New public journals

[topum]

I often go to the list of LJ users and read a couple of random journals. This is how I discover new public journals here.

You may remember how I discovered George Bush's fall from grace a while ago (see here). And all kinds of random things catch my attention there, like this one.

A couple of days ago I went to the list again. This time it was full of neighbours writing about the same stuff. Here my LJ friend bunn and I are both talking about dogs just next to each other:



Our take on this topic in those entries couldn't have been more different I think (mine is just two entries below this one).

And here two neighbours were talking about the same thing again:



How do you discover new public journals here?

Comments

[topum.livejournal.com]

I actually did not know what either of them were until the recent media frenzy about both. Specifying the area of interest is OK I think I meant other kind of requirements. I was told a couple of times that I was not commenting enough to be kept on a friend list (and in one case they counted how many comments I left in other journals since the last comment I left in theirs) and urged me to comment soon or be deleted. I thought that they were being weirdly hilarious and responded with "ha ha". I was also warned that shallow comments were not welcome and I am not good at deep stuff. The requirement to always read all their entries is also a popular one. Restrictions on the language I use are also common (too sexist, not gender neutral enough, etc). "Too much negativity" will also not be tolerated, which basically includes everything except agreeing completely and super enthusiastically with everything. Also people expecting me to somehow necessarily "click" with them or "forge real friendships" just by reading their blogs sometimes (oh boy...). At some point I just have to say that I am just looking for some fucking blogs to read not experience a nazi death camp with total control over what I do and think and how I do it. I am actually more interested in finding public journals to read here than all this weird friending stuff.

[altamira16.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes! That is how it started. I had added someone, and within a week they were posting all this "Comment or I am unfriending you" nonsense. And I really didn't think I had gotten to know the person enough to post comments yet. And I am not big on rubber stamp comments where you just agree with whatever a person says.

[topum.livejournal.com]

I thought it was humour the first time someone messaged me with "comment or I am unfriending you".

[altamira16.livejournal.com]

People messaged you?

Wow. That is over the top.

My experience was that soon after I friended this person, they were posting entries about how they were going to unfriend people who did not comment and posting that "Top Commenter" thing where you see who the top commenters on your journal are to pressure people into posting more.

[topum.livejournal.com]

They did.
I would probably not be able to resist mildly trolling my friends if they posted the "Top Commenter" thing. But just in good fun.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Good grief. I tend to think of LJ as a saner and more thoughtful space than say Facebook or Twitter. But clearly there are loons everywhere!