However, part of me also thinks that this is /your/ journal - you shouldn't have to censor yourself on the offchance that a reader doesn't like what you've written.
Yes, it's my journal, and I can say what I want; but I know my friends read it, so effectively I'm talking to my friends -- or at least talking within earshot of them. I'm not going to lie to my friends about what I'm doing, but I also feel I shouldn't go on about stuff that I know is going to upset them. We all censor what we say on a day-to-day basis, to a greater or lesser extent, to avoid causing needless hurt or offence to those we care about; I don't think this is a bad thing per se.
I guess what I'm weighing up is whether it'll do me more harm to not say something than it'll do them if I say it. If you see what I mean. So (for example) while I'd love to gush romantically all over LJ about a certain mutual acquaintance, it doesn't do me any harm not to, and it would almost certainly upset other people if I did.
Is there any way of restricting who is allowed to read specific posts? Asks the woman who only learnt how to use cut tags yesterday...
Yes -- with "friends only" posts. You can define as many different groups of "friends" as you want, and restrict a post to any one (or more? not sure about whether you can let multiple groups read something) of those groups.
(See the FAQ (http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=102) for more details.)
I don't do this, on principle. One of my main problems with it is that I want people who don't have LiveJournal accounts to be able to read my posts as well, and obviously you can only add people into your "friends" groups if they have a LiveJournal account of their own. My other problems with it are more vague, and to do with openness and transparency and STUFF.
(I'm not sure I could explain it satisfactorily; basically let's leave it at "I just don't want to do it, okay?" :-)
no subject
Date: 2003-07-24 07:26 am (UTC)Yes, it's my journal, and I can say what I want; but I know my friends read it, so effectively I'm talking to my friends -- or at least talking within earshot of them. I'm not going to lie to my friends about what I'm doing, but I also feel I shouldn't go on about stuff that I know is going to upset them. We all censor what we say on a day-to-day basis, to a greater or lesser extent, to avoid causing needless hurt or offence to those we care about; I don't think this is a bad thing per se.
I guess what I'm weighing up is whether it'll do me more harm to not say something than it'll do them if I say it. If you see what I mean. So (for example) while I'd love to gush romantically all over LJ about a certain mutual acquaintance, it doesn't do me any harm not to, and it would almost certainly upset other people if I did.
Is there any way of restricting who is allowed to read specific posts? Asks the woman who only learnt how to use cut tags yesterday...
Yes -- with "friends only" posts. You can define as many different groups of "friends" as you want, and restrict a post to any one (or more? not sure about whether you can let multiple groups read something) of those groups.
(See the FAQ (http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=102) for more details.)
I don't do this, on principle. One of my main problems with it is that I want people who don't have LiveJournal accounts to be able to read my posts as well, and obviously you can only add people into your "friends" groups if they have a LiveJournal account of their own. My other problems with it are more vague, and to do with openness and transparency and STUFF.
(I'm not sure I could explain it satisfactorily; basically let's leave it at "I just don't want to do it, okay?" :-)