Libb

I added a limited selection of links to (what I consider) interesting Lemmy communities, in the sidebar.

• As a fountain pen user myself, the !fountainpens@lemmy.world seemed quite obvious. Note that I would love to add a link to a Bic/ballpoint pen, pencil, and to other writing implements communities, if you know any or feel like creating a new one :)
• The !pkms@lemmy.blahaj.zone is all about Personal Knowledge Management which, in its own unique way, a journal can also be. If you’re wondering, next to my journal I also write a lot in my Zetellkasten and yep, like my journal it is an analog one: after many years and many attempt trying and trying again to be full digital I decided it was time to fully commit to analog.
• !artshare@lemmy.world and !watercolor@lemmy.ml are all about posting art. I don’t know about you, but I like art books a lot and I also like to look at art online. I also sketch in my journal and even though I'm no artist, I like that a lot. I find it inspiring to look at the work of others.

Are there other communities that you would like to suggest? It goes without saying but better be clear: no politics, no hate, no porn. Only stuff that you think relates to journaling in some way. Do you know a community around office supply or notebooks or a community dedicated to sketching, maybe?

What do you think about having those links? Is it a ‘Yeah!’ or is it a ‘Nay’?

Keep in mind this is only a proposition, let your voice be heard :)

Edit: in case you did not noticed it, I also slightly updated the rules/description.

It is a recurring topic on the reddit Journaling sub, Mom accidentally read my Journal, or My cousin read my diary, and so on. Bet it a cousin, a dad, a mom (my mom read my journal when I was a kid and my life changed, not for the best), siblings, SO, colleagues,... People may rightfully feel devastated after someone read their journal without their permission.

It goes without saying that no one should read a journal without being invited to. And that there is no such thing as an 'accidental reading' of a journal.

Anyone accidentally reading more than a few words of the first page in a journal is doing it on purpose. They decided to read (a little, or a lot more of) the intimate thoughts and words of another other person because they wanted to read it.

Do you protect the privacy of your journal? And if so, how?

I used to, as a kid (after the 'mom even' I mentioned). I learned to replace names with fictitious ones, and to hide my journal in odd places. I also very quickly learned to write in English, because she could not read English and because, back in those days, there was no such thing as the Internet with instant-translation. Also, I knew very well she would never dare ask anyone to translate it for her, she was way too afraid of people reaction and judgment. She did try to coerce me into translating it, though... with little luck. Later, I learned to... destroy all my old journals, in order to preserve my privacy.

As a young adult, I kept it hidden in a box or in a drawer with a lock.

And as a less young adult, I quit hiding it. I did kept regularly destroying it, alas. A sad habit I only quit recently.

Nowadays, my journal sits on my desk (and the few remaining old ones are in plain sight on a bookshelf). My spouse could easily take it and read it the moment I turn away. But I know she would never do that, not without me telling her to read it. Like she knows I would never go through her paper without her permission. In the 25 years we’ve been together, we’ve learned to trust each other and to be OK with not sharing everything together, We both have our little if not secret at least they're private gardens. But I also realize I’m very lucky to live with someone like her.

Have you ever experimented such an intrusion in your privacy? Or would that be ok for you?

If privacy matters to you, how do you manage to protect it? Do you ask to your SO other, or kids or whomever to simply respect your privacy, do you store it in some place? Do you use a password protected digital journal? Or?

Digital is safer?

As much as I prefer a paper and pen journal, I must admit that a digital journal is probably the best option for anyone concerned with privacy.

Be it in most word processors, like LibreOffice Writer (which is free), MS Word, or even Apple Pages, it’s very easy to password protect a document so no one can open it without knowing that password. And if you’re using a dedicated journaling app (like DayOne that I have used for many, many years next to my paper journal), there is an option to password protect it. And I'm pretty sure it's the case with most if not all apps.

Feel free to share your own experience!

One of the reasons I see people advance when explaining why they gave up on regularly keeping a journal—a pen and paper journal, I mean—is that writing longhand can be exhausting.

Sadly, they’re right.

One can quickly get cramped fingers or a tired hand and wrist, which won’t do much to encourage anyone to pick up their pen and write a little more in their journal.

But what’s even sadder is that there is an easy fix: use the right pen.

OK, to be exact there are three things one should consider:

• the paper used,
• the position we're sitting in and the ergonomics in general,
• the pen used.

