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| [Monday, December 27, 2010 at 7:35 am] |
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| [Monday, August 6, 2007 at 9:23 pm] |
| Subject: An open letter to LiveJournal and Six Apart..... |
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 Determined |
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Boys on the Side - Somebody Stand by Me |
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I had a crazy idea regarding those of us who are annoyed sending an open letter to LJ. If you are at all interested, you can find more information here
~Lisa |
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| [Sunday, August 5, 2007 at 8:36 pm] |
| Subject: Testing multiple posting |
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Test post to see if I can post multiply to all of my journals.... |
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| [Sunday, August 5, 2007 at 4:27 am] |
| Subject: My fantasy... |
All of the talk about fandom specific journaling sites got me to fantasizing. What I'm about to describe is never going to happen. It's simply a fantasy of mine, one that I've been having in various forms ever since LJ decided to bring in ads. But, just for the fun of it, I'm going to describe what would be my fantasy of a utopian, fandom specific journaling site. I am in no way suggesting that I or anyone else attempt this. It is highly unrealistic simply because it can be. While it probably could be done, I'd hate to see how much it would cost, and I doubt that everyone else would like it as much as I do.
I would dearly love to see something that was kind of a combination of Neopets and Live Journal. A site with different "neighborhoods" or "lands" or "worlds" that made up a huge "city", "world" or "solar system". Each land would be a fandom. So you'd have Buffy Land, right next to Angel Land. And floating above it in a little blimp or space ship or satellite, you'd have Firefly. Then, you'd have Highlander land, and Anime land, and HP land, and Supernatural Land, etc., etc. Each land would have different subdivisions or neighborhoods that would actually be the community journals. And each user would be able to choose where their journal's citizenship resided. Maybe they would only be seen in Buffy Land. Or maybe they'd decide to hold dual citizenship in Buffy and Angel Lands, with summer homes in HP land and the Firefly satellite.
And each land would have a special kiddie section, where only the content rated appropriately would show up on their pages. Now, this means that each user would have to give their journals or their individual posts labels, but that would be a small price to pay to live in utopia. Members of the kiddie section would automatically be denied entrance to FAO or NC-17 comms, without the maintainers having to go look for birthdays on profiles.
Like Neopets, there would literally be visual representations of all of this. I kinda envision a version of Neopets without all of the games and other site content and with the user pages being replaced by personal journals, and the guilds being replaced by comms. The RTF feature wouldn't be crappy like LJ's, we could have tons of user pics, and instead of paid accounts that encompassed large amounts of features that aren't worth paying for if you aren't going to use them, extra features would be available a la carte. If you wanted phone posts or polls, you could pay for those. If you wanted custom mood themes, scrapbook style storage, or additional userpics, then you could buy those. If you actually needed the ability to have 20 thousand friends on your flist, you could pay separately for that ability without being stuck with phone posts and storage that you'd never use.
And there would be no ads, unless people wanted to pay to "advertise" their latest fic or new community or offsite fic archive. And those would run along the same prices as things like V-Gifts.
Speaking of V-Gifts, those would be personal to each land. So an HP user could buy a new wand for a friend, while a Buffy user could buy someone a new stake or railroad spike.
Members of the site's administration team would have separate accounts that were only used for that purpose and would be easily identified by icons that said things like, "Fandom Journal Abuse Team Member, ID#1234567". All Abuse policies would be posted publically in easy to read language for those of us who aren't lawyers. Every land would get to elect a representative to serve as a liason between the administration and their land, and all reps would get a voice about any major site changes.
Permanent accounts would go on sale regularly instead of once every couple of years. Breaking an f-lock would be a suspendable offense (maybe temp for the 1st or second offense and perm for the 3rd) unless it was done to deal with issues of harm to self or others, to report illegal activity such as murder, or to uncover cases of extreme deceit, such as the Ms. Scribe incident.
Okay, I'm done being silly now. But, if you could build your own utopian site, with no silly limitations like money or convincing people to leave LJ and join it, what would you do? |
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| [Saturday, August 4, 2007 at 10:00 pm] |
| Subject: LJ/6A Employee Posts EPIC FAIL! |
Anyone who is still taking up for LJ/6A may just change their minds after seeing this nice little tidbit that I ran across thanks to and her link to .
Remember ? LJ's mouthpiece for dealing with fandom, the one who everyone thought was a decently nice guy and who appeared to sympathize with fandom to at least some degree. He's the one that I figured LJ/6A would trot out yet again when they finally deign to address this latest issue with their users. Yeah, that .
Well, apparently, he, at least, has decided to make a few statements about the activities of the past couple of days in relation to fandom and LJ/6A.
His comments are here, here, here, here, and here. The first one was actually the very first comment to the post.
Now, I realize that he may have been off duty at the time he made these statements. But what kind of idiot uses his professional journal to make statements that will make loads of trouble for his employer on his off time?
Apparently, the type of idiot that LJ/6A employs.
I didn't think that it was possible for LJ's Public Relations and Customer Service to sink to a new low.
I was wrong.
As always, feel free to link this anywhere you like.
~Lisa |
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| [Saturday, August 4, 2007 at 9:11 pm] |
| Subject: A question for those who read my journal... |
| Mood |
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 contemplative |
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Train - Drops Of Jupiter |
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So, for the past couple of days, I've been going from journal to journal, reading probably 100 or more posts and literally thousands of comments on the issues regarding fandom and LJ/6A. These opinions have ranged from downright puritan to nearly pedophilic in nature. And many of the comments I have seen have brought to mind thoughts and opinions that only vaguely have any connection to the current kerfluffles.
