Danger, Will Robinson: Why You Might Not Want To Keep An Online Journal.

             Which brings me to an important question, one you have to ask yourself before embarking on keeping a web journal: .

             Why are you doing this? .

             I really wish more people would ask this before they start. The answer to this question might stop more of these journals before they start. .

             Depending on what information you make available, people can learn an awful lot about you. And you might be saying a lot about people other than yourself, people who might not appreciate your saying anything about them they haven't expressly permitted. You will piss people off -- this is just about the only guarantee I can give you about online journals. .

             When I started The Paperwork, I envisioned it as a series of letters to friends back home to keep them up on what I was doing while I was down in Los Angeles. I decided what I would and wouldn't put in it, and for the most part I've stuck to it: I would talk about what I did during the day, if I was likely to mention other people in passing I asked their permission, and if I had something to write that was bad or possibly deleterious to someone's character, I either didn't include it or I used a pseudonym. .

             There have been times when I've wanted to write something and I haven't because it's too personal, or it's someone else's story, or whatever. But it's tough. There are no easy answers. .

             There are some pretty decent guidelines: .

             DON'T put incredibly revealing information about yourself on the Net unless you are comfortable with hundreds or thousands of people knowing exactly where you live or what your phone number is or when you're going to be out of town. I mean: DUH. .

             If you put a disclaimer on your pages like, "Friends and family: stay out, this is private," you have just put a big "You better read this!" on your page. .

             If you put something up about friends or loved ones or people you can't stand, accept ahead of time that they will find it.