Relocation? Or gafiation?

[kathleen_dailey]

I was idly looking up a fan writer whom I used to follow a number of years ago on LJ. I was happy when I found that they had a DW account, but when I clicked on the profile I saw that their last update was 350 weeks ago, which somehow sounds even longer than "almost seven years." The writer's DW and AO3 accounts haven't been deleted, so I have to hope and assume that they're still alive and thriving.

I don't know why, but I feel a real sense of loss when I find that someone I remember from years ago has disappeared from this corner of fandom. Maybe the person hasn't really gafiated--maybe they're active on other platforms, and maybe their personal website has just moved elsewhere, without a redirect. (Or, most likely, given the quality of their writing, they've gone pro under another name.) But when a Google search turns up nothing useful, they may as well be in another universe.

Comments

[bleodswean]

Right. I had so many other journals I wrote under...I wonder if anyone is looking for those old names. But yes, I've had this experience. Remember when we used to rejoice when one of us went pro?! Now, how would we ever know....

[kathleen_dailey]

I had so many other journals I wrote under...I wonder if anyone is looking for those old names.

If they are, the search might not take them very far, sadly, unless archive.org happens to have saved a particular page or site. It's sad to think of so much history and narrative being lost.