Updates on Updates
Some quick updates to Jesse's previous updates....

Sysadmin
We did hire a new sysadmin: lisa. She's cool, geeky, professional, in Seattle, and an LJ addict. I think she's going to be great.

Payment system
Our new payment system is live. We do our own secure credit card processing finally!

Advantages of new system:

• a lot better for international users
• allows multiple items per order
• makes check processing easier on us (you make the order here on the site, then send in a check for that order number) and avoids handwriting legibility problems
• removes our dependence on PayPal, whose servers have lately become increasingly unreliable

The old payment system is still in place, but will be removed over the next day or so. (though PayPal will remain an optional way to checkout your order from the new payment system)

Please let us know what you think of the new payment system.

Permanent Accounts
To celebrate the new payment system, permanent accounts are again temporarily available for $100. (to get one, click the link above) Permanent accounts are just paid accounts that don't expire.

Update, Jan 23rd: The permanent accounts are no longer available. If you have an existing order open containing a permanent account pending payment, it'll still work if/when you pay for it. You just can't add permanent accounts to new orders now.

(Post a new comment)

	supersat 2003-01-20 03:31 pm UTC (link)
	Permanent accounts also have some higher limits/extra perks, such as more userpics and a higher syndication quota. (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	crazyelfzoee 2003-01-20 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	how many user pics? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - rah, 2003-01-20 05:32 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - supersat, 2003-01-20 05:38 pm UTC (Expand)

Question please - prom, 2003-01-21 09:31 am UTC (Expand)

Re: Question please - asciident, 2003-01-21 12:59 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: Question please - prom, 2003-01-21 01:28 pm UTC (Expand)

	ex_kurtcobai380 2003-01-20 03:33 pm UTC (link)
	How much time do I have to purchase a permanent account? (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	sarah_mascara 2003-01-20 03:35 pm UTC (link)
	Heh. They go pretty fast. Don't wait too long. They put up X amount of accounts for sale, and whenever they sell out, that's it. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - ex_kurtcobai380, 2003-01-20 03:46 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - tydel, 2003-01-20 03:54 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - suppafly, 2003-01-20 04:48 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - sugarxsin, 2003-01-21 02:19 pm UTC (Expand)

	thelovebug 2003-01-20 03:37 pm UTC (link)
	Are you going to take down the old system in /paidaccounts/? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bradfitz 2003-01-20 03:38 pm UTC (link)
	That page is going to remain, but just be informational, linking into /pay/ in a few spots. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - thelovebug, 2003-01-20 03:41 pm UTC (Expand)

	henningz 2003-01-20 03:37 pm UTC (link)
	friends are asking me to pay for them with my credit card. which cards are accepted by your system? (the livejournal.com/pay/-site doesn't tell [yet]) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bradfitz 2003-01-20 03:49 pm UTC (link)
	To be honest, I'm not sure.... I seem to remember them telling us a whole bunch of them worked. I guess my recommendation is to just try it and see if it works. Worst case it just says: "Sorry, this won't work." (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - henningz, 2003-01-20 03:57 pm UTC (Expand)

Vaguely off-topic.... - jadedpencil, 2003-02-05 11:31 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: Vaguely off-topic.... - tsutton, 2003-02-06 04:25 am UTC (Expand)

	bubba 2003-01-20 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	welcome lisa and Brad, the new /pay/ works great! :) (Reply to this)

kimberly27616 2003-01-20 03:40 pm UTC (link)

Brad, To thank you for everything that LJ has meant to me I purchased a permanent account. Two things: 1) The tables on the window after you purchase are not aligned properly, I couldn't see all of the columns on the right hand side of the screen. It's as if there was a table covering it. I wish I'd taken a screen shot... 2) How can I transfer the remaining 2 months I had already paid to someone else, since I no longer need that time with a permanent account? Thanks!! Kimberly (Reply to this) (Thread)

	emmavescence 2003-01-20 03:41 pm UTC (link)
	2) open a support request in Account Payments, with the username of the person you want to gift. or, email accounts@livejournal.com with the same info, does the same thing. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

