How to LJ
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Live Journal does take some getting used to; most of us have friends who are already here who will help us make sense of all the little posting tricks. I had help (thanks, castalie!), and have helped others. Now, I'm making a permanent post; then I can link it whenever a newbie needs the information.
If you've been lurking (many people do before they get their own account), you may know some of this stuff. Bear with me and just skip over those parts.
(PS - I hereby give permission for anyone to link to this post, or to copy for their use, or for their friends. Whatever; knowledge is to be shared.)
So -
Howdy!
Welcome to LJ.
ALL ABOUT "FRIENDS"
It is possible to tell the Live Journal program that the user of another Live Journal is your 'friend'. LJ will then put every new post that your friends make on your 'Friends Page', also known as 'Friends List' or 'Flist'.
If you find someone you're interested in reading regularly, it is NOT necessary to tell him or her that you've friended them. All of us realize that, to a large extent, our posts are public information; anyone who surfs by can be a potential reader. However, many people make a "Hi, I've friended you" comment, just for politeness' sake. If someone friends you, it is NOT necessary to friend the other person back. However, if you wish to, you can assume that they won't mind, since they already friended you.
Once you have friended someone (or several someones), LJ allows you to scan down and see what everyone is talking about, by clicking one link. Here's how to set it up --
Say you're reading the post of someone you'd like to 'visit' again. (For convenience, let's call this someone 'Rusty'.)
(1) Click on Rusty's "user name". (This is at the top of the post, colored and bolded, so you can tell it's linked.) That will take you to Rusty's LJ page. (If you're already in Rusty's LJ, skip this step.) Read down the page to see past posts, and decide whether or not you really want to friend this person.
(2) Somewhere on the page (top or side, depending on layout), you will see the heading "User Info". Click on that to get to the "introductory" (User Info) page of Rusty's LJ.
Shortcut: (Thanks to ponderslife) See that little icon to the left of everyone's name? It leads to their user info page (this works for community user pages too, which often include posting guidelines)
(3) On that introductory page, you will see whatever general information about Rusty that he/she chooses to share. At the top will be Rusty's name, bolded and linked. Just above that is a small box with four symbols in it -- plus sign, page, heart, magnifying glass.
(4) Click on the 'plus sign' to "friend" Rusty. This will bring you to a page where you just click the button to add Rusty to your Friends' List. HowEVER, scroll down a bit, first, and select a color. That color will be associated with Rusty's posts, either as a sidebar or as a background (depending on your journal layout). The color blocks make it easier to see where one friend's post ends and another begins. (Depending on the layout of your friends' page.)
(5) At the top of the "reading" page in your own journal, you'll see the headings -- Recent Entries, Archive, Friends, User Info. Just click on 'Friends' and you'll be reading all your friends' most recent posts.
6) If you've friended someone, their journal will be in your format when you read your friends page. But occasionally, while you're still deciding whether to friend, you'll find a post on a journal that is difficult to read because of that user's choices in formatting (for example, red text on black background -- ouch, my eyes!). Type "?style=mine" at the end of the URL; the post will then display in your journal style. (Thanks to ponderslife for the tip.)
HOW TO MAKE LINKS
NOTE: for all links, once you get to the = symbol, there are NO spaces. There may or may not be spaces before you get to =. Also, curly quotes won't work; if you're typing in Word, save to text, then copy that into the LJ interface.
NOTE: Usually < and > around a string of symbols will not show in LJ; this post is full of them. However, they're showing in this section because I've learned that & l t ; makes < show up, and & g t ; makes > show up. (IF you take out the spaces between the four letters/ symbols.) Now you can copy the code, save it in Word or Text, then insert your own information in the necessary places. Copy back to LJ, and your coding is easier. You'll soon learn to do it automatically, but this can help get you through the learning phase.
NOTE: The links you see in this section will not work because they're not really coded; I'm using HTML magic. In other words, if you see < and >, the link is not "live". If you see something bolded and /or underlined, in a different color, that's probably a live link.
= = = = =
LJ uses codes to produce links. You can link another LJer's name --
starwatcher307 or sentinel_thurs When you use this, the reader will not see the code, but the name will be bolded and linked; readers will be able to click and go to the linked LJ.
