About a Strike

[mamadeb]

This is getting very complex.

1. I may or may not post tomorrow, but if I don't, it may or may not have anything to do with beckyzoole's strike. It's Purim, it's Friday, I have a tremendous amount to do, jonbaker will be home and probably needing to use the computer to do actual paying work for at least a couple of hours, and I really wasn'tanticipating being online much anyway.

2. The strike is *not* to hurt anyone. That was never the intention. It was to prove to SUP that the prime reason for LJ is the content. If a significant number of people do not produce content for a day, they will see that the users are more than just people to produce ad revenue or membership fees. This was Brad's argument for why basic accounts are necessary. Of course, a day when no one posts will not hurt SUP - it'll save them money and bandwidth. I'm not sure this will have any impact.

3. There are unpleasant bedfellows attached to the protest now. Go here and here for more details.

I do NOT believe that participating in the strike makes one an antisemite - beckyzoole is herself Jewish and quite bothered by the association. (And, unfortunately, I'm not surprised about antisemitism in Russia. *sigh*). I don't think the vast majority of the people striking are even aware the new owner is Jewish, and I'm positive they don't care. It's about keeping things from changing and nothing more.

But it makes the fact that the strike is happening on *Purim* extra problematical *for me*, and I am only speaking for myself here.

4. This isn't the first time LJ has changed and everyone thought things were ruined. It will change again. Some will be negative and some will have a negative impact. I don't like IJ, so I'm not leaving yet.

Comments

*stands up to be counted*

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

Have just added this to my lj post:

My participation in the boycott should not be considered as any support whatsoever for the anti-Semitic crap that is going down around it.

I am participating because, although I am agnostic-to-dubious about its potential to create change, I don't break strikes, boycotts, or other actions called by people whose goals I support without a very very good reason. Anti-Semitism would be a very very good reason if Jewish ljers were calling for it to be broken on that basis. They are not. I therefore assume I can best respect them and support their position by going ahead.

I sincerely hope that in saying this to my own f'list I am preaching to the choir, mind you.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

I am with you on points 2 through 4; I don't celebrate Purim (except for the pursuit of hamentashen, but I do that on a weekly basis). Those theoretical "allies" are creeping me out.

Re: *stands up to be counted*

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Knowing *you*, I can't imagine your friendslist feels any differently than you do about this.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Hamentashen, as delicious as they are, feel odd to me out of season. Like eating asparagus in October.

The allies - yeah.

Re: *stands up to be counted*

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That is a profound compliment.

Among the people *I* have friended? I trust not.

Among the people who read me, I sincerely hope not. The last dubious one that I know of split in the aftermath of me saying that if a person calls themselves an anti-feminist I don't want them around. I told her IIRC that if she felt that way she was to sit down and shut up in the presence of men and sovereign women, as befit her chosen role in life.

But if I do flush out one or two, while I'll be disappointed, I am not sure I'll be terribly surprised. *sigh*

[rosehiptea.livejournal.com]

I don't have the slightest idea what I'm going to do about the "strike." I'm probably just not going to advertise what I'm doing but not going to comment anyway. Or maybe I won't do that after all. It's too confusing, but I don't really associate the boycott with anti-semites just because some weird anti-semites shot their mouths off.

I had no idea they were Jews. I almost wish I still didn't know. I'm not leaving. I backed up my LJ and my comm though.

I love my comm to death. There are good writers there, and fun people, and I don't think they'd all follow me to IJ. And some of us already cross-post our stuff to big archives such as ff.net (if it's content appropriate) but it's not the same at all.

My friend runs a fandom-specific archive for the fandom but the form of interaction is still not the same. I could start a forum of some kind, but people wouldn't follow me there, and it's not the kind of niche within the fandom that makes a good forum.

And I'm blathering. But this troubles me.

[rosehiptea.livejournal.com]

Sadly I'm not doing anything for Purim though. I work tonight; I'm tired; I need sleep.

Maybe I'll get out to services tomorrow, but probably not that either. I feel guilty but I can only do so much.

[linda3m.livejournal.com]

I don't believe the strike has anything to do with Russians, Jews or aliens from Magrathea for that matter. A business decision was made. It may have even been a good business decision. But the way it was implemented was stupid and insensitive to the needs of the business' consumer base.

Re: *stands up to be counted*

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

You only have control over who you friend, not who friends you.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you what you should do - especially when I'm not sure myself.

But fandom isn't leaving LJ just yet.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

The strike does have to do with Russians - people who now own LJ and who have a different culture and way of doing business that clashes with ours and what we're used to.

And telling them that their model doesn't work in this case.

And so I think that those who choose to strike have a good reason and possibly a good method, although it's clear *they* think it's blackmail, not a demonstration.

It's just not good that people who are on the side of the strikers are on it for different reasons. Which says, "think about it" before going on strike, but does NOT say "Don't go on strike."

[rosehiptea.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no one can tell me what to do. And while it's an issue and boycotts don't work unless people participate I'm not going to go extremely crazy over when I do or don't do... I hope that doesn't sound dismissive.

I love LJ. I love my own personal LJ too because, well, that's where my friends are. I just don't talk about that as much because I don't want people to think I'm a sad geek with no real-life friends even though that's a completely accurate description.

(Though it's even sadder, probably, to sit here saying "But then who will read my new Silent Hill 4 fic?")