NationStates Jolt Archive

Mass deletion of user accounts sparks LJ revolt (http://news.com.com/Mass+deletion+sparks+LiveJournal+revolt/2100-1025_3-6187619.html?tag=item)

In response to pressure from a shady Christian extremist group calling themselves "Warriors for Innocence" (Google at your own risk, there have been reports of spyware infestations from visiting their website), LiveJournal, one of the largest blogging communities on the net has banned over 500 user accounts and communities based on the content of their Interests lists.

The move was apparently prompted by WFI's witch-hunt for child predators, but instead the purge, being called "Strikethrough '07" or "Strike-out of 07" by LJ users (banned accounts appear with a strikethrough their names) has destroyed fanfiction communities, roleplay journals, discussion of the novel Lolita, and several sexual abuse survivor support groups.

In less than 2 days, members of fandoms ranging from Harry Potter to anime to original work are up in arms. There are threats of boycotts, users scaling back from paid accounts to basic free accounts, boycotts of advertizers that pulled their ads on LJ due to WFI, petitions, and dozens of other calls to action.

According to the LJ community Fandom Counts (http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_counts/), there are well over 15,000 members preparing to participate in some fashion.

Some of the following journals contain additional information:
http://liz-marcs.livejournal.com/
http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/
http://community.livejournal.com/reasoned_speech/
http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_lawyers/

Needless to say, I use LJ though I do not have any fanfiction or roleplays on it. And I am utterly furious. LJ used to provide an open forum for most any interest, and yet now they kowtow to some small fanatical group that has no ties to legitimate law enforcement or child protection services and some sort ofAnti-GLBT agenda (http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/24234.html), among other things?

[/rant]

This is horrible, where are the banned users going to whine about their lives now?

Want me to start a web war? I'm not afraid! I was in the Neopets War!

This is horrible, where are the banned users going to whine about their lives now?
^
NSG, apparently.

Never heard of 'LiveJournal'.

I'm all caught up in Bebo. It's strangely addictive.

Wow, I've never heard of LiveJournal before. Man, I'd be irate - what a bunch of dupes they were!

Hell, apparently the slightly more credible anti-pedo group Perverted Justice has basically called WFI and LJ a bunch of morons over this.

Hell, apparently the slightly more credible anti-pedo group Perverted Justice has basically called WFI and LJ a bunch of morons over this.

got a source for that?

I can see them objecting it since LJ was a prime hunting ground and would infact drive the pedo's to other areas and thus make em harder to catch...

But I would like to read their reasoning.

got a source for that?

I can see them objecting it since LJ was a prime hunting ground and would infact drive the pedo's to other areas and thus make em harder to catch...

But I would like to read their reasoning.

Well, I read about it here (http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/47746.html). I've been trying to follow things all day, so I haven't had a chance to look at PJ itself.

*gasp* But, but... where will their writings go ignored now?

*gasp* But, but... where will their writings go ignored now?

Myspace

*gasp* But, but... where will their writings go ignored now?

That's the thing. The emo whiners survived the purge almost unscathed. It's several fandoms and sexual abuse support groups and legit discussion groups that got axed.

So, a fringed Christian groups are trying to flush out pedos (ironically not searching through MySpace) and yet, they end up having LJ cancels communities that talk about.

Fanfiction
roleplay journals
discussion of the novel Lolita
Several sexual abuse survivor support groups


Groups that has NOTHING to do with pedophilia. I wish I could say that I am suprised, but honestly I am not. Ahh what a bunch of idiots. Well I guess the users had it coming, after all they didn't accept Jesus into their lives so now they paid with their LJ accounts. I hope LJ soon restores the accounts that the group shut down, I mean honestly this has got to be a bigger load of bull since prohibition and when they smashed all of the distilleries.

That's the thing. The emo whiners survived the purge almost unscathed. It's several fandoms and sexual abuse support groups and legit discussion groups that got axed.

I stand by my question.

Neat! Now all they need to do is 'strike-through' the rest of them. :p

I hope LJ soon restores the accounts that the group shut down, I mean honestly this has got to be a bigger load of bull since prohibition and when they smashed all of the distilleries.

Oh, the cruel, Internet injustice!

/The huge manatee!

I stand by my question.

I doubt you can call sexual abuse survivors "whiners" (if by whiners you mean emos who whine about how their middle class lives suck) Fass, comon.

I doubt you can call sexual abuse survivors "whiners" (if by whiners you mean emos who whine about how their middle class lives suck) Fass, comon.

Have you seen that South Park episode where Mr. Garrison demands that his father molest him so that he can be like all the cool people?

Have you seen that South Park episode where Mr. Garrison demands that his father molest him so that he can be like all the cool people?

Yes, because claiming to be a victim of sexual abuse is 'cool'. :rolleyes: They may be 'whiners' but I'd rather not take that chance and just decide that they are legit, better safe than sorry.

Groups that has NOTHING to do with pedophilia.

Don't they all have something to do with pedophilia? Maybe not advocacy, but they're all pedophilia-related.

Yes, because claiming to be a victim of sexual abuse is 'cool'. :rolleyes: I guess you're too young to remember the 90s.
They may be 'whiners' but I'd rather not take that chance and just decide that they are legit, better safe than sorry.
Because the only thing keeping them from offing themselves is LJ...

