Why did you impose 'excellence in writing and graphic design' as a requirement to join your webring?

I began Archipelago in April, 1997, as a response to feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of diaries listed at Open Pages, at that time numbering 150 or so. I thought it would be fun to do an ancillary ring which would be an anthology composed of diaries from Open Pages.

All anthologies have themes: some are topical, some are genre specific, some are merely the editor's favorites in a given time frame, but all have a particular focus. The diaries I read are well written; I am uninterested in people who can't express themselves well in print. I prefer to read diaries with excellent design sense. So I chose to focus on diaries that are pleasing in text and design both, since those are the diaries I find most appealing. And I wanted to showcase excellence above all. That's what interests me.

By definition, an anthology is a selection of material. Not everyone can be in it. Without wishing to set myself up as the arbiter of what makes a good diary, I felt confident that it would be more interesting to the readers if they got a limited selection which would not only express my taste in diaries but which would not grow uncontrollably, like Open Pages, and would make it possible to read the entire ring on a daily basis. Thus, I limited it to 25 diaries originally, and expanded it to 30 after a year where it remains today.

I've read somewhere that an online journal writer refused to join archipelago when his friend was rejected. You're obviously stepping on some toes...what are your feelings on this issue?

I was frankly astonished at the uproar when Archipelago was announced. I got virulent hate mail for about six months. It's still mildly controversial due to the invitational nature of the web ring. About once a year a flame war starts up on one of the diary mailing lists as to whether invitation-only rings are Good or Evil.

I didn't set out to make people feel bad, and I've done my best to be polite and pleasant to the diarists whose journals I opt not to accept for the ring. I wrote the guidelines to clarify my general decision making process, but a lot of people didn't read them, or didn't believe them, or simply felt they didn't apply to their diary. I have never flamed anyone in my own diary for attacking me or for disagreeing with me about Archipelago, even at the height of the hate mail. I have been less than tactful when people have badgered me to explain why they weren't accepted into the ring, but only when I first started. After the first few months I decided I would not critique anyone's diary for them, only say yes or no. It was never my intention to mold everyone's diary into something I like, or think is good.

I have gradually come up with a theory as to why the notion of anthologizing web diaries upsets people. I think the main conflict is between those who believe the standards of language (chiefly spelling and grammar) apply to any writing, creative or otherwise, and those who believe that a diary is purely a creative expression of self and ordinary standards ought not to apply. My opinion is you must know the rules before you can break them.

As for someone refusing to join Archipelago, so far everyone who has decided not to accept an invitation to join has simply said they don't want to be part of an invitation-only ring, which is fair enough. I still interact with some of them, as I still read their diaries.

Years ago, there were only a handful of online journals. Now there are almost a thousand (looking at open pages). What are the trends you noticed in today's journals?

I don't read more than about 50 journals on a regular basis, and with so many around it's simply not possible to find all the good ones. If there are trends, I haven't noticed them.

I personally classify web diaries in three stages: the apprentice, the journeyman, and the master craftsman. Many people never pass out of the apprentice stage, and those diaries die off pretty quickly. There are huge numbers at the journeyman level. I seek out the craftsmen for Archipelago.

One online journal writer wrote that there's now quantity, but not quality. What do you feel about this?

Apparently he or she doesn't read the diaries in Archipelago. Seriously, if I didn't want to keep it small I could easily have a hundred interesting, well written diaries listed. In fact, there is a great deal of good writing online where the author doesn't necessarily call what they write a diary, but for all intents and purposes it is.

Since I started my web ring dozens more have sprung up. Unfortunately for the reader, the vast majority are open to anyone and you see the same diaries listed over and over again. I think that's somewhat responsible for the erroneous impression that there's not much quality available. There's some really excellent stuff in the rings, but when it's embedded among a hundred or more diaries it's hard to find. This is why anthologies really work. You get a small, interesting collection culled for you out of the masses available. This is also why the non-invitational ring subsets called suburbs work. They don't focus on quality, but they offer material preselected for certain themes.

You keep an online journal 'Aries Moon'. What do you get out of writing the journal?

What I get out of writing in general: a creative outlet, a chance to hone my skills, the pleasure of communicating well, the opportunity to be read by strangers as well as friends, and someplace to talk about what interests me.

The issue of privacy seems to be a hot topic when it comes to online journals. Do you expect some risks in keeping your journal?

No, for the simple reason that I don't write about anything I wouldn't be willing to address in a courtroom or say to someone's face. On the other hand, I have certainly inadvertently pissed people off with the things I say in my diary. That can't be helped; I have strong opinions, and I express them. Mostly, though, I don't get into trouble because I don't flame other diarists, I don't intrude on my family and friends' private lives by writing about them in my public diary, and I don't discuss my sex life. Also, I try very hard to avoid using profanity. I happen to think all of these restrictions challenge me to write well and entertainingly about the topics I do choose to write up. An average of 170 people a day appear to think it works.

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