I know I'm suffering severe Nail Polish Associated Traumatic Stress Disorder and probably should be lying down with a cool cloth on my head and a beautiful woman holding my hand while a small army of skilled old-world craftspeople attempts to clean nail polish off the suede of my favorite purple sandals instead of posting, but I'm feeling slightly misunderstood... no wait, that's too whiney... just wanting to be sure that my motivations for something are clear. And it's this:
I am not playing on InsaneJournal out of a fear or concern that LJ will reprimand me, delete my journal, punish me in some way, send me a threatening email, or even glance at my journal sideways, ever. I'm not afraid nor am I worried something will happen.
The thing has already happened: LJ has already made statements that ruined my respect for them as a company.
Note: I had a very nice discussion with![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
critic75 that helped me get these thoughts worked out in my mind and I'd like to thank her for taking the time to hash this all out with me.
I am not playing on InsaneJournal out of a fear or concern that LJ will reprimand me, delete my journal, punish me in some way, send me a threatening email, or even glance at my journal sideways, ever. I'm not afraid nor am I worried something will happen.
The thing has already happened: LJ has already made statements that ruined my respect for them as a company.
Now, I have a permanent account, so I no longer have the ability to stop giving them my own money. And I love the people here on my friends list, and I want to keep in touch with all of you. For those reasons, I haven't ordered my "I Hate LJ" t-shirt and packed up all my things in a Certified Lesbian U-Haul and moved lock, stock, and high-heeled boots to InsaneJournal.
But I am playing on InsaneJournal, absolutely. And I love it there. I love the 500 icons, which to me are part of my fandom and thus important. I love the owner of the company (as I once loved the owner of LiveJournal until he sold it to SixApart, who I do not love).
I love the energy over there. It's really exciting to be part of an expansive, welcoming fandom experience, and I've never had that before, although some of you who made the move here in the past probably have. I wasn't around then, so for me, this is a first, and I'm loving it.
And so I've been a little confused by comments sent in email or posted on some of my friends' journals about their attachment to LiveJournal. I understand that some people simply don't want to have to deal with something new, either for reasons of habit or comfort or finances. I understand some people don't disagree with what LiveJournal is saying or perhaps think I'm misinterpreting it. And I understand some people aren't really paying attention and just wish the whole thing would go away, and instead of being pissed at LiveJournal for what it's done, they're pissed at me for talking about it and reacting to it -- and maybe in their view, over-reacting. I understand all that.
What I don't understand is the way some people are using the terms "LiveJournal" and "fandom" as if they were interchangeable.
LJ is not "fandom. " Fandom is people. I know this because, for instance, the Xena fandom barely registers on LJ at all, but is a far more active fandom than QAF by far. It just never settled here on LJ. The QAF fandom, long before I ever even heard the words "Brian and Justin," took root in people's imaginations, found Internet homes on a variety of websites and email lists, and exists above, beyond, and independently of LiveJournal.
LiveJournal is not us and it's not our fandom. It's a tool. It's software. It's a company, a business.
And it's a company that doesn't share my personal values about creative expression, the free exchange of ideas, and customer relations.
For that reason, I prefer to support and pet and give love to a company that does share my values.
But in addition to having a permanent account, I really love all of you, so unless LJ's next "clarification" really goes too far for me, I am still posting here and responding to comments here. Even though I hate to support this company, I even more don't want to lose my personal connection to any of you, nor fill your lives or flists with wank and negativity.
I've tried instead to focus on doing everything I can to make it easy for people to participate in both places, and offered to make feeds from LJ to IJ or vice versa for anyone who has asked. And while it will be hard for you to believe, I've actually been somewhat uncharacteristically silent on this whole subject until now.
I firmly believe everyone needs to do what feels right to them, and participate in fandom however they want to. I'm not telling you what to do, what to value, or how to think about SixApart, fandom, or anything else, nor am I suffering under any delusion that anyone gives a damn what I want them to do. Despite my fangirl obsessions, yes, I do live in reality and am aware I do not rule the universe. If I did, believe me, that nail polish? Not on my shoe.
All I'm asking is that you not attribute motivations to me that are incorrect. I'm not afraid of something that might happen, I'm angry about something that did happen, and simply trying to reward a company that I like and admire instead of one I don't. It doesn't change my deep and abiding love for the fandom or for those of you who have joined me in the insanity of the last couple of years of my life. But that love and insanity didn't come from LiveJournal, nor do they depend on LiveJournal, nor do they belong to LiveJournal.
They belong to us.
But I am playing on InsaneJournal, absolutely. And I love it there. I love the 500 icons, which to me are part of my fandom and thus important. I love the owner of the company (as I once loved the owner of LiveJournal until he sold it to SixApart, who I do not love).
I love the energy over there. It's really exciting to be part of an expansive, welcoming fandom experience, and I've never had that before, although some of you who made the move here in the past probably have. I wasn't around then, so for me, this is a first, and I'm loving it.
And so I've been a little confused by comments sent in email or posted on some of my friends' journals about their attachment to LiveJournal. I understand that some people simply don't want to have to deal with something new, either for reasons of habit or comfort or finances. I understand some people don't disagree with what LiveJournal is saying or perhaps think I'm misinterpreting it. And I understand some people aren't really paying attention and just wish the whole thing would go away, and instead of being pissed at LiveJournal for what it's done, they're pissed at me for talking about it and reacting to it -- and maybe in their view, over-reacting. I understand all that.
What I don't understand is the way some people are using the terms "LiveJournal" and "fandom" as if they were interchangeable.
LJ is not "fandom. " Fandom is people. I know this because, for instance, the Xena fandom barely registers on LJ at all, but is a far more active fandom than QAF by far. It just never settled here on LJ. The QAF fandom, long before I ever even heard the words "Brian and Justin," took root in people's imaginations, found Internet homes on a variety of websites and email lists, and exists above, beyond, and independently of LiveJournal.
LiveJournal is not us and it's not our fandom. It's a tool. It's software. It's a company, a business.
And it's a company that doesn't share my personal values about creative expression, the free exchange of ideas, and customer relations.
For that reason, I prefer to support and pet and give love to a company that does share my values.
But in addition to having a permanent account, I really love all of you, so unless LJ's next "clarification" really goes too far for me, I am still posting here and responding to comments here. Even though I hate to support this company, I even more don't want to lose my personal connection to any of you, nor fill your lives or flists with wank and negativity.
I've tried instead to focus on doing everything I can to make it easy for people to participate in both places, and offered to make feeds from LJ to IJ or vice versa for anyone who has asked. And while it will be hard for you to believe, I've actually been somewhat uncharacteristically silent on this whole subject until now.
I firmly believe everyone needs to do what feels right to them, and participate in fandom however they want to. I'm not telling you what to do, what to value, or how to think about SixApart, fandom, or anything else, nor am I suffering under any delusion that anyone gives a damn what I want them to do. Despite my fangirl obsessions, yes, I do live in reality and am aware I do not rule the universe. If I did, believe me, that nail polish? Not on my shoe.
All I'm asking is that you not attribute motivations to me that are incorrect. I'm not afraid of something that might happen, I'm angry about something that did happen, and simply trying to reward a company that I like and admire instead of one I don't. It doesn't change my deep and abiding love for the fandom or for those of you who have joined me in the insanity of the last couple of years of my life. But that love and insanity didn't come from LiveJournal, nor do they depend on LiveJournal, nor do they belong to LiveJournal.
They belong to us.
Note: I had a very nice discussion with
critic75 that helped me get these thoughts worked out in my mind and I'd like to thank her for taking the time to hash this all out with me.19 comments | Leave a comment
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