After a few years of neocities, it’s time to move on.
It’s a nice place. Comfortable. Obscure, at least in comparison to alternatives.
A congregation of those not so outspoken to share their day-to-day and whatever interests.
It’s pretty great.
So why would anyone leave?
It’s starting to feel pointless. A good question to ask is, did neocities ever have a point?
Well, it certainly can have a point. As long as you find making a website interesting, or writing something interesting, then that’s a good enough reason to anyone. But these things can get boring after awhile. And no matter how much time you sink into it, the day will come when you inevitably shutter your doors. Compound that with how it’s this isolated terrace, sequestered away from your day to day, pseudonymous and rarely applicable to anything else, a bridge toward anything else. Is it worth the time?
Well, through making and writing, neocities becomes a tool of exploration. Exploring your inner voice.
That’s what’s interesting. Exploring your inner voice. Shaping your thoughtforms into a tangible structure, making a personal castle in the sky. More importantly, it’s out there. It’s not written down in a notebook to be forgotten. Without some sort of tool, you’ll likely forget the things your inner voice shares with you. In that forgetfulness so others’ voices will take over.
The struggle for definition is veritably the struggle for life itself. […] In short, he who first seizes the word imposes reality on the other.
With the endless stream of comments one can read, though you could privately think otherwise, if you don’t stand by those private thoughts and have the courage to share them, jot them down, they’ll eventually fade away and all you’ll hear are the voices of others. Forgetting one’s internal voice is a surefire way to lead a boring existence. If we become what we think about, and you don’t connect with your inner voice, you’ll just follow others to the grave.
So, Neocities is one such tool for your inner voice, allowing you to avoid such fates. Sounds like the opposite of pointless. Sounds like a good use of time.
If neocities is this wonderful tool to cultivate your inner voice, why would anyone leave? Well, after you air enough and build enough confidence, you may inevitably realize that it’s not just about standing by your thoughts, but following through them. To where some visions you have can no longer be contained in words alone. To cultivate the world you want to see. And a world can only contain itself for so long in scattered web pages.
Depending on your inner voice, neocities inevitably becomes a local maximum. And when it does, it becomes boring, unfortunately. When it does, why not venture out?
YouTube looks like an interesting alternative. A way to connect with video, sound, storytelling. In any case, it’s something new.
If you want to learn how to make a website, or to practice writing, build up your inner voice, making a neocities account is a great idea. It’s a welcoming place, a place to learn – it’s just no longer for me.