LJ Strike - March 21

[cassaclyzm]

Just heard about this - apparently certain interests (particularly GLBTQ ones) are being censored and users are being selectively deleted (thanks to epilady for the link). So for March 21 I won't be posting, commenting on, or reading LJ. Keep an eye on Cass Down Under, though (which is on Word Press), for an update and some more pictures.

The one-day content strike is on for this Friday, March 21, frommidnight GMT to midnight GMT. Here that translates to Thursday, March20, 5:00 PM -

For 24 hours, we will not post or comment to LJ.Not in our own journals, not in communities. Not publicly, privately,or under friends-lock.


Why? Because the new owners of LJsaid they were going to listen to a user driven advisory board beforemaking any changes, and didn't. They instead tried to take away allGLBT related interest groups, and were about to take away all free, adfree accounts as well and make LJ paid. Basic/free users help drivethis site! And paid or not, our interests should not be dictated to us.

This is a protest that will have long-lasting effects, showing up forever in the daily posting statistics.

This is a protest that will not harm LJ in the long run, as leaving LJ might do.

Thisis a protest that will demonstrate the power of community, as all usersunite to support Basic users and the concept of ad-free space.

This is a protest that will educate the new owners that LJ is driven by user-created content.

Content Strike Friday March 21, from midnight to midnight GMT

* We are holding the Content Strike because we want to demonstrate that LiveJournal is content-driven.
*We are holding the Content Strike because we want the new owners ofLiveJournal to better understand the power and resolve of the LJCommunity of Users.
* We are holding the Content Strike because allof us, Paid, Permanent and Plus users as well as Basic, want todemonstrate our solidarity as a Community of Users. We do not considerBasic users to be freeloaders, we consider them to be valuablecontent-providers and Friends.
* We are holding the Content Strikebecause we ache to do something to show our displeasure, and commentingon the news post -- even with cat macros -- just isn't powerful enough!

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The strike has three terms:

1. Restore basic accounts for new account creation.
2. Inform users before any change to the site that affects how we use the site or demands on our resources.
3. Run change proposals by the Advisory Board and take their advice into account before implementation of any change.

***

The 24-hour strike will begin at the following times for the following locations:

Thursday, March 20, 2:00 PM -- Honolulu
Thursday, March 20, 4:00 PM -- Anchorage
Thursday, March 20, 5:00 PM -- San Francisco; Los Angeles -
Thursday, March 20, 6:00 PM -- Mexico City; Denver - Navajo Nations in AZ.
Thursday, March 20, 7:00 PM -- Chicago
Thursday, March 20, 8:00 PM -- Montreal; New York
Thursday, March 20, 9:00 PM -- Buenos Aires
Midnight -- London
Friday, March 21, 1:00 AM -- Paris
Friday, March 21, 2:00 AM -- Istanbul
Friday, March 21, 3:00 AM -- Moscow
Friday, March 21, 4:00 AM -- Dubai
Friday, March 21, 5:00 AM -- Islamabad
Friday, March 21, 6:00 AM -- Bangladesh
Friday, March 21, 7:00 AM -- Bangkok
Friday, March 21, 8:00 AM -- Singapore
Friday, March 21, 9:00 AM -- Tokyo
Friday, March 21, 10:00 AM -- Brisbane
Friday, March 21, 11:00 AM -- Sydney
Friday, March 21, 12 Noon -- Suva

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How Can I Help?

DO post about this in your own LJ.
DO post and comment about it in appropriate communities.
DO remember that it's based on Greenwich Mean Time, which may not be your local time.
DO turn off LoudTwitter and your RSS feeds for 24 hours.

DON'T forget to get permission from community mods before making an off-topic post or comment about the strike.
DON'T be spammy with your posts or comments about the strike.
DON'T forget to turn your LoudTwitter and RSS feeds back on when the strike is over.
DON'T post anything on LJ from midnight to midnight March 21 (see above times for your actual start time)

Comments

[eternalism.livejournal.com]

A couple of things in reply to this that probably no one wants to hear... Granted, I think the censoring of certain Lj interests is kind of stupid, but upon a random check, I can still look up interests such as yaoi, pornography, etc. Just because they remove them from a list of popular interests doesn't mean such things are being banned from LJ altogether. Yes, LJ is having some serious censorship issues, and yes, people can certainly stand up and protest for what they believe is wrong or right, but I somehow don't think that a day of having a lessened server load is going to teach them any lessons.

And not that I agree with what LJ did about the free accounts, but I also have to consider that they're a company, with an interest in making money and supporting the servers and employees and all that. They are entitled to change their policies without notice, especially when it comes to the people who aren't paying for their service. If they continue to do shit like this when people must pay for their service, then it's incredibly unfair, but I believe they're still within their rights to do so, so long as they have on the terms and conditions that policies are subject to change without notice, etc etc.

Plus I kinda resent the implication that we're all striking because we all are a community. Makes those of us who may or may not strike seem like horrible people for not going with the flow.

I can't help but think that, as much as I disagree with a lot of what has been done to Lj in the past couple of years, that people are doing too much jumping on the bandwagon and not looking at this from all sides, and I see plenty of people all over the place being very quick to judge and to criticise the company for not giving the users everything they want, now now now. Not saying the company's right, but I'm not saying a lot of the users are right either. Hell, in one debate on an LJ news post, I once was called a troll, was implied that I was only there to stir up shit, because I happened to view things differently than the majority of the dissenters who wanted everything their way right then and there, and because I could sympathize with the company decision a bit. Honestly, that's not the kind of "community" I want to be considered a part of. It's getting to the point where slamming Lj is like slamming the government; it's cool and trendy to do it, because the government/company isn't perfect, and is making mistakes.

I like LJ the way it used to be. I think it was better before all these new changes came into effect. Partially because all these new changes have created such fucking drama that LJ isn't as much fun to be involved in anymore. (Nipplegate? Strikethrough? WTF!) But I also can see things from a business viewpoint, too, and in regards to some issues (not all, mind), the company had to cover its own ass, lest some fuckwads take it upon themselves to get the whole site shut down because of the actions of a slim minority.

I may or may not protest. Honestly, I may or may not having worth saying that day anyway, so if there's a lack of posting, who's to say why? But if I were to protest, I don't think I'd do it that way. *shrugs*