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	pantyless_angel 2011-07-29 03:48 am UTC (link)
	It's annoying but I'm more than willing to put up with it since it's given the people of Russia a much needed voice. Show them you won't be silenced LJ! Despite the stupid crap you've pulled in the past I'm way behind you on this. (Reply to this)

	cmdr_zoom 2011-07-29 03:50 am UTC (link)
	The article is actually from the last round, back in April, but (obviously) still relevant. Thanks for the context. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	luthe 2011-07-29 03:58 am UTC (link)
	Weird that it's coming up on the current list of most popular articles, then... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	harrylovesron 2011-07-29 02:12 pm UTC (link)
	I've seen it spreading around Plurk and Twitter, so the most likely reason is someone searched for more info on the downtime, saw this article, missed the date it was written and passed it on to their f-list/Twitter list/etc., and those people passed it on to their friends, and their friends passed it on, so on, and it got a lot of hits as a result. (Reply to this)(Parent)

lied_ohne_worte
2011-07-29 05:49 am UTC (link)

Because it's a global service with a huge Russian ownership?

Likewise, I could ask why the definitions of "adult content" (besides being completely vague and unclear), follow US law even for non-US residents - which, according to what I was told, basically means that the slightest suggestion of nudity is terribly dangerous, but graphic violence is no problem whatsoever. At least that was the answer I received when I asked about it, being quite puzzled because the relevant site documentation didn't actually define anything at all.

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	lied_ohne_worte 2011-07-29 05:49 am UTC (link)
	Gah, I meant to say with a Russian ownership and a huge Russian userbase. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	veneotaqueen 2011-07-29 12:01 pm UTC (link)
	About the "Adult Content" guidelines: Remember that LJ was originaly created and owned by (USA) Americans, and there is that little thing known as ~~cultural osmosis~~ laziness. Also, despite the social progress, most parts of the world are more scandalized by a little bit of a nipple than by a very gorey description or a war crime. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	waterfall8484 2011-07-29 12:41 pm UTC (link)
	Are the servers still based in the US? I think websites usually apply the laws of the country in which their servers are based, because that's the only country that can go to legal action against them. Or something like that. Like how no US company can touch Pirate Bay because their server is in Sweden and the Swedish courts/government doesn't care. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dark_puck 2011-07-29 05:39 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, they are. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	puipui 2011-07-29 06:47 am UTC (link)
	You know, it's amazing, but when I read articles like this, for the first time in years, I feel this need to upgrade to a paid LJ. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ekaterinv 2011-07-29 07:49 am UTC (link)
	Same here. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	singe 2011-07-29 02:10 pm UTC (link)
	And same here. In fact, off I go to buy a couple of months. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	catslash 2011-07-29 05:40 pm UTC (link)
	Word. I was ambivalent on renewing my paid account once I have money again, but now I can't wait. (Reply to this)(Parent)

yolanee
2011-07-29 07:27 am UTC (link)

Because you're not that important and you're not LJ's main userbase. If you don't like it, move on and it won't hurt LJ at all.

I'm sorry, but seriously. A bit of compassion please? I'd like for people who say things like you do to experience what is it to not have free speech, what is it to be afraid to be locked up if you say something that doesn't sit well with the higher-ups. You didn't get access to your free entertainment for a week? HORRIBLE.

GAH. I'm ranting. But when people say things like this, it makes me irrationally angry.

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lied_ohne_worte
2011-07-29 09:58 am UTC (link)

I totally understand. I wonder if general reactions were any different if the attacks were targeted on a segment of the userbase that ~~didn't write with funny letters~~ the English-language users had more contact with. My cynical mind tells me that they would be. I'm sure we would be seeing memes and petitions and so on. Far too many people seem to regard the Russian users as not as real people, or think they are probably all spammers or hackers.

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	queencallipygos 2011-07-29 04:36 pm UTC (link)
	Hell, the general reaction was "Go Free Speech!" when LJ wanted to take down some of the fan fiction writers' sites... (Reply to this)(Parent)

	alya1989262 2011-07-29 10:50 am UTC (link)
	Thank you. (Reply to this)(Parent)

waterfall8484
2011-07-29 12:38 pm UTC (link)

With the caveat that I may have misunderstood something here: I thought she made it clear that free speech was the most important part?

To me it reads more like 1) Yay free speech! and 2) I'm sad that I can't read my flist. The two are not mutually exlusive imo. I was also mildly annoyed that I couldn't read LJ, but I'll gladly deal with it if it means Lj is contributing to something good for once! :~D That doesn't mean I can't complain that hackers are disrupting both attempts at free speech and my free entertainment at the same time.

I'd say moving away from LJ would be worse than a bit of mild complaining in a random JF group, since if people start leaving the hackers will have accomplished their goal - disrupting LJ and hurting their business. Witness Warren Ellis' reaction in the post above.

