LJ has at last count, over a million accounts. It is not a fan forum nor set up for fans. The vast majority of journals on my flist (ones I've friended) alone are not fandom related.
Also, everything posted on lj - if it is not locked can be linked to or posted elsewhere. This is far from an insular community and it is hardly private.
I have over 139 people who have friended me. Others on my flist have over 381. They don't know all these people. I certainly don't. I've only met 10 of the people who have friended me. And I'm pretty sure only 10-15 know my real name or much about me. My personal stuff is locked.
So, I hate to break this to you - but yes, everything you post is open to the public unless you lock or filter it. There are people you don't know about lurking and reading.
And publishing a story on livejournal is publishing it for public consumption. You have opened yourself up for critique. If you don't want that? Lock the story and only allow a select group to read it. Then, yes, it is small and select.
I learned this by experience - I posted on Dollhouse, a lengthy meta - which got linked to outside lj and attacked by people outside of lj. While upsetting, I shrugged it off. I had a choice - I could have locked and made friends only. Or filtered. And I've done that with my own fanfic - it is locked, and NOT open to the public. And if posted - on private forums. Not hard to do. But LJ is only private - if you friends lock or filter or hit private. Otherwise it's as open as every other blog on the net. Facebook is the one that you have to friend people and they have to friend you back to read. That's not LJ. My parents, friends, etc can read my posts on lj - if I told them about them. That's one of the many reasons I use a pseudonyme and I rarely post about work. I know it's public and I'm sorry, it's not safe. If you think it is - you are wrong.
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branchandroot
Respectfully Disagree
Date: 2010-07-20 06:05 pm (UTC)Also, everything posted on lj - if it is not locked can be linked to or posted elsewhere. This is far from an insular community and it is hardly private.
I have over 139 people who have friended me. Others on my flist have over 381. They don't know all these people. I certainly don't. I've only met 10 of the people who have friended me. And I'm pretty sure only 10-15 know my real name or much about me. My personal stuff is locked.
So, I hate to break this to you - but yes, everything you post is open to the public unless you lock or filter it. There are people you don't know about lurking and reading.
And publishing a story on livejournal is publishing it for public consumption. You have opened yourself up for critique. If you don't want that? Lock the story and only allow a select group to read it. Then, yes, it is small and select.
I learned this by experience - I posted on Dollhouse, a lengthy meta - which got linked to outside lj and
attacked by people outside of lj. While upsetting, I shrugged it off. I had a choice - I could have locked and made friends only. Or filtered. And I've done that with my own fanfic - it is locked, and NOT open to the public. And if posted - on private forums. Not hard to do. But LJ is only private - if you friends lock or filter or hit private. Otherwise it's as open as every other blog on the net. Facebook is the one that you have to friend people and they have to friend you back to read. That's not LJ. My parents, friends, etc can read my posts on lj - if I told them about them. That's one of the many reasons I use a pseudonyme and I rarely post about work. I know it's public and I'm sorry, it's not safe. If you think it is - you are wrong.