Difference between revisions of "Dreamwidth Timeline"

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{{Expand|text=This should be a timeline of DW's conception.  Should probably also include LJ actions as well that drove DW's formation.}}
 
{{Expand|text=This should be a timeline of DW's conception.  Should probably also include LJ actions as well that drove DW's formation.}}
  
−
A more complete history of LJ can be found on [[Wikipedia:Timeline of LiveJournal]].
+
A more complete history of LJ can be found on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LiveJournal this timeline of LiveJournal].
  
 
= LJ History =
 
= LJ History =
Line 8: Line 8:
  
 
* 1999-03 -- <ljuser>brad</ljuser> starts LJ
 
* 1999-03 -- <ljuser>brad</ljuser> starts LJ
 +
* 1999-04-15 -- the domain livejournal.com is registered
  
 
== 2001 ==
 
== 2001 ==
  
 +
* 2001-03-24 -- Brad announces [http://news.livejournal.com/35752.html LJ is open source]
 
* 2001-05 -- LJ clone [http://www.deadjournal.com/ DeadJournal] is started
 
* 2001-05 -- LJ clone [http://www.deadjournal.com/ DeadJournal] is started
 
* 2001-11 -- LJ clone [http://www.insanejournal.com/ InsaneJournal] is started
 
* 2001-11 -- LJ clone [http://www.insanejournal.com/ InsaneJournal] is started
Line 16: Line 18:
 
== 2003 ==
 
== 2003 ==
  
 +
* 2003-02-05 -- <ljuser>bradfitz</ljuser> [http://news.livejournal.com/63413.html announces strict by-day rate limiting on entries (to curb a spammer influx)].
 +
* 2003-02-05 -- Over the next few days, users react to the user impact of strict rate limiting of entries (including entries to communities), with over 2000 comments on the first news post and 1,000-some on the second.
 +
* 2003-02-07 -- <ljuser>bradfitz</ljuser> [http://news.livejournal.com/63413.html?thread=4137141#t4137141 says] "I would never advertise on LJ. That's so 1994."
 
* 2003-03 -- LJ clone [http://www.journalfen.net/ JournalFen] is started
 
* 2003-03 -- LJ clone [http://www.journalfen.net/ JournalFen] is started
 
* This is also the year that fandom_wank is TOSed from LiveJournal, TOSed from Blurty, and ends up at JournalFen.
 
* This is also the year that fandom_wank is TOSed from LiveJournal, TOSed from Blurty, and ends up at JournalFen.
 +
 +
== 2004 ==
 +
 +
* 2004-01 -- Mark Smith hired by LiveJournal as a developer: http://news.livejournal.com/75899.html
  
 
== 2005 ==
 
== 2005 ==
Line 25: Line 34:
 
== 2006 ==
 
== 2006 ==
  
−
* 2006-04-18 -- [http://news.livejournal.com/91919.html Introducing a new account level] -- The introduction of Sponsored+, later to become Plus.
+
* 2006-04-18 -- [http://news.livejournal.com/91919.html Introducing a new account level] -- The introduction of Sponsored+, later to become Plus. This account level includes advertisements.  
 
* May/June -- Breastfeeding strike
 
* May/June -- Breastfeeding strike
 
* 2006-09-26 -- [http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/237534.html Sponsored Content] -- Sponsored accounts and features come into being
 
* 2006-09-26 -- [http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/237534.html Sponsored Content] -- Sponsored accounts and features come into being
Line 38: Line 47:
 
* 2007-08 -- LJ Clone Scribblet is born
 
* 2007-08 -- LJ Clone Scribblet is born
 
* 2007-12-12 -- [http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2007/12/six_apart_annou.html Six Apart Announces New Home for LiveJournal] -- Sale to SUP
 
* 2007-12-12 -- [http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2007/12/six_apart_annou.html 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.
+
* 2007-12-07ish -- GreatestJournal diaspora starts. GJ users are told to start migrating to another site.
 +
* 2007-12-19 -- Jason Shellen joins LiveJournal as VP of Product Development: http://blog.shellen.com/2007/12/im-joining-livejournal-as-vp-of-product.asp
 +
 
 +
== Early 2008 ==
 +
 
 +
* 2008-01 -- Mark goes to work for Mozilla http://blog.mozilla.com/mark/2008/01/
  
 
= Pre-Dreamwidth -- ie, Hypothetical Journal =
 
= Pre-Dreamwidth -- ie, Hypothetical Journal =
Line 47: Line 61:
 
* 2008-03, 15-17 -- Interest blocking from the Top 100 list discovered and then removed.
 
* 2008-03, 15-17 -- Interest blocking from the Top 100 list discovered and then removed.
 
* 2008-03-21 -- [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/205203.html totally hypothetical no really i swear] -- Poll gauging people's interest in a hypothetical journalling service.
 
