For some things it’s a good thing. For others it’s a bad thing. But when something get’s shared on the internet, it never goes away.

It May Be Hard To Find…But It Never Goes Away

Recently, I have been thinking about my internet roots. Like many of us, our only on-ramp alternative to the internet was AOL. And honestly, the sound of “You’ve got mail!” still makes me a little excited when I hear it.

As many of you know, I’ve been blogging for over 20 years now. And obviously, every post I’ve made in that time is still available.

How many of you are long-time readers who remember the “Newcomers’ Rules for QueerJoe’s Blog?”

The original intent of the newcomer rules was to make sure the comments forum of the blog remained vibrant and interesting. Unlike one of the other two knitting blogs being published at the time. Do you remember WendyKnits? She made amazing Fair Isle sweaters and socks and posted great photos and blog entries. She was incredibly prolific. Both with her knitting and her blogging. But many of her readers were insipid and boring when it came to commenting. Every post seemed to have at least thirty comments that were one word. “Stunning!” “Gorgeous!” “Beautiful!” And yes, they all had at least one exclamation mark.

I didn’t want that kind of lazy, sycophantic following on this blog. So I created rules about commenting.

Boy did those rules piss some people off! If you went by the comments back then, you’d think readers left QueerJoe in droves. But honestly, I learned two important concepts about the effect of the rules:

1. Controversy generates a lot of activity. Including new readers. Way more new readers than I lost because of pissed off people.
2. Rules, boundaries, guidelines all help people self-select whether to include themselves in a community. Or not. Those who chose not to include themselves turned out to be people I didn’t really want there anyway. Win-win.

Back To The Topic

Anyway, I wanted to find those rules. I went looking for it on my computer. And despite backing up and carrying forward millions of items over the years, it was no where to be found. So, I went to the trusty internet. The Internet Archive (or the Wayback Machine) allegedly has over 806 billion web pages saved and archived. Yes, that’s over three quarters of a TRILLION web pages.

For those who would like to read the controversial list, I was able to recreate the Newcomers’ Rules.

There’s little reason to reinstate the rules. My readership is of the caliber that I always wanted. Thank you for those who both self-selected into QueerJoe…and out of this community.

Current Knitting

I’m on the home stretch on the Rios Slip Stitch Afghan.

And it’s looking better and better. It’s quite amazing how this yarn and stitch pattern create an overall harmonious look.

Up until recently, the fourth stripe (purples and burnt umber combo) was my favorite. But now it’s the current color combo.

It’s Malabrigo Rios Lettuce and Pocion in case you need to own them.