Don't Do That.

Something else nobody likes to talk about…

fatmanatee:

We have an interesting little website here.  It’s partly social networking, but at its core, it’s a form of blogging.  We are all putting out information that exposes us to critique and praise… it’s all on us for creation.

Non-reciprocation and unfollowing is something that comes up in two contexts: tumbletiquette.tumblr.com (has brought to light some good points) and people complaining about why they got unfollowed or non-reciprocated.  There are a few points to be made here:

• The dashboard is a big party.  Some people are happy with inviting only 20 people over for their jam, others stack the place up to unheard of numbers.  It’s rare to see someone jack up their count to 800 or higher, and it’s sure as hell impossible for me to do, because then I’d be missing out on things I really enjoy reading.  This might be something that happens over time, so if you’re new here… you’ll get there eventually.  You’re adding follows left and right and going full steam ahead and then you realize “holy crap, I can’t do this anymore, it’s too much”.  This happened to me about 70 times over the last year.
• So with that said, non-reciprocation does not mean you should be insulted.  Likewise, and I really mean this in the best way possible… I’m just not interested in some things, like women’s fashion.  We can be cool in real life!  It’s possible! 
• You may have been unfollowed for the latest post that offended people (yeah, this is me), but aside from the select few occurrences, you can never tell why someone unfollowed.  It could have built over time, lack of interest, etc. etc. etc.  And yeah, it stings.  It doesn’t stop stinging until you get numb to it and realize that there’s really nothing you can do.

So here’s my opinion: follow people when you enjoy their content.  Post what you enjoy.  The rest will come together.