Sunday, Oct. 16, 2005 5:10 p.m.

you can't judge a diary by its...

my last entry was about appearances and how it�s unfortunate that we judge based on them�or at least, that�s what it was supposed to be about.

I also mentioned that I liked diaryland because I didn�t know what anyone looked like so I didn�t judge based on that.

only come to think of it, I do judge other diaryland diarists. a lot. I have a standard for diaries I read or add to my favorites list. me and revisions were talking about it a few weeks ago - and she does too.

say I want to add to my buddylist. I�ll go to a diaryring list I belong to, or click for the list of people who agree with my favorite movie, author, music, etc. then I begin narrowing down diaries worthy of my time based on several (perhaps misguided) judgments.

first, it�s all about the username. I like names with no numbers, like:
billyjobob
mydiary
spongebob
squarepants
blahblahblah
etc-etc-etc
creativity gets extra points.
numbers in the username are ok sometimes � depending on the mood I am in.

then I click on the profile. if the profile intrigues me, I�ll open the diary. If not, I press the back button and go back to the list.

profiles can intrigue me in several ways:
first, the description. seriously, it�s always interesting to see how people summarize themselves and their diaries. most of the time, it�s pretty easy to see who sucks and who doesn�t. a sucky one looks like this:
hi peeps! thankx for visitin my cool diary! my life is kinda boring, but I�m cool and want people to read about me � so add me as a favorite and I�ll add too!!
a cool profile description can look like anything; I can�t describe cool, I just know it.

if they pass the description test, I scroll down to the favorite diaries, movies, authors, etc.
if they have like 50 people listed as favorites, I get bored - they obviously just want people to add them as favorites.
if they have nobody listed, I also get bored � what? are they too good to like anyone else�s diary??
if their favorite movies include only �chic flicks� � I get bored.
if their favorite movies are all the same genre � I get bored.
if their favorite bands are all pop bands � I get bored.
if their favorite bands are the top 5 on the radio � I get bored.
if their favorite authors are all Oprah book club � I get bored.
if their favorite authors are all poets � I get bored.

of course, all these judgments change depending on the mood I am currently in.

if a person has made it this far, I check out their actual diary.

the layout is of initial importance.
super fancy layouts bore me � I wish the owner would put all that time instead into what they write.
confusing, difficult-to-read layouts confuse me. and bore me. � I just want to read the dairy! don�t distract me!

if the layout is ok, and the entry is ok, and a couple of random older entries from the archives are ok, I�ll go back to the profile�and look at who listed them as favorites. if they have 300 entries and no one lists them as a favorite, I get suspicious and read a few more entries. if they have 10 entries and 30 people who list them, I also get suspicious.

then I read their notes � if it seems like the only people who post notes are their personal friends � I get bored.

if everything checks out to this point and I�m still intrigued�I�ll THINK about adding them as a favorite. I might read a few more entries first�or I might add them on a �trial period�, knowing that if they start to suck after awhile, I can delete them.

however, once a person has made it my favorites and stays there for a while, they are likely never to leave � I may be indecisive or stringent in my selection process, but I�m also loyal.

I guess it�s kind of hypocritical of me to expect so much out of other people�s diaries when I don�t know if I provide it myself.

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