The Recent LiveJournal-generated Unplesantness

[heidi]

As everyone probably knows by now, LiveJournal has dropped the ability of users to create Basic accounts (ie low-featured accounts that don't have ads) - from now on, you will either view ads, or you'll pay for an ad-free account.

I finally managed to type up my thoughts on this in a comment on their News post where they noted that they had basically screwed up YET AGAIN in telling LJ users something, but since I don't have any way to predict whether my comment will remain visible there (although I don't have any reason to think it won't, either) I wanted to replicate it here


Dear LJ Administrative People:

When the time comes to make a decision about attributes of the site and/or announcements regarding same, the first question to ask yourselves is:
What would Google do?

Google wouldn't have hidden an announcement about a major change in site registration and account typing in its announcement about basically completely unrelated matters, like you did.

But more than that, Google wouldn't have taken away the ability to have users sign up for a low-feature account that is ad-free - they know that such things build loyalty, increase use of the site (which, of course, still helps your ad-sale numbers and your Alexa rating!) and page views, and generates users who may one day decide to pay a hundred dollars for a year's use of a bigger mailbox. Or the equivilent.

No, you're not Google - and you're not the LiveJournal I came to in 2001, either. And yes, the internet has changed a lot in these six, seven, eight years but one thing that's stayed the same is that a little openness, and a lot of DON'T BE EVIL goes a very long way.

My suggestion for mitigating this PR disaster now is a simple one, in two either/or parts.

1. Bring back invite codes for paid, Early and permanent accounts. One per month, and they can accumulate. And the accounts they can be used to create are basic ones, including Basic communities.

and/or

2. Allow Paid, Early and Permanent accounts to create up to five communities - Basic ones - per month. They don't need to accumulate - use it or lose it.

And when I say "basic" I mean it - two icons, no polls, very limited lj-themes.
ETA - gmth pointed out that communities can stil lbe created at the Basic level, which, at least, is more positive than not having that option. But it's a symptom of what LJ has become that I look at that with no faith that it'll stay that way. LJ could do a lot by putting it into the ToU and saying that said section of the ToU will never change - they can bind themselves to any promise they want. [/ETA]
A lot of your users on LJ form communities for all sorts of reasons - it's an enormous part of your content, and a tremendous reason for people to use LJ. Forcing people to make those communities for a fee, or have ads on them, will place a tremendous barrier to the generation of communities and I guarantee that you will see *that* make a terrible impact on your bottom line.

It's your ballfield - but it's our ballgame. And we don't want to call it for rain in the sixth.

I agree with a lot of what many of you have already posted about LJ's attitude - not so much their act of removing the Basic accounts, but the way they didn't Announce it and instead tried to slip it past the userbase (do they think we're stupid? sums up a lot of that. elements articulated it in a way that I wanted to quote:

This recent screw-up hasn't lost you 100% of my willingness to give LJ the benefit of the doubt, but it's shaken my faith in LJ management's sincerity in making good use of its excellent advisory board, and it's shown once again just how hopelessly out of touch with its user base the LJ management is.

Seriously, we *want* to give you a chance - at least those of us who've bothered to stick around this long, after nearly a year of a string of major screw-ups. We wouldn't still be here at all if we weren't willing to give you a chance.

Meet us halfway. Take a step back, and consider the possibility that despite everything you know about the web, in terms of Livejournal, you're brand new. Listen to us. Listen, for heaven's sake, to your advisors, especially to danah and Brad who are people who care deeply about and have very solid understandings of this community.

Livejournal is unique. It's not something that having worked at Blogger, or being a new media expert, or being an internet entrepreneur, etc., can give you the right kind of experience in. The only way to learn how not to piss off the LJ userbase - and we are the geese who lay the golden eggs, here - is to actually listen to us, and to listen with an open mind and the understanding that despite our being "just" customers, WE are the people with the real authority to speak about what works and what doesn't here. You may have the authority to make the final decisions, but we have the most core decision of all - whether to stay here or not, and whether to pay if we do stay.

Comments

[dramawench.livejournal.com]

The definition of insanity is doing the same behavior over and over and expecting different results. This is now the 4th time at least that LiveJournal/Six Apart has pulled something like this, and they act surprised whenever people get angry.

I really don't understand their attitude towards their customers. It frustrates me and really makes me never want to give them money again. And now they are taking away that right for me to show how I feel by getting me to at least support their ads.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

Just FYI, Basic is still an option for newly created communities.

And I would LOVE it if they brought back invite codes. I wish they'd never abolished that in the first place.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Oooh, good to know. I spent half an hour today looking for that answer and couldn't find it amid the posts and comments. Still, do we think that policy is going to last? And if it doesn't as an absolute, then maybe they won't eliminate it completely - just place a limit on the per-month.

[phoenixsong]

I'm more concerned with existing Basic accounts being forced out of existence altogether, myself. As brad pointed out, that's where a lot of content comes from, and it's what got a lot of people here in the first place -- free, ad-free places to post and read content.

Take that away, and what do you have left?

[gmth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree, I think that's more of an issue to be concerned about than them taking away Basic from communities.

[pengolodh-sc.livejournal.com]

Forced out of existence?

[phoenixsong]

Call me paranoid, but I am concerned that the next move will be to force all users, not just new accounts, to either pay up or look at ads -- no more Basic, ad-free account option at all, even if the account has been around for ages. That's just not what I signed up for.

I have two other, Basic-level accounts besides this one that I'm seriously considering getting rid of -- either migrating elsewhere or incorporating the content into my regular journal -- to show my displeasure with the latest policy.

[ceilidh]

I agree. I thought the invite codes were a good way to keep random people, who had no interest in creating or using any LJ-user generated content - as well as trolls - to a minimum.

[spare-change.livejournal.com]

I think the larger problem is SUP, and that's not going to change. Russian bloggers have been complaining about SUP for years to no effect, so I don't entirely understand why folks are surprised to see SUP now turning on its new English-speaking users. It was only a matter of time, really.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. I was unaware of the new changes until you mentioned it.
*cue Mutant Enemy monster* Grr. Arggh.

I'd already decided to cancel my paid account at the end of the month, and return to a basic one, but this really makes me pause to consider whether I'll be staying or going. Aside from friends that I've made, there is very little keeping me here, especially if management continues to demonstrate how clueless they are. This isn't working; we need to find something that does. I know that many people would agree with your suggestions, and I really hope that the management team takes it into consideration. Our patience has limits.