John, that makes me laugh! For some reason, stock photos of crying kids make me laugh. Probably to stop from creeping me out.

We met here, ita. Remember?

Your name seems familiar.

People should also annotate why they friend you.

Um, no. It's a blog. People don't have to explain to me why they read it.

Um, no. It's a blog. People don't have to explain to me why they read it.

They shouldn't necessarily have to, but it would be nice to have the option. I personally want to know who is reading my blog and who the people are who friend me. That is why I keep most of my posts friends locked.

People don't have to explain to me why they read it.

I didn't say readers should explain anything to me, did I? I said people who friend me should.

And, as someone who loves the existence of web logs (and I'm so not alone) that information is not only interesting, but depending on what you're doing with your publishing, valuable.

I don't much care why people read me. But friending is a different link, and it's like meeting someone who's a FOAF, and never asking who the common friend is. When random people come across my blog, and like it enough to friend, that's cool. If they followed me from the krav journal, that's interesting too.

You don't think so? You never wonder about the people that friended you?

People don't have to explain to me why they read it.

Agreed. But given the premise that it's optional, I'd rather have one line on the manage friends list than in my comments/email.

I don't much care why people read me. But friending is a different link

But it isn't. LJ gave your "reading list" a stupid name, but that doesn't change its function. When I friend somebody, ALL it means is that i want to read their blog every day. It doesn't mean that I'd seek them out in a crowded room, it doesn't mean I'm their buddy. It just means I am using the only mechanism LJ provides to read somebody's blog regularly.

I realize I'm being inflexible in my opinion, but this is the Internet, dammit. If you don't want strangers reading/commenting on your LJ, lock it. But if you don't lock it, don't bitch because strangers do read and comment: that is what makes it LJ and not a file on your hard drive.

I don't much care why people read me. But friending is a different link

Huh. I think of friending as strictly a means to read repeatedly. If there is some actual connection, I'm curious, but it's way beyond optional.

You never wonder about the people that friended you?

Not really. I meet some obscure need they have, either for fic or odd commentary. I rarely friends-lock anything, because if it's something I don't want all of God and nature to see, I don't post it.

When I friend somebody, ALL it means is that i want to read their blog every day.

That's all it means to you. It's perfectly possible to friend people and never read them (so they can see your locked posts, for instance), and to not friend people and read them regularly (which I totally do). Don't confuse your usage of the mechanism with a) its potential and b) other people's usage.

If you don't want strangers reading/commenting on your LJ, lock it. But if you don't lock it, don't bitch because strangers do read and comment: that is what makes it LJ and not a file on your hard drive.

I'm assuming this has nothing to do with me, right? Because my bitching skills are a little more pointed than "people should."

Yes, this is the internet. But you still haven't explained to me why it's weird to be curious about your audience.

eta:

I think of friending as strictly a means to read repeatedly. If there is some actual connection, I'm curious, but it's way beyond optional.

But there is some actual connection -- they friended you. As I said, it doesn't reflect to me all of the readers, but I'm curious about what makes someone click that button, and how they landed where they landed.

But you still haven't explained to me why it's weird to be curious about your audience.

But you aren't saying "I'm curious about my audience"; you're saying "my audience owes it to me to explain themselves."