In conjunction, they can as easily drain all our energy or help preserve it tremendously. And writing is all about managing one's energy.

Imho, of those three things the simplest thing to change is the pen. To find one that will work great for you. One that you will enjoy writing with, instead of dreading it.

Take the ballpoint pen for example.

I'm willing to bet it's the most widely used writing device anywhere on the planet. From the cheap Bic crystal to the expensive Montblanc Meisterstück, even the classic Jotter from Parker, all ballpoint pens work exactly the same. They use a tiny ball to dispense an oil-based (aka thick) ink when they're pressed hard enough on the sheet of paper. They're incredibly reliable and practical. They can be used in almost any position and anywhere—even in space.

Alas, it's also the one requiring the most force to write with (even the space pen requires force, just a different one). As one does need to press them hard enough on the paper otherwise it will not leave a mark and because one needs force, one also needs to grip it tight.

A ballpoint pen is a great tool but if you have any excessive fatigue writing with one, or with any other tool for that matter, imho it’s worth trying something different.

Ballpoint pen, gel pen, rollerball, pencils, markers, fountain pen, maybe a dip pen and why not the quill, and I certainly forgot to name quite a few others.

What's you favorite? And do you have one dedicated to journaling?

My favorite depends on what I’m writing. For short notes on the go, I’m an official fan of the cheap Bic and the Uniball Eye (this one is a rollerball pen). For years, I also used one of those Bullet Space Pen (it was incredibly reliable). For anything longer than a short note? I’m a fountain pen guy.

Alas, unlike with a ballpoint pen, there are many wrong ways to use a fountain pen which can make the experience less than... effortless.

Back in my days, it was part of the lessons but since kids aren't been taught to use a fountain pen anymore there is a high risk that even the more adventurous may not fully enjoy using a fountain pen if they try one. Simply because they aren't taught how to properly use it.

In case you would like to know more about that, here is a great introductory video on the subject: How to Write with a Fountain Pen. It’s made by the Goulet Pens Company, a fountain pen seller in the USA. I’m not affiliated with them, I'm not even one of their customers. It's just an overall excellent series of advice. You may also watch their other beginner videos. And here is a written article which is excellent too, this one was made by JetPens, another US seller I’m not affiliated with: How to Write with a Fountain Pen.

Before I leave you, I have a request

Let me know if you think this kind of topic is interesting or if you think it does not belong here. Obviously, I find it interesting but I’m also experimenting stuff, trying to find ways to encourage people to post and to comment. So, any feedback will be appreciated :)

Hello guys,

I'm new to the community but have been a Zettelkasten user for quite some time.

The thing is that my Zettelkasten is full analog, not digital. Yep, I use some pen to write on index cards that are then stored in boxes. Like some caveman ;)

It's low-tech not because I'm averse to digital, mind you. It's just that I prefer being able to freely spread and order my index cards on a table as I see fit, and a few other reasons like that (like being away from a screen).

Is the community digital-only, or would that be OK to post about analog too?

Thx

J’ai très envie de créer une communauté dédiée au Zettelkasten qui est, pour la poignée de personnes qui ne connaitraient pas déjà, la version Allemande du kama… Heu, non, c'est pas ça. C'est une technique de prise et de gestion des notes formalisée par un universitaire allemand.

Bref, c’est un truc qui ne s’adresse pas exclusivement aux universitaires (j’en suis pas un) mais qui reste très niche. Cela n’aidera évidemment pas à attirer des masses d’annonceurs, j’en suis conscient.

Là où ça devient carrément encore plus niche, c’est que si je crée cette communauté, elle sera focus sur la version ‘papier’ ou analogique du zettelkasten (des fiches bristol dans une ou plusieurs boites à chaussures, en gros) et pas sur les nombreuses déclinaisons digitales qui sont plus populaires de nos jours. Je suis certain que c’est très bien, et j’en ai testé un paquet moi-même, mais j’ai jamais réussi à y trouver la même souplesse que dans mes ‘vieilles’ fiches bristol toutes bêtes, du coup je me sentirais mal placé pour modérer quoi que ce soit de ce point de vue (et j'ai aussi un peu peur que ma pauvre version paper soit noyée sous un flot de conversations digitales). Bref, si c'est analogique ça va encore attirer moins de monde.


