I am sure Ferd would understand this sentiment!
I clicked on In Mala Fide today and discovered that it was no longer there. After browsing around some other blogs, I quickly learned that Ferd has said goodbye to the blogging world, at least in his present incarnation as Ferdinand Bardamu.
I will have to say I will miss his blog. His was one of the few blogs I checked on a regular basis. And of course his weekly linkage was always appreciated. He also ran a some other blogs, such as an retro erotic photo blog (he gave me a kindly credit to a post I wrote on Grace Kelly and her classic beauty as an inspiration for that type of blog from him, a blog devoted to classically beautiful women–yes, I am shamelessly promoting myself here), and a news blog, called In Bona Fide, where posted interesting stories from around the web. Occasionally he would link something on In Bona Fide from my writing, which was always appreciated. It is always nice to get links to your blog! I always felt quite grateful to be part of his linkage world. He will be missed.
I still remember Ferd when he was simply a commentator on Roissy, before he started his own blog. I kind of look back on those days a few years ago when Roissy was still a relatively new and exciting phenomenon. The Manosphere had not really developed yet, and most of us were merely commentators on Roissy before branching out on our own. Ferd was one of those. There was a certain freedom, originality and comradery during those interesting times at the old Roissy. It was a strange and liberating new world.
At first Ferd had his own particular blog, and then he began a more magazine type approach, sort of like the Spearhead. I remember at the time I did not enjoy the new format, as I felt it watered down what I was really interested in reading, which was simply Ferd’s stuff. Although I checked in on a regular basis, I found myself spending less and less time on his new blog, because I was not interested in wading through the endless articles dealing with various issues on various alt-right topics. There was simply too much. I also felt he lost his unique personality in the maze of posting various articles by different people on his new blog. He was better when he kept his blog simply about himself and his own writings.
Ferd mentioned in his farewell that he felt burnt out from blogging. This is understandable. I think people make a mistake when they try to make blogging something more than it is. I remember he even mentioned how that insane Catholic fundamentalist harridan Alte had encouraged him to do something more with his blog, so he could better influence the world. He agreed, and so he started his magazine format (Note: As a writer, never let a crazy Catholic fundamentalist woman influence the direction of your writing). When you view your blog as some sort of engine for societal reform, you have placed yourself in an untenable position. Blogs are just not that important. When you single-handedly try to create a magazine format, you have immediately overburdened yourself with responsibilities. Blogging should be about writing, first and foremost, and like all writing, you should be writing for yourself, what you want and when you want. It should always be fun. Sometimes people read; sometimes they don’t. Don’t sweat it. Your audience and how often they visit does not change the quality of your writing. Only you can do that. If you overburden yourself with responsibilities, as Ferd did, you will burn out, and the pleasure of blogging as a writing outlet will diminish, if not disappear. Also, the effort some people obviously put into commenting on other blogs, as well as reading them, and then posting their own stuff, must take up hours and hours of daily time. Such a commitment of time to the blogging world would drive me insane. So I can understand why Ferd needed to call it quits. It is clear from blogs like Alte’s (Traditional Christianity: http://traditionalchristianity.wordpress.com/), as she is doing her best to create a worldwide Catholic theocracy, that most people on her blog spend most of their time online reading and commenting endlessly on their and other people’s blogs, engaging in endless flamewars and trivial debates about trivial topics. Although such things can be amusing and a fun distraction for a while, if engaged in too much, this is a recipe for burnout and mental instability (as is reflected by many of the nutcases that comment on Alte’s blog, such as this one woman named Kathy. Read CL’s history with her here: http://curmudgeonloner.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/youre-so-vain/
I hope Ferd eventually comes back, in another name, and writes his own personal blog again, and tries to keep it simple. My advice to him would be this: Just write and enjoy what you write and fuck everyone else. That is the recipe for blogging success and longevity. It is a basis for good and perpetual writing. He is a good and entertaining writer and I would enjoy reading his stuff once again.