* 2008-03-21 -- [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/205203.html totally hypothetical no really i swear] -- Poll gauging people's interest in a hypothetical journalling service.
 +
* 2008-03-26 -- Jason Shellen leaves LiveJournal http://twitter.com/shellen/statuses/777452202
  
 
== April 2008 ==
 
== April 2008 ==
  
−
* 2008-04 -- Scribblit changes to [http://www.inksome.com/ Inksome]
+
* 2008-04-02 -- <ljuser>tupshin</ljuser>'s journal created.
 +
* 2008-04-06 -- First 4 Dreamwidth accounts created. http://www.dreamwidth.org/stats/stats.txt
 +
* 2008-04-07 -- <ljuser>twocorpses</ljuser> [http://community.livejournal.com/scribblit/16789.html hands the Scribblit journal service over to Kit, keeping rights to the Scribblit name herself.]
 +
* 2008-04-08 -- <ljuser>popefelix</ljuser> [http://community.livejournal.com/scribblit/17046.html takes over administration of the site formerly known as Scribblit].
 +
* 2008-04-19 -- [http://www.inksome.com/users/staff_kit/5795.html The Site Formerly Known as Scribblit changes] to [http://www.inksome.com/ Inksome]
  
 
== May 2008 ==
 
== May 2008 ==
  
 
* 2008-05 -- Inksome opens to public paid accounts
 
* 2008-05 -- Inksome opens to public paid accounts
 +
* 2008-05-02 -- New LiveJournal dev manager <ljuser>tupshin</ljuser> introduces himself in his journal: http://tupshin.livejournal.com/1298.html
  
 
= Dreamwidth Development =
 
= Dreamwidth Development =
Line 69: Line 89:
 
* 2008-07-02 -- [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/233088.html Dreamwidth needs mood themes!] -- a public call for people to design mood themes.
 
* 2008-07-02 -- [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/233088.html Dreamwidth needs mood themes!] -- a public call for people to design mood themes.
 
* 2008-07-30 -- [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/243180.html I keep forgetting!] and [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/243536.html this] -- DW is open for volunteer development.
 
* 2008-07-30 -- [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/243180.html I keep forgetting!] and [http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/243536.html this] -- DW is open for volunteer development.
 +
 +
== August 2008 ==
 +
 +
* 2008-08-08 -- [http://qdb.dreamwidth.net/dw/1 First quote in #dw IRC QDB] -- A quotes database for Dreamwidth's IRC channels is opened on qdb.zhzh.org, and the first quote appears. (QDB is later moved.)
 +
 +
== December 2008 ==
 +
* 2008-12-01 -- Mark starts at Google: http://xb95.dreamwidth.org/624464.html
  
 
== January 2009 ==
 
== January 2009 ==
  
−
* 2009-01-06 -- [http://community.livejournal.com/no_lj_ads/83519.html The Grim Purge] -- LJ lays off half of the San Francisco office employees, including the entire design team.  Dreamwidth kicks into high gear: see <ljlink href="http://xb95.livejournal.com/635394.html">Rest In Peace</ljlink> and <ljlink href="http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/302379.html">FYI</ljlink>.
+
* 2009-01-06 -- [http://community.livejournal.com/no_lj_ads/83519.html The Grim Purge] -- LJ lays off half of the San Francisco office employees, including the entire design team.  Dreamwidth kicks into high gear:
 +
** [http://xb95.dreamwidth.org/627418.html Rest In Peace] (<dwuser>xb95</dwuser>)
 +
** <ljlink href="http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/302379.html">FYI</ljlink>.
 
* 2009-01-07 -- GreatestJournal dies completely, after having limped along in zombie form for the past six months.
 
* 2009-01-07 -- GreatestJournal dies completely, after having limped along in zombie form for the past six months.
  
 
= Dreamwidth Begins =
 
= Dreamwidth Begins =
−
 
+
==2009==
−
== February 2009 ==
+
=== February 2009 ===
  
 
* 2009-02-14 -- [http://lists.dwscoalition.org/pipermail/dw-progress/2009-February/000011.html Closed beta launch].  Accounts are given to the beta testers and testing begins.
 
