I admit it. It's a big news day and here I am posting trivial crap about the new comment-rating system. The frontpagers are addressing issues of substance and import -- go there for things that really matter. This one is about feelings, and nostalgia and maybe a little bit more.
One, I miss the old system. I feel it in my bones. Even more, I feel it in my muscle memory: the ache and the absence.
Two, I'm going through the stages of loss -- anger, grief, denial -- and it's not because I can't deal with change. Or maybe it is. Or maybe it's more like I can't deal with this new loss of choice and -- what's the right word? -- precision.
Let me refresh your memory. (Oh, how long ago it already seems.)
0 - Troll
1 - Unproductive
2 - Marginal
3 - Good
4 - Excellent
Look at that beautiful list. (Well, maybe not the 3 - but all the others). Didn't it make you think? Didn't it make you stop and carefully consider what was written and what the proper response was? Instead of blurting out "troll", you had to carefully consider: is this an undisputed act of trollism, or is this the comment of someone who should know better? Is it truly unproductive, or merely marginal? The space between the two was small - sometimes imperceptible - but that there was the beauty of calibration.
And that's what I miss. The care, the precision, the nuance it brought to the conversation. Even if you - like me - almost exclusively used 1s and 4s, there was the Two, standing like a white-gloved crossing guard, reminding us to look both ways. Reduce Speed. Cross with Care. Be Mindful.
And what have we now? Recommend or Troll. Yes or No. Us or Them. A binary world without consideration or measured response. A quick hit. An easy driveby. A loss of nuance.
Here's a loss of nuance: it sucks.