Don't they all have something to do with pedophilia? Maybe not advocacy, but they're all pedophilia-related.

I'd like to see you tie, fanfiction and roleplay journals to pedophilia.

Because the only thing keeping them from offing themselves is LJ...

Associating with people who been through the same thing you have has been known to be beneficial to people who are trying to overcome certain obstacle.

I'd like to see you tie, fanfiction and roleplay journals to pedophilia.

Depends which kind. But it isn't difficult to tie the novel "Lolita," and sexual abuse discussion to pedophilia. :p

Have you seen that South Park episode where Mr. Garrison demands that his father molest him so that he can be like all the cool people?

So you're saying all sexual abuse survivors deliberately allow themselves to be molested for attention?

That's way fucking low, even for you.

:upyours:

I doubt you can call sexual abuse survivors "whiners" (if by whiners you mean emos who whine about how their middle class lives suck) Fass, comon.

Upper middle class, usually. Upper middle class.

Associating with people who been through the same thing you have has been known to be beneficial to people who are trying to overcome certain obstacle.
And it has also been known to breed victimisation complexes and identities tied to traumata. LJ was as made for dwelling, especially as anonymous online venues attract enablers and leeches.

Depends which kind. But it isn't difficult to tie the novel "Lolita," and sexual abuse discussion to pedophilia. :p

Well I'm not familiar with "Lolita" so I can't comment on that really.

And it has also been known to breed victimisation complexes and identities tied to traumata. LJ was as made for dwelling, especially as anonymous online venues attract enablers and leeches.

But does this Christian fringe group have a right to shut the Sexual Abuse Victim network down just because they think it advocates pedophilia?

Well I'm not familiar with "Lolita" so I can't comment on that really.

Its central theme is pedophilia. ;)

So you're saying all sexual abuse survivors deliberately allow themselves to be molested for attention?

That's way fucking low, even for you.

:upyours:

:rolleyes: No, I'm saying there are many attention whores out there who follow trends in the pitiable.

Nice to see the discussion picking up steam, however I'd like to step into the old mod shoes for a moment and remind everyone to keep it civil. Civilized debate is fine, but let's steer clear of flaming.

That said, trauma and the way it is dealt with is a complex process. Some people may breed these dwelling identities, others may use these communities as a means to finally get past the trauma.

Regardless, mass-banning accounts based on Interest keywords alone without so much as a glance at context is still wrong. How would you guys feel is the NS mods ran a search for, say "sex", and deleted every single thread in the forums that mentions it, every single user that ever mentioned it, and every single region that mentioned it? Because essentially, that's what LJ did here.

But does this Christian fringe group have a right to shut the Sexual Abuse Victim network down just because they think it advocates pedophilia?

Wouldn't you do the same, if you thought it advocated pedophilia? I'd want to get rid of that stuff if I was running the company that owns the wesite. Better than being sued when something happens.

Nice to see the discussion picking up steam, however I'd like to step into the old mod shoes for a moment and remind everyone to keep it civil. Civilized debate is fine, but let's steer clear of flaming.

That said, trauma and the way it is dealt with is a complex process. Some people may breed these dwelling identities, others may use these communities as a means to finally get past the trauma.

Regardless, mass-banning accounts based on Interest keywords alone without so much as a glance at context is still wrong. How would you guys feel is the NS mods ran a search for, say "sex", and deleted every single thread in the forums that mentions it, every single user that ever mentioned it, and every single region that mentioned it? Because essentially, that's what LJ did here.

Agreed, and not just because it's a mod. :p

Regardless, mass-banning accounts based on Interest keywords alone without so much as a glance at context is still wrong. How would you guys feel is the NS mods ran a search for, say "sex", and deleted every single thread in the forums that mentions it, every single user that ever mentioned it, and every single region that mentioned it? Because essentially, that's what LJ did here.

If it was a well-known rule, it would be fine, I think. The only thing I don't like about the "mass-banning" is that it doesn't sound like anyone was notified ahead of time.

Wouldn't you do the same, if you thought it advocated pedophilia? I'd want to get rid of that stuff if I was running the company that owns the wesite. Better than being sued when something happens.

Well first, I would make sure that it's a pedophilia network, I'd like to see users exchanging stories on how they raped a 5 year old boy, pictures, videos stuff like that. I wouldn't just blindly delete it just because I think it may contain that stuff. For all we know it could've been a network for child abuse victims.

But does this Christian fringe group have a right to shut the Sexual Abuse Victim network down just because they think it advocates pedophilia?

They have as much right to complain as anyone. Sixapart deleted these journals, not the fringe group, and Sixapart does have the right to delete whatever they want off their own service.

They have as much right to complain as anyone. Sixapart deleted these journals, not the fringe group, and Sixapart does have the right to delete whatever they want off their own service.

You'd think they'd be a little bit more careful about pressing the delete/ban button.

Well first, I would make sure that it's a pedophilia network, I'd like to see users exchanging stories on how they raped a 5 year old boy, pictures, videos stuff like that. I wouldn't just blindly delete it just because I think it may contain that stuff. For all we know it could've been a network for child abuse victims.

If you found anything that explicit, you'd need to notify the police, not just delete it, but in any case, I looked at the website, and it apparently has millions of users - meaning you probably wouldn't have time to go through all those accounts with a fine-toothed comb.