* 2009-02-14 -- [http://lists.dwscoalition.org/pipermail/dw-progress/2009-February/000011.html Closed beta launch].  Accounts are given to the beta testers and testing begins.
 +
* 2009-02-16 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/506.html dw-progress: 16 February 2009] <dwcomm>dw-news</dwcomm> comes into use.
 +
* 2009-02-28 -- scans_daily TOSed from LiveJournal
 +
 +
=== March 2009 ===
 +
 +
* 2009-03-09 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/1449.html Progress Report: 9 March 2009] -- First code tour (list of resolved bugs)
 +
* 2009-03-16 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/1711.html Progress Report: March 16, 2009] -- Mention of "code bootcamp" (#dw_kindergarten)
 +
* 2009-03-23 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/1811.html Progress Report: 23 March 2009] -- core2 style system backend released.
 +
* 2009-03-26 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/2173.html 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 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/2421.html Progress Report: 30 March 2009]
 +
 +
=== April 2009 ===
 +
 +
* 2009-04-07 -- http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/2666.html
 +
* 2009-04-08 -- http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/2826.html
 +
* 2009-04-14 -- LJ Support IRC moves to its own server: http://community.livejournal.com/irctownhall/8069.html
 +
(lots of missing stuff goes here)
 +
* 2009-04-30 -- Open beta launch.
 +
 +
(lots of missing stuff goes here)
 +
 +
=== May 2009 ===
 +
* 2009-05-01 -- peak of 54663 new accounts created in one day (includes OpenID from journal imports). http://www.dreamwidth.org/stats/stats.txt
 +
* 2009-05-01 -- [https://azurelunatic.dreamwidth.org/6287097.html unofficial essay about similarities and differences between LiveJournal and Dreamwidth], by <dwuser>azurelunatic</dwuser>
 +
* More officially, the [https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=121 A guide to Dreamwidth for LiveJournal users] FAQ was created.
 +
* 2009-05-07 -- A total of 175,846 accounts were created in the first week of open beta.
 +
* Mark and Janine married; ceremony performed by Denise
 +
* 2009-05-31 -- A total of 258,616 accounts were created in the first month of open beta, including the accounts from the first week (includes OpenID from journal imports).
 +
(lots of missing stuff goes here)
 +
 +
=== June 2009 ===
 +
 +
=== July 2009 ===
 +
 +
=== August 2009 ===
 +
 +
=== September 2009 ===
 +
* 2009-09-28 - dw-news (regular update): http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/11791.html
 +
 +
=== October 2009 ===
 +
* 2009-10-05 -- dw-news: denise and sarah engaged; mark working full-time for Dreamwidth; : http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/12240.html
 +
* 2009-10-12 -- dw-news: from last code push: autocrosspost not just from site & sticky entries; search feedback: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/12509.html
 +
* 2009-10-14 -- dw-news: positive feedback loop between crossposter and importer (now fixed): http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/12724.html
 +
* 2009-10-19 -- dw-news: site search released in last code push: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/12895.html
 +
* 2009-10-22 -- <ljuser>tupshin</ljuser>'s departure from LiveJournal staff announced to LiveJournal Support: http://community.livejournal.com/lj_support/795054.html
 +
* 2009-10-23 -- scans_daily [http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/1126436.html broaches the possibility of moving to Dreamwidth to their members].
 +
* 2009-10-26 -- dw_news: From Sunday's code push: new-member welcome entry for comms & all-activity subscriptions for community admins; paid account discount to end Nov 1; feedback solicited about invite codes; farewell to Tupshin: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/13069.html
 +
 +
=== November 2009 ===
 +
* 2009-11-02 -- dw-news update: 1500 resolved bugs; icon limits increased; post-by-email to all users; latest page created; Mark tries NaNoWriMo; posting in dw_codesharing opened to non-members: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/13432.html
 +
:New icon limits
 +
:Free accounts: 15 icons
 +
:Paid acounts: 100 icons
 +
:Premium paid/Seed accounts: 250 icons
 +
* 2009-11-09 -- dw_news update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/13683.html
 +
* 2009-11-14 -- IJ scans_daily [http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/1231927.html closed and moved to Dreamwidth].
 +
* 2009-11-16 -- dw_news update: AO3.org in open beta; new accounts to use Skittlish Dreams blue: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/13864.html
 +
* 2009-11-23 -- dw_news update: update time button for entry posting for next code push; 40 suggestions implemented (25% of suggestions taken into bugzilla); http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/14312.html
 +
* 2009-11-30 -- dw_news update: denise's first appearance in a published anthology; admin-only security & icon tag renames for next code push; high not-spam reports; actually 49 suggestions implemented (30%): http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/14528.html
 +
 +
=== December 2009 ===
 +
* 2009-12-07 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: holiday 6+2 month sale pre-announced; live in last code push: icon keyword renaming, admin-only community entries, active entries module:  http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/14833.html
 +
* 2009-12-15 -- dw_news update: Holiday promotion live; NZ and AU visits announced; deleted account purges planned; live in last code push: edit reason for comments: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/14987.html
 +
* 2009-12-21 -- dw_news update: live in last code push: [http://www.dreamwidth.org/?usescheme=gradation-vertical-local Gradation Vertical sitescheme]:  http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/15300.html
 +
* 2009-12-29 -- dw_news update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/15610.html
 +
 +
==2010==
 +
=== January 2010 ===
 +
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/6939/1/
 +
* 2010-01-05 -- dw_news update: purging deleted accounts to begin soon, reminder on icon poll, end of 6+2 paid time promo, <dwuser>denise</dwuser>'s birthday and call for Harry/Draco fic recommendations: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/15633.html
 +
* 2010-01-12 -- dw_news update: code push: comment screening updated, popular subscriptions page http://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/popsubscriptions, more inbox filters, every-time password entry for crosspost: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/16019.html
 +
* 2010-01-14 -- dw_news update: Account security and important notes: troll attack: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/16338.html
 +
* 2010-01-15 -- dw_news update: update on current events: switch from PayPal: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/16590.html
 +
* 2010-01-19 -- dw_news update: Attending http://www.lca2010.org.nz/ http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/16775.html
 +
* 2010-01-26 -- dw_news update: Denise back from NZ; code: community admins can close polls; no alternative to PayPal yet: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/17121.html
 +
 +