= = = = =
If you're making a very long post, it is considered polite to use a cut-tag, especially if you include pictures. People will read your introductory thoughts, then click to read the full post --
Introductory thoughts, explanation, or "teaser" for the post.
Your complete post
Final thoughts if you want to add them, which will show on the "front page".
= = = = =
If you wish to link a particular URL, there are two ways. Simply copy the URL (highlight, hit Ctrl-C to copy) when you're at the site, and put it in your post (hit Ctrl-V to paste). Or, you can make a linked title that will take you to the same place with this code --
Word or sentence you want to be linked (Like - Click to visit my story)
HOW TO MAKE ITALICS, BOLD, and OTHER EFFECTS
You may have seen that other LJ users can make italics, bold, etc. If you already know HTML code, you know this part. If not, read on --
HTML code always starts with <*> (open the code) and ends with (close the code). These are known as 'tags'. What you put in between the tag-symbols tells the computer what to do. The insert may be a single letter, or a string of characters. LJ will not print the tags, but it will make changes to the word or phrase that's between the tags. The most commonly-used tags are:
Italics
Underline
Bold
Strike Through
Center (I didn't center this because it messes up my neat formatting. But it's useful for story titles, large exclamatory messages, etc. - like the heading of this post.)
Temporarily decreases size of font; often used in posts or comments to convey a whisper, or embarrassment, or furtive side-glances. (Whatever emotion is appropriate.) It seems to be relative to the font size currently in use, and is approximately one font-size smaller, but is easier/quicker to type. Thanks to beachkid for the tip.
Temporarily increases size of font; apparently relative to the font size currently in use, and approximately one font-size larger. Again, my thanks to beachkid.
Notice that the initial or the word can be the code -- we need all the 'memory cues' we can get. LJ and HTML don't care if the tags are caps or small letters; either one works.
When typing, you will put the relevant code around the word or phrase without any extra spacing. It looks messy; you'll have to pretend it's not there and read 'between the tags'. Remember -- using "Preview" will help you be sure that you got it right.
It's possible to combine the codes. Just put the tags next to each other, and reverse the order when you use the close-tags. Eg. Bold Italics
FONT SIZES AND COLORS
With the proper tags, you can manipulate size and color of font. The change can be temporary (for a heading, or a section), or sustained for an entire post.
Fonts range in size from minus 2 to plus 4. The code is and . So, looks like this, and looks like this. The close-tag does not use the entire code, just . Again, use preview to ensure that you have it correct.
A few selected colors will show up with just the given color-name. The code is and . Useable colors are: red pink dark pink magenta dark magenta violet dark violet purple blue dark blue light blue teal cyan dark cyan turquoise green dark green light green yellow gold orange dark orange tan brown silver dark gray gray
Remember the "no spaces after =" rule. Dark blue is coded 'darkblue', light green is coded "lightgreen", etc.
MEMORIES
You're surfing LJ, maybe visiting a friend of a friend or following a link, and you come across a truly excellent post, one that you'd like to save and revisit later. You can do that by putting it in the "Memories" section of your LJ.
At the top of every post-page is a small red heart. Click on that, and you'll go to your "Add a Memory" page. Type in a title (if the post-title doesn't indicate its contents), and give it a "keyword". The memories will be sorted by keywords, such as "Humor", "Life Lessons", "School"... whatever you want to save.
Later, to access your Memories, go to your User Info Page. Click on the little red heart at the top of the page, OR on the "Memories" link just above your listed "Interests". You'll be taken to a list of your Memories headings; click on each link to see the posts that you saved under that heading. (eg. I have six posts under "Rural Life".)
It's also fun to visit the Memories section of your friends, or authors you admire. If they thought someone else's post was inspiring or funny, or whatever, you might like it, too - and maybe even save it in your own memories. I've found some truly excellent posts by "memory surfing". Go to the person's user information or profile page, where you should find the person's current main icon, with information beside it, such as "1,051 Journal Entries, 93 Tags, 572 Memories, 3,200+ ScrapBook Files, 21 Virtual Gifts, 75 Userpics". Each of those words is a link; click on "Memories" to see that person's list.