You'd think they'd be a little bit more careful about pressing the delete/ban button.

As I said, everyone has a right to complain, and that includes the "wronged", but let's keep it in perspective and not blow it up to silly "prohibition" levels.

As I said, everyone has a right to complain, and that includes the "wronged", but let's keep it in perspective and not blow it up to silly "prohibition" levels.

Fair enough.

If you found anything that explicit, you'd need to notify the police, not just delete it, but in any case, I looked at the website, and it apparently has millions of users - meaning you probably wouldn't have time to go through all those accounts with a fine-toothed comb.

That's what reporting violators are for- to direct the authorities on the service to the problems that need addressing.

And as far as anyone is aware, there was no warning whatsoever. No "This is in violation of X rule", just "DEAT." It was also brought up earlier on Innocence Jihad and a few other journals instances where users DID report violations, and LJ responded with a copy/paste reply that they can't punish people for fictional works. (And damnit, if it wasn't 11pm and not so busy, I could dig back and FIND it. I'm pretty sure you can track it down on this journal somewhere. (http://liz-marcs.livejournal.com/))

That's what reporting violators are for- to direct the authorities on the service to the problems that need addressing.

And as far as anyone is aware, there was no warning whatsoever. No "This is in violation of X rule", just "DEAT." It was also brought up earlier on Innocence Jihad and a few other journals instances where users DID report violations, and LJ responded with a copy/paste reply that they can't punish people for fictional works. (And damnit, if it wasn't 11pm and not so busy, I could dig back and FIND it. I'm pretty sure you can track it down on this journal somewhere. (http://liz-marcs.livejournal.com/))

This worries me because now you can write the most sickening story ever, using real people, real location, and real events, and yet as long as you call it 'fictional' LJ won't do anything.

That's what reporting violators are for- to direct the authorities on the service to the problems that need addressing.


Millions of accounts, though. Thirteen million, the site says. Gotta streamline it somehow.

This worries me because now you can write the most sickening story ever, using real people, real location, and real events, and yet as long as you call it 'fictional' LJ won't do anything.

Another reason that stuff needs to go.

Regardless, mass-banning accounts based on Interest keywords alone without so much as a glance at context is still wrong. How would you guys feel is the NS mods ran a search for, say "sex", and deleted every single thread in the forums that mentions it, every single user that ever mentioned it, and every single region that mentioned it? Because essentially, that's what LJ did here.

That's not really the issue and, to be honest, it's not really wrong since it's their domain - if NS wished to delete my account with no reason, I might complain but I'd have no case.

The issue is why they bowed to pressure from a fringe group? Why did they act on something that would no doubt alienate its users due to 'pressure' from a fringe group?

If they had banned every account with the word 'fur' in it due to a letter from an animal rights group we'd be laughing, as would LJ - reacting to being accused of 'pedophilia' or being a 'nazi' or any other loaded word that causes these set reactions devalues the actual meaning behind those words and trivializes the issue.

Well that is a shame. I was considering them for a blog site since I have been nagged by a few people to start a blog.

Good to see that a clean up script was written rather poorly. You would think the simple days of scanning only for words were gone. You would also think they would review the deletes.

But then again, how many of the paid accounts were deleted?

Did LJ really have a pedo issue like myspace? I am sure they had some but how many?

Normally, I am all for shutting down pedos. However, I am not supportive of Religious groups handling this. After the pedos are gone, what's the next thing "immoral" thing they will focus on?

Well that is a shame. I was considering them for a blog site since I have been nagged by a few people to start a blog.


I would recommend using Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), it's a great website to start a blog with.

I would recommend using Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), it's a great website to start a blog with.
I am happy with blogsome.com

I would recommend using Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), it's a great website to start a blog with.

I actually have my NS Modblog on Blogger :D

Normally, I am all for shutting down pedos.

I vastly prefer pedos being in the open. Open social networks like livejournal tend to aid them to control their desires, which means they are less likely to actually do anything to children besides fantasising about them. And if they nevertheless do, it is far easier to find and indentify them than it would have been if they had been in hiding/on closed anonymous sites.

I vastly prefer pedos being in the open. Open social networks like livejournal tend to aid them to control their desires, which means they are less likely to actually do anything to children besides fantasising about them. And if they nevertheless do, it is far easier to find and indentify them than it would have been if they had been in hiding/on closed anonymous sites.

You're aware that they often use the internet to look for kids to rape, though, right? I still say banning is appropriate. If someone wants to start a website aimed at helping the pedophile reform, that's another thing, and would be appropriate, but keep them out of the mainstream.

I vastly prefer pedos being in the open. Open social networks like livejournal tend to aid them to control their desires, which means they are less likely to actually do anything to children besides fantasising about them. And if they nevertheless do, it is far easier to find and indentify them than it would have been if they had been in hiding/on closed anonymous sites.

There is merit to the argument of keeping them in the open. However, I think the predators would not keep a blog.

There is also a question of would this not ease their efforts in trading child porn since they would be easier to locate each other?

You'd think they'd be a little bit more careful about pressing the delete/ban button.