=== February 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-02-05 -- dw_news update: holiday promotion *actually* turned off; Google Checkout in place; email forwarding spam filter tweak: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/17231.html
 +
* 2010-02-16 -- dw_news update: cross-site reading discussion, community importing, suggestions process, update page update wireframe complete, mockup to happen: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/17591.html
 +
* 2010-02-22 -- dw_news update: Google Checkout no longer active; metadata saved in emergency draft recovery; fu to work for DW full-time: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/17858.html
 +
 +
=== March 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-03-02 -- dw_news update: suggestions hackathon, payments update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/17942.html
 +
* 2010-03-05 -- Spike in account creations, 1714 new accounts in one day.
 +
* 2010-03-07 -- "Six Weeks for Dreamwidth" festival proposed: http://erda.dreamwidth.org/44698.html (later became <dwcomm>three_weeks_for_dw</dwcomm>)
 +
* 2010-03-08 -- dw_news update: renames coming soon, EasyRead style, payment provider application approved: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/18191.html
 +
* 2010-03-16 -- dw_news update: Bug 11 resolved, [[Google Summer of Code]] discussion, code push coming, Three Weeks for Dreamwidth anniversary festival, a caution against obnoxious evangelism, meetups: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/18504.html
 +
* 2010-03-23 -- [[IRC]] move to Freenode finalized; [http://qdb.dreamwidth.net/dw/276 old IRC server decomissioned].
 +
* 2010-03-23 -- dw_news update: [[Google Summer of Code]], Ada Lovelace Day, credits in new payment system announced, fundraiser brainstorming,  http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/18764.html
 +
* 2010-03-30 -- dw_news update: code push http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/19003.html
 +
 +
=== April 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-04-05 -- <dwuser>fu</dwuser> joining full time.
 +
* 2010-04-07 -- <dwuser>fu</dwuser>'s first [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/19375.html news post]. New payments system with points online.
 +
* 2010-04-09 -- Google Summer of Code applications close.
 +
* 2010-04-09 -- http://qdb.dreamwidth.net/ split from old LiveJournal QDB, in separate hosting
 +
* 2010-04-14 -- <dwuser>denise</dwuser> on hand rest: http://denise.dreamwidth.org/38803.html
 +
* 2010-04-16 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/19567.html - [http://www.zazzle.com/dreamwidth* Dreamwidth swag store], zero green, 6 slots for GSoC, <dwuser>mark</dwuser> will be wearing the developer hat.
 +
* Late April -- the outboundlink LiveJournal fiasco; <dwuser>afuna</dwuser> [http://afuna.dreamwidth.org/924883.html explains the technical reasons for her discomfort]. Drives a number of users to (at least temporarily) stop crossposting; some are driven to fully switch.
 +
 +
* 2010-04-26 -- <dwcomm>three-weeks-for-dw</dwcomm> festival begins.
 +
* 2010-04-28 -- Freenode approves Dreamwidth's group application & information on cloaks added to [[IRC]] page.
 +
* 2010-04-20 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/19959.html
 +
* 2010-04-26 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/20211.html - summer of code
 +
 +
=== May 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-05-03 - 2010-05-06 -- <dwuser>mark</dwuser> and <dwuser>denise</dwuser> attend [http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2010 Web 2.0 Expo].
 +
* 2010-05-04 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/20337.html - tag merge, anniversary sale ongoing
 +
* 2010-05-04 -- <dwcomm>dw_biz</dwcomm>: The state of the coffers
 +
* 2010-05-06 -- <ljuser>vulva</ljuser> makes a [http://news.livejournal.com/125326.html?thread=83019150#t83019150 public comment complaining about an inappropriate comment from a LiveJournal staff member on material that was supposed to have been locked], which sparks a round of general as well as specific discussion about staff access to secured material on social media.
 +
* 2010-05-09 -- <dwuser>mark</dwuser> speaks about [http://mark.dreamwidth.org/20893.html staff access to secured content on Dreamwidth], discussion of a FAQ entry about this.
 +
* 2010-05-10 -- <dwuser>denise</dwuser> makes a <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> entry involving [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/20516.html staff access to secured content on Dreamwidth]; also update redesign, call for vgift artists
 +
* 2010-05-19 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/20933.html - GSoC starting & a review of projects
 +
* 2010-05-26 -- Denise and Sarah married: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/21237.html
 +
* 2010-05-26 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/21237.html - update page redesign mockup
 +
 +
(Some time around here-ish Mark takes a day job working for StumbleUpon.)
 +
 +
=== June 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-06-01 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/21330.html - r&r, entry page update feedback being accepted
 +
* 2010-06-06 -- "Account Contents" section added to the [http://www.dreamwidth.org/legal/privacy.bml Privacy Policy] ([http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/21507.html announced] in <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> June 08).
 +
* 2010-06-08 --  <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: Tag merge and cut expansion, 2nd month in the black financially, author tagging in comms (code merge from LJ), community all-comments subscription (paid comms), reading page security filter (paid). http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/21507.html
 +
* 2010-06-15 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/21872.html inline cut tag expansion a big hit], also over 2,000 bugs resolved
 +
* 2010-06-16 -- brief downtime in which Mark has to pull over to the side of the road to fix it - http://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/23889.html
 +
* 2010-06-17 -- Milestone: [http://angelikitten.dreamwidth.org/274543.html Poll 3500]
 +
* 2010-06-23 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/22135.html -
 +
* 2010-06-25 -- Bare-bones S2 style for syndicated accounts: http://changelog.dreamwidth.org/649976.html
 +
* 2010-06-30 -- ToS team roundup #3: http://dw-biz.dreamwidth.org/5624.html
 +
* 2010-06-30 -- <dwcomm>dw_news</dwcomm> update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/22439.html
 +
 +
=== July 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-07-06 -- dw-news update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/22655.html
 +
* 2010-07-14 -- dw-news update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/23006.html
 +
* 2010-07-19 to 23 -- http://www.oscon.com/oscon2010
 +
* 2010-07-28 -- dw-news update: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/23257.html
 +
 +
=== August 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-08-21 -- Inksome announces a net loss from 1 May 2010 to 31 July 2010: "... we're losing money again. ... a difference of $178.50 ...  cannot afford that kind of loss every month. Unless account revenue improves soon, I will be forced to shut down the site." http://www.inksome.com/users/news/13110.html
 +
