new thread
I just wanted to let those of you with whom I've kept in touch via Facebook that I've had my account there permanently deleted. Call me old fashioned, but speaking for myself, life was better (and time put to better use) before the advent of that type of social media. I've been an artist all my life, and have noticed that, over the past several years, my actual creative output has undergone a tremendous downturn. Some of this can be attributed to actual time wasted online, largely on Facebook, and also to the truly mind-altering effect social media has on people, even when they're not using it (see the article linked below for more information on this topic).
I'm grateful that the MLHH has remained unchanged, over the many years that I've been a member of this community. The format of our beloved hyperboard is beautiful in its simplicity, and requires a degree of "human-ness" that I feel has been lost in the quagmire of newer forms of online social interaction. Thanks to EVERY ONE OF YOU, who have made it (and continue to make it) what it is.
Our friend, the late, great Bill Choisser, said it best: "When I dream, I never dream I'm on Facebook."
With warm regards,
Validus
My apologies. The article linked to above was from "The Guardian," in 2013. I had viewed it as a rebuttal against research-based evidence that social media rewires our neuroplastic brains, and accidentally copied and pasted the wrong URL.
Contrary to what that article claims, there IS clinical evidence that internet usage (and specifically, social media like Facebook) changes the way our brains work, and not necessarily for the better. The article linked below was the one I originally intended to share, and contains links to its sources.
Anyway, please forgive the multiple posts. I'm really not trying to belabor the issue... I just wanted my former Facebook contacts to know that I wouldn't be around there anymore :)!
Can The Internet Affect Neuroplasticity? Five Ways Social Media Changes Your Brain.I have to say I hate facebook.
That having been said though it has made it much easier to remain in touch many friends from college and other things i'm involved in. (Many of them are from civil war group i'm with and many of them are several science fiction groups. )
Through facebook i learned about a number of fiends who died in
recent years. (Without Facebook I probbably would have heard about those deaths who knows how many years later.)
It was also through Facebook that I heard about the fire that destroyed our college outing club lodge.
I only use Facebook, don't do Twitter, or Snapchat, etc.
I appreciate your feedback, and understand where you're coming from. Facebook can certainly be a useful technology, and it sounds like you're maintaining a pretty healthy balance with it. My personal concern was that I DID find myself wasting too much time on it. My even greater concern is the negative effect it has on the way people's minds work--individually and on a societal level--and the way it's changing people's ability to really communicate on a human level.
Best,
Val
I should also mention i've been using computers since 1973, I also administer two Facebook groups. (Both for civil war groups.)
Aww, I'll miss our interaction. I do understand where you're coming from. I enjoyed a total break not just from Facebook but from even touching a computer for a full week while on vacation last month. I don't have a smart-phone so I was truly offline. It was very refreshing.
Having said that, I feel Facebook has a place. I limit my news-feed to those I am particularly interested in. It still does involve lots of information and sometimes drama but I'd miss not having interaction with those for whom it's my only medium of regular contact.
I'll keep you on my friends list if you change your mind!
Thanks, Jason. You're one of the people I'll most miss interacting with there, too. We'll always have the MLHH, though... and feel free to email me any time! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed a sabbatical away from the internet. It's a very healthy thing for people to do. I don't have a smart phone either (and don't ever plan to get one), which does make it easier to avoid the complete zombification that's become such a pandemic.
Your FRIEND :),
Val
Greetings Val :)
Thank you so much for this post as I totally agree with you on all your points.A while back one of our users suggested that the mlhh be linked to facebook but I was totally against that notion.I like mlhh the way it is for the reasons you stated.I mean you have to put a little effort in to keep a conversation going and we do our best to prevent nastiness from developing which facebook apparently breeds.Sure we don't have all the bells and whistles of other social media but mlhh gets the job done and has worked well for over 10 years.
Speaking of Bill I really miss his input on occasion.It will certainly hit home when I travel out to SF later this month.His absence will definitely be felt.
I wish you and all our friends at mlhh a great weekend being its Labor Day Weekend here in the US.Long live the MLHH!Cheers...
Mârk
Hi Mârk,
I also remember some conversation about the MLHH having a page on Facebook, and was adamantly opposed to it. I absolutely LOVE the simplicity of the hyperboard, and wouldn't want to see it changed. I think one of the joys of interacting with this community--at least for old timers like us--is the nostalgia it evokes; it's nice to use the internet in a way that reminds me of a time when the whole world didn't revolve around it.
I hope you have a great journey when you visit San Francisco, and I'm sure you'll enjoy some wonderful memories of Bill while you're there.
Happy Labor Day weekend to you too, my friend!
--Val
Hey Val,
Ha ha, yes when that was mentioned I immediately said "no" to a facebook/mlhh marriage.Today I feel honored to have taken on more responsibility keeping the mlhh on the net.You may have recalled the site was down for a week or so recently.I'm now the treasurer and deal with the host server that supports the mlhh.I know its hard finding volunteers to help out as of late but as long as I'm alive I'd like to see this thing survive :) Cheers
Mârk
Hi Validus,
Thanks so much for your brilliant post -- and here I thought i was the only person left on the planet who refuses to join Facebook!
I have been tempted many many times to join FB, if for no other reason than to keep up with my nieces & nephews who all use it to communicate with each other; but there's something about it that I just don't like, so try my best to stay in-touch "the old fashioned way!"
Anyway, thanks again for this refreshing post and your insightful comments, it makes me feel like I'm not so "off-base" after all!
- Ken
Hi Ken,
My recommendation to people who haven't yet joined Facebook is the same advice I'd have for a young person who's never smoked: Don't start! Seriously, if you really want to communicate with someone, it's never been easier than it is today, even without that sort of instantaneous "social" media. It's not necessary, and it takes away a large measure of the human ingredient from the way we're designed to interact.
