Very cool survey about Open Diary!

1. What’s your primary reason for having this OD?

I was seeing a shrink when I was attending Univeristy, and that person asked me to keep a journal to see if writing about what I did would make things easier to deal with. I promised to give it a try and later that same day in the campus computer lab, a friend showed me Open Diary for the first time. I liked it and opened an account and did an online journal to keep my promise… and the rest is history!

2. Do you have a certain routine when you log onto OD?

Usually I check the site everytime I log on. Usually in the morning it’s the first or second site I check (my email being the other).

3. Do you take pride in your front page?

I really do. It’s not hard on the eyes, it’s inspirational with all those quotes and shows off the work I’m proud of doing with Nanowrimo.

4. Do you have a certain layout you use for entries?

Not really, I just write what comes to me.

5. Are you currently blocked from reading someone’s diary or blocking someone from reading your diary?

I’m probably blocked from a lot of diaries, but I could care less. My notes are usually quite awesome so they’re the ones missing out. Even for diaries that I disagreed with I was still capable of leaving a decent and very thought provoking note for him/her to chew on…

6. What is the title of your first entry, what was it about, and when did you post it?

That entry was titled ‘A Beginning’ and it was posted on June 14th, 2000. Almost 12 years ago!

7. What is the title of your last entry, what was it about, and when did you post it?

I posted it on Monday and it was called ‘The Worst Christian Ever’. An atheist inspired entry…

8. Not including this one, how many entries do you have (public/private/favorites only)?

Not including this entry, I have 3028 public, 110 friends only and 39 private entries. A grand total of 3177 entries. Not too shabby…

9. What do you consider most of your entries as (day-to-day accounts, surveys, recipes, lyrics, poetry, writing exercises, ect)?

I got a bit of everything in this diary. Reviews, editorials, poems, everyday shit and what not, just a big bag of everything in here!

10. Have you ever gone back and edited an entry, after already posting it? If so, why?

Many times, for typos. If I find one… I’ll correct it, even a decade later!

11. As of today, how many days do you have left in your subscription and when does it expire?

I have a lifetime membership. It was a worthy investment for me and I was eager to help out OD in their time of need.

12. Will you be re-subscribing after it ends?

I don’t need to resubscribe, but if I ever find myself in a position to afford it… I will not hesitate to buy gift subscriptions for a lot of my friends!

13. How many notes do you have (average per entry)?

Usually I get anywhere from zero to twenty depending on the entry. I don’t really do this for the notes, but it’s always nice to see them there. Notes make me feel better but are not required.

14. Who left the first and last note on your diary?

The first note was left by someone anonymous (something I ended shortly after that) and the latest notes were left by Tak and OliverHailey, two people who are quickly becoming some of my favorite readers.

15. How many notes did you get on your first and last entry?

Only four notes on the first entry, the latest is at eleven and counting but a good few are private.

16. Does anyone from your very first entry still note (has at least left one note within the last seven entries)?

There are a few readers who are still here, but they don’t note or write that often. Some have passed on since I started this diary… just the way this cookie crumbles.

17. How many notes have you left?

More than I can count… but according to note history, the number is 10,988. Not too shabby!

18. Who have you noted most often? Who’s noted you most often?

I’ve had some great noters over the years, and it’s not a competition. I appreciate every note I get whether its everyday or just one every few months…

19. Who was the first person you noted, and the last person you noted?

Geez, obsessed with notes a bit here aren’t we?

20. Have you been involved in any flame wars?

I’ve had my fair share of flame wars during my time on OD. I’m happy to say a lot of that is behind me… I’m a good boy now and I think the DM prefers I keep that going.

21. Do you ever delete notes? If so, why?

I have deleted notes, but only for good reason. If someone leaves so many notes that they were just better off leaving their own entry, than I will thin them down cause some people might avoid leaving notes if there are too many there.

Another reason is if the person is being rude and trying to flame or start a flame war by name calling and whatever else pisses people off.

Not being respectful is a good way to get deleted too.

22. Which OD members have you had outside-of-OD contact (in person meeting, on the phone, mail, IMs, emails, ect)?

Quite a few, and I’m happy to call them my friends. I’ve even met a few and hope to meet a few more in the near future.

23. Who from OD would you like to meet face-to-face?

There are a lot of people on my favs list that I would love to hang out with… to many to list but hopefully I’ll meet a few of them one day.

24. Is there ONE diarist (who you have not had outside contact with) you read, that makes you feel like you know them?

There are a few that write like this, most of them are no longer on OD.

25. Recommend ONE diarist for others to check out.

I’ll recommend a few:

1) Maui Jim

2) Solovoice

3) Mrs. Tiny Duckie

4) Williamthebloody

5) OliverHailey

26. What OD members do you miss and wish would write again/more often?

There are a few that I miss greatly. Some because they chose to stop writing, others because they passed away. I hope one day some who chose to just leave will return, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve had five favorites pass away since I started writing this diary and their entries and awesome notes they used to leave are all greatly misse.

27. How many diarists are on your favorites list?

Over 50, but many are not active. I keep them there hoping one day a few of them will update…

28. Who on your favorite’s list last updated, and who updated the longest ago?

Some posted today, while others haven’t posted since 2007.

29. As far as you can tell, how many favorites lists are you on?

When I go to the bookmarked by feature on OD, it shows just over 50 names, but those are only people who made their list public so it could be just that many or many, many more.

30. If you post to any diary circles, which one did you last post to and what was the entry called.

I post to a few circles. I add to movies and spirituality all the time, and while I used to be big in the politics circle, it’s just not the same anymore and I tend to stay away from it.

31. How many entries so far have been “theme” entries?

Not many, but there are a few around here somewhere.

32. Would you mind being nominated for Reader’s Choice?

I usually don’t block the feature but I don’t check to see if I’m there. Doesn’t make a difference.

33. What are the + and the – of OD when compared to other online journal sites?

Unlike other journal sites, OD feels like a community. It feels like a virtual village, which is something the other sites haven’t been able to duplicate yet. This place feels more than just a site I log into, it feels like I’m entering a town where I’m a part of a collective. That is a huge plus, as is the block feature!

I could list a few negatives about OD, but I’ve already been there and I really don’t feel like hashing that out again. There are many more positives than there are negatives, which is why I’ve been here for over a decade.

34. What is the best and worst thing about journaling online?

The best thing about journaling online is that you can access your diary from any system that is online. If you have access to the internet, you have access to your journal.

The worst thing is people who try to hack or destroy your work merely because they disagree with you. It’s happened a few times, but the DM runs a tight ship and that hasn’t happened for a long time (knock on wood!)

35. Which OD member do you think should complete this survey next?

I would like to see the five I listed above answer it, that being Maui Jim, Solovoice, Mrs. Tiny Duckie, Williamthebloody and OliverHailey.

That’s all for now, take care everyone and have a great Thursday! The weekend is almost here!!!

Peter