For whatever it may be worth, I offer my thoughts and observations on my personal DK4 experience to date. I write as an older user who is not very tech savy, having not even entered the computer world till I was 50 years old. However, I've learned enough that I am usually able to figure how most websites work without too much effort
I am, at this stage, mostly a reader/recommender/commenter and spend a lot of hours here every single day. It's my main window on the world and what's going on, and it's my main connection with other liberals/progressives. I've gotten to know a lot of writers I truly admire here. It's also where I put any diaries I feel like writing. So I came into Dk4 very nervous, but also very motivated to learn the ropes, because I really don't want to lose my familiar window on the world and all the familiar faces I care about. So I jumped right into the deep end of the pool, (where the groups are!)
The first two days I seldom left my desk, and Cranky Users and Ono's Mojo Cabin helped me stay sane by giving me a place to vent. But by the end of the second day, my blood pressure was on the rise, and stress levels were soaring. Looking back, I think a lot of it was from being scared I was going to lose touch with the people and places I feel at home with if I couldn't make my brain understand this new set up. So I had to back way off on what I was expecting myself to be able to assimilate, for plain old health reasons!
So I ungrouped myself from all but Cranky Users, and decided group involvement, for me, was a ways off in the future, if at all. At the same time I stopped trying to manage my page, because it was overflowing with stuff I couldn't begin to sort out. I gave up on the messaging for the same reason: overflowing mailbox full of messages I was not authorized to read anyway! I had no way to discern if my problems were site bugs, or my own lack of tech savy tripping me up, and trying to sort that part out, all by itself, was causing my brain to bulge and smoke to come out of my ears.
Since then, I have settled for just showing up, reading things when they catch my eye, commenting and recommending when I can. No way am I ready to give up on being able to stay here, and learn whatever I need to learn to use this new format. All of these observations are made after only four days, and I know it may get much much easier as time goes on. I remain quite aware and very grateful to Kos that this information rich site is a service to us all for no charge.
My main personal concern at this point is this: even once I learn my way around here, will I be able to regain the sense of "fitting in" in at least a few places, like I did on DK3? Those places where "Everybody Knows Your Name" kind of places. Will that part of Dkos stay the same, even if everything else is new?
I am not at all happy with what feels to me like super competative, popularity based system of publically measuring the value of members here. Whoever can get the "most" of everything: followers, recommendations, determines how much mojo once can accumulate. I've seen people worried about whether they have two or three or four bars on their mojo graph.
I see members setting up groups with opposing purposes, already trying to figure out how to keep their perceived "enemies" out, and personally have declined inviitations because damned if I want to be caught in the crossfires I know are ahead. Following any group and author can and will be read by their staunch opponents as "aligning with an enemy clique". Ugh Ugh Ugh. This feels like grade school, where you could ONLY have "one best friend".
I know in time I will learn how to navigate the technology here. I will not, however, ever be a person who enjoys highly competative environments. I enjoy collaboration a whole lot more than combat. And while I can enjoy a good debate on occasion, I much prefer open discussions where the goal is to listen and share and learn rather than win or lose.
So I'll just sit here and see how this all shakes out over the long haul. In time, maybe I will manage to discover how to maintain a satisfying connection with at least a few friendly campfires. Meanwhile, there's always something interesting to read and comment on.
(note: Kelly, feel free to republish on Cranky Users. I didn't want to post to queque because I want to be able to be here to tend this when it's posted)