Le roi est mort, vive le roi
I’ve never had to face the demise, albeit temporary, of a blog that really inspired me. In my short life as a blogger, I’ve seen ‘em come and go. The rock upon whose foundation our church was built, however, was The Raven. His sudden announcement of a sabbatical leaves us without a leader.
Now, before you jump to the conclusion that I wish to canonize the Trickster, I want to humanize him. The Raven is, in the best sense of the word, a curmudgeon. So was Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, and H. L. Mencken. How much poorer our literary life would be without them. How much poorer will our Salon life be without The Raven?
He was sometimes pretentious, often judgmental, but he was never anything less than a writer’s writer. I disagreed with him occasionally, sometimes violently. But I never doubted that he set a standard that few bloggers can hope to attain.
His blog always reflected standards that are all too often ignored in this world of instant communication. There were no shortcuts. No compromising of the rules of grammar, no shoddy research, no postings just for the sake of posting.
Love him or hate him, The Raven set the standard for Salon blogs. He encouraged and supported those he thought upheld the standards. He mercilessly denigrated those who did not make the cut.
Some survived in spite of his criticism, others withered despite his support. I was one of the fortunate upon whom he bestowed his blessing. It didn’t help. My blog still attracts a few true believers, but will never compete with the superstars. On the other hand, some of the blogs that The Raven castigated are racking up big numbers.
The lesson I learned from The Raven is an old one: To Thine Ownself Be True. Write openly and honestly. Screw the numbers. Quality is more important than quantity. The bloggers who count in the Salon community have taken this lesson to heart. We may not be among the leaders in the right hand column, but we’ll still be here when the superstars are gone.
We are a family and we have just lost Big Daddy. We’ll survive and we’ll make the old bastard proud of us. He, after all, was the one who put the fun in dysfunctional. Now, the question is, who will fill the vacuum? Who will be our leader? Do we need a leader? Can anyone lead this bunch of misfits? Does anyone care?
I’d like to nominate Rayne, just in case anybody else feels the need for a leader. I’m sentimental that way.
2:27:47 AM 
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