Thank you all... so much! (and some about tagging)

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I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, reinforcement and even some criticisms.

What I got from this mainly, in terms of the things I want to change, is that much of it is visual and some of it has been the way I have been managing this site.

1) Difficult to read because of the color combination (Changed it)
2) Messy sidebar causing a slow page load (I cleaned it up last night)
3) Posting too much (I'll watch that...)
4) The fact that I have fallen short on times on responding to my comments. As one person said, "That's what you're good at." I agree with that observation. I have been slacking off. I do like the interaction and I haven't been doing my part.
5) One person mentioned that I could be supporting new bloggers, too, and that is a suggestion I liked a lot. It "fits" for the person I am. Not for political reasons but because it "feels" right. I remember what it was like to just start out... to wonder if anyone was even "out there".

Those were just a few of the suggestions and I also have more I will be doing. The standard is 1) only if it fits in with my particular ethical standards and 2) only if it is consistent with the way I choose to exist in this world.

Just to be very clear, I am not trying to build an empire. Yes, I would like to build the site up. No, it is not because I am unhappy with my core readership. I love my core readership! I don't think that means that wanting new readers, too, is a bad thing.

There are certain things I commit to:

1) I will always be honest. I will never post, just to get comments or notice.

2) I will never ask for money on this blog and I will never allow ads on this blog. (For those who have the ads, I make no judgments. It's just not for me.. or for this site.)

3) I will never do anything that violates my own ethical or moral system. I live by the five precepts. That will not change. If you ever see products promoted here or somesuch, this site has been hijacked. It's not me!

4) There are certain things I evaluate and reassess periodically. Like the tagging. I am able, through discussion with others, to see that it can be occasionally useful. This site will never tag, just for the sake of tagging, and I will not tag for political reasons. I will only tag because I need to say something. They are "thankyous". Period. And I will still be doing "Steal This Meme".

Like a lot of things in life itself, sometimes it's necessary to reevaluate how we are doing things, listen to others and come to a middle ground. We have to decide what can or can not fit into our own systems of ethics. We have to realize when we've been just a bit too dogmatic about something and move on from it.

With tagging, the commitment I make is that I will never use it in an exclusionary or political manner. Ever. And I am very, very sensitive to those issues.

And that's the best I can do. I am a growing, changing and evolving human being. Holding me to something or not allowing me to change my mind is destructive for all of us.

What is the point of discussion, if not for growth and change? My fundamental message and fundamental focus will not change.

Enough for now. I am still taking into account everything that has been said. More on this, maybe, later in the week.

Thanks again for so many helpful solutions.. and, again, I have to reiterate this: My wanting to grow this site some is absolutely NO indication that I don't value the folks who have faithfully stayed with me all this time.

Really. I hope you will believe that. I asked for help here because I have nowhere else to discuss it.

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I need helpful feedback....

Note: I am playing with the site a lot as people are offering me suggestions offlist. Colors, backgrounds and suchlike. I am not a visual person so if any of these changes are difficult or do not show up on your screen well, please let me know. I'm grateful for the help.. and will not be offended if someone tells me one of these changes completely suck! :)

And one more thing.. to my regular readers: I Value You! Please don't ever think otherwise. I believe that any person wants to grow their site and it doesn't diminish anyone at all.

So. Please. Hear! Me!

I Value All Of You...

...probably more than you can know or I can explain.

I'm just trying to improve the site. Really. That's all!

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Okay. I can see this site is going down the tubes fast.

The truth is that my knowledge about this kind of thing is simply not present. I don't know what to do to generate more interest. I don't know what to write that will make people want to interact with me.

And I don't know if I have the energy to attempt to rebuild it without help. Well, I know I don't.

When I noticed the decline, I wrote to a guy who often posts about this kind of thing on his blog and he gave me "I'll get back to you" but didn't.

So I'm putting this out to anyone who reads here.

What is it you want from me? What would it take for this site to become lively again, for people to find interest in it?

Or... is it simply not possible?

Up until two weeks ago, my traffic wasn't bad (around 100 visits a day) and comments were over 20 a day.

Now it is down to 65 visits a day.. and 6 comments.

Maybe I don't have what it takes to do this anymore... but I sure do need some help and some input from others! Maybe there was some discussion about this at BlogHer? How are others doing it? I don't see anyone else experiencing this, not among the blogs I visit anyway.

It's not that I don't value those who come here. I DO! Truly! But I also value active input. There is no insult intended when I address this issue. I just know there must be someone out there who can educate me.

So.. if you are out there.. please? Help?

If you would feel more comfortable talking to me privately, please feel free to do that. Any way... I just need the input. Seriously.

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