Pages

Saturday 24 April 2010

Time to Stand UP To The Plate

I'm Canadian in case non-Canadians might not have noticed .. although I don't know how since I mention it all the time .. but that isn't what THIS is about right now.
Please excuse what might be a ramble .. the girls got me up at 5 this morning so brain matter is totally scattered ...
Nancy from Soliloquy, well I just got to read her post this morning and it hit a HUGE CORD within"my" why I blog and why I read other blogs.
In case you haven't read her post .. here it is Nancy's post ..
She couldn't have said it better .. I love Blotanical and I so enjoy the benefits of being able to "see" and contact other gardeners and what they are up to.
BUT ....... this competition thing ? Hell NO !!
I don't want anything to do with it .. sorry Stuart .. I also love you to bits as well and you know that .. but I am really turned off with this whole thing of rating a post.
I also have another dislike and forgive me this please .. it is wonderful that other bloggers enjoy it .. and please continue your efforts and enjoyment of it all.
BUT .. I will be taking myself out of the competition of the awards at the end of the year as well.
I do not want anything to do with that either. This is just my opinion , with my likes and dislikes .. I still want to be a member here but if withdrawing from these activities means I get kicked out .. well .. so be it .. I have to stand up and STAND for what I am truly thinking.
The attachment to being Canadian with all of this ?
We can be TOO POLITE .. we usually agree with every body to be nice .. come on ! I know that is our reputation guys ;-)
But now I have said exactly how I feel and finally that guarded opinion is OFF my back .. I have been set free !! Halleluja
PS .. isn't there ENOUGH STRESS in the world ? shouldn't this be a gardener's refuge ?

20 comments:

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Way to go, Joy! Speak up, dear friend, speak up! I agree 100% my fellow Canuck; about being overly polite,us Canadians, and about Blotanical's competition stuff. I'm really not into that, at all. I like Blotanical because it's a great place to meet other gardeners and visit other people's gardens (virutally, of course). I get to learn new things, to make friends, to find out about new plants, to get ideas for my own garden and to laugh out loud with some funny posts. I don't think blog posts should be rated (who decides what a quality blog post is?) and neither should blogs. We're there to have fun, not to compete with one another.

Kyna said...

Nancy's post struck a chord with me as well, that's what I wrote MY last post on too! LOL You have very valid points, and I don't think you'll get kicked off :P Although I had that in my head as well, when I wrote my post. I think Stuart will take our opinions into account, I don't get the vibe that he's a tyrant LOL.
Nancy really got us fired up opinion-wise, didn't she? :D

Jan said...

Joy, You Go Girl;-) My thoughts have been expressed several times before so no need to rehash it all here...I think it's time we all start taking deep breaths & stop having to worry that someone will de-fave us if we don't visit them often enough;-) So be it if that were to happen, but to even have that as a consideration is childlike. Re: ratings? I feel like there already ARE ratings with the 'most faved' list. That definitely looks like a 'popular list' to me. I know we're both on it too...but I've never liked the perceived competition. 'nuff said.

Linda said...

I so agree with you Joy and just commented on Nancy's post that I will not be doing any more picking. I have never entered the blog competition there either. I admit I used to pick, probably to get those points, but once the comments from others started getting nasty I stopped. I go there less and less to participate, it is mainly to find other blogs to read. I wish there was a way to give away all my points!

Anonymous said...

You already know what I think. I do wonder how many people feel this way. I know several who have left, and it is too bad because the whole thing is a great idea. Except for the rating, that is.

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Bravo Joy!! Excellent post! I agree with your completely, the post rating doesn't sit well with me at all. I don't want to rate others, or be rated by others. I don't care for the competitive nature of picks, but I do use it as a friendly way of saying 'i checked in and liked your post' to my regulars, if I don't have time to comment or have nothing to say at the time. I appreciate picks as a friendly 'hi', and I feel that they should be left at that. Although it wouldn't bother me if there was no picks system, I like to use the picks from my faved blogs tab just to keep up with current content. Sorry this got so rambly!

Anonymous said...

Good for you Joy, I believe honesty is the best policy. Since I've come back from my long winter's break I've not been active on Blotanical other than responding to messages. I agree with you completely on the competition thing as well. :)

Anonymous said...