If the link takes you off LJ (IE, there is not an automatic memory feature available), simply copy the URL, then make a post in your own LJ. Explain what the URL leads to, and paste the link. Then you can save your own post to Memories, and you'll always have the link available.
ACCESSING THE ARCHIVE
If you've newly joined a discussion community, you may enjoy going back to read past posts. (In Sentinel fandom, it's ts_talk. I'm sure other fandoms have similar communities, but I don't know them; sorry.) You can click on the link to "Previous 20 Entries" or "Back 30 Entries" (or whatever number/title the community moderator has chosen). And then click to go farther back, and click, and click, and...
There's an easier way -- go to the archive. Past posts can be labeled 'Archive' or 'Calendar', depending on the journal style. In the case of TS_Talk, in the upper right corner, click on 'My Calendar'.
You'll get a page of 'calendar pages', with little bolded numbers in the calendar spaces if a post was made that day. Click on one of those to read the post. To find specific type posts more easily (like episode discussions), click on the 'View Subjects' under each calendar month. You'll get a list of all the posts made. Be sure to click on the title, and not the person's user name (with the little head next to it). The title leads to the post; the name leads to the person's journal.
If you want the previous year, there's a tiny '2004' in the upper right corner of the calendar-view page. (And soon there'll be a '2005'. *g* Click on one to see that year's posts, and follow the above routine.
WHAT DO THOSE WORDS MEAN?
LJ, as any cyber community, has developed a number of terms that are confusing to those not in the know. I know some of them; I'm sure my friends will remind me of others that I can add later.
ETA - "Edited to Add".
GIP - "Gratuitous Icon Post". Pointing out that the post is only to show off a new icon.
Meme - To my surprise, this is an actual word, although I never heard of it before I joined LJ. Think of it as an "idea that spreads like a virus". Like a virus, memes are passed on from one LJ user to another, and generally run their course rather quickly. *g* They generally involve visiting another page to find out, for example, which character in Battlestar Galactica you are most like, or pasting questions and answers in your own journal about... whatever. Memes are, of course, NOT obligatory.
Gakked - I haven't seen any explanation of the origins of this term. It means "copied" or "borrowed", usually in reference to a meme. However, I'm seeing it less often; people seem to prefer less-awkward English terms or slang. In TS fandom, some use "Blaired" or "Blimmed" (Blair-Jim) to convey the same idea. I've seen the custom of turning a character's name into a verb meaning "copied" creeping into a couple of other fandoms, too; I expect it'll spread.
EDITING PAST ENTRIES
There will be times when you need to edit previous entries, to fix an error, or to add something you left out. It's not difficult --
Go to your user page. At the bottom, there are several links. Click on "Site Map". Voila! A whole bunch of links, including "Edit your entries". Click and you're right there. Click to edit the most recent entry, one of the past 20, or enter the exact date of the relevant post.
Some LJ layouts have an "edit entry" link (a little pencil) on each entry if you're in the 'read comments' view; this will be available if you're signed in. It makes life so much easier. (Thanks to calic0cat for this reminder.)
POSTING LIMIT
After some personal research, described in detail in this post, I learned that the LJ posting limit is
52,670 characters.
Word counts will differ; in my test sample, it was 11,333 words. About 22 pages if the page has 1-inch margins all around, Times New Roman font 12.
However, that will vary according to how much "extra" formatting there is in the post. If there are lots of italics, bold, or underline, LJ counts each of those <, /, I, and >, and your word count will be much smaller, although the character count will fit the limit.
(stasha2g tells us that the posting limit is exactly 64 KB, or 65,535 bytes. She also pointed out that Word may not count everything that the posting interface recognizes. But, using the Word character-count is at least a place to start, because one byte does not necessarily equal one character.)
So, all you authors who want to post a long story, now you know what to look for. Go to, say, page 20 in your copy, find a convenient scene break. Highlight from there to the top of the document (shift-control-home) and have Word check the number of characters in the highlighted section (tools - word count). Only 40,000 characters? Go to the next scene break and check it again. Whoops! Now it's 54,000 characters, which is too big.
