Dear Friends, On April 29th I sent a letter to all of the EC Community members via Blind Carbon Email. Everybody who is a Contributor received the identical, same letter. I have received an emotional outpouring from the members as a result of that letter. I apologize that it hurt your feelings or upset you. I do NOT apologize for what I wrote because I think that it needed to be said. Community-building is hard work. It's tough. It's not easy to do. Let's find solutions together. I am going to paste the text of my letter below and I will give you an opportunity to comment freely. Just keep it as civil as possible, and keep it constructive! tell me what you think and let's work it out. Okay? Hello EC Community Contributors and Participants,
I will not accept any new contributors to the EC Community unless I am convinced that the prospective contributor will actually participate in the Community beyond just submitting articles. Participation by the current group of EC Contributors is poor and inconsistent. By participation I mean taking an interest in the articles by the other contributors. For EC to survive it is necessary for you to read the articles by your fellow EC members and provide feedback in the form of Comments on the articles. - It is my feeling that EC is redundant. 43 of 55 EC Contributors are active in social media on Facebook. These people (including myself) continue to use Facebook, in spite of its obvious drawbacks and negatives, because it is more immediate and easier to use than EC. - Many of you have written to me saying that you are too busy with other things to be able to participate actively at EC. Believe me when I say that I have more than enough to keep me busy with my own creative projects! If you as a group are not able to participate more actively and consistently I will not be sufficiently motivated to continue the Electronic Cottage website. It could very well be possible that EC is not necessary, and I am willing to accept that. I am going to give this matter consideration until September, and I will then make a decision about whether to continue. Do not flood me with a bunch of new articles! Take the time to read what is already at EC, and make Comments.
75 Comments
Rafael González
5/1/2019 05:52:06
Good morning!
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Leslie Singer
5/1/2019 13:03:15
Rafael, I agree with all your points. Thank you for putting it so articulately and succinctly.
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Rafael González
5/1/2019 13:30:08
Leslie, I've been in a magnificent investigation and this has cleared my mind of superfluous things. Now I'm a real analyst (I'm joking!!!!)
Tom Furgas
5/1/2019 06:26:23
I agree with you, Hal. We should be more involved with EC and not just send submissions. Although EC is certainly a labor of love for you, it is also a labor, period. Hard work! We should all be more involved. I will myself try to be more a part of it. As you know, as we all know, there are so many things going on in all kinds of media, and in life itself. Hard to keep up with it all sometimes. But I am sure most everyone who is involved with EC wants it to continue and be the vital resource it is for new music and the free exchange of ideas.
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Just seeing this. I'm glad I don't have social media on my phone (or internet). Perhaps why I have not taken the time to open the e-mail. When it rains it pours. Starring down the barrel of an intense work week. I hope you'll decide to keep E.C. going. I'm not much of a reader (or writer) and perhaps have succumbed to getting my fast food social media communication through something like facebook which is certainly no substitute for real human interaction. E.C. is great. I'll attempt to pay closer attention and comment. Sadly I barely read anything which is perhaps why I can get my quick fix on fakebook in regards to keeping up with the world. Party on weirdos...!!!!! :)
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Chris Phinney
5/1/2019 06:56:51
I think it was is spot on. More involvement in reading the material, commenting, submitting material of importance, one can juggle social & EC if choose to my opinion. Hell I am guilty of not responding to all articles but who is going to. No problems do I have with others using social media thats their buisness, but my feelings is participation at EC as well, make sense or not? I hope no one takes offense here.
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5/1/2019 08:49:35
John Bennett
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5/1/2019 11:38:31
... PLEASE don't get me wrong .... it is V E R Y OBVIOUS how to fix that ... DON'T post on FB ...
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Penny
5/1/2019 18:25:23
In my opinion: FB is not evil. It can be addicting but so can anything you give the permission to in addiction. I for one have met in real time so many of you first, because of an invite to a show or through a suggested friend. FB and other forms of social media can be used as good tools with the correct intent. When i directed a small theatre company we used it to advertise shows, did contests with fans, had private groups where we could communicate cast business..etc. Right on. Things are what you make of them. Facebook is ok for certain things. E.C. is an epic community. I just worked 10 hours in the sun, going to work at 10pm then back at 8am for another 10 or 11 hour day. Giant Rock festival in Jax... Rockville.... Gonna go lay down 'yall............ :)
penelope rebecca kingsord
5/1/2019 23:02:51
hi, i just got home from my job, and i trying to take in Each persons comments. i was able to read through a little bit on my break and dinner.. 5/1/2019 10:15:51
Hi everyone,
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Jim Barker
5/1/2019 10:32:35
I think these are really good points, followed by a lot of good questions. The thing that strikes me most is that Hal is the pinch point which everything has to go through. That does seem guaranteed to create burnout in an individual. Either there's too much to do, although Hal does seem to revel in having a lot to do, and this is admirable, or there is too little to do, which is demoralising, as the individual is all too aware that nothing to do may mean that no one cares. On the other hand allowing content to be created without oversight could allow abuse of the site, spamming and inappropriate or offensive articles/images whatever. It's a tough quandry, but I think that the idea of an editorial staff may be the way forward.
