Oh, LJ, you so crazy.

[apocalypsos]

I was rewatching the "fatty cholesterol-laden American favorites" episode of Top Chef earlier today and found yet another reason to want to smack Micah (and Hung, but mostly Micah because I hate her more). It was that face she made about fried chicken and the way she'd said she'd never eaten it. As in, "That's so completely gross." And part of me thought, "Are you freaking kidding me? Fried chicken may be bad for you but it's one of the yummiest things ever!" And another part of me thought, "Aren't you a chef? Aren't you supposed to LIKE food?" Argh.

Also, my back is killing me. I don't know how wrong I could have possibly slept on it last night to make it feel this way, unless I'm sleep-contorting or something.

So! Anyway! About LJ staff being a great big pile of suck.

Now, admittedly, I'm not leaving unless they kick my ass off. I'm trollprincess everywhere else, for the record, and I've spent all of today backing up my LJ everywhere else just in case, but I'm not leaving. I think that the fact that this whole situation involves the posting of possible underage smut is clouding the issue for a lot of people outside of fandom. I get the impression that a lot of people are yelling, "Oh, my God, you're defending the pedos!" without realizing that that's not the issue at hand.

The issue comes in two parts:

1. A complete lack of professionalism.
2. "We won't tell you the rules until you break them."

Look, I know a lot of people are acting like asshats in the news comments. People always act like asshats in the comments of anything. Welcome to the Internet! ;)

The thing is, there is a genuine concern and anyone who questions the behavior of those in charge is being painted with the same distasteful brush of there being something wrong with them, rather than the other way around. And this isn't simply a fandom issue. It's where it's originating, but their stance is a vaguely worded summation of what can and cannot be posted and the implication that THEY decide instead of a clearly defined list of things which will not be tolerated on the site. That's not going to end up simply getting rid of fannish things of questionable content, that's going to devolve into getting rid of everything they consider questionable.

I mean, think about it. Nearly every fannish person I know, while they may not be leaving LJ until they're thrown out kicking and screaming, already has backups set up elsewhere. Some have already left. Many are using Semagic to post to multiple journals. In the next few months if most of fandom picks up and goes elsewhere, who's left? I mean, for crying out loud, guys, they already went after breastfeeding icons. Is there anything fannish to be found in an icon with a nursing baby? They're focusing on fandom now, but that's because we're a bunch of loudmouths.

What if somebody decides that a community for artists or photographers which focuses on nudes is obscene? What about if you post a funny picture under friends-lock of your toddler doing something funny in the tub? Remember that blackmail conspiracy in regards to Miss New Jersey and her fairly innocuous Myspace photos? What if the same kind of drunken college-student photos suddenly become the new thing to delete over?

We want to know. Anyone who's not a complete troll would like to follow the goddamn rules. There's just one small problem -- YOU HAVE TO TELL US WHAT THEY ARE.

If they don't have rules for us, they don't have rules for you, either.

P.S. burr86 acting like a dicksmack in a mocking community doesn't help their case any.

(Oh, and that "report this post to LJ Abuse" button? That won't be misused at ALL.)

Comments

[chichiri-no-da.livejournal.com]

One big, steaming pile of Word.

It has nothing to do with whether or not you like Pond's art. It has to do with the way it was handled. Like the fact that that method breeds fear and uncertainty, and the fact that there has been outright lying involved.

(I'm afraid I don't know the name of the other one who was banned, but this goes for them, too)