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1) Umpteenth cut-and-paste “Yes on 8″ post-cum-testimony goes up on ten thousandth cookie-cutter LDS family blog.

2) Somebody leaves a civil but contrary opinion in comments.

3) Blog owner totally freaks.

According to the ‘nacle elite elite, they’re bringing something way more sophisticated than your typical family blog, but I wonder if they even see how that’s exactly where their vibe is headed …

Insider-itis (noun): The possibility for participants’ shared personal histories and genuine mutual respect to alienate others in the room. It’s no one’s fault, and it comes from a real and human place. This writer is certainly guilty of it. But on the last night, a couple of my fellow attendees did tell me that to them, as conference newbies, the acknowledged familiarity had the tendency to come across as isolating at certain points, and counterproductive at others. It’s something I’m certainly going to be more aware of from here on out.

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Also, this: “I can’t believe Mme. Curie just called me “Chico.” Bummer, because I used to enjoy reading that chica’s blog” was an actual lol for me. Dunno why, just hit my funny bone this Monday mornin.

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the SLC gerontocracy can’t deal with the chaotic information flow online

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David Dollhite at BYU has talked about Mormons and the Internet as otherwise. He says: “What other religionists may see as a dizzying, out-of-control, technological revolution spurred only by human creativity and greed, Latter-day Saints typically see as a divinely inspired and guided process designed to aid the spread of Mormonism (and other good works and worthy influences) throughout the earth.” So, apparently good Mormons know how to rightly use the Internet and not let the chaos seep in, or worse yet, be the source of it.

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When discussing the broad category of Mormon-themed blogs, we should refer to it as the Biggernacle

That’s a good one!

I’m actually a little hesitant to embrace creating our own separate dictionary of terms because that can end up looking clubby and cliquish, which is what we’re trying to avoid. A handful of clear and obvious terms like “Biggernacle” (that don’t require much explanation) would be great, though.

Regarding the archipelago, their name is already perversely appropriate in the sense that they’re an island unto themselves, protected from the rest of the Biggernacle by an enormous barrier of ocean. Can we really improve on this metaphor that they’ve created for themselves?

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While the old-timers over at the Mormon Coast wage endless discussions over who’s in and who’s out on their clubby patch of sand, in the rest of the Biggernacle, readers tend to flock wherever siteowners allow preeminence to stand taller than partisanship.

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Talking about appreciation, the leadership of almost any other denomination would be absolutely thrilled to have the equivalent of a b’nacle. Instead, the Mormon Times rips off all their ideas w/o a single thanks and the only time they attract their co-religionists’ attention is whenever they award Harry Reid a prize.

For the DAMU’s part, going forward, I think we need to take Lakoff’s advice, figure out our own lingo for referring to the bloggernacle, and start using it.

For example, instead of the MA (Mormon Archipelago), refer to the MC (the Mosquito Mormon Coast). And, yeah, that’s just an example, so don’t bother telling me how lame it is. I just think we need to rename everything over there and stick to our own terminology.

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It’s time to start paying proper attention to these weekly updates from chanson and appreciating the fact that we’ve got more good writing than we know what to do with right here in the DAMU. Bring on the Brodies.

Exactly.

You have to appreciate that the Bloggernacclers are in a difficult position. A big part of being a good Mormon is accepting the one-way flow of information: from your leaders. No matter how righteous a message the Bloggernacle wants to be giving, in reality they’re already treading in dangerous Sunstone/Dialogue territory merely by talking out of turn (without going through the proper channels).

Meanwhile, the LDS church leaders are giving them a schizophrenic message (Stay away from the Internet! No, wait, post about your faith online! No, wait, don’t blog! etc.) because the SLC gerontocracy can’t deal with the chaotic information flow online.

So if the keepers of the word Bloggernacle™ have decided that we’re not in the Bloggernacle™ — it’s unfortunate, but hardly surprising. We are, however, part of a greater community of discussion with them.

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