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Hal
5/3/2019 07:57:38
Jim, I want to say that you hit all of the nails squarely on their heads.
Hal
5/3/2019 08:10:55
This is especially on the mark: "Either there's too much to do, although Hal does seem to revel in having a lot to do, and this is admirable, or there is too little to do, which is demoralising, as the individual is all too aware that nothing to do may mean that no one cares." 5/1/2019 12:46:23
One last comment for today..:
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Rafael González
5/1/2019 13:19:51
I believe, sincerely, that it has worked and works perfectly in EC, in that aspect. Except in some cases, all EC members have made some great article or publication. I repeat, EC and FB (or other social media) are not similar or have the same function, from my point of view. 5/1/2019 14:49:48
Lord Litter,
Penny
5/1/2019 18:29:44
Wow!! Thank you for all those good points and questions.
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Hal McGee
5/3/2019 08:22:15
Mike, thanks for these thoughts. You are right in much of what you say. There is an inherent flaw in the way things are set up. Ideally EC would NOT be a topdown situation. Ideally it would be more democratic and de-centralized. When I created EC about 13 months ago I chose Weebly because they offered highly simplified drag and drop webpage-building tools. I don't know html or any of that kind of stuff, and I have no interest in learning. I wanted to create a site where we could all meet and exchange our art and music and ideas AND talk and think about those things together -- all without the obvious bullshit addictiveness of FB. None of the flashing lights, little red flags, Likes, and emojis. That is all fine and good on Facebook, and as far as I am concerned people should continue to use FB who want to use it -- It's everyone's choice to do what suits them best. To the best of my knowledge a separate Forum function is not available at Weebly. For now the blog-style posts will need to serve that function. If somebody who knows more about websites than I do wants to investigate other possibilities and come up with a more automated and therefore de-centralized structure for EC, I am all ears and eyes. I was just looking at some info about Mastodon, and it seems legit, but would be totally beyond my abilities, knowledge and desires in able to get EC started there and up and running and working properly.
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Jim Barker
5/1/2019 10:25:00
It's good that you're passionate about EC, Hal. It's exactly what I'd expect from you, and is one of the many reasons why you are such a lightning rod for a strong creative community. But, FB is not as evil as it's painted, in my opinion. Certainly there are all the things that you talk about, no doubt of it, but at the same time FB is home to most of my real world friends, family and other acquaintences. Many of these people would find little or nothing to relate to on EC. Their interests just don't run in that direction. I don't know any of the EC members in real life, I have never met a single one of them, and I can't conjure up the same kind of friendship I have with my real world friends, no matter how well-intentioned I am. EC simply cannot replace FB, mainly because EC revolves around a minority interest, and FB accommodates all the interests. If EC was for everyone it would be FB, so this focus is its strength. Also, EC does have a real-world community of people who know each other IRL, through things like Racket Fest and Apartment Music. To those of us outside the Florida area and the US, the community is never going to be as close. I know it sounds like I'm putting down EC, but all I'm trying to do is point out a) why EC cannot take the place of FB for me, and b) that EC cannot take the place of FB, because it doesn't have mass appeal, and that is its strength. Ramble ramble.
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Jim Barker
5/1/2019 10:26:48
Realised that I didn't really answer the point, which is that EC people should interact on EC more. I agree with this, and I will try to do more in future. Like now! ;)
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Rafael González
5/1/2019 13:23:38
Jim, this is my vision too. Completely agree with everything you say. EC is not FB, FB is not EC.
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Hal McGee
5/1/2019 10:46:42
My thanks to all of you who have commented so far and thanks in advance to those people who have yet to comment. I won't say much more right now, because I want everybody to say what is on their mind(s). I will wait until Thursday or Friday to make replies. In the meanwhile I will read every comment!