Du coup, je me dis que le plus sage ce serait de la créer en anglais, pour qu’un max de monde s’y sente les bienvenus.

En lisant le descriptif de Jlail.lu dans la barre latérale, je lis que l'utilisateur anglophone est bienvenue. mais je ne sais pas si cela implique d'accueillir une communauté ouvertement et hypothétiquement complètement anglophone? Ou bien vous diriez que mes fiches bristol et moi ont peut aller se faire fry an egg chez les rosbifs ou chez les yankees? :P

It's a question I just read on our Reddit cousin sub Journaling that’s worth sharing, imho.

The op seems to be concerned by the fear of the blank page and also seems to have a hard time expressing their emotions in written form.

Is it something that intimidates you too?

To avoid being intimidated by any new notebook, I have made it a habit to ruin its first page. Either by making some stupid drawing on it, or by staining it with ink. Like, literally staining the page.

Here is the first page of my current journal (left) and previous one (right). One is mere stains and scratchy nibs. The other is written in French and it reads 'Tuesday, 28th May 2024' (I only write the full date on the very first entry of a journal) 'To finish—therefore to start a journal' and next to this very deep thought I did a sketch of the XLR plug of my microphone that was lying on my desk.

Now, why should I care about ‘damaging’ my pretty journal? It's already a mess. And I find that incredibly liberating.

Have you ever done that? Or what else do you do to avoid the 'fear of the blank page/new notebook'? Or you simply don't care and start writing?

As for actually writing stuff in the journal, like I mentioned previously), the simplest thing I can think of is to write down the day and the date, plus some tidbits of info I value keeping. I may or may not write more below those snippets, and I may or may not do it every single day either. It doesn’t matter.

I have no set rule if I shall write in the morning to recap the previous day, or summarize the day right before I go to bed. Or write at any specific time in between.

What about you? Do you have any rules?

Lastly, what about writing down emotions? That’s very personal, obviously.

The key point to keep in mind regarding the way I journal is that I don’t care much about writing well in my journal. It’s not a novel or some paper I want anyone else to read. It's merely a collection of short and random notes about what happens around me, or in my head, I want to remember or reflect upon. So, I try to write them as they pop in my head. Well, it’s a tad more nuanced than that but it would take much longer to explain and maybe it’s worth discussing in its own thread?
What do you say?

... and how do you journal about your emotions, if at all?

Just in case you're wondering why I have a shiny moderator badge next to my name, I've been promoted.

Why is that?

It's not because I have posted a few messages here. I would even say that imho it's not a promotion at all. But it still is a needed thing.

As the creator of the community seems to have vanished for quite a while now, I explained to the guys at sh.itjust.works (where the community was created) what my plan was and asked them what we could do if a troll was to decide to make their nest around here, since we had no one to moderate the place. They agreed someone should be able to gently ask said troll to go lay their eggs elsewhere. Hence the promotion.

If you think I'm not cut for the job, I would not object but I will still try to do my best until someone better qualified shows up and asks for the badge—to which I would not be mad, nor angry. Seriously, make your voice heard.

Super-Mini FAQ

• Do I accept bribes? Absolutely. In the form of new posts, comments, and participations in the community only.
• What are my qualifications? I post journaling-related content and I know one should never feed a troll. Which undoubtedly demonstrates how qualified I am.
• Did I get a pay raise? It goes without saying. I'm not the kind that will work for free, you know.
• Did I get a six shooter with my sheriff badge? Oddly enough, the guys refused to give me one for some reasons I did not fully understood, I'm not a native speaker you know, it was something about someone obvious lack of maturity and someone being a bit too trigger-happy. Obviously, I have no idea who they were referring to. I got a pretty whistle, though.

I don't know about you but I like to sketch in my journal.

I will simply sketch anything that grabs my attention or that I want to remember, no matter how insignificant it can be. To keep a visual record.

I sketched that electronic thermometer the day after I had an infection and my temp reached some worrying level, while I was still recovering at home (the temperature reached 39.7 C, approx 103F, and when I called her the following day to inform her of what happened, my doctor was very unhappy I did not call her immediately 0:p)

I have no particular skills and zero illusion to ever become a professional artist, mind you. And that's fine with me. I have fun sketching (and painting) and, later, while I browse the pages of my journal I will often have fun looking at those silly sketches. Often, not always ;)

Someday I will sketch plenty unrelated stuff. While other days I won't sketch anything. And that's probably the one thing I would love to be more consistant at—sketching at least once a day.

