F'list purge; comm purge--I'm trying to cut down on LJ time in favor of Dreamwidth time. (See recent Dreamwidth post for more details.) If I cut you and you're *not* crossposting (and you care), let me know; I'll re-add people.

I probably won't make any announcements about future winnowing down of the f'list, but I also probably won't be cutting twenty or more journals at a time in the future.

I have DW invite codes if people want them. (Only a handful, but I'll get more with time. And there's almost always some available at the DW_Codesharing community.)

I've moved to Dreamwidth. I mostly crosspost to InsaneJournal, but not entirely. I comment at various places around LJ, and occasionally post in comms, but I don't make "real" posts in my journal here.

I almost always have Dreamwidth invites; if you'd like to try it, drop me a line (by PM, or commenting-and-deleting, or commenting at DW) with an email address & I'll happily send you an invite code.

LJ's Advisory Board--that thing that had 4 appointed members and 2 user-elected ones--had its most recent meeting on Mar 10; outline was posted on April 16th, to a rousing collection of comments saying "umm... whut? Where's the part where LJ pays attention to its customers?"

It looks like LJ may have abandoned the elected representative part. Livejournal's Advisory Board elections was well into the nomination process this time last year.

May 5: Nominations begin; about 90 people announce their candidacy.
May 14: Nominations closed
May 22: Voting begins for a one-year term of service [beginning] on June 1, 2008.
May 30: Results tallied & announced

They've done a masterful job of splitting important information across several communities. I suppose people are supposed to just not notice that this year's election... isn't happening. Come June 1, LJ will no longer have a user-elected representative on the board.

I suppose this is one of SUP's ideas that, like the "increased limits for Basic users," was mentioned to appease users, and dropped when it proved inconvenient to implement.

Six years (and two days) ago, I bought an LJ account, because of a post by wickedthought. (It's locked now, or I'd share it with you.) It wasn't a deep-and-meaningful post; it was sharp and funny. But I'd been looking for him since his website vanished, and I had a few friends who were active on LJ, and it seemed like the right time to join this game. Besides, it had NO ADS. This was rare in user-content-based websites, and I treasured it, and wanted to support the idea.

I was active at A Witches' Thicket at the time, and asked one of my friends there to make me an LJ userpic. I'm still using it. I had much fun here. I made some great friends. And then LJ was sold to SixApart, and then ads crept in, and then they grew to new areas. And 6A's policies were not "geeks welcome; post anything legal and we're fine with that." Nipplegate was one of their more ridiculous decisions. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time here. I wrote some fic. A few essays. Joined religious debate communities and snark communities, and was metaquotes'd a couple of times. And then Strikethrough07 happened, and I bought an InsaneJournal, and joined the OTW, and lamented the loss of the LJ I'd come to love.

But I knew IJ wouldn't be fandom's long-term home, wouldn't be my long-term home. The name bothers a lot of people, the code is an older version and occasionally glitchy, and there are ads. (IJ, unlike LJ, never promised there wouldn't be.) So I waited, caught between two journals, crossposting for a while, looking for the site that would be based on the principles I loved about LJ-that-was.

It's here! (Okay, it's not here. It'll be here at the end of the month.) dreamwidth is being put together by former LJ coders, who asked themselves, "what would we fix about LJ, if we had free access to all the code?" (The site itself is in closed beta right now, and up-and-down at various times.) Here's what they came up with: easy import of LJ, including with comments, splitting the f'list into "I'm watching these" and "I want these to have access to my locked posts," better interface, no ads, invite codes. Paid accounts that start at $3 for one month, for those who don't have a code but want to try it out. Better OpenID features--OpenID accounts get 6 userpics and a profile and can subscribe to a watchlist; they just can't make posts.

I plan on buying one of the 400 seed accounts, if I can get one. And over time, I'll shift from LJ and IJ to DW.

1. Stop talking about politics for a moment or two.
2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.
3. Include these instructions, and share the love.



(Picture from an old issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine.)

I haven't vanished; I've mostly shifted to InsaneJournal.
April posts.
I've also been active at metametameta, and created lexiconga where I'm slowly uploading the text of the filings for the WB/JKR v RDR Books trial. (The Harry Potter Lexicon trial.)

I'm still commenting in some places on LJ, but I don't check it as often. And I'm not getting most email notifications of comments (I get some, but not others. Weird.), so I lose track of conversations, and I probably won't notice replies to older comments in other people's journals. (I look at LJ from My LJ, so I know when people have commented on my journal. It's everywhere else that I have trouble tracking.)

