chrystalline

Oh, LJ, why you gotta be so stupid?

If you’re involved in fandom to any great extent (and probably even if you aren’t), you probably were aware of the huge controversy when LiveJournal suspended 500 journals without warning on Memorial Day. Not only did Fandom_Wank and several individual fan journals keep a running commentary on new developments, but other sites like Slashdot and CNet picked up the story as well. (Also BoingBoing, Digg, AnimeNewsNetwork, MetaFilter, Wired) Even more interesting to me was the fact that this is not the first time SixApart has offended its userbase (*more links below*), and I found it intriguing that they have apparently continued in this fashion for some time, despite the negative backlash every time they demonstrate their clear lack of understanding of their primary market. LiveJournal users were vocal in their distrust and doubts about SixApart at the time of the LiveJournal buyout, and this is firm evidence that these unhappy netizens were right about them. At the time, I was one of the “wait and see” crowd, not knowing anything about SixApart prior to that. Of course, while SixApart is within its rights to administer the company as they see fit, it threw into sharp relief just how vulnerable the internet community is to corporate entities who simply do not understand fandom and how it operates, and inspired several calls for alternate options for fandom to call home.

Now, I’d been thinking about that idea for a while, actually, as I have very real ideas on how fandom and IP holders could come together in profitable harmony (unlike the Fanlib debacle, which apparently had the idea that fandom wouldn’t mind donating all its effort to make money for Fanlib and the IP holders) but the Strikethrough made me think that perhaps I should get to work on this sooner rather than taking my time about it, because fandom is furious with the high-handed and condescending attitudes from first Fanlib, and then LJ/6A.

I wasn’t ready yet, though, and still haven’t actually put any of the infrastructure together yet, but 6A’s done it again, and their timing is incredible. Fandom was starting to relax a little and cut back on the Strikethrough icons. Now they’re coming down on fandom again, and I can’t help but wonder if they’re really this foolish, or if they’re deliberately driving off their userbase.

I’ll be blunt; I don’t support porn, either text or images, but child-proofing the cabinets in a forum for adults is idiotic. Internet fandom is for fans of all ages, not just kids, and while the adults should lock the adult material, that doesn’t mean they should be prevented from having it. It’s a little like saying married couples can’t sleep together because there are children in the house. So, given that 6A is making such a concerted effort to rid themselves of the very userblock that made LJ such an attractive purchase, I believe I shall download the code and build a fork. For fandom, since we don’t seem to be truly welcome anywhere else.

*Moveable Type, Vox, and Typepad:
http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2004/05/movable_type_30_and_eating.html
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/05/14/freedom-0
http://padawan.info/weblog/movable_type_30_developer_edition_much_ado_about_nothing.html
http://underscorebleach.net/jotsheet/2006/09/goodbye-movable-type
http://www.wiw.org/~jess/archives/2004/05/27/changes-to-movable-type-license/
http://www.scriptygoddess.com/archives/2004/05/14/not-that-i-assume-my-opinion-will-be-readheard-or-counts/
http://scobleizer.com/2005/12/18/im-a-six-apart-customer-and-i-think-they-are-getting-a-raw-deal/
http://www.makeyougohmm.com/?p=2746
http://businesslogs.com/technology/six_aparts_new_focus_from_pro_dev_to_high_school.php