Hi Brandy. That is correct - closed journals are still visible, though you don't have to provide a link. In that case, someone would have to really make an effort to find it, once it disappears into the back end of the journals forum.

Most members choose to leave their old journals visible, but if you request that it be removed, it's gone for good. No one can read it, including you, so just be sure that that's what you want. I regret deleting a journal (elsewhere, not here) and it ended up being a lot of memories wiped out that I later wanted to go back to.

For others following along: keep in mind that this is ONLY for full journals, not for re-starting for the eleventy-hundredth time and wanting a fresh journal. Our policy is ONE (active) journal per person, otherwise we'd be here all day removing and manually reassigning journal thread links. More details here.
You'd be surprised. And I'm not belittling anyone here: I've often caught myself editing and re-editing vent posts in my journal.