LJ Friends of the new variety

[susandennis]

So many journals are friends only these days. It's kind of hard to find journals to read. Many entries that announce friends only either make the entry requirements steep - leave a comment and I'll think about letting you in - or just flat out say, don't waste my time or yours.  So I LOVE a good friendzy. I join with abandon.  I add people right and left and hope they add me back so I can have more journals to read.

My own journal is 99% public so it's kind of a different animal. You can read mine for a while and decide whether or not you want to clutter up your friend feed with my entries.

I've had a journal here for more than a dozen years now. I write it for me - to noodle stuff out, save thoughts for posterity, remember stuff. When I started, I didn't quit 'get' the whole LJ friends thing. Friending or being friended. But over the years, that part of the experience has become as important to me as the journaling. It was many years before my real life and my LJ life crossed paths. It has now crossed many times. The older I get the less I am around people IRL and the more my friends list becomes my social.

Anyway, thank you for letting me into your journals. And welcome to mine!

Comments

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I have occasionally read your posts and i have been on LJ for nine years. You can always friend me and read mine.

[susandennis]

How have I missed you before?! Fixed now. Thank you!

[galebird.livejournal.com]

I love reading what you're up to. Hits me with a new perspective sometimes, and that's often something I sorely need. I am also in this for the cats, having read from Betty and Travis til Zoey now, may Betty and Travis rest in peace.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

With the exception of a couple of weeks when I had to lock my journal down due to a serious crazy person, my journal has always been open. My feeling is that a person can never have enough friends, bottles of wine, or spatulas.

[touchofgr3y.livejournal.com]

Nice to meet you!

[susandennis]

back atcha!

[jocosa]

I love any and all attempts to liven up my friends view! I'm just never sure on friending frenzy protocol. Should I just dive in and add everyone, should I ask first if it's ok to add them, do I wait for them to look over my comment on the post and decide to add me. Not that I wayyyyy over think this or anything.

The last one I signed up for was one that specifically said it was to bring LJ back to life, fill up our feeds again. So, I added most everyone, since that seemed the point, and a total of 2 added me back. Yikes. Awwwwwkward. So the one you posted about, I posted there but am just kind of lurking this time, not adding first.

[susandennis]

I've actually never understood the asking for permission thing.

This particular group of potentials seems way more interesting than most so I just grabbed a bunch. And I've gotten a pretty good mutual friending going - so far so good. And I have a plan.

I used to unfriend a lot and now, if someone has added me and I no longer want to read them, I just shuffle them out of my default group. Very passive aggressive, I know, but it seems silly to offend when it isn't necessary.

[sweetwilla.livejournal.com]

Hello ... I often read & enjoy your posts. I like reading about your retirement life in Seattle. I recently waded through the Medicare paperwork hassle as well. You are welcome to read mine as well.

[susandennis]

Cool! Thank you and thank you for the invitation. I just took you up on it!

[timbear.livejournal.com]

I love reading about your life, especially as I have been to some of the places you talk about, it sort of makes it more relevant.

[susandennis]

Thank you!!! I'm so ready for you to come back to Seattle.

[mckavian.livejournal.com]

I can understand the friends only crowd not wanting just anyone in. I can also understand making it private if you have to deal with crazy people. Or if you do not want other to know just how bat-shit insane you are.

But, at the same time - why would you be on social media if you want to be private? Why have a livejournal if you do not want responses to what you write?

I have been pondering making my journal friends only for a bit - there are 2 people I specifically do not want to put up with, but there are a few others that do not have a LJ that I do want to talk to - it's a problem.

[susandennis]

Oh I can totally understand keeping a journal just for yourself or for a small number of people. To me, the journal and the social are really two different things. I rarely rarely write any entry in order to get comments. I love that people provide feedback but that's not why I write the journal.

You can always ban people you do not want commenting. My ban list is pretty long.

[mckavian.livejournal.com]

It's hard to ban a specific person if they do not have a journal - both my father and my aunt read my journal, neither have an account. I love my aunt, my father....not so much. And they both comment anonymously. I cannot ban one with out banning the other.

[susandennis]

EXCELLENT point. I get it. And totally understand And ugh. Sticky situation. My sympathies.

[mckavian.livejournal.com]

Ultimately, I agree with you. I write for me. And occasionally for everyone else(see my last post).

Don't like it, don't like me, go somewhere else. *shrugs*

I'll just say I like you, I like what/how you write, that's all that matters.

[susandennis]

Thanks!

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

Thank you, this warmed my heart [and yes, I do have one].

[spikesleman.livejournal.com]

Mine was public for years. Then someone used comments from a post to attempt to (a) break up a friend's marriage and (b)get that same friend's husband fired from his job.

Using my journal against *me* would have annoyed me. Using it against someone else was unacceptable. I took the journal private.

It's been several years since that incident, and I'm thinking of going public again.