recent lj news

[charmian]

LJ also briefly implemented geolocation and then turned it off in the face of massive user dissatisfaction. I suspect based on these staff comments that it might be a culture clash kinda thing. In any case the issue seems to be resolved for the time being.

Also the LJ news comm is moving towards a much more reasonable format. Instead of weekly posts filled with non-news and contests, it's becoming biweekly (twice a month), and focusing on updates and important LJ information. I hope this also marks the end of the annoying "comment to get a free vgift" things too. It always seemed like a HUGE waste of time for paid staff to be administering these things anyhow. I mean, at most a few hundred people participated, which might be a significant amount if we are talking about a userbase the size of Dreamwidth's, but not, I think, in the case of one like LJ.

Comments

[foxfirefey]

Apparently bluemeringue isn't staff anymore, so my guess is that's what precipitated the change in format--she was the only one with the wherewithal and patience to run all those things. I know that the news was kinda fluffy, and it may have seemed like a waste of time for paid staff, but to be honest it was pretty good money spent in my opinion--she really managed to change the percentage of comments in LJ news that were nothing but bitching and rehashing of bitching. When she first came in, that was pretty much the overriding tone.

[charmian]

Yeah, possibly it's related to that. However, I'm sure if the top people thought it was a priority, they could hire someone else to do it.

Well, they could try doing things that don't provoke complaints, I think. However most of the non virtual gift comments were still complaints, so I don't think that really solved anything; instead comments that were entirely irrelevant were added. Sometimes there were valuable comments there, also, that helped people resolve problems or communicate with the staff/clarify issues.

On the other hand though, what should people be doing in comments of news? Whatever it is they should be used for, I don't think 'what is your fave board game' is it.

[trixieleitz]

Well, they could try doing things that don't provoke complaints, I think.

And one of the things that provoked complaints was the presence of fluff in the newspost and the perception that it was intended to drown out the bitching.

[charmian]

Yep. I think that in itself annoyed people. I have no idea what the motivations of the staff were, but that perception did bother many, because they felt like the staff was ignoring their concerns, whether that was true or not.

Here via friend of a friend

[soukup]

I know we haven't spoken before, but I found your journal in my quest for more info about the geolocation thing. Could I pester you to share where you learned what you've posted here? Not because I doubt you; I'd just be curious to read more on the topic. Thanks in advance!

Also, I love your snowy owl! So pretty. *sighs*

Re: Here via friend of a friend

[charmian]

? What do you mean "learned what I posted here"? I don't think I have any information here, except the link to the comments, which I found by reading the news post.

*scuffs toe against floor*

[soukup]

Um. Since posting my earlier comment I have discovered lj-releases.livejournal.com, a comm of which I was unaware before now. Hence my confusion: I had no idea how you (or other posters) had learned about the geolocator's being turned off, and it seemed really odd to me that LJ had made no public statement that I could find WRT this.

Anyway! Sorry, I guess I was just being dense.