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thatcrazycajunAs promised, I am resuming my posts and comments today following the conclusion of the worldwide content strike at midnight GMT/8 PM EDT. And upon returning, I find at least half of the posts on my f-list that mention the strike addressing it in a fashion that is critical, dismissive, even snide in some cases. I feel compelled to try and address at least some of the cavils about the strike.
"It's childish, a temper tantrum from people who want something for nothing."
Not in my case, at least. I am paying for access to this community, in very real (albeit hideously devalued, these days) US greenbacks, and I want from LJ/SUP what I expect from any other business I give a portion of my hard-earned income to: reasonable policies, clearly explained in advance of implementation; honest and forthright dealing; provisions for customer feedback and redress of grievances; and a good product/service for the price. Enough others whose opinions I respect feel that LJ/SUP has not been providing this lately, and a simple one-day boycott is far less childish a response, IMHO, than, say, showing up at Six Apart's offices with torches and pitchforks and loaded weapons (or edged ones, for you SCAdian types)...or taking one's toys and going elsewhere. I believe this is an instance where it is better and more productive to stay within a system and work for change than to stand outside it lobbing complaints. And not enough people have yet migrated to InsaneJournal/GreatestJournal/ThisJournal/ThatJournal etc. from this community I value to make it worth switching and redoing all my links to my blog from elsewhere.
"It's ineffectual and meaningless unless you put more drastic action behind it, like leaving."
See response to #1 above.
"It's a drop in the bucket with all those that will still be posting, plus the normal holiday dropoff, and won't even be noticed by LJ/SUP."
I wouldn't be too sure about that; at least one poster on my f-list opened up today with "Wow, are that many people really striking?" Let's see what the actual final figures are, and what response we get from LJ/SUP, before you dismiss the effort out of hand, shall we? In any case, even if it produced no noticeable drop in traffic at all, it would not be meaningless because it lets users who are unhappy with LJ/SUP's behavior know that they are not alone in feeling this way. It reinforces that sense of community that is a big part of the reason we all use LJ in the first place.
"Every time LJ changes something major, users go batshit and threaten to leave, and few do. It's old hat."
I've personally never tried doing anything like this before in my time on LJ, and I've never seen this kind of response from users before, not even in the great Strikethrough fracas. And again, I'm not threatening to leave myself; I simply want to illustrate to LJ/SUP how much a part of what they're selling is what we users contribute.
"You can only go 'on strike' if you're being paid for labor you're being asked to do under poor conditions. LJ isn't paying you."
We may not be getting money from LJ/SUP for our content, but it is still a transaction: we work on providing good, interesting content (some of us work harder at it than others), and in return we are contracting informally with LJ/SUP to receive services and assistance in publishing said content. And in the case of those of us who are paying subscribers, at least, the business expectations in response #1 come in again. The terminology isn't the point, anyhow; it could be called "The 24-Hour Virtual Cone of Silence" and I'd still participate in it.
"You're not really sacrificing anything meaningful. You want activism without consequences, and that doesn't work."
In my case at least, LJ has become a big part of my life and of how I communicate with my friends. Giving it up for a day may not be on the level of, say, getting oneself arrested and thrown in jail overnight for a cause, but it is not without its consequences. I did it at least in part to prove to myself that I could, in fact, go a day without taking another hit at the electronic nipple; and I think it may have been a salutary experience for me in that respect.
I hope this covers all the bases...and that my friends whose general sentiments I have (possibly mis)quoted above will take this in the thoughtful spirit in which it is intended. And I hope we all stay engaged with the community and with LJ/SUP to help make it better.
Not in my case, at least. I am paying for access to this community, in very real (albeit hideously devalued, these days) US greenbacks, and I want from LJ/SUP what I expect from any other business I give a portion of my hard-earned income to: reasonable policies, clearly explained in advance of implementation; honest and forthright dealing; provisions for customer feedback and redress of grievances; and a good product/service for the price. Enough others whose opinions I respect feel that LJ/SUP has not been providing this lately, and a simple one-day boycott is far less childish a response, IMHO, than, say, showing up at Six Apart's offices with torches and pitchforks and loaded weapons (or edged ones, for you SCAdian types)...or taking one's toys and going elsewhere. I believe this is an instance where it is better and more productive to stay within a system and work for change than to stand outside it lobbing complaints. And not enough people have yet migrated to InsaneJournal/GreatestJournal/ThisJournal/ThatJournal etc. from this community I value to make it worth switching and redoing all my links to my blog from elsewhere.
"It's ineffectual and meaningless unless you put more drastic action behind it, like leaving."