Apparently, this whole issue is bringing up a whole variety of stuff for me, if not for everyone else. And by "stuff" I don't mean the kind of issues that you take to your best friend or your counselor or priest. I mean thoughts, opinions, viewpoints and the like about things like censorship, sex offenders, vigilante groups, corporate politics, statistics, politics, fandom, parenting, child abuse, teen sex, society, cultural differences, free expression, legal issues, obscenity and several other things. Some of my thoughts relate directly to the current conflict and some are much more abstract.
So, my question to those reading is this: If I were to make a series of Editorial style posts about these types of issues would you read and discuss them, or would you be more likely to say, "TL;DR" and move on by?
If it seems as though there are people who would be interested in reading and discussing, preferably with me and with each other, then I'll do it. But things of this nature are kind of intended to provoke reaction and discussion, so it would seem silly to make the posts if no one were going to read them.
~Lisa
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| [Friday, August 3, 2007 at 3:15 pm] |
| Subject: Breaking News.... |
Well it is official. LJ has now officially designated the members of The Thought Police, and determined which members of the "community" get to be the ones to decide what does and does not meet the definition of obscenity using The Miller Test.
Reposted from the above, bolding done by me:
Dear LiveJournal user stormcloude,
The comment you are referring to is correct; the content does not meet the legal definition of child pornography. As other, more recent entries in the community explain, however, non-photographic content involving minors in sexual situations which does not contain serious artistic or literary merit is likely in violation of Federal obscenity laws, and is content LiveJournal has chosen not to host.
Additionally, the Terms of Service (http://www.livejournal.com/legal/tos.bml) does not include any statement indicating that users will be warned prior to alternate actions. Specifically, section XVI Member Conduct, at the bottom, explicitly states "If LiveJournal determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that any user is in violation of the TOS, LiveJournal retains the right to terminate such user's account at any time without prior notice." While LiveJournal does not do so in the instances of many violations of the Terms of Service, the policy adopted for this particular violation is to terminate without warning. You can find information on other policies at http://ww.livejournal.com/abuse/policy.bml.
The standard for artistic merit is not whether a work simply has technical merit; it is whether there is serious artistic value that offsets the sexual nature of the content. A group consisting of members of LiveJournal's Abuse Prevention Team, LiveJournal employees, and Six Apart staff reviewed the content that was reported to us. This group decides whether material potentially in violation of this policy warrants consideration for serious artistic value. In this case, they clearly did not see serious artistic value in content that simply displayed graphic sexual acts involving minors.
Regards,
Eric
LiveJournal Abuse Prevention Team
Again, I still say that in the case of the one picture that I saw, there was no indication that a minor was being portrayed. But obviously, it doesn't matter what the rest of us think. If anything that you write, manip, draw, vid, etc. offends the delicate sensibilities of LiveJournal's Abuse Prevention Team, LiveJournal employees, and/or Six Apart staff, you will be TOS'd. Period.
Obviously, I am in extreme disagreement with this policy. That being said, LJ has every right to make it. What it does make clear, is that Barak meant exactly what he said to CNet when he stated that we weren't a part of the type of community that they want to build here. This is made obvious by the fact that we are not part of the "community standard" that is spoken of in The Miller Test.
I need about a week to finish moving a few things over, take care of my memories so that I don't lose that content, and make a few adjustments. By the end of the summer, I intend to be out of here. I love everyone on my flist, but I cannot and will not allow myself to make money for a company that disdains the very community that I am a part of. And after this, I somehow doubt very seriously that I will be the only one going.
However, after I am ready to move, I have no intention of deleting the journal myself. Instead, I intend to upgrade the account to Sponsored Status, and then post, with the artist's permission, the artwork that caused the deletion in EVERY SINGLE JOURNAL ENTRY ON MY JOURNAL, publically. Let's see how long they take to delete that.
~Lisa
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| [Friday, August 3, 2007 at 1:37 pm] |
| Subject: And Here We Go Again (Post #2) - My thoughts and the major announcements |
This time around, I have decided to keep the majority of my own commentary separate from my link list, which can be found here, and will be updated as I see new information.
The first thing that I want to address is this:
There seem to be a lot of different people talking about starting up a new LJ site. I think this is a fantastic idea. But, before a whole bunch of different people start making sites that will cost them money and wind up scattering fandom even more, listen up. After the first round of Strikethrough nonsense, started creating a new site. It's up for beta testing today, and will be going live as soon as all of the bugs have been discovered (if there are any) and fixed. So wouldn't it make more sense to pool all of our financial resources together for one site than to separate them for a dozen different ones? New post with even more info (including a possible alteration to the 18+ rule) is here.
