I think it’s a common-but-harmful thing when people choose a community by maximizing along the “people who think like me/ are similar to me/ are interested in similar things as I am” axis. I posit that many people would be much happier if they instead chose the best d*mn community they can access (most functional, most fulfilling, etc.), and just satisficed along the “people who think like me” axis.
ETA: I specifically got back into Ballooning after about five years out of it because after I moved to a big city, I was dissatisfied and unhappy with the level of commitments and intertwininess in interpersonal relationships and communities. I thought “What is the strongest community I have access to?” and that’s where I joined. If one of any number of other activities I enjoy had better communities I would have gone there instead.
If I could upvote this twice, I would.
I think it’s a common-but-harmful thing when people choose a community by maximizing along the “people who think like me/ are similar to me/ are interested in similar things as I am” axis. I posit that many people would be much happier if they instead chose the best d*mn community they can access (most functional, most fulfilling, etc.), and just satisficed along the “people who think like me” axis.
ETA: I specifically got back into Ballooning after about five years out of it because after I moved to a big city, I was dissatisfied and unhappy with the level of commitments and intertwininess in interpersonal relationships and communities. I thought “What is the strongest community I have access to?” and that’s where I joined. If one of any number of other activities I enjoy had better communities I would have gone there instead.