Writer's Block: Shhh… Don’t tell
Oct. 2nd, 2011 12:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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This is the first time in years I've not had a Friend's Only journal. I find that both liberating and terrifying, because, yes, there are people who don't know about my LJ, and I'm glad of it (and want to keep it that way).
I don't hide it from the people that I think a lot of people go into hiding over - my Real Life friends know about it, and most of them read it. My mom reads it. My sister, before she left LJ, read it. And honestly, if I want or need to talk about super-personal things, I'll make the entries Friend's Only. But I hated going totally Friend's Only because, while I completely understand and respect some people's need or desire for that kind of total privacy, I also know I am less likely to friend someone if I can't read at least some of their entries beforehand. I'm not trying to be elitist or bitchy or anything; it's just that the interests list can only go so far, only tell me so much, and I'd like to know a little more before I friend someone. And I assume a lot of people feel the same way.
But I don't want to make things like fandom posts Friend's Only, though, because I have in the past (and even now) have gathered a lot of friends, both here and on other services, including Facebook and Tumblr, through shared fandoms. However, my fandom posts have (in the past, lesser so now, but it's still early in the life of this LJ) contained sort of sexually charged material - links to stories, art, personally commentary or anecdotes, etc. - and sort of gives away more of my kinks/fiction preferences and such than I need, say, my co-workers or kids finding out about.
Luckily, being that we've moved away from LJ being the epicenter of teenage drama (with the advent of Facebook and whatever-the-hell-else teenagers are on now), I feel a little more confident in being able to breathe freely; and honestly, thanks to the tagging system, if I ever start to feel a little uneasy about what I have out there, I can just click on the offending tag and Friend's Lock the offending entries (which takes less time than you think; I had to individually Friend's Lock my old journal when an LJ/Real Life friend of mine started dating one of my students, but... let's not go there), and for that nearly 1,500 entries, it only took me the day.
So, yes - co-workers and students, stay away! Other than that, though, I could really careless.
This is the first time in years I've not had a Friend's Only journal. I find that both liberating and terrifying, because, yes, there are people who don't know about my LJ, and I'm glad of it (and want to keep it that way).
I don't hide it from the people that I think a lot of people go into hiding over - my Real Life friends know about it, and most of them read it. My mom reads it. My sister, before she left LJ, read it. And honestly, if I want or need to talk about super-personal things, I'll make the entries Friend's Only. But I hated going totally Friend's Only because, while I completely understand and respect some people's need or desire for that kind of total privacy, I also know I am less likely to friend someone if I can't read at least some of their entries beforehand. I'm not trying to be elitist or bitchy or anything; it's just that the interests list can only go so far, only tell me so much, and I'd like to know a little more before I friend someone. And I assume a lot of people feel the same way.
But I don't want to make things like fandom posts Friend's Only, though, because I have in the past (and even now) have gathered a lot of friends, both here and on other services, including Facebook and Tumblr, through shared fandoms. However, my fandom posts have (in the past, lesser so now, but it's still early in the life of this LJ) contained sort of sexually charged material - links to stories, art, personally commentary or anecdotes, etc. - and sort of gives away more of my kinks/fiction preferences and such than I need, say, my co-workers or kids finding out about.
Luckily, being that we've moved away from LJ being the epicenter of teenage drama (with the advent of Facebook and whatever-the-hell-else teenagers are on now), I feel a little more confident in being able to breathe freely; and honestly, thanks to the tagging system, if I ever start to feel a little uneasy about what I have out there, I can just click on the offending tag and Friend's Lock the offending entries (which takes less time than you think; I had to individually Friend's Lock my old journal when an LJ/Real Life friend of mine started dating one of my students, but... let's not go there), and for that nearly 1,500 entries, it only took me the day.
So, yes - co-workers and students, stay away! Other than that, though, I could really careless.