I have seen one of the two pics that resulted in the deletions. I don't think that anyone looked to be underage in that picture. I know that there are some people who do. The age range that most people seem to be guessing in is somewhere between 15 and 19. I said I thought that Harry looked to be about 18. I found it interesting that one or two people are talking about how this may be more of an issue of culture than anything else, since the rest of the world has no understanding of fandom culture. Someone said that they thought that text was harder to target than art. Personally, I would disagree since art is open to interpretation on things like age, whereas text may explicitly state the ages of the characters involved. There still seems to be a shitload of confusion regarding whether art containing only fictional characters falls under the law regarding child pornography or the law regarding obscenity. I wonder if the EFF could answer that question for us, or if it will take a court case to determine that. I also find it interesting how quickly some are willing to shift the blame from LJ to people like Perverted Justice and WFI. The assumption is already being made that Perverted Justice is targeting fandom specifically. I don't see it that way. I lay all of the blame for this mess squarely on the shoulders of LJ/6A. I think that Perverted Justice and, to a much lesser and zealoted degree WFI, are targeting anything that they consider to be an issue of child safety. They aren't exactly rational, nor do they have to be. It is LJ/6A's responsibility to determine what content needs to go based on US law (and apparently their own preferences). It is LJ/6A who is engaging in bad, misleading, and unclear business practices and expecting its users to abide by an obscenity policy that they refuse to clearly define for their users. It is LJ/6A's representatives who have repeatedly told us that our fan activities are safe, and then proceeded to try and shut us down. If we are going to go to LJ/6A and make any demands, there is only one demand that we have the right to make. And that is that LJ/6A provide us with the exact policy guidelines that they provide to LJ Abuse in regards to what content is and is not prohibited. Then, we can all decide whether or not we are willing to stay on LJ and behave accordingly or whether we need to find greener pastures. We do not have the right to demand that LJ/6A conform to our viewpoint regarding what their rules should be. They own the servers that we are using. They are well within their rights to say that they don't want certain content on their servers. And we are all well within our rights to take our business elsewhere. But if we go to them with wankery and bitching it simply makes us look like the 14 year olds and the deviants that they appear to believe we all are. If we go to them with one clear and concise demand, and do it politely and with a valid reason for demanding it, then they will actually look like idiots if they refuse to provide it.
I am finding it remarkably interesting that while MySpace, at the behest of Congress has been focusing their deletions on registered sex offenders, LJ/6A has yet to even mention them. I know of at least one registered sex offender on LJ right now. He has in no way been targeted. (Let me also clarify here that I don't agree with deleting all sex offender accounts and I think that what MySpace has been doing is horrendous, but that's another post.)
My thoughts are rather disjointed because there is just so much going on right now. I have bolded and enlarged what I think are the two most important points that I am making here. Feel free to tl;dr the rest if you like. And, as always, no need to ask permission to link to this.
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| [Friday, August 3, 2007 at 1:05 pm] |
| Subject: And here we go again....Link Roundup |
I am getting really annoyed with making posts like this one every other week. Nevertheless, it appears that LJ/6A is at it again.
Despite their recent reassurances to the contrary, they are not, in fact, only going to go after users who are posting explicit content that depicts obviously underage subjects. Instead, they are going to permanently and without warning suspend users for posting artwork in which neither character appears to be under the age of 18.
Also, it appears that LJ/6A had some sort of issue with our catchy slogan for Strikethrough. As of now, suspended users are no longer being stricken (striked?). Instead they are being bolded. Do they think that we won't notice that the first fandom casualties of their newest policies were members of who posted HP art if they don't put a line through the usernames?
I am convinced that this is just the beginning. Either LJ/6A have decided that we aren't welcome here and want to force us out as quietly as possible to avoid bad press, or they are exactly what the icon says they are, and they figure that they can do whatever they like cos we will never leave.
Also, I have a feeling that there will be quite a few posts forthcoming as this latest news gets out, so I will add more links as I see them. As always, feel free to link to this without asking, and if you see a post that you think should be added to the list, let me know in the comments.
Link Roundup
suggests taking complaints to the comments of the latest post, as it is more widely read and less hidden than the community.
ponderosa121 has a post on her GJ with more info on her deletion.
comments here.
has a message for LJ/6A.
Fandomtossed on GJ has a post up.
has info on a possible reason for one of the deletions on her post (which makes little sense when LJ didn't handle this as a Cease and Desist issue. Of course, nothing LJ/6A does lately makes any sense).
A recent Rolling Stone article about Perverted Justice and their latest vow to go after Live Journal, and discussion about the article in .
If you haven't already done so, everyone is still recommending that you join . Frankly, I'm not sure why anyone thinks that we may start to count now, when we haven't yet, but feel free if you are so inclined.
There seems to be a lot of different people talking about starting up a new LJ site. I think this is a fantastic idea. But, before a whole bunch of different people start making sites that will cost them money and wind up scattering fandom even more, listen up. After the first round of Strikethrough nonsense, started creating a new site. It's up for beta testing today, and will be going live as soon as all of the bugs have been discovered (if there are any) and fixed. So wouldn't it make more sense to pool all of our financial resources together for one site than to separate them for a dozen different ones? New post with even more info (including a possible alteration to the 18+ rule) is here.
has a post in which she discusses a fascinating incongruency about the latest deletions here.
talks about why this is a problem.
has a post in about ways we can all keep track of one another in the midst of possible migrations and deletions.
has a very detailed post regarding legalities and the current political climate on her journal.
has a huge post with lots of informative links here. She also brings up a point that I hadn't even considered regarding LJ memories. You might want to start copying and pasting or finding alternative links for any content you have in memories before it disappears. (And by copy and paste, I simply mean place into a text file saved onto your own HD, not posting anyone else's works elsewhere).
