A good start

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time. I’ve also been meaning to get this blog up and running for a long time – I registered this domain back in April. I actually learned quite a bit in the process – despite my use of WordPress, Ametys was my initially planned platform…and then I learned what a nightmare it is to try to get shared hosting for a Tomcat instance at a reasonable price, and that the platform’s development team didn’t seem to think that “making it easy to remove the demo pages” was something worth working on. Even that was something I’d sort out if the hosting companies who offered Tomcat hosting didn’t spend most of their time convincing me that they both went to the Comcast School of Customer Service(tm).  Avoid Arvixe and HostISO like Yankees apparel at a Red Sox game.

There are a number of things which brought me here. My ever increasing disdain for Facebook and its “privacy policy” makes it a less desirable place to express my ideas. Even setting principles aside, Facebook’s “notes” functionality is marginalized at best (they seldom land in the feeds of others), and don’t allow me to share experiences with the greater internet. My posts won’t get lost amongst a sea of mindlessly reposted political half-truths and click-bait headlines. I look forward to further customizing WordPress as I learn to use it, something else Facebook doesn’t offer. As I write this, I wonder about you, my audience, my reader. Am I writing for your benefit, or mine? Is ‘journaling’, once a private activity, now something that implies the need for an audience? Maybe those are questions I will answer over time…or possibly, you’ll help answer.

To wrap up this first post, I’ll make a few blanket statements:

1. Unless otherwise expressed (or implied, e.g. a post largely comprised of a link or quote from someone else), my content is my own. Feel free to link, feel free to quote, but do not feel free to plagiarize.
2. What’s written here is a matter of personal opinion. It does not reflect on anyone else, including my employer, business associates, or any organization with whom I’m affiliated.
3. In case anyone besides me cares, I have no intention at this time to run ads on this blog. If you see an ad on my page, run a virus scan, because it’s not coming from me. Similarly, I do not run any tracking software of any kind on this blog, aside from raw page views. No analytics, no trackers, no profiling, nothing. If you know me personally, you know that I consider such things a cancer, and would never inflict such things on my readers.
4. If you plan to comment, understand that:
   1. I will moderate you.
   2. I reserve the right to remove comments at any time, for any reason.
   3. I’m okay with disagreements, but I am NOT okay with incivility. Usenet and 4chan are still perfectly good places for that kind of behavior.