Ah, yes, that would be the 'I Told You So' effect, and part of why I quit. (I got tired of needing to say "I told you so", and they were getting so tired of hearing it, that I had the distinct feeling I was quitting ahead of the "staff reduction".) Nobody got LJ. Nobody. And, since you're absolutely right about Vox being LJ Lite, or at least in 6A's mind, the fact they didn't understand LJ at all (but thought they did) really showed.

There's also a fourth factor, but that really doesn't show to the outside world in any way other than subtly: contempt for the userbase. The inside culture at the time (may still be, but it was mostly driven by certain execs who aren't there anymore) was incredibly paternalistic across the board, and the attitude was "they'll take what we give them and they'll like it". But that's a rant for a different evening.

LJ ran on camgirls in the early years! They were the very early adopters. (And many people got accounts just to interact with their favorite camgirl.) Then fandom adopted it, and etc.