/soapbox

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	cmdr_zoom 2011-07-29 03:53 pm UTC (link)
	I agree with your IMO. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	yolanee 2011-07-29 04:58 pm UTC (link)
	I don't think On the other, why must my flist suffer for Russian politics? sad kitty is really equal to what you have said (being bummed out that you can't access a site is normal, I was pissed off for a bit too), but I think I overreacted anyway. But I've seen reactions like this one time too many. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

waterfall8484
2011-07-29 05:25 pm UTC (link)

I see where you're coming from, and I think this is one of those varying interpretation/slightly vague phrasing situations. We can't really do much more than to see if

luthe wants to clarify what she actually meant.

I'm not really clued into how fandom/the general LJ public reacts to this, but I hope there aren't too many complainers like the ones you've bumped into.

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	ldymusyc 2011-07-29 06:53 pm UTC (link)
	Ugh, the vast majority of my LJ flist spent the week whining that they couldn't get online, with accompanying "I want my fiiiiiiiiic" in double harmony. There is a reason I didn't comment to anyone even when I could. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mirhanda 2011-07-29 05:09 pm UTC (link)
	I totally agree with you. I have complete sympathy for all the people who have been disrupted this week. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	waterfall8484 2011-07-29 05:28 pm UTC (link)
	shakes sarcasm detector Is this thing on? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mirhanda
2011-07-29 06:06 pm UTC (link)

No, I was being serious, although I am guilty of being sarcastic a lot. Your comment was a good one, in my opinion. Some people may use LiveJournal as their only social outlet because of agoraphobia, or social anxiety, or even some physical illness that keeps them housebound. We don't know, and we can't know, the story behind everyone who was venting at the downtime. I feel like almost every single person who was venting would also acknowledge that free speech is very important and would hope that the Russians stay strong and keep on blogging, but at those moments were probably just hurting and lonely so vented.

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	phosfate 2011-07-29 01:06 pm UTC (link)
	I like you. (Reply to this)(Parent)

mpoetess
2011-07-29 06:24 pm UTC (link)

(Not directed to the OP)

So am I socially permitted to bitch about the LJ downtime if my entertainment is not free? Some of us do pay (ridiculous amounts in my case, not because it's overpriced but because I have multiple accounts) for the service.

Russian bloggers /= Livejournal, Inc. Hurrah for brave political writers who speak truth to power. Not so hurrah for a company who for the last umpty years have excused every non-customer-friendly change by pointing out that they're a business and have to make money, not using that money to provide better security and redundancy for all users. Not to mention decent communication about what's going on, which costs nothing at all.

/tired of the meme that expressing dissatisfaction with LJ's poor services must mean it's my enjoyment vs. free speech, because no.

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	kookaburra 2011-07-31 03:11 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, they did something good. Huzzah. But it's no where nearly enough to make me go back to a paid account after all of the shit they've pulled in the past. (Reply to this)(Parent)

seriousbusiness
2011-07-31 03:32 am UTC (link)

This. You'd think that given the history of DDoS-ing that LJ has gone through in the last few years that they'd invest a good portion of that money into incorporating better security tools and redundant servers IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS that are NOT California or Russia, or at least as a business realize that downtime actually costs them more money from a business standpoint (having to reimburse paid users by extending their paid account due to outages, lost ad revenue due to depeleted site traffic and/or people not being able to renew accounts, negative press, man hours, etc) than it does to invest in new servers and security protocols.

You'd think that they'd learn, but obviously, no.

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laguera25
2011-07-31 05:14 am UTC (link)

This. This is the third major attack, and nothing has improved. Certainly not their communication with the userbase. I realize that DDoS attacks are difficult to deal with, but it's going on a week with little improvement and scant information from LJ.

It was working brilliantly for a whopping four hours earlier, but now it's back to the same rigmarole. Fuck you, hackers, and fuck you, inept LJ management.

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	sarajayechan 2011-08-02 07:35 pm UTC (link)
	SERIOUSLY. LJ, I think it's time you used some of your vast wealth to upgrade your security measures. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	laguera25 2011-08-06 03:07 am UTC (link)
	And it looks like LJ is down again. There's been no official word because their offsite status page is down, too, but it would not shock me if this were another DDoS attack. Yay for free expression, but goddamn the hackers and the Russian politicians who are acting like bullies and petulant children. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sarajayechan 2011-08-06 03:11 am UTC (link)
	Ugh, I know. Someone should just send them all to the corner until they learn to behave themselves. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sarajayechan 2011-08-02 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	On the one hand, yay free speech. On the other, why must my flist suffer for Russian politics? sad kitty It's complicated. Russian politics aren't something to be trifled with, especially if you ARE Russian. :/ It sucks that we lost LJ for a week, but still. (Reply to this)

(Reply from suspended user)