Revision as of 16:13, 6 March 2010

A more complete history of LJ can be found on Wikipedia:Timeline of LiveJournal.

LJ History

1999

• 1999-03 -- brad starts LJ

2001

• 2001-05 -- LJ clone DeadJournal is started
• 2001-11 -- LJ clone InsaneJournal is started

2003

• 2003-03 -- LJ clone JournalFen is started
• This is also the year that fandom_wank is TOSed from LiveJournal, TOSed from Blurty, and ends up at JournalFen.

2005

• 2005-01-05 -- Big news... Six Apart and LiveJournal! -- Six Apart purchases LiveJournal

2006

• 2006-04-18 -- Introducing a new account level -- The introduction of Sponsored+, later to become Plus.
• May/June -- Breastfeeding strike
• 2006-09-26 -- Sponsored Content -- Sponsored accounts and features come into being
• 2006-10-18 -- LJ and SUP -- Six Apart turns over the Russian side of LJ to SUP

2007

• 2007-05-29 -- Strikethrough, Phase I
• 2007-06-21 -- Hypothetically, let's say that you had a chance to sit down with the person who's going to be the future buck-stops-here decision-maker for LJ. (synecdochic)
• 2007-07-15 -- the internet is serious business (synecdochic) -- synecdochic announces she is quitting employment at LJ and her last day is July 27th.
• 2007-08-02 -- Strikethrough, Phase II
• 2007-08 -- LJ Clone Scribblet is born
• 2007-12-12 -- Six Apart Announces New Home for LiveJournal -- Sale to SUP
• 2007-12-07ish -- GreatestJournal diaspora starts. Users are told to start migrating to another site.

Pre-Dreamwidth -- ie, Hypothetical Journal

March 2008

• 2008-03-12 -- The 100th Day -- Removal of Basic option for new accounts created. See also I feel very, very, very fucking sorry for certain people today. (synecdochic).
• 2008-03, 15-17 -- Interest blocking from the Top 100 list discovered and then removed.
• 2008-03-21 -- totally hypothetical no really i swear -- Poll gauging people's interest in a hypothetical journalling service.

April 2008

• 2008-04 -- Scribblit changes to Inksome

May 2008

• 2008-05 -- Inksome opens to public paid accounts

Dreamwidth Development

June 2008

• 2008-06-11 -- Announcing Dreamwidth Studios. Coming Summer 2008. -- The announcement of DW's conception.
• 2008-06-16 -- Poll: Mood Themes -- Poll about mood themes.
• 2008-06-13 -- S2 Styles Poll. -- Poll about S2 layouts.
• 2008-06-24 -- straw poll #19384 -- Poll about top-level menu items in the LJ scheme.

July 2008

• 2008-07-02 -- Dreamwidth needs mood themes! -- a public call for people to design mood themes.
• 2008-07-30 -- I keep forgetting! and this -- DW is open for volunteer development.

August 2008

• 2008-08-08 -- First quote in #dw IRC QDB -- A quotes database for Dreamwidth's IRC channels is opened, and the first quote appears.

January 2009

• 2009-01-06 -- The Grim Purge -- LJ lays off half of the San Francisco office employees, including the entire design team. Dreamwidth kicks into high gear: see Rest In Peace (xb95) and FYI (synecdochic).
• 2009-01-07 -- GreatestJournal dies completely, after having limped along in zombie form for the past six months.

Dreamwidth Begins

February 2009

• 2009-02-14 -- Closed beta launch. Accounts are given to the beta testers and testing begins.
• 2009-02-16 -- dw-progress: 16 February 2009 dw-news comes into use.

March 2009

• 2009-03-09 -- Progress Report: 9 March 2009 -- First code tour (list of resolved bugs)
• 2009-03-16 -- Progress Report: March 16, 2009 -- Mention of "code bootcamp" (#dw_kindergarten)
• 2009-03-23 -- Progress Report: 23 March 2009 -- core2 style system backend released.
• 2009-03-26 -- Open Beta Launch Date Set -- Date of 2009-04-30 (evening, EST) set for open beta; two-phase seed account sale announced.
• 2009-03-30 -- Progress Report: 30 March 2009

April 2009

• 2009-04-30 -- Open beta launch.

The Future

• fu joining full time, april 2010
• Cross-site Authenticated Reading List
• Full launch -- previously expected for Q309