The inimitable has a roundup post that beats the pants off of this one. Go check it out here.
has posted a poll in and is asking everyone to fill it out.
discusses why this freaks her out.
has received a notice from LJ Abuse. Details are here. The community will be going f-locked, although I'm no longer certain that will help. The notice that they received, however, seems to put to bed the rumors of Warner Brothers trademark violations being behind the earlier deletions, as the Abuse Team member specifically states that the users were deleted due to art depicting minors in sexually explicit scenes.
posts about why she is so very disappointed in LJ, and how deceived she feels by all of the reassurances we received last week. Definitely worth a read, since she posts the incredibly detailed and civil disourse that burr86 had with her that made fandom feel a bit more reassured last week.
has an interesting point about whether this is going to turn out to be motivated solely by obscenity issues, or if copyright may have something to do with it as well.
has another post along the same lines as 's post above (and if you read that one, then you really need to see the ETA at the bottom of this one!).
is a community discussing options for migration.
has a possible idea that she discusses here and continued here.
BREAKING NEWS - FANDOM IS NOT WELCOME ON LJ IF IT INVOLVES CHARACTERS WHO ARE NOT IRREFUTABLY OVER 18, AND/OR HAS NO SEX.
***********************************LAST UPDATED 3:28 PM PST **********************************
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| [Thursday, August 2, 2007 at 2:45 pm] |
| Subject: Meme |
Stolen from
1. Go to fanfiction.net.
2. Seach in Harry Potter fanfiction for summaries with your name in them.
3. Post. Try not to snicker.
Blaise Zabini is the typical pureblood Slytherin- and proud of it. When a certain muggleborn Ravenclaw comes crashing into his life (literally), will he amend his ways? Or will he simply aggravate her until she stabs him to death? Blaise Zabini/Lisa Turpin
James Potter has a Secert Daughter but who?... and what has Lisa Granger Been hiding all these years? Are their secrets about to be revealed?....
lisa just wants to be a nomal witch but cant she has realy rare powers and with the help of two people harry and veronca they can defeat voldomort finallywith of course help with all the gang
Oliver Wood and Lisa have been 'going out' for over a year, but when Krystle catches Oliver's eye, will their relationship last? Or will someone else get his love?
Lisa is new at Hogwarts Hermoine dislikes her, Ron adores her and Harry...Well Harry's in love.
But my favorite has got to be:
Hermione has a (temporary) rival? The Weasley twins have an aprentice? Bart & Lisa learnig magic? Yes! Join Bart, Lisa, Harry, Hermione, and Ron as they battle Voldemort in their first year! The Simpsons are going to Hogwarts!
I even managed not to snicker. *Instead, I giggled.* |
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| [Friday, July 20, 2007 at 11:05 am] |
| Subject: I hate to say "I told you so," but.... |
MAJOR EDIT TO ADD that, as ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) stoney321 kindly points out in her post here, there are spoilers for Deathly Hallows in the comments to the post. As of this posting, at 4:35 pm PST, there are no spoilers in the links that I list below. If that changes, I will add specific spoiler warnings. If anyone knows what page(s) of comments includes the spoilers, let me know in the comments and I'll post that here as well so that everyone knows what pages of comments can be safely read. I've heard at least one mention of Page 7 of the original post being the page that contains spoilers. So, I would advise that you beware of looking at Pages 7 and beyond.
Well, nearly 8 weeks after Strikethrough, we finally have some answers as to whether or not fandom is welcome on LJ. And the general consensus appears to be that the following fandoms are welcome:
1) Fandoms that never post anything sexual at all should not have any trouble here.
2) Fandoms whose fics and artworks never involve characters under the age of 18 in sexual situations.
3) Fandoms that involve animals (unless they are involved in graphic sex, in which case I'm not entirely certain).
Some examples of fandom activity that will no longer be welcome on LJ and which can get your journal suspended permanently and without warning include.
1) Graphic depictions of sexual activity between Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Oz, Xander, Harmony, Larry, Tara, Cordelia, and possibly a human Anya (is she 17 or 1000+ when she becomes human?) that takes place before they turn 18. Apparently, you can allude to said sexual activity, but if you provide a "fly on the wall" type of description, or discuss "who put what where" or "bodily fluids" you may be TOS'd.
2) Graphic depictions of sexual activity between any Hogwarts student under the age of 18, even if they are no longer considered minors in the UK.
It doesn't appear to matter that these are fictional characters. It doesn't appear to matter that LJ/6A has yet to cite case law that shows how this is illegal. What matters is that they have determined that, legal or not, LJ is not willing to host this content, although I should note that they are maintaining that it is, in fact, illegal.
I've been seeing a lot of fic involving Dawn in sexual situations on my flist lately. I really hope that you guys are backing your journals up before you post it. You might also want to make damn sure that you trust all of the people on your flist not to report you, since they don't sound as though they are going to treat things any differently just because the questionable posts are flocked or even private.
And keep in mind that this does not only apply to fandom. If you choose to post a detailed, graphic accounting of your first sexual experience, and if you were under the age of 18 when that took place, you may be TOS'd for it. If I choose to write about the fact that at the age of 16 I had an affair with a 33 year old man, that may get me TOS'd, since apparently, that 33 year old man was committing a crime and since I am not condemning him for it, I am promoting pedophilia (regardless of age of consent laws).
And if Anne Rice ever gets a wild hair up her ass and decides to post the text of her Sleeping Beauty series on an LJ, she will be TOS'd for doing so, even though the books have been published for years and years without any court ever declaring them to be a violation of any law.
The moral of this post is: "Use LJ at your own risk."
Insane Journal is still free and offers permanent accounts for about the same amount of money as a 1 year paid LJ account with the userpic add-on. You can find a detailed analysis of their TOS and how they handle the types of posts in question on my previous journal entry on the subject.
