LJ is listening. Unfortunately, its users are not.
LJ says they've listened to the complaints and are going to make changes/announcements soon.

ghostmaster points out this follow-up post that seems to be getting pretty wanky, complete with troll.

expeliarbum points out that there's a new LJ petition. Because those ALWAYS work.

LJ attempts to explain about sponsored communities and how they're different.

And now Brad has come out of hiding to try and do more damage control and talk about renaming the sponsored communities something else. He also pleads for LJ users to please reply, but constructive, please.... it's a lot for us to read.

grrilz found this gem: First they came for the free users, but you were a paid user so you didn't care. Then they came for the paid users, and there were no free users left with any objection to advertisements, so there was no one left to take your side and try to save LiveJournal. Not quite Godwin's, but close enough.

Edit: grrilz has corrected me on the almost-Godwin's thing. It's now "Cydian's Law" from bloodfyr: 'As a discussion grows longer, the probability of paraphrasing a poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller approaches one.'

Edit the second: semirecluse has found another incident of Cydian's Law: In Live Journal they first said for "we're stopping the invite codes",
and I didn't speak up because I had one.
Then they said "We are going to have Ads even though we promised we wouldn't",
and I didn't speak up because "well, it's a business and they have to make money."
Then they came for the fanfiction people,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a fanficcer.
Then they came for the icon people,
and I didn't speak up because I was a icon maker.
Then they came for me -
and by that time no one was left to speak up.