LiveJournal News

LiveJournal Major Notes: Get your holiday fix!

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:37:54 GMT

Holiday debuggery

We know there were a few kinks with the holiday promotion. We've been working very hard to get them ironed out. If you have a paid/permanent account, keep on sending those coupons. Here's an update:

If you were unable to send out multiple coupons at a time, please perform a hard refresh, and you should be good to go.
If you redeemed a coupon to upgrade your account and the balance at checkout was $0 instead of $9.95 or $15, this means your upgrade did not go through (nor were you charged). We've straightened this out, so you can now apply your holiday coupon toward the purchase of an annual paid account.
If you tried to redeem a holiday coupon and had trouble using a gift certificate to cover the balance of an annual paid account, we identified the root problem. If this happened to you, you can now use your holiday coupon together with your gift certificate.
If the number of holiday coupons you have available suddenly goes up (instead of down), this might be due to recipients declining the coupons, at which point your pool of available coupons will be replenished and, therefore, increase.
If you need assistance with holiday coupons or pretty much anything else (well, LiveJournal related), please open a support request and we'll be more than happy to help!

Tweaks

There were some initial glitches displaying results on My Guests, but we've worked them out. We hope you'll check out who's been checking you out!
Some of you reported formatting issues using the Rich Text Editor (i.e., line breaks were being removed incorrectly). We've implemented a fix! Thanks so much for your patience.

Give a little extra!

We're pleased to report that we've already sold over 100 virtual red ribbons in honor of National AIDS Awareness month. Remember, for each charitable vgift you purchase for $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to fund the development of an HIV vaccine. Once again, we thank you for your generosity.

Celebrate with holiday vGifts!

Stop by the Virtual Gift Shop and share some holiday magic with your LiveJournal friends.

Photos of the week

We're back with more dazzling pictures from around the world. Congrats to marlenemcc, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our fourth photo contest. We hope you'll click over to LJ_Photophile poll and tell us your picks in pics!

For more fantastic user content, we'll meet you under the cut.

ljlimericks celebrates its first winner!

Equinoxes Autumnal to Vernal
Mark a phase where I'm waxing nocturnal
What's a fellow to make
Of these nights wide awake?
Well, I s'pose I could post on my journal...

We'll continue our call for limericks on our current prompt: rain and goat. We'll be posting another poll next week and ask our first winner, the_hatstand, to inspire us with a new theme.

Spotlight community of the week

If you've got a kitchen full of leftovers and you're looking for culinary inspiration, scramble over to cooking_club, where a hearty appetite is always in great taste.

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

It's often said that the simple things in life are the most precious. What small pleasures make you the happiest?

Holding hands. Basking in sunlight. Clear blue autumn days with just a hint of chill lurking at the back of the wind. Watching kittens play. Hot chocolate on a cold day. Fresh-baked bread still warm from the oven, with real butter melting in. Just being there with someone I love.
Snow. Snow. Snow. Snow. Can you tell snow is on my brain? Though I don't know if you can call snow a simple pleasure. It makes me happy but it makes others angry. I'm such a meanie ;) Besides the fluffy white stuff, I like a nice piece of Turin chocolate. Yum. Or better yet Turin hot cocoa. I think I might have chocolate on my brain as well...
Laying in the grass on a warm summer day and feeling a cool breeze float by--it really smooths out the rough spots in me. Seeing my daffodils blooming bravely in spring. Making things--I'm a fairly crafty sort of person. I enjoy reading quietly by myself. Spending time with my LJ buddies. I firmly believe you have to make up your mind to BE HAPPY. Money may not make you happy but it can darn well rent it for a while.
... The back of my husband's head. He has the most beautiful dark brown hair. Big loose curls, lots of them. He sits in front of me when we watch TV and I put my hands in it. It's a cross between a scalp massage and pulling his hair. I love it, he loves it. I know. We're weird. Everything about my daughter. She still talks to me. She still trusts me. She is beautiful and funny and helpful and just needy enough to fulfill my ache to be someone's mommy...
My wife's smile. The smell of Jasmine Tea. Laughter. The sound of snowfall at night. Motorcycle engines. Mike Shannon saying, "C'mon, Get Up, Baby, Get up, Get Up, Get Up....Oh Yeah....Home Run...." A cat purring. Daffodils blooming. Finding money in the couch
You guys................. With your emails, love, cards, gifts, wishes, being here for me and for my parents, being happy with me when I get good results from the doctors, being happy when I’m with Sarah, listening to me when I cry and complain, sending good wishes to my parents, taking care of me when I’m down, cheering at me when I feel like crap, liking my mail and comments…….BASICALLY LOVING ME AS I LOVE YOU
My penis. (You did say "small" pleasures.) ;p
Listening to my sons giggle. Cloudless, starry skies. Caramel frappuccinos. Christmas lights. Weather cool enough to need a light jacket. Freshly laundered sheets. The smell of my sons when they first wake
Socks. Not just your typical white sport socks that you might wear every day, either. I love quirky socks with odd designs, bright colors, and even TOES! I could be having the worse day possible, but if you present me with some fun socks, it'll make it all better. Unless my worst day possible involved having my feet cut off, of course.
eating in my bed...) nobody can deprive me this)

Curtains

Thanks, again, for reading. Here's wishing you the very merriest of holidays. We'll see you next year!

LiveJournal Major Notes: My Stats, My Guests, Holiday promotion, Yandex search, Whitelisting!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:07:17 GMT

Get to know My Guests. Want to know who's checking you out? You can now view the 100 most recent, logged-in users who visited your journal during the past 30-day period with My Guests. For those who prefer to fly under the radar, you can update your My Guests privacy setting here.

Introducing My Stats. If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can now see detailed reports on how many people are visiting your journal, friends pages, and entries (wherever they're posted on LiveJournal). You can also view data on comments and RSS requests. My Stats is only available to Paid and Permanent account holders, but you can upgrade anytime. (FYI, an annual subscription costs less than a large pizza with everything on it, PLUS it's rumored to make you lose weight in your sleep!) For additional details on this feature, read this article in paidmembers.

Get ready to check your vital statistics!. To begin, mouse over Journal in the upper nav bar and select My Stats from the dropdown menu (Horizon) or select My Stats under Journal in the side bar (Vertigo). If you're using another design scheme, you can visit My Stats directly. You'll find My Guests on the My Stats tool bar.

Happy holiday promotion!

We're delighted to tell you about our holiday coupons, which will help you share the love with your LiveJournal friends! If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can send up to 10 LiveJournal Basic/Plus users a $10 coupon for an annual paid subscription now through January 15th, 2010. Recipients can upgrade for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) for one year by enrolling in our automatic payment plan or make a manual payment of $15 (instead of $25). Please note that these coupons are not transferable and cannot be used to renew existing paid accounts. If you're a Paid/Permanent user, you can send out your holiday coupons now!

Tweaks and Enhancements

The search is on: We've replaced our default search tool with one from Yandex, a leader in search engine technology. This means you'll get smarter, more granular results! To get started, enter your search terms and click the Go button to the left of the Find box on the upper right of the LiveJournal header. This will take you to the search landing page where you can further refine by Entries, Comments, People & communities, and FAQs. You can also access the search page directly.
Whitelisting: We've released a new option to help you moderate your busy communities more efficiently. If an entry contains a link to a whitelisted (i.e., trusted) site, it will be posted automatically without need for moderator approval. If a post contains a link that is not on the whitelist, you'll be prompted to approve. To access this option, please visit settings for any community you maintain and select the third option in the Community Moderation box (located in the lower left-hand corner). Click the enable link to custom-edit your community's whitelist, which has been prepopulated with trusted domains. You can manually add or delete URLs in the text box. Please note: If you're the maintainer of an unmoderated community, you may see the radio button for this setting checked, even though it's not active. This is a known issue. Please select whichever option you prefer and click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. If you're happy with your current settings, then no need to do anything!
TMI, dude: We've added some fun FREE sponsored vgifts! You can send up to 50 TMI vgifts to mutual friends (btw, you cannot send free vgifts to communities). If you're a Paid/Permanent user and you want to view sponsored gifts, click Show sponsored gifts on your homepage or visit the sponsored gift page. These vgifts will only be available through Wednesday, December 23rd.

