Look! A public post! :-o

[theladyrisu]

MEMO
To: all dedicated content strikers
From: le solitaire a la mode squirrel
Re: The Great and Terrible LJ-content Strike of 2008!!

Get over yourselves. Adverts never killed anyone. Why, back in my day, if we wanted to write porn, we did it in PAPER NOTEBOOKS. And if we were REALLY SERIOUS, we wrote in (OMGOMG!!) PEN. We could even spellWhat

Comments

[evil_authoress]

I said it before in other places, but - it's not really about the porn, or the adverts. LJ has the right to make business decisions, but what they don't have the right to do is a) make them and hide them from their customer base, until the customer base finds out anyway, and only then admit it in a news post, and b) make the changes without weighing the opinions of the Advisory Board, 3/4 of whom opposed the idea of eliminating basic accounts, thereby rendering it windowdressing. This is, primarily, what people are "striking" against. It looks dishonest and feels, quite frankly, like a slap in the face

[fangbrat]

<=Really a very lazy Marsie

It's a snakie! :D

I agree that LJ did a Very Bad Thing by sneaking big decisions under the radar. It was a Stupid in the business world. I can understand why they want to eliminate the basic account option--ie, they need a way to pay for their very, very, very large website--and if they had, oh, I don't know, consulted anyone about the process, there'd be a lot less upset.

From my little corner of the LJ universe, the vibe has mostly been "Oh noez! I will have to has teh BANNERS on my BLOG!" Dude, it's the internet. What on the internet ISN'T coated in obnoxious flash ads?

So, in short:

o-poorly conducted business decision = bad
o-fifteen-year-olds now whining about whether to spend $$$ on World of WarCraft or LJ = also bad
o-content strike = ridiculous seeing as how LJ really didn't care about user opinions before and won't care now

[evil_authoress]

I also have a picture of Ray Toro (guy with the fro) holding an alligator. I actually have no context for them, but hey. Ray and a snake, I am all there.

I suppose that their argument is "oh, well, we DID consult the Advisory Board" - yeah, and then did what you wanted anyway, which just confirms the fears of people who thought it was a hollow gesture. I don't really know what the right course of action is; if there even is one at all. But it's clear that LJ has gone the "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU, NOT LISTENING, LA LA" route.

People are still holding onto their dream that LJ will always be the site Brad created. It's not, not by a long shot. They have become image conscious to the point of complete paranoia and they want their money however they can get it. It was inevitable; unfortunate, but inevitable.

how one effectively expresses an opinion...

[archineas]

in the business world

[little__one]

Amen! Thank you.

Whether or not it was a good business strategy or anything else, it's just not the big deal people are making it out to be!