*sob*

[cleolinda]

Oh my God. The air conditioner is completely dead, and we're going to have to pay $5400 for a new one--it's already 70+ degrees in the afternoons now. I don't know how on God's green earth we're going to come up with $800 a month for this.


Also, regarding the boycott tomorrow: chopchica points out,

There's a huge amount of Russian anti-SUP sentiment out there, and a lot of it is for logical reasons. But a large chunk of it has nothing to with SUP itself - it has to do with the fact that SUP is run by Jews. It's ugly. It's really, really ugly.... It'd be awfully nice if the company we've given so much money, time and attention to respected us a little more and had some more consideration about their customer base. But you know, antisemites are not our brothers-in-arms. While you're busy hoisting the colors, you might want to take a little look at who's standing there, right beside you. Because, if there's one thing I want even *less* than being accidentally helped out by antisemites, it's to find out that instead of just that, I've helped *them*.

So... I'm just not sure I can participate in this boycott tomorrow. You know. With antisemites. On Good Friday. I doubt a one-day boycott is actually going to have any effect anyway--what would really do it is if we all stopped posting and commenting until we got what we wanted, as many days or weeks as it took, which is not something most of us are willing to do, and... wait a minute, what did we want again? They apologized yesterday for one, and for two... I'm not sure that what we want is anything tangible. Which is to say, it's not something where they can stop and say, "Okay, here it is. You win." It's a process; it's a dialogue. We want SUP to change its attitudes, care more about its customers' opinions, and stop acting shady in regards to fandom. That's something we need to keep speaking out about, I think, rather than shutting up in protest. So... I don't know. If you want to boycott tomorrow, if you feel strongly about it, I can't fault you for that. I just feel that personally it's not going to achieve what I want, and it's going to set me side by side with a group of people I want nothing to do with.

Comments

[thebitterguy]

Stop it! You're being all rational and thinking and stuff.

[cpip.livejournal.com]

We can't have that sort of thing around here.

THIS ... IS ... LIVEJOURNAL!

[fiberaddict.livejournal.com]

OK, I agree with not wanting to be associated with antisemites - BUT. Good Friday is NOT associated with the Jews - Christ was crucified on PASSOVER, which isn't until April 20th this year.

[quenbolyn.livejournal.com]

BUT Purim is the same day as Good Friday this year. So... *shrugs*

[carmine-rose.livejournal.com]

I wasn't going make a point of boycotting, because I don't post every day anyway... but now I will make a point of posting something, because I will not stand with anti-semites on anything.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

A compromise may be to definitely post something along the lines of explaining what changes we'd like to see, and that our problem with SUP's customer service policies has nothing to do with antisemitism.

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

Oh Cleo, I am so sorry. Please don't go Tennessee Williams on us during the heat wave.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heh. I actually said yesterday to someone that it was like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof up in here. We're getting it replaced tomorrow, though. I just don't know how we're going to pay for it.

[laerwen.livejournal.com]

Yes, precisely (re: the "strike"). I don't think it's going to achieve the effect people are looking for (if any at ALL). It's ill-conceived, the way it is now (even before thinking about the concerns of anti-semitism).

That really, really sucks about your a/c, though. Jaysus. x.x

[newroticgirl.livejournal.com]

An LJ friend of mine who used to work for LJ points out that they won't even notice a one-day strike. Their reports are in one week increments and up, so a one day strike will pass mostly without notice.

She suggests sending postcards instead.

EDIT TO ADD:

What she sez about the content strike:
http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/204794.html

Addresses where you can send postcards instead:
http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/203464.html

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

{I'll dig the link up for you soon.}

A friend posted a link to another friend's post about the boycott and why it will achieve both diddly and squat.

My friend's friend is Russian, and explains a few things, such as, they aren't American business people. What works in America, will not work with them, because Russians are different.

To sum it up, their attitude towards the boycott is "let them throw their tantrum. Then, business as usual."

What's going on here, is in my opinion, a huge cultural disconnect. I think they need to work better with their Western European cultural ( and I include the US in there ) based customers as well as their Russian/former Soviet bloc ones. Actually getting both groups to talk ( and talk with a good translator to boot ) is the real solution. Not, what appears to me, to be empty gestures.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

A thing they're not *getting* is that if the boycott doesn't make the point, it'll be "business as usual" in which the disgruntled users go over to the competition and tell everybody they know all the reasons why they're not on Livejournal any more.

This is why "the customer is always right!" is such a truism even though everyone who's ever worked with customers knows it isn't actually true. The customer is always right because if you tell a customer he's wrong, he stops being a customer.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

We want SUP to change its attitudes, care more about its customers' opinions, and stop acting shady in regards to fandom.

