- calling out to reasonable people -

[demonlurking]

Passing this on from several sources (primarily leora who used to volunteer for LJ support). Her comments on this issue are here, here, and here. Comments from Advisory Board Members are here and here.

I got the following response from wanderingpixie and penumbren. I expect to see leora post about it soon.

Comments

[leora]

I wasn't planning to because I honestly don't think it will make a difference. The only actions that will make a difference are not buying paid time (or other paid things) and transferring currently sponsored accounts to basic. Also, for volunteers to quit. I'm not sure how much of any of that will happen. And even if it does, I think the only way things will become halfway decent again is if SUP decides they can't handle LJ and sell it.

If I wanted to post about disturbing things, I'd post about this, but I'm not sure I should just become a relay for links.

And none of that touches on the fundamental problem that LJ is run by SUP... In some ways, I think I'm glad they're messing up in ways big enough for Americans to be affected, because if they were only going to harm Russians, I think it'd work.

[sue_n_julia]

Pulling your paid account only encourages them to find alternate funding. If SUP thinks users are willing to pay their own costs, perhaps they will be less interested in ads. Pulling out of LJ completely might send the message you want, but then the community is less rich.

S

[leora]

Someone who I trust and may or may not be good at judging (I trust her to be honest and care, I don't think anyone I trust knows how to actually get outcomes I'd be satisfied with, just their best guesses) thinks the postcard write-in might get some attention. I do think the postcard write-in campaign has more hope than the strike. I really don't think the strike will do anything. It probably won't even be noticed. Especially given the timing of the strike.

[leora]

I have just changed my opinion on this strike from thinking it silly to participating. What changed my mind was a SUP employee in an interview saying that real users aren't striking. That he won't say that nobody will strike, because it's easy to create 100 fake journals and say they are striking and then give people something to point to, but he doesn't think real users will do this.

While I think the majority of users will not - LJ is huge - I find it offensive that many of the people I know are deemed either fake or likely to be cheating.

They just gave it relevance it didn't have, and that is while I will strike.