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Adam J Naworal
5/1/2019 10:59:38
I think I said what I had to on the other site, but I'll expand on that here: Some of us have anxiety etc. and can be severely affected by the tone of a message. What is meant to be informative can be interpreted as cold or bossy or even mean by someone in that position. I speak from experience here. I was just acting out of frustration at the possibility of my work here going off into the ether, along with other fine works by other fine folks. I think we all give what we can to EC on our own terms, and I enjoy being a part of this community. We may not always have the time to comment or simply just might not have anything to say, but I'd like to think everyone does check in on the regular to see what's new. Mike Nobody brought up some good points as well; if the workload of running this site is too stressful, you can always ask some of us to help with the load. I hope the site continues and you find a way to lighten the workload.
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5/1/2019 11:12:06
Couldn't have worded that better, I am seeing a lot of what I was already thinking expressed.
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Leslie Singer
5/1/2019 13:10:34
Aimee, I think that you have made some very good points here and something that I've been thinking about as well. Communication via text or email can be a tricky thing as one doesn't get all the mammalian messages that we humans still rely on such as tone of voice or body language. But like you said "We just need to do the best we can." Thank you for your comment-- it really resonated with me and I couldn't have said it better.
Hal McGee
5/1/2019 11:48:19
There is a lively parallel discussion going on here, with numerous varying viewpoints:
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Leslie Singer
5/1/2019 13:16:37
Hal, I want to compliment you on the photo that you chose to illustrate this posting. I recognize the background as being from the wonderful Mexican restaurant there in Gainesville. With the illustration of the sun seeming to burst forth from your head representing all your ambitious and cool ideas that you are putting out in the world such as your assemblages, slide shows, the EC site and this posting. Thank you.
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Jeremiah Paddock
5/1/2019 12:41:18
I really hope the site keeps going and I’m going to try and comment more on articles instead of just reading and thinking.
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Rafael González
5/1/2019 13:09:06
Reading and thinking are two very good things! I also like to read what others offer me here. I am not interested in publishing just for the fact of publishing.
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Eduardo GOZNE
5/1/2019 12:51:00
The only good thing about social networks is the fast communication and that is also a problem because of the quick and wrong interpretations. EC allows to be more accurate in the approaches and maybe give more time to think what you write. For my part many times I help me the Google translator, even so, I read, comment and participate in a community with interesting articles and creative people, something that you will hardly find in social networks.
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Hal McGee
5/3/2019 14:37:50
Eduardo, please use Spanish language in your comments if it will help you. It is no problem for me to use a language translator service.
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Rafael González
5/1/2019 13:04:13
In a similar way to Mike Nobody, I think that EC and FB (or other social media) are different things, they are not comparable. I always thought of a great and often deep online magazine where we could read interesting articles and listen to new music etc. The things you can find in EC can not be found in social media. It is not the same function or utility. I believe that it is not incompatible either. Some of the articles or interviews that are in EC are impossible to find in FB ... but if I want to establish contact with a person living in China, I must use FB, for example ... it is different and it is not incompatible.
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5/1/2019 14:00:08
I felt a bit worried for EC when i saw that email. I did’nt respond to it because i feel that Hal started EC and its his descision if it should be kept online. But i sincerely hope that he does keep it online. It did gave me a bit of purpose in life to write for EC abd i wear the pin proudly on my boonie hat I don’t have the attentionspan to contribute as much as i would like ( i have the attentionspan of a goldfish due to mental issues, wich is why i also can’t get a job or do much of anything really, unless it’s music or soundart, wich calms me down to do, then i will do it alot) But i will do my absolute best to read every article on here in the future, and even if i don’t comment on all of them i do read most of them or at list skim them( is that a word? To skim?) And i think most of us are reading alot of it even if we don’t comment on every post
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Rafael González
5/1/2019 14:08:40
I read all the articles, all. But I do not comment much because my words are limited: Great, awesome, amazing ... I want to say that maybe I have nothing to say, but if I show my admiration for an article with the previous words this would be a bit like a social media and EC is not a social media !!!!
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5/1/2019 14:16:25
Exactly, Rafa! I think most of us unamericans or non-native english speakers have that problem to varying degrees!
Rafael González
5/1/2019 14:28:49
Mine in superlative degree ... so, do not get mad at me if I just tell you: You're cool !!!!!
Penny
5/1/2019 18:11:22
I go through the same thing and i was born in US. You both communicate well. I do enjoy what u both convey. Sometimes i get writer's block when i want to respond, some times i honestly do not know what to say, because the subject is very new to me.
