Gestalt(noun)
an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.
Please note that I'm not part of the town anymore, as per the second instalment of this trilogy, and so I can only offer an outsider's perspective, with some insider information.
Sorry for my inability to be concise. Also this is all over the place. Sorry.
In the days(weeks(months??)) before I released the second instalment, I held firm to the belief that the town was "functionally dead"; that is, what made the town the town(a community of people sharing notes) had died long ago, and instead what remains is a husk. From my understanding, the town is now more of a community for people. That's it. Not people who share notes. Nor people who make websites, or even use websites. Just people.
It's sad to see what the town has become, since for the better half of this year, the town was one of my greatest loves. It has brought me beautiful memories which I will treasure forever.
Unfortunately, and I take full responsibility for this, the town has been wounded by infighting and power struggles. I feel really disappointed in myself to admit that this was by design - the constitution was not written with true democracy in mind, but one that favours strongmen, and thus innately unstable.
Maybe the town, as it was intended to be, could be revived. The long forgotten goal of the founders of the town could be realised, and a critical mass of the community could be swayed. But then, one has to ask how would now be different to what the town was at the beginning. The way I see it, although the town is certainly more bigger than before, the "content" outputted by its members, if that can even be measured, hasn't changed much. Back then, given the proportion of "active" members to "inactive" members, that was okay, but I think the town is too large to maintain such a high proportion.
That doesn't mean the town is a "bad", or a "good" thing. It was an experience, that allowed us to explore a shared vision. No matter what the town could be classified as, it has brought salient lessons for its members.
The town, for me, is a tragedy. A tragedy that sought to bring people together, but only pushed them apart. A tragedy that sought to unite them under a gestalt ideology for the liberation of education, but only divided then among party lines. A tragedy that sought to create loving, wholesome memories, but only brought a melange of monochromatic experiences to reminisce or forget.
But, I want to focus on what was the best about the town, not what was the worst.
The town kept me, and probably a lot of you guys, occupied throughout this year.
It allowed us to explore what we loved, in the presence of supporting friends.
And, most importantly of all, the town tapped into something indescribably awesome; the town is a gestalt in every sense of the word. In the modern age we live in, everything, even the smallest, most niche pockets of the internet like the town, is preserved on the web. If, for some reason, the small hyperlink hub that is the town resurfaces in the far future; long after we are all dead, then I hope future generations will recognise and revere the visionary dream of the town.
With love(but not for dasindu)
Ed