Decision time - break at a natural scene break, but with fewer words (which will require maybe one or two more posts for the whole story), or pack as many words into each post as you can, breaking in the middle of a scene if necessary? That's totally up to you, but now you can figure it out before you start the posting process, and avoid the repetition of LJ telling you, "Post too large".
CUSTOMIZE YOUR LIVE JOURNAL
Changing the look of your LJ page is fun, but can be time-consuming trial and error before you're satisfied; give yourself an hour or so to "play". When you run out of time, change back to where you were before. The edits you made in your "trial new page" will wait for you; you can pick up later where you left off.
1. Go to your User Info page.
2. At the bottom of the page are several small links. Click on 'site map'.
3. On the site map, click on "Customize Your Journal", about halfway down the left column.
TIP: Open a second browser window (by clicking on your Internet icon). Go to your LJ page. Now you'll toggle back and forth between the "customization" page and "your LJ" page. On the customization page, after you've made some trial edits -- and saved them -- go to the other window and refresh your page. You can quickly see what your changed page would look like, then make more edit changes, or go back and try a new layout
4. Select your style system, depending on your preferences. I believe that only S2 supports links (and not all layouts do). But I've read that S1 is more flexible for unpaid accounts. You'll just have to check each, experiment, and have fun.
5. Select a new layout. There are previews, but they don't really give you the true feel. It's easier to click a new layout name, click 'Change', then refresh your page in the other window and see if you like the look. When you find one you like, continue playing.
6. Select a theme (color scheme). Here, the previews give you a fair idea; select the one closest to what you'd like to have; you can do more customization later.
7. Click on 'Change Individual Settings', then 'Edit Customizations'. Depending on your layout, you have the option of setting font, colors, position of some items on the page, color, and various other specifications. After each section is edited, save those changes, then refresh your page in the other window to see if you're satisfied with the result.
NOTE ON CHANGING COLORS: For each item of the page, you can check 'Override default'. Then a 'Choose...' button will appear. Clicking on that will take you to a gradient color palette; click somewhere on the palette to select the color you want.
If you want more specific control of your color choices, check this page of "Non-Dithering Colors". Here you'll find a table of 216 colors - and the codes to make them - that (supposedly) will always look the same no matter website they're on. For my page, I selected three or four colors that I liked, copied the codes, then just played with combinations - background, sidebars, header bars, etc. - until I was satisfied.
And that's all I know about customization. You can do more, but you'll have to ask someone more knowledgeable than I.
PRIVACY
In general, the posts in LJ are visible to anyone on the web who knows how to look. But it is possible to restrict access to yourself, or a few selected people. This is known as "locking" a post, or "flocking" (friends-locking) if your friends are allowed to read it.
At the bottom of your "Update your Journal" page, just under the text-box, you'll find several options. Use the drop-down menu under "Privacy" to select
"Public" (anybody can read),
"Private" (only you can read),
"Friends" (only those you have friended can read), or
"Custom" (only certain Friends can read, if you've set up filters).
NOTE: People who just read your LJ (your "Friend of" list) cannot see your friends-locked posts. YOU have to have friended THEM, for them to be able to read the flocked (friends-locked) posts.
NOTE: Even though you've set Privacy, you'll be able to see the post on the flist (friends list) of people who shouldn't have access. This is freaky the first few times, but they can't see it! It's a feature of LJ and your computer recognizing you as "you" when you're logged in. And sometimes, when you're not logged in. If you want to test it yourself, make an innocuous private post, then ask a couple of friends if they can see it.
USING A CLIENT
Now that you've read all about LJ codes, you may want to download a client. I don't use a client but, according to dolimir_k, downloading a client makes posting entries waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easy. She gives this link - http://www.livejournal.com/download/?platform=Windows - and "highly recommends Semagic." I know nothing about it. (I peeked once, and fled in terror; besides I like doing things for myself.) However, I believe that more LJers use a client than don't use a client, so there must be something to it. Ask around; someone is sure to give you the straight scoop. And, if anyone wants to give me extra info in the comments, I'll add it to this top post, so that others can see it.
And that's it for this post. I have other tips on making LJ work for you in THESE POSTS.
