LJ vs. DW

[elisi]

What with the LJ outage yesterday, a small LJ vs. DW debate started up in my DW.

Now, no one can deny that DW has better customer service, listens to its users, and doesn’t screw people over the way LJ does. DW is very nice, and I find it useful as a backup. But I can’t ever see myself moving there for good.

And what I realised, when trying to explain why I’d rather stay with ‘the bad boy’, is that the difference is like Community:

LJ is Greendale. It might be rundown, and the teaching staff might be peculiar and rude and disinterested in teaching, and the facilities might leave a lot to be desired, and random bouts of anarchy are par for the course. But it has character, and I have a long, and very personal, history here. It helped shape who I am, gave me friends and shared experiences I can’t imagine my life without.

So – City College (DW) might be nicer and shinier and better equipped. But I’ll stay with the blanket forts and the chicken fingers and the paint balling and the insane Spanish teacher and the fire alarms that are just painted on.

YMMV of course.

(See I feel bad about coming across as putting down DW, and am quite happy to bitch about LJ anytime and anywhere. Which - if I think about it - means that LJ is home, and family, and DW is... the place I feel I ought to like more than I do. And 'ought' is not a good motivation.)

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I must have missed that you've seen Community! ::Abed/Troy special handshake::

[yourlibrarian]

I do know that you really enjoy Ta-Nehisi Coates' work and thought you might find this behind the scenes interesting: http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/09/how-the-atlantic-built-a-big-online-splash-around-its-ta-nehisi-coates-cover-story

[gillo]

Your post on LJ made me come here to back up my LJ. My reading page here is so similar to my flist there that I can't imagine coming here to read it!

[elisi]

I should back up mine too...

And my flist here is like my LJ one. Just with far fewer people.

[promethia_tenk]

I'm just happy any time you come visit.

Though I counter your comparison by pointing out that Owls is over here *g*

[kaffy_r]

*nods in agreement*

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, DW is a very "ought" sort of place. It's better, and yet... I feel kind of off. Like I have to be on best behavior. Hard to really explain. I have one, but it's more a backup than anything else.

[elisi]

Yeah, DW is a very "ought" sort of place. It's better, and yet... I feel kind of off. Like I have to be on best behavior. Hard to really explain.
Same here. Which is why I tried - am glad it's not just me. :)

I have one, but it's more a backup than anything else.
Same here. It's useful, but I sorta wish Insane Journal had become the popular back-up choice...

[shapinglight]

Let's leave the whole LJ/DW which is better debate aside and just all agree we hate Tumblr. ;)

[elisi]

That goes without saying, surely! ;)

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"LJ is Greendale. It might be rundown, and the teaching staff might be peculiar and rude and disinterested in teaching, and the facilities might leave a lot to be desired, and random bouts of anarchy are par for the course. But it has character, and I have a long, and very personal, history here. It helped shape who I am, gave me friends and shared experiences I can’t imagine my life without."

Exactly. You and me both. :D

[elisi]

And you are definitely one of those people! ♥

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

DW is very nice, and I find it useful as a backup. But I can’t ever see myself moving there for good.

You and me both.

Oh, and I just love the Community parallels that you used :)

[elisi]

Oh, and I just love the Community parallels that you used :)
It just struck me as entirely too apt! :)

[hobbituk.livejournal.com]

There was an outage???  I have  a DW account but rarely if ever use it.  Most of the things lj does that piss people off don't really bother me....

[elisi]

There was an outage???
Only for a couple of hours, and I only knew because I came home from work early. But yes - a proper outage. Felt like old times...

I have a DW account but rarely if ever use it. Most of the things lj does that piss people off don't really bother me....
Well, I reverted back to the old style, and now things are fine! Also - hello. I'm sorry I'm so useless as commenting, but I *do* read.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Can't say I noticed an outage yesterday - it must have been brief!

But I think you have summed up exactly the way I feel about them both, too.

[elisi]

It was very brief - it's only because I came home from work early that I caught it.

