In which pajh is one of those apparently self-righteous bitches

[gominokouhai]

LJ's most recent fuckup has Internet up in arms. It doesn't affect me much, since I have comments disabled on LJ already. Nonetheless it's indicative of an attitude the LJ management have towards the users that's only been getting worse.

For reference, here are the rules:

1. Comment as much as you like, link to comments, pingback, whatever you like. Particularly feel free to link to comments in places where Respected Newspaper Editors might see them and think that that nice young man might want a job.
2. Do it with an access-restricted post and I will hunt you the fuck down. There will be fire.

I remember being the sole voice of reason during Nipplegate, but the situation has deteriorated since then. A lot of people seem to be resisting Dreamwidth on the basis that it's full of self-important whiners and fandoms. I'm not sure these people have looked at Livejournal recently, or indeed ever. Both sites have their fair share of thirteen-year-old slashers and Twitards. It's what internet is for.

Personally, I find that Dreamwidth is a nicer site, with a (much) nicer interface, and a richer featureset in terms of options that are actually useful. The colours are nicer (I turned off that pink shit). The staff are much nicer. So far, nobody there has tried to use free pictures of kittens to mollify an outraged userbase. They listen to their users in a way that LJ doesn't. And I'm not giving my money to the Russian Mafia.

Also: ew, Facebook.

In the vain hope that it will be useful, here's what I do to combine usage of the two sites:

• Use the automated import tool to scarf all of my original content from its previous LJ home.
• Automatically crosspost entries from DW to LJ.
• Deactivate comments on the crosspost, so I can keep the discussion in one place.
• LJ users can comment via LJ OpenID, or anonymously, or with another OpenID, however they wish.^[0]
• Get on with my life, secure in the knowledge that stupid shit doesn't, currently, occur in this region of Internet.
• Use LJ solely to read those people who are still there.

Easy. It's not perfect, but it works. When they get cross-site reading sorted out, it will be even awesomer.

I should mention I have DW invite codes for them as wants them.

--

[0] Most don't. Is it really that difficult to click an extra button?^[1]

[1] I still have an issue with comments on friends-locked entries from people I have friended on LJ but not on DW. I am addressing this. Let me know if one of those people is you.

Comments

[brucec]

In the vain hope that it will be useful, here's what I do to combine usage of the two sites

Wouldn't it be simpler to just post to DreamWidth and let anyone who wants to, subscribe to the RSS feed so they can read it in Google Reader etc.? By having your posts appear on LJ aren't you making it less certain that people will ever migrate to DW?

As for DW what put me off it was being spammed every couple of days with news from the staff. I've unsubscribed from that feed but I've started thinking I might start using my Wordpress blog instead.

[gominokouhai]

> aren't you making it less certain that people will ever migrate to DW?

Quite possibly. It's not up to me to dictate where people migrate. If you want to read me on LJ, you can. I think of myself as a content provider. Walled gardens are for China.

> what put me off it was being spammed every couple of days with news from the staff

You mean the weekly newspost? Doesn't bother me. Easily ignored. And when I do read it, I tend to find that it's full of actual good news rather than some fucker trying to sell me more GIFs.

[brucec]

It's not up to me to dictate where people migrate. If you want to read me on LJ, you can. I think of myself as a content provider. Walled gardens are for China

While I agree in the case of LJ/DW, some people take that attitude too far. For example I don't think LinkedIn is the right place for most Tweets.

As for DW I've just found a nice theme that makes the reading page much like Wordpress, which turns in into something I'm much happier reading (and I can imagine reading long, "serious" posts in it!).

[gominokouhai]

> While I agree in the case of LJ/DW, some people take that attitude too far

That's exactly the problem a lot of people are having with this sudden new LJ-fail. People have their real-life friends and acquaintances on the Facebook. Very few people want their boss and Great Auntie Mabel to know about the explicit Sylar/Spock hurt/comfort slashfic they just wrote.

But a blog is designed to be read, and preferably by as many people as possible: I don't mind how you read it or where you read it from, but I'm keeping the comments here.

[matgb]

subscribe to the RSS feed so they can read it in Google Reader

Greader doesn't support auth=digest thus won't show locked content.

Plus, a large number of LJ users won't do anything other than read their friends page, GReader is a whole other world.

Having posts on LJ makes it more likely people that aren't planning on leaving now will be reminded there's an option later.

(don't know what you mean in your latter comment, and this is a drive by comment, but dw_news updates weekly only, to my knowledge always has done)

[brucec]

Plus, a large number of LJ users won't do anything other than read their friends page, GReader is a whole other world.

See, that's something I don't understand. To me, LJ/DW is less of a "serious" medium. If I want to write something that "Respected Newspapers" might pick up on, I'd write it on my proper website.

I obviously wasn't logging into DW very regularly then, but all I knew was that the posts from dw_news was swamping posts from people I know.

[matgb]

MPs have read my journal and emailed me in response. LJ/DW isn't a 'serious' medium because users don't think it can be, it's a better blogging platform than Blogger, and on a par with Wordpress hosted (self hosting wins, obviously).

I've been quoted in Teh Graun and The Indy, hell, the Indy used LJ as its main blogging platform for awhile, dumped because LJ sacked the staff responsible, and the new Indy owner doesn't get on with the LJ owner.

[gominokouhai]

> LJ/DW is less of a "serious" medium

It's as serious as you, the author, let it be. You might as well say that paper isn't a serious medium because some people draw cocks on it.

[spudtater]

So what -gate is this? Facegate?

I thought DW already had cross-site reading sorted out. Can you not read LJ posts from DW yet?

[gominokouhai]

Not to my nollij. This comment would indicate that others have it working better than I.

[spudtater]

Poop. Let me know when it's working well enough for you to read habitually through DW.

[gominokouhai]

I do read habitually through DW. I pop back to LJ periodically to catch up on the people who haven't yet seen the light, which is currently about five journals.

There are always RSS feeds.

[spudtater]

OIC. My friends list is still about 2/3 LJ-only, so it's not convenient at the moment.