FAQ Question #125

There are many journals and communities used for official purposes by staff and volunteers to track important projects and events on the site.

Some of these communities are open, meaning that anyone can join and post in them, while others are closed so only staff or senior volunteers can post to them. Though a journal or community may be closed, this does not mean that you cannot or should not watch it.

For example, the News journal (http://www.livejournal.com/news.bml) is a closed shared journal to which only staff may belong, but anyone can and should watch it, because its entries announce events and issues that are relevant to the entire LiveJournal community.

If you wish to join any of the following communities (provided the community is open), please see http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=101 for instructions.


The following journals are used mainly to discuss ways to improve the site and help its users.

* community_promo: Used to advertise new communities and help users find communities that they may be interested in. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=community_promo

* community_quest: Closely related to community_promo; used to request the names of communities that already exist if they cannot be found in community_promo. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=community_quest

* goathack: Support area for and updates to the status of the Goathack project (http://goathack.livejournal.org/). -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=goathack

* helpscreening: For anyone interested in volunteering in the Support area (http://www.livejournal.com/support/). Intended as a place where people without Support privileges can post and ask questions to get advice and feedback. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=helpscreening

* howto: Contains tutorials on customizing the journals of both paid and free users using overrides and styles using the S1 style system. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=howto

* lj_abuse: Closed community restricted to the members of the Abuse Team at LiveJournal. Information on joining the Abuse Team can be found in the User Info for the community. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_abuse

* lj_art: For those interested in creating artwork specifically related to LiveJournal.com, as indicated in the User Info for the community. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_art

* lj_biz: Focused on business matters relating to LiveJournal. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_biz

* lj_clients: Solely for discussions about LiveJournal client software. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_clients

* lj_dev: Specifically used for the discussion of LiveJournal-specific development. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_dev

* lj_everywhere: For those interested in starting their own LiveJournal instance or making LiveJournal more attractive to developers, or developers who wish to make LiveJournal more useful to the outside world. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_everywhere

* lj_style: Concerns the LiveJournal style system and its discussion as well as the presentation of new styles, potentially for system use. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_style

* lj_support: Used by Support volunteers to discuss problems users are facing around the site. Reading this community is required for those who volunteer in Support, as policy changes and other important information is posted here. Posting access is limited to those with Support privileges. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_support

* lj_syndication: For discussing the development of LiveJournal's syndication features. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_syndication

* lj_textmessage: Devoted to the development and enhancement of the text-messaging system on LiveJournal. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_textmessage

* lj_translate: General discussion of the LiveJournal translation system and issues with the system. More specific translation communities can be found at http://www.livejournal.com/translate/teams.bml. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_translate

* s2howto: Contains tutorials on customizing the journals of both paid and free users using the S2 style system. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=s2howto

* suggestions: Community for users to post their ideas on how to improve the site in any way. See http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=164 for more information about how to best make a suggestion. To learn more about the suggestions process, see http://www.livejournal.com/suggestions/. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=suggestions

* syn_promo: Promotes the subscription of syndicated RSS feeds on LiveJournal. Similar to community_promo. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=syn_promo

* syn_quest: Closely related to syn_promo; used to request the names of syndicated feeds that already exist if they cannot be found in syn_promo. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=syn_quest

* userpics: For volunteers who help other users create and edit user picture icons to discuss issues and post newly requested icons. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=userpics


These journals are used to inform users of important events, features, and changes to the site:

* changelog: All changes to the LiveJournal code are recorded in this journal. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=changelog

* featureannounce: Announcements and summaries of changes to LiveJournal, including new features, bug fixes, and various other modifications. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=featureannounce

* lj_backend: This is used for announcements and explanations regarding LiveJournal's backend, particularly with regards to how it affects end users. The explanations given are technical, and posting access is limited to staff members only. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_backend

* lj_maintenance: Important information regarding both scheduled maintenance and unscheduled downtime is posted here. Posting access is limited to staff members only. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_maintenance

* lj_nifty: Nifty tools, features, occurrences or undocumented and underdocumented features on LiveJournal can be posted about here. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_nifty

* news: Important announcements of site information and changes. Posting is closed to staff members only. Anyone can watch it by adding it to their Friends page (http://www.livejournal.com/friends/add.bml?user=news). -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=news

* paidmembers: Membership is limited to those who have or had a paid account. Information about new paid-only features and other issues relevant to paid members is posted here. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=paidmembers

* press: Chronicles all mentions of LiveJournal.com or the LiveJournal source code in various press sources. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=press


Other journals used to improve the site's documentation are listed here:

* lj_userdoc: Suggestions for improving the site's FAQs and other user documentation belong in this community. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_userdoc

* howto_userdoc: Used to suggest additions and changes to the content in the HowTo and S2-HowTo journals. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=howto_userdoc

* lj_sysdoc: Discussion of technical aspects of documenting LiveJournal as well as creating documentation for developers and administrators. -- http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_sysdoc


A formatted list of these and more (outdated) communities can be found in the following guides:

* http://www.livejournal.com/doc/find?guide=forums
* http://www.livejournal.com/doc/find?guide=moreinfo