And I was so pleased with the metaphor that I had to make a post. Am thrilled that other people feel the same way. (Not that I have anything against DW, I hasten to add. But...)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Lol! Good analogy, actually.

[elisi]

Thank you. :) (And if I made people laugh, all the better!)

[thisbluespirit]

I think I was also mean enough yesterday, and there are a lot of sweet people on Dreamwidth, and I'm all for people choosing the best site for them, whichever that is, and I appreciate its ability to crosspost and mesh with LJ so that we didn't lose everybody.

But LJ has some advantages DReamwidth doesn't and the constant, unbearable assumption of some Dreamwidth users (nobody on I know well, I hasten to add, but I see them about round comms) that everybody will prefer Dreamwidth, that nobody could like or easily use LJ, that all comm activity should switch over there on demand, and that LJ is basically evil and only terrible people use it has just brought out a sort of knee-jerk flinch every time the topic comes out. Because... I like it here. My comms are here! My flisters are here! And I don't want to lose everybody and everything to this ridiculous assumption that Dreamwidth is always the best for everyone and everything at every time, when it simply isn't, any more than anything else. All websites have their ups and downs and will suit some users more than others. It all depends exactly what we want to use them for and how and that varies to an almost infinite degree!

Also for a site that only exists because of LJ and its software, it's more than a bit ironic.

[elisi]

there are a lot of sweet people on Dreamwidth, and I'm all for people choosing the best site for them, whichever that is, and I appreciate its ability to crosspost and mesh with LJ so that we didn't lose everybody.
This is all very true.

But LJ has some advantages DReamwidth doesn't and the constant, unbearable assumption of some Dreamwidth users [...] has just brought out a sort of knee-jerk flinch every time the topic comes out.
Uh-huh.

Because... I like it here. My comms are here! My flisters are here! And I don't want to lose everybody and everything to this ridiculous assumption that Dreamwidth is always the best for everyone and everything at every time, when it simply isn't always.
Yeah, DW just... doesn't have what I'm interested in. I.e. my flist. It has SOME of it, but...

Also for a site that only exists because of LJ and its software, it's more than a bit ironic.
Also, what's wrong with InsaneJournal? (Actually, I'm not sure it'll let people cross-post.) But - I have a stupid fondness for InsaneJournal. It's the only one that wishes me happy birthday every year.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Ah, you just explained it for me ... That's how I feel.

[elisi]

::is pleased::

I was so happy when I worked it out, so I felt I had to share.

[fishsanwitt]

I agree with you :)

LJ *is* home, messy though it is at times.

[elisi]

And home is where the heart is... (mess and all) ♥

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Well, DW is all very well and good except that I don't get notifications of comments over there, and the very nice people haven't been able to fix that. Knowing when people are talking to me is pretty crucial, you know? The problem seemed to crop up after I let my paid account lapse, which I initially thought might be a mean trick on their part, but it's just some weird dark hole thing, nothing personal.

Even when I did get notifications, I didn't feel the same amount of community over there (and I don't mean "Community", just the small "c" kind.

Paid accounts are more expensive on DW, just sayin'.

[elisi]

Well, DW is all very well and good except that I don't get notifications of comments over there, and the very nice people haven't been able to fix that.
Huh.

Knowing when people are talking to me is pretty crucial, you know? The problem seemed to crop up after I let my paid account lapse, which I initially thought might be a mean trick on their part, but it's just some weird dark hole thing, nothing personal.
Well, at least I suppose that's something. Although it still doesn't solve the problem...

Even when I did get notifications, I didn't feel the same amount of community over there (and I don't mean "Community", just the small "c" kind.
*nods* I think there are pockets, but they're quiet specific.

Paid accounts are more expensive on DW, just sayin'.
I've never had one, as I most definitely can't afford BOTH. And I NEED my paid LJ account...

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

I also use DW as a backup, as I would be quite sad to lose all my action figure pictures, convention reports and other things that took work, if LJ ever should go dead one day. You never know.

