Fandom: Blogging Bag Ladies

[stewardess]

After reading the responses to a friend's post on sponsored accounts, I decided it was time to point something out.

SUP said from the get-go it acquired LiveJournal for international expansion. The American chunk of LiveJournal is not important to SUP's long range plans.

LiveJournal USA, since its humble beginnings (as Jason Shellen used to say

Comments

[lady__vaako]

I love your analogy: very colourful and to the point. I would be sad to leave LJ but if SUP starts treating fandom like yesterday's old socks, then I may not have much of a choice but to pack my things and move to that other department store...

poor analogy

[egretplume]

Here via metafandom.
I enjoy an extended metaphor as much as the next person, but this post seems very insensitive about the real problem of homelessness. When I see people living on the streets, I don't really think of them as enjoying their alternative entertainment in fanfic collectives. I appreciate the concept of "homeless fic" banished and unwanted, but the comparison you make here is so callous that I find it hard to take your actual argument seriously.

Excellent analogy.

[chvickers]

It's an excellent analogy. No matter how sad or wonderful or whatever YOU think the homeless are, to the business community they are an unmitigated Bad Thing that in their minds is full of evil and wrong and should be harassed out of existence. To us fandom is wonderful, but to SUP we are an unmitigated Bad Thing that in their minds is full of evil and wrong and should be harassed out of existence.

Re: Excellent analogy.

[parsimonia]

Yes, because a website you use for free not catering to your every whim is exactly the same as being homeless.

If people were actually being censored, or being banned left, right and centre right now, the analogy might have some credibility. But as it stands, it comes off as very callous and rather entitled.

Re: Excellent analogy.

[holyschist]

I think it's a good analogy from the point of view of the business community, but that doesn't make it not insensitive or problematic from the point of view of the homeless people. Homelessness is a problem to be solved (according to most people), not something (like fandom) that we think is good and should be protected.

Writing smut for a hobby is not equivalent to sleeping outside in freezing weather and not having enough food. Implying that it's equivalent, yeah, it bothers me and interferes with the effectiveness of the analogy for me (and others, it seems).

Here via Metafandom

[butterfly_kate]

I agree with what you're saying here, although I think a large portion of what you describe as 'Livejournal USA' also comprises much of Western Europe as well as Australia.

The problem I find is that the so-called 'department store down the street' and 'land in the country' don't have the same facilities as what's here now. I've got accounts at IJ and JF should I need them, but as long as there's better facilities at LJ and my friends are still here I'll be sticking around. When somewhere comes along that's looking better I'll most definitely move but until then I don't see much reason to. I guess I'm just not surprised at the corporation doing shitty things.

[nilla]

You, my dearest, have a way with words! I just love reading these posts out loud to my friends XD The baglady analogy had me in a gigglefit because it's so true!! The world is a changing and so is the landscape of LiveJournal. It was to be expected that once Brad sold LJ that we'd see this service try to go global commercial on us. In the end "Sex = DIRTYBADMONEYMAKER"

[ms_maree]

But if they are interested in Asia, and the Asian market, then wouldn't they cut more slack with yaoi.

After all, that's where it's from. I assume (although I don't know) that it's huge with a certain demographic in those countries.