* 2010-08-31 LiveJournal rolls out r69, with Twitter and Facebook integration, most notoriously including ability to easily send links with quotes of locked content to Twitter and Facebook, and a re-implementation of pingbacks that sometimes shared large excerpts of locked content with people not authorized to see it.
 +
** news http://news.livejournal.com/129190.html
 +
** r69 http://community.livejournal.com/lj_releases/61333.html
 +
 +
=== September 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-09-01 - Spike in Dreamwidth new accounts created: 9350 new accounts (includes OpenID from journal imports). http://www.dreamwidth.org/stats/stats.txt
 +
* 2010-09-02
 +
** <dwcomm>lj_refugees</dwcomm> created.
 +
** Six Apart announces the closing of Vox. http://team.vox.com/library/post/vox-is-closing-september-30-2010.html
 +
** 12619 new accounts created (includes OpenID from journal imports). Largest spike since 2009 05 01. http://www.dreamwidth.org/stats/stats.txt
 +
* 2010-09-07 - <dwuser>mark</dwuser> announces he has stepped back from day-to-day management of Dreamwidth. Mark remains involved with the project and a co-owner. http://mark.dreamwidth.org/21501.html
 +
* 2010-09-10 - LiveJournal announces that the most unpopular parts of r69 (easy linking of locked or screened content) will be undone with the next code release. http://news.livejournal.com/129284.html
 +
* 2010-09-18 - New account creations drop below 1,000 in a day for the first day since 2010-09-01. 88,268 new accounts (including imported OpenID) were created from Sept 1st to 17th.
 +
 +
=== October 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-10 -- Mark and Janine announce their separation.
 +
* 2010-10-21 -- Denise & Sarah begin the process of purchasing a house.
 +
 +
=== November 2010 ===
 +
* 2010-11-19 - List of writers, photographers, etc. on Dreamwidth started curation: http://denise.dreamwidth.org/54683.html
 +
* 2010-11-22 - Denise & Sarah purchased house.
 +
 +
=== December 2010 ===
 +
* Denise & Sarah moving house, spotty internet access
 +
* 2010-12-10 -- Inksome's financial troubles continue: "... we are very likely still going to be going dark come April, because we have not made any progress where it comes to turning a profit." http://www.inksome.com/users/news/13421.html
 +
* 2010-12-24 - "Sad Project News" Cross-site reading tabled until factors making it impossible change. http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/27853.html
 +
 +
==2011==
 +
=== January 2011 ===
 +
* Denise & Sarah's spotty internet access continues.
 +
* 2011-01-12 -- Inksome users offered a group invite code: http://www.inksome.com/users/news/13591.html
 +
 +
=== February 2011===
 +
* 2011-02-10 -- Reliable internet access for Denise & Sarah returns: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/28412.html
 +
* 2011-02-21 -- Open account creation week: [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/28412.html from 2011-02-21 to 2011-02-28, it was possible to create a Dreamwidth account for free without the use of an invite code], as an experiment to see if growth would be sustainable and to see if spam and abuse would rise after the open account creation period. 5497 accounts (including OpenID) were created in this window. Only ~10 were then discovered to be spammers.
 +
* 2011-02-28 -- Denise & Sarah adopt "Noah", a toe-chewing kitten.
 +
 +
===March 2011===
 +
* 2011-03-2 -- LiveJournal is added to a Spamhaus blacklist for hosting a large number of spammer journals.
 +
* 2011-03-13 -- [http://www.inksome.com/users/news/14079.html Inksome announces "...we have not had any significant turnaround in income, which means yes, we're still going dark in a few weeks."]
 +
* -- LJ changes the IP address from which it is sending email. [citation needed]
 +
* -- LJ suspends some quarter of a million spammer accounts, with an estimated error rate of 1%.
 +
* 2011-03-28 -- Code push: http://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/30344.html which included the change stripping some HTML/CSS used by spammers from comments: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/28412.html
 +
* 2011-03 -- Last week of March, LJ downtime due to DDoS. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2063952,00.html
 +
 +
=== April 2011 ===
 +
 +
* 2011-04-01 to 2011-04-06 -- LJ downtime, DDoS-related. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2063952,00.html
 +
* 2011-04-06 -- Spike in new account creations: 16,226
 +
* 2011-04-08 -- Inksome's hosting expired.
 +
* 2011-04-30 -- Second anniversary of Open Beta. Seed accounts on sale; 'beta' removed from site logo. http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/29530.html http://changelog.dreamwidth.org/936983.html
 +
 +
= Post-Beta =
 +
== 2011 ==
 +
=== October 2011 ===
 +
* 2011-10-12 - "Expand All" collapsed comments for paid users to be in next code push http://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/100133.html
 +
* 2011-10-30 - [http://bugs.dwscoalition.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2524 New Update Page] goes into beta testing http://dw-beta.dreamwidth.org/12259.html
 +
 +
=== November 2011 ===
 +
* 2011-11-01 -- Migration to new Dreamhack server finalized; inactive Dreamhacks archived. http://bugs.dwscoalition.org/show_bug.cgi?id=4001#c2
 +
 +
* 2011-11-24 -- Oliver Graham Smith born: http://xb95.dreamwidth.org/744397.html (Also pictures: http://xb95.dreamwidth.org/744623.html )
 +
 +
* Late November -- LiveJournal under heavy DDoS attacks with phishing, suffers downtime
 +
 +
=== December 2011 ===
 +
* Early December -- LiveJournal under heavy DDoS attacks, suffers downtime, crossposting affected
 +
* -- Elections in Russia
 +
* Open account creation period starts
 +
* LJ's R88
 +
* Spike in traffic/new users
 +
* 2011-12-25 -- community import bug committed
 +
 +
==2012==
 +
 +
=== January 2012 ===
 +
* Community imports
 +
* SOPA/PIPA protests: splash screen (minimal interference with site as it is a communications platform)
 +
* 2012-01-19 -- #dw-tmi unofficially revived
 +
 +
=== February 2012 ===
 +
* [http://www.dreamwidth.org/openid/claim OpenID claiming]
 +
 +
=== March 2012 ===
 +
* The [http://www.dreamwidth.org/support/highscores Support High Scores Board] spills onto a second page, meaning that more than 100 different volunteers have answered support requests since Dreamwidth's creation.
 +
* Replaced reCAPTCHA with [http://textcaptcha.com/ Text Captcha]
 +
 +
=== May 2012 ===
 +
* Dreamwidth [http://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/116811.html decides to move from Mercurial to Git] for source code management.
 +
 +
=== July 2012 ===
 +
* Dreamwidth sponsors a group of developers to [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/33780.html attend OSCON], marking the beginning of an annual conference tradition.  The first rough implementation of image hosting capability is made available.
 +
 +
== 2013 ==
 +
 +
=== January 2013 ===
 +
 +
* 2013-01-01 -- <dwuser>misskat</dwuser> [http://misskat.dreamwidth.org/3446368.html comes on board] as Dreamwidth's second employee.
 +
 +
=== April 2013 ===
 +
 +
* Added ability to reply to comments by email, and public subscription filters.
 +
 +
=== June 2013 ===
 +
 +
* Dreamwidth's yearly conference for 2013 is [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/2013/06/11/dw-news-11-jun-2013.html YAPC::NA in Austin, Texas.] Mark, Denise, and Kat present talks about diversity, attracting and retaining volunteers, and self-care.
 +
 +
=== September 2013 ===
 +
 +
* 2013-09-26 -- <dwuser>mark</dwuser> [http://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/148773.html switches IRC nick from xb95 to zorkian].