Rafael González
5/2/2019 15:11:46
Thanks Penny, but believe me, my tongue does not work well ... I want to say that ... damn ... that ... aggggggg
penelope rebecca kingsord
5/2/2019 00:10:29
I re-read the letter Hal sent a few times over since last night and also today.
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Hal
5/3/2019 09:12:13
Penny, thank you for your eloquent and heartfelt responses and thoughts. You do not ever need to doubt your own abilities to express yourself effectively! You are great at it. Also, you do not need to ever doubt my friendship and loyalty. I admire you and think of you as a good example for all of us to follow. You are going through difficult personal daily-life struggles and yet you remain compassionate and patient even when you do not think that you have any remaining reserves of strength to do so. We can all learn from you! keep on keeping on, sister, and keep on shining your light.
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Neal Retke
5/2/2019 00:12:44
My Two Cents...
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Lumen K
5/2/2019 01:02:11
This is a great website. Thanks to everyone for contributing. I am excited to see what you all do next. I discover new things here. EC broadens my world. I look forward to more of that. I look forward to sharing more thoughts and more sounds of my own. Thank you, Hal. Thank you, EC community. You rock!
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Hal McGee
5/2/2019 02:34:15
Here is a message from your resident Pot Stirrer: if it was previously a mystery what I want from EC, it is no longer a mystery. Here, right here, you all gave me what I want! Passion, conviction, expression of what our lives feel like, our struggles as people and artists, our loves, our fears, we told each other and discussed and argued a bit, and have tried to work it out. I'm not going to abandon EC any time soon. If somebody wants to help me with editing and operating the site, speak up and be prepared to learn how I expect it to done. All I ask out of all of you is commitment and joy and for you to love your EC Community. I will not do EC forever, I can assure you of that. You need to continue to build your friendships and love each other. Try stuff that challenges you. Even stuff that frightens you. Defy apathy. Dig in, give a fuck, and give a fuck with passion. This is your Community. I created it but it needs to go on living after I cease my active invlevement with it. When I do stop my work with it, your articles will be preserved, don't worry. I wont delete the site. I might just delete me eventually so that I can do other things. Now, enjoy yourselves! Have fun. And have no regrets ever!
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Adam J Naworal
5/2/2019 03:17:20
I have lots of free time currently. Hit me up with some of this editorial/operational instruction :D
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5/2/2019 07:23:26
I think a Facebook group for EC will solve
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Hal McGee
5/2/2019 07:27:09
Ricardo, the biggest problem with your idea is that many of the already most active Electronic Cottage Community members are not on Facebook and have no intention of joining.
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5/2/2019 07:53:27
... sorry I can't keep my mouth shut:
Hal McGee
5/2/2019 07:58:21
MANY. Not all. 5/2/2019 07:55:40
I’d just rather see a transition to a FB group than shutting it down completely. Maybe have both & compromise.
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Hal McGee
5/2/2019 08:02:58
All I was actually saying in my letter is that I was dissatisfied with the level of commitment and depth of involvement by the EC Community members as a whole. Many of the EC members were already highly active before my letter. But more than half are still under-involved. Sure, everybody is busy with something or another. It's a simple matter of re-configuring priorities and adjusting attitudes. The ideas behind the site are the right ones.
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Evan Cantor
5/2/2019 12:35:18
wow--no way I'm reading through 47 comments about commenting... the guitar is calling, the sun is shining, the day is here!
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Hal McGee
5/3/2019 06:53:57
Evan, would you read through 47 comments on your recent article about your painting that you created while listening to Racket Fest #2? people should spend as much time outdoors, doing "real things" and away from computers as possible. I do as much of that as I can. I love taking long walks with my dog in sunny and rainy weather. But when you do sit in front of a computer for however long we appreciate your company here.
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Hal McGee
5/3/2019 14:41:04
Hello Friends! Use your primary language (French, Spanish, etc.) to make comments if it is not easy for you to comment in English. This is an international community, and we all need to be willing and ready to use language translation software if necessary. These services are readily available on the internet.
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:10:24
T̶E̶S̶T̶I̶N̶G̶ ̶1̶2̶3̶
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:16:54
ç̴͕͓͉͊͗̑̓ͅḧ̵͇̞̇ṷ̸̧̒̉͂͋͌̎̈́̇͌ņ̶̢̠̪͊̈́͛̀͂̿̎̅̄̆ğ̷͍͚̙̤̙̣̝̥̟̰̅̆̀̈ǘ̷̡͉̟͉̱̭̬̤͇̈́̽́̅̓̕s̴̡̝̞̗̝͓͍͔̎̎͋͗͜
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 03:16:13
Translation: Chungus
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:19:48
yay this thing takes creative fonts!!! https://saijogeorge.com/strikethrough-text-generator/
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Penny
5/4/2019 02:24:55
Anhygoel Aimee!!!! 🌸🌸🌸
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:25:56
omg how did you get flowers ...and in color!
Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:37:24
████████████████████████████████████████
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Penny
5/4/2019 03:00:28
🌸🌸🌸💝💝💝💝🌸🌸🌸
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Hal McGee
5/4/2019 07:05:33
Penny and Aimee, I think it is quite exciting that you have discovered how to add emojis and color fonts to the Comments here at EC. Good investigative work! It will greatly enhance the enjoyment of the EC site for you and other community members. I think that a dedicated article for EC would be a good thing, with detailed instructions and examples. Please work on it together and submit an article soon. It will be quite useful. Also, in the future, please feel free to use the newly-created FORUM page as a scratch-pad or doodle-pad for the discovery and discussion of thoughts and ideas not directly related to the topics of specific posts at EC.
Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:38:13
^^^^^ASCII Text Art https://fsymbols.com/text-art/
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 02:50:16
🐍💘 €𝔠 : 𝔡A𝔡Δ, ғⓁ𝓾𝔁ⓤ𝐒, ρ𝔲𝓷ⓚ 𝐑𝓞𝒸𝓴, ĦⒶ𝕔Ҝι几Ꮆ, ¢𝕀я℃Ⓤ𝕀𝐓 Ⓑ𝔼𝐍∂ᶤn𝔤, 𝓪𝐧Aⓡℂн𝓎, ภ𝔬𝕀ⓢᗴ, 𝔳ᵃ𝕃𝓊Eˢ 𝒾𝓝¢ㄥ𝕌S𝔦𝓞ᶰ, ĐᗴᗰOᑕ𝔯ΔⒸY, €ⓧ𝓟Ẹя𝕀𝕄Ⓔ𝓃𝓣άт𝕀𝔬𝐍, ⓘⓃ𝔻є𝓅𝑒ᑎ𝔡𝒆ηⓒє 𝔞Ňd 𝐟ŘᵉєD𝐎𝐦 σ𝒇 t𝐡𝐨𝔲ﻮʰT ᗩ𝔫ⓓ ⓔx𝐩𝐑𝓔𝐬รƗόᑎ, ό𝕡EŇ-м𝒾ŇᗪᵉD έ𝕏Ⓒ𝔥ⓐηⒼє, Čό𝐌ᗰ𝕦𝓝Ɨтʸ คηⓓ Ŧⓦ𝔦ℕⓅ𝔼คk𝔰 🐊😾
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Aimee Naworal
5/4/2019 03:15:28
Translation ^^^^ : Dada, Fluxus, Punk Rock, Hacking, Circuit Bending, Anarchy, Noise, EC values inclusion, democracy, experimentation, independence and freedom of thought and expression, open-minded exchange, Community and TWINPEAKS
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Hal McGee
5/4/2019 07:06:32
Aimee and Penny, I think it is quite exciting that you have discovered how to add emojis and color fonts to the Comments here at EC. Good investigative work! It will greatly enhance the enjoyment of the EC site for you and other community members. I think that a dedicated article for EC would be a good thing, with detailed instructions and examples. Please work on it together and submit an article soon. It will be quite useful. Also, in the future, please feel free to use the newly-created FORUM page as a scratch-pad or doodle-pad for the discovery and discussion of thoughts and ideas not directly related to the topics of specific posts at EC. 5/4/2019 07:16:08
Commenting is stale chicken.
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Adam J Naworal
5/4/2019 09:46:29
Slimy stew and pussy gruel
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5/11/2019 15:49:25
Hal. I hope you continue Electronic Cottage. I won't bullshit you or anyone else that reads this post. I may increase my participation during the rest of this year but I can't promise anything. I won't go into what time I have and so on, I have communicated that to you many times over the past year and a half. Facebook: I might login to that maybe once every two to three weeks. I'm on EC more then FB. If you're disappointed, steel yourself and keep going. If you have stipulations, trash them. If you feel you've hit a wall because of perception of participation levels, knock that wall down and keep going. It may take years to develop the community you envision or it may never happen. The thing is do you believe in Electronic Cottage, not do you believe in the members of Electronic Cottage to do as you feel they should do.
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Hal McGee
5/11/2019 15:51:11
Thanks, Dave! That's excellent advice!
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