Editing LiveJournal (section)

==Community==
===User interaction===
As of 2014, LiveJournal in the United States had 10 million monthly uniques, 30 million monthly visitors, and 170 million pageviews.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Return of LiveJournal|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1809674/return-livejournal|website=FastCompany|date=20 January 2012|publisher=Fast Company & Inc|access-date=22 October 2014|archive-date=6 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806134445/http://www.fastcompany.com/1809674/return-livejournal|url-status=live}}</ref>
As with most weblogs, people can comment on each other's journal entries and create a [[internet forum|message board]]-style thread of comments – each comment can be replied to individually, starting a new thread. All users, including non-paying users, can set various options for comments: they can instruct the software to only accept comments from those on their friends list or block anonymous comments (meaning only LiveJournal users can comment on their posts). They can also screen various types of comments before they are displayed, or disable commenting entirely. Users can also have replies sent directly to their registered e-mail address.

In addition, LiveJournal acts as host to group journals, dubbed "communities" (frequently abbreviated as ''comms''). Anyone who joins a community can make posts to it as they would on a regular journal; communities also have "maintainers", ordinary users who run the community and oversee membership and moderation.

===LiveJournal community===
LiveJournal community is a collective blog in which different users can post messages. Users who are interested in a particular subject can find or create a community for this subject. All the users of the communities are divided into:
* Owners<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/225.html |title=LiveJournal.com |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2012-11-10 |archive-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109065558/http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/225.html |url-status=live }}</ref> who are supervising the community and capable to use all administrative functions that are available for managing the community.
* Maintainers<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/330.html |title=LiveJournal.com |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2012-11-10 |archive-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109065350/http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/330.html |url-status=live }}</ref> usually use their own user accounts to supervise a community, control its settings and Community Info, perform some administrative functions.
* Moderators<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/157.html |title=LiveJournal.com |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2012-11-10 |archive-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109065748/http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/157.html |url-status=live }}</ref> can approve or reject messages left by participants, add existing records label or tags, approve requests to join a community, hide and freeze comments.
* Members<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/101.html |title=LiveJournal.com |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2012-11-10 |archive-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109065619/http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/101.html |url-status=live }}</ref> can see the community's members-only entries. For Communities with fewer than 500 members, the entire Members list will be displayed on a Community Info page.
* Watchers<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/179.html |title=LiveJournal.com |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2012-11-10 |archive-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109065837/http://www.livejournal.com/support/faq/179.html |url-status=live }}</ref> can assign permissions, allow entry into the community, delete posts (messages) or hide comments on posts.

===Contributors===
Some areas of LiveJournal rely heavily on user contributions and volunteer efforts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/site/contributors.bml |title=LiveJournal Contributors |publisher=Livejournal.com |access-date=2010-03-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522003051/http://www.livejournal.com/site/contributors.bml |archive-date=2010-05-22 }}</ref> In particular, the LiveJournal Support area is run almost entirely by unpaid volunteers. Similarly, the website is translated into other languages by volunteers, although this effort is running down due to a perceived lack of involvement from the LiveJournal administration.

The development of the LiveJournal software has seen extensive volunteer involvement in the past. In February and March 2003, there was an effort, nicknamed the ''Bazaar'', to boost volunteer performance by offering money in return for "wanted" enhancements or improvements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.livejournal.com/lj_dev/493562.html |title=Announcement of the Bazaar in LiveJournal Development |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2010-03-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831115301/http://community.livejournal.com/lj_dev/493562.html |archive-date=2006-08-31 }}</ref> The Bazaar was intended to follow a regular monthly pay-out scheme, but it ended up paying out only once, after which it was neglected by the management, and shut down one year later.

Nowadays, voluntary contributions to the software are considered for inclusion less and less as the company has acquired more and more paid employees who focus on the organization's commercial interests. This has led to the formation of several [[fork (software)|forks]], many of which introduce new features that users would like to see, especially features that are brought up repeatedly in LiveJournal's own ''suggestions'' journal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.livejournal.com/suggestions/profile |title=LiveJournal.com |publisher=Community.livejournal.com |access-date=2010-03-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502042253/http://community.livejournal.com/suggestions/profile |archive-date=2010-05-02 }}</ref>

In some cases legal and administrative concerns have led LiveJournal to prohibit some people from volunteering.

