Response from 6A to tmg1 about strikethrough '07
LJ sent me a message saying essentially 'your account is about to expire', so I replied with 'yes, but wtf is going on with this strikethrough stuff?', and this is their reply.
Subject: Re: Re: Account Expiring Soon
Date: Fri, Jun 8th 5:05:40 PM
From: feedback+755712zdt2p@livejournal.com (LiveJournal.com Support) (add to address book)
To: themusicgod1@zworg.com
Below is an answer to your support question regarding "Re: Account Expiring
Soon"
(http://www.livejournal.com/support/see_request.bml?id=755712&auth=dt2p).
======================================================================
Dear Mr. Cliff,
I do apologize for the delay you've experienced in receiving a response.
It is the view of LiveJournal's management that a journal and a profile must be evaluated separately, and that a profile serves, in essence, as a form of
"advertisement" for the journal contents -- that the listing of interests, the bio, and all other content in a profile must be evaluated as a statement of things that a user supports and would like to discuss. When the profile contains references to illegal activity, therefore, a profile dedicated to illegal material must be viewed as soliciting others to participate in that illegal activity. This is not intended at all to restrict legitimate use of the site, or to censor or otherwise inhibit our users; it's intended to stop people who are using LiveJournal to commit crimes.
Our policy regarding the journal profile has, in fact, changed recently, and I apologize greatly that miscommunications and misunderstandings prevented you and the rest of our userbase from being informed. Everyone involved is very sorry for the trouble, and I deeply regret the confusion. If you haven't seen them yet, please allow me to direct you to the News journal, where Six Apart's CEO has made several public statements about the situation: http://news.livejournal.com .
All of the journals that were suspended last week were reviewed by many people. Unfortunately, due to internal misunderstandings, the wrong criteria were applied. When this became clear, we worked to clarify those criteria internally as quickly as possible, and unsuspend the journals and communities that did not qualify under the intended criteria. We're also working to make sure that everyone involved understands the many and varied issues that can arise with such policies, and to make sure that everyone's understanding accurately reflects the wishes of LiveJournal management.
Both the Abuse Prevention team and LiveJournal management are working to clarify policies and procedures around this issue. You may wish to watch the lj_biz journal, where, over the next several weeks, LiveJournal management will work with both the Abuse Prevention team and with the community to build a clear policy, communicate it to the userbase, and build a process to make sure that we don't have similar issues with miscommunication in the future. Again, I'm very sorry for the confusion, and thank you for raising your concerns. We'd particularly love to have you participating in the discussions in lj_biz over the next few weeks, because we're interested in hearing from the most passionate and devoted members of the community in particular.
Regards,
Denise Paolucci
Six Apart, Ltd // LiveJournal.com
Did this answer your question?
YES:[linky]
NO:[linky]
If you are having problems using any of the links in this email, please try
copying and pasting the *entire* link into your browser's address bar rather
than clicking on it.
Forming an argument:
1) I am aware that this is being looked at, and I appreciate 6A's efforts in the matter(although it's obvious they were forced to their current course of action by the United Fandoms, this is fine with me).
2) Discussing illegal activity should not be illegal. But that's besides the point; How does one determine the legality of something? Unless you have a court order saying 'this is illegal text, have it removed', then you are acting as a judge, when it is clear that you are not qualified as such. Even acting on advice of a legal advisor in this respect does not suffice; You are "coverring your own ass"(CYA) by doing so, determing what you judge to be legal or not, however you are not in a capacity to do so. While it is prudent to cover your ass, this is still overstepping your expertise; courts and juries determine whether something is illegal or not. You do not.
That being said, consulting with the EFF is an important step, and one that earns respect from me. If the EFF reccomends something, I will probably go along with it, since they seem to know what they are doing.
I think this discussion has earned me a new interest; 'smoking marijuana'. Do I suggest that you smoke marijuna when it's illegal in your area? No. But it is illegal in my area, so while I do support potheads, and am interested in what maryjane has to offer, I would very much prefer it be legal *first* before I, and you, the reader, smoke. So in this sense, this meets the criteria
1) It is an interest of mine
2) "I like marijuana" is arguably true
3) smoking marijuana is definitely illegal, both in the US and local here
4) I support smoking marijuana
5) I would encourage others to participate in that illegal activity, In the event that it is made legal, which I encourage others to help me with.
(would it make more sense to be interested in 'posessing marijuana'? what about just 'marijuana'?)
Does my lj therefor deserve to be deleted?
