Two cents:
Distance does not make the heart grow fonder. Loved the time and discussions at
St. John's, but being in Minnesota (or when Nick was in the swamp) diminished
the experience.
The biggest factor, for me, was the post-Hywel simplification/polarization in
so many of the discussions. Without him constantly reminding us, *"aah, it is
more complicated than that,"* too many conversations devolved into mere
assertions of positions rather than discussions and explorations. Politics was
probably the trigger and the theme where this was most evident, but it ranged
from complexity to science to climate change, to AI with more minor threads
along the way.
davew
On Wed, Feb 4, 2026, at 7:22 AM, glen wrote:
> I feel like these disembodied comms are the root of the problem.
> Granted, FriAM has been much less toxic than some of the other fora
> I've participated in (and WAY less than those I don't participate in).
> But even here, we've seen our share. So I think I'm retreating to meat
> space for the most part.
>
> I've long lamented the lack of feedback mechanisms in asemantic spaces
> like this. The multiscale, intense, fast and slow composition of
> feedback(s) are defining. Degrade those and the definition degrades. I
> recently failed to remember an aphorism on the fly at the pub. But it
> nagged enough to make me look it up later:
>
> "Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first
> make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes." -
> Notorious d.e.b.
>
> I think I'm simply tired of trying to estimate the assholery. It's so
> much easier with more feedback.
>
> On 2/3/26 4:45 PM, Jon Zingale wrote:
>> I know I came to this group in what appears to be its twilight. The
>> in-person meetups are weirdly sad. I feel pressed to ask if it is the case
>> that everyone is either:
>>
>> 1. on vacation/ too busy
>> 2. too depressed / failing to find inspiration
>> 3. moved on to greener forums
>> 4. preferring the company of LLMs
>> ...
>> N. waiting for someone frail to post
>>
>> Sometimes I trawl reddit or whatever discord, but I cannot help but feel
>> like beacons of inspiration are becoming fewer and further between. This
>> group has managed to inspire me, keep my interest, for over a decade. In
>> that time, I pushed myself to understand perspectives that I would never
>> have dreamed existed. I hope there is still something to talk about.
> --
> ¡sıɹƎ ןıɐH ⊥ ɐןןǝdoɹ ǝ uǝןƃ
> ὅτε oi μὲν ἄλλοι κύνες τοὺς ἐχϑροὺς δάκνουσιν, ἐγὰ δὲ τοὺς φίλους, ἵνα σώσω.
>
>
>
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