As a side note, I find it extremely interesting that LJ waited until less than 48 hours before the release of HP 7 to post an update that has a huge affect on the Harry Potter fandom, knowing that a good chunk of them have already gone lights out until after reading the book, and that the wank that follows will likely eclipse this announcement.
The comment threads that have led me to my conclusions include, but are not limited to:
http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/241182.html?thread=10876446#t10876446
http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/241182.html?thread=10877726#t10877726
http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/241182.html?thread=10877982#t10877982
http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/241182.html?thread=10879518#t10879518
http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/241182.html?thread=10881822#t10881822
ETA - From 's post here: It has been pointed out that the Miller Test is what LJ is theoretically planning to use to define obscenity. And since the Miller Test is based on community standards, a community has been formed to define for LJ what the community of their users considers obscene. Personally, I think that this will be another useless protest, as I don't believe that LJ's issue is truly legality, but rather an issue of their own personal preference about what they don't want to host hidden behind untrue legalese that they hope their userbase is too stupid to see through. In any case, you can check out if you'd like to assist in defining the standards for obscenity in the LJ community. Even if it doesn't work, it should certainly be interesting.
also points out that Butler v. Michigan states that indecency standards cannot be applied to PRINTED TEXT. It's logical that electronic text follows.
Discussion at fandomtossed, over on GJ.
is asking what everyone else is planning on doing here.
, a community to show just how big the LJ fandom really is. Came about during Strikethrough, although some have been linking it again now.
talks about the Miller test.
has created an Alternate Blog Directory. It is open to any and all fandoms! Head on over and let people know where you're at on other websites.
writes How To Tell If Your Writing Is Obscene and provides some good advice for all of fandom.
posts a really humorous piece entitled No Spoilers In This Ficlet. It Just Might Violate LJ's TOS though.
posts her concerns.
has some interesting things to say about timing here.
Fandom_Wank over at JF has a post up.
has posted a clarification of their original clarification. See my take on that post below.
has some great advice for LJ to CLEARLY clarify their policies, and offers up her suggestion for alternative journaling sites.
has a post about several issues with some discussion in the comments.
ETA Part 2 - I've added more links to the above. And is also keeping a list of links in the , so between the two of us hopefully we will be able to keep up with anything that the other misses. Also, this is my take on the latest clarification offered up in lj_biz....
A few things. First of all, LJ really really really needs to hire a PR person to make these announcements. They haven't made a single post since Strikethrough that actually answers the questions that users are asking and that doesn't bring up even more questions. Second, this post clarified one thing and one thing only. LJ/6A has no idea what they themselves consider obscene. Their view of obscenity is nothing more than the age old, "I know it when I see it." The problem with this is that it means that they will be punishing people for violating rules that have never been put down. It is impossible for anyone to conform to a community standard if no one in the community has the vaguest idea what the standard is, and the persons in charge of setting the standard admit that it is subjective. Third, the two paragraphs that talk about The Miller Test, how subjective it is, and what questions they will be asking to determine if a post violates it or not doesn't answer a single clarifying question. We know now what questions "they" will be asking. What we don't know is who, specifically will be doing the asking (LJ Abuse, a paid team of people who handle all obscenity complaints, Frank the llama?), what the answers to those questions will need to be to determine that a journal does or does not get suspended, whether or not the person who made the post will be given the opportunity to conform to TOS or will be permanently suspended without warning, whose standards will be used to evaluate the answers to those questions, and who gets to decide that. Also, as for taking into account what can be found on a bookstore shelf, I'm calling BULLSHIT! Because I would pretty much bet that they would still classify as obscene anything that resembles Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty series. And a lot of PWP fanfic resembles that type of writing. So, I am doubtful that the fact that I purchased those books from Barnes and Noble is going to stop LJ from suspending users who write fic in the same vein.
I am pretty much of the opinion that, despite what some people are trying to say, this is a reason to panic. No, LJ won't be looking for journals to TOS. (They will, instead, be using reports from people like WFI to determine that. So, does that mean that WFI's standards will now be the community standard spoken of in The Miller Test? Or will it be the standards of the advertisers who WFI threatens?) However, whether LJ is attempting to police content themselves or not, this makes abundantly clear what type of community they are attempting to build here, and fandom does not appear to be at all welcome.
I also think that this whole business makes the IPO rumors sound even more and more credible. And I am disgusted that they waited until after a permanent account sale to post this shit.
I made it plain back in May that I would prefer it if fandom would relocate to a more welcoming venue than LJ. I pointed out that they had no intention of actually listening to us. And now, I think that the only reason that they gave the appearance of having listened to us and undeleted journals back in May/June is because they didn't want a mass exodus before their precious permanent account sale. I will reiterate that Insane Journal will welcome us with open arms, and also add that is about to begin beta testing a new journal community that was set up in response to Strikethrough. There are other options people! Also, the reason that I am not pushing GJ is that I am not convinced that these issues won't crop up over there as well, based on their TOS and their icon policies; and I am not advocating Journal Fen, simply because they rarely offer free accounts, and their servers are so very robust.
ETA Part 3 - Links added, and I am changing the date on this post to today's date.
This is a breaking story. More updates to follow....
