Defriending

[queerbychoice]

Hi, my name is Gayle and/or Cynthia and I'm an LJ-friend-adding-oholic.

I add far more friends than I can possibly handle keeping. It takes over my life. It's out of control. And no matter how many times I try to cut down the numbers, somehow they just refuse to stay where I put them. Not long ago at all I was shocked to realize I was about to actually cross the 100-friends mark. I swear, it wasn't long ago at all. Yet today, I found myself already closer to the 200 friends mark than to the 100. What kind of insanity is this? What sort of nutcase has time to read the posts of nearly 200 people?

If my LJ friends were a fizzy soft drink in a tall glass mug, the mug would be overflowing. About a dozen of you frothed over the edge today and spilled onto the table. I fear I've made a bit of a mess. I'm clumsy like that.

Comments

[voxsjournal.livejournal.com]

It's cool. I was kind of surprised I was added to both, and that just happened today, I think. I know people get touchy about this kind of thing, but I won't be mad at you if I'm defriended. Not that I'm volunteering, of course.

The alternative is to set up different Friend Groups (http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=102) to help you manage the load. It can be quite handy. :-)

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've considered the friend groups thing but somehow I'd feel dishonest if I added people to my friends list but failed to read all their entries. Besides, sometimes finding out which people remove me when I remove them helps clarify whose entries I should bother trying to keep reading.

And I can't possibly remove you; you come far too highly recommended by a certain incredibly pretty boy who recently helpfully rid me of vast amounts of my former virginity. ;-)

[semisonic.livejournal.com]

mmm, i know how that feels. it used to be "okay, only until 100. then i'll stop." and i said that at 200, at 300...blah! in the end i had to give up that journal, i just couldn't stand my friends page anymore.

and thank you for adding me :) it's a nice and warm and fuzzy feeling to wake up to in the morning. matt brings you and your journal up quite often in conversation, so i'm awfully glad you were nice enough to add me back.

[lilituc.livejournal.com]

Hm, I guess I don't really expect other people to read my journal. I'm just a bit sad about not being able to read the friends-only posts now but I can understand.

[ksuzy.livejournal.com]

Okay. So long! Good luck to ya.

[richardevanslee.livejournal.com]

This is one of the reasons I have an arbitrary limitation on adding people. I try to keep up with about forty journals. I like commenting on journals that I read. Being able to repay, as it were, their interest is important to me. I couldn't do that with over a hundred unless I were being paid. Which wouldn't be much fun.

Finding that many journals that you do want to follow regularly sounds almost as much a blessing as a burden.

Richard

[jodawi.livejournal.com]

as the moocow turns