Sadly, since LJ was bought out, the administrators seem to have gone increasingly insane. Some months back, an online acquaintance of mine had her (paid) account deleted based on a demonstrably false accusation that she had violated LJ's enforcement of copyright by presenting the accuser's writing as her own. (To give you an idea of how demonstrably false this was, the post in question contained an excerpt from said writing, proceeded directly by the author's name and a link to the site on which the complete work could be found, and followed directly by several comments making fun of how humorously poorly-written the work was.) My acquaintance was given no warning and no explanation, and only managed to get admins to tell her why her journal had disappeared after extensive nagging on her part. The admins then informed her that her account could be restored if she would delete the post that had caused the complaint (which, again, did not, in fact, violate any part of the LiveJournal TOS). After complying with this request, she emailed them several times to ask why they had not simply asked her to do this in the first place rather than deleting a journal she had already paid for, and never received any replies.

By and large, I've been happy with LJ - I've had an account there for something like four years now - but a few of Six Apart's employees just seem to be bizarrely, incompetently authoritarian. This latest ridiculousness is just the worst example of it to date.

There is merit to the argument of keeping them in the open. However, I think the predators would not keep a blog.


Ohbutyouwillpet was a pretty famous LJ pedophile and child rapist; currently serving a life sentence as a matter of fact.

Ohbutyouwillpet was a pretty famous LJ pedophile and child rapist; currently serving a life sentence as a matter of fact.

I wish I hadn't googled that user name. :(

Want me to start a web war? I'm not afraid! I was in the Neopets War!
YTMND Reserves Here! Let me at them, Maybe some pissed of Hacker LJer will erase those idiots sites from existance. Besides since they have Spyware they are criminals!!

Ohbutyouwillpet was a pretty famous LJ pedophile and child rapist; currently serving a life sentence as a matter of fact.

hmph. Well I would think you would not want evidence around.

Thanks....

I wish I hadn't googled that user name. :(

Now you made me do it and wish I hadn't.

What is it about Akron, Ohio that makes it the pervert capital of the world?

Well, I read about it here (http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/47746.html). I've been trying to follow things all day, so I haven't had a chance to look at PJ itself.

read their site.

basically, LJ did a 'Shotgun' approach. typical overreaction that everyone blames Americans of doing.

PJ basically sounds pissed that LJ didn't follow their advice when they gave it months ago and are trying to make sure that they are not 'blamed' for this overreaction.

You know, pulling back from the issue, it is utterly fascinating to see this shockwave that's ripped out from the 500 or so deleted accounts and communities to reach virtually the entire LJ consumer base. In fandom alone there's now more than 21,000 (closing in rapidly on 22,000) users signed onto Fandom Counts. I can't begin to imagine the totals if you include fandoms, the support groups, and the other innocent people that got shafted in all this.

Nothing I've seen compares at all. Even the loudest and most active NS mobs have ever only numbered a few dozen people, usually under the loud leadership of one or two ringleaders. This is literally tens of thousands of people all pissed off and vocal about it. Seriously an Intarwebz riot. People who are normally at eachothers' throats are united against LJ and WFI.

You know, pulling back from the issue, it is utterly fascinating to see this shockwave that's ripped out from the 500 or so deleted accounts and communities to reach virtually the entire LJ consumer base. In fandom alone there's now more than 21,000 (closing in rapidly on 22,000) users signed onto Fandom Counts. I can't begin to imagine the totals if you include fandoms, the support groups, and the other innocent people that got shafted in all this.

Nothing I've seen compares at all. Even the loudest and most active NS mobs have ever only numbered a few dozen people, usually under the loud leadership of one or two ringleaders. This is literally tens of thousands of people all pissed off and vocal about it. Seriously an Intarwebz riot. People who are normally at eachothers' throats are united against LJ and WFI.

Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?

You know, pulling back from the issue, it is utterly fascinating to see this shockwave that's ripped out from the 500 or so deleted accounts and communities to reach virtually the entire LJ consumer base. In fandom alone there's now more than 21,000 (closing in rapidly on 22,000) users signed onto Fandom Counts. I can't begin to imagine the totals if you include fandoms, the support groups, and the other innocent people that got shafted in all this.

Nothing I've seen compares at all. Even the loudest and most active NS mobs have ever only numbered a few dozen people, usually under the loud leadership of one or two ringleaders. This is literally tens of thousands of people all pissed off and vocal about it. Seriously an Intarwebz riot. People who are normally at eachothers' throats are united against LJ and WFI.

I wonder tho. how many of those people are members of LJ?

it could be that they fear their blogs being shutdown for the same reasoning that LJ used.

Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?

If I wasn't busy being stunned stupid by the torrent, sure. Currently an LJ staffer said (not on LJ, and over AIM and phone to several people) that there would be an official announcement on LJ within a half hour.

That was almost an hour ago.

And to Junii- Well, the 22,000 people on Fandom Counts are all LJ users. The count is determined by membership, and you can't be a member without an LJ account. Sure some are probably multiples, but that's still a pretty large number of people.

Nothing I've seen compares at all. Even the loudest and most active NS mobs have ever only numbered a few dozen people, usually under the loud leadership of one or two ringleaders. This is literally tens of thousands of people all pissed off and vocal about it. Seriously an Intarwebz riot. People who are normally at eachothers' throats are united against LJ and WFI.

I'd still expect it to blow over in a couple days.

If I wasn't busy being stunned stupid by the torrent, sure. Currently an LJ staffer said (not on LJ, and over AIM and phone to several people) that there would be an official announcement on LJ within a half hour.

