RIP No-Ads LiveJournal, The End Has Finally Come
I used to say I didn't think Six Apart would do it. I didn't think they'd strip away the option to be on this site for free without seeing ads. I was right. They didn't.
In response to the recent announcement that SUP, a Moscow-based company, bought LJ from Six Apart, zzyzx writes:
"In Soviet Russia, terms of service violate you!"
So it seems.
100 days after the purchase, for new registrants, LiveJournal no longer has an unpaid account level that doesn't involve ads.
When I joined this site, as foxcub15, I needed to get an invite code from another user, because the site's membership was limited in order to keep it afloat without having to resort to ads. Back then, the site had an explicit absolutely no-ads policy. I used to tell people what a nice site this was, LiveJournal.
But my affection for it has been lost. Even the beloved founder of the site, Brad Fitzpatrick, has departed for the not-evil web giant Google, where he's working as an engineer on more exciting social networking software.
Thankfully, I have no financial commitment involved in remaining. I have had a permanent account since well before the current owners purchased the site, and should feel no guilt over whether I'm supporting a company that has destroyed the spirit of the site I once loved. To these people, I am nothing but the burden of commitments once made by past owners, whose love of this site went beyond the financial.
In response to the recent announcement that SUP, a Moscow-based company, bought LJ from Six Apart, zzyzx writes:
"In Soviet Russia, terms of service violate you!"
So it seems.
100 days after the purchase, for new registrants, LiveJournal no longer has an unpaid account level that doesn't involve ads.
When I joined this site, as foxcub15, I needed to get an invite code from another user, because the site's membership was limited in order to keep it afloat without having to resort to ads. Back then, the site had an explicit absolutely no-ads policy. I used to tell people what a nice site this was, LiveJournal.
But my affection for it has been lost. Even the beloved founder of the site, Brad Fitzpatrick, has departed for the not-evil web giant Google, where he's working as an engineer on more exciting social networking software.
Thankfully, I have no financial commitment involved in remaining. I have had a permanent account since well before the current owners purchased the site, and should feel no guilt over whether I'm supporting a company that has destroyed the spirit of the site I once loved. To these people, I am nothing but the burden of commitments once made by past owners, whose love of this site went beyond the financial.