Re: - kimberly27616, 2003-01-20 03:45 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - emmavescence, 2003-01-20 04:03 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - kimberly27616, 2003-01-20 04:06 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - emmavescence, 2003-01-20 04:16 pm UTC (Expand)

	sarah_mascara 2003-01-20 03:40 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, welcome to lisa! Hope you like the new job. And yay for the new payment system. (Reply to this)

	burr86 2003-01-20 03:42 pm UTC (link)
	Congratulations lisa! It's great that LiveJournal now has two female employees. :-) I love the new payment system. It's insanely quick. I love it. What does the 'email redemption code' option do? Thanks for the heads up on permanent accounts, Brad. :-) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bubba 2003-01-20 03:44 pm UTC (link)
	i'm sure that if you are buying a brand new paid account, it emails you the paid invite code. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - burr86, 2003-01-20 03:55 pm UTC (Expand)

	sleepwalkdance 2003-01-20 03:43 pm UTC (link)
	I was just wondering since the old pay system will be removed soon...I recently mailed off a check to pay for a year's subscription, is this still going to work? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	tsutton 2003-01-20 03:54 pm UTC (link)
	Should still work... they will process it just like they used to in the past. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	wintersweet 2003-01-20 03:46 pm UTC (link)
	Hmm...I got a "data decryption error" and now I don't know if my credit card was charged, or not... (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	wintersweet 2003-01-20 04:14 pm UTC (link)
	It didn't go through--some kind of MSIE error. I got around it by going into my Unix account and using lynx. Kudos to you people for making lj lynx-compatible! Amazing. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(no subject) - rayslinky, 2003-01-20 05:00 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - gigiss, 2003-01-20 10:19 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - wintersweet, 2003-01-20 10:29 pm UTC (Expand)

	ratkrycek 2003-01-20 03:48 pm UTC (link)
	Welcome to lisa!!!! And yay for the new credit card payments - I know people have been wanting that for awhile now. Things just keep improving around here. :) (Reply to this)

	tsutton 2003-01-20 03:48 pm UTC (link)
	Looks good! One suggestion: Make "Check Out ->" greyed out when there are nothing in the list/items. I was able to click on it and it took me to an secure page. Good work. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	tsutton 2003-01-20 03:50 pm UTC (link)
	I should add that the button comes up after deleting the items I added. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	The new system works well abenn 2003-01-20 03:59 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks for the permanent account celebration, and for the new payment system. It worked fine. I'm using iCab on a Mac running OS 9, no display problems. Now when I want to keep supporting LJ I can buy gift accounts for my friends. I like this! (Reply to this)

	llarian 2003-01-20 04:05 pm UTC (link)
	Congrats lisa. I think I know you from when my company was bidding a contract for one of your old companies. If you're who I think you are, LJ is lucky indeed. =) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	lisa 2003-01-20 05:35 pm UTC (link)
	I am in fact the very same Lisa- and thank you :-D (Reply to this) (Parent)

	echan 2003-01-20 04:08 pm UTC (link)
	Does anyone know how many permanent accounts are available? (I seem to remember there being a page where you could see the number left, but I can't seem to find it now.) (Reply to this)

	tckma 2003-01-20 04:15 pm UTC (link)
	The link works in Explorer, but not in Netscape. (Reply to this) (Thread)(Expand)

	caitlin 2003-01-20 04:21 pm UTC (link)
	It also works in Mozilla, which is a NS6 clone. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - diziara, 2003-01-20 04:29 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - caitlin, 2003-01-20 04:31 pm UTC (Expand)

no Netscape access - devon, 2003-01-20 08:36 pm UTC (Expand)

(Reply from suspended user)

	Re: How do I remove my order? bradfitz 2003-01-20 04:31 pm UTC (link)
	If you didn't click Pay, it's okay... just go back and click "New Order" at the bottom. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(Reply from suspended user)

(no subject) - quasidan, 2003-01-24 10:11 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - kramerino, 2003-01-24 04:35 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - jameth, 2003-01-25 09:19 am UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - quasidan, 2003-01-25 01:07 pm UTC (Expand)

	jackola 2003-01-20 04:31 pm UTC (link)
	oh emm gee brad. i haychoo... ok, jk Seriously though-- why must you always offer permanent accounts right after I have a slump in money or don't have money at all? This time- didn't work at all during xmas break. no money. last time- just moved to college. hadn't worked the first month of it. had no money. bah. *jack (Reply to this) (Thread)

	burr86 2003-01-20 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	quitcher bitchin'. ;-) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

Re: - jackola, 2003-01-20 05:23 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - burr86, 2003-01-20 05:30 pm UTC (Expand)