There is one huge difference though: If I am at vacation, I can read back all the LJ entries till the day where I started. On DW, they are not displayed after a certain time. I don't read there much often (as the few friends I have that post there post on LJ as well) but it always bothers me that I cannot read entries that are more than 14 days old.

Everyone complains about Facebook, yet everyone keeps staying there... including me. As we now also have a community - Torchwood group, John Barrowman group, Sixth Scale universe group. But there is so much wrong with FB filtering entries and you only see half of what your friends post, if you are lucky. I hate that. LJ still is my main journal, I write in here first and then post to all my other pages.

[elisi]

I also use DW as a backup, as I would be quite sad to lose all my action figure pictures, convention reports and other things that took work, if LJ ever should go dead one day. You never know.
This. Or you could be hacked - it happened to copperbadge, and as DW will copy everything, comments included, it's good to have.

There is one huge difference though: If I am at vacation, I can read back all the LJ entries till the day where I started. On DW, they are not displayed after a certain time. I don't read there much often (as the few friends I have that post there post on LJ as well) but it always bothers me that I cannot read entries that are more than 14 days old.
Really? How odd. I've never tried, but that's just weird.

But there is so much wrong with FB filtering entries and you only see half of what your friends post, if you are lucky.
I don't have one, but Darcy does, and it just seems... awkward.

LJ still is my main journal, I write in here first and then post to all my other pages.
Me too. :)

[minim_calibre]

I use and read both, and most of the Who activity I track is over here. I crosspost, allow commenting on both, and love to follow people on both because more comments to read tends to mean more and more varied discussion of the same topic.

That said, DW has one big advantage, which is that none of the non-fandom friends from LJ are on it, so I feel more comfortable just access locking and not crossposting real life complaints.

I think they're really both Greendale, just split into blanket fort sides, and Tumblr's City College.

[elisi]

I use and read both, and most of the Who activity I track is over here. I crosspost, allow commenting on both, and love to follow people on both because more comments to read tends to mean more and more varied discussion of the same topic.
Oh yes, more discussion is always good! Although I do like to have everyone in the same place, so they interact.

That said, DW has one big advantage, which is that none of the non-fandom friends from LJ are on it, so I feel more comfortable just access locking and not crossposting real life complaints.
Heh. My flists tend to overlap - although the DW one is a lot smaller - so that wouldn't be an issue. Also I very rarely post about RL. Mind you, I can definitely see the advantage.

I think they're really both Greendale, just split into blanket fort sides, and Tumblr's City College.
Hmmm. No, because one side went and set up their own college. Tumblr is more like the guys who invented MeowMeowBeens.

[kathyh]

I feel the same way about DW. I have one but really only for backup. Too much of my life is on Lj even though I'm reading more than posting at the moment.

It's Tumblr that really gives me a migraine :)

[elisi]

I feel the same way about DW. I have one but really only for backup. Too much of my life is on Lj even though I'm reading more than posting at the moment.
Yeah, that's me too. I am useless at commenting, but I always read my flist.

It's Tumblr that really gives me a migraine :)
I didn't even mention that one. (Tumblr is High School.)

[gillo]

I feel pretty much the same. DW feels 'empty', somehow, while LJ has a much stronger sense of community - none of the comms I joined over there really seem to be active, which is ironic as part of the DW mission statement was always to be more fandom-friendly.

BTW, I have just started watching Community and love it, but to me Greendale is and always will be a charming Northern valley served by a genial postman and his black and white cat. I can't be the only one, surely?

[elisi]

I feel pretty much the same. DW feels 'empty', somehow, while LJ has a much stronger sense of community - none of the comms I joined over there really seem to be active, which is ironic as part of the DW mission statement was always to be more fandom-friendly.
I'm sure there *are* active comms, but I don't know which ones...

BTW, I have just started watching Community and love it, but to me Greendale is and always will be a charming Northern valley served by a genial postman and his black and white cat. I can't be the only one, surely?
LOL. Community is wonderful (we're still in the middle of S5, as we don't want to run out), and I have quite successfully managed some doublethink when it comes to Greendale.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I 'm on DW, but no one else appears to be posting there, so I stopped. Have more followers and readers here.

