Nanny LJ strikes again
So LJ has a new "protect the kiddies" feature for people to abuse. A flagging system is like setting out a giant dish of troll bait for any petty person (or group) who disagrees with anyone else.
Note also that the entire story is tucked away in lj_biz and only mentioned in passing in news. You should probably go change your preference settings, unless you like that LJ has decided to filter your searches for you and put your flist under warning cuts. Be advised, though, that you cannot remove these filters if you do not list your birth year in your profile. Way to protect us, LJ.
Since they asked us to notify them about flaws in the new system, I did.
What I wrote to Support:
I am over 18, yet my friends page is under a heap of warning cuts. I tried to change my settings, but the system won't allow me to because I choose not to list my birth year in my profile. Your magic popup did not pop to allow me to enter my age and thus have control of my own journal. This is something I shouldn't have to do anyway just to access content that I have been viewing for over three years, none of which is particularly offensive or explicit. My friends are just being careful, and probably more than a bit worried about what Big Brother will do next if they don't flag their own journals. Nor should I have to alter my profile - removing information I want there (my birthdate) - in order to have my journal function the way I want and still keep private information that I do not want public (my birth year).
Furthermore, you have no right to censor what I or anyone else see. It is parents' responsibility to monitor what their children read, view, and participate in online as well as in real life. LJ is not and should not be a babysitter. Just as importantly, LJ should not be babysitting me and other adults who have the right to read, view, and participate in any legal activity that we wish. That you would alter someone's journal and not notify them is extremely worrisome. That you have still not answered questions about this and many other concerns is frustrating at best, and at worst makes it look like you don't care what users think and don't have to deal with our concerns.
Strikethrough made me sign up for a GreatestJournal account. If you continue in this disregard for rights of free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of access I will - regretfully - move my entire journal there. I believe LJ is the best blogging platform available, but the attitude towards users, lack of forethought in implementing new "features", disregard for user concerns, and promises of clarifications that never come are very close to driving me - and many others - to leave LJ and find another online home.
I don't know if I really will move to GJ - all my friends are here, and I do like LJ best. But even if I wasn't mad about the flagging and the censorship, this if affecting the function of journals and flists, which is what I'm here for and those things still work just fine at GJ. *sigh* Sometimes I think LJ/6A is shooting for some kind of stupidity award.
Note also that the entire story is tucked away in lj_biz and only mentioned in passing in news. You should probably go change your preference settings, unless you like that LJ has decided to filter your searches for you and put your flist under warning cuts. Be advised, though, that you cannot remove these filters if you do not list your birth year in your profile. Way to protect us, LJ.
Since they asked us to notify them about flaws in the new system, I did.
What I wrote to Support:
I am over 18, yet my friends page is under a heap of warning cuts. I tried to change my settings, but the system won't allow me to because I choose not to list my birth year in my profile. Your magic popup did not pop to allow me to enter my age and thus have control of my own journal. This is something I shouldn't have to do anyway just to access content that I have been viewing for over three years, none of which is particularly offensive or explicit. My friends are just being careful, and probably more than a bit worried about what Big Brother will do next if they don't flag their own journals. Nor should I have to alter my profile - removing information I want there (my birthdate) - in order to have my journal function the way I want and still keep private information that I do not want public (my birth year).
Furthermore, you have no right to censor what I or anyone else see. It is parents' responsibility to monitor what their children read, view, and participate in online as well as in real life. LJ is not and should not be a babysitter. Just as importantly, LJ should not be babysitting me and other adults who have the right to read, view, and participate in any legal activity that we wish. That you would alter someone's journal and not notify them is extremely worrisome. That you have still not answered questions about this and many other concerns is frustrating at best, and at worst makes it look like you don't care what users think and don't have to deal with our concerns.
Strikethrough made me sign up for a GreatestJournal account. If you continue in this disregard for rights of free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of access I will - regretfully - move my entire journal there. I believe LJ is the best blogging platform available, but the attitude towards users, lack of forethought in implementing new "features", disregard for user concerns, and promises of clarifications that never come are very close to driving me - and many others - to leave LJ and find another online home.
I don't know if I really will move to GJ - all my friends are here, and I do like LJ best. But even if I wasn't mad about the flagging and the censorship, this if affecting the function of journals and flists, which is what I'm here for and those things still work just fine at GJ. *sigh* Sometimes I think LJ/6A is shooting for some kind of stupidity award.