You can view more awesome user content after the jump!

ljlimericks

We're thrilled with your entries unique
Your poems were très magnifique!
Please click here to vote
Next prompt up: rain and goat
Winner chooses the following week!

Photos of the week

We're back with more fantastic images from our uber-talented photography community. Congratulations to jadedfrenzy, who will be awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our third contest. Please take our weekly LJ_Photophile poll and tell us your picks in pics!

Spotlight community of the week

If you're stuck behind your computer craving the great outdoors, button up your overcoat and navigate your path over to naturesbeauty for a breath of fresh air.

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

Do you think society puts too much pressure on people to be in relationships and/or have children? Do you think this ostracizes people who would be perfectly content to remain single and/or child-free? Is this pressure worse around the holidays?

Yes. From a child-free standpoint - People (some not all) are downright condescending about me and my husbands decision not to have children. Others are downright boggled, and still others think there must be something biologically or chemically wrong with both of us. Honestly, we both just love our sleep, extra money, playing loud music and movies, spontanious sex, going out on the week-ends without having to find a sitter, etc etc etc. I don't really find it's worse around the holidays. Except for the occasional "Too bad you don't get to see any little kids open gifts on christmas morning" Yes, it really is too bad I had to spend the money that would have gone on useless toys on other things. :)
I don't think society puts enough pressure on people to be in a relationship, marry and THEN have kids.Not that this is the only way. But overall, we have a bunch of young kids running around fucking like bunnies, then end up on Maury and go, he might be the daddy, but so could these other 5 guys. Seriously.Society needs to put restrictions on getting pregnant, like a license or something. They also need to teach morals and while they are at it, not bailing the instant they get angry or they realize, men leave the toilet seat up, grunt and scratch.Screw holidays.
suck it up buttercup. you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't- you'll be wrong no matter what you do if you listen to "society". stop giving a shit what other people think you should be doing and live your life. if you're stressed out about how other people perceive/judge you, you're going to be miserable your whole life no matter WHAT your choices, from sweater colours to spirituality to restaurants.
Yes, definitely. I'm asexual and aromantic and my eldest brother is the same; the only one who isn't is our other brother in the middle, who only thinks with his other head. Louis and I really just don't care (although I think I care less than he does, seeing as he often goes "Ahh, maybe it's about time I get a girlfriend" and the like) and we're not fond of kids either. In fact, small children downright frighten me....
In a way, I can see where there'd be a 'pressure' or something, but perhaps I'm just not seeing what you're seeing. It's more of a natural human desire to have someone else there. A partner. Someone who is always there for you. Holidays just worsen that alone feeling. Not sure if there's 'pressure' there, but just.. meh. hen again, I can't really think about taking care of a relationship, when I can barely take care of myself. *sigh*
The short answers to this question are yes, yes to a degree and I think sometimes it is, yes. I have friends from all across the spectrum. It was only when I got heavily involved in supporting and educating women who are either pregnant, trying to get pregnant or who had just had babies that my perspective on societal pressures began to shift.... It pulls on my heart strings when I have friends who aren't happy in their lives because they're unhappy in their relationship or they want to be in a relationship but aren't. But I also understand that happiness comes in different packages for everyone and so respect and honour those who are happiest without a relationship and perhaps even children. Striking a balance is a never ending process though, not a final state. I can only hope that society at large will find some kind of balance too.
HELL YES! Whenever I'm at any family functions this time of the year and the rest of my generation are there with all their kids I either get pitying looks or the question of "When are you gonna settle down with a husband and give your parents some grandkids to spoil?" I don't WANT to get married, too many of my friends have been married and divorced thank you very much, and sides, they DO have grandkids to spoil...they just happen to have four legs and fur...
I cannot express how I got sick to death of hearing people in Bible college tell me that I "couldn't teach the men" but maybe I could marry a youth pastor or have my own children to teach without having any idea that I was divorced and am incapable of having children without divine intervention. In fact, one girl somehow got it in her mind that I had a son and no matter how much I protested to the contrary would continually ask me about him until I finally turned around and said, "My husband left me after he got his girlfriend pregnant. I can't have kids. STOP IT...What it does mean is that I have a scope of compassion and understanding for other women who have been hurt, abandoned, wounded and feel so very keenly the strange sting of childlessness that our society tells us we should be several decades beyond feeling shameful about but some how... Knowing one's body cannot do what it was designed for is oddly ... demeaning (Even more so because logic says that such a feeling is not true not true not true and something the womanly brain should be able to rationally disregard as a product of past societal expectations.)
I could expound upon the reasons why, but I fear it would be extremely rambly and rather pointless, as I make little sense when I start to ramble. So, to summarize: - Some women do not want children. This does not invalidate their existence or worth as people. - Since the driving force behind most relationships and the pressure to be in them is directly related to how much sex you should (or should not) be having, those of us who don't want it (yeah, hi, this corner over here) doubtless feel that we are somehow inferior...
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes. Personally, I don't want kids. Who knows? Maybe someday I'd like to adopt a child. One. As in singular. Having siblings is all sorts of bad in my opinion. I learned that as a kid. I'm not one of those people who wants 10 kids and a white picket fence. My fence will be rainbow, dammit! And my house will be obnoxious and fun and there will always be music going. =)...

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Until next time, stay snug!

LiveJournal Major Notes: Notification fix, Snowflake cookie avalanche, LJLimerick, holiday vgifts!

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:49:31 GMT

Tweaks and enhancements

As a number of you reported, a service interruption impaired sending and receiving notifications for a couple of days. This was due to an avalanche of snowflake cookies. We've removed the free snowflake cookie and unclogged the pipeline. Timely notifications should resume shortly. Please note that there's a backlog in our queues, so you'll be getting earlier notifications first. For more details, check out this post at lj_maintenance.
In anticipation of the new year, we've embarked on a self-improvement kick to boost our backend (pun semi-intended). This will allow us to offer you a holiday promotion in the next few weeks (yes, we're listening and working very hard to make it happen). We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and support.

Holiday vgifts are here!

We've added some fantastic new vgifts to help you spread holiday cheer. We also hope you'll honor AIDS Awareness Month by purchasing virtual red ribbons. Priced at $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine.

Introducing: LJLimericks

We cordially here do invite you
To craft a fine limerick. Might you?
Each week, a new theme,
Then a poll, that's our dream
Winner posted on news to delight you!

In honor of all the brilliant writers on LiveJournal, we've created a brand new community: ljlimericks! Each week, we'll enter a handful of limericks into a poll (which we'll tuck snugly under an LJ-Cut). The winning poem will be published in the following newsletter. In addition, the author will receive a virtual blue ribbon! If you have the time, come drop us a rhyme. Please keep the "Nantucket" stuff on the downlow, since this is a youth-friendly community. Our first prompt is: Insomnia in winter.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible images from our global photography community. Congratulations to sempre_marseeya, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our second lj_photophile poll.

We hate to squelch your creativity, but, as a courtesy to other users, please post only one photo at a time and keep the main photo no larger than 350x350 (so images display properly via mobile and on friends pages). You can link to a larger image and/or post photos under a cut. Just so you know, we select photos for the poll blindly, based on user comments and staff feedback. Please continue to vote, comment, and, of course, enjoy. You can check out the week in pictures and view more awesome user content after the jump!