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Live Journal does take some getting used to; most of us have friends who are already here who will help us make sense of all the little posting tricks. I had help (thanks, castalie!), and have helped others. Now, I'm making a permanent post; then I can link it whenever a newbie needs the information.
If you've been lurking (many people do before they get their own account), you may know some of this stuff. Bear with me and just skip over those parts.
(PS - I hereby give permission for anyone to link to this post, or to copy for their use, or for their friends. Whatever; knowledge is to be shared.)
So -
Howdy!
Welcome to LJ.
ALL ABOUT "FRIENDS"
It is possible to tell the Live Journal program that the user of another Live Journal is your 'friend'. LJ will then put every new post that your friends make on your 'Friends Page', also known as 'Friends List' or 'Flist'.
If you find someone you're interested in reading regularly, it is NOT necessary to tell him or her that you've friended them. All of us realize that, to a large extent, our posts are public information; anyone who surfs by can be a potential reader. However, many people make a "Hi, I've friended you" comment, just for politeness' sake. If someone friends you, it is NOT necessary to friend the other person back. However, if you wish to, you can assume that they won't mind, since they already friended you.
Once you have friended someone (or several someones), LJ allows you to scan down and see what everyone is talking about, by clicking one link. Here's how to set it up --
Say you're reading the post of someone you'd like to 'visit' again. (For convenience, let's call this someone 'Rusty'.)
(1) Click on Rusty's "user name". (This is at the top of the post, colored and bolded, so you can tell it's linked.) That will take you to Rusty's LJ page. (If you're already in Rusty's LJ, skip this step.) Read down the page to see past posts, and decide whether or not you really want to friend this person.
(2) Somewhere on the page (top or side, depending on layout), you will see the heading "User Info". Click on that to get to the "introductory" (User Info) page of Rusty's LJ.
Shortcut: (Thanks to ponderslife) See that little icon to the left of everyone's name? It leads to their user info page (this works for community user pages too, which often include posting guidelines)
(3) On that introductory page, you will see whatever general information about Rusty that he/she chooses to share. At the top will be Rusty's name, bolded and linked. Just above that is a small box with four symbols in it -- plus sign, page, heart, magnifying glass.
(4) Click on the 'plus sign' to "friend" Rusty. This will bring you to a page where you just click the button to add Rusty to your Friends' List. HowEVER, scroll down a bit, first, and select a color. That color will be associated with Rusty's posts, either as a sidebar or as a background (depending on your journal layout). The color blocks make it easier to see where one friend's post ends and another begins. (Depending on the layout of your friends' page.)
(5) At the top of the "reading" page in your own journal, you'll see the headings -- Recent Entries, Archive, Friends, User Info. Just click on 'Friends' and you'll be reading all your friends' most recent posts.
6) If you've friended someone, their journal will be in your format when you read your friends page. But occasionally, while you're still deciding whether to friend, you'll find a post on a journal that is difficult to read because of that user's choices in formatting (for example, red text on black background -- ouch, my eyes!). Type "?style=mine" at the end of the URL; the post will then display in your journal style. (Thanks to ponderslife for the tip.)
HOW TO MAKE LINKS
NOTE: for all links, once you get to the = symbol, there are NO spaces. There may or may not be spaces before you get to =. Also, curly quotes won't work; if you're typing in Word, save to text, then copy that into the LJ interface.
NOTE: Usually < and > around a string of symbols will not show in LJ; this post is full of them. However, they're showing in this section because I've learned that & l t ; makes < show up, and & g t ; makes > show up. (IF you take out the spaces between the four letters/ symbols.) Now you can copy the code, save it in Word or Text, then insert your own information in the necessary places. Copy back to LJ, and your coding is easier. You'll soon learn to do it automatically, but this can help get you through the learning phase.
NOTE: The links you see in this section will not work because they're not really coded; I'm using HTML magic. In other words, if you see < and >, the link is not "live". If you see something bolded and /or underlined, in a different color, that's probably a live link.
= = = = =
LJ uses codes to produce links. You can link another LJer's name --
starwatcher307 or sentinel_thurs When you use this, the reader will not see the code, but the name will be bolded and linked; readers will be able to click and go to the linked LJ.
