There is a social media site that is only open for three hours every day. At all other times, if you click over, it tells you the site is closed and when it will reopen — 7:39pm to 10:39pm ET.

The point, of course, is “Because social media is better when we’re all online together. No endless scrolling. No FOMO. Just 3 hours of fun every evening.”

That was always the joy of live tweeting or Facebooking around big events: Everyone was on at the same time. The feed was chronological; when you stepped into the conversation, you were stepping into the last thing said. Everyone saw your posts in the same order, in real-time. Even if you were just reading and not posting, you felt part of the conversation, like you were listening to someone tell a story at a party.

So it’s kind of a brilliant idea, especially because it’s time-limited. Either you get on while it’s open and talk to people, or you have to wait to see updates the next day.

What do you think?

P.S. I tried it, and it’s pretty quiet right now, but it’s just getting started.

Erin McKeown recently told the story of a breakup that ended without a final conversation, a lot of music created out of the experience, a book written by the other person that didn’t mention Erin McKeown at all, and a final touch point that closed the door firmly.

It’s an interesting story.

But there was a paragraph that I kept returning to because it held a really important question:

i never heard from my person again. i believe the children call this “ghosting” but that term has some slippage too. i certainly tried a few times to finish the conversation by reaching out. but there was only silence, digital and otherwise. i think ultimately my person made the right choice for them, obviously, but in the end also for me. the thing was just better off left alone.

When you make a decision, you, of course, make the best decision for yourself. That’s the way it works: we think about what we need, and then we make that happen. And sometimes the best choice for you is also the best choice for the other person, too. Then it’s easy. But sometimes, the best choice for you ends up being the worst choice for someone else. Then it’s hard. Because do you make the choice that works for you, full stop? Or do you compromise your choice to try to meet the other person partway?

Do you have any obligation to take some middle road if what is right for you is wrong for someone else?

It changes from situation to situation, and when safety is concerned, there really isn’t a choice: A person needs to protect themselves. But in all other circumstances, what do we owe each other?

I kind of feel (only knowing what is in the newsletter) that a final, tiny conversation — maybe whatever could be asked and answered during a walk with the dog — or even one or two emails back and forth would have been a kind middle ground. Or maybe it would have just prolonged the pain. But it’s still an interesting question.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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This game annoys me for two reasons. First, it often resets, especially if you are playing on your phone and walk away from it. It is annoying to need to go through a board again.

The second reason is that I cannot pass level 3. LEVEL 3! I keep coming close, but then I forget how I got that far and mess up the pattern. I would keep at it, but I fear that if I’m having this much trouble with level 3, I will only be annoyed with level 4 and/or the game resetting and needing to win level 3 a second time.

But maybe it’s your cup of tea.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

Last weekend, Josh met the Wolvog in Philadelphia for a concert. They got a hotel room because the concert would get out late, but all in all, the whole thing was going to be a 24-hour trip.

It was my first time sleeping alone at home since the twins were born.

I know that sounds impossible, but there have been times when Josh has been away but the kids have been here, and times when the kids have been away but Josh has been here, and times when I have been away at a conference and sleeping in a hotel alone, but never everyone away and Melissa at home.

It would have been a normal weekend if I hadn’t realized that fact before Josh left. A lot of reading. A little exercise. A little television. I got takeaway for dinner. Spoke to the ChickieNob. But knowing that fact made me notice the quiet.

The Fords love a good spreadsheet; the more tabs, the better. Colour-code it, and the Fords bliss out. So it should come as no shock as we come closer to adding a new guinea pig to our family that I added a new tab to the guinea pig spreadsheet with potential names.

For the record, while everyone has mocked and rejected some of my name offerings, no one has added their own.

The spreadsheet has columns for the name, notes about the name (think of it as the elevator pitch), and possible nicknames. We like to gather four possible names and then see which one best fits the pig.

It is really hard to wait until we’re a pig-full house again.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

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But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Apron Strings for Emily has a series of posts about her beautiful dog, Kirby, who died a few months ago. The letters posted earlier in the month, but they only entered my feed reader this week. A few of the letters talk about infertility, and I think many will relate to the way an animal companion (still testing out terms) can bring comfort and tie someone to community. She writes: “Many women or couples felt uncomfortable when they found out we had no kids; we were less relatable … But WOW, that changed when you became part of our family.” Click over to read how Kirby the Beagle helped her form connections.

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled covers the Canadian elections, which are run so differently from American elections. She outlines how they vote — for a single person (the local Parliament member) via paper ballots. It’s cool to read about another county’s system.

The roundup to the Roundup: Coming up with potential guinea pig names. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between April 25 – May 2) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.