I think people have kind of suggested this, but not stated it so much. The underlying issue is partly that, like TableTalk, LJ will go pay-for-play. And then it will fall apart and people will lose something that is very important to them. So this is kind of alarming -- if this doesn't raise enough income to support them, what's their next step?

As for this latest dust up, it's not really even about the ads; it's the continued failure to communicate.

This. I think if SUP had made even a tiny bit of effort to communicate with or understand their user base, we'd be a hell of a lot more forgiving. Instead, they're running to the press and making ginormous wankery asshats of themselves by basically saying that running LJ would be so much easier if it weren't for those pesky users. As if social networks existed in some kind of magical vaccum where content is generated by the blog fairies. (Which, incidentally, nobody on LJ cares about anyway. I know because I checked the top 100 interests list.)

As if social networks existed in some kind of magical vaccum where content is generated by the blog fairies. (Which, incidentally, nobody on LJ cares about anyway. I know because I checked the top 100 interests list.)

Don't you mean "faeries?"

Which, incidentally, nobody on LJ cares about anyway. I know because I checked the top 100 interests list.

SNORF.

Thank you for that.

AhahahaHAH. This is the same kind of kerfuffle as with my local public radio station. Transparency and communication when making likely controversial changes within/to a community used to having ( or even under the encouraged illusion of having) a voice is crucial, peoples. Much smarter way to run a business. People may not like the changes, but they'll hate having their illusion completely blown worse.

The underlying issue is partly that, like TableTalk, LJ will go pay-for-play. And then it will fall apart and people will lose something that is very important to them

Exactly. And while thank god, Buffistas managed to emerge from TT, and I love love love it here at the b.org, there were a lot of other parts of the TT community that didn't make it, or went somewhere else, and I lost touch with them, or stayed at TT...and it's just not the same. And I fear similar things will happen with LJ. People will go off to other journaling places, or quit altogether, and even if I stay in touch with some of them, I'll lose others, and it will be sad.

People may not like the changes, but they'll hate having their illusion completely blown worse.

This.

The communication thing is crucial when a goodly portion of your customer base are crazy internet people who were shoved in lockers, have limited social skills, and have weird entitlement issues, anyway.

And be this I mean fandom. But not any of ours. Of course. We're all totally centered.

Interrupting to say: Thank you again for the ~ma! I just got off the phone with the Medium Head Honcho Person who interviewed me today, and I have a follow-up interview with the Big Giant Head Honcho Person (who apparently is actually very humble and sweet) tomorrow at 1.

Yay, JZ! Big Giant Heads good! If the interview doesn't go well, you can always play Mr. Potatohead with 'em.

Or crazy public radio people! The call letters of the station are WYPR, promoted as Your Public Radio. OMG the OUTRAGE when they fired Marc Steiner, who was had a public hand in getting the station under independent management and was a popular host and local advocate (and I admit, I share it, but more because man, how stupid the management was in how they handled it. And I think it was a poor decision to get rid of him at all, but whatever, that's their call.) And then they just kept compounding it, publicly dismissing the sentiments at a meeting of the public advisory board where something like 300 people showed, cancelling/moving a board meeting. They ended up postponing a pledge drive, for crying out loud. They are totally in oh fuck! mode and that could have been so much more easily avoided.