View Poll: LJ_Photohpile: Photo of the Week

Spotlight community of the week

For those who believe the best gifts are handmade, haul your craft basket over to handmade_gifts and get ready to turn all those stray buttons, remnants, and lone earrings into treasured keepsakes!

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

What are your feelings towards smoking? What rights do you think smokers and non-smokers should have?

Smoking is a waste of time, money, and life. It should be banned permanently. Anyone caught should be either sentenced or deported. No gray areas. You give them an inch, they take a mile.
I'm a smoker so I really can't make much of a judgement here but I think everyone should be free to do as they please. If you don't want to smoke, then that's fair enough, I applaud you for your good sense, but if you do, then that's up to you as well.
...The truth of the matter is that smoking is a filthy habit. ... Now as far as rights go, I do side with the non-smokers because they should not have to suffer ill health from an ill habit they do not partake in. Public establishments should be non-smoking inside, but offer covered outdoor seating for those who wish to light up. Now as far as rights go, I do side with the non-smokers because they should not have to suffer ill health from an ill habit they do not partake in. Public establishments should be non-smoking inside, but offer covered outdoor seating for those who wish to light up...
I am not a smoker. I never will be a smoker. I don't think I could find it in me to date or be close friends with a smoker. This is for health reasons. No, I'm not an asthmatic. But you know all that stuff that can happen to you when you smoke? It's even worse for the people inhaling your smoke. So with all of these health risks (including, but not limited to, lung cancer, blood clots, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, etc.), I can't really wrap my head around why people still pick up smoking...
I HATE SMOKING!!! I am proud to say that I have never smoked, or tried smoking, at all. Quite frankly, I don't plan to start either. What I don't enjoy is that non-smokers don't get the occasional 5-minute break that smokers claim they need to fulfill the addiction...
As a human being, I would appreciate the right to ruin my health any way I see fit without some self-righteous asshole I've never met before telling me off for it in public. What part if "it's none of your business" do you not understand?...
Like many other vices for instance gambling, my sentiment is very staunch, I am totally against smoking. If smokers have the right to smoke, then non-smokers have the same right to clean, breathable air. We did this smoker vs non-smoker debate in school all the time, it's meaningless to me because ultimately it boils down to the government's sentiment and how this is being regulated in a country. I am just happy that our government is against smoking.
It's a personal choice of the person who wants to do it. As for rights, I think someone should be allowed to smoke if they want to and nonsmokers shouldn't tell a smoker what to do. HOWEVER, I'd much prefer for smokers to smoke OUTSIDE because the smell of it inside is nauseating and gross. :c ...
I ABHORE smoking. I grew up as an asthmatic where both of my parents smoked. My mother once looked at my father and said, "we're killing our daughter," after I had to excuse myself to go use my inhaler while they lit up their post-dinner cigarettes. Note that it didn't stop them. ...
I have struggled with quitting smoking for a very long time. I hardly ever smoke now. I tend to smoke when I am around people who smoke if I am really stressed. I think smoking is a disgusting habit and terrible for your health. I think that smoking should be banned in all enclosed spaces. I think that smokers should have the right to smoke outside and I think that people should not give them dirty looks if they are being respectful and smoking outside. Most smokers struggle trying to quit. Most smokers don't want to be smokers. It is extremely difficult for most to quit...

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay warm and safe out there!

LiveJournal Major Notes: LiveJournal: The First Decade, AIDS vgift fundraiser, LJ_Photophile poll!

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:21:34 GMT

LiveJournal: The First Decade

Just in time for holiday shopping, we're thrilled to announce the release of our ten-year anniversary anthology. Published by Blurb.com, the book showcases a decade of extraordinary talent drawn from LiveJournal users around the world. This must-read compilation features stories, memes, photos, comics, editorials, graphic content, and more, including:

Excerpts from Oh No They Didn't (a/k/a ohnotheydidnt), the largest community on LiveJournal, covering celebrity gossip, entertainment news, and pop culture
A look at post-Katrina New Orleans from the journal of Poppy Z. Brite
Gripping narratives, including a poignant reverie on a blind date
Photography that spans the globe, ranging from old-fashioned Polaroids to underwater photography
Mouthwatering dishes from food_porn

What began as a late-night inspiration back in Brad Fitzpatrick's college dorm in 1999 has grown to encompass nearly 25 million users worldwide, with journals and communities covering every conceivable hobby, passion, and topic. To get your copy, please visit the Blurb Bookstore. For updates and entries from book contributors, please join lj_turns10.

Tweaks and enhancements

You can now ban a user from all of your communities and journals at once. To access this feature, hover over the person's userpic and choose Ban user everywhere from the drop-down menu.
Follow LiveJournal on Twitter!

Give a little to help a lot!

In honor of National AIDS Awareness month, we've added a new charitable vgift. For each red ribbon you purchase for $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine (we'll cover credit card fees). You can read more about IAVI at lj_cares. While we're on the subject, we raised $740 from our November fundraiser for Love Without Boundaries, which supports emergency healthcare and adoption of Chinese orphans. We thank you for helping us help others.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible pictures from our super-talented LiveJournal photographers. Congratulations to ilya_gorokhov, who is the winner of our very first lj_photophile poll.

We hope you'll continue to post, vote, and comment! A gentle request: Please post only one photo at a time and limit size to 350x350 (so images display properly on friends pages). And now, without further ado, get ready to cast your ballot and view more awesome user content after the jump!

View Poll: LJ_Photohpile: Photo of the Week

Spotlight community of the week

Who let the cat out of the bag? If you've got something hairy to share with your cat, hightail it over to note_to_cat and watch the fur fly!

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

Is there any song you'll never grow tired of hearing? If so, what is it, how long have you loved it, and why?

Oh, easy. Could be anything off Led Zeppelin's 'Physical Graffiti', but I'll pick one from another time in my life: "Since I've Been Loving You" - Zeppelin.I heard it for the first time when I was about 11, but it became more important later in life. The soulful guitar solo intro, the gritty, bluesy drums and singing. This is Robert Plant at his very best, and Jimmy making his Gibson Les Paul truly wail with passionate love and pain.
"Full of Grace" by Sarah McLachlan. It's the song that made me fall in love with music. I was 12years old and I can't even remember if I'd heard it first or if my mother, not paying attention, accidentally bought me a non-country album, exposing me to the wider range of music available to me ...
Replay by SHINee. Because its meaning is sooo great. They love a girl who is older than them. And I am also in love with their lead dancer, Lee Taemin!!!!
Bittersweet Symphony. When this song was new, I was in Germany.The lyrics describe some of the hurt I was experiencing there as well as the glory, the utter freedom, the anonymity of being in a place without knowing many people,or the language.It was bittersweet.There in heartbreak, but THERE...
Bob Marley - Dont worry, be happy )))
"Colorblind" - Counting Crows. I've loved it around 9 years now. It stole my heart from the very first moment.
Joni Mitchell's "In France They Kiss on Main Street"...I've loved it forever, and the tune , the lyric and the sentiment (not to mention the tempo) lift me up...cause we were rollin, rollin , rock & rollin....
i want to name some beautiful song with profound lyrics and an insane depth of melody by some obscure artist no one has ever heard of... but in truth, the answer to this question -- the one song that truly has stood the test of time with me -- is......."as long as you love me" by the backstreet boys...
ra ra rasputin by boney M. since forever. because it's AWESOME.
"Hallelujah", originally written by Leonard Cohen, and sung by many other talented artists and amateurs such as Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and Allison Crowe. Ever since I first heard it - in Shrek

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay safe and snug out there!

