FAQ
1) I want to leave LJ, but I don't want to lose my journal contents.
Journals can be backed up using ljArchive, or transferred completely to a different site with LJ's achitecture (like InsaneJournal or JournalFen) with LJSec. You can find a guide to backing up your journal at brown_betty's journal here.
2) I'd give up my journal, but I don't want some stranger being able to read and edit all my old entries.
LJSec can be used to delete all entries from a journal without deleting the journal itself:
1) Download and install LJSec. [What do I do with an .msi file?]
2) Launch the program and log in with your LJ account data. Wait for LJSec to access your LJ. This might take a while, depending on the size of your journal.
3) In the menu, choose Selections - Check all, then choose Process - Delete selected posts.
3) I'd give up my journal, but I don't want somebody on LJ using my nick.
You can attach a condition to your offer that you want the new user to pay LJ to change the username. A rename token can be purchased for USD $15, which is a one time only fee, and less expensive than getting a paid account.
4) Can I reclaim my journal if the new user does not honor the agreement?
While the new user will change the account's email address to their own, the email address the account was registered under can't be removed as long as it was validated. You can always have a new password sent to an old address.
5) I'm a Mac/Linux user, and all these fancy Windows backup programs don't work with my OS.
This is a guide to backing up your journal on a Mac OS. Alternately, you can contact the mod and give her access to your journal so she can back it up for you and delete all the entries. She solemnly swears that she will neither wreak havoc on your journal nor give access to a third party.
6) Okay, so how do I go about giving my journal up for adoption?
Make a post to your journal and warn your f-list that you're giving up your journal to somebody else. Wait until people have defriended you.
Optional next steps:
- defriend everybody on your f-list and leave all communities
- get a journal backup
- delete all your entries
- delete your profile
- change your password
Then make a post to this community including:
- a link to the journal you're giving up
- a statement whether or not you want the new user to change the username
Interested people will contact you in a comment. From this point on, it's really between you and the new user. The person taking over your journal should either not have an LJ account, or own a journal created after March 12, 2008. All you need to do is give them your password - preferably via email, or in a screened comment, since this is an open comm.
When you and the new user have come to an agreement, please either delete your entry at basic_journals or edit it with an indication that the journal has been given away before you give the new user your password.
7) Who can adopt old journals?
Anonymouses (read: people without an LJ account) and users who own a journal that was created after March 12, 2008.
8) Will the old user be able to access the journal after I have claimed it?
If the old user was running the account on a validated email address, then they will always be able to have a new password sent to that address. See also FAQ #4 and LJ FAQ #166.
9) I want to adopt a journal. What do I do?
Check the recent posts at the comm for journals that are up for adoption. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that some users will ask you to change the username, which will cost you a one time only fee of USD $15.
When you've found a journal you like, comment to the entry and wait for the user to contact you. From this point on, it's really between you and the other user. All you essentially need from them is the password. If you're adopting a journal from a user who doesn't want you to continue using their name, please purchase a rename token before you do anything else with your new journal.
Depending on whether or not the old user reset their journal to default before they left, you might have to
- defriend the old user's f-list and leave the communitites they were in
- delete their old entries
- delete their profile
In any case, you will have to
- change the e-mail address to your own
- change the password