See response to #1 above.
"It's a drop in the bucket with all those that will still be posting, plus the normal holiday dropoff, and won't even be noticed by LJ/SUP."
I wouldn't be too sure about that; at least one poster on my f-list opened up today with "Wow, are that many people really striking?" Let's see what the actual final figures are, and what response we get from LJ/SUP, before you dismiss the effort out of hand, shall we? In any case, even if it produced no noticeable drop in traffic at all, it would not be meaningless because it lets users who are unhappy with LJ/SUP's behavior know that they are not alone in feeling this way. It reinforces that sense of community that is a big part of the reason we all use LJ in the first place.
"Every time LJ changes something major, users go batshit and threaten to leave, and few do. It's old hat."
I've personally never tried doing anything like this before in my time on LJ, and I've never seen this kind of response from users before, not even in the great Strikethrough fracas. And again, I'm not threatening to leave myself; I simply want to illustrate to LJ/SUP how much a part of what they're selling is what we users contribute.
"You can only go 'on strike' if you're being paid for labor you're being asked to do under poor conditions. LJ isn't paying you."
We may not be getting money from LJ/SUP for our content, but it is still a transaction: we work on providing good, interesting content (some of us work harder at it than others), and in return we are contracting informally with LJ/SUP to receive services and assistance in publishing said content. And in the case of those of us who are paying subscribers, at least, the business expectations in response #1 come in again. The terminology isn't the point, anyhow; it could be called "The 24-Hour Virtual Cone of Silence" and I'd still participate in it.
"You're not really sacrificing anything meaningful. You want activism without consequences, and that doesn't work."
In my case at least, LJ has become a big part of my life and of how I communicate with my friends. Giving it up for a day may not be on the level of, say, getting oneself arrested and thrown in jail overnight for a cause, but it is not without its consequences. I did it at least in part to prove to myself that I could, in fact, go a day without taking another hit at the electronic nipple; and I think it may have been a salutary experience for me in that respect.
I hope this covers all the bases...and that my friends whose general sentiments I have (possibly mis)quoted above will take this in the thoughtful spirit in which it is intended. And I hope we all stay engaged with the community and with LJ/SUP to help make it better.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 01:31 am (UTC)Of course, this remains to be seen, but I'm willing to give them a chance.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 02:58 am (UTC)I don't understand
Date: 2008-03-22 03:22 am (UTC)I mean, I don't post THAT much, but did I miss something?
Re: I don't understand
Date: 2008-03-22 11:27 am (UTC)They didn't make any public announcement of this change. When it was discovered, and an explanation demanded, the reasoning given was "People were too confused by having 3 options when creating an account, so reducing it to 2 options will streamline things".
This didn't sit well with many people, for a variety of reasons.
I don't know if old basic accounts are "grandfathered" in or not, but if they're not, there's always AdBlocker.
HUH!
Date: 2008-03-22 11:34 am (UTC)Thank you.
Re: I don't understand
Date: 2008-03-22 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 06:48 am (UTC)In any case, I simply do not consider the folks who run this thing competent (I was one of those who was just about to join when they dropped all the marbles on the floor). I will likely hang around to converse with people, but my own journal is moving to Scribblit, soon as they get the thing up. Or failing that, to my own site: I've plenty of room.
Scibblit?
Date: 2008-03-22 11:35 am (UTC)Re: Scibblit?
Date: 2008-03-23 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 12:12 pm (UTC)Yes, that! May I quote you in my LJ?
no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 03:14 pm (UTC)Technically, consumers boycott rather than strike. As you said, terminology is not the point.
I will join the crowd waiting to see what their friends do but it leaves a bad taste.
Don't think of Oscelots for the next three minutes!
Date: 2008-03-22 03:44 pm (UTC)But the louder the announcements get the more random people pay attention to find out what's going on. It's sort of reverse-psychology, like when a celebrity (or agent) claims, "There's no truth to the rumour..." and we go, "Hey, I didn't know there was a rumour." Whether there was a rumour or not, and whether said rumour was true or false is now irrelevant; the celebrity's name's been mentioned and it's out there, so the job is done.
Now, I just happened to hear about the Content Strike (which, technically, is more of a boycott) and I just happened not to have anything to say in the last 36 hours or so because I was watching Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica on DVD. Coincidence? Hey, you never know.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-22 11:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-23 04:59 am (UTC)I should say
Date: 2008-08-11 04:53 am (UTC)well done
Date: 2008-09-26 01:28 pm (UTC)thank you
Date: 2008-09-28 09:14 pm (UTC)