Basically, the idea came to me nearly six years ago (how time flies!) when I realised that despite all the work being put into many journals, a lot of authors were losing heart, complaining that nobody was reading their material. A few members without journals would occasionally express surprise that such-a-member was writing about this, that or the other, and many weren't even aware the journal section existed. So I suggested people might want to write about what they were, well, writing about. I got no response from anyone, so I undertook to do it myself. In essence, I intended to give a very brief outline of each journal, an idea of what they were doing, and to point people who might be interested in their direction. It began as part of the “What's Happening on MB” thread in 2012 and was eventually seen to have outgrown that in terms of popularity, thereby awarded its own thread in April 2013. So yeah, it's been around for almost eighty percent of the time I've been here.

And generally speaking, it's been wildly successful, has managed to kickstart a new dawn for journal writers, with more people becoming involved than, I think, ever before, and brought you as authors hopefully more views than you might have managed on your own. It's also on the odd occasion become a talking point in the main forum, so it's not quite famous, but certainly well-known. When I was away for almost a year from 2015-16, there were quite a few grumbles about how the thread wasn't updated anymore, and of course once I returned I kicked it back into life. So it's become something of a way of life here for many people, and is now a fixture of the forum. Success!

But some people remain confused as to what exactly it is I try to do here, so for those people, and anyone else who wants to know, I present

The DO's and DON'T's of the Journal Update Thread

I DO ensure every journal that is updated is included. Very occasionally I will miss someone out; I'm not perfect. As the thread is moderated I can't edit my posts once they've been approved, so if I do miss someone out I'll either post a separate entry on them or if they're okay with waiting, I'll include them next month, highlighting the fact that I missed them out on the previous one.

I DO post the update on the first Sunday of every month. Originally it was a weekly thing, but as my workload increased and the work rate in the journals section decreased, and there was less to write about every week, I decided to change it to a monthly update. Anything posted up to 6pm Irish time on that Sunday should be included.

I DON'T read everyone's entries all the way through. This should perhaps be obvious but does not seem to be. Many of you write long and excellent, occasionally rambling entries, and there are the odd ones I have no interest in (like wrestling or beer). I'm always happy to encourage good writing and would never suggest anyone write less, but you can't expect me to read a three-page diatribe on the decline of punk or a one-page tribute to Jim Morrison, or a ten-page expose of the Grammys, or whatever it is you're writing. I simply don't have the time. So your journal(s) will get skimmed by me. I'll write a quick idea of what I see - “Pet_Sounds is looking at Bowie, Occult is checking out Indonesian Jazz, Ki is doing platform games” etc – and will put in as much specific content as I can, referring to albums, games, books, whatever, that pop up in your entries. Much of what you do will however be covered by “and much more.” If nothing else, this encourages people to check out what you're writing.

I DON'T act as a publicity agent or advertising for any one journal, or any group of journals. All I do is point people towards the journals; it doesn't matter particularly if I like them or if I'm interested in them. This is a totally impartial update.

I DON'T include journals that have been a) not updated within the timeframe b) only updated by someone other than the author inserting a comment (even if the author then replies to that) or c) have been bumped for stupid reasons. To be included, you need to write an actual entry.

I DO all the journals alphabetically, so nobody is favoured above someone else. If your name begins with Z, sorry, but you're going to be last. Change your username if it really bothers you that much.

I DON'T play favourites when I review. In other words – generally, with the odd exception – I won't say “check this journal but not that one” or “this journal is terrible; avoid it”. I try to be as impartial and fair as I can, and if something is not for me, then I realise and accept that it could be for others, and will do my best to communicate that.

I DON'T publish extracts of journals any more unless given permission to do so for a specific section. Links only.

I DO cover all journals in the section UNLESS you ask me not to. I have had this request once and it remains in place.

I DO highlight certain journals/members when writing specific sections (Post of the Month, Trollheart's Hotseat Award etc) outside of the main rundown of the journals.