Community April 28, 2008
I’ve never been a ‘joiner’ so the idea of community that people rabbit on about never really resonated with me. I didn’t get it when people talked about it in relation to playing sports or working for charities because I hadn’t done those things. But now I get it.
Joining the committee of Finn’s kinder was a spur of the moment-ish thing. I thought it would be a Good Thing to do. I didn’t really think it through much more until after I’d put my hand up. Then I decided that it would be good to be active in the kids’ kinder and school life. I reasoned that being the only deaf kid in the kinder would make Finn pretty prominent and that he should have a highly visible parent as well. I also thought I might enjoy it a bit.
What I hadn’t bargained on was the sense of connection it would give me. Suddenly I have a really direct interest in what goes on in my local area. An interest which is strengthened because, not only does it affect me and mine, but it impacts a group of which I am a member. I feel like what I have to say matters. It’s quite empowering. I don’t know whether this feeling will last once Finn finishes kinder and I am no longer a part of that group, but I hope it does.
One delusion I don’t hold is that I will ever be so integral to any community that it will cease to exist once I am no longer a member of it. The farkenace community of bloggers may no longer hang off the farkenace domain and there may be 2 or 3 fewer people taking part, but it still exists as much it ever did. There’s still a little group of people who blog and read. I’ve become much more aware of that community through doing the kinder stuff and it has immeasurable value to me.
Much as I also not a joiner I quite like being part of communities and it’s one of the things about working at a school that I really like. We might not have chosen each other but we are in similar circumstance and it’s nice to be with others in the same boat.
As for farken ace I don’t think it was ever about the software or the server. I think it’s always about people showing a bit of interest in the day to day life of people who they have some minor connection to.
Along the way, just like any forum or mailing list, people have come and gone. But I imagine that long after the compilation page at farkenace.com people will still have lots of those connections and concerns and I think that’s a Good Thing.