For anyone who missed the background:
I'm very unhappy with the various censorships by the owners. This includes Strikethrough last May and June, the unsearchable interest terms (many still unsearchable), the temporary removal of interests from the publicly-viewable listings of top intersts (wouldn't want potential advertisers to know that a lot of people at LJ like sex, fairies or bisexuality). And since they've removed Basic accounts as an option for new accounts, and are working on a new sponsored-paid account... there will be more and more ads creeping into LJ. I don't like ads. I especially don't like ads that support the idea that a customer protest is blackmail and intimidation. And I'm not comfortable with the explore feature that can spotlight communities whether the mods want it or not, unless they f'lock the whole community.

It's possible this is my last public post here. It's possible this is my last post, period, and I'll only use this account to read & comment in other people's journals. It was... interesting, not posting for a whole month.

I got my LiveJournal account April 1st, 2003. So it's my LJversery. Or something. Half a decade is a long time online; no wonder I'm not finding it easy to leave.

I think back at what brought me to LJ. I'd show you the post that convinced me to buy an account, but it's f'locked now. (Not specifically, I think; the whole journal's gone f'locked.) I'd joined for pretty much no time when I went to a sig-picture design group at delphiforums, and asked if someone could make this icon for me--I had the fairy-in-a-circle image, but wasn't skilled enough at Photoshop to put a rainbow behind it. And I wanted "sparklies," details unspecified. I was very, very happy with it. I still am. (I think it was by tx_leigh... but I can't remember for certain. And I should, and I'm sorry about that. Because anyone who can design the icon that still says "me" for the recipient five years later deserves a prize.)

( This is longer than I intended, and goes in directions I didn't expect. I was planning on writing about how I've grown and changed and yadda yadda in the last few years, and instead I wrote about why LJ was important to me and why I'm unhappy that's over. Sort of.Collapse )

Saw a post today about kids being a good choice for those who got into parenting via informed consent. ( Background bitsCollapse )

What got to me:
Someone replied to the post saying basically, "of course I agree with you that kids are not always the right decision; I hate kids; I not only never want to have any, I can't stand being around them at all. Eww yuck kids. Nasty things they are." (I'm probably exaggerating a bit. But not about "I hate kids.") And that bothered me. Not enough to comment (b'sides, getting into debates about children in a childfree person's journal is rarely a good thing for parents), in part because I couldn't figure out what bothered me. It finally hit me:

If she'd said, "I hate Muslims, can't stand to be around them even for a few minutes, would never date one, wish I didn't have to see them when I go shopping"--she would've been soundly denounced as a horrible bigot. ( What makes kids okay to hate? Having been one in the past?Collapse )

Comments enabled at matching InsaneJournal post.

I'm never sure how effective one-day boycotts are. But I'm perfectly willing to join them. Especially given how SUP's director of blogs thinks "there's never been a successful company whose success was based on bowing to collective resistant forces"... note that he's calling his paying customers "resistant forces." (The full text of the interview is... informative. I'll leave it at that. Go boggle.)

Details of the boycott/strike available at http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/395125.html.
(Starts at:
Thursday, March 20, 5:00 PM -- San Francisco; Los Angeles
Thursday, March 20, 6:00 PM -- Mexico City; Denver
Thursday, March 20, 7:00 PM -- Chicago
Thursday, March 20, 8:00 PM -- Montreal; New York)

I like thinking of it as a strike--it's a way to affirm that *we work for LJ*--we create something of value for them: Content that draws viewers who read ads, or might pay for an account later. That we don't "pay for a product;" we create a marketplace for their widgets. That without user-generated content, a great muchness of which is created by nonpaying users, it really doesn't matter how many layout options or tracking gizmos they come up with.

We're not their customers; we're freelance employees, working for access to the nifty rss aggregate that is the LJ friendslist and some of the coding features attached. And mostly, we're happy with that pay scale; we do this in our free time, at our leisure, by our own schedules and to the amount of our whims. But we're aware that we don't need to be HERE... we could have our own blog sites elsewhere, or be on FaceBook or MySpace or Tribe instead; we've chosen LJ because we liked the atmosphere, we liked what it used to stand for. We need to point out that if we're not respected, we can leave... that even if no other site offers the same e-widgets, we are not so stupid and addicted that we're unable to change. And hey... it wouldn't take massive leaving of LJ to make a huge impact... just a few less posts a month each, over time.

