Dreamwidth for Newbies
Monday, 25 August 2025 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crashmarguliesWhat is Dreamwidth?
Dreamwidth is an open source blogging platform copied from the code of livejournal, an extremely popular blogging platform from the mid 00s.
Why not just use Livejournal?
LJ purged a ton of fannish and nsfw content, then sold to a Russian company, essentially alienating and tanking the data security if it's user base. For more info on that, check out this page on Fanlore.
Why post here and not on a more connected social media?
Social media prioritizes engagement, using an algorithm that makes it hard to find your friends posts under sponsored and algo boosted stuff. They also suppress content the parent company dislikes. Dreamwidth will show you a chronological feed of the blogs and rss feeds you subscribe to on your reading page (a benefit of having an account, even if you don't post to your blog).
Does it cost money to have an account or read a blog?
No! DW offers premium accounts with some extra features to help support the site, but basic accounts with the ability to post publicly and privately and read/subscribe do not cost money
What kind of blogs are hosted on Dreamwidth?
A LOT of the active blogs hosted on DW are partly or totally friends-locked, meaning only people who are granted access to that journal (blog) can read those entries. Some blogs will contain an unlocked post or two explaining general content and how to gain access (if able).
Otherwise, any type of blog primary written could find a home here.
Also, you can aggregate your favorite RSS feeds from other newsletters, blogs, and publications to read all in one place.
Also, you can aggregate your favorite RSS feeds from other newsletters, blogs, and publications to read all in one place.
Will people judge me for having an empty account if I’m just here to read?
Nope! Again, they may assume you're friends-locked, and plenty of people are.
Okay, I have an account. Now what?
Go to the following link, but replace BLOGNAMEHERE with each blog you want to follow. Decide if you want to follow them and if you want them to be able to read any friends-only posts you make
http://https://www.dreamwidth.org/circle/BLOGNAMEHERE/edit
What is my profile and what do I do with it?
Your profile contains additional information about you(r journal) and what you are interested in or write about. By default your profile will show your default icon, your journal creation date, when your journal last updated (even if the post is private or friends locked).
You can add a scattering of other things to your preference to help others find you (if you want others to find you) throughout the blog setup process. You can also toggle things like who you give friend-access to as visible or not at various places in your settings.
When I subscribe to a blog or feed in my reading page, is that also public to others?
Yes, entries displayed on your reading page are visible to anyone who has read access to that entry normally.
What are blog tags for?
Unlike modern social media, blog tags are for INTERNAL organization on your dreamwidth blog. they link internally and do not help people find your work
But I want people to find my publicly posted work!
Fill out the interests section in your PROFILE to include things you write about. You can browse existing interests on the site to get an idea of what people put there.
Also, don't forget that DW is just a site you can link to! each entry has a static (unchanging) url, meaning you can share the whole blog or just individual posts in other internet spaces or forms of social media.
You didn’t answer my question in here =(
Check the comments! There is some extra information in there! If not, please leave me a comment! Someone else probably has the same question and I’d love to try to help, as a former lj user and avid lover of friends’ writing.
Check the comments! There is some extra information in there! If not, please leave me a comment! Someone else probably has the same question and I’d love to try to help, as a former lj user and avid lover of friends’ writing.
Hello!
Date: 26 August 2025 01:18 am (UTC)Thanks for posting this! Here is what I post to point new users to helpful resources:
The Follow Friday Master Post has lists of active communities by topic where you can look for some based on your interests. Many bloggers use recurring posts to pin down their key interests and maintain activity, which is also a good source of inspiration if you aren't sure what you want to post yet.
>>Dreamwidth will show you a chronological feed of the blogs and rss feeds you subscribe to<<
If you want to see all of it, use the Latest Things page.
>> on your reading page (a benefit of having an account, even if you don't post to your blog).<<
Yeah, a lot of folks have a read-only or comment-only account.
>> Will people judge me for having an empty account if I’m just here to read? <<
No, but it's nice to put a post that says it is read-only or comment-only so folks know what you are doing and that it is deliberate.
>>You can add a scattering of other things to your preference to help others find you (if you want others to find you)<<
The most important things to add are:
* Your expectations of how you want people to interact with your blog, which helps cut down anything you don't want.
* Your Interests, if you want people to be able to find your blog.
>> Unlike modern social media, blog tags are for INTERNAL organization on your dreamwidth blog. they link internally and do not help people find your work <<
If you go to the Populare Interests page, and click on its topics, that will bring up a list of blogs and communities that have just posted with that tag. It's how people find all the Three Weeks for Dreamwidth posts.
>> Please leave me a comment! Someone else probably has the same question and I’d love to try to help, as a former lj user and avid lover of friends’ writing! <<
You're welcome to check out
Re: Hello!
Date: 26 August 2025 01:36 am (UTC)Re: Hello!
Date: 26 August 2025 01:49 am (UTC)