An Open Letter to LJ

[kennahijja]

(sent in response to the automatic message inviting me to reconsider the turning off of automatic payments, originally with an apology to the accounts desk person receiving it for definitely not being its target). Yeah, it won't change anything, but...)

I hope you're not surprised at my automatic payments cancellation, which will be followed by a non-renewal of my paid account once my paid time runs out. I have considered this before, during Strikethrough, but was willing to give LJ/6A the benefit of the doubt. It has now destroyed any goodwill I still had.

You will, of course, see more of the same as a lot of people are making plans for a fan-run LJ derivate that will not be slave to advertisers and will respect and understand its members. The money I have to spend on internet services will, in the future, go to this effort.

I am not sure if you comprehend the sense of betrayal LJ/6A's behaviour is producing in its users, especially those 34 000 plus connected to fandom who have listed themselves on fandom_counts. Like many others, I've used LJ for almost five years now, and a lot of my time and effort over those years has gone into it. It is a sort of home, a base of communication with like-minded people whom I would never have met or gotten to know as well as I do without LJ, some of which have become very good friends. It isn't only creative energy that's invested in my LJ, it's also emotional energy – I *liked* the place, and I like my friends and my community.

It is *not* a place where I want to be forced to look over my shoulder in fear, worrying for the safety of my own LJ and for that of my friends and comms while waiting for ever-new attempts by LJ/6A to intimidate, curtail and limit my community. I don't have much time for fandom, and what I have I want to spend creatively in a community I care about, not wasting valuable time figuring out LJ backup software, how to protect my comms, or fighting censorship attempts - all so that 6A can create and batte strawmen in order to please its advertisers. While I think the fight against this is worthwhile and (sadly) necessary, it's *not* what I'm on LJ for, or pay money for.

Time, energy and emotions wasted because of LJ's behaviour is only half the problem, and the lesser half at that. What I, and undoubtedly very many other LJ users in fandom find infinitely insulting far beyond LJ's behaviour are the underlying implications made. Perfectly innocent people are branded as criminals, associated with some of the vilest offences known to humankind.

And for what? For writing fictional stories or producing artwork about fictional characters. Which is on the same level of absurdity as calling published novelists Stephen King and JRR Tolkien mass murderers, romancier Joanna Lindsey a rapist, Mario Puzo and Agatha Christie murderers and criminal masterminds, or Richard Adams and Jacqueline Carey pedophiles and murderers. There is *fiction* and there is *reality*. Convoluting the two means constructing fictional expression into a thought crime worthy of Orwell. It is just plain wrong wherever it raises its ugly head in the 'real world', and it needs to be fought, not pandered to as LJ/6A seems hell-bent to do at the moment.

The over-riding question is – do we want to give our loyalty and money to a site that criminalises us like that? For myself, the answer is definitely no.

And finally, there's LJ's trail of broken promises. From "no advertisements, ever!" to "we won't ever be dictated by advertisers' money!" to "we'll never resort to deletion of accounts without warning again!" (honestly, would it be so *hard* to contact a user with the request that something be removed rather than deleting their accounts without warning? I left ff.net, my first fandom home, over exactly that, as it's the shoddiest way a site can treat loyal and paying users), to "we won't go after fandom!"

And now? We have advertisements, LJ/6A is valuing advertisers' money over the interest of its users, deletions without warning are back only two months after you've apologised for doing it the first time, and the HP fandom is the first under attack - and for dodgy reasons at that. From my end, the upper elechons of LJ/6A look like a bunch of compulsive liars, and if I needed a final straw on top of the above to break faith (and financial support) with them, this would be it. It's sickening and disappointing, and I won't be sad if fandom packs off and moves to a better place. LJ was a lovely place once - it's not any longer. And that's a real pity.

Comments

[hphaeton.livejournal.com]

Amen! What I'd like to know is if you will get an answer or if they continue to ignore everybody.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

If I get one, I'll certainly let you know. Not that I'm holding my breath...

[ejab62.livejournal.com]

Wow. Could no have said that better. I bow to you!

