Terminology
This is a list of what we're calling things here at Dreamwidth.
For right now, this page is almost-but-not-quite definitive; some things may change, but most items are what we'll always use.
See the Discussion page for discussion about what to call things that haven't been named yet.
Contents
User Relationships
Instead of using the single term friend we use two terms:
- Journals you've added to your Reading Page are called subscriptions.
- Journals you trust with some or all of your protected content are on your Access list.
The Reading Page is the equivalent of the friends page.
For example:
- When you subscribe to a journal it becomes a subscribed journal; you're subscribed to that journal.
- This journal will appear on your subscriptions list, and you'll appear on its subscribers list.
- When you grant Access to someone, they appear on your Access list, while you'll appear on their Access to list.
Access filters are custom groups. You can use them to control who has access to your content. There will be Reading filters to control what journals appear on your Reading Page, but these won't be available during beta.
Relationship describes both subscriptions and access.
Your Circle contains all the journals with whom you have a relationship.
Your Network is your Circle's Circle.
The equivalent of the friends' friends page is Read Your Network, and the equivalent of Popular With Friends is Popular in Your Network.
Other
Account name or Username
When you're referring to the name of an account on Dreamwidth, use account name, not username.
Accounts or Users
Use account(s), not user(s). If you can, use "you" instead of either.
Archive
The archive displays past entries of a journal or community by year or by month. Don't refer to it as a calendar.
Community Administration
The people who create and/or moderate communities are administrators. Don't refer to them as moderators or maintainers.
Email Confirmation
Email addresses are confirmed rather than validated.
Entry or Post
- Entry
- The proper noun form is entry (entries rather than posts or postings).
- Post
- The proper verb form is post.
The only exception to this is the verb to make: You post an entry to your account; you make a post to your account; you write an entry in your account.
Feeds
When it's necessary to distinguish the Dreamwidth account from its originating feed, use the term feed account. Don't mention syndication or syndicated accounts.
Interactions Menu
The little menu that appears on the top right of the profile with options like modify, access, send message, track, etc. is the Interactions Menu.
Locked or Protected
Threads are locked when no one can respond to them any longer. Content (entries, photo galleries, etc) is protected when it isn't public.
The preferred term is Navigation Strip or Nav Strip for short. Don't refer to it as the control strip.
Profile
The correct term is profile. Don't use user info.
Tracking/Notifications
Tracking specifically refers to tracking comments/entries.
Notifications is a more general term.
- You receive a notification when someone adds you to their Circle.
- You receive a notification when someone comments on an entry you're tracking.
- You wouldn't track people adding you to their Circle.
- The Inbox is still referred to as the Inbox; all notifications go to the inbox, and you can also have them emailed to you.
Don't refer to this feature as subscribing or as Event Subscription Notification (ESN).
User Icons
Refer to these as icons generally, and as user icons if necessary for clarity or to distinguish from other icons.
