So we're living in the future, yet I'm traversing the past. It started with this blog, when I decided to build it from scratch rather than using one of the modern blogging platforms, such as Wordpress and tumblr. Not only that, but I also insisted on writing it in pure, static HTML. No real-time rendering, no dynamic libraries, no Ajax nor server-side scripts. Just HTML, CSS and a little of JavaScript.
Then, I stopped using Evernote and started to manage my life with plain text files. That transition opened the door to a search for a new text editor. New is just a figure of speech, because in the course of that search I fell under the spells of Emacs and Vim, two of the oldest pieces of software out there.
And now, I'm taking another step into the past, to the Internet's cave era. Instead of embracing Twitter or Reddit (although Reddit do start to win me over), I resorted to... IRC.
I won't get into why I've started to use IRC, or what I find in it that I don't in modern social networks; I'll do it in a different post. I'll just note that I'm starting a new journey, a journey of learning. I have no idea how to navigate and use IRC, let alone how follow its protocols (technical and communal). I'll have to RTFM...
But the journey I ought taking, is also what attracts me to IRC and all those archaic beasts. They come with manuals, and I, a simple user, has to surrender my time and my mind to them, and learn. Read manuals upon manuals, posts, email lists and discussion boards. Follow the rules of communication, listen and learn how to interact before pressing to transmit. Only then, after substantial amount of time, will I feel comfortable using the basics of the said app/software. Years will pass by before I will be able to take full advantage of it. It might not happen during these life, though, so I must be a good servant for a chance to see the light in the after life.
Yeah, there is something magical, almost religious, with those apps, their communities and the philosophies behind them. There is something special in learning, and committing to them. If not the efficiency gain, then at least the resistance to the modern world that do anything to dummify my mind for attention.
But I've drifted too far already. I suspect the imminent next step will be to move this site to a BBS...