LJ Advisory Board: Q&A time

[rm]

Thanks for putting me on the ballot so quickly. Below the cut is the statement I made asking for support of my nomination. It is reflective of things I am strongly committed to on LJ, but does not encompass my full platform, which I'll be developing over the next couple of weeks and posting before the voting begins.

This post is for open questions from anyone about who I am, where I stand on stuff, etc., both so that people who don't know me can learn more, and so I can keep this stuff relatively contained in order to allow me to keep doing LJ the way I've always done LJ.

I will also be editing my original nomination declaration to link to this post.

Merci!

I'm throwing my hat into the ring.

I've been an active LJ user since June 2000, when I joined as reive; I migrated to rm in 2003; and it seems silly to say LJ means a lot to me. I've met many incredible people here, including my partner.

I have been active in speaking out on LJ policy throughout the strikethrough, boldthrough and other controversies and am proud to consider myself a member of many of the constituencies affected by much of the recent upheaval. These include, but aren't limited to, fandom, academia, and creative professionals.

I feel that I am in a unique position to have LJ listen to my perspective on behalf of the user base because of the diversity of my background. On one hand, I write fanfiction, but on the other, the publisher of my professional work advertises with LiveJournal on my behalf. This may give my voice a unique legitimacy with the powers that be, and I feel I've already been effective in establishing ties with some staff members who have come to me seeking opinions and clarifications on user perceptions of both the strikethrough situation and the edited interests list concern.

I've been an active Internet user since 1990, worked for an early, high-profile BBS and have experience with both policy issues and the weird nature of being both part of the community and connected to the authority of the site. My professional background includes journalism, marketing and public relations (again, allowing me to hear LJ's concerns effectively and argue for user rights in terms they can understand and see the corporate benefits of), although these days I work as an actor and a writer.

I'm committed to LJ continuing to offer a free accounts and allowing, encouraging and celebrating free expression to the fullest legal extent available.

LJ shouldn't be a parent, but a forum.

Policy needs to be clear, easy to understand and enforced with an equal hand.

At the end of the day, LJ users provide the content which brings the page views which generates the revenues. We deserve to be accorded the respect that should come with being the bedrock on which the LJ business model is based.

Comments

[weirdodragoncat.livejournal.com]

You've certainly got my support! Good luck!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

Policy needs to be clear, easy to understand and enforced with an equal hand.

"Easy to understand and enforce" otherwise decisions are less a matter of policy and more a random throw of the dice.

Needless to say, I hope you get on the board.

[arcanetrivia]

I've been an active Internet user since 1990, worked for an early, high-profile BBS

Out of curiosity, which one?

(Wow. BBSes. My dad started me on those in 1991, I think, because it was a heck of a lot cheaper than dialing up Compu$erve all the time. lol.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

It was called Mindvox, and, I suppose is more accurately also noted to be an early NYC ISP. I frequently refer to it joking as the BBS-that-must-not-be-named because it was a high drama time and place for all concerned, but it was also a good time for what it was.

[nazwaz.livejournal.com]

I hope I'm not being impertenint by showing up on your LJ to ask a question. If so, I apologize.

I like your experience in fandom and that you have been involved with maintaining a variety of communities. I also like that you seem to be a dedicated LJ citizen with varied interests, experience and friends.

I'm curious about your thoughts on the recent LJ Strike and other "dramas" or "outcries" that have occurred in the last year or two. Since you are involved in a Snape comm and the world of HP on LJ, things such as the adult content issue may or may have not affected your community or those you know.

I would like to support someone with a balanced view on these things, who can consider both the realities of running a for-profit community and sustaining the "eco-system" of said community.

Thanks in advance.

[rm.livejournal.com]

No, welcome. That's what this is here for. The people on my friendslist probably already know where I stand on this stuff.

I think the strike, regardless of how effective it may or may not have been, was an important event, because it caused everyone -- both those who did and did not choose to participate -- to examine their relationship to LJ and the place LJ holds in their day to day existence. For the record, I participated.

As to the adult content issue, I think LJ over-reacted and also reacted in a manner that was unclear and disrespectful to both the users directly affected and the userbase as a whole. Adult content doesn't randomly pop up on LJ -- you do have to actively seek it out. Additionally, for all of fandom's many flaws, we've historically been fairly good about policing ourselves.

In a general sense, I feel like much of what happened in those series of events is emblematic of the larger problem of LJ administration being unwilling to learn about the cultures that create the content that brings the users that advertisers are interested in.