*Checks to find the link where to stop automatic payments herself*

[envinyatar15.livejournal.com]

*bows to you* You managed to put the essence of the problem together, in a firm and reasonable tone that is on the right side of infuriated. *applauds*

I hope they will react soon to this or anything else, because what they do right now... it's not only inacceptable, it's offending and insulting.

[elf]

it's not only inacceptable, it's offending and insulting.

And possibly slanderous. The way they did this indicates that they are accusing Ponderosa and Elaboration of some very serious crimes; Obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children carries a 5-20 year prison sentence.

However, if that's really what they think happened, they are required to report it to law enforcement. Otherwise, they're still just as liable in case of any actual charges.

[narcissa-malfoy.livejournal.com]

Excellently put. You're really touching the heart of the subject here.

I left ff.net, my first fandom home, over exactly that

The deletions of anything without a second's warning was what made me leave ff.net as well. I still remember logging in and going to my usual community only to find that it wasn't there, it alongside with every other message board had been deleted overnight due to an effort to improve the site's functioning. One year of my life, gone. Some of the finest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet, gone. Scattered to the winds.

The very final straw was when they deleted so much fiction without giving the authors a chance to save their work and their comments.

[noticeably.livejournal.com]

Well said!

[tinnidawg.livejournal.com]

You said what I wanted to much better than I ever could. Would you mind if I link to this post on my journal?

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Of course not :).

[heliopath.livejournal.com]

Very well said.

[painless-j.livejournal.com]

Very well said, reasonable and to the point!

[slash-eater.livejournal.com]

Bravo! *applauds*

[awaywithpixie.livejournal.com]

Your icon has made me giggle. It wins the nets today.

[karaontai.livejournal.com]

Nicely said -- but I fear this is a "waste" of time and energy -- sorry. That doesn't mean I disagree with any ting you said, I don't. You have very valid points -- but LJ won't care. They have about 13 million accounts (not all paid), so even if 100 000 users leave that is how many percent? About 8% of their users. I doubt that this many will leave. So the numbers are just not there. Not to mention what might happen to LJ if they do not crack down -- they might get shut down altogether or even worse (in their eyes)prosecuted!
I don't disagree with what you said, not at all -- it is just a lost cause and waste of time and energy in my eyes, that could be spent on other things. Sorry :-).

[perfica.livejournal.com]

They have about 13 million accounts

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but how many of those accounts are still active? And there's no way of knowing that one account = one user. I would like LJ to publish up-to-date information about their user base, from accounts to age groups.

Excellent letter, kennahijja.

[bellonablack.livejournal.com]

*claps*

:-) Well put.

-BB

[yanks02.livejournal.com]

Very well said.

[pervert-bitch.livejournal.com]

Amen.

[maeglinyedi.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to add to that. Great post!

[mimiheart.livejournal.com]

*applause*

[shighola.livejournal.com]

'ear 'ear.

[cormallen.livejournal.com]

Very well put.
(I do wonder if they'll actually answer, though - and not months in the future, either)

[silentauror.livejournal.com]

Bravo. Wonderfully said!

[thelinus.livejournal.com]

thank you for that.

[forestgreen.livejournal.com]

Brilliantly said. I have nothing to add.

[mooselord.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[queen-qing.livejournal.com]

Completely agreed. Here's hoping that they do something about this.

[hinotori.livejournal.com]

You never know -- you might actually get a reply. When I wrote to them last November after not renewing my PA over the ad fiasco, they got back to me (a LONG reply, too). They also gave me two months of paid time (irony 'ello) "for being so honest" with them. Uhm. I think it was rahaeli who replied, though, and she's left LJ/6A's staff.

Even if they don't reply, telling them what we don't like is never a waste of time.

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's impressive, and not just because of the extra paid time! I'm not holding my breath, but well, if something comes of it, I'll let you know.

And thanks for the 'hi-by-proxy' last week! (I fail at timekeeping!)

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

here through painless_j.

I couldn't have said better. I hope they'll wake up one day but I don't hold my breath.

[vamp2puppy.livejournal.com]

Well said.