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QUICKLINKS   Alxnet BeSeen Bravenet Dreambook GuestCities htmlGear SignMyGuestbook Open Directory Project Yahoo! leave your mark BY RYAN KAWAILANI OZAWA Few things about online journaling are more rewarding than getting feedback from readers. But surfers are notoriously reluctant to hit that "e-mail me!" link. Guestbooks are the next logical steop. Instead of launching an e-mail program, guestbooks allow visitors to simply fill out a form on the web to tell you — and others — what they thought of your site. Yes, in addition to collecting comments, the other half of the guestbook equation is letting future readers see what people have said. This, of course, creates the potential for mischief, as unkind or even abusive messages can be posted as well, which is annoying at best or drives newcomers away at worst. Tackling controversial subjects in your writing, or even spats among other web journalers have in some extreme cases led to an all out war of words in guestbooks. In the course of an afternoon, you could find your guestbook filled with dozens of messages, with your visitors carrying out a public debate in a forum usually reserved for short, polite messages. That said, most guestbook services notify you when comments are posted, and allow you to delete entries you don't like. Some may even allow you to "moderate" comments, but this takes away some of the appeal for visitors who are inspired to comment in part because they know their words will be available instantly. Free guestbook services are numerous, and have widely varying features and requirements. Be sure to check out a few before settling on one. Many make their money by selling ads that appear on the guestbook page (or by sending you spam), so pay close attention to things like how much you can customize the appearance of your guestbook, and how much personal information they require before you can sign up. After you've picked your guestbook host, however, getting it working takes almost no time at all. Most providers give you simple HTML code to plop on your page, usually involving only a "sign here" and "read here" link. A few providers (among the many available) worth checking out include Dreambook, brought to you by the journal-friendly webhost Dreamhost, SignMyGuestbook, a simple, ad-free option from the guys behind Diaryland, and Bravenet, which offers a wide variety of site add-ons. Ryan Kawailani Ozawa is the founder and lead editor of Diarist.Net. He is not a lawyer, but still knows enough to help you stay out of trouble. He can be reached at webmaster@diarist.net.