 +
 +
=== November 2013 ===
 +
 +
* Development begins on implementing next-generation responsive design using Foundation/SCSS.
 +
 +
== 2014 ==
 +
 +
=== March 2014 ===
 +
 +
* 2014-03-14 -- The Dreamwidth Bugzilla database [http://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/153310.html is accidentally deleted, with no backups.] The development team begins to use [https://github.com/dreamwidth/dw-free/issues/ Github's issue tracker] for managing bug reports and ongoing projects.
 +
 +
=== April 2014 ===
 +
 +
* [http://lj-dev.livejournal.com/854104.html LiveJournal closes off access to their source code.]
 +
 +
=== June 2014 ===
 +
* 2014-06 -- Dreamwidth's yearly conference is Open Source Bridge for 2014. A number of Dreamwidth people give presentations.
 +
 +
* Beginning of deployment of Foundation-styled pages. First to be converted is the community admin area, followed by journal styles.
 +
 +
== 2015 ==
 +
 +
=== February 2015 ===
 +
 +
* 2015-02-03 -- <dwuser>fu</dwuser> [http://afuna.dreamwidth.org/1163538.html announces she has moved] from the Phillippines to the Bay Area.
 +
 +
=== June 2015 ===
 +
* 2015-06-20 to 2015-06-23 -- Open Source Bridge is again Dreamwidth's yearly conference. Dreamwidth brings 12 people officially, a number of whom [http://opensourcebridge.org/events/2015/speakers speak]. There are also a number of Friends of Dreamwidth. [[Presentations_and_Publications#2015_June]]
 +
* 2015-06-26 -- <dwuser>fu</dwuser> [https://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/36689.html steps down as employee], intends to return as a volunteer (after getting on board at new job)
 +
 +
=== July 2015 ===
 +
* 2015-07-06 -- <dwuser>karzilla</dwuser> [http://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/174446.html becomes] [[DevCom]]
 +
 +
== 2016 ==
 +
 +
=== June 2016 ===
 +
* 2016-06-18 -- Icon size limit increased from 40KB to 60KB.
 +
* 2016-06-21 to 2016-06-24 -- No official DW conference this year, although several friends of DW return to Open Source Bridge, and some [http://opensourcebridge.org/events/2016/speakers speak]. [[Presentations_and_Publications#2016_June]]
 +
* 2016-06-28 -- <dwuser>misskat</dwuser> [http://dw-volunteers.dreamwidth.org/33857.html steps down as head of support].
 +
 +
=== December 2016 ===
 +
* 2016-12-01 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/73176.html DW moves to new hardware.]
 +
* 2016-12-24 -- [http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/37592.html Another spike in new users, especially from Russia and Ukraine, following rumors of LJ's servers moving to Russia.]
 +
 +
== 2017 ==
 +
 +
=== February 2017 ===
 +
* 2017-02-12 -- [http://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/74116.html Image hosting pages come out of beta; HTTPS Everywhere beta is added.]
 +
 +
=== March 2017 ===
 +
* 2017-03-04 -- [http://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/196249.html The Dreamhack machine suffers a catastrophic failure, requiring rebuilding from scratch on new hardware.]
 +
* 2017-03-29 -- <dwuser>fu</dwuser> [https://github.com/dreamwidth/dw-free/pull/2050 returns to Dreamwidth development].
 +
 +
=== April 2017 ===
 +
* 2017-04-03 -- [http://news.livejournal.com/151767.html Control of LiveJournal as a blogging platform has been transferred to SUP Media LLC, a legal entity based in the Russian Federation. LiveJournal also changes their Terms of Service] and Dreamwidth receives another massive influx of new users as a result.
 +
* 2017-04-21 -- [https://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/198023.html The new Dreamhack host is open for applications].
 +
 +
=== May 2017 ===
 +
* Imzy announces shutdown for the end of June; some Imzy users retreat to Dreamwidth to regroup and keep community ties at <dwcomm>imzy</dwcomm>.
 +
 +
=== September 2017 ===
 +
* Dreamwidth switches to using Cloudfront for network resilience, and turns on the use of HTTPS everywhere across the site.
 +
 +
== 2018 ==
 +
=== October 2018 ===
 +
* 2018-10-04 [https://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/38612.html First dw_news announcement of the LJ ("another social network site") password breach, does not name the site involved]
 +
=== December 2018 ===
 +
* 2018-12-03 -- [https://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/38929.html Another influx of new and returning users] following the announced purge of "adult content" from Tumblr. <dwuser>denise</dwuser> and the founder of Pillowfort are [https://www.wired.com/story/tumblr-porn-bloggers-dreamwidth-pillowfort/ interviewed by Wired magazine.]
 +
* 2018-12-05 -- <dwuser>mark</dwuser> [https://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/209778.html officially moves developer/support communication from IRC to Discord.]
 +
 +
== 2019 ==
 +
 +
=== April 2019 ===
 +
* 2019-04-29 -- <dwuser>momijizukamori</dwuser> receives commit access to Dreamwidth in order to speed deployment of style and UI fixes.
 +
* 2019-04-29 -- [https://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/212516.html Initial commit of new Dreamwidth client API].
 +
 +
== 2020 ==
 +
* 2020-03-11 -- [https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html the World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic].
 +
* 2020-05-26 -- [https://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/40167.html dw_news: PSA: Likely LiveJournal password compromise]
 +
* 2020-05-27 -- [https://news.livejournal.com/155859.html LiveJournal posts a vague update about "security" which appears to state that the LiveJournal data breach dump information is "compiled using different sources and mostly falsified".] Denise does not change advice about how to handle the situation.
 +
 +
== 2021 ==
 +
* 2021-03-25 -- [https://news.livejournal.com/157031.html All transactions in the LiveJournal shop will be priced in rubles.]
 +
 +
== 2022 ==
 +
* January 2022 -- <dwuser>synecdochic</dwuser> [https://synecdochic.dreamwidth.org/789842.html has back surgery], which successfully relieves a great deal of her chronic pain.
 +
 +
* March 2022 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/86338.html Ukraine crisis precipitates a massive influx of LiveJournal imports.]
 +
 +
* June 2022 -- Dropped the requirement for new developers to submit a [[Contributor Licensing Agreement]].
 +
 +
* 2022-09-03 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/88803.html Stopped using Cloudflare.]
 +
 +
* 2022-10-08 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/89593.html Debut of redesigned inbox as a beta feature.]
 +
 +
* 2022-10-19 -- [https://dw-dev.dreamwidth.org/232594.html Renamed dw-free/master to dreamwidth/main and merged it with dw-nonfree to simplify things.]
 +
 +
== 2023 ==
 +
* June 2023 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/91556.html Added legacy RTE and draft autosave to the beta Create Entries page.]
 +
 +
* July 2023 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/92635.html Changed site policy to prevent users with unconfirmed emails from posting entries.]
 +
 +
* September 2023 -- [https://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/93446.html Began geoblocking account creation from several Asian countries to combat spam.]
 +
 +
== 2024 ==
 +
* January 2024 -- [https://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/43389.html Dreamwidth joins Netchoice to help fight unconstitutional social media laws.]
 +
  