= = = = =
If you're making a very long post, it is considered polite to use a cut-tag, especially if you include pictures. People will read your introductory thoughts, then click to read the full post --
Introductory thoughts, explanation, or "teaser" for the post.
Your complete post
Final thoughts if you want to add them, which will show on the "front page".
= = = = =
If you wish to link a particular URL, there are two ways. Simply copy the URL (highlight, hit Ctrl-C to copy) when you're at the site, and put it in your post (hit Ctrl-V to paste). Or, you can make a linked title that will take you to the same place with this code --
Word or sentence you want to be linked (Like - Click to visit my story)
HOW TO MAKE ITALICS, BOLD, and OTHER EFFECTS
You may have seen that other LJ users can make italics, bold, etc. If you already know HTML code, you know this part. If not, read on --
HTML code always starts with <*> (open the code) and ends with (close the code). These are known as 'tags'. What you put in between the tag-symbols tells the computer what to do. The insert may be a single letter, or a string of characters. LJ will not print the tags, but it will make changes to the word or phrase that's between the tags. The most commonly-used tags are:
Italics
Underline
Bold
Strike Through
Center (I didn't center this because it messes up my neat formatting. But it's useful for story titles, large exclamatory messages, etc. - like the heading of this post.)
Temporarily decreases size of font; often used in posts or comments to convey a whisper, or embarrassment, or furtive side-glances. (Whatever emotion is appropriate.) It seems to be relative to the font size currently in use, and is approximately one font-size smaller, but is easier/quicker to type. Thanks to beachkid for the tip.
Temporarily increases size of font; apparently relative to the font size currently in use, and approximately one font-size larger. Again, my thanks to beachkid.
Notice that the initial or the word can be the code -- we need all the 'memory cues' we can get. LJ and HTML don't care if the tags are caps or small letters; either one works.
When typing, you will put the relevant code around the word or phrase without any extra spacing. It looks messy; you'll have to pretend it's not there and read 'between the tags'. Remember -- using "Preview" will help you be sure that you got it right.
It's possible to combine the codes. Just put the tags next to each other, and reverse the order when you use the close-tags. Eg. Bold Italics
FONT SIZES AND COLORS
With the proper tags, you can manipulate size and color of font. The change can be temporary (for a heading, or a section), or sustained for an entire post.
Fonts range in size from minus 2 to plus 4. The code is and . So, looks like this, and looks like this. The close-tag does not use the entire code, just . Again, use preview to ensure that you have it correct.
A few selected colors will show up with just the given color-name. The code is and . Useable colors are: red pink dark pink magenta dark magenta violet dark violet purple blue dark blue light blue teal cyan dark cyan turquoise green dark green light green yellow gold orange dark orange tan brown silver dark gray gray
Remember the "no spaces after =" rule. Dark blue is coded 'darkblue', light green is coded "lightgreen", etc.
MEMORIES
You're surfing LJ, maybe visiting a friend of a friend or following a link, and you come across a truly excellent post, one that you'd like to save and revisit later. You can do that by putting it in the "Memories" section of your LJ.
At the top of every post-page is a small red heart. Click on that, and you'll go to your "Add a Memory" page. Type in a title (if the post-title doesn't indicate its contents), and give it a "keyword". The memories will be sorted by keywords, such as "Humor", "Life Lessons", "School"... whatever you want to save.
Later, to access your Memories, go to your User Info Page. Click on the little red heart at the top of the page, OR on the "Memories" link just above your listed "Interests". You'll be taken to a list of your Memories headings; click on each link to see the posts that you saved under that heading. (eg. I have six posts under "Rural Life".)
It's also fun to visit the Memories section of your friends, or authors you admire. If they thought someone else's post was inspiring or funny, or whatever, you might like it, too - and maybe even save it in your own memories. I've found some truly excellent posts by "memory surfing". Go to the person's user information or profile page, where you should find the person's current main icon, with information beside it, such as "1,051 Journal Entries, 93 Tags, 572 Memories, 3,200+ ScrapBook Files, 21 Virtual Gifts, 75 Userpics". Each of those words is a link; click on "Memories" to see that person's list.
