I think it's all up to you and what you want to get out of the journal.
Some people post an open book and outline their entire strategy, historical performance, daily performance, indicators and methods, etc.
Some people show trades and outline their thoughts and methodology....
Essentially, if you're going to be secretive or if you're not going to share the underpinnings of your trading methodology and philosophy....then it's more of a show and tell.
If you're looking for critique, advice, wisdom, etc....then obviously it helps to give people a more full picture.
Either way, I think people will ask questions and interact with you, but the purpose (demonstrate or learn) is really up to you.
"A dumb man never learns. A smart man learns from his own failure and success. But a wise man learns from the failure and success of others."
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,182 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,681 given,
99,584
received
You don't have to share the strategy. The journal is primarily for your benefit.
I would recommend that you post a screen shot daily that includes your trades, why you took them, and why you exited them. This more than anything will help you as you look back and review your past posts.
I'd also recommend you grade yourself daily. Come up with a set of targets, keep them straightforward, like "Take no more than 5 trades today", or "Don't move your stop", etc. These should be created based on your own weaknesses with your trading. At the end of the day, grade yourself on how well you followed these rules -- not on the net profit outcome of the day.
Last, I'd recommend that you always have a clear goal in mind for the next day. What one or two things will you focus the most on to improve your trading? At the end of every week, go back and read the prior two weeks of posts and see if you are making progress or going in circles, and adjust accordingly.