Livejournal sitting here in sweet serenity
I could cheer; the reason’s clear
For the first time in a year, the grousers aren’t here
And look, the sun is in the sky
A breeze is blowing by, and there’s not a single fly
Well, today is the day of the Livejournal strike, and so, supposedly, all those upset with LJ’s actions are elsewhere raking their muck.
I took some time yesterday to read through the responses to LJ’s statement regarding the basic account flareup, as well as the responses to a statement from one of the Russian users. After I read through this, I’m convinced there’s little that LJ Inc. could do that would appear to satisfy these folks. They appear to live in the rosy world of the past, when LJ was small, ad-free, with invite codes… and probably not self-supporting. Even when LJ Inc. apologizes for a misstep or makes a correction, it isn’t enough. It’s not in the right location, it wasn’t fast enough, it wasn’t apologetic enough, it wasn’t subservient enough, or they don’t believe it.
Mind you, this appears to be the group that want to be able to post slash artwork with characters that might look underage, but with statements that, yes, they’re legal… and then wonder why folks won’t believe their statements. But when the other side makes statements in apparent sincerity, they are all to quick not to believe those statements. This hypocrasy and inability to try to find the middle ground is going to hurt them in the end, for eventually the position is going to be: if there’s nothing that can be done to pacify or satisfy these folks, then why bother to try at all?
I posit the following question to the strikers: if there is nothing that LJ Inc. can reasonably do to satisfy you (and you shouldn’t expect complete compitulation), then why are you staying? There’s something that this service provides that has value to you. Of course, it could just be that you enjoy the drama, but it does get tiresome after a while. But if not, why stay? What about the service do you like? What value does it give you, and does the value you give it (either monitarily or content wise) balance? If you are just providing content, does it draw enough paid or advertised viewership to pay your share of the bills?
I note also some (but not all) of the strikers appear to have very different reasons for striking, as discussed here. These reasons have nothing to do with the business decisions, but apparently with the religious affiliation of the overlords.
I do understand that LJ Inc. has made and will continue to make errors. It is run by people — including some from differing and incongruent cultures — and problems will arise. But the best way to fix the problems is through cool, non-confrontive discourse… something we rarely see from the folks participating in today’s content contribution boycott.
So let’s enjoy the peace and quiet while we can. I do suggest that those who want to present more reasoned views on this subject might consider taking advantage of the lull to provide them to the powers that be, in the appropriate forums.
[ETA: For another very good take on this, I recommend theferrett’s post on the subject today.]
[ETAA: An odd question just popped into my mind: What if they held a content strike, and the quality of the content (not the quantity) actually went up, attracting more people?]
[ETAAA: Another good analysis of what is behind SUPs purchase is here, especially with respect to the business model, and where the West vs. East dichotomy fits in.]
We never ever go off half-cocked, not we
Why begin till we know that we can win
And if we cannot win, why bother to begin?
We say this game’s not of our choosing
Why should we risk losing?
We are cool