LiveJournal Major Notes: Security, Mobile, Facebook, Writer's Block, and Notes

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:08:00 GMT

Tweaks and enhancements

In order to improve site security, we've temporarily suspended the ability to change passwords for old email addresses that haven't been used for over six months. For further information and support, please visit our customer care page.
We've launched a new mobile site with an enhanced UI at m.livejournal.com. View spotlights, post to your journal, read and post to friends pages, and more, no matter where you roam! Please let us know what you think, since this will eventually replace our existing mobile interface. You can update your mobile preferences on your account page.
We've upgraded from Beacon to Facebook Connect to improve dual posting. If you've already signed up for Facebook Beacon, you're good to go. If you wish to update your Facebook Connect setting, visit Account Privacy settings and scroll down to the option labeled: "Send information about my updates to Facebook." You can choose Always or Ask each time. Remember to save (on the bottom left corner of the page). To learn more, check out FAQ 249. While we're on the subject, if you happen to be visiting that side of town, please join our Facebook fan page for a touch of home away from home.
You'll now receive the Writer's Block Question of the Day in the body of email notifications. To sign up for Writer's Block notifications, visit writersblock and choose the Watch Community option. Next, update your Writer's Block notification settings by checking the box to the right of "Someone posts a new entry to writersblock."
Paid and permanent users can now view, add, and edit Notes of commenters. Notes will appear beside the username of comment posters (instead of stars) on S1-themed comment pages.

Send some lovin' thanks to your friends with our holiday vgifts!

Photos of the week

We're so delighted with the immense talent of our growing, global lj_photophile community that we've decided to introduce a poll. Each week, we'll choose a half-dozen photos (based on user comments and staff feedback) and ask you to select a photo of the week. The winning photo will be announced in the next newsletter. If possible, please limit photo size to 350x350 to ensure that images display properly on friends pages. We want to thank you again (and again!) for sharing your passion.

Check out this week's photo poll and more fantastic user content after the jump!

View Poll: LJ_Photohpile: Photo of the Week

CSI Deadly Intent contests heat up!

The heat is on! There's still time to play CSI: Deadly Intent online and compete to win awesome prizes, including a brand new Wii! If you're a CSI fan, check out csi_ny and meet other LiveJournal users who share your addiction! Check out the rules here.

Spotlight community of the week

Batter up for baking bliss with kitchenfaq! If you're hungry to get cooking for the holidays, you'll find eclectic recipes, tips, and kindly support with no (apron-) strings attached!

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

What (if any) books would you ban from a high school library? Are there certain subjects that you feel are inappropriate for teenagers regardless of literary merit?

Hrmph.Does the world need highschoolers reading Last Exit to Brooklyn, Delta of Venus, Requiem for a Dream or Tropic of Cancer? The answer is yes, but. Yes, but only under the suggestion and guidance of a wise (and fully fully tenured) professor who can explain context, answer embarrassing questions, and sit there poker faced through a parent-teacher conference ...
Romeo and Juliet. I am sorry for the rude words I'll say in advance. Romeo and Juliet is - as my teacher put it - a PORN BOOK. An EROTIC NOVEL created by Shakespeare himself.The contents inside feature ONE SEX SCENE and many innuendos that relate to sexualism. It is truly a bad book to put in a high school library, no matter what the literary merit they'd gain.
I would ban all the books...also, the internet. Make these kids learn THE HARD WAY!
Twilight. All of them. Ban them: Some of us like our books to have literary merit and not bloody well glorify pedophilia, stalking,emotional abuse, and misogyny, all under the guise of a crappy romance. Also, Vampires should never sparkle. That is all.
I don't have time to do this justice, so the short answer will have to do. No, and no.Absolutely, completely, and totally against censorship.
... Rather than descend into giving lists of "approved" books for teens, perhaps we should first agree on what subject matter teens SHOULDN'T get their hands on, what teens may read with adult supervision, and on what teens can read at their own discretion. If there's one area in teen and preteen education that American society really fails at, it's in providing a proper amount of adult contact and supervision for all teens...Interaction and dialog with adults is what teens most need when they encounter new, strange, and sometimes distressing ideas and concepts.
Translated from Cyrillic: I wouldn't forbid any of them. One should learn to think with one's own head. But if the person only uses it to eat, then he/she wouldn't read any books anyway. Any books at all. [Original: Ни одной не запретила бы. Человек должен учиться думать своей головой. А если он туда просто ест, то книги все равно читать не станет. Любые.]
... On the matter of banning books, no one has the right to deny anyone the beauty of art, creativity, imagination and symbolism. Totalitarians ban books, and too many people have died in the defence of free-expression for even the notion of banning books to be a valid argument.
Since I have a fucking clue, I wouldn't ban any books. I'd set up polling stations, and have anyone who voted to ban books summarily shot.
By all means, ban whatever book you want. It will result in at least double the amount of people reading it. I find it saddening so many people thought "Twilight" was a witty answer to this.

Curtains

Thanks for joining us. To our American friends, have a fantastic Thanksgiving. To all of our international neighbors, we'll eat a little extra for you!

LiveJournal Major Notes: Postcard winners, Tweaks, LJ_Cares

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:39:48 GMT

Postcard winners!

We wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude for sending so much joy our way. Frank is still blushing with excitement over the love notes, proposals, propositions, and occasional intimate photos sent from his admirers around the world (China, Norway, Japan, and Poland just this week)! At his request, we blindfolded Justin, one of Frank's BFFs, spun him around in five dozen counterclockwise circles, and asked him to point to ten random postcards/envelopes pasted to the wall. After a brief trip to the bathroom, he chose the following lucky winners, to whom we will give a six-month paid account token (for paid, basic, and plus users) or, for our permanent account holders, a $15 voucher for the LiveJournal gift shop.

So, without further ado, the winners are:

Bugs, Tweaks, and Enhancements

We fixed a bug from the last release that was causing screened comments to become unscreened if they were edited
If you happen to be gaming around the corner, check us out on Facebook and be sure to spread the word!
We've added new vgifts to celebrate Thanksgiving! Check out our feathered friend, below!

Give more with charitable vgifts

In honor of national adoption month, we're offering a charitable vgift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that provides healthcare and adoption to orphans suffering from life-threatening diseases. LiveJournal will donate 100% of gross proceeds from the sale (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries vgifts in the Virtual Gift shop. We'll keep you posted on how much we raise!

Photos of the week

We're delighted to showcase yet more incredible photos from some of our brilliant LiveJournal photographers around the world. Keep posting (and tagging). And be sure to show some love by commenting on the awesome view at lj_photophile.

Check out this week's photos and more amazing user content after the jump!


cheger	abcider	30_years

CSI Deadly Intent contests heat up!

We're back with more pulse-racing contests to celebrate the launch of CSI: Deadly Intent for the Wii. To participate, join csi and submit a question to the CSI: Deadly Intent writing crew. If your question is selected, you'll get a posted response plus a free copy of the game, which features killer graphics and story lines. Feeling lucky? You can also play online and answer a couple of questions for a chance to win a Wii! Winners will be selected based on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to enter. Check out the rules here.

Spotlight community of the week

Join the smashing fashion passionistas of fashin for a fat-free helping of witty banter and lavish pix covering the best and worst in haute couture.

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

If you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?

