Making a DreamWidth account

[fantastic_jackie]

Have you guys checked out the article LJ is proudly displaying on the homepage yet? Because you really should, and then you should check out the comments on the post.

I am an extremely loyal person. I actually liked the comment page changes; perhaps because I use Chrome now, I have no problems with LJ loading. Posting from my iPhone is mildly problematic, but it's nothing a little patience and copy/pasting from the Notes ap doesn't fix. Seriously, even the DDOS attacks I didn't mind. It's probably not surprising, but I viewed the attacks as a testament to free speech; kind of like we were standing with the Russians at whom the attacks were actually directed. I thought it was kind of cool to experience their political process all the way in Texas with you guys all across the world, despite the minor annoyance of no LJ for a little while. And LJ was always cool about it, too, extending my membership for the length of the attacks. It hadn't even crossed my mind, to be honest. Prior to this article, the ONLY reason I was considering DreamWidth at all was because some of you have moved over there, and I was only considering it as being supplemental to LJ, not the other way around.

I have to say though that this article has changed my mind. It's a combination of three factors:
1) The stated intention to make LJ more like Facebook. You guys already know how much I hate FB.
2) The article's undisputed claim that LJ flat out does not care about its current loyal American customers or their feelings on the new direction.
3) LJ's decision to proudly display and link to the article with such a statement and make no comments regarding it. It's that tacit approval that hurts the most.

I know this LJ is not the LJ I originally joined, and to that end, I'm not really this new LJ's loyal customer. I'm the old LJ's loyal customer, and I guess it took this post for me to see that.

On the post, I left a comment that expressed my loyalty and the fact that I'd just renewed my account in November. For that reason, and because I'm a loyal and patient person, I intend to remain here for that account to expire. I sincerely hope they respond appropriately to this latest blunder between now and then, because I do not want to make the decision to leave LJ. - If even one of you guys is still here and not at DW, I'll keep my account, but not in a paid capacity.

Someone made the comment that they had been regretting renewing their account but now felt embarrassed. I have to say that I kind of concur. More than that, I feel embarrassed for being such a fan of LJ. That, I think, expresses more than anything the screwed up nature of this PR move. Because I brag about LJ being a superior social networking site.

Facebook is about "friends" as commodities, Twitter an expression of society's shrinking attention span, Tumblr a site that feels like it somehow clawed its way from the depths of MySpace, MySpace a site that is the embodiment of superficiality, and Google Plus is as pathetic a social networking service as gmail is an e-mail service. Networking may actually describe what these other sites accomplish: loose acquaintances that you may be able to use in some capacity down the line. Networking is the number one thing I hate about working in corporate America, because the relationships are all about what you can squeeze out of them. But LJ? I think it's safe to say that we've all made lasting relationships through the communal, expressive environment that LJ has created. Even if some those relationships are in the past tense now, unless you currently know those people on Facebook, I bet they were more meaningful than your friendships with your other 250 "friends." It's true that the real reason I love LJ is because of the people I've met here and the communities I'm a part of, but it's also true that LJ is responsible for all of us being here. That's why I'm so loyal to this site, why I'm so reluctant to leave. But I cannot and will not support a company that doesn't value scores of users like myself and proudly declares it. I hope and pray they make some sort of apology or reversal, but I have to admit that I doubt it will come.

Anyway. I've said my piece. I'll be making the DW account shortly. Since it will be a new account, I'm seriously considering changing my name. I may not, though. I've been Patriot Jackie for years; it feels pretty natural to me.

Also, the next time I buy a Starbucks drink at 9:30pm, I will drink it all right then rather than sipping on it through midnight. That was apparently not a good idea.....

Comments

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

I have a difficult time wrapping my head around what this is actually going to mean for LJ, though that could well be because I'm doped up on cold medicine. But I have an equally difficult time, I don't know, caring? about this so long as the basic functionality of LJ remains the same. None of the changes to LJ to date have affected me or my fandom activities, which is primarily why I'm here, and I don't like to sound apathetic but I guess I really am as long as LJ retains this interface that's so easy for me to use. I have too much invested here to move anywhere. *shrug* Am I missing something?

It does amuse me that LJ is championing GRRM, who is very vocal opposed to fanfic about his A Song of Ice and Fire series--which I'm primarily writing these days, lol.

