No more Bookcrossing!
Allowing yourself to take a break or even say goodbye
by VysionJuly 1, 2004
If you are someone who has been around Bookcrossing as it has grown these last 3+ years, you might have felt this way. You may feel lost in all the changes as new members arrive and displace some of the earliest users, whether in book count, releases,
popularity or forum posts. You may even decide to "quit" Bookcrossing. **GASP**
I say that is okay. **DOUBLE GASP**
Bookcrossing is a wonderful website allowing people from around the world to share their love of books. Having been called a Bookcrosser means you could have made wild releases leaving books at a bus stop, on a bench, at a coffeehouse, or in geocaches. You might have participated in the community forums. You may have traded books with a friend made at a Bookcrossing MeetUp. Regardless, Bookcrossing became a part of your life.
However as other responsibilities arise in life, you decide to reassess your time spent Bookcrossing, either as a break or calling it quits. If so, please take a moment to read this list.
1) Don't delete your bookshelf. Your books, travelling and journaled, have become a part of Bookcrossing history. Others have commented and added to those journeys. Leave them be for all of us.
2) Make a forum post, or better yet an update in your profile indicating the time away. People who have learned of you through Bookcrossing will want to know. Let them by clicking on the "member links" and "my profile" and put your message out there.
3) Remember your positive experiences and good feelings of Bookcrossing. If some unfortunate event has occurred during your visits here, let it go but keep the good.
You see, people join websites and have a "lifespan" of sorts. They discover a site and embrace the concept. Their time spent at the site grows longer as they participate in its activities. One day, that free time is taken by other things, and their participation drops and they feel the need to stop. It is a cycle. It is part of the internet life. And it is okay.
One day, you may get an email noting that one of your books has been journalled. You may see a Bookcrossing link in a news article or in your bookmarked websites and decide to visit again. Your books and your friends will still be here and we'll say "Welcome back."
I say that is okay. **DOUBLE GASP**
Bookcrossing is a wonderful website allowing people from around the world to share their love of books. Having been called a Bookcrosser means you could have made wild releases leaving books at a bus stop, on a bench, at a coffeehouse, or in geocaches. You might have participated in the community forums. You may have traded books with a friend made at a Bookcrossing MeetUp. Regardless, Bookcrossing became a part of your life.
However as other responsibilities arise in life, you decide to reassess your time spent Bookcrossing, either as a break or calling it quits. If so, please take a moment to read this list.
1) Don't delete your bookshelf. Your books, travelling and journaled, have become a part of Bookcrossing history. Others have commented and added to those journeys. Leave them be for all of us.
2) Make a forum post, or better yet an update in your profile indicating the time away. People who have learned of you through Bookcrossing will want to know. Let them by clicking on the "member links" and "my profile" and put your message out there.
3) Remember your positive experiences and good feelings of Bookcrossing. If some unfortunate event has occurred during your visits here, let it go but keep the good.
You see, people join websites and have a "lifespan" of sorts. They discover a site and embrace the concept. Their time spent at the site grows longer as they participate in its activities. One day, that free time is taken by other things, and their participation drops and they feel the need to stop. It is a cycle. It is part of the internet life. And it is okay.
One day, you may get an email noting that one of your books has been journalled. You may see a Bookcrossing link in a news article or in your bookmarked websites and decide to visit again. Your books and your friends will still be here and we'll say "Welcome back."