I'm puzzled by the apparent attitude that this is something totally new on LJ, as though there were never arbitrary policy changes or suspensions under the Golden Age of Brad.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Or the Tin Age of 6A, for that matter. I think a lot of it is people getting sick of it happening, and getting worse, under three successive owners. And to be honest, I think a lot of it is a certain xenophobia--people hearing and assuming the worst about OMG TEH RUSSIANS!!1, and worrying that things are going to drastically change now for the worst. I actually get a touch of this myself, and I have to remind myself that they do, after all, want to run a business. It's not in their best interests to completely drive it into the ground. At the same time, I do worry about permanent accounts, because they're pretty much not making any money off me now, and they don't seem too concerned about promises that were made before their tenure. Anyway, I do think there's a bit of Fearing the Other involved here that there wasn't before, and the cultural differences in the way they do business, as people are discussing here, are exacerbating that perception. (Look, ma! I use big words!)

[kestrel127.livejournal.com]

I don't know how on God's green earth we're going to come up with $800 a month for this.

=( I'm sorry! If it helps, there will be economic stimulus rebates coming in the next few months - somewhere between $300 - $1200. At a $5400 bill, that won't solve the problem, but it could help a little bit.

Unless you're like me and you want to spend it on ooh!shiny! things.

[caersidi.livejournal.com]

As I've said in my own LJ I will respect the rights of others to do this content strike but will not take part.

The idea that part of this anti-SUP sentiment is antisemetic quite sickens me.

[scarletsherlock.livejournal.com]

This just gets uglier and uglier. I was not sure to begin with how much this would accomplish. With it being Good Friday I may not have time to post anyway (unless it's a voice post), like a lot of people. And isn't it going to cause a huge surge of posts the next day, with people catching up? What is that going to accomplish?

[sneaky-minx.livejournal.com]

You're stuck in the South without A/C? Oh, god bless you, child. God bless you. *fans you with a huge feather*

[revenantrose.livejournal.com]

Wow, they're letting you do monthly payments? Or is it going on a credit card that the payments will be for? We had to pay it all at once.

A bit of advice if you haven't started the job yet: ask them how loud the new one will be. We didn't, and the new one sounds like a jet engine is landing outside my grandmother's bedroom every time it comes on. I had them come back and asked them what the hell was up and the guy shrugged and said the old one was that loud, too, and he refused to listen to me when I told him it most emphatically was not.

And I would've fought it more but since my grandmother paid for it and she didn't want to be bothered with having it fixed, I was overruled.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

I've never heard the anti-semite part before (nor did I know SUP was run by Jewish folks). Huh. Does she have a link to anything that indicates anti-semites are running the boycott and stuff?

We want SUP to change its attitudes, care more about its customers' opinions, and stop acting shady in regards to fandom.

There now! You've just written our mantra. :) It reminds me of Pratchett's Night Watch, where they are trying to figure out what they are fighting a revolution for, and they end up with the slogan, "Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably Priced Love! And A Hard-boiled Egg!" (The reasonably priced love being insisted on by the Seamstresses Guild (Hem, hem) who don't want all that "free love" nonsense, and the hard-boiled egg suggested by John Keel, who is cynical enough to only demand something he can rely on to actually exist). Heh.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

P.S. Can we trade? It's FREEZING here and my heat's been out for 4 days. MMHenry says he'll fix it tomorrow, but right now, I am COLD.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm feeling less and less love for this boycott idea. The anti-Semitism issue is just the last straw. Regarding the anti-Russian sentiments -- I wonder if this isn't a US reaction to Putin's government that's analogous to the way everyone hates us because of the Bush administration. (Which is not to say that Bush is the only reason for anti-Americanism or even the only good reason. But he hasn't done well by us. Whatever Putin's done for Russia internally, I don't think he's done well by them in foreign relations either.)

[notashamed.livejournal.com]

I'm certain I don't want to be grouped with people who are seen as anti-semitic but other than that users comment, what else is out there to support this? Just one person saying 'They don't like Jews' isn't enough to convince me.

That being said, you have caused me to think more about this strike, which I was planning on participating in but now I'm not so sure. I do like the idea of sending postcards.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, the comments cited at the link were showing that antisemitic protesters were more than happy to participate in and co-opt the boycott. I'm not saying at all that the boycott itself is or was planned to be antisemitic. It's just that now it's been joined by an element I don't want to be associated with, and (unlike the postcard idea) seems to offer very little gain.

