Hmm. I feel like "what the comment section is for" is a highly variable thing that is set by the journal owner, and people will follow the cues in a particular post.
There are people I read who do the salon thing, and they telegraph their expectation that wide-ranging discussion will be happening, and you can see all the collapsed comment threads on their discussion posts that demonstrate and reinforce that norm.
There are people I follow who post about what they're reading/writing/doing in their personal life, and they don't get random strangers coming in to comment on other people's comments, as a general rule - they have a readership that's interested in them personally and often know each other, at least in that commentspace. There might a meta post about a particular fandom that gets a bunch of discussion of that fandom going, but not a whole party with people coming in off the street.
I've also seen people mix it up. They post a life update? Likely to get some congratulations or sympathy, but not a lot of discussion. They post a long thinkpiece on a fannish topic, with a poll and "so what do you all think?" prompt at the end? More likely to draw in the salon crowd, including people who got linked there and haven't hung out in that journal before.
tldr: You make your own journal culture. Give people cues about what kind of commenting you expect, and they will mostly follow that. Some trial and error may be required to figure out what the most effective cues are.
ETA: Also if you find that your series of DW For Tumblr Refugees posts got you a lot of unwanted attention, and you want a more private and personal space... maybe play with the access list and see if it does something for you? You can still do public posts when you want to broadcast widely, but you can also have more intimate discussions with limited groups of people.
ETA2: I forgot while writing this that you actually do already have a personal journal, so sorry if this sounded patronizing/assuming ignorance on your part! I should not reply to things while sleep-deprived.
no subject
There are people I read who do the salon thing, and they telegraph their expectation that wide-ranging discussion will be happening, and you can see all the collapsed comment threads on their discussion posts that demonstrate and reinforce that norm.
There are people I follow who post about what they're reading/writing/doing in their personal life, and they don't get random strangers coming in to comment on other people's comments, as a general rule - they have a readership that's interested in them personally and often know each other, at least in that commentspace. There might a meta post about a particular fandom that gets a bunch of discussion of that fandom going, but not a whole party with people coming in off the street.
I've also seen people mix it up. They post a life update? Likely to get some congratulations or sympathy, but not a lot of discussion. They post a long thinkpiece on a fannish topic, with a poll and "so what do you all think?" prompt at the end? More likely to draw in the salon crowd, including people who got linked there and haven't hung out in that journal before.
tldr: You make your own journal culture. Give people cues about what kind of commenting you expect, and they will mostly follow that. Some trial and error may be required to figure out what the most effective cues are.
ETA: Also if you find that your series of DW For Tumblr Refugees posts got you a lot of unwanted attention, and you want a more private and personal space... maybe play with the access list and see if it does something for you? You can still do public posts when you want to broadcast widely, but you can also have more intimate discussions with limited groups of people.
ETA2: I forgot while writing this that you actually do already have a personal journal, so sorry if this sounded patronizing/assuming ignorance on your part! I should not reply to things while sleep-deprived.