I've been blogging with LJ for six years. Back then, the site was somewhat
innovative, with a generally solid backend and interface.
These days, the interface shows its age in comparison to other sites, and
some of the features are frustrating to use. Some new features, such as
LiveJournal Messenger (which piggybacks on Windows Live Messenger) seem good on
paper, but their implementations leave something to be desired.
Generally however, LiveJournal is accessible and works well, especially if
you know others using it. The 'friends' page prevents you having everyone's RSS
in from across the web, and the photo hosting works well.
Having won a 'permanent account' (i.e. all features, one-time payment) I
never see ads, but these frustrate a lot of users. I'd like to hear of their
removal someday.
Review by lokizilla (5 months ago)
I've been blogging with LJ for six years. Back then, the site was somewhat innovative, with a generally solid backend and interface.
These days, the interface shows its age in comparison to other sites, and some of the features are frustrating to use. Some new features, such as LiveJournal Messenger (which piggybacks on Windows Live Messenger) seem good on paper, but their implementations leave something to be desired.
Generally however, LiveJournal is accessible and works well, especially if you know others using it. The 'friends' page prevents you having everyone's RSS in from across the web, and the photo hosting works well.
Having won a 'permanent account' (i.e. all features, one-time payment) I never see ads, but these frustrate a lot of users. I'd like to hear of their removal someday.