Hmmm, gosh this is a hard question. I guess I'll say any of Sarah McLachlan's albums, but definitely the Surfacing album. I love everything that woman does - it calms me, speaks to me, inspires me ... Read More | Leave a comment
"Honeysuckle Rose" by Willie Nelson. It's the soundtrack to the film of the same name, and has many fine performances of some of Willie's best tunes. BTW, this question just isn't fair!:)
I could listen to the Goo Goo Dolls Dizzy Up The Girl album. By far one of my favorite albums because it just always brightens my mood, or fits any mood I'm in.
Swans Soundtracks for the Blind. It's lush and textural music makes my mind wander into its innermost recesses.
I would say, "Screw that!" grab all of my CD's, and haul ass. :3
Only one CD...hmmm...That's a hard one and I would say it would have to be a tie between 3 CDs: Master of Puppets by Metallica, Zeppelin 4 by Led Zeppelin and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.
Well first I would kill myself.Second it would probably be Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers: Every single song has been my favorite song at some point...
The Black Parade from My Chemical Romance. This CD is the CD that saved me multiple times and so if I could only listen to one CD why would it not be the one that saved me before because if i only had one CD I would probably go through the same things as before.
Matchbox Twenty - More Than You Think You Are. No one sings better than Rob - (reminds me I need Rob Thomas icons)
Led Zeppelin II. Seriously, why even ask?

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. See you next week!

LiveJournal Major Notes: Notes, Tweaks, Bug Kills, LJ_Cares!

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:53:27 GMT

Notes augmented

We've enhanced and de-bugged Notes. If you haven't tried it yet, now's the time! You can create a private note when you ban multiple users. You can also delete multiple notes at once. Lastly, paid users have the option to add a note (visible only to you) whenever you add or remove a friend (guaranteed to avoid embarrassing social mishaps). If you don't currently have a paid account, you can upgrade now! It only takes a few minutes and costs less than a bad shopping mall haircut (plus, it's way more fashionable)!

Product tweaks and bug kill

In another effort to zap spam, comments containing links from domains LiveJournal deems untrustworthy are now automatically screened
The issue causing random comments to vanish has been fixed!
If you visit a LiveJournal page and get prompted to log in, you'll be returned to the same page after you sign in (Thanks, Dreamwidth)!
If you don't edit the timestamp for an entry at all, the entry timestamp will indicate the time the entry was posted instead of the time the Update Journal page was loaded
Comments with paddings/backgrounds render correctly within the comment box (and will no longer wrap outside the box and break frames/margins)

New FCK fixes rich text editor!

We've updated our RTE (Rich Text Editor) to FCKeditor version 2.6.5
When switching from the RTE to HTML editor, links for syndicated feeds are no longer broken
RTE now functions properly in Safari 4.0
An extra line/space will not be auto-inserted whenever you switch from RTE to HTML editor
The insert image link now works correctly in all browsers

LiveJournal Cares

We’re pleased to introduce you to lj_cares, a new LiveJournal community dedicated to raising awareness and funds for U.S. charitable organizations that improve the health and well-being of people around the world. Each month, we’ll spotlight a nonprofit that is making a significant global impact through medical research, public outreach, and/or humanitarian social programs. Charities will be selected in accordance with the U.S. calendar of national health observances based on a high rating (of over 60%) on Charity Navigator and global scope of impact.

In this, our inaugural month of November, we will celebrate national adoption month by offering a charitable virtual gift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that saves the lives of orphans with life-threatening diseases and places them in loving homes around the world. LiveJournal will donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of charitable vgifts (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares and read about how they helped save Baby Kang and the Rainbow Twins from fatal illnesses, who are now thriving in nurturing families. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries gifts in the Virtual Gift shop.

Papered in postcards

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to send in postcards to surround us with LiveJournal community. Thanks for coming through! We've received postcards all the way from Germany, Finland, and Canada and from all over the US, including Texas, Florida, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, Hawaii, and Oklahoma just to name just a handful. We're thrilled with our improved decor.

Please keep the love coming for one more week by writing to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be drawing the names of ten random contributors next Thursday to win paid account credits!

Photos of the week

We have more dazzling images posted by talented LiveJournal photographers from around the world. We're hoping to span the entire globe, so please continue posting and tagging. Of course, you can also sit back and enjoy the view at lj_photophile.

You can see a sample of this week's gorgeous photos and check out spotlight communities and awesome user content after the jump!


kerrsmith2306	anikonov	natalie_fed

Explosive CSI Deadly Intent contests!

csi_ny

We've got more knock-down, drag-out videogame action. If you're a fan of CSI: Deadly Intent, join csi_ny and post a question to the CSI: Deadly Intent writing team. If your entry is chosen, your question will be answered plus you'll win a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for the Wii. You can also play the game online and answer a couple of questions for a chance to win a Wii! Winners will be selected on the bases of composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Spotlight community of the week

Publish your six word novel now. Short on time, tall on creativity? Brevity is the soul of wit.

sixwordstories

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

If you could change one major thing about your life, whether a relationship, your job, your living situation, your school, etc., what would it be? Are you currently working toward a serious life transition?

Oh yes, would not have gotten married, Oh what a bad idea that was, the children, fantastic, I adore my kids, but marrying their father, dear God that was a mistake...
I would have gotten serious about school when I was younger, and finished it! Oh, how I kick myself for not doing this.
If there is anything I should change it's my job :/ I should get a full-time job doing something that I like or I should be working less and going back to school. Because of various issues I just don't.
I would stop focusing on love and sex and focus on school.
I would change careers. I might change homes. I would change bodies. (Not altogether. But I'd adjust the one I have.) I would NOT change spouses...
IF I could Change one thing it would be a relationship, Iwould go back and never get on the website. I met a man and cheated on my husband. I would never cheat I would never leave him...
I'm a very shy person, which makes me look very introverted. I take time to come out to people, I'd love to change that about me.
I want to change jobs. I currently teach Kindergarten and while I realize it's importance---I am sooo burned out. Letters, sounds, numbers, color words, site words, sorting, graphing. I told my co-worker just this afternoon, "If I have to tell a student, "No!, that's a 'B' not a 'D' one more time," I'm gonna shoot myself." My mind is slowly turning to mush.
For my friends to stop judging me. i do/wear what i want. im my own person. they don't seem to get that...
It's easy for people to look back at their lives and wish they had done something differently. I, however, refuse to do so. I am happy with who I am, who I surround myself, where I'm living and where I'm heading in life. If any minute detail of my past were changed, there's no telling who I would currently be, who I would have married or where I would end up living.

Curtains

We thank you, once again, for joining us. See you next week!

LiveJournal Major Notes: Spam counter-attack, RSS feeds again, CSI Deadly Intent contest

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:15:56 GMT

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!


ilya_gorokhov	galaski	karohemd

Spotlight community of the week

Get your fix of Chinese pop culture and entertainment news.

aiyatheydidnt

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

Which character from any film, television show, or book would you most like to take on a date and why?

Anna Marie Darkholme AKA Rogue Because I love her, because she deserves it more than anyone else I know, and you don't get to know the rest.

Polgara the Sorceress from the David Eddings books. She is well aged, infinitely wise, imminently powerful, and gorgeous.

Edward Cullen because he is gorgeous and a gentleman!

This one is SOOOOO easy. I would date Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a second. My obsession with Donatello is probably not healthy but I dun care.

I would most like to take Michael Madsen from Reservoir Dogs on a date. Particularly his character, Mr. Blonde. I enjoy his undying cynicism and craziness. In essence, he's sexy.

Edward Scissorhands, because I probably love him more most than other fictional character and possibly more than a good amount of real people.

Oh, it's NO CONTEST there! I'd choose Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs. He's real smart, perceptive and has a gorgeous pair of eyes. Oh, and he seems to have some interesting recipes.

Shaggy, from Scooby Doo. I've always had a crush on him. How fun would it be to smoke some weed and then investigate haunted houses? BEST DATE EVAR!

Selene from underworld! Who wouldn't want a date with a sexy vampire woman =D

The Winchesters from Supernatural... Sam n Dean are hot. Movies wise probably Jacob from Twilight. Idk lol.

For more daily questions, comments, and discussion, join writersblock.

Curtains

Thanks, again, for reading. See you next week!