===Demographics===
<!-- Please update the statistics below from the information available at http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bml if it becomes outdated. -->
{{As of|2012|11}}, 39,663,771 accounts exist on LiveJournal, with 1,790,795 listed as "active in some way."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bml |title=LiveJournal Statistics |publisher=Livejournal.com |access-date=2010-05-02 |archive-date=2010-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522003532/http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bml |url-status=live }}</ref> Of those users who provided their date of birth, the majority were in the 17–25 age group, with an exceptionally large group of 32-year-olds. Among the users specifying their gender in their profile, 45% of those accounts identified as male, and 55% as female. One fifth, or 20%, of accounts did not specify a gender.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bml | title=Statistics | publisher=LiveJournal | access-date=November 16, 2012 | archive-date=May 22, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522003532/http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bml | url-status=live }}</ref>

LiveJournal is most popular in English-speaking countries (although there is a language selection feature), and the United States has by far the most LiveJournal users among users who choose to list a location.{{Obsolete source|date=March 2023}} There is also a sizable Russian contingent. LiveJournal is the largest online community on the [[Runet]], with about 45% of all entries in the Russian blogosphere.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://company.yandex.ru/news/2006/0926/index.xml Yandex researched Russian-language blogosphere] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812210920/http://company.yandex.ru/news/2006/0926/index.xml |date=2007-08-12 }} – [[Yandex]] company news, September 26, 2006</ref>

===Mascot: Frank the Goat===
Frank the Goat is LiveJournal's [[mascot]]. During the early years of the site, Frank was treated like an actual living being by much of the LiveJournal userbase, and his brief "biography" as well as his "journal" reflect this.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livejournal.com/site/goat.bml |title=About: Frank the Goat |publisher=LiveJournal |access-date=2004-07-10 |archive-date=2013-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619105002/http://www.livejournal.com/site/goat.bml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://frank.livejournal.com/profile |title=User Profile: Frank the Goat |publisher=LiveJournal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203033440/http://frank.livejournal.com/profile |archive-date=2006-02-03 }}</ref>

Sometimes, callers to LiveJournal's Voice Post service are informed "Frank the Goat appreciates your call." This occurs randomly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.livejournal.com/75379.html?thread=10040435#t10040435 |title=Brad Fitzpatrick Comments on Voice Post Easter Egg |publisher=News.livejournal.com |access-date=2010-03-29 |archive-date=2011-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510082110/http://news.livejournal.com/75379.html?thread=10040435#t10040435 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A weekly comic about Frank, written and drawn by cartoonist [[Ryan Estrada]], was updated every Thursday on the "Frank: The Comic Strip" community on LiveJournal. As of July 2009 the community had roughly 8,000 members, and was watched by more than 7,000 LiveJournal users.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.livejournal.com/frankthecomic/profile |title=Frank: The Comic Strip |author=Estrada, Ryan |work=Community Info |publisher=LiveJournal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619161445/http://community.livejournal.com/frankthecomic/profile |archive-date=2006-06-19 }}</ref>

Beginning at the end of January 2010, LiveJournal's weekly news posts included references to Frank's life,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.livejournal.com/121612.html |title=LiveJournal Major Notes: Speedier servers, Haiti gift drive, Blurberati |publisher=News.livejournal.com |access-date=2010-08-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409232849/http://news.livejournal.com/121612.html |archive-date=2010-04-09 }}</ref> becoming works of short fiction at the end of February.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.livejournal.com/122786.html |title=LiveJournal Major Notes: Charitable vgifts, Balloon bouquet, Header contest |publisher=News.livejournal.com |access-date=2010-08-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409232911/http://news.livejournal.com/122786.html |archive-date=2010-04-09 }}</ref> These pieces are often tied to weekly virtual gift promotions, where commenters that meet a certain criterion will receive a free v-gift sent by Frank.