In response to this and this (read for the details; I'm too tired to recap it all). If this journal vanishes, you'll know why:
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you to express both my concern and my extreme disappointment over your recent mass suspension of several journals and communities. I do not deny LiveJournal's right to do so, and in fact I find your stated goal (removing any journal that advocates or facilitates certain illegal activities against children) laudable. I take exception, however, with the implementation: elimination of any journal which happens to list any of these activities among its Interests. This has unfortunately resulted in the deletion of several journals where no illegal activity was taking place—including, unbelievably, a Spanish-language discussion community for Nabokov's “Lolita.”
While is shouldn't really matter, let me state that I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with any of the affected journals or communities, or expressed any interests in the Interests that led to their suspension. In fact, were it not for this incident, I'd not have given any of them the light of day. But the chilling effect of this deletion compels me to respond. After all, if LiveJournal's sweep is so indiscriminate that a discussion group for “Lolita” gets axed, who's to say who and what might be next?
A hypothetical example: Military history is a favorite hobby of mine, and I follow events rather closely in Iraq (though not in my journal, there are far better bloggers than I on both sides of the issue). Also, thanks to a local up-tick in violence, I'm considering getting a concealed-carry permit for a handgun to be used in self-defense, and have been reading up on practical, legal, and moral issues related to same. As such, my interests include “guns,” “guerrilla tactics”, “mout” (an acronym for Military Operations in Urban Terrain), “resistance movements”, “urban warfare”, and so on. I've neither advocated nor engaged in any of these activities; however, I do read, discuss, and write about them, both on LJ and elsewhere, so into my Interest List they go.
Suppose—God forbid—that someone goes on a rampage in a public place. In the ensuing investigation it is found that this person posted a final screed and some violent posts on LJ, and just so happens to list interests similar to mine. In response to the tragedy, and the inevitable demand from a panicked, desperate public that LiveJournal and SixApart “Do something!!”, will you do what you did here today? Simply nuke any journal or community listing similar interests, without any effort to investigate the journal's actual content, or providing any means to appeal the decision?
Common sense suggests that you wouldn't. However, given your handling of this situation, I'm no longer quite sure what bearing, if any, common sense has on your decision-making process.
I understand your concerns regarding liability, and of course I'm all for reasonable steps towards making things as difficult as possible for the REAL predators. And I believe that, with just a bit of effort and common sense on your part, safety and free speech need not be mutually exclusive. Surely an actual investigation of the communities in question, in order to separate the sheep from the goats (no pun intended), would be sufficient. In fact, as the smarter predators would never overtly announce themselves, such a technique would if anything prove MORE effective in ferreting out potential threats. I also believe some official announcement as to what is going on and why is in order.
I'd go on about freedom of speech, as many others have. But I realize that you're not a government, but a business, and as such are free to run said business as you please. So I'll put this in terms you'll understand.
I have shared my thoughts on a paid journal these past two years, gratefully accepted the gift of extra time during Hurricane Katrina, purchased paid time for others as gifts, and even purchased virtual gifts for other friends on LJ. In short, I like it here, and have no wish to leave. However, if LiveJournal/SixApart proves unable or unwilling to reach a reasonable compromise on this matter, I will, on general principle, have no choice but to take my words, my thoughts, and my money elsewhere. I suspect at least one of those is still important to you.
Sincerely,
![[info]](https://www.scribbld.com/img/userinfo.gif)
logicalmob
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you to express both my concern and my extreme disappointment over your recent mass suspension of several journals and communities. I do not deny LiveJournal's right to do so, and in fact I find your stated goal (removing any journal that advocates or facilitates certain illegal activities against children) laudable. I take exception, however, with the implementation: elimination of any journal which happens to list any of these activities among its Interests. This has unfortunately resulted in the deletion of several journals where no illegal activity was taking place—including, unbelievably, a Spanish-language discussion community for Nabokov's “Lolita.”
While is shouldn't really matter, let me state that I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with any of the affected journals or communities, or expressed any interests in the Interests that led to their suspension. In fact, were it not for this incident, I'd not have given any of them the light of day. But the chilling effect of this deletion compels me to respond. After all, if LiveJournal's sweep is so indiscriminate that a discussion group for “Lolita” gets axed, who's to say who and what might be next?
A hypothetical example: Military history is a favorite hobby of mine, and I follow events rather closely in Iraq (though not in my journal, there are far better bloggers than I on both sides of the issue). Also, thanks to a local up-tick in violence, I'm considering getting a concealed-carry permit for a handgun to be used in self-defense, and have been reading up on practical, legal, and moral issues related to same. As such, my interests include “guns,” “guerrilla tactics”, “mout” (an acronym for Military Operations in Urban Terrain), “resistance movements”, “urban warfare”, and so on. I've neither advocated nor engaged in any of these activities; however, I do read, discuss, and write about them, both on LJ and elsewhere, so into my Interest List they go.
Suppose—God forbid—that someone goes on a rampage in a public place. In the ensuing investigation it is found that this person posted a final screed and some violent posts on LJ, and just so happens to list interests similar to mine. In response to the tragedy, and the inevitable demand from a panicked, desperate public that LiveJournal and SixApart “Do something!!”, will you do what you did here today? Simply nuke any journal or community listing similar interests, without any effort to investigate the journal's actual content, or providing any means to appeal the decision?
Common sense suggests that you wouldn't. However, given your handling of this situation, I'm no longer quite sure what bearing, if any, common sense has on your decision-making process.
I understand your concerns regarding liability, and of course I'm all for reasonable steps towards making things as difficult as possible for the REAL predators. And I believe that, with just a bit of effort and common sense on your part, safety and free speech need not be mutually exclusive. Surely an actual investigation of the communities in question, in order to separate the sheep from the goats (no pun intended), would be sufficient. In fact, as the smarter predators would never overtly announce themselves, such a technique would if anything prove MORE effective in ferreting out potential threats. I also believe some official announcement as to what is going on and why is in order.
I'd go on about freedom of speech, as many others have. But I realize that you're not a government, but a business, and as such are free to run said business as you please. So I'll put this in terms you'll understand.
I have shared my thoughts on a paid journal these past two years, gratefully accepted the gift of extra time during Hurricane Katrina, purchased paid time for others as gifts, and even purchased virtual gifts for other friends on LJ. In short, I like it here, and have no wish to leave. However, if LiveJournal/SixApart proves unable or unwilling to reach a reasonable compromise on this matter, I will, on general principle, have no choice but to take my words, my thoughts, and my money elsewhere. I suspect at least one of those is still important to you.
Sincerely,
logicalmob