A slice of soap opera.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 9 comments link this postThere have been three incarnations of the web site "Slice of Laodicea."
This one.
Then it looked like this. 1
For a short while, it existed as a new form, before splitting off into, this. Which has been reduced to this.
Except now, it's morphed into this, complete with a dramatic blame-game story and slight name change.
Slice has always been dramatic, with a dramatic past history, far more dramatic than even the most prolific quit-start-quit-start bloggers that I'm aware of. So dramatic that I've even got a blog label named after it. It's like watching an addictive car-wreck. A shark feeding frenzy. So much drama!
Some fellow "fans" were even placing odds on how long before the next version of Slice was up and running. I'm not sure I thought that was a great thing to do, but the familiar cycle of start-and-stop-and-start must have prompted the reaction.
How we quit says a lot about us. When I "quit" the old version of my blog before a web site rebuild and general overhaul in my entire site's file organization, as well as a slightly different direction in what I wrote on this blog, I certainly didn't write a huge page blaming my host or the vitriol of my readers. I wrote a short post on quitting, and a longer post explaining why I quit once the new site was up and running. A bit later, in response to a personal email I received, I tried again to reiterate my new goal on the blog. 2
Slice often posts about how modern churches have become almost like a circus in their efforts to reach/entertain people, and though I can't always disagree with some of those points, I feel more and more like Slice itself is its own circus. It might not be a mega-church, but it has mega-drama.
I'm sure the writer(s) and owner(s) of Slice have their reasons for starting and stopping, but I wish, when they decided to quit or make a change, they'd just do it without all the finger-pointing, blame, wagon-circling and rigmarole.
Start or stop. Get in or get out. Stand up or sit down. One or the other. Hot or cold. Make up your mind. You are referencing the Laodicean church, after all.
1 Archive.org is a helpful site in preserving web sites that are no longer. It is far more "permanent" than Google's cache, which becomes unavailable in a short time. Web sites are fluid and temporary, and it's an interesting discussion on whether there's a need to preserve them, much as other historical data is preserved. It's a partial answer to "where do blogs/sites go when their creators quit/die/leave?" However, if you try to research old versions of www.loneprairie.net...you'll find nothing. I've put a robots.txt file that keeps Archive.org from doing any "preservation." When I'm done, so is my web site.
2 I can say with all honestly that I haven't been able to stick with that goal, particularly in regards to this statement: "This was one slight reason I deleted my old blog and have tried to post in a different and generally less personal or slightly removed and clinical manner. I don't want a literal stranger feeling like they are my friend and forming a close attachment without me even knowing it."
Labels: changed my mind, slice of laodicea
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 9/14/2007 09:18:00 AM
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9 Comments:
I've got no reason to believe that Ingrid's reasons were real and fact-based. She got hosed, and as someone else has pointed out somewhere, that's never a good feeling. It's like working all day, having the power go out, forgetting to save - only multiplied by months of diligent posting. I'd hate to lose all I've written, so I feel it for her in that.
On the other hand, I enjoyed this "new blog" of hers - it's been around awhile, somewhere for her to not post about "the circus" and more of an insight to her own spiritual walk. I've appreciated the more real Ingrid over there - so it's sad to see that it might be the ipso facto new stomping grounds for Slice.
Bummed, I guess.
By 
Rick, at
14/9/07 10:26
LEAVE INGRID ALONE!
How ****** dare anyone out there make fun of Ingrid after all she's been through. She lost her edge. She went through a DB deletion. She has 4(?) kids. Her hosting company turned out to be a loser and cheater.
SHE'S A HUMAN
Now don't make me go out and buy a yellow curtain and videotape myself defend Ingrid. You do not want to see me do this. Trust me.
(I have done my share of "quitting" as well.)
PS: If you are confused, follow this link.
By David Cho, at
14/9/07 10:29
Your last (pre-footnote) line made me spew Diet Coke out of my mouth. (And by this time the Diet Coke was neither hot nor cold.)
I'm disappointed to learn that you block archive.org, but of course it's entirely your prerogative, and I understand why you might want to do that. I'm more disturbed when a politician or issue advocacy group deliberately prevents their campaign website from being archived, so as not to be held accountable for things said during the campaign.
By MichaelBates, at
14/9/07 10:47
Now I have Archive.org robot guilt, Michael.
Thanks.
I just...I don't know. I didn't want my old site versions available (there were many, pre-blog, as I gradually learned to build a site). It was...embarrassing to me. And also, I'm a control freak.
I suppose I could remove the robot.txt file....
I'm neither sure nor unsure.
By Julie R. Neidlinger, at
14/9/07 11:38
"I'm sure the writer(s) and owner(s) of Slice have their reasons for starting and stopping, but I wish, when they decided to quit or make a change, they'd just do it without all the finger-pointing, blame, wagon-circling and rigmarole."
*Note to the self-appointed Blog Police*
I'm sorry, but I really don't this anyone is forcing you to read what Ingrid writes.
~...now step away from your computer...~
By Ken Silva, at
14/9/07 15:04
Oh, Ken, just go away.
I could eviscerate you verbally faster than you could type your name.
Just go away. There's nothing for you to see here, no room for your bad spelling, poor logic, and nasty retorts disguised as pastoral whatever.
Shoo.
By Julie R. Neidlinger, at
14/9/07 16:33
I'm sorry for inflicting robot guilt, Julie. I just think it's kind of interesting to see how a website has evolved over time. Of course, archive.org allows you to see how a website owner evolves over time, and that could be somewhat uncomfortable.
You've written a lot of wonderful, thought-provoking material, and I hate to think of it going away. I imagine that the material that's the most heart-searching and helpful for your readers is the material you're most likely to want to toss because it reveals more about yourself than you wish you had. That's a difficult dilemma.
Back to Ingrid, I agree with Rick's observation. Her most recent entry is very good. She writes, "The enemy wins a great victory if we exert most of our energies and time only examining the terrible state of a rebellious church and ignore our need for fellowship at the feet of Jesus." Preaching to herself, I suppose, but for all of us it's hard to get out of combat mode once you get into it.
By MichaelBates, at
14/9/07 16:39
That is an excellent post, I agree.
I hope they stay like that. Ingrid has the gift of writing well; I hate to see it always used so brutally.
Regarding the archive...I don't know. Painful. If I was quick with the delete button, I'd have deleted a lot of posts off of this blog. So I had to tell myself at the start that there was no deleting (meaning I have to be slower to publish -- you have no idea the things that are still sitting in "draft" form in my account that will never see the light of day, thankfully).
By Julie R. Neidlinger, at
14/9/07 16:52
LEAVE KEN ALONE!!!
Don't make me wear a eyeliner, Julie.
By David Cho, at
14/9/07 17:41