In a specific sense, whether with intent or not, I feel like LJ's actions in those series of events implied a double standard as regards queer content, female sexuality and cultural visual representation. I also feel like artists got shafted and that I'm incredibly uncomfortable with the situation LJ set up where they are the arbiters of artistic merit and "community standards" are decided by who happens to be in the office at a given time.

The situation was handled with a lack of grace by nearly all, which has made reasonable discussion about it difficult and I think there is a tremendous amount of damage there that remains to be undone, largely, but not entirely, on the side of LJ.

[nazwaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you for responding. :)

The situation was handled with a lack of grace by nearly all

By "all," do you mean users and admins alike, or just the various parties of LJ ownership?

I have similar feelings on the adult-content issue and did respond to that situation. I do think that LJ has in the past been unbelievably ham-handed in dealing with their user base. However, I've become repelled by the strident, and at times abusive, way that users have responded to LJ. I suppose this is why I'm hoping to support someone who can see that both parties have played their roles poorly -- in different respects -- and will work to arrive at a reasonable consensus on issues that come up, and not be "our way or no way."

Thanks again.

[rm.livejournal.com]

By all, I mean users and admins alike.

The cat macros when we weren't getting answers weren't productive (although I do think there was value in demonstrating the visible silence by macxing out comments) but also don't really trouble me, but the agression and insults, no matter how provoked, were not at all appropriate.

[being_elspeth]

I support this nomination. I like what you said. If I have more questions or comments I'll let you know. Good luck.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much.

[ithinkitisayit.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping you'll get on board =)

Of course, my main bitch about the whole 'nominations' bullshit is the fact that they don't listen to their advisory board now, so why bother increasing it?

All the same, I have a small, flickering flame of hope that they'll start listening to their advisory board. Even if they don't, I can't think of anyone better to be on it than you ;)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I figure if there's a chance of making a difference I can do it. And if there isn't, at least they'll get the talking to they deserve.

[hmms-sio.livejournal.com]

I've put in my support vote for you.

I've put myself on the nomination list as well, and I think I will be a good member of the Advisory Board, but if I don't get enough votes, I like to at least have nominated another good person!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I appreciate that. I also think it's important we get a good candidate, and am definitely looking at who else I will support in the ranking-based voting.

[moem]

Here's why I'm supporting your nomination:

I support your nomination based on your comments on News postings. They tell me you've been reading up on LJ issues, and also that your opinions on these issues match with mine.
I'll probably vote for you, especially because you still seem to care about bringing back free basic accounts. I've seen people saying this is an old discussion and shouldn't be brought up anymore.
Do we forget so soon?
It's only been a few weeks.
And as far as I'm concerned it still sucks.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

The free account issue is also critical to the longevity of LJ.

LJ is shrinking.

People join LJ because their friends are here and the content they want to read is here. When they become committed to the community, they buy paid accounts, vgifts, add-ons and sometimes _choose_ to becoming eyeballs for advertisers. Without the lure of the free accounts, LJ isn't producing content and building the community that brings revenue. So the issue is both about LJ honoring its original commitments to the users and exercising better business sense than I feel they have been in the various administration changes of late.

[moem]

Is that true? ...is it actually shrinking?

I haven't been here all that long, but during the first weeks, as I was getting to know the site, I became enthusiastic and started recommending it to friends. I'd say: go on and try it, you can simply try it without paying a thing and without being bombarded with ads, so go ahead and see how you like it!
Now I feel like I cannot recommend it anymore. I wouldn't recommend joining a site that's so full of ads unless you cough up.
Personally, I'd go paid if that meant I could give free basic accounts to friends (= having the invite system back).

You're right: people want to try before they buy. If they like what they see, a lot of them will start spending money. Especially if they have grown used to a site without ads...
If they get in at the Plus level and grow used to the ads, why would they ever go Paid, when it brings you almost the same features? I think Basic is useful as a stepping stone to Paid.

The other argument holds water, too: Basic members deliver the content that others pay to see.

[thedeli.livejournal.com]

Thanks for more thoroughly elaborating that point. I will gladly vote for you, though I'm leaving LJ over the very same matters that would drive me to support your candidacy in the first place.

Unrealistic as it is, only a return to the days of yesteryear (http://web.archive.org/web/20040401175244/http://www.livejournal.com/site/contract.bml) (or some close approximation) would be enough to lure me back now.