LiveJournal Major Notes: Search super-tweak, postcards, and amazing user content!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:54:09 GMT

In response to user comments from last week, we want to let you know that we'll remain LJ cut-free for the next month in order to get more eyeballs on our evolving newsletter. As for product coverage, that continues to be our top priority. For more granular detail, however, we recommend you join lj_releases.

Super-tweak for Yandex search

Some of our beta testers expressed privacy concerns using the Yandex search engine. Here's why: Last week, when you ran a search, you could see the usernames (and only the usernames) of everyone who commented on an entry, even if that entry was switched to Private or Friends Only after it was originally indexed. You could NOT see the actual comments from Friends Only or Private posts. In response to your input, we've implemented a fix to keep all user activity currently marked Friends Only or Private completely hidden. If you'd prefer your public content not to be indexed by Yandex, click here and use the settings labeled Search Inclusion (this covers your entire journal) and/or Comment Search Inclusion (which covers comments only). To test drive Yandex search now, click here.

Postcards from the edge

Several years ago, we asked LiveJournal users to send postcards to help us decorate our dull, white-washed offices. Since a good idea warrants repetition, we're at it again (same issue, new address). We hope you'll surround us with LiveJournal love by sending your postcards to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. We'll post snapshots right here. Be sure to include your username, since we'll randomly pick 10 lucky recipients to win free paid account time.

Conquer Writer's Block

Here are some excerpts from this week's most popular question of the day:

If a friend or relative makes a racist or homophobic remark, do you tend to confront them or let it slide? Are you more likely to confront them if it offends you directly or someone else who seems reluctant to speak up?

I find it easier to stand up for other people, and i wouldn't let it slide if they made a rude or hurtful comment.
Usually if a friend makes a racist or homophobic remark, I tend to let it slide. I think that while i would not say such things myself, I have no right to censor those around me.
This happens all of the time. I confront some relatives, but I refuse to if they are drunk or watch Fox News.
I'd let it slide if it was just a private remark... As much as I despise bigotry and intolerance, I know that you can't change people-they have to change themselves ...
Confront! confront! confront! Politely, but without equivocation.
SPEAK UP. Always, always, always speak up. Letting something slide lets ignorance win. No matter if it offends me directly, or someone else, I will confront the speaker and let them know that's not ok.
I don't get offended personally. As an immigrant, woman, gay and person of color if I took every single potentially offensive remark seriously I wouldn't get anything done.
I punch them in the balls. With my mind.
I do speak up, but often very timidly because I feel that I'm white and therefore I don't really have any authority to lecture someone on what's racist and what isn't...
Generally speaking, I do not let this shit fly, because it reduces me as a person, to this non-person and it replicates the destructive discourse that makes sure that sexual minorities, racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, trans people and every intersection thereof into something other than human... And sometimes... I'm just too tired to deal with it, so I roll my eyes, make a sarcastic remark and hope the conversation moves on quickly.

For more daily questions and user comments, join writersblock. FYI, we don't want to invade your privacy, so we haven't credited individual users for their responses. We'd appreciate your feedback on this!

Spotlight community of the week

We can't resist making one last midnight trip to the ol' pumpkin patch. If you adore crazy costumes, fiendish festivities, and bottomless candy consumption as much as we do, this community has just what it takes to light up your jack-o-lantern.

halloween_fan

Photos of the week

We received so many incredible photos, we had to close our eyes and point. We uploaded a selection of awesome images at our new lj_photophile community. Please join and start posting (try to keep the width at around 625 for the sake of consistency)! We'd love for you to tell us more about your photos! You can help us select spotlight photos by commenting on your favorites. Once again, we thank you for making our online world more beautiful!


shutter	pancetta	ilya_gorokhov

Curtains

Thanks, again, for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you next week.

LiveJournal Major Notes: Super-search, spam counter-attack, and other cool stuff!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:14:55 GMT

News and Noteworthy: 10.22.09

We're in the process of giving the LiveJournal newsletter a slow, full-body massage. We’ll still keep you posted on key product developments, but from now on we’ll turn more of our attention to you. In the upcoming weeks, we'll expand our focus on original user content, including Writer’s Block responses, photos, and more. If you have fresh ideas about what you'd like to see here, we'd love to hear from you! Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress. For those who crave technical detail, you can join lj_releases to stay in the loop. We look forward to seeing you more often.

Super-search

After months of research, we're proud to announce a beta release of a state-of-the-art search engine on LiveJournal, powered by the Russian search engine leader, Yandex. When you run a keyword search using our beta search tool at the above URL, it will comb through ALL public areas of LiveJournal pages, including journals, communities, comments, and friend pages, to help you find specific info and other users around the world who share your interests. Rest assured that LiveJournal respects user privacy settings and will only display public content. Just so you know, this is a soft launch. You will still see the old search box on the LiveJournal homepage until we've had an opportunity to work out all the kinks with the new search tool. We look forward to hearing your feedback.

Email verifications battle spam

To cut down the amount of spam cluttering your comment pages, inboxes, and friends pages, LiveJournal now requires validated email addresses for all accounts. If you do not have a validated email address, you will not be able to engage in any activity beyond setting up your profile and account settings. In other words, you will NOT be able to send private messages, add friends, post journal entries, community entries, or comments. This is just one of the proactive measures we're employing to reduce spam on LiveJournal. We appreciate your continued patience and support. Together we can can spam!

We've got your trick or treat!

We've added more Halloween vgifts. You can check them out here!

Conquer Writer's Block

Nothing sparks debate like posing a provocative question to the eclectic LiveJournal community. That's why we update Writer's Block daily. You can flex your creative muscles, comment on other responses, or kick back and be entertained. It's also a great way to connect with old and new friends. Now you can add Writer's Block to your friends page or set up a notification to get your daily Writer's Block question on the LiveJournal homepage. Check out excerpts from last week's most popular question!

What is your biggest fear? Have you tried to overcome it?

Clowns. And of course not, clowns are gross and scary.
Spiders. Those creepy crawlers just freaked me out.
Bees. The flying fluff balls with stingers on their butts. Don't like them, don't like the sound they make, don't like that they kind of slither and hop when they land like they should be swarming ...
My biggest fear is 2012. I'm terrified of the end of the world ...
I have a fear of being buried alive, speaking in public, spiders, snakes, and sharks.
My biggest fear is to live anonymously and die anonymously. I don't think I can overcome this.
My biggest fear is height. And how do I overcome it? By not looking down.
Not living up to my own expectations.
Being buried alive with rabid, radioactive armadillos.
My biggest fear is that I'll run out of popcorn while I watch LJ discussions unfold.

Spotlight community of the week

For those who think Halloween is a nice day for a black wedding, you'll find tips, photos, and support to help you celebrate your eternal love in wickedelic style.

halloweddings

Introducing photo of the week

Submitted by amyty.

We want to see your stuff! We're working on a formal submission process. In the meantime, if you'd like us to consider your original photo for an upcoming newsletter or homepage spotlight, please post it to LiveJournal and send us a public link using the comments section below.

Curtains

Hey, thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next week with more product news and community highlights from the wonderful world of LiveJournal!

LiveJournal Major Notes: TxtLJ Verizon, Amped notifications, vgifts, XBOX contests, Blog Action Day!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:10:54 GMT

LiveJournal News: 10.15.09

TxtLJ with Verizon makes a comeback
Amped up TxtLJ notifications
Bag some Halloween vgifts
Calling all videogamers
Support Blog Action Day!

TxtLJ with Verizon makes a comeback
Your patience has finally paid off. You can now use TxtLJ with the Verizon network (provided your mobile phone supports it). This means you can check your profile and post to your Journal, Communities, and ScrapBook right from your cell phone. To sign up for TxtLJ, click here. For more info on how to make the most of TxtLJ features and services, click here. For additional information on how much TxtLJ access you get for each account level, check out the following FAQ and read below.