[patriot-jackie.livejournal.com]

Your position has been mine for the longest: I've wondered what the big deal has been, because over all, things have pretty much stayed the same. I knew I shouldn't have done it at the time, but I needed to know, so I back-tracked to some of the problem posts users are complaining about. Disdain seems to be an undercurrent in the callous entries and this latest article the cherry on top.

Still, I don't think you're missing anything. For me, as a customer service representative who was first trained at Disney World on what CS is, it's a huge deal when the company all but openly declares its apathy for its consumer base. And then it starts to feel more like contempt when you find a callous pattern of offensive posts (not to me, because I never cared, but thousands of others did) they never reply to. It feels like this article is LJ's backhanded response: "If you don't like it, this is how we feel about you anyway. Here's the door." I just can't reward a company for treating its customers like that, especially if there's a competitor that has a mindset 180 degrees the opposite. Like I said, I'm a loyal person: LJ is the people that make it up, and if those people aren't appreciated, why should I continue giving my funds?

Like you though, I've built roots here. I understand feathers are ruffled all over a single sentence LJ didn't even write. Maybe people are overreacting, but I think it's more an expression of how many bridges have already been burned. I am really hoping they do something to attempt mending those fences. My paid account won't expire for months; I really want to renew it when the year rolls around.

[spockside]

I'm with you on the customer service issue. I'd rather do business with a company that is making its best effort at CS, whatever the result, than with one that sets its sights on competing with other companies regardless of its current customer response.

There's a reason I'm not on Facebook, wasn't on MySpace, and won't be using GooglePlus. My flavor of social networking consists of online conversations with people in the fanfic realm as well as the editors of Wikipedia. I expect the Internet to experience some seismic activity from time to time, but to extend one recently used metaphor, I didn't sign up for running aground as LJ seems to be doing.

So I have a DW account, crosspost to LJ, and see which way the wind blows.

[patriot-jackie.livejournal.com]

Amen.

I've just started my journal there, and I'm AMAZED. I feel like I've found LJ again, and I'm just customizing my theme! I've gone with the free account at this point, but based off of account features, I can't imagine deciding to spend money here again. Which is really sad to say, but... MAN. I knew LJ had stagnated, but.... MAN.

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

I can see why you'd feel that way about the customer service aspect of LJ. But I think that's exactly why I really don't care: I've never thought of LJ as a platform that's run by people, because I don't follow any of the LJ service communities or journals or anything like that. I feel very distant from the action and I'm fine with not knowing what's going on as long as I can post to my LJ. I'm not like this in other aspects of life--just LJ! But of course that's my prerogative as a customer, as it's your prerogative to care. :)

[patriot-jackie.livejournal.com]

Exactly. :) And to be honest, I didn't care a single bit until I stumbled across that post. But once I'd seen it, I just couldn't ignore it, even after sleeping on it. I'd say I wish I hadn't clicked that first link to begin with, but I'm so impressed by DW that I'm actually regretting not going sooner. I actually started thinking about getting a (supplemental) DW account two years ago. That was... decidedly unintelligent on my part. I feel like I found LJ again.

[yappichick]

I sort of understand people's reluctance to not leave LJ, nostalgia and all that.

But really, with crossposting and RSS feeds of people's LJs (with the exception of f-locked posts), I'm not understanding the hesitation to jumping over to DW.

I'm not hopeful, based on the Russian translations that people have posted, that the folks in Russia care about the American customers at all. I'm not going to pour money into a company that has a rather crappy outlook of the people who have been supporting them, especially when I compare that to the people on DW. Um, hello, Mark working until 3AM for a codepush when he's not even drawing a salary? Plus, I think Denise and Mark make a strong effort of communicating and being real.

The customer service is huge. It's why I go to Target over Wal-Mart, why I'll love Disney over Six Flags, etc. I'll keep my LJ account, but my money will be going to DW from now on.

Just my .02.

[patriot-jackie.livejournal.com]

After taking just a peek at my new account, seeing what I can do with a FREE account (and the GLORIOUS fact that there are NO ads), I'm feeling rather stupid that I didn't go to DW two years ago. I think my loyalty is to a point of it being a character flaw...

And you said it: I'm ecstatic about the crossposting and RSS features. It makes it that much easier to ensure I DON'T loose my LJ connections.

Geez, seriously, everyone should go to DW. It's just a better site. I was thinking that LJ would just have to apologize, but now... I can't imagine paying for an inferior product. They have really got to improve things here, or else I see no reason to continue in my paid account.