That was almost an hour ago.

I was talking about the people being united to fight against an injustice.

I was talking about the people being united to fight against an injustice.

Heh, like I said, if I wasn't too busy being stunned by the volume of it... :D But yeah, it is pretty impressive.

But does this Christian fringe group have a right to shut the Sexual Abuse Victim network down just because they think it advocates pedophilia?

No, no, no. That's the wrong question to ask. The right question to ask is this. Should any Christian fringe group have the right to censor helpful things just because it goes against what they want?

The correct answer is virus's to massively increase specced voltage on their computer BIOS, thus causing it to explode in their faces when they turn on their computers.

No, no, no. That's the wrong question to ask. The right question to ask is this. Should any Christian fringe group have the right to censor helpful things just because it goes against what they want?

The correct answer is virus's to massively increase specced voltage on their computer BIOS, thus causing it to explode in their faces when they turn on their computers.

It's not ideal, but I'd rather have a Christian fringe turning in the pedophiles than no one at all.

It's not ideal, but I'd rather have a Christian fringe turning in the pedophiles than no one at all.

The Christian fringe does not turn in pedophiles. The Christian fringe are a lunatic riot mob who are willing to burn anyone they can get their hands on. They're a dangerous element who, due to laws, cannot be taken out and shot, but should be monitored closely, if not shut down and dispersed.

Would you rather a rampaging crowd of rioters enforce law or actual law enforcement? Even as corrupt and worthless as our police are here, I'd rather them than rioters, much less lunatic Christian fringe groups.

Would you rather a rampaging crowd of rioters enforce law or actual law enforcement? Even as corrupt and worthless as our police are here, I'd rather them than rioters, much less lunatic Christian fringe groups.

As someone mentioned earlier, it's still the company's decision to act on or reject tips. I doubt police have the time to go through millions of journal entries - a little extra manpower never hurts. Take advantage of good volunteers, I say.

Update on the situation: LiveJournal finally responds! (http://news.livejournal.com/99159.html)

I suspect it's going to take a long time and a lot of effort on the part of LJ before the irate masses truly forgive them. LJ should have taken the complaints seriously from the start, rather than let it fester and turn into an angry mob. Hours upon hours ago, an explanation would have cooled tempers a lot. At this point, so many people are so worked up that "Whoops, we're sorry" isn't going to cut it. They need to do what they say they're going to do.

As someone mentioned earlier, it's still the company's decision to act on or reject tips. I doubt police have the time to go through millions of journal entries - a little extra manpower never hurts. Take advantage of good volunteers, I say.

That's the thing. They AREN'T good volunteers. They're about as good as those idiots who ran the whole Salem Witch Trials.

Update on the situation: LiveJournal finally responds! (http://news.livejournal.com/99159.html)

I suspect it's going to take a long time and a lot of effort on the part of LJ before the irate masses truly forgive them. LJ should have taken the complaints seriously from the start, rather than let it fester and turn into an angry mob. Hours upon hours ago, an explanation would have cooled tempers a lot. At this point, so many people are so worked up that "Whoops, we're sorry" isn't going to cut it. They need to do what they say they're going to do.

You really expect that much outrage, though? Aren't their users primarily young kids? I kinda doubt they're out their reading the news and mobilizing. ;)

That's the thing. They AREN'T good volunteers. They're about as good as those idiots who ran the whole Salem Witch Trials.

I doubt it's that bad. :p Their intentions are respectable regardless - it's up to the company to investigate the tips. Nothing wrong with turning in suspected pedophiles, even if they're mistaken now and then.

Update on the situation: LiveJournal finally responds! (http://news.livejournal.com/99159.html)

I think "we deleted accounts that say 'I like paedophilia'" seems reasonable enough to me.

You really expect that much outrage, though? Aren't their users primarily young kids? I kinda doubt they're out their reading the news and mobilizing. ;)

LJ has an awful lot of 13-something members, true. But most of the outrage today has come from adult users. People with paid accounts, people 20 and up with disposable income and so on.

I think "we deleted accounts that say 'I like paedophilia'" seems reasonable enough to me.

Exactly! Common sense joins in six pages later. :p

This is horrible, where are the banned users going to whine about their lives now?

MySpace?

What shocks me is the fact that my totally crappy and massively out of date LJ (http://nikkesen.livejournal.com/?skip=7), which has a "non-con sex" post in which I have a totally explicit fanfic didn't get targeted yet I have a friend who is in several communities which were affected.

It seems like it was almost arbitrary at best.

This stupid shit with Warriors for Innocence has been going on since April and they have threatened to have the sponsors for LJ pull their ads if nothing was done.

I think "we deleted accounts that say 'I like paedophilia'" seems reasonable enough to me.

But this does not seem to be what they did. They even dismantled child abuse survivor support groups. It reminds me of when AOL blocked access to breast cancer support groups because they had the word "breast" in their title.

I doubt it's that bad. :p Their intentions are respectable regardless - it's up to the company to investigate the tips. Nothing wrong with turning in suspected pedophiles, even if they're mistaken now and then.

But there was no law enforcement here. It would have been better to keep quiet about the whole thing. Tag suspected profiles and tell the police "we've looked at this guy's profile. He isn't a guy trying to join a support group or discuss literature. He's a child molester. We're going to leave his profile there so you can find him."

