Goodness, I started with lj before you even needed codes. I did venture briefly into pitas and diaryland mostly because I was lured by the layouts...but when I realized the amount of basic html I needed to know just to post one entry...I never even started.

I went straight to Lj simply because I have no html skills to speak of, and comments are much, much easier. And of course, I found out about communities much later. But depending where you go, I suspect there can be just as much politics--people are people are people. The Harry Potter fandom especially has had their own furious lj wars, all of which I more or less watched bug-eyed and vaguely amused from the sidelines. The anime communities seem to be quieter, but there have been a few tempers here and there.