(shrugs)

[elisi]

I like that I have a backup, but it's far too quiet.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I legit want to move to DW, but no one will come with me, so I guess we're all stuck here!!

(Btw, how is Community treating you???)

[promethia_tenk]

Admittedly I say this as someone who disrupts her own technological existence on a semi-regular basis just for the fun of it, but once you've gotten past the fiddly-ness of getting yourself set up, living the split life between the two sites is genuinely not difficult. I spend very little time anymore thinking about which site I'm on, but DW is my primary portal.

It does look a bit like a jump into an abyss when you start, but you can go in stages, and you'll probably be surprised by how much of your digital life you can move over and even who decides to follow you.

/devil on your shoulder

[geekslave.livejournal.com]

Great analogy. I feel pretty much the same way.

Stacey

[elisi]

Clearly we are not alone - so many comments! :)

[arcanetrivia]

DW for me, and I have two paid accounts, but mainly as a matter of stubbornness, I think. (Possibly influenced by having met Denise and Mark at a local meetup about 6 years ago.) They've never managed the momentum that LJ had and so especially for fandom - even large fandoms like Harry Potter - activity is just so... not there. Le sad.

[elisi]

DW for me, and I have two paid accounts, but mainly as a matter of stubbornness, I think. (Possibly influenced by having met Denise and Mark at a local meetup about 6 years ago.)
!!! Well they seem like lovely people - I just never had that personal connection.

They've never managed the momentum that LJ had and so especially for fandom - even large fandoms like Harry Potter - activity is just so... not there. Le sad.
Well, Tumblr stole fandom. And it treats people even worse than LJ. Here's to hoping everyone comes back.

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

So when people say they use DW for a back-up does that mean I should be doing the same? I have been with LJ forever and I have lots of writing that I try to copy to flash drives but I know I haven't got it all, should I worry about LJ just disappearing? I am a dinosaur myself, too old to change to any great degree.

LJ does weird stuff sometimes to make me scared.

[promethia_tenk]

I seriously doubt LJ would just go poof sometime without warning, but if you're looking for a relatively simple way to archive all your stuff (including comments) its a good solution, even if you never use DW for anything else.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I feel similarly, I'm happiest on LJ because it feels like this is where I've build up my flist, this is where the communities are (although that's less true these days sadly). And the people who moved to DW did seem very elitist about at first, there was a default assumption that everyone is unhappy with LJ, those of us who are remaining are just too lazy to pick ourselves up and move over to DW. Whenthat just isn't the case for me, there were occasions when LJ did something that I grumbled about of course, but a lot of the time I felt like people were making a bigger deal of an issue that they needed too, LJ has never upset me enough that I have ever felt the need to threaten to leave :shrugs:

[elisi]

I feel similarly, I'm happiest on LJ because it feels like this is where I've build up my flist, this is where the communities are (although that's less true these days sadly).
Tumblr stole fandom. >:(

And the people who moved to DW did seem very elitist about at first, there was a default assumption that everyone is unhappy with LJ, those of us who are remaining are just too lazy to pick ourselves up and move over to DW.
Yeah, this. That sort of 'Why haven't you moved, DW is so much better!' (Except I have never found a layout I like, f.ex. And I've had my DW for 6 years...)

Whenthat just isn't the case for me, there were occasions when LJ did something that I grumbled about of course, but a lot of the time I felt like people were making a bigger deal of an issue that they needed too, LJ has never upset me enough that I have ever felt the need to threaten to leave :shrugs:
Same here. DW is... like moving to the countryside. And it's all very nice, but I like to have a corner shop and more than 3 neighbours. ;)

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

Do yo know by any chance how I could add my flag counter to DW? I cannot find the field the HTML code is supposed to go into. I'd just like to know how many people indeed read this page. I guess it's way too late now anyway, but I gave up frustated.

[elisi]

The short answer is no. I'm... not good with coding, sorry.