Who else is on LJ? April 17, 2004 7:49 PM Subscribe
Okay, so I know there was a tangentally related thread posted here a while ago, but that was 2 years ago and it bears a new update. I am a member of both MeFi and the infamous LJ community. Most people would agree, myself among them, that the majority of lj is crap. Most of MeFi, however debatable, is not crap. So I was hoping to add a bunch of you insightful MeFi folk to the old friends list and vice versa. Post inside if you have an active lj account and would like to share and read some lj posts that don't suck.
I for one like LJ. Why? I'm too much of a lazy bum to create my own blog. That, and my friends list. I LOVE being able to click one button and see all my friends LJ blogs at once. It makes me happy.
That said, my user name is "Zealeus"
Be forewarned though: It is far from anything interesting and anything but insightful.
posted by jmd82 at 7:58 PM on April 17, 2004
That said, my user name is "Zealeus"
Be forewarned though: It is far from anything interesting and anything but insightful.
posted by jmd82 at 7:58 PM on April 17, 2004
Orkutfilter.
Sorry, I know how annoying *filter comments are. I couldn't resist. I am weak, and unworthy.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:02 PM on April 17, 2004
Sorry, I know how annoying *filter comments are. I couldn't resist. I am weak, and unworthy.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:02 PM on April 17, 2004
Metafilter: Weak, and unworthy.
You know, just to fit in with the tired in-jokes.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:05 PM on April 17, 2004
You know, just to fit in with the tired in-jokes.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:05 PM on April 17, 2004
Yes, well, perhaps you can see that I had a point beyond the autosnark. If someone wants to share their livejournal username, more power to them. That said, though, we all have userprofiles here and those pages would seem to be the best (and most permanent, and updateable) place to share, if one were compelled to do so....
Carry on.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:15 PM on April 17, 2004
Carry on.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:15 PM on April 17, 2004
Actually, like the old thread said, a few MeFi members will have "metafilter" in their interests. It's a good way of finding other inclined LJ users.
I'd post my LJ link except I haven't updated in 8 months and mainly use it to read other people's friends-only blogs. Besides, after looking at our LJs, the only thing we have in common is MetaFilter.
Speaking of meta, you could always start a MeFi community over at LJ...it would be incredibly amusing if not particularly useful.
posted by Electric Elf at 12:37 AM on April 18, 2004
I'd post my LJ link except I haven't updated in 8 months and mainly use it to read other people's friends-only blogs. Besides, after looking at our LJs, the only thing we have in common is MetaFilter.
Speaking of meta, you could always start a MeFi community over at LJ...it would be incredibly amusing if not particularly useful.
posted by Electric Elf at 12:37 AM on April 18, 2004
I, for one, welcome our weak and unworthy overlord.
*yawn*
posted by The God Complex at 12:49 AM on April 18, 2004
*yawn*
posted by The God Complex at 12:49 AM on April 18, 2004
I moved out of LJ to using a Blogspot blogger journal. Which is sorta like moving from one trailer park to another, but I'm still dreaming about a nice place in the suburbs. The old journal is tangletoy. Now I just use it to comment in other journals.
There's a metafilter feed over at LJ, but I don't think an outright community. Can't imagine how that would go over.
posted by FunkyHelix at 6:22 AM on April 18, 2004
There's a metafilter feed over at LJ, but I don't think an outright community. Can't imagine how that would go over.
posted by FunkyHelix at 6:22 AM on April 18, 2004
Most livejournals are crap. So are most weblogs, websites, films, tv shows (yes, I know this is subjective). I think livejournal provide a good service, for what it is, and I recommend it to people that are interested in getting into weblogs and journals. Over, say, blogger or diaryland.
I don't have a lj account any more, but I'm always interested in being pointed towards sites with worthwhile content.
posted by nthdegx at 9:02 AM on April 18, 2004
I don't have a lj account any more, but I'm always interested in being pointed towards sites with worthwhile content.
posted by nthdegx at 9:02 AM on April 18, 2004
Let us mate with Mofi instead......make it the ying to our yang..
no really, this could be the beginning of Borg Cluster no. 1.
posted by JohnR at 9:44 AM on April 18, 2004
no really, this could be the beginning of Borg Cluster no. 1.
posted by JohnR at 9:44 AM on April 18, 2004
So I was gone from MeFi for a whole day and hoped to come back to a bunch of new LJ friends. Ah well. Zealus and tangletoy, thanks for mentioning the names.
Stav, I thought about the user profile method of finding users, but that would involve clicking through a whole lot of users. And while the MetaFilter interest search on LJ did reveal a lot of names, I was hoping to find active members of both communities to add instead of people who just added it because they read the blog, although I like them too. Hell, one girl I added said she didn't even know what MeFi was, she just liked the way the word metafilter sounded.
All that said, I think the suggestion about a MeFi LJ community has merit. I think I will try and get one going over there and stop annoying you fine people with LJ related stuff.