Amped up TxtLJ notifications
If you suffer LiveJournal separation anxiety whenever you and your computer are divided, help is on the way. Now you don’t have to miss a beat of the drama with increased TxtLJ notifications. Keep in mind that the maximum number of TxtLJ subscriptions you get depends on your account level. If you need more TxtLJ notifications, you can always upgrade to a Paid account anytime. For complete info on all things TxtLJ, check out the following FAQ. Here's the breakdown of maximum messages allowed per account level:

Plus: 6 messages (instead of 3)
Paid: 30 messages (instead of 10)
Permanent: 50 messages (instead of 15)

Bag some Halloween vgifts
We've added some tasty visual treats to sweeten your Halloween festivities. There's something for every LiveJournal witch, ghost, and vampire who comes a'knocking at your Journal door. You can check them out here.

Calling all videogamers
If you love gaming, we've got your golden ticket to high-definition fun and fortune. XBOX 360 is sponsoring an awesome contest. If you're at least 18 years old and live in the United States, simply join morefun_xbox360 and click here to post your answer to the age-old question: How did you fall in love with video games? Enter your response as a comment and you'll be automatically entered to win a 42" Plasma HDTV worth $679.99! Now that's sure to put an extra kick in your joystick. Get all the details and deadlines here.

Support Blog Action Day!
Post your thoughts about eco-activism and help put a chill on global warming. Join blogactionday and register your journal to help drive public awareness and support for environmental issues on Thursday, October 15th.

Thanks for joining us on LiveJournal. Keep posting and we'll keep you posted!

Media embedding change - important notice

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:19:15 GMT

As you may have already noticed, some video and media embedding in LiveJournal entries have been disabled, and content and security level of some entries may have changed unexpectedly. Both are related to a web security exploit that affected some entries on LiveJournal for approximately two hours today. Here is what you should know:

You should check your recent entries to be sure the security level has not been changed and embed tags (as described below) have not been added.
This exploit was spread through malicious Flash code embedded in journal entries.
To combat the exploit, most video and other media embedding has been disabled - we will re-enable them on a site-by-site basis over the coming hours and days.
Once media embedding was disabled, the exploit was stopped; it is no longer a risk.
If you see four boxes (picture below) on a friend's entry, you should inform your friend since they may not be aware of what occurred.

What occurred today caused a limited but serious privacy breach, so we are making this post in order to inform you of the issue, what actions this exploit performed, and how to know if you have been affected. All of the information provided here is offered to the best of our knowledge right now, and if it substantially changes we will update this post or take other action to notify you.

We received several reports beginning at about 7:45 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, September 22nd (2:45 a.m. GMT Wednesday, September 23rd) that entries had been mysteriously altered - by adding additional code and/or by altering the security level. When the users attempted to return the entries to their previous state (taking out the added content or returning the security level to the chosen one), their changes were often reversed again.

Developers were promptly notified, and upon investigation it was determined that the exploit took place through a cross-domain scripting in an embedded Flash file. All media embedding was disabled immediately. At the present time, media embedding from YouTube and RuTube is re-enabled, but we will be adding to that list over the coming days.

How the exploit was spread:
- Viewing an entry with the infected media caused the script to modify the latest entry of the account which viewed it, and added the malicious code to that entry.

What this exploit did:
- When a user who was logged in viewed an infected post, the flash would then make a cross-domain request to livejournal.com
- The most recent post was then edited to add the flash files, and all settings were changed back to default (default userpic, no mood listed, and the security setting was changed to journal default, for example)
- The file then recorded the email address listed on the "Edit Profile" page - meaning, it recorded the email address regardless of the privacy settings
- While the exploit was active (at this time we believe it was about 1-2 hours), affected posts that were edited by the journal owners to their original state would be reverted back to the infected state (not able to be edited/changed)

What this exploit *did not* do:
- It did not steal any passwords, manipulate or "steal" login cookies, or record any information other than an email address
- It was rendered inactive at 8:50 p.m. PDT (September 22nd)/3:50 a.m. GMT/UTC (September 23rd), when LiveJournal engineers disabled embedded media (such as video files) to stop it from spreading
- It did not infect a computer or harm it in any way

How to identify an affected entry/account:
- Accounts which have been affected will have a recent entry with these four boxes at the bottom:

- This will be one of the most recent entries on the journal and/or the top entry (if it is a backdated top-post)
- If no entry with this modification is present, the account has not been affected.

After investigation of the JavaScript code that was found, we believe there are two privacy breaches potentially affecting these journals:
- One or more of the most recent entries in the journal may have had their privacy settings removed; therefore a post set to friends-only or private may have been made public, if the journal default entry-security level is set to "public"
- The email address (whether hidden or not) associated with the account may have been sent back to a server controlled by the attacker

The scope of the exploit/number of users affected:
- We believe this was present for more than one hour but less than two
- Through reports and our investigation this evening, we've seen fewer than 100 affected entries; however, due to the nature of friends pages it is likely more widespread than this
- At this time, we believe the number of users affected is limited - we will investigate activity logs and other data in order to determine with more accuracy the scope of this issue

Major Notes: Your Journal - Your Money

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:37:25 GMT

We're thrilled to announce the launch of Your Journal - Your Money, a joint program with Google AdSense that allows LiveJournal paid and permanent account holders around the world the chance to earn extra cash just by displaying ads on their journals.

If you have a paid or permanent account on LiveJournal, you can start earning some extra pocket money simply by doing what you love to do on LiveJournal, like writing, sharing photos, and catching up with friends! The more people who visit your journal, the more money you can earn. It's that simple. You’ll get to control where ads appear and whether you prefer text or image ads. You can even customize colors and choose different ad sizes and formats. LiveJournal is turning over 100% of net proceeds to you. (After Google takes their cut, the rest is yours.)

Here's how it works: If you sign up for Your Journal - Your Money, you'll see Google AdSense ads displayed on your own journal. You can opt-in if you want to see ads on other journals. As always, paid and permanent account holders who don't opt-in will not view ads on other LiveJournal pages.

Here's all you'll need to get started:

A paid account on LiveJournal: If you don't have one, click here (it costs from $19.95/year)

Next, click here to sign up for a Google AdSense account or to associate your existing AdSense account with your LiveJournal account

Complete the easy sign-up process and choose the type of ads you wish to display

Keep posting and start earning extra income now

Curtain call
That's it for this issue of LiveJournal Major Notes. We're really proud to be in partnership with Google. You can read more about it here. There are some other minor improvements in today's code release. You can read about it in lj_releases.

Thanks, again, for tuning in. Without you, there's no harmony.

International voice posting, LJ contests, syndicate to MySpace & new release!

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:48:14 GMT

Your number's up

Back by popular demand, we're thrilled to announce that we've brought back international voice posting. We'll be adding other countries soon, but here's what we've got so far:

Canada - (705) 805-0069
United Kingdom (tollfree) - 0808 280-0740
Australia - (03) 8888-5192
United States (this hasn't changed) - (888) 840-6189 or (888) LJ-VPOST (558-7678)

Get lucky on LJ

We've got lots of win-win action with some contests and competition this month. Check it out and get in on the fun.

Designing minds: Check out the LiveJournal anniversary theme contest at lj_turns10. Submissions are open until September 14, so there's still time to design the theme of your dreams. Winning designs will play a starring role as our Featured themes, and the theme that takes the Grand Prize will be the default theme for all new accounts for the rest of 2009.