Although LJ is essentially the community that surrounds it, at its core it is a private entity, so 6A are within its rights to delete journals at its whim. That being said it is also my right to not renew my lj paid account.
Subject: Re: Re: Account Expiring Soon
Date: Fri, Jun 8th 5:05:40 PM
From: feedback+755712zdt2p@livejournal.com (LiveJournal.com Support) (add to address book)
To: themusicgod1@zworg.com
Below is an answer to your support question regarding "Re: Account Expiring
Soon"
(http://www.livejournal.com/support/see_request.bml?id=755712&auth=dt2p).
======================================================================
Dear Mr. Cliff,
I do apologize for the delay you've experienced in receiving a response.
It is the view of LiveJournal's management that a journal and a profile must be evaluated separately, and that a profile serves, in essence, as a form of
"advertisement" for the journal contents -- that the listing of interests, the bio, and all other content in a profile must be evaluated as a statement of things that a user supports and would like to discuss. When the profile contains references to illegal activity, therefore, a profile dedicated to illegal material must be viewed as soliciting others to participate in that illegal activity. This is not intended at all to restrict legitimate use of the site, or to censor or otherwise inhibit our users; it's intended to stop people who are using LiveJournal to commit crimes.
Our policy regarding the journal profile has, in fact, changed recently, and I apologize greatly that miscommunications and misunderstandings prevented you and the rest of our userbase from being informed. Everyone involved is very sorry for the trouble, and I deeply regret the confusion. If you haven't seen them yet, please allow me to direct you to the News journal, where Six Apart's CEO has made several public statements about the situation: http://news.livejournal.com .
All of the journals that were suspended last week were reviewed by many people. Unfortunately, due to internal misunderstandings, the wrong criteria were applied. When this became clear, we worked to clarify those criteria internally as quickly as possible, and unsuspend the journals and communities that did not qualify under the intended criteria. We're also working to make sure that everyone involved understands the many and varied issues that can arise with such policies, and to make sure that everyone's understanding accurately reflects the wishes of LiveJournal management.
Both the Abuse Prevention team and LiveJournal management are working to clarify policies and procedures around this issue. You may wish to watch the lj_biz journal, where, over the next several weeks, LiveJournal management will work with both the Abuse Prevention team and with the community to build a clear policy, communicate it to the userbase, and build a process to make sure that we don't have similar issues with miscommunication in the future. Again, I'm very sorry for the confusion, and thank you for raising your concerns. We'd particularly love to have you participating in the discussions in lj_biz over the next few weeks, because we're interested in hearing from the most passionate and devoted members of the community in particular.
Regards,
Denise Paolucci
Six Apart, Ltd // LiveJournal.com
Did this answer your question?
YES:[linky]
NO:[linky]
If you are having problems using any of the links in this email, please try
copying and pasting the *entire* link into your browser's address bar rather
than clicking on it.
Forming an argument:
1) I am aware that this is being looked at, and I appreciate 6A's efforts in the matter(although it's obvious they were forced to their current course of action by the United Fandoms, this is fine with me).
2) Discussing illegal activity should not be illegal. But that's besides the point; How does one determine the legality of something? Unless you have a court order saying 'this is illegal text, have it removed', then you are acting as a judge, when it is clear that you are not qualified as such. Even acting on advice of a legal advisor in this respect does not suffice; You are "coverring your own ass"(CYA) by doing so, determing what you judge to be legal or not, however you are not in a capacity to do so. While it is prudent to cover your ass, this is still overstepping your expertise; courts and juries determine whether something is illegal or not. You do not.
That being said, consulting with the EFF is an important step, and one that earns respect from me. If the EFF reccomends something, I will probably go along with it, since they seem to know what they are doing.
I think this discussion has earned me a new interest; 'smoking marijuana'. Do I suggest that you smoke marijuna when it's illegal in your area? No. But it is illegal in my area, so while I do support potheads, and am interested in what maryjane has to offer, I would very much prefer it be legal *first* before I, and you, the reader, smoke. So in this sense, this meets the criteria
1) It is an interest of mine
2) "I like marijuana" is arguably true
3) smoking marijuana is definitely illegal, both in the US and local here
4) I support smoking marijuana
5) I would encourage others to participate in that illegal activity, In the event that it is made legal, which I encourage others to help me with.
(would it make more sense to be interested in 'posessing marijuana'? what about just 'marijuana'?)
Does my lj therefor deserve to be deleted?
Although LJ is essentially the community that surrounds it, at its core it is a private entity, so 6A are within its rights to delete journals at its whim. That being said it is also my right to not renew my lj paid account.