Right now, I'm still deliberating and pondering on the recent Livejournal fiasco (So who should we really blame? Six Apart? Warriors of Innocence?).
Honestly, it doesn't affect me personally since none of my interests draws the attention of Warriors of Innocence. On the other hand, I don't live in a vacuum, and a lot of people on my friend's list and their communities are protesting. (There's also the question of what they'll delete in the future... Germany during World War II started with the Jews before moving on to everyone else.)
Usually when people are offended, they react with their emotions rather than with logic. And some people don't see this as a bad thing. I'm of the camp, however, that wants cooler heads to prevail. I think Mouseferatu's response is appropriate. You threatened LJ with boycott and they admitted their mistake (yes, yes, we know their motivations for doing so is far from altruistic... there's also "corporate speak" there in the apology). If in the succeeding days they don't make a successful reparation, sure, boycott the damned service. But give them a chance to make amends. I mean why the loud public outcry in the first place instead of simply abandoning the service when you first heard the announcement? They're willing to change so give them a chance to change. If they don't change for the better, then leave. But give them the opportunity to do so.
Of course this post of mine will probably be classified by many as one of the more unpopular posts. But hey, no one ever said having an opinion was easy.
Edit: And before I get hate comments, please read Mouseferatu's actual entry. It doesn't mean that we trust LJ or that we give them an easy way out but rather give them a chance to make amends.
3 comments:
I'm not considering this an unpopular post and this actually isn't a hate comment but --
I'd be more impressed with that apology if it didn't come days after LJ/6A spoke to various media & news outlets.
I'd also be more impressed with that apology if various pedo & child abuse groups/journals hadn't been reported to them in the past and they did nothing. And I don't mean reports from just users but from other anti-pedo groups as well. The only difference is that that group (Perverted Justice) didn't bring complaints to LJ/6A's sponsors and advertisers.
And I'd be more impressed if I haven't seen 6A make this same exact mistake (reacting to dollar signs instead of legitimate issues) time and time again.
I came to LJ pre-6A ownership because I couldn't stand the direction they took with Movabletype. I'd hate to have to migrate again because I love the community here but I'd have no problems doing so.
Don't get me wrong, your entry was right. LJ's reaction (the initial response and the retraction) was motivated by $$$. That's why I mention "corporate speak'. Some of the reasons LJ gave is bullshit. They're motivated by profit.
Having said that, we've proven that fandom = profit. If they're willing to change for the better, then we're here to stay (if only for the fact that everything's in LJ as of the moment). If they don't, then feel free to leave. =) At the very least, they'll pause in the future when a similar scenario comes up. They won't necessarily act appropriately but it'll give them pause.
This is a bad situation because fandom, being a loud and obnoxious bunch, is drawing the most attention because, well, loud and obnoxious. And because some longstanding and highly popular communities were deleted, the responses are emotional and volatile.
What I find most telling, however, is that anyone who brings up the fact that legitimate ToS violators have been reported before and dismissed with a "Can't do anything!" is being ignored while other more emotional "fandom" ones are addressed. And if reports I'm hearing are even remotely true, some of those types of comments are not just being ignored but screened. That kind of pisses me off because here you have people using logic and no one is paying attention.
Which I guess just proves that LJ is fleeting and transient and immersed in much emotion but little logic.
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