Well said, Joy. :) I do hope I haven't stirred up a hornet's nest among the Blotanical community, though -- that was truly never my intent. But if we can't have a carefree and open discussion about such things, then, what's the point, EH? ;-)

I'll be removing myself from any form of awards competition as well, including the giving and receiving of Picks/Stars/Hearts/Whatever. I'd much rather leave--and receive--a comment.

I hope it's a bit warmer in ON than it is here. A beautiful day, but with a chilly April wind!

Diana Studer said...

Go girl! I admire people who speak out. May I pick this post despite your feelings, for your words? ;-)

Deborah Verhoeven said...

Hi, Joy. I followed your link from Nancy's post. Ironically, I only read Nancy's post because it came up as the most popular on Blotanical. I'm guessing there are a lot of garden bloggers who are not really up for the popularity thing. I'm blogging right now because I'm excited about my garden. I'm non-competitive by nature, and don't keep anything up for very long that stops being fun. I don't even understand those new picking rules.

Yes, this should be a gardeners' refuge.

kd said...

Oh my! I haven't blogged or read blogs for a long time but felt the urge to restart over the last few days. I just happened across your post and was horrified at the thought that "competitive blogging" might be the new reality. I'm with you -- I blog for the pleasure of sharing what's going on in my garden with the various communities and if my posts start getting rated at Blotanical, I'm outta there.

/krys

Lona said...

I do not like this judging and being judged idea either. When I read about it my heart just sank. I will not be judging anyone and I sure as heck do not like someone judging my postings. It takes all of the fun out of blogging. I do not see any sense to it whatsoever.
Now how in the world could I compete with a writer, master gardener, or designer? I will leave Blotanical first.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I've commented a few places on this topic, but I just want to support you here as well. I completely agree with you. I blog for the enjoyment of it. For me it's for fun and has been a great way to meet lots of interesting people (like you) and get to learn about their gardens and them. There is plenty of stress, judging and competition in the real world. To me it has nothing to do with the actual rating (it's all subjective anyway), it's why does it need to be rated at all?

Gail said...

Way to have your voice Joy! Yes, it should be a stress free zone. Personally I am more then willing to pay a membership fee to keep blotanical up and running. I do believe that the picking and being shunted about is for eyes on pages to raise advertising revenues. Which is why I have always been willing to pay for blotanical. Hugs, to you and you know I appreciate your candor. gail

Rose said...

Ironically, Joy, I just got on the computer for a few minutes and thought I'd catch up with a few blogs I've missed recently. First I read Nancy's post...and then I came here--not even knowing that yours was a reaction to Nancy's post!

I agree with both of you completely! Even more, I rarely go to Blotanical anymore. I found the whole picking system too much of a popularity contest, not to mention time-consuming, so I did it a few times and then gave up. I can use the blogroll on my sidebar more easily, and I find new blogs through comments they leave or through links on other blogs. I rarely read a post without leaving a comment; I would much rather read a comment left by a reader than to see how many hearts or whatever I received for a particular post.

Thanks for speaking up for many of us, Joy!

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Hi Joy, thanks for this! I am a polite Canadian who wasn't going to say anything - but I hated the idea of rating posts.

My blog is a happy place for me, just as my garden is. *A Stress Free* zone. (Now, if only my neighbour's goutweed would stay on its own side of the fence!)

Kathleen said...

I left a comment on Nancy's blog about this subject too. I haven't been very active on Blotanical but I'll be even less so (if that's possible) if it gets even more competitive. I have enough of that in "life" ~ I'm not interested in it with my hobby!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kathleen girl I didn't really "think" about it until Nancy did her post and I read it .. then BOING ! it hit me .. and I will also be one of the flock to leave if this follows through. I have my blog list and I'll pack it FULL before I finally close shop with B .. any sign of life at all with Maypop girl ? LOL

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Well said and I totally agree and thats why I am not on their much if any(-: I just blog for fun not for awards or anything else! I don't even care if no one reads my blog(-: I just do it to have fun(-:
O.K. I am off to Farmville now(-:
Luv ya! TTFN(-:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Cindee girl .. me too : ) I blog for fun and I can NOT deal with any more stress so we shall see what happens .. I'll be here and I know you will be too girl : ) LOL