Bettina Tizzy, my right to reply.

I have decided to write this post even though I am falling prey of Hamlet's trolling endeavours because I have, as you will see later, a necessity to exercise my Right of Reply.

[In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion..... thx Wikipedia.]

When Hamlet, yesterday, finally moved away from any semblance of reasonable debate by suggesting that SL user base was responsible for the decline of SL and the exodus of Linden employees he provoked an emotional response from people who have spent years and thousands of dollars supporting and growing SL. At this point I decided that enough was enough and I would Unfollow a blog which I had watched spiral into decline over the years.(Tweet...."#unfollowhamletau yep, I just did. Don't think trolling is something I should support.)

Bettina Tizzy then tweeted "Et tu, brute?" and it is to this remark I am directing my post. Bettina has 1500+ followers. I will not post about Hamlet or Bettina again, this is a one off.

The suggestion that I am a back-stabbing bitch is no big deal. I look in the mirror every morning and I know self-criticism is an essential part of my make-up. Both my work and my behaviour come under close scrutiny, and, being so critical means that I feel, on occasion, I can criticise others.

So......Brutus? Really??.... firstly, Hamlet has never supported or fostered my work (I don't actually know if he's ever seen it), he is not a mentor of mine or someone to whom I owe blind allegiance. Chestnut did post an article about Tree of Trees on NWN, and Hamlet did mention my party at my beach. Period.

Secondly, Hamlet is no Caesar, he may be nice to animals and small children but he is no wordsmith.

Thirdly, unfollowing someone is not stabbing them between the shoulder blades... it is a decision made when association with a blogger's morality or perceived lack thereof compromises one's own integrity.

The last words I posted about Hamlet are.."it is tricky, I am certain Mr. Au is a warm and positive human being, but if you spend little time in SL you are gonna tend to be 'out of touch' with how people are thinking and feeling about issues." in comments...here...

"Out of touch" now seems like a hugely British understatement after his recent offering....(other opinions).

It is natural that friends jump to each other's defence, it happens here... I have both been praised and chided at times for my 'tone'. Sometimes I have got it wrong. This time, if you , Bettina, are a friend of Hamlet's it is your turn to tell him a few home truths. Hard love is good love too.

The line that Hamlet overstepped is that same line that a famed SL blogger uses, suggesting that everyone who disagrees with you is guilty of a personality disorder 'recalcitrant to change and destroying SL' or 'Marxist Trotskyist Leninist Communist' (in her case) is not the way to stimulate debate, it is Hack Journalism.

Now, while we all have to earn a living, some through our blogs (not I) I do understand that some feel it is OK to do whatever you have to to increase readership.

I personally believe quite strongly that the end never justifies the means.

I think in publicly comparing me to Brutus you have also overstepped the mark.

[UPDATE: This last sentence is incorrect as it was a private message.]
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A blog moves on....NPIRL

There are a few blogs that I read regularly, I started when my own ideas about blogging began to mature beyond a very brief diary of my entry into the world of Second Life.
As my poor ramblings developed I looked to NPIRL blog as really the pinnacle of blogging, well informed, researched, thoughtful.

That it has become a time-consuming beast of a project is no surprise to me, I know from my time with Koinup and here that life is not long enough. That sort of quality, which it was a joy to read, does not come without the research. So it's a shame, but Bettina has become a victim of her own talent in one way, and we all have to make decisions about how we want to spend our time.

I personally think that Bettina has made the right decision, NPIRL as a group will grow, nurtured by her insight and commitment and we will have to look elsewhere for quality coverage of SL arts and crafts. Nothing springs to mind at the moment.

I'm sure that as change happens and we shed old skins to grow new we meet Anxiety, but with increasing experience we learn that new life grows on what has been composted in the past..:)) sounds like Gardener's Question Time....hehehehe....

Bettina is great, we all love her and look forward to her new ventures.... ... "What Bettina Did Next..."

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