There is no FOMO in the Small Internet   
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I liked very much a recent post by tfurrows [1], where the author
reflected on the little anxiety caused by not being able to keep up with
everything that happens in the growing gopherspace.  This is generally
known as "Fear of Missing Out", or FOMO [2].

I really enjoyed tfurrows' conclusion: 

  "If I can't keep up with everything, I'll keep up with whatever I
   can. If I can't reply to all the posts I want to reply to, I'll 
   reply to some, as they come to me."

I think this is *the essence* of The Small Internet. 

In The Small Internet we are not obliged to keep up with incessantly
growing avalanches of irrelevant feeds, as on Facebook or on Twitter. We
do not have to pin down the rare interesting things as they flow by,
before they are lost forever. There is no special moment to not miss out
at any cost. There is nothing that requires our continuous presence
online. 

The Gopherspace is a timeless Zen garden. Gopher posts will remain there
forever. Or at least for a vastly large amount of time, compared to the
ephemeral lifespan of the regurgitations seen on large-scale anti-social
Luna Parks. The writings available in gopherholes often require study,
attention, and reflection. They cannot and should not be dismissed with
a hyper-quick read-through. Potentially interesting content will be
waiting there for potentially interested readers to pass by and enjoy
it. Useless content will be waiting there as well, to be noticed and
dismissed with a hyper-quick read-through, if needed.

The value of our contribution to The Small Internet is not measured by
the sheer length of our rumbles, and it does not depend on the
punctuality or perceived alignment of our phlogs with the flow of other
contributions. 

The Small Internet is a collection of experiences, stories, connections,
interactions we really care about. Caring requires energy and time,
which can only be reserved for things we subjectively deem really
important.

There is no space for FOMO in The Small Internet. The Small Internet
itself is an alchemic, timeless Zen garden. In The Small Internet nobody
is late, nobody is quick, nobody is timely, nobody is lagging behind.
Everything in The Small Internet goes at the very same pace of each of
its participants.

The Small Internet is the only manageable way of creating a personal,
human-sized, meaningful view on a vast hyperspace filled with massively
irrelevant stuff.

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[1] gopher://sdf.org/0/users/tfurrows/phlog/2019/ami_gopherWorld.txt
[2] gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/Fear%20of%20missing%20out