If the link takes you off LJ (IE, there is not an automatic memory feature available), simply copy the URL, then make a post in your own LJ. Explain what the URL leads to, and paste the link. Then you can save your own post to Memories, and you'll always have the link available.
ACCESSING THE ARCHIVE
If you've newly joined a discussion community, you may enjoy going back to read past posts. (In Sentinel fandom, it's ts_talk. I'm sure other fandoms have similar communities, but I don't know them; sorry.) You can click on the link to "Previous 20 Entries" or "Back 30 Entries" (or whatever number/title the community moderator has chosen). And then click to go farther back, and click, and click, and...
There's an easier way -- go to the archive. Past posts can be labeled 'Archive' or 'Calendar', depending on the journal style. In the case of TS_Talk, in the upper right corner, click on 'My Calendar'.
You'll get a page of 'calendar pages', with little bolded numbers in the calendar spaces if a post was made that day. Click on one of those to read the post. To find specific type posts more easily (like episode discussions), click on the 'View Subjects' under each calendar month. You'll get a list of all the posts made. Be sure to click on the title, and not the person's user name (with the little head next to it). The title leads to the post; the name leads to the person's journal.
If you want the previous year, there's a tiny '2004' in the upper right corner of the calendar-view page. (And soon there'll be a '2005'. *g* Click on one to see that year's posts, and follow the above routine.
WHAT DO THOSE WORDS MEAN?
LJ, as any cyber community, has developed a number of terms that are confusing to those not in the know. I know some of them; I'm sure my friends will remind me of others that I can add later.
ETA - "Edited to Add".
GIP - "Gratuitous Icon Post". Pointing out that the post is only to show off a new icon.
Meme - To my surprise, this is an actual word, although I never heard of it before I joined LJ. Think of it as an "idea that spreads like a virus". Like a virus, memes are passed on from one LJ user to another, and generally run their course rather quickly. *g* They generally involve visiting another page to find out, for example, which character in Battlestar Galactica you are most like, or pasting questions and answers in your own journal about... whatever. Memes are, of course, NOT obligatory.
Gakked - I haven't seen any explanation of the origins of this term. It means "copied" or "borrowed", usually in reference to a meme. However, I'm seeing it less often; people seem to prefer less-awkward English terms or slang. In TS fandom, some use "Blaired" or "Blimmed" (Blair-Jim) to convey the same idea. I've seen the custom of turning a character's name into a verb meaning "copied" creeping into a couple of other fandoms, too; I expect it'll spread.
EDITING PAST ENTRIES
There will be times when you need to edit previous entries, to fix an error, or to add something you left out. It's not difficult --
Go to your user page. At the bottom, there are several links. Click on "Site Map". Voila! A whole bunch of links, including "Edit your entries". Click and you're right there. Click to edit the most recent entry, one of the past 20, or enter the exact date of the relevant post.
Some LJ layouts have an "edit entry" link (a little pencil) on each entry if you're in the 'read comments' view; this will be available if you're signed in. It makes life so much easier. (Thanks to calic0cat for this reminder.)
POSTING LIMIT
After some personal research, described in detail in this post, I learned that the LJ posting limit is
52,670 characters.
Word counts will differ; in my test sample, it was 11,333 words. About 22 pages if the page has 1-inch margins all around, Times New Roman font 12.
However, that will vary according to how much "extra" formatting there is in the post. If there are lots of italics, bold, or underline, LJ counts each of those <, /, I, and >, and your word count will be much smaller, although the character count will fit the limit.
(stasha2g tells us that the posting limit is exactly 64 KB, or 65,535 bytes. She also pointed out that Word may not count everything that the posting interface recognizes. But, using the Word character-count is at least a place to start, because one byte does not necessarily equal one character.)
So, all you authors who want to post a long story, now you know what to look for. Go to, say, page 20 in your copy, find a convenient scene break. Highlight from there to the top of the document (shift-control-home) and have Word check the number of characters in the highlighted section (tools - word count). Only 40,000 characters? Go to the next scene break and check it again. Whoops! Now it's 54,000 characters, which is too big.