What about you?

Do you sketch in your journal too? Or do you do any other kind of visual stuff, just for the fun/joy of doing them, or for some other reason? Decorate your journal maybe?

Are there stuff you would like to improve?

For example, I would love to get better at doing nice page layout in my journal. We can see so many gorgeous examples online, whereas mine are, well, blocky at best.

As an example of great visual journals, if you don't know him already, you might want to check Danny Gregory's YT channels, and probably read one (any) of his books: https://www.youtube.com/@SketchBookSkool and https://www.youtube.com/@DannyGregory

As for his books, the first one I would suggest must be 'The Creative License', closely followed by 'Everyday Matters'.

Hello guys,

I am not a member of sh.itjustworks, so I know I cannot become the new moderator/admin of any of your community.

That being said, I do have a question regarding one of your inactive community I have recently started trying to revive by posting regular content: https://sh.itjust.works/c/journaling

The community has seen no activity since its creation and I have yet to hear back form its admin I contacted a few days ago. Inactive or not, there are a couple hundreds members subscribed to it.

So far, I have posted 4 or 5 new topics and, even though modest, it seems to generate some activity. Which I find encouraging.

But before I invest any more energy into this, other users I have discussed the question with have suggested I should make sure I or someone else will be able to moderate the community if a troll, or worse, was to find their way inside.

Others have also suggested that it would be simpler to create a new community on my own instance (jlai.lu) and invite members of the existing one to join there. I could do that, but I am not a fan of the idea of creating a new community where there is already one existing unless there really is no other option. I mean, it's not new communities we lack on Lemmy, it's new and more active users in existing ones ;)

So, I am asking for your opinion: what do you think would be best if I was to spend more of my time posting in that community?

1. Let the community stay apparently unmoderated, and keep posting new content as any other member can do (if that needs to be said, I have zero ego-related issue in being or not being 'promoted' moderator, or whatever) and keep my fingers crossed that no troll comes in to poop on the table. As a side-note I would not mind be able to refresh its look. Obviously, that is not essential.
2. Still keep my fingers crossed, hoping that someday, maybe, someone from your instance may decide that it's worth their time to moderate/admin it and request to take hold of it?
3. Create a new community from scratch, on my own instance, and invite members of this one to join me there, by posting a message?
4. Create an account on your instance, so I would be allowed to take charge of it if that was something you would agree is a good idea?

Frankly, I am not sure I want to create a new account just for that. I quite like what you're doing here but I also have no issue with my present instance, quite the contrary. But I may seriously consider doing it if you have reasons to think that would be better/smarter.

I hope this makes sense.

If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them. I am also all ears if you have any suggestion.

Thanks

I have been journaling for almost 50 years and...

Wait a minute. What absolute non-sense did I just wrote there? I have been journaling for how long? Almost fifty years? Fifty effing years? LOL. No way. I'm not that old. No, I am… That’s a lie! I am…

(Here, we should listen to some relaxing music while we let my poor brain process the fact that, indeed, I started journaling as a little 7-year old boy and that was almost 50 years ago. That may take a while, feel free to check your inbox or your TikTok while waiting.)

So, what was I saying? Oh, yes that I have been journaling for a certain time which makes it quite realistic to say that I have used many of the journaling medium one can think of.

Ranging from the good old pen and paper to whatever digital tool one can think of (from the desktop, to the smartphone, including various PDA, laptops, tablets). I have also typed my journal in various word processors and text editors, in various journaling apps, even in… spreadsheets or in a real database. I have also used a blog . Cassette and digital recorders. I even used my grand-father’s typewriter, the wonderful Olympia SG1. Heck, back in my thirties, I learned bookbinding (and to use a traditional press) so I could make my own journals with my choice of paper.

Despite that, I don’t think there is such a thing as 'the right way' to keep a journal or a better way to do it. There are ways that work better, for each one of us. Obviously, I have my preferences but they're just that: preferences.

I like the freedom a paper journal gives me. I like how I can doodle in it, and have fun with page layout or lettering, taping, stapling or gluing stuff on the page too. I like how I can change ink in my fountain pen and expriment with different types of papers. I also like that I am not tied to any app or devise. I like how cheap it can be too. And I like that, privacy-wise, neither the maker of my fountain pen or of my notebook can read what I am writing — unlike what may happen with a digital journal.

