dw is love
Still trying to convince people to come play at DW. This post ended up less epic than I thought, but hopefully it will still be helpful for some. Feel free to ask me questions!
Why I support Dreamwidth:
+ Diversity Statement. Seriously, take a second to go read it.
+ Guiding Principles.
+ The two above points should illustrate, but let me reiterate: this project is a labor of love. It's not born out of wanting to monetize. It's born out of using sites like LJ and not being totally pleased and wanting to do it better.
+ LJ is a business increasingly removed from its userbase, and in particular, the userbase of which I am a part (fandom). As such, they make boneheaded business-based decisions. They hurt users. They care about our money, and our potential to bring in advertisers, and not about the things we are making or the relationships we are forging. It's possible that you don't care about those things. I do. I'm still way too much of an anarchist to accept what LJ stands for.
+ Even still (anarchist tendencies totally put aside), DW makes it easy to not have to leave LJ. They want you to be happy!
That's a nice segue into the next thing, which is how I use Dreamwidth (without giving up LJ completely, yet), and how you can too:
+ I crosspost most things to LJ. This is easy to set up. Even free users are allowed to set up one outside account. To do this, go to Account Settings, then to Other Sites. Click Add New Account and follow the directions there. You can set up to crosspost by default, if you want. (I don't because I like to decide on a case by case basis if I want to crosspost or not.) Crossposting is super easy, too. You just click the little check box when you write your entry, then input your LJ password, and it takes care of it for you!
+ Once you set up to crosspost, you can add a footer to your LJ posts, which links back to your DW, or says basically anything you want. This is a good way to let people know you have a DW, in case they want to find you over there.
+ If you add people who also crosspost to LJ, you can maintain your relationship over there without having to read the same posts twice. By setting up a default view friends group at LJ, you can choose not to have certain users appear on your flist, though you are still friends with them. This FAQ details how to set it up. If that's confusing, you can also ask me and I will run you through the process.
+ These days, here is what my posting and reading process look like: I post at DW, and usually use the crosspost feature so that the entries also show up at LJ. I read my DW circle first (I like to call it my "droll" because it's funny. Maybe only to me). Then I read my LJ flist, if I have time. Generally I don't miss anything, and I still interact with lots of people at LJ. I haven't lost touch with any of my friends, and I have a crapton of new ones as well.
+ Layouts! LJ has all the coolest layout makers, it's true. But you can use them on DW too. I used this tutorial to set up my Flexible Squares layout, and then I referred to this tutorial to fix some little bugs. Again, I can help you through the process if you have questions.
+ Other cool DW things: the Latest Things page is one of my favorite boredom killers. Follow Friday will help you find people to subscribe to. Anyone can create RSS feeds.
dw_suggestions lets you get in on the process.
+ ETA: I forgot to mention importing! You can import basically everything from your personal LJ to DW for archiving purposes. To do this, go to Organize, then to Import Content. Follow the instructions there. (The only thing you cannot currently do is import your LJ flist in a way that allows you to read it on DW. However, there is a feature that does this in the works. Because DW is the awesome-est.)
damned_colonial has a guide on how to make friends on DW.
I have 10 DW invites up for grabs, if anyone wants one!
Also, as I said, I am available to answer any questions (as much as I can), and to walk you through set up stuff if you have questions or problems.
Why I support Dreamwidth:
+ Diversity Statement. Seriously, take a second to go read it.
+ Guiding Principles.
+ The two above points should illustrate, but let me reiterate: this project is a labor of love. It's not born out of wanting to monetize. It's born out of using sites like LJ and not being totally pleased and wanting to do it better.
+ LJ is a business increasingly removed from its userbase, and in particular, the userbase of which I am a part (fandom). As such, they make boneheaded business-based decisions. They hurt users. They care about our money, and our potential to bring in advertisers, and not about the things we are making or the relationships we are forging. It's possible that you don't care about those things. I do. I'm still way too much of an anarchist to accept what LJ stands for.
+ Even still (anarchist tendencies totally put aside), DW makes it easy to not have to leave LJ. They want you to be happy!
That's a nice segue into the next thing, which is how I use Dreamwidth (without giving up LJ completely, yet), and how you can too:
+ I crosspost most things to LJ. This is easy to set up. Even free users are allowed to set up one outside account. To do this, go to Account Settings, then to Other Sites. Click Add New Account and follow the directions there. You can set up to crosspost by default, if you want. (I don't because I like to decide on a case by case basis if I want to crosspost or not.) Crossposting is super easy, too. You just click the little check box when you write your entry, then input your LJ password, and it takes care of it for you!
+ Once you set up to crosspost, you can add a footer to your LJ posts, which links back to your DW, or says basically anything you want. This is a good way to let people know you have a DW, in case they want to find you over there.
+ If you add people who also crosspost to LJ, you can maintain your relationship over there without having to read the same posts twice. By setting up a default view friends group at LJ, you can choose not to have certain users appear on your flist, though you are still friends with them. This FAQ details how to set it up. If that's confusing, you can also ask me and I will run you through the process.
+ These days, here is what my posting and reading process look like: I post at DW, and usually use the crosspost feature so that the entries also show up at LJ. I read my DW circle first (I like to call it my "droll" because it's funny. Maybe only to me). Then I read my LJ flist, if I have time. Generally I don't miss anything, and I still interact with lots of people at LJ. I haven't lost touch with any of my friends, and I have a crapton of new ones as well.
+ Layouts! LJ has all the coolest layout makers, it's true. But you can use them on DW too. I used this tutorial to set up my Flexible Squares layout, and then I referred to this tutorial to fix some little bugs. Again, I can help you through the process if you have questions.
+ Other cool DW things: the Latest Things page is one of my favorite boredom killers. Follow Friday will help you find people to subscribe to. Anyone can create RSS feeds.
dw_suggestions lets you get in on the process.
+ ETA: I forgot to mention importing! You can import basically everything from your personal LJ to DW for archiving purposes. To do this, go to Organize, then to Import Content. Follow the instructions there. (The only thing you cannot currently do is import your LJ flist in a way that allows you to read it on DW. However, there is a feature that does this in the works. Because DW is the awesome-est.)
damned_colonial has a guide on how to make friends on DW.
I have 10 DW invites up for grabs, if anyone wants one!
Also, as I said, I am available to answer any questions (as much as I can), and to walk you through set up stuff if you have questions or problems.