Day without Weblogs

November 20, 2000 1:00 PM

Day without Weblogs is coming up. Blogger linked it on the front page. I have not been able to post anything through Blogger today, So today is my official observance of the event. You taking part? Is Metafilter? Day without Metafilter would really hurt.
posted by thirteen (16 comments total)

My two conspiracy theories are that
1. Blogger is sporadically downing the server to ensure mandatory compliance with the event.
2. Wants to slow down traffic on the server to make it easier to work on.
I am teasing, I know the fine people at Pyra are not playing games, and I once again thank them publicly for their fine service.
posted by thirteen at 1:28 PM on November 20, 2000

I've posted two blog entries today with no problem. Sporadic is right.

Be happy though. In 6 months or so, you'll be able to talk about the Great Blogger Downtime of November '00, and you'll automagically be bumped up a letter on the X-List (where X = A - Z :-)
posted by cCranium at 2:15 PM on November 20, 2000

New, improved Blogger is coming later today.

And I've been thinking about a day without weblogs, I supported last year (here was the page I used with some HIV discussion that followed). I was thinking of limiting posts to only HIV talk, but then it's still a weblog, and the point of day without art (and weblogs) is that you take something completely away.

So I might do that. We could probably all use a day off.
posted by mathowie at 2:31 PM on November 20, 2000

You mean like the Sabbath? Remember: you shouldn't turn on the lights either!
posted by schlomo at 2:36 PM on November 20, 2000

I'm not feeling the love for this event, sad to say.

How many more sweeping supportive gestures (SSG) can be devoted to AIDS/HIV?

Maybe I'm an insensitivbe creep, but personally I'm much more interested in "that which cures" rather than "that which makes some feel good about themselves but does nothing to bring about a cure any faster".

Is it too late to sign up for "A Day Without Science"?

Really, I'd like to see AIDS cured once and for all. For those of you who have lost loved ones to this terrible disease, I empathise. For those of you who haven't had this tragedy befall you or your loved ones, consider yourselves fortunate.

If I were suffering with AIDS, I know which of the following statements would make ME feel better:

1. "Here's our most promising breakthrough yet! And it costs less and does more! And your insurance company covers it 100%!"

2. "A few hundred webloggers have stopped updating their sites, just for today, in your honor."
posted by ethmar at 2:45 PM on November 20, 2000

Yes, I don't see how not doing one thing helps another thing. Usually you have to actually donate money or time. Oh well.
posted by john at 2:56 PM on November 20, 2000

ethmar, I think the point is to get people thinking and talking about it, so it doesn't fall off our collective radar. To remind ourselves that it's still a serious problem. Education is a good way to protect yourself from HIV, and I can't see the harm in bringing down a bunch of websites, and asking people to follow some educational links to the day without art movement or to other selected HIV links.

Let's face it. Most people think "A celebrity hasn't died of HIV/AIDS recently, so it must be solved, right?"
posted by mathowie at 2:57 PM on November 20, 2000

Do you know if anyone has actually made progress into AIDS cure/vaccine? I was thinking it mutates too rapidly for them to make inroads, but I may be the victim of crappy reporting (or misunderstanding the situation.)

posted by sonofsamiam at 2:59 PM on November 20, 2000

Actually, a Day Without Weblogs is kind of a misnomer. What happened last year was a day without the *usual* weblogs, with most participants choosing to seek out links to new research, promising developments in treatment, creative art around AIDS/HIV, personal stories about living with/dying from/surviving despite...etc. Although everyone responds in different ways, I'm encouraging most folks to do the same this year, and correspondents have already shared some remarkable plans that veer more toward action than inaction.

A little history: Last year, World AIDS Day rolled around about the time a common grouse about "all those damned weblogs" (at the time, fewer than 100 well-known sites) was that they all posted the same 5-6 links everyday. That was a bit of an overstatement, but I wondered what would happen if that actually were true. I invited my friends to spend December 1 posting only links and commentary about AIDS/HIV and, gosh, things sort of took off from there.

