A mailing list, started simply because a journaler found herself missing her online contacts during a vacation, has exploded into an incredibly chatty group of more than 50 fans and friends, most of them journaling or blogging moms.

"My goodness, I am totally stunned by what happened," said Aimee, the 33-year-old California diarist behind TMS: The List. "I was sitting here missing people I've never even met and wishing I had enough time and money to go visit everyone I just had this idea to start a list and maybe I could talk with all my journal pals that way."

"I really had no idea if anyone would join," she said, "or if people would join and then the list would just be sort of dead air."

Aimee had nothing to worry about. Dozens of people quickly signed up, and they obviously had a lot to say. In one day, several hundred messages were posted on topics ranging from music to dealing with nosy relatives. And more than 2,400 messages have come through since TMS: The List named after Aimee's popular, but recently discontinued, journal "The Mombat Situation" was launched Feb. 4.

"I'm loving it, even though the volume was a little, um, terrifying at first," Aimee said.

TMS: The List quickly grew into a full-fledged community, with list member Carrie Richmond designing logo graphics, Dreama putting together a Nibelung ring to tour member journals and member weblogs, and others already collaborating on different projects. Said list member Shannon: "The TMS list is the best list I've ever joined... Intelligent people with lots of mommy talk!"

But Aimee is quick to point out that being a mom isn't a requirement to join. "Daddies are welcome, as are people who don't have journals or babies," she said. "I think a lot of us wanted this list even if we hadn't all articulated the idea yet we obviously needed a place to talk to each other!"

Indiana diarist Emily has returned to the web with Coming of Age: A Journal of Change.

Emily, 22, previously wrote "A Life Journey," which she then said was about "preparing for graduation, marriage, children and life... not necessarily in that order." But her webhost crashed in September, and "two years worth of journal entries fell into a deep dark abyss of webland."

"However, this turned out to be a good thing," she explains. "The style and title of the journal had become untrue and this is my chance to change along with my journal."

Coming of Age now documents the life of "a graduate of an all-women's college, emotionally attached to and engaged to a philosophy major, a publicity assistant at the local library, and all around bonne vivante."

Online journaling, still somewhat entangled with the newer and trendier weblogging phenomenon, surfaced again in the mainstream press recently.

At least three articles have appeared in major publications in recent weeks: "The Blog Phenomenon," by leading technology commentator John C. Dvorak in PC Magazine, "Pssst. Wanna See My Blog?" by Chris Taylor in Time magazine, and "Teens baring souls on Web seen by some as dangerous," by Ellena Morrison in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Both the PC Magazine and Time pieces confuse the broad term "weblog" (which, in the traditional sense, is a list of links to other interesting sites) with the more specialized and pre-existing genre of web journals. Dvorak writes about the "proliferation of public diaries, generically referred to as Blogs." And Taylor claims "a blog, short for weblog, is a kind of spontaneous online public journal."

The confusion has been a matter of some debate. As Weblog guru John Guru notes, "the line between journal and weblog is perfectly blurred."

The Morrison piece shuns the weblog term altogether, and it takes a different tack from most stories on the webjournaling genre. In addition to a broad overview, including interviews with journalers and Diaryland founder Andrew Smales, the piece includes a warning. "Some parents and public officials worry that allowing anyone with Internet access into the contemplations and lives of a teen-ager could put the child at risk," Morrison writes.

Mark your calendars: Friday, October 4 through Sunday, October 6 are the dates for the third annual JournalCon gathering, which will be held this year in San Francisco. More details, including hotel and registration information, are coming soon, and will be posted to the official JCSF website as soon as they are available.

The two previous JournalCon events, in Pittsburgh and Chicago, were also held in October, and the dates were the most favored by prospective attendees in the recent host-city vote. San Francisco organizers were careful to avoid the following weekend, which includes the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada.

Diarists are invited to participate in the JournalCon 2002 message forums, and to subscribe to the general JournalCon mailing list for major updates.

The finalists in the latest round of The Diarist Awards were announced today. Heading into their fourth year, the awards recognize excellence in online journal sites and individual entries.

Among the finalists are John Bailey of Somerset, England, and Texas diarists Allison and Jette, for "Best Writing." Up for "Best Comedic Entry" are Connecticut diarist Rob Rummel-Hudson, New York diarist Sarah Bunting, and Texas diarist Anna Beth. Nominated for the "Legacy Award" are North Carolina diarist Renee Daughtry and California diarists SecraTerri and Stee.

Diarists are invited to visit each of the finalists and vote for their favorites. The winners will be announced Feb. 28.

Online journals are overflowing with babytalk, as a number of diarists recently announced that they are in a family way.

Sherry Osborne, a 27-year-old journaler from Montreal, Canada, was one of the latest to break the news. "We may have been trying but when you finally see those two little pink lines show up on your home pregnancy test... Well it's pretty hard to believe," she wrote. The baby is due September 17.

Pregnancy almost seems to be the hottest trend. Indeed, three journalers who attended JournalCon in Chicago last year are now expecting: 31-year-old Virginia diarist Kerry, due July 21, 36-year-old California diarist Athena, due the very next day, and 29-year-old Illinois diarist Plum, due in August. Wrote Kerry: "there must have been something in the water."

Other proud parents to be are Ohio diarist Amy, 26, due March 25, California diarist Stephanie Charles, due April 24; North Carolina diarist Season Moore, due May 14; San Francisco diarist Beth Kelleher, 28, due May 15; North Carolina diarists Jason and Stefani, due May 25; Honolulu diarists Jennifer and Ryan Ozawa, due June 1; Virginia diarist Zannie, 26, due July 10; England diarist Polly, due July 28; Illinois diarist Plucky, due July 28; and Seattle diarist Heidi, 35, due the week of September 8.