schmevil (schmevil) wrote in scans_daily, @ 2009-10-23 18:21:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | admin: mod post |
Proposed Move: Update!
[Mirrored here on NoScans_Daily.]
First off, thanks for all the feedback!
We've been in contact with Dreamwidth admin again and many of the concerns you guys raised in our previous posts have been resolved.
Before we get into that, a few of you have asked why we didn't have a direct poll in our previous post. We were trying to be clear that this is a proposal we are all very strongly behind, but that we wanted to hear from the community before any final decisions were made. We're sorry we didn't emphasize that more clearly.
The invite code poll is only and exactly what we say it is: a headcount, to find out how many people would need codes if and when we move, and whether there are people out there to donate codes. (People have been far and away incredibly generous -- you guys are awesome!) Members who vote in that poll do not get any kind of "extra voice" in the decision to move -- they're helping us figure out how many codes we need, and that's it.
Yesterday, we didn't poll because we were laying out our initial proposal -- we had a solid moving plan, but it was still a plan created amongst ourselves with just a little bit of input from Dreamwidth. What we were interested in wasn't strictly the numbers (although we took into account the tenor of responses) so much as perspectives we hadn't considered. We didn't need a tally; we needed people who would say, "No, that's a terrible idea because of x," or "That's great, but I'd like to know whether you thought of y." That's exactly what we've been hearing, and it's been very helpful. We have a better idea of what issues concern you the most, and we're going to try and address them now.
1) Security and support.
Some of you guys have said that you'd rather just stick with IJ and risk getting TOSed. InsaneJournal is owned and operated by one person. The code is rarely updated, and the FAQs are unclear. Communication with admin has been difficult. In contrast, DW admin has been responsive and supportive -- within 48 hours of first contacting them we had a better relationship with them than we'd ever had with either IJ or Ll. They have a solid reputation, a publicly available business plan, and they've made a commitment to us - they want us on their site, and they have assured us that we won't be TOSed for doing what we do. We have no such assurances on IJ. Frankly, we have no assurance that IJ won't disappear tomorrow.
As moderators we need to be aware of the legal situation of scans_daily as well as its visibility within the wider comics fandom and to the comics publishers. Part of our job is to keep these broader concerns in mind and keep them away from the daily concerns of the comm as much as possible, and when we can't, to do our best to simplify the issues. To many of our members it may look like we're safe on IJ (as safe as we ever are), but from our perspective we are in just as precarious a position as on LJ, if not more so. On LiveJournal the Abuse team was trigger-happy, but at least they were available to talk to. We can't even get Squeaky to answer basic maintenance questions, so we have no confidence in our ability to protect ourselves if we were served with a DMCA while hosted on IJ.
The mod team needs to think not just about the short-term stability of the community but its lifetime over the long haul. None of us want to move -- it's a hassle, and being uprooted sucks. But wanting to move and it being advisable to move are different things.
For those of you who like your numbers, you may be interested to know that of websites using Livejournal's codebase, Dreamwidth ranks fifth in registered users (Wikipedia's a few months out of date) and third in users who have updated in the past month. It is 6-8 years younger than every site ranked above it on either count.
2) The invite system.
If we decide to move, Dreamwidth will provide us with enough invite codes to move the entire IJ community over, and then some. They will set up a special URL for the migration, where members can effectively generate their own code - thus cutting out the need for a distributor (ie. mods) in the intial stages. We're waiting to hear from them whether the URL would be temporary or permanent. Even if it's temporary, all new accounts will receive invite codes in turn, which people can donate to create a self-sustaining invite comm, solely for SD DW. We've had a lot of responses on this count already, so we're not worried. (And once again, thank you all - you're rock stars.)
3) Paid accounts.
You do not need to buy a paid account. You can buy a paid account, if you choose, and certainly DW will love you forever. Access to DW is absolutely free.
4) OpenID.
Of all the journaling sites, Dreamwidth has the best support for OpenID. Dreamwidth allows users to log into their site, using their LJ/IJ/JF id. They can upload six icons, view and comment to entries, join communities, and add/be added as a friend (though the terminology of friending is different, please note). This means that you don't actually need to join DW in order to participate in their communities - you only need to create an account if you'd like to post entries of your own.
Here's Dreamwidth's summary of OpenID. More generally, Dreamwidth's guide for Livejournal Users has a rundown on the basic practical and technical differences between the two services.
5) Importing entries and comments.
The Dreamwidth people are now able to import a community's entries and comments. This means that we can port all of Scans Daily IJ over to DW intact (ie. comments, tags, and original usernames as OpenIDs). Not only does this mean less work for our small corps of volunteers, it means that nothing would be lost in a move. We don't know yet whether you'll be able to edit posts using your OpenIDs.
6) Tags.
Dreamwidth is willing to let us exceed their tag limit, if we maintain an open dialog with them regarding site performance. The tag limit exists because it became clear that tags were screwing with LJ's (and the clone's) performance. We'll be able to keep all of our existing tags, and create new ones, so long as we're willing to discuss changes if our existing system causes problems. Additionally, if we make SD DW a paid account, members will be able to search the comm's entries, which would cut out the need for some of the more obscure tags.
That said, the possibility of bringing in a delicious account as a back-up and for higher-powered searching is still on the table, but it would no longer be necessary just to have a working archive.
7) Icons.
We can't increase the icon space for our members. That's simply out of our control. However, the DW admin have indicated that as the site grows, they hope to increase the icon space for free accounts. Remember, DW is a new site, so some of the limitations (in comparison to LJ) of the service are a result of their wanting to manage growth. More members + more money = more features for even paid accounts. So the six icon slots they offer for free accounts is not forever.
8) Even if we move to Dreamwidth, can we keep the InsaneJournal comm?
Bluntly, no. The the InsaneJournal site is named "scans_daily," so if the community moved anything that happened there afterward would reflect on us (the mod team) by association. It's not that we claim to be perfect, but at least we can own our own mistakes. We don't have time to run three communities and we have neither the time nor inclination to recruit, vet, and train another mod team to our satisfaction.
If there's a core group who would want to stay at InsaneJournal, you have two options: you can purchase a rename token for $5, and after moving we could coordinate a rename and transfer of ownership to whomever gets appointed the new mod. Or, you could create your own offshoot comm. The InsaneJournal community named "scans_daily" would, however, effectively cease to exist.
9) Is noscans_daily shutting down?
No.
Okay, that's the rundown. We've gotten a lot of very helpful feedback. Ultimately, we are still very much for the move, but we'd like to know whether we've convinced you.
Please vote in our poll on NSD here.