Believe me, ethmar, I don't think you're an insensitive creep. I certainly would prefer to offer up a cure or promising treatment instead of posting some information to my website. But I can do the latter and I can't (alone) do the former. Nothing says I have to do the latter to the exclusion of anything else.

So I'll be spending World AIDS Day the way I did last year: observing DWW at The BradLands, A Day Without Art on the arts-related websites I administer, writing a check to a local AIDS service organization, calling my state and federal legislators, and attending an evening prayer service. It's not much, but it's what is within my personal power. That's all we can ask of anyone.
posted by bradlands at 3:02 PM on November 20, 2000

I could use a day off but I haven't signed up for a day without weblogs yet.....it does sound like a nice event.

so if I just don't update and have the button on my page, that counts, eh? I was sorta confused about what counts as joining.
posted by aekastar at 4:15 PM on November 20, 2000

I'll take you at your word, Brad. Thank you for making your points clear.

I initially took issue with the notion that AIDS has "fallen off the collective radar", however reinforcing education about the disease can't be all bad either.

I also felt that in light of what have been arguably more powerful demonstrations, such as the AIDS Quilt and the aforementioned "Day Without Art", the "Day Without Weblogs" might ring a tad hollow.

In a case such as this, I am looking forward to being proven wrong. :-)
posted by ethmar at 5:51 PM on November 20, 2000

I'll speak. I have had the misfortune of knowing someone who died of HIV-related causes two months ago. (And twelve years ago, one of my housemates died. Between then and now ... only hearsay.) His sister and mother are close friends of mine, and attending the memorial service was uniquely moving.

I don't know how I want to deal with World AIDS Day yet. DWW seems like it won't change much. But everything else that I can do seems like it won't change much, either.

I'll probably mark the occasion with $100 donated to an appropriate research foundation. But that's a drop in the bucket.

Awareness doesn't cure AIDS, that's for sure. There are other things that kill more people: heart disease, alcoholism, car accidents. I don't know that AIDS is getting disproportionate financial support, too much or too little.

All I know is that I run a weblog. It's something I can do. Will it help? Maybe not much. But then, will doing nothing help more?
posted by dhartung at 8:06 PM on November 20, 2000

Ethmar, I think it's all of a piece. Of course people would prefer a cure. But there are other issues as well - it's not just about finding a cure. It's not a zero sum game.

Of course I know you know this - and I understand and agree that a Day Without Weblogs is a small thing indeed. Nonetheless I am participating.

Why? I don't know exactly. It seems like (one of) the right thing(s) to do. To recognize the day I'm taking my main page offline and replacing it with a simple black and white (with a tiny bit of red) page with links to local organizations, and to a poet and musician who I was acquainted with (and who was good friends of friends of mine) who died in 96.

I was aghast a year ago when a friend of mine told me about a story she was researching at the time - that since the cocktails have come along and ameliorated things a litle bit, a lot of the community services for PWA have dropped off the map for funders, for foundations, and for volunteers. There is a serious concern right now that if the development of new drugs to add to the cocktails people use falls behind the mutation of the disease and related conditions - and there is definite medical evidence that the older schemes do cease to be effective after 8-10 years - that the resources simply will not be there to deal with an influx of people who are ill in a way that can often be avoided today.

So there's a whole continuum of needs in this regard. And to do something concrete, though minimal - well, something I think is a good idea.
posted by mikel at 8:13 PM on November 20, 2000

For all you junkies out there desparate for your fix, Blogger appears to be back up to fighting trim. Our long national nightmare (well, one of them anyway) is over.
posted by harmful at 9:13 PM on November 20, 2000

Hate to say it but 'Day Without Weblogs' is a bunch of nonsense. If your not actually doing anything, you're not going to change anything. Changing your weblog graphics for a day isn't going to make a bit of difference.
posted by Mr. skullhead at 1:58 PM on November 25, 2000

Why not do a paypal thing. Incourage everyone to set up an account and donate 5 dollars to a charity. Have Pyra set up a site where everyone that donates will be listed. Sure it'll probobly only raise 200 dollars, why not do this in-hand with the day without weblogs?
posted by tiaka at 11:26 AM on November 27, 2000