Livejournal and Dreamwidth: not dead

[meridian_rose]

So today is return to Return To Livejournal day. Only I've never left. Here are some of my thoughts about that – and while it's LJ day, the following refers to both LJ and DW, as blogging platforms that are almost identical to each other while being very different from other social media sites – and thank the internet gods for it. While I regularly visit lots of types of sites, from news sites to metaphysical webpages, and maintain online presences at many social media sites, there is something special about LJ and DW.

So, I've been here since Nov 2007 (DW since April 2011). I've not left LJ and fandom in favour of solely skimming through Facebook or because I've "outgrown" fannishness. I've not dumped LJ in favour of doing nothing but reblogging at Tumblr or viewing pics on Instagram.
Yes, I maintain a tumblr and a couple of fandom specific sideblogs, and yes, it can be easier to post an image you've edited and get more hits. But it's not really for fic or discussion; it's better used for skimming images and promoting fic and articles to read on other sites, sites which are better suited for text-based communication and easy to follow (threaded) discussions.
Yes, I regularly use DW to post to, but I maintain a presence at both sites and follow people and communities at both. Leaving LJ for the downtime during the DDOS attacks instead of switching to parallel use via DW was, to me, like giving up coffee because your favourite shop was closed for refurbishment – and there was a similar coffee house *right next door*.

I've stayed here while people disappear, come back and make one post, and then disappear again without interacting directly with anyone else. I used to always comment on these posts to show someone was reading and that they ought to post more frequently. I've largely stopped doing it, because you can only cheer someone on for so long without reciprocation.

I've stayed here because the content here is created, or meant to inspire creation, or is properly curated: fic, graphics, or well-annotated rec lists, and meta round-ups.
I've stayed here, able to read 1-3 posts per week made to a journal, rather than the 50+ posts some Tumblrs generate daily. Here that one really interesting meta isn't lost in the crush.
Here posts don't get lost or deleted because someone's changed their name for the fourth time in six weeks, breaking all the links to the material. Here there is a sense of pride and longevity, that we are creating things worth reading, worth preserving, something beyond mere ephemera. If Tumblr is a throwaway glossy magazine, LJ is a journal.
(And the management would well to remember it, and not try to emulate Facebook and other sites, driving their core users away.)

I'm here, having fun with things like legendland and gameofcards which encourage creativity and connection and trying out new things.
I'm here for things like therealljidol, being encouraged by things like getyourwordsout/getyourwordsout, being inspired to create by things like 100_tales, hc_bingo/hc_bingo, allbingo, intoabar, mmom.
I'm here for yuletide and smallfandomfest andfancake.
I'm here for metanews and little_details and hdtv_caps and icon_textures. For the icon makers, and the journalers, and the fic writers and readers, the vidders and the reccers.

I'm here, where I can post more personal entries with varying levels of public or private visibility. I'm here, posting photos and icons. I'm here, posting fanfic, and original works.
I'm here, reading journals and comms that are still active and interesting. I'm here, and plenty of others are still here too.
I'm here, and I'm tired of hearing how LJ is dead.