Being a recluse is never easy. It’s the hardest when one has to interact with people. Because people are complex and like fingerprints, unique.
As weird as this might sound and also going by this fascinating run I had in my four months on Mouthshut, I will admit this - I am a recluse. My space, my moments of silence, my musical instruments and the catacombs of my mind are the only things that own me.
But are they all I need? Not so. Not in the 21st century where the H. Sapien (human being) happens to be a social creature. We have to interact. We have to coexist...
And being part of a community, we share resources... we share space... we share!
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Winds of change...---------------------------------------------------------------------
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The past few days gave me more time to read in silence... to be that fly on the wall. I read reviews from the past and the present. And this reading has helped me learn a lot more than I can pinpoint or express.
This community called Mouthshut has been graced by some capable pairs of hands, and some intense and deep thinking brains. Some moved on, some lingered and like new leaves form on trees, a lot more have joined.
Judging by the writings of those people who set the ball rolling for the rest of us, there has been a lot of shifts and upheavals in here. There has been communal riots in this community. And like every communal riot, no one won.
Thats all in the past, the community survived and everyday there is a fresh infusion of writers to compensate for those who have to move on to explore new territories or rediscover old ones.
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As for Mouthshut as a community...------------------------------------------------------------------
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The site as such is just a tool that us humans use to share experiences and learn from others. As such, the site has a decent amount of facilities and features to help people interact and express themselves. Enough Said!
The people that are in control of this wheel? They do a decent job in running the place. As for member management skills, its a mixed bag. Sometimes they’ve faltered, sometimes they’ve been spot on. It’s hard to manage a lot of human beings.
Mouthshut as a community does pretty ok and like anything else, has loads of scope for improvement. Flaws or no flaws... this community is cool.
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But for me... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A community has to have the hustle and the bustle. It needs noise. It needs to have activity.
A glance at the community center reveals:
* News and Contests which do not inspire... which could be a little more proactive... (not pointing a flaw... just a friendly suggestion)
* The Best Debut which could work better with Human Intervention rather than a script
* The controversial Hall Of Fame
* The extremely negative Member Flagged and Mouth Sealed sections (if only people parted ways gracefully... and if only people respected each other... I know thats too much of an ask but still...)
As for Hot Reviews, I’ve seen some reviews vanish faster than others (is there human intervention after all?)
The rest of the options range from the useful to the rather cool Member News where people can post their personal news and updates on their lives.
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On Star Writers and Stellar Writers-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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I’d rather be a stellar writer (an outstanding writer) than a star writer. But having acquired the Star Writer label, I must admit this... it hasnt made me a stellar writer. It hasnt made me change my thought process or the way I write. So, I’m pretty neutral about this.
What’s negative about the Star Writer system is that it reeks expectations from every pore. For one, its like a carrot that’s dangled in front of every writers face. Most people strive to be a star writer and when that goal is attained by someone with (supposedly) lesser writing skills, it becomes a root cause for frustrations...
And what happens after one becomes a star writer? You are either worshipped and/or victimised... double edged sword....
Trust me, a stellar writer is better than a star writer (although sometimes you find people who can carry off both those tags...)
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The rambling continueth--------------------------------------------------------------------
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I write and continue to write on the site for one reason alone - YOU GUYS. To me, the mouthshut management team is transparent and the site is just a medium... a medium that helped me release a lot of words that were building up inside my brain... a medium that helped me discover a decent bunch of human beings... a medium that gave birth to a weird five letter word called psyxx...
keep writing... reading... rating... commenting... fighting... laughing... sharing...
because... we ARE a community...
~finis~