(Untitled)

[theljstaff]

In last week’s announcements we aimed to bring you up to speed on the progress we had made in the first 100 days, and describe how the user elections to our Advisory Board will be managed. Much has happened since the last update we made to the LiveJournal community last Friday

Comments

[ladycelia]

Interesting timing.

[missgiter]

Indeed it is, very.

[captspastic]

You said it.

The boycott should still stay on!

[deuceloosely]

Are you saying this update was possibly due to some boycott or "strike?"

I highly doubt it. The number of people who participate(d) in these things are a mere drop in the ol' bucket compared to the entirety of active LJ users.

To me, striking or boycotting is only half-stepping. Anyone taking part in such activity might think it brave and righteous to rally against an "evil corporate dictator" or whatever, yet they just can't let go of the security of having their LJ.

If you were all truly serious about making some kind of impact, organize a mass walkout, where everyone involved would delete their LJ accounts at a specified time. That might - MIGHT - get their attention. Somehow, though, I just don't see anyone out there that firm on their position.

Either go all the way or don't go at all...

[troworld]

Thanks for the apology, but this should also go in news

[ainabarad]

I second this and would like to add that interests on the most popular interests page shouldn't be censored. I could see censoring them if they included profanities (such as f*cking), but removing bisexuality and fanfiction from the page if they are listed often enough to be included is not a good idea. LJ should not promote anything like homophobia or racism. Censorship, except where absolutely necessary, should not be implemented.

[ladyhelen]

I thought this change had now been undone and identified as a f*ckup?

[rydra_wong]

It was identified as a "mistake" in a comment from an LJ staffer, who expressed the hope that there would be a statement soon.

Needless to say, there hasn't been a statement.

And given how difficult it is to "accidentally" create a filter censoring certain interests, many people suspect that LJ thinks the "mistake" was "getting caught."

[gillen]

and someone hire Nosik a PR flack before his next interview. LOL.

[dreamalynn]

No, someone put a muzzle on him. This man should be allowed to talk to the press again when pigs fly.

Though it's nice to know just what the muckety mucks think of us.

[gillen]

Well, I think the tone translated poorly and he's clearly used to a flippant and bravado-driven environment rather than talking to the media. I didn't really disagree with him overall (at least not from the POV of what I would ascribe as his business ethic) but he should have been coached on the way one speaks to the press and the potential ramifications of particular phrasings. Yes, some users may want to harm SUP's bottom line in order to make their point or even from sheer peevishness. Many of them are simply angry. No, you cannot make public reference to them as if they were the enemy and call them idiots. Inside voice / outside voice. This is why I say he needs a PR flack. The way he presented SUP's position with regard to their clients is surely not in keeping with the new openness or the way the company would have preferred these questions be fielded. If he had seriously thought about his answers, I don't think those are the ones that even he would have given. Half the user relations problems LJ has could be solved

[dreamalynn]

There's little improvement that knowing tone can make on words like "idiot" and "fool" and "sabotage" and "blackmail."

I don't think this is a matter of inside voice/outside voice. That users are being thought of in these terms at all indicates that there not only is a radical disconnect between the people with power and their users, there is no recognition of that disconnect and therefore there will be no effort to bridge that forthcoming any time soon.

I retain my LJ account solely for the purpose of reading friends who keep things under f-lock, otherwise I would comment using OpenID and wash my hands of being an LJ user at all. And it's people like me who are left between a rock and a hard place, because that which provides such efficient and easy means of semi-private communication between friends is also a shackle to an increasingly unethical corporation run by people I wouldn't dream of having any association with otherwise.

[spectralbovine]

You should have been given a voice, and you were not; we didn’t follow our own rules, and we apologize.
Thank you.

At this point we are working on a solution to enable existing LiveJournal users to create new Basic accounts as so many of you have requested. Nothing has been decided yet, but we are considering options which would allow existing users to continue to create new Basic accounts.
That would be pretty damn awesome. I still think potential new users of LJ would really appreciate Basic accounts and be more likely to stick around and become Paid users, but it would definitely be nice for existing users to still be able to create ad-free accounts. Thanks for at least considering the option.

Revenue sharing - Should users be rewarded for their content and contributions?
Yes! I like money!

[dawna]

Thank you for the apology. I'm really sorry that it had to come after the clarification made after the initial news post.. but at least you apologize.

Now, please keep Anton Nossik on a short leash. I understand he only works for you as a Social Media person, but the fact is, he works for SUP and therefore when he speaks to the public, he is speaking on behalf of SUP. He needs to keep his feelings about us peons in check and to himself. It is no way to treat the people, even the loud obnoxious ones, who pay good money for this service.

and I want to edit to add, I appreciate the effort here and hope that you guys will utilize the amazing resources that you guys have in your volunteer Support Teams. I really love LiveJournal and I want it to be the very best it can be. I think you guys want that too, so I hope that we all can work together to make that possible.

[cwoolard]

Now, please keep Anton Nossik on a short leash. I understand he only works for you as a Social Media person, but the fact is, he works for SUP and therefore when he speaks to the public, he is speaking on behalf of SUP. He needs to keep his feelings about us peons in check and to himself. It is no way to treat the people, even the loud obnoxious ones, who pay good money for this service.

OK, am I reading this right? The guy who referred to irate LJers as "blackmailers" in a Russian news interview, is part of SUP's public relations team?

I really thought you guys had learned the difference between banging your shoe on the table and diplomacy.

Nyeh Kulturny.

[dolboeb]

I am not, and never was, a part of anyone's public relations team.
Not my job, sorry.

Here are some explanations about myself, my real name, my title, and what I actually said:
http://anton-nossik.livejournal.com/16069.html
Indeed, I never used the word "blackmail", because the interview wasn't in English, to start with.

[moony_blues]

Then would you please supply a translation for those of us who don't know Russian? It would be a lot easier for me to take your word for it if you have some sort of way to back it up.