The internet is a public space, and if a guy stands in the park in a trenchcoat with a sign that reads "come back to my van for candy. 8 years old and younger please," I'd expect someone to point him out to the police, not chase him out of the park and tell him "in this town we like our child molesters anonymous and inconspicuous."

But this does not seem to be what they did. They even dismantled child abuse survivor support groups. It reminds me of when AOL blocked access to breast cancer support groups because they had the word "breast" in their title.

Indeed. The CEO apologizing with lies really does not make Lj look any better in my book.

We should claim to be a crazy pro-free speech group and demand that LJ not only allow, but encourage users to post sexual fantasies poorly disguised as fanfiction, in much the same fashion as WFI did. I suggest this because it would be pretty damned funny to watch LJ jerking back and forth like a fish out of water.

We should claim to be a crazy pro-free speech group and demand that LJ not only allow, but encourage users to post sexual fantasies poorly disguised as fanfiction, in much the same fashion as WFI did. I suggest this because it would be pretty damned funny to watch LJ jerking back and forth like a fish out of water.

You'll need to throw something about being a Christian group in their... the Jesus Free Speech Brigade! :D

This is nothing new.
A very similar thing took place on MySpace following the VT shooting.

Google Wayne Chiang.

If the group had been any other religious faith, would anyone else have thought LJ would have just said "STFU" instead of caving in?

Heh, like I said, if I wasn't too busy being stunned by the volume of it... :D But yeah, it is pretty impressive.

Something like this, on a lesser sscale, happened after the VT shootings when MySpace banned all pictures of firearms because they 'threatened people'. Same stupidity, MUCH bigger scale.

Well, I read about it here (http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/47746.html). I've been trying to follow things all day, so I haven't had a chance to look at PJ itself.

*had fun with the confederate flag debate going on in the comments section of that post*

I hate when historically revisionist northerners (note: I am an 11th generation pennsylvanian) think the civil war was actually about slavery...

In other innerwebtubenets news Casey Sarin closed his blog today....

Mass deletion of user accounts sparks LJ revolt (http://news.com.com/Mass+deletion+sparks+LiveJournal+revolt/2100-1025_3-6187619.html?tag=item)

In response to pressure from a shady Christian extremist group calling themselves "Warriors for Innocence" (Google at your own risk, there have been reports of spyware infestations from visiting their website), LiveJournal, one of the largest blogging communities on the net has banned over 500 user accounts and communities based on the content of their Interests lists.

The move was apparently prompted by WFI's witch-hunt for child predators, but instead the purge, being called "Strikethrough '07" or "Strike-out of 07" by LJ users (banned accounts appear with a strikethrough their names) has destroyed fanfiction communities, roleplay journals, discussion of the novel Lolita, and several sexual abuse survivor support groups.

In less than 2 days, members of fandoms ranging from Harry Potter to anime to original work are up in arms. There are threats of boycotts, users scaling back from paid accounts to basic free accounts, boycotts of advertizers that pulled their ads on LJ due to WFI, petitions, and dozens of other calls to action.

According to the LJ community Fandom Counts (http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_counts/), there are well over 15,000 members preparing to participate in some fashion.

Some of the following journals contain additional information:
http://liz-marcs.livejournal.com/
http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/
http://community.livejournal.com/reasoned_speech/
http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_lawyers/

Needless to say, I use LJ though I do not have any fanfiction or roleplays on it. And I am utterly furious. LJ used to provide an open forum for most any interest, and yet now they kowtow to some small fanatical group that has no ties to legitimate law enforcement or child protection services and some sort ofAnti-GLBT agenda (http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/24234.html), among other things?

[/rant]
See why I use myspace, everyone? :p

You know, pulling back from the issue, it is utterly fascinating to see this shockwave that's ripped out from the 500 or so deleted accounts and communities to reach virtually the entire LJ consumer base. In fandom alone there's now more than 21,000 (closing in rapidly on 22,000) users signed onto Fandom Counts. I can't begin to imagine the totals if you include fandoms, the support groups, and the other innocent people that got shafted in all this.
Seriously an Intarwebz riot. People who are normally at eachothers' throats are united against LJ and WFI. Reminds me of the Ebaum war.
7,000 forum raiders and around 10,000 hackers. An army made ofMembers of around 5 different popular Meme sites.
A site designed to handle large amounts of internet traffic brought to it's knees by DOS attacks. Illegal but epic.

See why I use myspace, everyone? :p

`cause you're a pedo? Damn, I didn't know that.

No, you idiot.

Because you're a cop?

Because you're a cop?
Not that either. :rolleyes:

Okay, LiveJournal should pick up on some of it's users favorite phrases for negotiations.

I would DONATE to them if they were approached by that Christian group and had told them to shut the fuck up and bugger off.

Man, this is another reason I could never run for public office. I'd probably call my opponent a dumbfuck or something before the first debate.

I actually have my NS Modblog on Blogger :D

Ditto.

Reminds me of the Ebaum war.
7,000 forum raiders and around 10,000 hackers. An army made ofMembers of around 5 different popular Meme sites.
A site designed to handle large amounts of internet traffic brought to it's knees by DOS attacks. Illegal but epic.