 
= The Future =
 
= The Future =
  
−
* 2009-04-30 -- Open beta is scheduled.
+
 
−
* Northern Hemisphere Summer/Fall -- Launch is expected sometime in here, possibly overlapping with [[Roadmap#Milestone:_Q309|Q309]]
+
* <strike>Cross-site Authenticated Reading List</strike> Tabled until factors making it impossible regarding LJ change, as of 2010-12-24: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/27853.html
 +
* Entry creation out of beta/edit redesign
 +
* <strike>Photo/image hosting (currently in beta)</strike> finished Feb 2017
 +
* Further work on redesigned client API
 +
* Continued open account creation, unless spam, performance, or some other reasons force it to be turned off!
 +
 
  
 
[[Category: Dreamwidth.org]]
 
[[Category: Dreamwidth.org]]

Latest revision as of 16:29, 4 January 2024

Expand: This should be a timeline of DW's conception. Should probably also include LJ actions as well that drove DW's formation.

A more complete history of LJ can be found on this timeline of LiveJournal.

Contents

LJ History

1999

  • 1999-03 -- [info]brad starts LJ
  • 1999-04-15 -- the domain livejournal.com is registered

2001

2003

  • 2003-02-05 -- [info]bradfitz announces strict by-day rate limiting on entries (to curb a spammer influx).
  • 2003-02-05 -- Over the next few days, users react to the user impact of strict rate limiting of entries (including entries to communities), with over 2000 comments on the first news post and 1,000-some on the second.
  • 2003-02-07 -- [info]bradfitz says "I would never advertise on LJ. That's so 1994."
  • 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.