If your journal is googleable, please post about it; I like that the phrase "LJ content strike" gets 405,000 hits already.
Some people at InsaneJournal are planning (or quasi-planning) a meta-fest content spike for InsaneJournal. If you don't have a non-LJ account, now's a great time to create one, or use your openID to comment on IJ posts.

stewardess points out that porn, sex, and fanfiction have been removed from LJ's most popular interests page.

Yeah, they're working hard on improvements in content delivery... by removing access to content they wish they didn't host. (And that part about "increasing certain limits for Basic and Plus users?" Ummm... they'll be increasing the status points you get for having a Basic account, since they're not available anymore.)

In case anyone's forgotten, there's still a whole bunch of interests you can't search for.

From the FAQ: New accounts (created after March 12, 2008) may choose between Plus and Paid account levels.

A comment in no_lj_ads says that it's based on UserID number; past a certain point won't be able to select "basic." Theoretically, currently paid accounts will have the Basic option when they revert, but hey, that could change tomorrow.

A (the?) VP of Product Development says, "it was more about creating a new registration process that was easier for new users to understand. ...it was quite confusing and included a table of options that was not very inviting to new users."

Riiiight. It's not about "every account needs to give us money in addition to content that draws paid users," it's about simplifying things for those poor idiots who just can't handle THREE account creation choices. jasonshellen thinks we're all gully dwarves.

brad is not happy, did not advise this... but was not consulted. That advisory board? It'll apparently be asked about new themes & layouts; they're not interested in their opinions about policies or business decisions.

Sorry, folks. End of an era.

I don't like using MPAA ratings (G, PG, R, NC-17) for fanfic. They are (1) designed for movies, not text, (2) often applied badly to fic, because the standards are so vague, and (3) used by the MPAA to discriminate against topics they finds offensive, gay sex being at the top of that list. And I don't want to support a system that says "gay sex is more obscene than het sex."

Current MPAA Ratings: http://www.mpaa.org/FlmRat_Ratings.asp
Check the contradiction in the NC-17 rating: "The rating simply signals that the content is appropriate only for an adult audience. An NC-17 rating can be based on violence, sex, aberrational behavior, drug abuse or any other element that most parents would consider too strong and therefore off-limits for viewing by their children." (Emphasis added)

1. We've decide these are only for adults, even though
2. We admit that some parents would allow their children to watch them.

Caught that? We will decide what's appropriate for your children, based on the will of the majority, as we perceive it.

Some history ( continued behind the cut, because this is longCollapse )

And WTF does "R-rated fic" mean, anyway? A minor can read this with parental supervision? PG—parental guidance advised? Does ANYONE expect their fic to be read with parental support?

If you want to limit your fic by age, say that: People under 13 should not read this fic. Do not read if you're under 18. If, however, you prefer to stick to US legal standards (I can't speak for laws in other countries), which include no restrictions on text, and allow the reader to decide for herself (or, I suppose, himself) what to read, rate by content, not by reader: This fic has explicit sex and mild violence. This fic has graphic violence. This fic has no explicit scenes. This fic deals with possibly triggery topics; details in white text; highlight to read. This fic features the following kinks: A, B, C. This fic has erotic romance but no explicit detail. And so on.

If you're not sure how to rate your fic, I happily suggest maeglinyedi's Proposed New Ratings. (Warning: post is over three years old. But it's still hilarious.)

Comments may be left at the InsaneJournal post.

New policy is up at draft policy page (compare to current policies here); they said that they want conversation (and should complete the consultation process by "the end of May"--contrast with the 100 day plan of "Establish a clear set of policy guidelines by mid-March).

My thoughts:
Not gonna bother. I did my arguing last round (Last several rounds?) I asked lots of questions about definitions. They were ignored. I've still got two open support requests, being ignored for a couple of months now.

From the initial staff comments in the "discussion," it's obvious that there will be no definition of "sexually explicit"--it'll be assumed that "you know it when you see it." Or at least, "we know it when we see it." There will be no definition of "minor" in relation to art--staff will decide if art depicts a minor based on their own biases, not based on canon of whatever it might be a picture of, and not based on an understanding of different artistic styles. There will be no definition of "promotion" of the three super-icky topics, which have to get their own special mention away from content that encourages other crimes.

Definitely, the phrase "graphic and explicit in nature" will not be defined. They gave an example (image with nudity, sexuality, or violence... how much, not mentioned); we should all understand exactly what they mean by that.