Decision time - break at a natural scene break, but with fewer words (which will require maybe one or two more posts for the whole story), or pack as many words into each post as you can, breaking in the middle of a scene if necessary? That's totally up to you, but now you can figure it out before you start the posting process, and avoid the repetition of LJ telling you, "Post too large".
CUSTOMIZE YOUR LIVE JOURNAL
Changing the look of your LJ page is fun, but can be time-consuming trial and error before you're satisfied; give yourself an hour or so to "play". When you run out of time, change back to where you were before. The edits you made in your "trial new page" will wait for you; you can pick up later where you left off.
1. Go to your User Info page.
2. At the bottom of the page are several small links. Click on 'site map'.
3. On the site map, click on "Customize Your Journal", about halfway down the left column.
TIP: Open a second browser window (by clicking on your Internet icon). Go to your LJ page. Now you'll toggle back and forth between the "customization" page and "your LJ" page. On the customization page, after you've made some trial edits -- and saved them -- go to the other window and refresh your page. You can quickly see what your changed page would look like, then make more edit changes, or go back and try a new layout
4. Select your style system, depending on your preferences. I believe that only S2 supports links (and not all layouts do). But I've read that S1 is more flexible for unpaid accounts. You'll just have to check each, experiment, and have fun.
5. Select a new layout. There are previews, but they don't really give you the true feel. It's easier to click a new layout name, click 'Change', then refresh your page in the other window and see if you like the look. When you find one you like, continue playing.
6. Select a theme (color scheme). Here, the previews give you a fair idea; select the one closest to what you'd like to have; you can do more customization later.
7. Click on 'Change Individual Settings', then 'Edit Customizations'. Depending on your layout, you have the option of setting font, colors, position of some items on the page, color, and various other specifications. After each section is edited, save those changes, then refresh your page in the other window to see if you're satisfied with the result.
NOTE ON CHANGING COLORS: For each item of the page, you can check 'Override default'. Then a 'Choose...' button will appear. Clicking on that will take you to a gradient color palette; click somewhere on the palette to select the color you want.
If you want more specific control of your color choices, check this page of "Non-Dithering Colors". Here you'll find a table of 216 colors - and the codes to make them - that (supposedly) will always look the same no matter website they're on. For my page, I selected three or four colors that I liked, copied the codes, then just played with combinations - background, sidebars, header bars, etc. - until I was satisfied.
And that's all I know about customization. You can do more, but you'll have to ask someone more knowledgeable than I.
PRIVACY
In general, the posts in LJ are visible to anyone on the web who knows how to look. But it is possible to restrict access to yourself, or a few selected people. This is known as "locking" a post, or "flocking" (friends-locking) if your friends are allowed to read it.
At the bottom of your "Update your Journal" page, just under the text-box, you'll find several options. Use the drop-down menu under "Privacy" to select
"Public" (anybody can read),
"Private" (only you can read),
"Friends" (only those you have friended can read), or
"Custom" (only certain Friends can read, if you've set up filters).
NOTE: People who just read your LJ (your "Friend of" list) cannot see your friends-locked posts. YOU have to have friended THEM, for them to be able to read the flocked (friends-locked) posts.
NOTE: Even though you've set Privacy, you'll be able to see the post on the flist (friends list) of people who shouldn't have access. This is freaky the first few times, but they can't see it! It's a feature of LJ and your computer recognizing you as "you" when you're logged in. And sometimes, when you're not logged in. If you want to test it yourself, make an innocuous private post, then ask a couple of friends if they can see it.
USING A CLIENT
Now that you've read all about LJ codes, you may want to download a client. I don't use a client but, according to dolimir_k, downloading a client makes posting entries waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easy. She gives this link - http://www.livejournal.com/download/?platform=Windows - and "highly recommends Semagic." I know nothing about it. (I peeked once, and fled in terror; besides I like doing things for myself.) However, I believe that more LJers use a client than don't use a client, so there must be something to it. Ask around; someone is sure to give you the straight scoop. And, if anyone wants to give me extra info in the comments, I'll add it to this top post, so that others can see it.
And that's it for this post. I have other tips on making LJ work for you in THESE POSTS.
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