2004

2005

2006

  • 2006-04-18 -- Introducing a new account level -- The introduction of Sponsored+, later to become Plus. This account level includes advertisements.
  • 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

Early 2008

Pre-Dreamwidth -- ie, Hypothetical Journal

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

Dreamwidth Development

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

  • 2008-08-08 -- First quote in #dw IRC QDB -- A quotes database for Dreamwidth's IRC channels is opened on qdb.zhzh.org, and the first quote appears. (QDB is later moved.)

December 2008

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:
  • 2009-01-07 -- GreatestJournal dies completely, after having limped along in zombie form for the past six months.

Dreamwidth Begins

2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

(lots of missing stuff goes here)

  • 2009-04-30 -- Open beta launch.

(lots of missing stuff goes here)

May 2009

(lots of missing stuff goes here)

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

  • 2009-11-02 -- dw-news update: 1500 resolved bugs; icon limits increased; post-by-email to all users; latest page created; Mark tries NaNoWriMo; posting in dw_codesharing opened to non-members: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/13432.html
New icon limits
Free accounts: 15 icons
Paid acounts: 100 icons
Premium paid/Seed accounts: 250 icons

December 2009

2010

January 2010

http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/6939/1/

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

(Some time around here-ish Mark takes a day job working for StumbleUpon.)

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

  • 2010-08-21 -- Inksome announces a net loss from 1 May 2010 to 31 July 2010: "... we're losing money again. ... a difference of $178.50 ... cannot afford that kind of loss every month. Unless account revenue improves soon, I will be forced to shut down the site." http://www.inksome.com/users/news/13110.html
  • 2010-08-31 LiveJournal rolls out r69, with Twitter and Facebook integration, most notoriously including ability to easily send links with quotes of locked content to Twitter and Facebook, and a re-implementation of pingbacks that sometimes shared large excerpts of locked content with people not authorized to see it.

September 2010

October 2010

  • 2010-10 -- Mark and Janine announce their separation.
  • 2010-10-21 -- Denise & Sarah begin the process of purchasing a house.

November 2010

December 2010

  • Denise & Sarah moving house, spotty internet access
  • 2010-12-10 -- Inksome's financial troubles continue: "... we are very likely still going to be going dark come April, because we have not made any progress where it comes to turning a profit." http://www.inksome.com/users/news/13421.html
  • 2010-12-24 - "Sad Project News" Cross-site reading tabled until factors making it impossible change. http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/27853.html

2011

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

Post-Beta

2011

October 2011

November 2011

  • Late November -- LiveJournal under heavy DDoS attacks with phishing, suffers downtime

December 2011

  • Early December -- LiveJournal under heavy DDoS attacks, suffers downtime, crossposting affected
  • -- Elections in Russia
  • Open account creation period starts
  • LJ's R88
  • Spike in traffic/new users
  • 2011-12-25 -- community import bug committed

2012

January 2012

  • Community imports
  • SOPA/PIPA protests: splash screen (minimal interference with site as it is a communications platform)
  • 2012-01-19 -- #dw-tmi unofficially revived

February 2012

March 2012

  • The Support High Scores Board spills onto a second page, meaning that more than 100 different volunteers have answered support requests since Dreamwidth's creation.
  • Replaced reCAPTCHA with Text Captcha

May 2012

July 2012

  • Dreamwidth sponsors a group of developers to attend OSCON, marking the beginning of an annual conference tradition. The first rough implementation of image hosting capability is made available.

2013

January 2013

April 2013

  • Added ability to reply to comments by email, and public subscription filters.

June 2013

  • Dreamwidth's yearly conference for 2013 is YAPC::NA in Austin, Texas. Mark, Denise, and Kat present talks about diversity, attracting and retaining volunteers, and self-care.

September 2013

November 2013

  • Development begins on implementing next-generation responsive design using Foundation/SCSS.

2014

March 2014

April 2014

June 2014

  • 2014-06 -- Dreamwidth's yearly conference is Open Source Bridge for 2014. A number of Dreamwidth people give presentations.
  • Beginning of deployment of Foundation-styled pages. First to be converted is the community admin area, followed by journal styles.

2015

February 2015

June 2015

  • 2015-06-20 to 2015-06-23 -- Open Source Bridge is again Dreamwidth's yearly conference. Dreamwidth brings 12 people officially, a number of whom speak. There are also a number of Friends of Dreamwidth. Presentations_and_Publications#2015_June
  • 2015-06-26 -- [info]fu steps down as employee, intends to return as a volunteer (after getting on board at new job)

July 2015

2016

June 2016

December 2016

2017

February 2017

March 2017

April 2017

May 2017

  • Imzy announces shutdown for the end of June; some Imzy users retreat to Dreamwidth to regroup and keep community ties at [info]imzy.

September 2017

  • Dreamwidth switches to using Cloudfront for network resilience, and turns on the use of HTTPS everywhere across the site.

2018

October 2018

December 2018

2019

April 2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024


The Future

  • Cross-site Authenticated Reading List Tabled until factors making it impossible regarding LJ change, as of 2010-12-24: http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/27853.html
  • Entry creation out of beta/edit redesign
  • Photo/image hosting (currently in beta) finished Feb 2017
  • Further work on redesigned client API
  • Continued open account creation, unless spam, performance, or some other reasons force it to be turned off!
Retrieved from "http://wiki.dreamwidth.net/wiki/index.php?title=Dreamwidth_Timeline&oldid=13184"