So, how exactly does the numbering on entries work?

[conuly]

I know it's not consecutive (entry 10 is not followed by entry 11) but that it does go in some sort of order (entry 10 is always followed by an entry numbered greater than 10, even if that number isn't 11), so.... how does it work, exactly? And why couldn't it just be consecutive?

Comments

just a guess

[farraige.livejournal.com]

I always understood that the numbering worked not for your specific entry, but rather for the number of entries produced within LJ; the reasonable question is that why do we still have six-digit numbers when the amount of users outnumbers this greatly: well, it could be to do with clusters which you're hosted on, I suppose.

Re: just a guess

[conuly]

You're incorrect, though, and you can test this yourself by creating a new account and posting an entry. The number won't be a six digit number, it'll be a 4 digit one.

Re: just a guess

[rho]

It used to work like that, years ago, but I think it changed to the per-journal form towards the end of 2002. But you can still use the old URL format for old entries, at least, so you get things like http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?itemid=10000000