Hi Anna! Thank you for your questions. My answers are yes, please feel free to reply to someone else’s annotation. And no, don’t resist the urge to post comments about past articles.
Fellow Article Clubbers and I welcome comments that are kind and thoughtful. You’ll also hear more of my “rules” at our discussion on 1/29. They include:
- There’s no need to perform!
- Keep the conversation about the text.
- The whole point here is to connect with other kind and thoughtful people.
Great question. Here are some examples: At our discussions, participants have said they don’t feel the need to “be right,” that it’s not a debate, that they can be themselves, that they can change their minds, that they don’t have to advocate, etc.
-In your Kindle Scribe annotations did you “Keep the conversation about the text”?
In that example, I wrote my annotations directly on or next to the text, so all my comments were about the text.
-Since this substack was launched 5 years ago, where are the “rules” posted?
Great question. The “rules” (which are in quotation marks because they’re more like agreements our reading community has built over time) have been related to the online discussion, not to written comments. For the most part, most readers email me directly, rather than posting written comments. If readers are interested, I’d love to build a more robust written comments section, and if that happens, I think it’d be an important step for me to write some expectations for written discussion.
-So "Keep the conversation about the text" refers to the physical location of annotations rather than the contents?
-"...most readers emaiI me directly, rather than posting written comments." I thought substack was intended to be a public forum where subscribers could share ideas and questions. I am not interested in private correspondence, that feels way too sneaky for me. I think personal info should be kept just that---personal.
-So “Keep the conversation about the text” refers to the physical location of annotations rather than the contents?
Another way to think of this is that we talk about the article itself rather than talking about the general topic of the article.
-”…most readers emaiI me directly, rather than posting written comments.” I thought Substack was intended to be a public forum where subscribers could share ideas and questions. I am not interested in private correspondence, that feels way too sneaky for me. I think personal info should be kept just that—personal.
Each Substack is different, with different intentions and goals. Article Club isn’t a public forum. It’s a reading community. It’s OK that you’re not interested in private correspondence. Other readers are. That is why a few readers write comments here, while others write me directly. One of the best things about Article Club is how people connect and listen to each other.
-White authors drag black Americans into their prose to make their point
AND
-They make reference to the awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very, very, very bad Donald Trump
Top those two elements with a soupcón of covid fearmongering, and you've got deep-dish bullshit.
Reminds me of the 1970s' movie "Soylent Green" starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. Set in the dystopian year of 2022(!), when people were so poor they walked around in ripped clothing(!), thousands slept on the streets(!), and only the elite could afford to eat real meat and fresh vegetables; the masses ate nutrition-less fake food and died of starvation in such numbers that they couldn't all be buried so their bodies were macerated into wafers for the poor to eat.
Amateur prduction values by today's movie-making standards but prescient message.
Mark,
I don't see the comment that I wrote about "The Sunset" article?
Hi Anna, thank you for reaching out. I emailed you with more information about this.
Two Questions, please:
-May I reply to someone else's annotation on the Butler article?
-If, while trolling through The Highlighter archives, I feel impelled to post a comment should I resist the urge?.
Hi Anna! Thank you for your questions. My answers are yes, please feel free to reply to someone else’s annotation. And no, don’t resist the urge to post comments about past articles.
Fellow Article Clubbers and I welcome comments that are kind and thoughtful. You’ll also hear more of my “rules” at our discussion on 1/29. They include:
- There’s no need to perform!
- Keep the conversation about the text.
- The whole point here is to connect with other kind and thoughtful people.
I’m looking forward to meeting you.
-What does "There's no need to perform!" mean?
-In your Kindle Scribe annotations did you "Keep the conversation about the text"?
-Since this substack was launched 5 years ago, where are the "rules" posted?
Thank you for your questions, Anna!
-What does “There’s no need to perform!” mean?
Great question. Here are some examples: At our discussions, participants have said they don’t feel the need to “be right,” that it’s not a debate, that they can be themselves, that they can change their minds, that they don’t have to advocate, etc.
-In your Kindle Scribe annotations did you “Keep the conversation about the text”?
In that example, I wrote my annotations directly on or next to the text, so all my comments were about the text.
-Since this substack was launched 5 years ago, where are the “rules” posted?
Great question. The “rules” (which are in quotation marks because they’re more like agreements our reading community has built over time) have been related to the online discussion, not to written comments. For the most part, most readers email me directly, rather than posting written comments. If readers are interested, I’d love to build a more robust written comments section, and if that happens, I think it’d be an important step for me to write some expectations for written discussion.
Have a great weekend, Anna!
-So "Keep the conversation about the text" refers to the physical location of annotations rather than the contents?
-"...most readers emaiI me directly, rather than posting written comments." I thought substack was intended to be a public forum where subscribers could share ideas and questions. I am not interested in private correspondence, that feels way too sneaky for me. I think personal info should be kept just that---personal.
Thank you for your follow-up questions, Anna.
-So “Keep the conversation about the text” refers to the physical location of annotations rather than the contents?
Another way to think of this is that we talk about the article itself rather than talking about the general topic of the article.
-”…most readers emaiI me directly, rather than posting written comments.” I thought Substack was intended to be a public forum where subscribers could share ideas and questions. I am not interested in private correspondence, that feels way too sneaky for me. I think personal info should be kept just that—personal.
Each Substack is different, with different intentions and goals. Article Club isn’t a public forum. It’s a reading community. It’s OK that you’re not interested in private correspondence. Other readers are. That is why a few readers write comments here, while others write me directly. One of the best things about Article Club is how people connect and listen to each other.
Re: Our Animals, Ourselves
How to tell when you're reading a cup of crap:
-White authors drag black Americans into their prose to make their point
AND
-They make reference to the awful, horrible, terrible, no good, very, very, very bad Donald Trump
Top those two elements with a soupcón of covid fearmongering, and you've got deep-dish bullshit.
Reminds me of the 1970s' movie "Soylent Green" starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson. Set in the dystopian year of 2022(!), when people were so poor they walked around in ripped clothing(!), thousands slept on the streets(!), and only the elite could afford to eat real meat and fresh vegetables; the masses ate nutrition-less fake food and died of starvation in such numbers that they couldn't all be buried so their bodies were macerated into wafers for the poor to eat.
Amateur prduction values by today's movie-making standards but prescient message.
Mark, another great selection. Just reading Our Animals, Ourselves! Very powerful, mostly for a former veterinarian like me. Thanks again!
"Human liberation and animal liberation are thus bound together; the brutalization of all beings, as Davis proclaimed, is connected. " Just spot on!
Thanks for reading it, Imene! And I never knew that you were a vet!
Mark,
Please let me know if you can see any of the annotations I did on the Butler article. I couldn't see anybody else's comments.
I see them! You are the first annotator. Thank you for beginning the conversation!