Professionalism on the Web

November 9, 2025 @ 13:41

I'm never completely sure how I should talk to people online. On the one hand, I have a seemingly "professional" appearance as an indie developer online, but I also don't really feel that way. I waver a lot between "everything I say must be full sentences with punctuation and have a purpose," and posting the word "gleep" because I'm tired. Because of this, more often than not I end up saying very little. Short words and sentences, little thoughts, and that's all. I'm not really sure how I should appear, because I want to be more personal but I also know the internet is the easiest place to be hurt and attacked when you are. Especially in my case as a Jewish and non-binary micro-entity. Western culture was built on antisemitism and the hatred of anything that isn't "the norm".

I suppose this is also why I like little forum communities and places like the 32 Bit Cafe and Melonland, because they're places that don't have all that attention you may get on Bluesky, or heaven forbid, Xitter (I deleted my account Sept. 21, 2024!). I don't have to create high-quality stuff, or sanitize what I want to say, I can just go there and post about a funky mp3 player I like or create a really goofy homepage that's only for the people on the indieweb to see.

These thoughts also impact my website a lot, as it's right in the middle of the intersection between indieweb and my "professional" appearance. it's kind of a mix between PossiblyAxolotl, the (un)professional game developer's studio website, and PossiblyAxolotl, the internet entity's personal website. That's why it's colourful, and has some random images and outlinks, but also has a fairly simple and seemingly professional appearance. That constant wavering, the website is definitely a bit more professional than it could have been visually. I constantly move stuff around, like my collection of web badges shifts from my frontpage to a hidden side page and back whenever I have a change of mood in how professional it should look. I'm slowly figuring this stuff out, but all I can really do is keep exploring until eventually I reach a mindset and it reaches a point I'm completely comfortable in.