Wasn't Something Awful involved in that? It had to do with pic stealing.

But there was no law enforcement here. It would have been better to keep quiet about the whole thing. Tag suspected profiles and tell the police "we've looked at this guy's profile. He isn't a guy trying to join a support group or discuss literature. He's a child molester. We're going to leave his profile there so you can find him."

The internet is a public space, and if a guy stands in the park in a trenchcoat with a sign that reads "come back to my van for candy. 8 years old and younger please," I'd expect someone to point him out to the police, not chase him out of the park and tell him "in this town we like our child molesters anonymous and inconspicuous."

I'd also like to see arrests come out of this, but remember, pedophilia isn't itself illegal, even advocacy of pedophilia. A site ridding itself of perverts needn't be related to law enforcement, since not all perverted acts or opinions are illegal.

Wasn't Something Awful involved in that? It had to do with pic stealing.

Err...yes, actually, as well as LUELinks, Newgrounds, and 4chan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YTMND#Conflicts_with_eBaum.27s_World

Anyway, as for this LiveJournal crap? I declare the admins of that site to be idiots. Look, if you want to target child molesters--and I will intentionally say child molesters rather than paedophiles because most paedophiles do not act on their attractions to children and in fact think their attractions are wrong and need help but they never get it thanks to idiots--that's fine, but do it without being stupid by using a freaking word filter to randomly delete accounts.

Err...yes, actually, as well as LUELinks, Newgrounds, and 4chan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YTMND#Conflicts_with_eBaum.27s_World

Anyway, as for this LiveJournal crap? I declare the admins of that site to be idiots. Look, if you want to target child molesters--and I will intentionally say child molesters rather than paedophiles because most paedophiles do not act on their attractions to children and in fact think their attractions are wrong and need help but they never get it thanks to idiots--that's fine, but do it without being stupid by using a freaking word filter to randomly delete accounts.

I still haven't seen anyone present a viable alternative, though. Thirteen million Live-Journal users are probably too many to examine with a fine-toothed comb.

I doubt it's that bad. :p

Nobody ever went broke betting on the stupidity of zealots. And I took a look at blogs of one of the people who supposedly belong to them. It's one of those self-appointed vigilantes who want to keep America 'white' and 'Christian'

They're dangerous noodniks.


Their intentions are respectable regardless


The road to hell is paved by good intentions I believe that saying went. And these intentions are anything but good.

Wasn't Something Awful involved in that? It had to do with pic stealing.
Yeah, Ebaum stole a YTMND gif, then posted it up on his site (With his 'hosted on Ebaumsworld' watermark) Nearly the entire YTMND fan base set a plan to spam him to death they also got allies from members of, Something Awful, Fark,Newgrounds, and others.
At around the same time the entire group joined his forum(Thousands of accounts within an hour)they then made hundreds of insult threads. Eventually the forum crashed, and the Ebaum admins started a massive ban.

Of course then some took it further, the battle became a hacker war as they hit his main site with Hacks and DoS (Denial of Service) attacks until it crashed as well.
Some even called him, (but they got in trouble)

After some Cease and Desists, Claims of Cyberterrorism, and bunch of insane quotes. Ebaum took down the Gif.


Edit:
Of course if I knew someone had already posted the link I wouldn't have bothered.

All in all it is now regarded as Internet World War 1.

I have a feeling this will be 2.

I still haven't seen anyone present a viable alternative, though. Thirteen million Live-Journal users are probably too many to examine with a fine-toothed comb.

True enough.

I guess the real issue is not so much focusing on getting rid of child molesters as finding the root of the problem, eliminating it, and ensuring there will never be anymore child molesters. Then just enact some sensible precautions to protect minors--such as, say, ensuring that minors cannot post their full address in public view or something of that nature--and you'll take care of it. Since amost all child molesters are actually people who just enjoy raping--the sense of power over a person more than the sex act itself--rather than children and simply go after children because they're easier targets, you'll find that trying to target those who are actually attracted to children will probably not get you very far.

Obviously there are those who are paedophiles and child molesters, but they are the minority. The problem is, most people get so absolutely violently enraged over the idea--even some of the most compassionate, logical-thinkers I know, like Neesika--that they'll never even consider the possibility of helping paedophiles cure their mental illness, but simply regard every single one of them as some kind of dirty, disgusting person who must absolutely love to rape children or what have you...it's not unlike the way some bigots think about ethnicities they do not like, or how a large number of people used to think about homosexuals. Admittedly acting upon an attraction to children is not morally comparable with homosexuality, but the point is the way they act about them. As I said, very few--we're talking around 10%--actually act upon those attractions, while the rest live in fear their mental illness will be discovered and they'll be immediately ostracised. As a truly compassionate person who actually feels for everyone and not just those I like, it makes me sick to see people act that way.

I'm actually reading the group's own site now. Seems even THEY aren't happy with LiveJournal's actions.

Frankly, though they seem to come from a rather extreme background, they're still doing right in my book.

I still haven't seen anyone present a viable alternative, though. Thirteen million Live-Journal users are probably too many to examine with a fine-toothed comb.

The say they blocked only 500. 500 journals are easily examined.

The say they blocked only 500. 500 journals are easily examined.

Certainly. It's not the number they've eliminated, it's the number they would have had to read to find that 500 if they'd used another method.