But I also like the comfort and peace of mind digital is giving me. The ease of using my phone and its portability. I like being able to instantly find any content, and to have it backed up on some cloud.

That said, very recently, I decided to switch back to a full analog journal. Why? Mostly, because of privacy concern.

I used to use DayOne (and I loved it) but what follows can be said for most if not all apps/services.

For quite a few years already, I had started worrying about the lack of privacy. My journal contains my most intimate thoughts, no one but me should be able to read it. I mean, I would not care if my spouse was to read my journal (she would never, we trust each other like that, but if she was to ever do it I would not care). It's just that nobody else should be allowed to.

So, when I heard the devs at DayOne consider adding an AI-assistant in their app (it was around the same time Apple announced their own AI-powered journaling app), I realized the future of my journal could not be digital. If I can still vaguely trust human developers to be... reasonable, AI has been created to read through text and to process it. So, that day, after 15 or 16 years (?) using Day One I downloaded a PDF of my journal and deleted all my data from their servers and I switched back to pen and paper (I kept my DO account because it was grandfathered many, many years ago when they introduced their subscription model and I never had to pay that sub. So, even though I doubt it, if one day things change back I may want to use it again).

BTW, that’s similar doubts that pushed me to come back to using a paper agenda and the reason why I quit reading ebooks for printed books, as I explain on my blog: Am I Reading That Ebook or Am I Being Read by That Ebook? & Who Owns the Ebook I Purchase?

Since the, I sometimes miss some of the comfort of a digital journal, but I have so much fun sketching and having, well, fun in my paper journal that I simply don’t care.

I also devised working solutions as far as searching and backup are concerned, but that could be another discussion, if anyone is interested?

What about you? Are you analog or digital or, like I was up until very recently, are you ok with mixing both?

Do you think ~~I’m a moron~~ I’m being a bit excessive in giving up on digital in the name of privacy? (As a matter of fact, if my paper journal was to be stolen, that person would be able to read it and to share its content with anyone, right? Isn't that a worse situation?)

What do you think?

While we're waiting for reactions or comments regarding the future of the community, here is a nice prompt I just stumbled upon on the r/journaling.

If I had this power, I would wake up as… me.

A much younger me, though. Aged 11 or so, when I started making real life-changing decisions. I would wake as this young-me but with all I know and all I have experienced during the almost 50 years that have passed since that time.

I’m not talking about knowing in advance what to study and what job to get (and which ones to avoid) nor where to invest some money (even though that would not be a bad idea :p). Just the intimate knowledge of all I did wrong, and why I did it. What I did well, and how I could do it better. Simply put, I would try to help younger-me become a better person.

Making wrongs rights would be top-priority. Helping me hurt less people around me. Hurt myself a little less, too. I would also encourage myself to care a lot more about a few of those people. And to tell them much more loudly they’re important.

I would not advise myself against those few real bad persons I have met along the way. Most of them, even if unknowingly, helped me learn valuable lessons. Maybe except one, that did real long lasting harm. Maybe.

Lastly, I would tell myself to not waste as much time as I did. Life is short and I wasted so much of it. Not as much because I was being lazy (I was, at times) but because I always wanted to experiment as much as I could in life, I wanted to have lived something before deciding if that something was worth it. I would instead encourage young-me to focus much more on a selected few meaningful experiences, ignoring all the others.

Maybe I would fail at changing myself, stubborn as I was? No idea ;)

What about you? Who would you be? And why?

You may have read my previous post, announcing I would be trying to revive this community by posting regularly in it?

This morning I mentioned this project in another discussion on Lemmy and someone rightfully pointed to me I may want to be able to moderate said community and that probably I would need to create one from scratch.

I don't want to make a new community if there is no need too, Lemmy is already short on participants without creating even more separated and smaller communities. I also don't feel any personal urge to be an admin myself. But I also don't want to encourage people to participate in a community that no one would be able to keep civil.

Before doing anything, I would like to hear your opinion and suggestions if you have any. What do you think I should do or, much better, what should we do?

And if the admin is reading this: what do you say about all of that?

While I wait for your comments, I will also ping the admins on my very own instance. We're a French speaking one, so I want to ask them if that would be OK to host an English speaking community. Whatever happen next, I’ll let your know.