DreamWidth has in general been so much better in terms of useability (LJ goes down all the damn time and DW rarely does), customer service (Mark and Denise, the co-owners of DW, are extremely prompt about answering queries and not ignoring their userbase), and being open about their business practices and goals. For my part, I've found their site way more intuitive and easier to use than LJ, and I appreciate their willingness to communicate openly.
In RP terms, it's been like magic for us--the RP I'm in, CFUD, is gigantic. DW has a content import system that we wanted to take advantage of for the move, but for a game as huge as this (11 million comments and counting) it would be a considerable strain on their servers. So the mods of CFUD and the owners of DreamWidth have been working together, communicating openly, to make sure their servers are up to par and to ensure that CFUD's move to DW goes smoothly and quickly. We never expected them to be this helpful and they've made it so that we can resume playing in about a week, which is way better than what we expected originally. That, for me, shows a lot more care for one's userbase than LJ has ever shown in the ten years I've been on this site. CFUD's not the only game that's moving from LJ to DW, either--there are at least ten or more that are making the change, and that's not an insignificant number.
And to clarify, I don't hate LJ, and I'm not leaving it entirely--I have a permanent account here, and there's lots of comms and journals that are staying on LJ that I plan to keep up with and comment to. But my loyalties have shifted, and I don't plan on giving LJ another cent. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, it looks like.
Thanks, that is good to know. It's great that DW is working with its users like that and I can see why roleplayers would embrace a community that is willing to be so accommodating. I haven't ever run into an issue with LJ because my focus is on my own (and my friends') journal(s) rather than communities and roleplay, so I didn't see that perspective. As a site to keep an online journal and keep up with friends' journals, LJ meets my needs well, and I've just been here so long and found it so useful and gotten to know so many wonderful people that I feel, as of now, that I couldn't leave unless the site were to shut down.
This was the straw that broke the camel's back, it looks like.
That's what it seems like, as from what I remember things like strikethrough didn't even drive very many people away, at least not permanently. I'm glad that you'll be sticking around anyhow, despite preferring DW now.
In RP terms, it's been like magic for us--the RP I'm in, CFUD, is gigantic. DW has a content import system that we wanted to take advantage of for the move, but for a game as huge as this (11 million comments and counting) it would be a considerable strain on their servers. So the mods of CFUD and the owners of DreamWidth have been working together, communicating openly, to make sure their servers are up to par and to ensure that CFUD's move to DW goes smoothly and quickly. We never expected them to be this helpful and they've made it so that we can resume playing in about a week, which is way better than what we expected originally. That, for me, shows a lot more care for one's userbase than LJ has ever shown in the ten years I've been on this site. CFUD's not the only game that's moving from LJ to DW, either--there are at least ten or more that are making the change, and that's not an insignificant number.
And to clarify, I don't hate LJ, and I'm not leaving it entirely--I have a permanent account here, and there's lots of comms and journals that are staying on LJ that I plan to keep up with and comment to. But my loyalties have shifted, and I don't plan on giving LJ another cent. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, it looks like.
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This was the straw that broke the camel's back, it looks like.
That's what it seems like, as from what I remember things like strikethrough didn't even drive very many people away, at least not permanently. I'm glad that you'll be sticking around anyhow, despite preferring DW now.
Reply
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