Holy shit, it's a public entry!
Yes, I know.... I said it would never happen on this journal, but there are some issues that are affecting the LJ community at large, so instead of making what will just be one more out of thousands of comments, I'm going to address all my concerns right here. Besides, what I have to say is far too long for one comment.
First off, the flagging feature either needs to be reworked or disappear completely. Because this new "feature" was not posted in one of the major LJ staff areas, such as news, there are a lot of people who are finding they can't visit journals or communities that they frequent due to the fact that they now require you to prove that you are above a certain age. While that is workable, it is also rather annoying.
My problem with it not being announced is that it says "flag this journal" and nothing more. Had I not stumbled across another friend's journal and found the link, I may very well have accidentally flagged the journal of somebody who has been a good friend of mine for a long time, thinking that it was just a way of keeping track of her entries. If the flagging function is indeed here to stay, it needs to be relabeled to say "report a possible TOS violation." That wording makes it much more clear exactly what you are clicking, and saves both you and your friend a great deal of grief.
Second, I do not want features added to make LJ look more like MySpace or Facebook. I did create a MySpace at one time, but have largely abandoned the page for many reasons:
1. I was highly uncomfortable with making so much personal information public. If I wanted to take out a personal ad, I certainly would have done so long ago.
2. I was annoyed greatly by the extra crap that people feel obliged to put on their pages. Sure, some of it's neato, but it's a pain in the ass to restart my computer because it went into vapor-lock over the amount of stuff pouring into it simultaneously
3. I found it disconcerting that the application was so vulnerable to porn and spam. I get enough of that in my Yahoo! mailbox, thank you very much. I don't want to see "HOrny Barely Legal SLUTS!!!!!", Become a "WELL-HUNG MAN" (for the record, I'm female), or "WORK FROM HOME!"
The reason I've stayed with LiveJournal since 2003 (this is my second journal) is because I don't have to deal with this nonsense. I don't have to click and delete hundreds upon hundreds of spam messages and pointless little nudges and winks that your friends can send you.
Keep in mind that LJ is successful because it is unique and not a clone. Other companies have tried to clone something successful and gone bankrupt (Bolt, anyone?). Save yourself and don't confuse improvement with imitation.
First off, the flagging feature either needs to be reworked or disappear completely. Because this new "feature" was not posted in one of the major LJ staff areas, such as news, there are a lot of people who are finding they can't visit journals or communities that they frequent due to the fact that they now require you to prove that you are above a certain age. While that is workable, it is also rather annoying.
My problem with it not being announced is that it says "flag this journal" and nothing more. Had I not stumbled across another friend's journal and found the link, I may very well have accidentally flagged the journal of somebody who has been a good friend of mine for a long time, thinking that it was just a way of keeping track of her entries. If the flagging function is indeed here to stay, it needs to be relabeled to say "report a possible TOS violation." That wording makes it much more clear exactly what you are clicking, and saves both you and your friend a great deal of grief.
Second, I do not want features added to make LJ look more like MySpace or Facebook. I did create a MySpace at one time, but have largely abandoned the page for many reasons:
1. I was highly uncomfortable with making so much personal information public. If I wanted to take out a personal ad, I certainly would have done so long ago.
2. I was annoyed greatly by the extra crap that people feel obliged to put on their pages. Sure, some of it's neato, but it's a pain in the ass to restart my computer because it went into vapor-lock over the amount of stuff pouring into it simultaneously
3. I found it disconcerting that the application was so vulnerable to porn and spam. I get enough of that in my Yahoo! mailbox, thank you very much. I don't want to see "HOrny Barely Legal SLUTS!!!!!", Become a "WELL-HUNG MAN" (for the record, I'm female), or "WORK FROM HOME!"
The reason I've stayed with LiveJournal since 2003 (this is my second journal) is because I don't have to deal with this nonsense. I don't have to click and delete hundreds upon hundreds of spam messages and pointless little nudges and winks that your friends can send you.
Keep in mind that LJ is successful because it is unique and not a clone. Other companies have tried to clone something successful and gone bankrupt (Bolt, anyone?). Save yourself and don't confuse improvement with imitation.