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You know, during the strike, I was thinking that there were probably some jerks out there who were going around posting extra and leaving comments on strikers' blogs just to be perverse. It's the internet. You've got to anticipate trolls.
I don't know if that happened, but I did hear about this post from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wendymr:
Now, it's one thing to disagree with the idea. To say it isn't going to do any good. If you don't like it, you don't have to participate. Just go about your normal blogging life. But to actually go out of your way just to deliberately sabotage the effort? We've had our differences, but I didn't expect that from her.
She goes on to explain her reasons.
First off, she doesn't think it'll work.
Fair enough. It was a flawed idea. But it doesn't hurt to try. And, again, that's no reason to deliberately mock and sabotage the effort.
Second:
You know, it's funny. I heard about that reversal in another blog shortly before the strike. There, it was represented as a sign that the strike was working. Because the change happened after the strike was announced. So, yes. Please do try to get your information straight.
And if some things have been fixed, but the majority haven't, how is that reason to cancel the effort?
Thirdly, she says LJ is a business and has the right to run ads and make money.
True. I could point out that the more traffic you get, even with Basic accounts (which still see ads on Plus accounts), the more ads are worth. But that's a tricky argument on both sides, and it's not the point.
Customers have the right to demand respect and decent service. She mentions, for example, Google and their ads. I deliberately don't use gmail service for that reason (among others). I'm not striking against it because I never joined. But there'd be no reason to strike against it because it's been like that since Day 1. But LJ has gone through a series of changes. Taking the existing service and twisting it and gutting it. That's different.
And when new management comes in and makes it clear that they don't respect their customers, the customers have a right to stand up and demand better. The decisions they've made, the way they've handled the backlash, the things that they've said (this interview being only the most recent)... There's justification for taking a stand. Making a point, reminding them that without users, they have nothing.
If they make a mistake or two, make some bad choices, that's one thing. But when it becomes a consistent policy to put user needs and interests last, when the people in charge not only ignore legitimate complaints but start mocking them and the people who make them, when a site that should, as much as any place on the internet, be about free speech and free expression starts arbitrarily imposing sweeping censorship policies because of a few loud-mouthed extremist censors (including blocking, hindering, or outright deleting support groups)... It's time to do something.
Again, if you don't agree with that, fine. Your prerogative. (And, in any case, it'd be hypocritical to try to quash free speech and dissent when you're making a stand against censorship and disrespect.) You can ignore the protest. You don't have to go crossing the picket line just to thumb your nose at people when you don't even have a reason to be on the other side.
If you want to disagree, open a dialog. At a time when people aren't working to make the point. But don't go out of your way to actively work against the effort when all that's being asked is that you keep your mouth shut for a day.
I don't know if that happened, but I did hear about this post from
wendymr:It's the 21st of March. The Great LJ Boycott Day, apparently. And I'm not boycotting LJ. I'm reading, commenting, and now I'm making a post in my LJ just to demonstrate that I'm not part of the boycott.
So, yeah, you can scroll on past and ignore this, because it's just a post for posting's sake.
Now, it's one thing to disagree with the idea. To say it isn't going to do any good. If you don't like it, you don't have to participate. Just go about your normal blogging life. But to actually go out of your way just to deliberately sabotage the effort? We've had our differences, but I didn't expect that from her.
She goes on to explain her reasons.
First off, she doesn't think it'll work.
Fair enough. It was a flawed idea. But it doesn't hurt to try. And, again, that's no reason to deliberately mock and sabotage the effort.
Second:
- At least some of the objections have already been dealt with, such as returning certain apparently-blocked interests to the list of searchable interests. Done. Fixed. Over with. Yet a lot of people around LJ are still using the argument that 'fanfiction' is blocked as a searchable interest as a reason for striking. Please. At least try to be up-to-date in your information.
You know, it's funny. I heard about that reversal in another blog shortly before the strike. There, it was represented as a sign that the strike was working. Because the change happened after the strike was announced. So, yes. Please do try to get your information straight.
And if some things have been fixed, but the majority haven't, how is that reason to cancel the effort?
Thirdly, she says LJ is a business and has the right to run ads and make money.
True. I could point out that the more traffic you get, even with Basic accounts (which still see ads on Plus accounts), the more ads are worth. But that's a tricky argument on both sides, and it's not the point.
Customers have the right to demand respect and decent service. She mentions, for example, Google and their ads. I deliberately don't use gmail service for that reason (among others). I'm not striking against it because I never joined. But there'd be no reason to strike against it because it's been like that since Day 1. But LJ has gone through a series of changes. Taking the existing service and twisting it and gutting it. That's different.
And when new management comes in and makes it clear that they don't respect their customers, the customers have a right to stand up and demand better. The decisions they've made, the way they've handled the backlash, the things that they've said (this interview being only the most recent)... There's justification for taking a stand. Making a point, reminding them that without users, they have nothing.
If they make a mistake or two, make some bad choices, that's one thing. But when it becomes a consistent policy to put user needs and interests last, when the people in charge not only ignore legitimate complaints but start mocking them and the people who make them, when a site that should, as much as any place on the internet, be about free speech and free expression starts arbitrarily imposing sweeping censorship policies because of a few loud-mouthed extremist censors (including blocking, hindering, or outright deleting support groups)... It's time to do something.
Again, if you don't agree with that, fine. Your prerogative. (And, in any case, it'd be hypocritical to try to quash free speech and dissent when you're making a stand against censorship and disrespect.) You can ignore the protest. You don't have to go crossing the picket line just to thumb your nose at people when you don't even have a reason to be on the other side.
If you want to disagree, open a dialog. At a time when people aren't working to make the point. But don't go out of your way to actively work against the effort when all that's being asked is that you keep your mouth shut for a day.
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From:
no subject
For the record, I didn't post during the strike. It was midnight to midnight, GMT, which means that it started and ended at 8pm EST. I posted long after that.
SUP may have sold, but I'm betting that a lot of the people involved kept their positions, even under new management. So, no. Not an entirely clean slate.
And, you know, LJ built up a pretty vast userbase with their original way of doing things. I can see overturning the promise that there would never be ads on the site by creating Plus accounts, and at least they took steps so that Paid members don't have to see them. But wiping out Basic accounts? There's no need for that. You don't get very far betraying the founding principles of the site and antagonizing your userbase.
As for censored interests... (How many of them were restored?) I'll say again that it happened after the strike was announced, which makes a good argument for the idea that it actually had a positive effect.
Accepting that the interview was poorly translated, the gist of it still shows little respect for customers (and journalists), and no tolerance for dissent that doesn't fit into his definition of "constructive."
Honesty is good, but good sense and customer service are important, too.
As for flaws... Flaws should be examined, addressed. You can't please all the people all the time, but if you've got a screw-up... fix it. It doesn't mean you don't appreciate the resource you have. On the contrary, if you don't care about it, you wouldn't fight to make it better (or, at least, to keep it from being eroded... a playground is only nice as long as it's kept up).