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| [Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 8:31 pm] |
| Subject: HP fic recs for people who don't normally read HP fic |
So I recently went on a little spur of the moment trip into the land of HP fic. And I thought that I would rec my favorites of what I found for those of you who, like me, don't read much HP fic and may not know where to look for the good stuff on the rare ocassion it sounds appealing. I waded through A LOT of fic with a focus on gen fic, and a strict avoidance of fic that paired Harry with Snape or Draco (which ruled out a much larger portion of fic than I ever imagined). These are the best ones I found, although I am sure that there is lots more really good stuff out there (and of you'd like to rec me some, feel free in the comments!). And I want to say thanks to everyone who answered my previous post with their own recs of places to look and/or specific fics to check out.
Title: Thinking Fourth Dimensionally
Author: DeeblePairing or character focus: Hermione
Setting: Prisoner of AzkabanSummary: Hermione hits on an efficient way to do her mountain of homework in third year. Too bad it's illegal. (Joint winner of the "Laughter" category in Round IV of the Multifaceted Harry Potter Fanfiction Awards.)Warnings: NoneRating: GWhy I think this fic must be read: This made me laugh out loud. Hermione was incredibly in character, and the brief look at Snape that you get makes him seem more human that he is sometimes painted. If I say too much more I'm going to start giving things away. Title: Parting WaysAuthor: Morgan DPairing or character focus: Harry, Remus and SiriusSetting: After Order of the PhoenixSummary: Strange revelations lead Remus and Harry to an attempt to bring Sirius back, which leads them to more and even stranger revelations.Warnings: This story is gen; but if you abhor slash too passionately, it might be wiser to avoid it.Rating: Not listed by the author, but I would say it's PGWhy I think this fic must be read: I think my favorite thing about this fic was the way that it explored the relationships between Harry, Lupin, and Sirius. It is gen, and is packed full of action, including daring escapes/rescues, alternate universes, portals, etc. It is part of a longer series, although I haven't yet read any of the previous fics and had no problem with this one. The author does an outstanding job with characterizations here, and the imagery is fantastic and original.Title: Revisionistic and its sequel PermutationAuthor: biggrstaffbunchPairing or character focus: Ginny, Harry, Ginny/Harry, ?, ?Setting: Post-War. 1997. Cross Over with BtVSSummary: It's about the choices that Harry makes to protect those he loves, and how those choices affect GinnyWarnings: NoneRating: NC-17 for Revisionistic, and R for PermutationWhy I think this fic must be read: This was just wonderful! Stunning imagery and characterization, amazing originality, and a crossover that just makes sense somehow. The author really seems to get inside the heads of the characters. I can't say enough good things about this one.Title: StandingAuthor: PirateswordPairing or character focus: Minerva McGonagallSetting: Post Half Blood PrinceSummary: This is the war that Minerva was not prepared to fight. In the aftermath of Albus Dumbledore's death, Minerva McGonagall finds that taking his place is more difficult than she thought. Warnings: Angst, character deathRating: PG-13Why I think this fic must be read: Fics about Professor McGonagall appear to be rare and hard to come by, and good ones even more so. This one is wonderful. Touching on McGonagall's grief, her anger, her fears and her friendships, it brings the character to life right before your eyes.Title: Graveside MannaAuthor: ladybracknellPairing or character focus: HarrySetting: Post Half Blood PrinceSummary: Harry didn’t think too much about not having any parents. Dumbledore had told him it didn’t do to dwell, and so he didn’t – but a trip to their final resting place means he has no choice but to come to terms with their deaths, and what lies ahead.Warnings: noneRating: PG-13Why I think this fic must be read: There are a couple of really neat ideas here that I found intriguing, but the main reason to read this fic is characterization. The author's Trio interactions are awesome, and I never would have guessed that it was her first time writing Harry's POV.Title: Unsticking the Shadow
Author: PogrebinPairing or character focus: HermioneSetting: Post Half Blood PrinceSummary: The original quote of Nietzsche's is "God is dead, and we have killed him, you & I" from Thus Spake Zarusthra.Warnings: NoneRating: PGWhy I think this fic must be read: Rather than try to tell you why, let me just provide you with a quote from the fic....." Hermione smiles suddenly. It is beautiful and unspeakable. Hermione meets Harry’s eyes and says, “Voldemort has just destroyed us.”Title: A Bitter BargainAuthor: thetreacletartPairing or character focus: Ron, Snape, Ron/HarrySetting: Post Deathly HallowsSummary: Ron Weasley has to make a deal with the devil to save his friend's life.Warnings: noneRating: PG-13Why I think this fic must be read: The summary above more or less says it all. This is a fic about the lengths that Ron will go to in order to save his best friend, even if that means he has to deal with Snape. Ron has really come into his own here, and it's awesome to see.Title: Bring Me the Head of Harry Potter
Author: Marcus RowlandPairing or character focus: Harry Potter, DawnSetting: Post Deathly Hallows. This is a crossover with BtVS, AtS, Highlander and The Sopranos. You don't need to be super familiar with Highlander or The Sopranos to understand the fic though.Summary: Someone wants Harry dead, and Dawn and Angel Investigations are in the line of fire.
