what is private?
Thursday, Sept. 02, 2004,

Ruminations on journal-keeping.

Every once in a while, I unlock my journal. I think to myself �What�s the point of keeping it on line if you don�t keep it open to be read?" But then, I find myself writing to an �audience�. Editing what I say in order to present the best impression. Holding back, and not telling the truth.

And I read other journals, and think about the level of privacy I�m comfortable with. Or see the problems they encounter with readers. And I realize I don�t want that kind of strife. I realize that (in a bizarre twist) privacy is exactly why I keep my diary online. (Keeping it on the PC, it is harder to hide it from the Spouse.) And if I don�t want my husband to know I have it, why would I like it available to a complete stranger?

Thus; no notify lists, no comments, no linky buttons, no stats, no user-friendlies of any kind.

And a lock. Definitely a lock.

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I don�t think I like the Diarist Awards. I�m sure that those who keep a journal for public consumption appreciate the recognition. But then, I consider open journals an oxymoron, and those folks are columnists to me. (Yeah, JournalCon irks me, too.)

Awards imply criticism, and one�s diary�a true diary�is not a document that anyone other than the writer has the right to criticize.

I understand the fundamentally judgemental nature of man, but anyone who disagrees with a diarist's taste, opinion, or personality--well. They have the right to disagree, but not to express it. They have the right to not read it, and they have the right to say "I don't care for it." They do NOT have the right to call into question the validity of the diarist's thoughts, feelings, opinions, or any other aspect of said diarist's life or writings.

Pesonally, I don't think that people who AGREE with the diarist have the right to express themselves, either.