In short: the new policy is, "if it squicks us, it's not allowed. What we think is hateful squicks us. Pictures that we think eroticise children squick us. Erotic text, at this point, does not squick us. Except maybe we think kids shouldn't be able to see it, even if it's legal for them."

So much for "we support freedom of speech," which they've often stated in the past. If it doesn't include speech you find morally reprehensible, it's a useless statement. Saying "LiveJournal has chosen not to host it due to its highly controversial nature" shows that LJ doesn't care about free speech; it cares about advertising dollars, which are not gained by controversial content. (And next year, what "controversial" topics will LJ "choose not to host?")

I expect to be posting much more at IJ, and also to be crossposting most public posts (which I don't expect to do many of) with LJ comments turned off. I've given up on LJ; I just have to sort out whether I dislike and distrust them enough to lose touch with the people I value at LJ. (C'mon, F'list, make IJ accounts so I can friend you there and set up my filters properly.)

The IJ Clone of this post at http://elfwreck.insanejournal.com/162233.html allows comments.

Driving to the store yesterday, I saw a billboard advertising

1260 AM Catholic Radio

Share the ♥ of the Christian faith.

And I wondered...
should I read that as "Share the love of the Christian faith" or
"share the heart of the Christian faith?"

The meaning changes. Interesting.

Today, I got to explain the extremely technical and exotic concept of "email list" to tech support at my ISP.

*headdesk*

See, we have a mailing list where some of the mail gets tagged as spam. Not all, which would (presumably) be simple to fix (or impossible to fix, depending). Called tech support. Said, "I'm not getting all my email from one of my lists." It's not a Yahoogroup or other "big company" mailing list; it's one of the old style ones where you subscribe & unsub by sending an empty email to [name]-request@domain.com with the appropriate word in the subject line.

I thought I might have to explain, no, it's not a yahoogroup; I can't read the archives online.

Instead, I had to explain how an email list works. No, they're not sending email to me which is bouncing. They're sending it to the list. No, we don't have any problems sending mail to people on the list, nor the list itself. The mail comes from [person] with a reply-to of [list]. No, I'm not going to send you all the email addresses involved; there are hundreds.

No, it is not acceptable to say "well, if it's sending email to hundreds of people at once, of course it'll get tagged as spam."

Halp?

St. Tib's day is a Discordian holiday that happens once every four years (except for century-years not divisible by 400 or something like that). The traditional celebration of St. Tib's Day involves dressing in brightly-colored exotic clothes and wandering around an airport, occasionally asking the staff to page someone who doesn't exist. Erisian bonus points if you can get them to ask "Mike Hunt" to come to the elevator lobby.

http://community.livejournal.com/lj_2008/3384.html:

danah boyd, Esther Dyson, Lawrence Lessig, Brad Fitzpatrick.

Ourkeyboard is dying. Spacebar sticking.A lot.

Grrr.

Note to self: No,cannot rinse out keyboard. If the kids have managed to insert juice behind the keys,there'sreally not much I can do about it except replace board.

Last chance for Permanent accounts at InsaneJournal; at the end of Feb, they go away for an unknown amount of time; when they come back, they'll cost a lot more than $40.

Now's the time to get them if you've been thinking about it.

I officially am planning on going to Escapade. I know this is a last-minute decision. I couldn't decide for sure until after PantheaCon last weekend.

I have not yet bought
1) Membership,
2) Room,
3) Transport.

Membership's easy. $125 thrown at a website. No decisions involved in that. The other two are troublesome.

( Musings insideCollapse )

You Are 85% Burned Out

You are extremely burned out. You work too hard, and you're not getting the results you deserve. It's time for a life change, as soon as you can manage it. You're giving away most of your energy to something you don't even enjoy.

---

And that's immediately after a "relaxing" weekend surrounded by friends.

I didn't even have to fudge the answers. It's always a bit spooky when my answers for everything actually fit with the choices (even when the choices are the always/sometimes/never variety); usually, there are some questions where I say, "well, maybe this, or maybe that, or it depends on whether I take this word to mean today or most of the time, or something else..." But this time, nope; nice clear answers for everything.

Shudder.

I left Friday morning before 9. I haven't been online at all in three and a half days. If there's anything you think I really should see/know, please point me at it.

I'm giving a talk (or, umm, something like that) on Discordian Magic (or, umm, something like that) at PantheaCon tomorrow at 3:30 pm.

P'con's at the Hilton Doubletree in San Jose. Odds are, if you didn't already know this, you weren't going to be there.

I will have handouts. And eight different discordian magic spells for people to take home.