Warnings: Character DeathRating: PG-13Why I think this fic must be read: It's hilarious! This is an ensemble fic with a good plot and a surprising ending. While I wouldn't necessarily classify it as humour, it has quite a few really funny moments. I've never seen The Sopranos, and what little I know about Highlander comes from reading Buffy crossovers and getting a crash course from my hubby, but I had no problem following this. Title: SurvivorsAuthor: DycePairing or character focus: Hermione/SnapeSetting: Post Deathly Hallows, or at least Post WarSummary: After the war is over, lives must be rebuilt. Hermione sets out to help someone who nobody else will, and winds up helping herself as well.Warnings: Sexual SituationsRating: The author lists it as "M". I'm assuming that is equivalent to either "R" or "NC-17"Why I think this fic must be read: I didn't expect to like this story, and nearly didn't bother reading it. The summary sounded intriguing, but the pairing was off-putting, and I am always leary of anything posted at FFN. I'm so glad that I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I never in a million years would have thought that these two characters could be put together believably, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story unfolds slowly, so you actually get to see how things are able to happen the way that they do, instead of seeing the two characters thrown together with no real explanation or realism. I have despised Severus Snape since Sorcerer's Stone, but this fic actually made me forget all of that and genuinely like the character. If you read nothing else on this list, go read this one!
So that's my 10 recommended fics for the non-HP fic reader who wants to read good quality HP fic in the runup to Deathly Hallows like I did. I hope that you guys get as much enjoyment out of these as I did.
~Lisa
ETA-Just a quick note that all of these fics are Complete! |
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| [Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 10:15 pm] |
| Subject: Okay..... |
Just an FYI to the anonymice who ocassionally like to comment here. I'm sorry. With the HP spoilers hitting their peak time, coupled with the sheer number of spam comments I've been getting as of late, I have temporarily turned off comments to non-friends. After I've finished the book I will certainly turn them back on. I've been working really hard not to be spoiled for this book, since I have been looking forward to the experience for so long.
While I am at it, I will go ahead and put out there that I, like most everyone else, will be going lights out on the internet Friday evening and won't be turning the computer back on until I've finished reading. Probably some time Saturday or Sunday at the latest. If anything urgent happens that you need me to know about, feel free to email me at bubble_blunder@comcast.net, and I will have hubby check my email and tell me if something I need to see pops up. Otherwise, I'll see you on the flip side.
Also, in the run up to the book's release, I decided to take a walk into the world of HP fanfic. In my next post, I'll be posting some recs from what I read and really liked. So, if you are interested in that kind of thing, stay tuned.
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| [Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 9:59 pm] |
On Memorial Day weekend of 2000, I was still in the Navy, and intended to spend the weekend in my barracks room enjoying the quiet, since my roomies were all three away for the weekend. I managed to get away with that on Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday morning I was woken up by Michelle and Sarah. They were determined that I come with them to the hotel room that they had procured for the day because I just had to meet this new friend of theirs. Neither of them were trying to play match maker or anything like that, (Sarah actually kinda had a crush on him). They simply thought that he was really cool and very funny and besides they didn't think it was healthy that I stay in my room all weekend. It might be beneficial to point out here that I was 21 at the time (going on 35), which doesn't seem all that old until you realize that you are surrounded primarily by people who have just barely made it past their eighteenth birthdays. Then you suddenly become everyone's mother.
After trying numerous times to explain why I genuinely wanted to stay in my room, I finally came to the conclusion that resistance was futile. I told them to let me get showered and dressed and promised to meet them in 30 minutes on the smoke deck of the boy's barracks where their new friend lived. So, 10:30 am on Memorial Day found me walking over to the smoke deck in front of the guy's barracks prepared to babysit the "children" for the day. As I was approaching them, this guy standing on the smoke deck caught my attention. He looked closer to my own age than most of the others, and there was just something about him. Then, he turned his head and we made eye contact.
Nothing I can say here is going to come out sounding as though I didn't read it in some crappy romance novel. In fact, I probably did read it in some crappy romance novel on several occasions. Nevertheless, when he looked me in the eye, something happened. In that instant I just knew, immediately, and without rhyme or reason, that I was staring into the eyes of the man I was going to marry. I kept walking toward him, before Michelle's laugh jolted me out of my reverie. I turned to look for her with the intention of telling her that I was going to have to bail on her. I had to see about a guy. That's when I realized that Michelle was standing right next to the guy with the prophetic eyes, and that Sarah was on his other side. One of them, I can't remember which, immediately started introducing the two of us. Turns out that the beautiful man whose eyes showed me my future was the same man that the girls were just dying for me to meet.
I spent that day with the three of them, in a hotel room with a bottle of Jack Daniels. I didn't talk much. I just watched and listened. The following weekend, I went out with "Prophecy Eyes" again on Saturday and Sunday nights. From that point on, we were pretty much inseparable. Every day that passed made me more and more certain that my initial flash of insight had been correct and that I had finally met "The One".
And a few weeks later, on July 15, 2000, I became Mrs. "Prophecy Eyes". And today, we celebrated seven years together.
I love you, Trent! Happy Anniversary! |
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| [Sunday, July 15, 2007 at 9:07 pm] |
| Subject: Stolen from |
1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be? A lawyer calling to tell me that some distant rich relative I've never met has left me a million bucks.
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Almost always.
3. If you had to kiss the last person you kissed again, would you? Actually, that sounds like a fantastic idea. Be right back. 4. Do you take compliments well? Not. At. All.
5. Do you play Sudoku? No. Trent does, but it just looks like a jumble of numbers to me.
6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? Almost definitely.7. Do you like tongue rings? Yep. I have one, and as I've gotten older, I've considered letting it grow up. But every time I try I start to go crazy without it in and have to put it back.
8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yep. Every summer. Girl Scout Camp and Bible camp at the local Bible College.9. Do you watch a TV show religiously? Bones, Jericho, and House. And after I've gotten caught up with Season 3 on DVD (I started watching this one late), I'll probably be the same way with Grey's Anatomy.10. Would you rather get married to someone you don't know or stay single? If we're talking arranged marriage type of thing, I'd rather be single. If we're talking someone I didn't know WELL, I can only say that I married Trent 6 weeks after I met him, and we hit seven years today.
