Publicly viewable journals are both a public forum and a private space. While anyone can read and respond, you're still the king of the hill in your own journal. It is your space. If anyone dared suggest to me that I keep whatever ranting I do out of my journal until I have it all thought out, I'd give them a big ol' "Good day, sir!" (with much stronger language, of course).
As far as your example goes... first of all, I think that if you're stupid and/or misguided enough to say that you're "going to kill someone", you should be in therapy in addition to using a journal to get your feelings out. Second, we're not talking about strangers here - we're talking about very-close-people who SHOULD at the very least know their person-they're-close-to enough to realize that (s)he's just venting or having a bad minute/hour/day. Besides, I didn't see Brian say anything about how he hated his life and regretted every single aspect of it or anything even remotely something I, personally, would consider as hurtful or dangerous as was being interpreted. Hypersensitivity abounds, evidently. And last, but not least, regardless of where you're reading or what you're reading, you should read it with an open mind and give the writer the benefit of the doubt. I find it horrifying that someone's close friends, at the very least, would do otherwise.
In summary, your journal is a public space, but it is still YOURS. You're allowed to post what you want (and at least here, within the guidelines of the Terms of Service) and you don't have to put a disclaimer on anything if you don't want to, nor should you be expected to. Yes, you should deal with the consequences of the things you say, regardless where or how it was said, but people should recognize that everyone treats their journal differently AND that it's not always the worst case scenario when someone posts something touching a negative subject. Sometimes people need to vent, period, and it means nothing more than they need to vent, and it shouldn't be taken personally (and even if it is, maybe a better way to approach it is, "Is something wrong?" and not "I can't believe you said that!!!").
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Date: 2003-03-05 04:02 pm (UTC)As far as your example goes... first of all, I think that if you're stupid and/or misguided enough to say that you're "going to kill someone", you should be in therapy in addition to using a journal to get your feelings out. Second, we're not talking about strangers here - we're talking about very-close-people who SHOULD at the very least know their person-they're-close-to enough to realize that (s)he's just venting or having a bad minute/hour/day. Besides, I didn't see Brian say anything about how he hated his life and regretted every single aspect of it or anything even remotely something I, personally, would consider as hurtful or dangerous as was being interpreted. Hypersensitivity abounds, evidently. And last, but not least, regardless of where you're reading or what you're reading, you should read it with an open mind and give the writer the benefit of the doubt. I find it horrifying that someone's close friends, at the very least, would do otherwise.
In summary, your journal is a public space, but it is still YOURS. You're allowed to post what you want (and at least here, within the guidelines of the Terms of Service) and you don't have to put a disclaimer on anything if you don't want to, nor should you be expected to. Yes, you should deal with the consequences of the things you say, regardless where or how it was said, but people should recognize that everyone treats their journal differently AND that it's not always the worst case scenario when someone posts something touching a negative subject. Sometimes people need to vent, period, and it means nothing more than they need to vent, and it shouldn't be taken personally (and even if it is, maybe a better way to approach it is, "Is something wrong?" and not "I can't believe you said that!!!").