The Ladies' Loos

In the last couple of weeks I've been reconnecting with some of the online communities I've let slide over the last year or so. Perhaps the most notable of those is the Ladies' Loos over on LiveJournal, and if you haven't been there, I heartily recommend it. Sorry boys... female members only :)

The Loos is a few years old now (Three? Four? Anyone care to correct me?). Since its first incarnation on Mono it's become an amazing and supportive place to talk about any and all issues that affects the lives of the women who make up its membership. Originally started, IIRC, for a small group of female friends to talk about the things they'd rather not put on their personal journals, it quickly blossomed via word of mouth and became a haven for women from any country and any kind of background to come together and share their lives, stories and advice.

Some 18 months ago (surely no more) the Loos even published its own advice book, based on all the questions, answers, advice and angst people had poured out over its life so far. I've still got a couple of copies somewhere; I'm inordinately proud of its existence and the fact that my name appears alongside some of the brightest and best women I could ever hope to encounter.

Yes, it's a protective and caring community; but it's never afraid of a fight. If you want to know what people really think of something you can go ahead and ask; but remember that in a room of almost a thousand women from around the world you're going to get some pretty impassioned views and some of them will inevitably be the polar opposite to your own. Despite this it's exceptionally rare to get trolls; every member is vouched for by other people within the community before they're given access to the posts, each one of which is locked by default (although you can set your own posts to public viewing if you want).

Last but not least, for those who want to ask a question or share something they don't want to be openly associated with, there is the ladiesloos_anon account which any member can log in to and use to post without revealing their RL ident.

It's a great place and I'm happy to be part of it. Every time I check back in I find I learn something about the world I didn't know before. The mystery and magic of women, by women, for women. It's pretty awesome stuff.