LiveJournal

LiveJournal (often abbreviated LJ) is the name of a weblog site allowing Internet users to keep an online journal or diary. It is also the name of the open source server software that was designed to run it. LiveJournal's differences from other blogging sites include its WELL-like features of a self-contained community and some social networking features similar to Friendster.

Features

A number of features distinguish LiveJournal from other blog sites, one of which is the "Friends Page," a list of the most recent posts from people a user has added to their "Friends List" (sometimes shortened to "flist") — turning LiveJournal into a community of interconnected weblogs, and shifting it toward being social network software. Another such distinguishing feature is the employment of the S2 template system to allow users to customize the appearance and behaviour of their weblogs.

Related Topics:
Social network - S2

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Similar to other online services, users may upload a small graphical icon, referred to as "userpic" or "icon" by LiveJournal users, by which to define one's self to the rest of the community (this user picture functions as the user's avatar). This optional small image may take a maximum viewing size of 100 by 100 pixels. LiveJournal's free users, which account for approximately 98% of the network, have a limit of 3 interchangeable icons. Paid account holders, which account for 1.6% of the network, may have up to fifteen, and can pay optional fees to get a total of one hundred user picture slots.

Related Topics:
Userpic - Avatar

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The selected user icon will, if present, appear next to posts on individual user pages, and on the "Friends Pages" of other users who have "friended" them. The user's default icon will also appear prominently on the user's main journal page.

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Each user also has a "User Info" page, which is used to describe personal interests. It can contain a variety of data including contact information, a biography, images (linked from off-site sources), and lists of friends, interests, and communities to which the user belongs.

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