Livejournal and ads - show your displeasure

[janestarz]

I was against Plus level since they first introduced it. Ads do not belong in my personal diary. I still get to see them on the login page when I log into the site from work where I refuse to keep the cookies. It seems to be that the cookies expire sooner too

Comments

[nathreee]

I have to disagree with you in this part. I will not be posting on Friday because I'm off having a fun weekend, not because I think anyone will notice if I do or do not post. As Tadiera put it, and I quote:

"The people who want to do this 'strike' are just spoiled brats. And it's amazing: What the hell do they care? If they have a basic account already, it's not going away. SixApart would like to make money. Is that such a problem?

I see it like this:
You run a restaurant.
For months, half your customers come in just to eat bread, and drink water. Since they "didn't order anything", they don't even bother to leave a tip. But you allow it for a while, in the hopes that eventually, they'll actually order some food.
Time goes on and these people are still coming in for the "freebies". You have to continue providing the bread at a loss. Your wait staff has to be paid. And you're not getting any money from these people.
So eventually, you require an order. No bread until an order has been made. You need to recoup your losses.

And then, in turn, those people decide that for one night, they won't come to your restaurant.
Hey, look. One night of no wasted wait staff. No wasted bread. They'll be back. You don't give two shits about that "strike". ;)"

Nothing is for free. You want a journal? Pay for it. I have no sympathy for the people who are miffed because they don't get stuff for free.

[janestarz]

Each to his own. It is your decision to do so.

I think where it went wrong is when Brad sold Livejournal to SixApart and it turned from a student's geeky project into a business. Free users do provide the content for the paying users. I've wanted a paid or permanent account for years, because I support their cause. I just didn't have Paypal or a creditcard to do so.

I'm just very scared to see where this is going. First, advertisements were put on the site. Secondly, they take the ability to create Basic accounts away.
What's the next step? Quit basic accounts altogether? Create a Premium account (which just transforms all Permanent accounts into Premium, leaving them the perks but adding and end date to their account level)?

Yes, it's a business, but that doesn't mean I necessarily have to agree with the way they run the business. If I'm eating at a restaurant and my plate is dirty, I'll complain too.

[nathreee]

If customers are not happy with the way the restaurant is run, then they should go somewhwere else. This is a business, SixApart will decide how they run it and probably won't change their ways because a few people complain, and this is where the restaurant analogy comes short, because the people complaining may be a few hundred customers, but there are thousands of others.

This is why I didn't buy a permanent account; because things always change. And when they change for the worse, I want to have the freedom to leave and go somewhere else. BTW, I don't think that time has come just yet.

[janestarz]

Dolle Griet is a business. That doesn't mean I subject my customers to all sorts of treatment they get from other businesses! I am usually quick to reply to their efforts to contact me, I do not put people on hold until they hang up, and I deliver quality products.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but that doesn't mean that everything is the same. There are many shades of grey.

[nathreee]

That's exactly what I mean. Dolle Griet is your business. You decide how it is run. Sometimes you give someone a discount because you roleplay together. If someone else comes in and demands to have that discount too, you decide whether they get it or not. If you decide you don't want to give them the discount, I imagine you would like them to pay the full price or go away, not stay here and whine at you about it.

[anemoona]

First they lure you in with a free account with no ads on it, and when you choose LJ to be your diary they change the voorwaarden (?). That's not fair. That's not the way you treat your customers.

[nathreee]

Anybody who has a basic account, keeps their basic account. Only new people can no longer choose to get a basic account. Not exactly the same thing.

[elektron]

The people who want to do this 'strike' are just spoiled brats. And it's amazing: What the hell do they care?

Because LJ has just removed the only reason why they were any good. I'm not about to make other people see ads to read my posts.

You don't get loyal users for free; you have to give something back.