Where Do We Go From Here?
Dear readalljournals,
We have recently become aware that your LiveJournal account has been
used to make a number of identical unsolicited comments or entries in others'
journals. This practice is forbidden by LiveJournal's Terms of Service, as
it qualifies as spam.
This email serves as a warning that any further reports of this
behavior will result in the suspension of all of your LiveJournal
accounts. LiveJournal does not permit spam, and does not tolerate it when
it is reported to us.
If you have any questions about LiveJournal's policy
regarding commercial activity and promotion, please see
http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=197. This
FAQ contains instructions on how to file an Abuse query if you need
clarification on any elements of the policy.
Regards,
LiveJournal Team
Dear Abuse Team,
I am writing in defense of my actions. My commenting has never been intended
for promotion
or commercial purposes. I think reading through the premise of this journal
(you can find it at http://readalljournals.livejournal.com/2007/04/23/)
would offer some insight.
I am trying to read every LiveJournal. I would tailor my comments
individually but to cut and paste the form receipt saves time and also
enforces the egalitarian ideals which are embodied in the project. Everyone
who gets read should know about it. Would it be very different if I just
commented "Hi"? I consider my comments a form of interaction. When users
comment to my comments I comment back, which is not what spammers do. I
reiterate: the only reason they aren't individually tailored is to save
time. Because this is a very time consuming task.
I don't know if you've already considered my commenting vis-a-vis the nature
of my comments. The notification I received seems very form-like (which is
not altogether without irony). I have a suspicion who it was registered this
complaint. Had they tried to contact me directly I would have easily allayed
their concerns.
Surprisingly enough, I was going to buy a paid account this very morning. I
even considered buying a Permanent Account given the new offer. Now that I
come home from work with a threat to shut down this journal my desire to do
so is severely impinged. Is what I'm doing really so bad to risk a source of
revenue? Given that LiveJournal's number of active journals is falling,
probably because of the rise of MySpace and Facebook, I doubt it. I mean no
offense, but I have been a loyal user of several years. Using another
blogging service has never appealed to me because my experience at
LiveJournal has been so fulfilling.
I'm asking you to please investigate further before any further
consideration of the fate of my journal.
Sincerely,
readalljournals
Dear user readalljournals,
Thank you for contacting us with your questions regarding this situation. LiveJournal considers the posting of identical unsolicited comments in multiple journals to be spam, regardless of the subject matter or the reasons behind the similarity of the comments (such as the 'saving time' reason you state). As your comments were reported as spam by multiple users of LiveJournal, you received the warning email to let you know that continuing such behavior may result in stronger measures being taken against your account. We cannot provide information as to the identities of the users who reported your comments as spam, for reasons of confidentiality.
Your journal is not in danger of being suspended for spamming unless we continue to receive reports of such behavior after this warning email was sent.
Regards,
Annika
LiveJournal Abuse Prevention Team
Dear Annika,
Thanks from your clarification. If you would answer two more questions for me I can leave you alone and get back to the real work of reading journals.
1.) I assume from your reply that LiveJournal does not consider posting non-identical unsolicited comments in multiple journals spam. Is this correct?
2.) Can I post this conversation in my journal without violating LiveJournal's TOS?
Thanks,
readalljournals
Dear user readalljournals,
To address your questions individually:
1) Comments that are still substantially similar to each other, even if slightly customized, may still qualify as spam depending on the situation -- it may still qualify as mass unsolicited contact of other users. Though I realize that you want an absolute 'rule' as to what qualifies as spamming activity, there is no concrete rule that can be given.
2) Yes, both of my responses here can be posted within your journal without it being a violation. Responses that contain confidential information (that should not be reproduced) generally contain a 'Do Not Reproduce' disclaimer to alert the recipient.
Regards,
Annika
LiveJournal Abuse Prevention Team
Thanks