Resistance is futile. [/borg]
posted by lazaruslong at 4:46 PM on April 18, 2004
Stav, I thought about the user profile method of finding users, but that would involve clicking through a whole lot of users. And while the MetaFilter interest search on LJ did reveal a lot of names, I was hoping to find active members of both communities to add instead of people who just added it because they read the blog, although I like them too. Hell, one girl I added said she didn't even know what MeFi was, she just liked the way the word metafilter sounded.
All that said, I think the suggestion about a MeFi LJ community has merit. I think I will try and get one going over there and stop annoying you fine people with LJ related stuff.
Resistance is futile. [/borg]
posted by lazaruslong at 4:46 PM on April 18, 2004
I added you, lazarus. My LJ name is the same as my name here if anyone's interested.
I like LJ because it's so easy to keep up with people via friends' lists. And I don't really take it seriously enough to have an actual blog; I just write about this and that and comment in my friends' journals. And avoid quizzes like the plague, don't worry. :)
posted by livii at 8:18 PM on April 18, 2004
I like LJ because it's so easy to keep up with people via friends' lists. And I don't really take it seriously enough to have an actual blog; I just write about this and that and comment in my friends' journals. And avoid quizzes like the plague, don't worry. :)
posted by livii at 8:18 PM on April 18, 2004
Well, I'll admit that I have two semi-active lj accounts...DearWinifred, which is a silly advice thingy that seems to be slowly dying, and SpiderFarmer...which probably has way more personal and political crap than you want to read...but there it is, none the less. :) For the record, I have metafilter listed as an interest for SpiderFarmer...but I haven't searched on it in ages, so I can't speak to how many others do.
posted by dejah420 at 8:20 PM on April 18, 2004
posted by dejah420 at 8:20 PM on April 18, 2004
I'm insomnia on LJ, if that wasn't obvious enough.
There are in excess of two million members on LJ, so saying "Most of LJ is crap," is kind of a moot point. What isn't crap is that you can choose to add your favorite .00001% of those users to your friends list -- just the ones that you know or who interest you. Whether that's Warren Ellis, or Poppy Z. Brite, or Momus, or soldiers in Iraq, or net celebs, or open source gurus, or sex advocates, or avant-guard directors, or eccentric artists... they're there.
I've met some really wonderful people on LiveJournal, made friends on practically every continent, and have even met a wonderful partner through the site, so to me it's a great way to build intentional communities of people that can literally change your life.
I mean, I met this guy on LJ who works as a contractor over in Iraq. Later on this year, we're meeting up over at Burning Man, presumably to discuss the perils of Iraq's reconstruction over playa coladas.
MeFi does a lot for me, but it's still not quite that cool yet.
posted by insomnia_lj at 3:00 AM on April 19, 2004
There are in excess of two million members on LJ, so saying "Most of LJ is crap," is kind of a moot point. What isn't crap is that you can choose to add your favorite .00001% of those users to your friends list -- just the ones that you know or who interest you. Whether that's Warren Ellis, or Poppy Z. Brite, or Momus, or soldiers in Iraq, or net celebs, or open source gurus, or sex advocates, or avant-guard directors, or eccentric artists... they're there.
I've met some really wonderful people on LiveJournal, made friends on practically every continent, and have even met a wonderful partner through the site, so to me it's a great way to build intentional communities of people that can literally change your life.
I mean, I met this guy on LJ who works as a contractor over in Iraq. Later on this year, we're meeting up over at Burning Man, presumably to discuss the perils of Iraq's reconstruction over playa coladas.
MeFi does a lot for me, but it's still not quite that cool yet.
posted by insomnia_lj at 3:00 AM on April 19, 2004
I'm sorry, insomnia. My eyes glazed over part way through the cheerleading there. The only reason for anyone to be that excited over LJ, is if you've found a way to get it to suck your dick.
posted by FunkyHelix at 5:48 AM on April 19, 2004
posted by FunkyHelix at 5:48 AM on April 19, 2004
Wow, that was pretty spiteful and pointless. (And, given that insomnia_lj has found a partner via LiveJournal, perhaps he or she has a right to be so excited over it.)
posted by jennyb at 9:48 AM on April 19, 2004
posted by jennyb at 9:48 AM on April 19, 2004
Yeah, um FunkyHelix? I have to say that your comment there is way out of line, and demonstrates not only your ignorance of the community at lj and your total lack of experience. Insomnia has apparently gotten a lot of happiness from LJ. Hell, I even met a few people on LJ that, while I sitll have never met them in person, have been excellent in supporting me through some really rought times. If not for LJ, who knows where that support may have come from.