	Asking on behalf of a friend... shoutingboy 2003-01-20 04:42 pm UTC (link)
	Just wondering--I have a bud who bought a permanent account, then created a second account, and is now using the 2d account exclusively. Can she transfer the "permanentitude" from one account to the other (so the 2d account has the 15-userpic limit and the other cool features)? Should she just file a service request? Would there be a renaming fee? Thanks much! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Asking on behalf of a friend... braindrain 2003-01-20 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	Permanent account status is non-transferrable. She can rename for $15USD, but all data linked to the second account will be erased and replaced by the original account's information. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

Ah well... - shoutingboy, 2003-01-20 04:56 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: Asking on behalf of a friend... - mcgroarty, 2003-01-22 08:05 am UTC (Expand)

Re: Asking on behalf of a friend... - braindrain, 2003-01-22 01:09 pm UTC (Expand)

It must be THAT good! vxjasonxv 2003-01-20 04:42 pm UTC (link)

Well, I'd call the new system a success...or a bad sign, cause I'm unable to access the secure page. (IE5.5) I want to buy a Perm. Account before they expire, and I have the Permanent Account in my card, but whenever I select paypal and hit checkout, it just dies. (No, my browser doesn't have secure/SSL problems). I'm guess that too many people are bogging it down and I'm timing out...but, I'll try later tonight. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: It must be THAT good! vxjasonxv 2003-01-20 04:45 pm UTC (link)
	oop, never mind, PayPal is just dead at the moment. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

Re: It must be THAT good! - bradfitz, 2003-01-20 05:12 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: It must be THAT good! - vxjasonxv, 2003-01-20 05:58 pm UTC (Expand)

	So, umm... emmacrew 2003-01-20 04:42 pm UTC (link)
	We just paid for a year each on two accountsfour days ago. Is there any way to credit that towards a permanent account, or are we stuck with gifting it over to someone else? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: So, umm... emmavescence 2003-01-20 04:55 pm UTC (link)
	the latter, i'm afraid. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	raventhon 2003-01-20 04:45 pm UTC (link)
	i've got about seven months left on my year of paid time -- is there any way i could credit that towards permanent account, or get reimbursed for it? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	braindrain 2003-01-20 04:50 pm UTC (link)
	No. Paid time is non-refundable, and the only way you can transfer paid time is if you purchase a permanent account. If you buy a permanent account, you can then open a Support request in Account Payments (or e-mail accounts@livejournal.com) and request that your remaining paid time be transferred to another account. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

Re: - raventhon, 2003-01-20 04:51 pm UTC (Expand)

	suppafly 2003-01-20 04:48 pm UTC (link)
	We did hire a new sysadmin: lisa. She's cool, geeky, professional, in Seattle, and an LJ addict. I think she's going to be great. Plus shes a member of nakedparts and has some interesting interests defined. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	skx 2003-01-21 02:53 am UTC (link)
	All cool sysadmins are .. just like me ;) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	meallanmouse 2003-01-20 05:10 pm UTC (link)
	Hi, and thanks for the heads up! :D How long does it take to show the new permanent account status, usually? I'm only asking from overeagerness. ;) Usually it takes a few minutes, but it's been more already! *faceplants* (Reply to this) (Thread)

	beetwo 2003-01-20 05:22 pm UTC (link)
	It only took me a few secs.. maybe its taking awhile cuz a lot of people are getting them (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

(no subject) - meallanmouse, 2003-01-20 05:30 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - beetwo, 2003-01-20 05:34 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - meallanmouse, 2003-01-20 05:39 pm UTC (Expand)

Re: - beetwo, 2003-01-20 05:42 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - meallanmouse, 2003-01-20 05:48 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - dottey, 2003-01-20 06:40 pm UTC (Expand)

(no subject) - meallanmouse, 2003-01-20 06:44 pm UTC (Expand)

	WOOOO HOOOOO pimpinthebox 2003-01-20 05:12 pm UTC (link)
	Thank God for the new payment system...I hated doing business with paypal... In celebration I had to go out and buy myself one of those permanant accounts... Thanks for all the hard work brad! BTW nice article in the paper a couple of days ago... (Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: WOOOO HOOOOO lairodigitalis 2003-02-09 12:46 pm UTC (link)

I absolutely agree, this is the best news! I had problems with Paypal taking back a payment to LJ a couple of months ago, because I didn't want to associate my checking acct with my Paypal one. Paypal sucks for those who don't want to do that. Now, I can use my Visa! Or my Visa debit card! Oh, I think I'll dance for joy now!!!!! Gayla A very, very happy camper. Way to go, LJ gods! (Reply to this) (Parent)

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