ruminative mode: [LJ Dumb] On BasicAccountGate:
I'm not so much defending, because as LJ SUP decided to do it, it was a pretty foolish way to go about it given the existing history between LJ and its userbase.
But I am pointing out a few things:
www.greatestjournal.com is dying. The people who own the GJ servers know it's dying. They aren't doing anything about it, so the site is pretty much stuck as is until the site overloads and crashes. Has had a lot of bells and whistles over LJ, but LJ still had better and different ones.
www.insanejournal.com - according to the Twitter, the site goes down fast as [insert prostitute joke here] and frequently. Their bells and whistles aren't worth a tinker's damn until they get the site stable.
www.deadjournal.com - doesn't seem to have a whole lot of problems that I am aware of. May be invite only now, now that I think about it. No bells and whistles, really, that I'm aware of.
Here are some other LJ clones, but they come with their own problems.
www.myspace.com - puh-LEASE. I know some people like it, but I find it kludgy, crammed with kiddiebloggers and people whose idea of designing a webpage consists of music, videos, and animated .gif backgrounds. I can't really speak on bells and whistles here. I hate the site so much I have no idea what else you can do on it.
TypePad and Wordpress are okay, but a bit complicated for some people.
Vox belongs to 6A and is intentionally set up for people who can't or won't or don't want to use "that complicated HTML stuff."
Mindsay is a "who?" sort of blog service.
Blogger belongs to Google. Also full of ads.
Twitter isn't really a blog. You only get 140 characters a go.
I really don't think SUP was trying to put one over on the userbase. I mean, think about it for a second. There is no possible way that "you can't make totally free accounts, only plus ones" would ever have been able to keep secret.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Honestly, LJ's problem is that they have no concept of PR. So they keep shooting themselves in the foot by not taking into account how interactive a medium they operate in.
And LJ is still free. You, and any new users, aren't paying any money for a Plus level account. Putting up with ads is not costing you anything but one to thirty seconds of annoyance -- and not even that if you have an ad-blocking program installed. And for that matter, anyone who had a basic account before the announcement still has one.
They didn't just automatically jump straight to paid accounts, which I'm sure most people will agree would be way worse than simply subjecting new users to some ads that are easily blocked.
So while LJ has done some truly goofy stuff, and been equally goofy about relaying any information to the userbase, it's still better than a good number of the alternatives. But really, why are people surprised? Not because of LJ's continuing goofiness about policy and their equal goofiness about communicating to the userbase about it. But, I mean, bills go up every year for every other service. LJ hung out for nearly a decade with completely free ad-free service. That's pretty impressive. GJ tried to go one better than LJ with the userpics and other shinies, and look where that got them. And GJ has ads, too.
I know LJ "promised" the free accounts wouldn't go away. But reailty intruded.
They're obviously not making enough revenue on paid accounts from LJ users [probably partially brought on by Strikethrough responses] so in order to keep the site going, they had to get more money somewhere. What else were they going to do? The alternatives were either the one they took, or going paid-only, which would've been far less popular, IMHO.
I crosspost to my IJ, GJ, and DJ accounts. I have since Strikethrough, and I will continue to do so.
If you feel you have to go, I understand, and hope you'll find a way to keep in touch anyway.
Plus, on a selfish and personal note -- I like the people I've met and connected with here; I wouldn't have my boyfriend if not for LJ, even! This was the community that all pulled together on 9/11. This is the community that pulled together when Atlanta became Beyblade central yesterday.
And if y'all scatter to the four winds, I won't know how to keep in touch with you all. I see no reason to cut off my nose [or anybody else's] to spite LJ's face.
UPDATE: Those interests that got removed? SUP has backpedaled, due to the flailing, wailing, and usual histrionics, I expect.
But I am pointing out a few things:
www.greatestjournal.com is dying. The people who own the GJ servers know it's dying. They aren't doing anything about it, so the site is pretty much stuck as is until the site overloads and crashes. Has had a lot of bells and whistles over LJ, but LJ still had better and different ones.
www.insanejournal.com - according to the Twitter, the site goes down fast as [insert prostitute joke here] and frequently. Their bells and whistles aren't worth a tinker's damn until they get the site stable.
www.deadjournal.com - doesn't seem to have a whole lot of problems that I am aware of. May be invite only now, now that I think about it. No bells and whistles, really, that I'm aware of.
Here are some other LJ clones, but they come with their own problems.
www.myspace.com - puh-LEASE. I know some people like it, but I find it kludgy, crammed with kiddiebloggers and people whose idea of designing a webpage consists of music, videos, and animated .gif backgrounds. I can't really speak on bells and whistles here. I hate the site so much I have no idea what else you can do on it.
TypePad and Wordpress are okay, but a bit complicated for some people.
Vox belongs to 6A and is intentionally set up for people who can't or won't or don't want to use "that complicated HTML stuff."
Mindsay is a "who?" sort of blog service.
Blogger belongs to Google. Also full of ads.
Twitter isn't really a blog. You only get 140 characters a go.
I really don't think SUP was trying to put one over on the userbase. I mean, think about it for a second. There is no possible way that "you can't make totally free accounts, only plus ones" would ever have been able to keep secret.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Honestly, LJ's problem is that they have no concept of PR. So they keep shooting themselves in the foot by not taking into account how interactive a medium they operate in.
And LJ is still free. You, and any new users, aren't paying any money for a Plus level account. Putting up with ads is not costing you anything but one to thirty seconds of annoyance -- and not even that if you have an ad-blocking program installed. And for that matter, anyone who had a basic account before the announcement still has one.
They didn't just automatically jump straight to paid accounts, which I'm sure most people will agree would be way worse than simply subjecting new users to some ads that are easily blocked.
So while LJ has done some truly goofy stuff, and been equally goofy about relaying any information to the userbase, it's still better than a good number of the alternatives. But really, why are people surprised? Not because of LJ's continuing goofiness about policy and their equal goofiness about communicating to the userbase about it. But, I mean, bills go up every year for every other service. LJ hung out for nearly a decade with completely free ad-free service. That's pretty impressive. GJ tried to go one better than LJ with the userpics and other shinies, and look where that got them. And GJ has ads, too.
I know LJ "promised" the free accounts wouldn't go away. But reailty intruded.
They're obviously not making enough revenue on paid accounts from LJ users [probably partially brought on by Strikethrough responses] so in order to keep the site going, they had to get more money somewhere. What else were they going to do? The alternatives were either the one they took, or going paid-only, which would've been far less popular, IMHO.
I crosspost to my IJ, GJ, and DJ accounts. I have since Strikethrough, and I will continue to do so.
If you feel you have to go, I understand, and hope you'll find a way to keep in touch anyway.
Plus, on a selfish and personal note -- I like the people I've met and connected with here; I wouldn't have my boyfriend if not for LJ, even! This was the community that all pulled together on 9/11. This is the community that pulled together when Atlanta became Beyblade central yesterday.
And if y'all scatter to the four winds, I won't know how to keep in touch with you all. I see no reason to cut off my nose [or anybody else's] to spite LJ's face.
UPDATE: Those interests that got removed? SUP has backpedaled, due to the flailing, wailing, and usual histrionics, I expect.