[zoethe.livejournal.com]

My god, are you air conditioning a WAREHOUSE???!!! That seems like a HUGE amount of money! I strongly suggest getting a second opinion.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know, seriously. And it's not even for the whole house, it's just the unit upstairs. We've been using Evans for years, though... which may be why they feel comfortable overcharging us, come to think of it.

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

I had no idea SUP was run by Jews, or that there were anti-semites involved in this whole thing. I don't even know how I would have found that out - I don't go around asking what religion/cultural identity my webhosts or internet providers have, so it would never have occurred to me. I don't really care if the SUP folks are Jewish or not - I just want them not to be clueless about fandom, and about how to deal with customers properly.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

I'm not participating in the strike for many reasons, but you just made me think of something. Bear with me, I haven't thought out my convoluted logic ;)

So, the people who are striking are the ones who protest vociferously against LJ. And for a day, they won't be posting OR protesting.

And this is going to upset LJ/SUP ...how?

Wouldn't it be more effective for them to have a protest-a-thon?

Wouldn't THAT be more troubling to LJ/SUP - having tons of content coming out that's AGAINST them?

Just thinking out loud here ;)

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

OOOH. Actually, I think *that* is a much better idea. Either a protest-a-thon, where every first part of each person's entry says the same thing (and thus any browsing folks or potential new users will see those entries whenever they arrive at an LJ) and/or on one day, EVERYONE posts a protest entry. Now that would be awesome.

After all, LJs are all about words. We should use the words.

(frozen)

[lovesmasher.livejournal.com]

Not protesting a company just because anti-Semites dislike the company is fucking stupid.

(frozen)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you think I'm fucking stupid, then.

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

I do understand the logic behind the boycott: LJ would not exist without the content that the users provide, and management needs to remember that. A one-day boycott, though, isn't going to have much impact, especially since only a small fraction of users will be participating.

As far as the anti-Semitism issue--which I agree, is troubling--a friend of mine has a somewhat different take on it, which he shared with Nossik here (http://anton-nossik.livejournal.com/16069.html?thread=177861#t177861).

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can understand that. Like I said to esorlehcar, I think part of my reasoning is that there's no point in potentially getting mixed up with that element for so little gain in the first place.

[marcusisabadass.livejournal.com]

we're getting 6 to 8 inches of snow between now and saturday am. feel free to take some of our cold weather.

[esorlehcar.livejournal.com]

So... I'm just not sure I can participate in this boycott tomorrow. You know. With antisemites.

I'm not remotely interested in the strike. I'm sorry LJ seems to be moving to an advertising model (and if and when ads become standard for paid and permanent users I'm going to pissed), but I understand the removal of basic accounts as a business decision, and I don't think people not posting for a day is going to have any impact whatsoever.

That being said, I'm disturbed by the idea that because racists or Nazis or homophobes or whatever other kind of despicable person you can think support a cause, it automatically follows the people who disagree with them should not support it. A lot of horrible people support a lot of worthy causes, and that doesn't make the causes themselves any less worthy.

Or, put another way, I think there are plenty of good reasons not to support to strike, but I don't think "some of the people supporting it are doing so because they're anti-semitic" is one of them (and for the record, I'm not saying that's what chopchica is be saying -- she pretty clearly states that she is not -- but it's how quite a lot of people are reading her and other comments on the subject).

[chopchica.livejournal.com]

but it's how quite a lot of people are reading her and other comments on the subject

Which is driving me pretty crazy. I added a detailed ETA to my post, because honestly, if I ever decide to take an organized stand against antisemitism on lj? It's not going to be over a tiny boycott against SUP.

[mysticowl.livejournal.com]

Since I'm a Russian Jew, this just became a lot more interesting for me. I didn't do any research on SUP when it first bought LJ, since I didn't really care. So I just went to their website to look through their list of executives. They have an American, a few Russians, I'm sitting there thinking, "Where are the Jews?" Then I scroll down to Eduard Shenderovich. Aha! We are in your internets, making you dance the hava nagila.

It's really nice to see people have a problem with antisemitism. It might be horrible for me to say, but antisemitism in Russia is something I mostly see as a fact of life. I left early enough to have never been caught in it, although everyone else in my family got singed by it, mostly when it came to jobs.

I did a google search, in Russian, about LJ, SUP, and Jews (except I used a racial slur instead of "Jews"). Eeeenteresting.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Can you find actual links to some of the antisemitism? Because people are wanting to see proof of it, and I don't know where to start (or if I'd even be able to read it).

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

How's your grandma doing, BTW, Cleo?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Better, but still pretty miserable.