# What are "live journals?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542 "2004-01-03T23:27:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/1 "2004-01-03T23:27:15Z")
I read a post in the Pit that mentioned “live journals” and wondered what they are? ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/2 "2004-01-03T23:41:42Z")
> **[LiveJournal: Discover global communities of bloggers who share your unique...](https://www.livejournal.com)** > > Your life is the best story! Just start your blog today! Kind of like an online diary that people can comment on. It also has communities and such. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/3 "2004-01-04T01:11:01Z")
Generally they are full of crap that nobody would be interested in but by chance I just found this one which is very worth it: [http://www.wangjianshuo.com/personal/places/daocheng/index.htm](http://www.wangjianshuo.com/personal/places/daocheng/index.htm) [http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20020926\_my\_site\_remains\_illegal\_in\_china.htm](http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20020926_my_site_remains_illegal_in_china.htm) [http://www.wangjianshuo.com/](http://www.wangjianshuo.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/4 "2004-01-04T01:33:36Z")
Well, that appears to be a web log, or ‘blog’. Live Journal is a specific blogging website. When people on the SDMB refer to a Live Journal, they are (almost always) referring to [www.livejournal.com](http://www.livejournal.com). There are a few SDMB specific communities and lots of SDMB members on that site. ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/5 "2004-01-04T02:40:25Z")
Thank ya’ll. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/6 "2004-01-04T02:45:32Z")
I could be wrong, but I think that “live journal” is used by some as an alternate generic name for web logs, because of that site’s popularity. I’ve had people ask me once or twice if I keep a live journal, referring to a blog in general. I don’t use it like that, though. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/7 "2004-01-04T02:57:03Z")
\>\> Live Journal is a specific blogging website. Just shows how much I know. BTW, the invisible period at the end of your link renders it null and void [http://www.livejournal.com/](http://www.livejournal.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/8 "2004-01-04T06:14:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*Generally they are full of crap that nobody would be interested in but by chance I just found this one which is very worth it: > > [http://www.wangjianshuo.com/personal/places/daocheng/index.htm](http://www.wangjianshuo.com/personal/places/daocheng/index.htm) > [http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20020926\_my\_site\_remains\_illegal\_in\_china.htm](http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20020926_my_site_remains_illegal_in_china.htm) > [http://www.wangjianshuo.com/](http://www.wangjianshuo.com/) \*\* Well, see, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. I don’t find that particular LJ to be very interesting, or at least not those specific entries. I would not say that the entries are full of crap, I would say that they are not to my taste. LJs are generally only of interest to one’s friends, or to people who have similar interests. For instance, I belong to a couple of communities. One of those communities focuses on Siamese cats. Now, this wouldn’t interest my husband at all, but I enjoy talking about Siamese cats, I have one of my own, and I enjoy looking at pics of them. So I enjoy that particular community. Similarly, I’m not likely to enjoy LJs which focus on sports events, because I’m not interested in sports events. By searching LJ for people with similar interests, one can find new friends. And new, interesting friends are always good to have. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/9 "2004-01-05T03:49:08Z")
I would add that livejournal’s have a reputation for being, as **sailor** said, full of crap, but also angsty and boring. In general, I would say that’s not too far off the mark. Most of the livejournal’s (or similar journals, like xangas) are just a pile of boredom. Just like the rest of the internet. But again, that’s just my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/10 "2004-01-05T04:40:40Z")
Live Journals are somewhat like MPSIMS, perhaps on steroids, with a light glacé of the Pit. The anonymous forum is all thrashing and frothing that doesn’t seem to mean much, in the end. If you’re here for GQ, it likely won’t hold your interest for long. If you’re here solely for MPSIMS or the Pit, I guess it might be of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/11 "2004-01-05T07:48:44Z")
I’ve seen posts (maybe here?) where people ask for LJ codes. What’s with that? What does the code give you and are they _throw away_ in the sense that it doesn’t cost the donor the use of the code once they’ve given it away? ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-live-journals/222542/12 "2004-01-05T07:56:18Z")
The codes have been done away with. It used to be that you had to have a code to sign up for a free account. A paid user could generate a code every month (iirc). Once a code is used to create an account, it’s worthless.