to find so many instances of people making the same pattern with all their innovative variations (or fixing errors/weaknesses). I used to search the web generally (esp Google images) for this purpose, but Rav is much more efficient. I'm not willing to spend the time putting my stash in there, though I can see the organisational advantages. And my WIPS I like to keep closer to my chest!

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