11. What's the biggest secret you have? If I tell you, then it won't be a secret anymore, will it?12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs? I can and have, although I will freely admit that those weren't my best relationships. In general, I run into trouble with others trying to convert me, but if that weren't an issue, and if they didn't want to tell our children that one religion was better than the other, then no problem. 13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? I prefer being pursued. I'm a little too unsure of myself to feel super comfortable doing the pursuing. 14. Use three words to describe yourself at the moment. Happy, Tired, Contemplative
15. Do any songs make you cry? Dante's Prayer by Loreena McKennitt, Live Forever by Oasis, and Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd. 16. Are you continuing your education? Yep. I'm currently in college working on my Associate's degree and plan to keep going til I finish my Master's.18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grab? Outside of Cody, Trent and Toby, I'd probably grab the computer. We store all of our pics on it, as well as our records, financial data, etc.19. Who was the last person you shared a bed with? Trent.21. Favorite children's movie? The Worst Witch. It's an old movie with Tim Curry, Fairuza Balk and Charlotte Rae in it.22. What color are your eyes? Brown23. How tall are you? 5'5"25. If you could do it over again, start from scratch, would you? That depends. If I could do it all again with the knowledge that I have now, then I'd do it in a heartbeat. If I had to do it without knowing the things I know now, then no, I don't think I would.26. Any secret admirers? Not that I know of. And I seriously doubt it.
27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? Yep.28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? Probably a month or two ago, with Trent and Cody.29. Favorite ex? I don't keep in contact with any at all. But in terms of memories, I'd have to say Chris Berry. Even though things ended badly, we kinda made up before I left Tennessee, and we had a lot of fun before his ex showed up. 31. Do you like mayo? Yep.
32. Do you like mustard? Not on sandwiches and the like, but I don't mind it in sauces or salads.33. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? Sleep.34. Do you look like your mom or dad? My mom.35. How long does it take you to shower? 10-15 minutes.36. Can you do splits? I haven't tried in a very long time...37. What movie do you want to see right now? At the theater, the new Catherine Zeta Jones. On TV or DVD, I have a bunch of old movies on my DVR that I need to watch, and am most excited about Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, which I've gotten distracted from watching every day for 3 or 4 days now.39. What did you do for New Years? Absolutely nothing.
40. Do you think The Grudge was crappy? Never seen it.41. Wanna have sex right now? Of course. But if I do then I'll never get this finished.
42. Do you like ice cream? Oh, that sounds good. Maybe combined with the sex that I'll have after I finish this.
43. Did you have a crush on any teachers? None of my own, but I did have a slight affair with one from another school district when I was 16-17.
44. Was your mom a cheerleader? Nope.
45. What's the last letter of your middle name? "e"47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 4-9, depending on when I go to bed and how early I have to be up.48. Do you like Care Bears? Not particularly, although I don't have anything against them, and I vaguely recall liking them as a kid.49. What do you buy at the movies? Popcorn, candy and coke. 50. Do you know how to play poker? Nope.51. Do you wear your seatbelt? Always. Well, unless the car is being used for a better purpose than it was initially designed for.
52. What do you wear to sleep in? A T-shirt or tank top and underwear. 53. Anything big ever happen in your town? Here in Portland, fairly big things happen all the time. In the much smaller town where I grew up, there were some big blizzards, a movie premiered there once (Matewan), and the extremely large number of strange and tragic deaths is a big happening if anyone ever quit ignoring it. If I didn't know better I'd think I grew up over a Hellmouth with the way those people can ignore things.
54. Is your hair straight or curly? Both. Just curly enough to frizz and be annoying, but not curly enough to look nice without being straightened.
55. Is your belly button pierced? Nope.
56. Do you like liver and onions? Not just no, but Hell No!
55. Are/were you ever in love? I am right now. 7 years and counting. 58. Do you like funny or serious people better? I like funny people who take their responsibilities seriously. (Stealing 's answer here)59. Ever been to L.A.? Yep. When I was in junior high. I thought it was awesome then, but now, I don't think I'd feel the same way.
60. Do you like the rain? Yes, especially if it is accompanied by a thunder storm. Unfortunately, those are a rarity in the Pacific NW. I miss thunder storms.
61. Ocean or pool? Ocean.62. What's your favorite drink? Vanilla Chai63. Do you hate chocolate? That's a blasphemous question! *pets my truffles*
64. Are you a gullible person? Rarely.
66. Do you need a bf/gf to be happy? Nope. I think that there was a time when I thought that I did, but as I've grown up and grown into myself, I know now that I don't.67. Do you have socks on right now? Nope. I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn socks in the past 3 months and still have fingers left over. 68. Are you easy to get along with? It depends on the type of person I am getting along with. I have a very low tolerance for people playing the victim, and I have a tendency to say whatever I'm thinking, which can make some people really uncomfortable. Most of the time I call things like I see them, and am very outspoken about doing so. But I'm also very open minded and non-judgemental, and can generally take people as they are, faults and all, as long as they take responsibility for themselves. So those things can make me easier to get along with.
69. What is your favorite time of day? Late at night after Cody is in bed and the house is quiet and I'm having time to myself.70. Do you like pink? Rarely. Every now and then I will see something pink that I can go for, but not cotton candy pink. More of a dusty rose shade. |
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