@Nullish has kind things to say about other smol.pub users. I'm grateful, not just because some of it came in my direction (but I am glad of that!). More generally, because it adds to the atmosphere of encouragement at smol.pub that I'm finding really refreshing.
gemini://nullish.smol.pub/replying-to-smol-pub-user-posts
It does raise a question, though. How will we cope with the inevitable disagreements when they come? We surely can't be positive about one another *all* the time. That would be a pretence, not real community.
I'm trying to make two commitments here.
The first is to try to remember that I don't always have to tell people when I think they're wrong. I'm sure I will, sometimes. But I've spent too much time online allowing myself to be farmed for my outrage: sometimes a deep breath and moving on is all that's needed.
The second is always to try to treat others with respect and dignity, whatever I might think of what they've written, because behind the words there is always another human being.
The 'form' of smol.pub will help with both because it is slow. When I first joined, I was disappointed that there was no way to make a comment on a post. (That's what prompted the conversation that @nullish mentions) But now I realise it's an advantage. If I have to create my own post to someone, the bit of friction in that process stops me writing something hasty and pressing 'Post' before I've thought about it properly. "Slow down, you move too fast" is advice we could all do with listening to sometimes.
Apologies if this has sounded a bit "high minded" or (worse still) self-righteous. I know that sooner or later I'm going to get this wrong and post something I probably shouldn't. Perhaps the real test of a community isn’t whether we avoid getting things wrong, but what we do with one another when we do.
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richard <AT> deckzero <DOT> uk