So yeah, I don't think you're off-base at all. You represent a select group of some of the last fully functional human beings this planet will ever see... until the next inevitable cataclysm! It feels good to be rejoining you :).
Best,
Val
I have to disagree.
My advice is join Facebook, but be careful what you post.
Avoid politics and avoid posting photos of you getting
rip roaring drunk at the next party. (Employer among
others will look at you social media postings.)
I get the distinct impression you're better off having a facebook
account than not having one. (My understanding is employers will
search your social media postings. i get the distinct impression that job applicants who have no social media presence will get questions about what was on that social media that is being hidden from employers by deleting the account. It also raises other questions too.)
Hi(gh)!
Same with me - I still use e-mail to stay in touch with distant friends like I did in 1995... at least with those also not yet hooked on Facebook (which, fortunately, by far is the majority of them!).
To me it appears that many people just have given up plain e-mail - probably because of the spam plague which started in the early 2000s and rendered e-mail useless, unless you pay a little extra money to get a decent server filter.
And, yes, according to all I heard about Facebook inmates (yes, really... it's a huge, brightly colored painted prison, like most of the Internet nowadays!) this addiction cripples their entire social life! Imagine friends meeting in a bar or café - and just caressing their smartphones instead of talking to each other! Sick!!!
See you in Khyberspace!
Yadgar
I completely agree!
-- Val
Hey Validus,
It's good to hear from you again.
Please post a pic of yourself.
How are your boys? Are they still long hairs?
Your long haired bro,
Raymond
Hi Raymond,
I haven't got any pictures of myself that are worth sharing, but yes, all of my sons are still long-haired. Here's a photo of my middle son, age 8, that appeared on the front page of our local, small town newspaper. We attended a small comic book convention hosted by our local library, and he went in costume as a Tolkien-esque elf :).
Cheers,
Val
Hey Val...
Thanks for posting this as a reminder for people to keep things in perspective. I'm a firm believer in the fact that life is too short to be stuck on social media all the time! Why post about it when you can live it!
I had a thought just a few days ago that mlhh is not nearly as busy as back in the days when I was first growing my hair. I have wondered if this has been to the rise of social media sites.. ? I miss some of the more consistent interactions amongst the group.
I hope you are doing well and am looking forward to being a longhair again..
Thanks for welcoming me back!
Tristan
Hi Tristan,
I have to say you hit the nail on the head with your response.Regarding mlhh traffic I too can't deny its way down from its heyday some years ago.Could be many reasons but I partially blame sites like facebook which might be siphoning off our users.I can't imagine, all of a sudden, guys don't feel the need to seek support for longhair anymore.There are several longhair groups within facebook but I still feel our interaction here was on a more personal level.In the end you are right,get out in the real world and experience life.Happy Labor Day. Cheers!
Mârk
Hey Mark,
Thanks for responding.. It's really kinda sad to log onto the site and maybe not see a post for like 3 days.. Or people responding to one another. In the past, I always tried to respond to people ... Especially hair pic updates.. Anyway, hope your Labor Day is full of good cheer..
Tristan
Hey Tristan,
Another point I forgot to mention was back when the mlhh was busier not only did we get to know one another on a more personal level but sometimes those friendships evolved into a face to face meetup.I personally have met many mlhhers in person over the years but lately that hasn't been happening.Seems we get new users but its more of a hit and run.They post a few times then just disappear.Don't know where this is going in the years ahead but sadly I don't feel it'll be for the better.Cheers
Mârk
Well, for what it's worth, at least a strong handful of the old "regulars" are still around, and I feel optimistic that enough new blood will trickle in and love the MLHH for what it is, to keep it thriving for many years to come.
Mârk (and other admins, too), thank you for all of your hard work and dedication that keeps this great community going.
-- Val
Hi Val,
Thank you for the kudos as I was honored when first asked to be a member of the admin so many years ago.We've had such great support staff past and present who all deserve praise for their efforts.My hope is the community soldiers on while building friendships along the way:)
After my last post to this thread I compiled a list of actually people I've met directly as a result of mlhh and gaylonghair, the sister site.I concluded I've met at least 15 people in real life which is quite amazing frankly.On the facebook side I have personally met one person because of that site.So it can happen but for me the mlhh was the big success :)Cheers
Mârk
Could it be that in the early years MLHH was centered around the US of A but then in recent years has expanded far and wide beyond the borders of the US of A? it seems to me when you have users who live in Argentina, Canada, England, Germeany, and many other countries it becomes diffucult to meet face to face.
As far back as 10 years ago - and probably further - it seemed like there were at least as many MLHHers from outside of the U. S., and possibly even more than there are today.
Among others, I miss John B., "eh, trimmers?" ;)
-- Val
Hi Tristan
Great to hear from you! You're absolutely correct about keeping what matters in perspective. Life should be truly lived. It is a little sad to see the interactions here becoming less frequent, and I agree that other, popular social media is probably the chief reason for that. On the other hand, it probably also acts as a sort of natural filter, so that only the cream of the crop become and/or remain members of the MLHH community! Hope all is well with you and yours, and best wishes as you re-embark on the journey back to long-hairedness.
Cheers,
Val
Hey Val,
Always good to hear from yours well.. You were a major support for me years ago and I am glad you are still apart of the community. Thank you! I agree with you as this forum being a filter that weeds out the non serious longhairs.. Never thought about it that way, but it makes sense. I am recommitted to the journey and am looking forward to my first returning update..
Blessings...
Tristan
You made the right choice. I watched at least ten years go by when I was using social media and didn't accomplish much during that time. I'm done with it and your friend(RIP) had it right!
it's time to get back to nature and explore what nature intended for us to do.
Right on, Paul... Life's for the living!
Cheers,
Val