I don't understand why you felt the need to post that comment. The first comment in the thread says, in case your glazed eyes missed it, "And please, this is intended to be merely a listing of accounts and not the usual LJ bash-fest. I know most of it sucks. I have come to grips with this. Leave it alone." This thread was supposed to be about finding others in MeFi and on LJ who, like myself and insomnia and a few others in this thread, feel that both communities are worthwhile and good and are interested in merging [at least for our own use] the two to some extent. There is no need to piss on this. And the little fake apology at the beginning of your comment is just that more insulting.
Good luck with convincing other websites to "suck your dick". I'm sure it's been neglected for far too many of it's 13-14 year existence.
And insomnia, thanks for the post. I'm so glad you have had such good experiences on LJ. [added to friends list]
posted by lazaruslong at 12:23 PM on April 19, 2004
I don't understand why you felt the need to post that comment. The first comment in the thread says, in case your glazed eyes missed it, "And please, this is intended to be merely a listing of accounts and not the usual LJ bash-fest. I know most of it sucks. I have come to grips with this. Leave it alone." This thread was supposed to be about finding others in MeFi and on LJ who, like myself and insomnia and a few others in this thread, feel that both communities are worthwhile and good and are interested in merging [at least for our own use] the two to some extent. There is no need to piss on this. And the little fake apology at the beginning of your comment is just that more insulting.
Good luck with convincing other websites to "suck your dick". I'm sure it's been neglected for far too many of it's 13-14 year existence.
And insomnia, thanks for the post. I'm so glad you have had such good experiences on LJ. [added to friends list]
posted by lazaruslong at 12:23 PM on April 19, 2004
also, after reading some of insomnia's info, perhaps the fact that he was instrumental in developing a lot of what lj is today makes him so excited over it.
Insomnia, seeing as how you are so connected in the community, what do you think about a MeFi community? I suppose the pool of people to draw on would be rather small, but perhaps non MeFi member lurkers could fill out some of the community as well. Could be an interesting way to get the LJ take on MeFi, and a good filter for a lot of the noise around here lately [read: FunkyHelix-esque pissing, BadCommie, etc]
posted by lazaruslong at 12:29 PM on April 19, 2004
Insomnia, seeing as how you are so connected in the community, what do you think about a MeFi community? I suppose the pool of people to draw on would be rather small, but perhaps non MeFi member lurkers could fill out some of the community as well. Could be an interesting way to get the LJ take on MeFi, and a good filter for a lot of the noise around here lately [read: FunkyHelix-esque pissing, BadCommie, etc]
posted by lazaruslong at 12:29 PM on April 19, 2004
It should be pointed out that I don't actually work for LJ anymore... if anything, I can be very critical of how the site is run at times.
That doesn't mean, however, that LJ doesn't do a lot of things right. I'd like to believe that I had something to do with that. Ultimately, though, a lot of the power of any community site is in the people themselves. It's often as good as the users make it / demand of it. Certainly, many of LJ's policies and features are heavily influenced by user feedback, and if users were more voiciferous proponents (and assistants) with improvements, then improvements would become more of a priority.
I think that creating a MeFi community on LJ would be cool. That said, I don't really want to admin it myself. I already have several large communities that I oversee, and I don't think I could muster the time and obsessiveness to do it justice. I'd gladly join it, give it a plug, and offer up advice, however.
One thing I have always wondered is what would happen if someone copied the MeFi style for an LJ community. It would be pretty simple to do, really, but what would the conversations be like? Would MeFi be "dumbed down", or would the community -- especially if it was well-run and instilled a culture of self-moderation -- actually raise the level of discourse to MeFi-like levels? It would be an interesting experiment one of these days...
posted by insomnia_lj at 4:30 PM on April 19, 2004
That doesn't mean, however, that LJ doesn't do a lot of things right. I'd like to believe that I had something to do with that. Ultimately, though, a lot of the power of any community site is in the people themselves. It's often as good as the users make it / demand of it. Certainly, many of LJ's policies and features are heavily influenced by user feedback, and if users were more voiciferous proponents (and assistants) with improvements, then improvements would become more of a priority.
I think that creating a MeFi community on LJ would be cool. That said, I don't really want to admin it myself. I already have several large communities that I oversee, and I don't think I could muster the time and obsessiveness to do it justice. I'd gladly join it, give it a plug, and offer up advice, however.
One thing I have always wondered is what would happen if someone copied the MeFi style for an LJ community. It would be pretty simple to do, really, but what would the conversations be like? Would MeFi be "dumbed down", or would the community -- especially if it was well-run and instilled a culture of self-moderation -- actually raise the level of discourse to MeFi-like levels? It would be an interesting experiment one of these days...
posted by insomnia_lj at 4:30 PM on April 19, 2004
Er, I've got a LJ which I've only very recently resurrected...
posted by dmt at 5:34 PM on April 20, 2004
posted by dmt at 5:34 PM on April 20, 2004
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That came off a little harsh. All I mean is, I don't want to open up a discussion oriented can of worms regarding LJ and MeFi. On the contrary, this is all about UNITY.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:51 PM on April 17, 2004