On 17/01/2024 02:05, Kingsley Jegan Joseph via Silklist wrote:
Looks like the conversation has moved far from the original point Peter Griffin made. I too see the value in "the sense of community, the places of contemplative silence, the art, the music". Not so much the art or music themselves but the communal practice of those skills, which goes back to the core want- a sense of community, belonging and purpose that you share with a group with whom you do stuff, a tribe. I think many of us have found our tribe in online spaces and some activities, but it's diluted, fractional and sometimes merely functional. I don't think there's a good alternative though - I don't think I'd sign up for an atheist/secular/humanist church or social club. Sounds weakass and highkey boring.
I wonder how much such things need to ape religion. Do people want regular ceremonies where they sing along together? Or do they just want a place they can go and hang out and chat to other people? I suspect that this will vary a lot between people.
For the nerds among us, local hack spaces might fill some of these roles. You can go along and just work alone on a project using shared tools, or strike up a conversation with somebody doing something interesting (or accept a conversation attempt from somebody when you're doing something interesting). There might be regular events like show-and-tells or people giving talks on topics, or just themed nights: Wednesday is the night people doing textiles projects prefer to come to meet each other, and it's the night where the experts in the sewing/knitting/etc machines are always present to train people in using those machines. I do wonder how some of that sense of community and shared excitement over something can be provided for people who aren't nerdy about making things, though. I suspect libraries and coffee shops will be fundamental...
-- Alaric Snell-Pym (M0KTN neé M7KIT) http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/alaric/
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