Okay, I've decided. I like diary rings.

The hits to my diary have more than doubled since I joined four rings. The number of people listing me as a favorite has more than doubled. I like it, but am ashamed to admit that. And I worry about it.

Actually, the rings probably aren't responsible. I recently got some really great plugs from some more popular diaries (thanks, Badsnake and John!). And suddenly I had more diaries to check out. If someone likes me, I feel obligated to know who they are, and what they offer. This is taking a lot of time, folks. We are cutting seriously into the boys' Everquest time. Not to mention work.

When Andrew expanded our buddies list to 30, I immediately filled the new slots up with folks that had been in my bookmarks (does that tell you what browser I use?). And found I couldn't keep up. So I had to prune people away. That was hard to do. Now I have a whole bunch of people in my bookmarks again, and have to decide if I dare fill my buddies list again.

After my self-deprecating "there is nobody here like me" entry, my first regular reader, mistressimp, gave me a gentle dressing down in her diary. And a less gentle jab about html errors in my "Contact" link. Thanks. I needed that (both the html tip and the reality check). I've fixed the link now (at least it works for me). She also knows the difference between "your" and "you're."

Shortly thereafter, another of my favorites, silvereyes, wrote to give me a wonderful ego boost and reassurance. Someone I read recently was going on about how Diaryland is not a community, it is just a site that allows writers to express themselves.

Whatever. I think you find what you're looking for. And I have found some friends.

Thanks Silver.

Silver also knows the difference between "your" and "you're", but she's a professional wordsmith. I halfway suspect I'm being a little hypocritical with this pet peeve of mine. There is also no such word as "gonna", but I use it a lot. And "looong", and a few other words of poetic license. But I use these as style, because that's how I speak, not because I don't know the difference.

Now I didn't know how to spell cappuccino. Sue me. It's not a common item here. Really. But I've decided not to go back and fix the entry where I misspelled it.

Getting back to rings... it was suggested that I consider joining John's "jaded" ring. (John also was kind enough to point out the problem with my contact link.) I like John's diary, although it is hard to read with this old browser (I highlight the text and read it in reverse video), but do you really think I'm jaded? Sometimes, yes, but as a rule? Gotta think on that one a while.

Yeah, like "To join or not to join" a diaryring is a big decision.