Well, they could have set the same parameters, seen what came up and then gone through those 500 to check their actual content.

Coulda woulda shoulda

I'm actually reading the group's own site now. Seems even THEY aren't happy with LiveJournal's actions.

Frankly, though they seem to come from a rather extreme background, they're still doing right in my book.

You went to WFI's website? You'd better run AdAware or similar spyware-detecting software ASAP then. There have been several reports (many confirmed by people I know including my sister and Slaglands, former NS player) of spyware infestations and tracking garbage as a result of visiting that site.

/b/tards to the rescue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111

How about not? People are working on shutting them down via legitimate means, namely reporting WFI's TOS violations (regarding the spyware) to their various provider types.

There's also murmurings floating about that WFI listed all the suspended journals and called them all pedophiles/pedo supporters, which is slanderous and could be legally actionable if they don't clean it up quick.

/b/tards to the rescue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111
Rule ?? of the internet: You can't have an internet war without the /b/tards.

How about not? People are working on shutting them down via legitimate means, namely reporting WFI's TOS violations (regarding the spyware) to their various provider types. Which is what it should be, with what LJ did it would be like Homeland Security arresting a ton of Arabs because they happen to look similar to Osama.


There's also murmurings floating about that WFI listed all the suspended journals and called them all pedophiles/pedo supporters, which is slanderous and could be legally actionable if they don't clean it up quick.
Watch they have 'god' on their side. They'll get away with it. They're scum...

The system has failed from day 1.

Rule ?? of the internet: You can't have an internet war without the /b/tards.

Now I'm really confused.

Rule ?? of the internet: You can't have an internet war without the /b/tards.

It's an unwritten rule. /b/tards will be on both sides of every conflict, for /b/tards are everywhere.

What the devil is Lolita about?

What the devil is Lolita about?

It's a novel, a famous--and quite interesting--one at that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita

It's a novel, a famous--and quite interesting--one at that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita

I do remember one guy on Slashdot was claiming there were an abnormal amount of Lolita discussion groups or something, which I'm chalking up to being either paranoia or sarcasm that didn't convey well over the internet.

I just had a thought.

Would they have bitched and fussed just as much if someone wrote on a blog about Lot's daughters getting Daddy Drunk and doing him?

:D

I just had a thought.

Would they have bitched and fussed just as much if someone wrote on a blog about Lot's daughters getting Daddy Drunk and doing him?

:D

Ah, but that doesn't quite amount to pedophilia. Incest, sure. But a bible-related blog probably wouldn't have "incest" in the "Interests" list. Funny scenario, though. :D

I just had a thought.

Would they have bitched and fussed just as much if someone wrote on a blog about Lot's daughters getting Daddy Drunk and doing him?

:D
Don't tempt me.... :fluffle:

*drools anyway*

Too late. :fluffle:

Ah, but that doesn't quite amount to pedophilia. Incest, sure. But a bible-related blog probably wouldn't have "incest" in the "Interests" list. Funny scenario, though. :D

But if you post it and they reflexively push for deletion, you can strike back playing the "Christian Persecution" Card.

:D

But if you post it and they reflexively push for deletion, you can strike back playing the "Christian Persecution" Card.

:D

Aha, pretty clever. Might work if they formally adopt the policy. :p

I had an account and somehow, I post every couple of years. I never got hold of the "journal everybody can see" concept.

Aha, pretty clever. Might work if they formally adopt the policy. :p

And keep in mind that lifespan in Biblical times were much shorter. Lot's daughters theoretically could have been jailbait by modern definitions of a minor.

And keep in mind that lifespan in Biblical times were much shorter.

Except for those one guys who lived to be like, 200.

Well, according to the Bible, anyway. Really, I'm just guessing God really sucks at math.

But a bible-related blog probably wouldn't have "incest" in the "Interests" list. Funny scenario, though. :D

I'll take that bet. A lot of those southern Christian families are creepy as fuck.

Yet another example of idiocy, people caving in just because someone whines about something they don't care for. Don't these people have a backbone? They seem to have more jelly than Democrats regarding Iraq. Disgusting.

They seem to have more jelly than Democrats regarding Iraq.

Hold on, I wouldn't go THAT far...

Hold on, I wouldn't go THAT far...

Come on work with me here, I'm trying to make a nifty comparison, or whatever its called. :)

Come on work with me here, I'm trying to make a nifty comparison, or whatever its called. :)

You fail at comparison.

You fail at comparison.

Exaggeration then. Point is both are wimps. But then it seems many people are, the slightest bit of attention is brought to bare on something that MAY be perceived as controversial or unpopular and they cave. Really sad.

This is disgusting. Censorship is bad enough, but censorship by some nuts who believe they are the moral police of everyone else really pisses me off. It's a joke. If they feel they have to delete internet journals in order to fulfil they're retarded goals, then they need serious help.

This is disgusting. Censorship is bad enough, but censorship by some nuts who believe they are the moral police of everyone else really pisses me off. It's a joke. If they feel they have to delete internet journals in order to fulfil they're retarded goals, then they need serious help.

If the nutjobs had been Islamic instead of Christian you know they'd have been ripped to shreds on the spot.

If the nutjobs had been Islamic instead of Christian you know they'd have been ripped to shreds on the spot.

Oh, but of course.