Zazzle bedazzles: Our friends over at lj_promote are so excited about the new LiveJournal store on Zazzle that they're hosting a contest. Comment with a photo of yourself with your favorite LiveJournal t-shirt/pencil/hoodie/hat/thingie (there's lots to choose from at the Zazzle store!), and you could win a $5 LiveJournal gift certificate. Get details here.

Get schooled in giving: LJ’s own ontd_ai_gives has raised serious cash for the Adam Lambert DonorsChoose.org fan group competition. ontd_ai_gives group is at the top of the class with over $25,000 already banked. Donations are welcome through September 20, so you can help support public schools while earning ontd_ai the coveted title of Most Generous Adam Lambert fan group.

Check, mate

A heads up to all of you with checks in the mail. Effective October 1, 2009, we'll ONLY accept payments using a major credit card, PayPal, or Web Money. If we're already billing you online, you're good to go. We're really sorry for the inconvenience, but we won't be taking any new orders with cash, check or Money Order as the payment method after October 1, 2009. If you created your order and mailed your payment before October 1, we'll still credit the order, even if the payment doesn't reach us until after the 1st.

Go bi-postal on MySpace

We know how much you love to share. Now, the writing's on the wall. Install the MySpace widget and instantly syndicate all your LJ posts to your MySpace profile.

To install the widget, log into MySpace, click More (from the upper nav bar), choose Apps Gallery (from the drop-down) and do a keyword search for LiveJournal. Install the widget, complete the quick online form and all of your LiveJournal posts will publish automatically on your MySpace profile. We'll be adding more syndication widgets down the line, so stay posted.

Tag, you're it

We've just released an update that allows Community Maintainers to restrict tag editing to only the author of the post and Maintainers. So, if you subscribe to the philosophy that too many cooks spoil the broth, you now have three restricted options to choose from: (1) Members only, (2) Maintainers only, or (3) Entry author and Maintainers. If you prefer the group soup approach, by all means, change the default setting to Any User, which means any LiveJournal user can edit tags.

To update your tag editing permissions, here's what you do:

log into LiveJournal
mouse over Journal (on the upper nav bar)
choose Manage Tags (from the drop-down-menu)
on the top of the page, next to Work as user, choose the community you want to change permissions for; click Switch
scroll down to Tag Settings and choose a permission level
when you're done, click Save Settings (on the bottom of the page)

LiveJournal is hiring!

If you're smart, driven and passionate about LiveJournal, we want you on our team!

Check out our current openings for a Russian Abuse Prevention Team member and an Operations Engineer:

Other important stuff

TxtLJ service through Verizon is still down, but we have been told it should be working shortly!
The number of comments has been added to the entry view of each post, so you can watch your comment-count grow.
TxtLJ limits remain status quo, but will be increasing in the near-future.
Read more details on changes and feature updates in lj_releases.

New LiveJournal Merchandise Store, Anniversary Design Contest, and Paid Time Extension

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:23:11 GMT

New Store, New Gear—Check out the goods at the new store for LJ merchandise.

Theme Design Contest—Show off your design skills to all of LJ.

Outage—We're sorry. We want to make it up to you.

Welcome to a Special Edition Birthday News Post—we have a few happy things to share with you as we continue our yearlong celebration of LiveJournal's 10th birthday. Read on to get dressed up, strut your creative stuff, and make up for lost time.

Prepare to Be Zazzled

One of our best birthday presents is the brand-new LiveJournal store hosted by Zazzle. Zazzle lets you customize just about anything you could want, which makes it perfect for LiveJournal merchandise. The awesome selection of LJ gear includes everything from the classic hoody to a thoughtful tote bag. You can even declare your love for LJ in Japanese, or wear your heart on your shirt (or your dog's shirt.) If you want to go the classy route, check out the embroidered shirts and hats. The only challenging thing about the new store is deciding which new design is your favorite (we love them all, of course).

After you've selected your unique blend of logo, shirt, and color, add your own special flair via tagline, journal URL, or any image or text by clicking the "Customize it" button!

It gets even better—Zazzle has international shipping to 67 countries. Whether you're in Afghanistan or Zimbabwe, you can get your LJ gear delivered right to your door. So check out the new store and let us know what you think!

Birthday Theme Design Contest

Are you ready to dazzle us with your amazing design skills? As of the moment this news release is posted, submissions are now open for the official LiveJournal Birthday Celebration Theme Design Contest. Here's the official scoop:

Who: You!

What: Create a new theme for the Minimalism style. Your design can be based on LiveJournal or LiveJournal's 10th birthday, but it's not required. You can submit a design based on anything you feel inspired by (as long as it's safe for work).

How: You can create your theme using CSS, S2, images for backgrounds or headers, or any other way that works for you. We'll code the winning styles into S2 for you.

Where: Submit your design by making a new post in the lj_turns10 community.

When: The contest opens for entries beginning now and ending at 11:59 p.m. PST on September 14th. Then we'll make a poll in lj_turns10 with all the eligible entries and you'll be able to vote on your favorites.

Why: The top 5 vote-getting themes will be added to the available themes for all LJ users. The theme with the most votes will also become the default theme for all new users through the rest of 2009. And the LJ staff will select a Staff Choice winner. All six winners will receive credit (by full name or username, whichever you prefer) on the "Select a Theme" section of the customization area, as well as adoration, fame, and the respect of your peers.

Check out this post in the lj_turns10 community for the nitty-gritty rules and requirements. We can't wait to see your designs.

It's on Us

As you might be aware, LiveJournal (along with Twitter, Facebook, and a number of other sites) experienced some outages and slowness starting Thursday August 6th and continuing periodically over the next few days due to a series of DDoS attacks. Some of you may have been unable to access LiveJournal or encountered considerable load times when using the site.

We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that might have resulted from the outage. The cause was out of our control, but we definitely feel your pain at the forced break from LiveJournal, particularly those of you with Paid accounts. Your LJ time is money, after all. To make up for it, we're offering a 3-day extension of Paid account time to our Paid members. All users with active Paid accounts as of Thursday, August 6, 2009, are eligible for the extension. You can find full details on the extension and how to claim it in this post over at paidmembers.

My Guests, LiveJournal Messenger, New Polls Features, New Mobile Service

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:37:27 GMT

My Guests: Set Your Preference
LiveJournal Messenger
New Polls Feature
New Mobile Service
Edit Your Comments

Getting Ready for Guests

If you've ever wanted to know who's been looking at your journal, you'll be very interested in our upcoming My Guests feature.

Users opted-in to our Cyrillic services are already familiar with My Guests, and now we're working on opening it up to all our users. Now you'll be able to see who's been visiting your journal and other users will be able to see that you have come a-calling.

That is, if you want them to. We know not everyone is into that kind of visibility, which is why we've made My Guests opt-in. We just need you to set your preferences for the feature before we launch it. The next time you go to the Home page or Account Settings, you'll be prompted by a dialog box asking you whether you want to enable My Guests or not.

When it comes to My Guests, you're either in or you're out. Enabling My Guests means that you will see who visits your journal and will be visible to others when visiting their journals. If you choose not to enable My Guests, your name will not be visible in other users' My Guests reports and you will not see a report of visitors to your journal.

The default setting is for My Guests to be turned off, but the dialog box will keep appearing until you make a selection. To help you make a fully informed choice, there's a more detailed description of My Guests in this post in feedback.

LiveJournal Messenger

We've added a new way to chat directly with your friends on LJ: LiveJournal Messenger, powered by Windows Live ID. LiveJournal Messenger is an in-browser chat client, which means you don't have to install anything after you've turned it on. All it takes is a Windows Live ID linked to your LiveJournal account. To turn on LiveJournal Messenger, go to the Extensions tab on the Account Settings page and check the box to turn on LiveJournal Messenger. You'll be prompted to create a Windows Live ID with your LiveJournal username, and then you can get started chatting with all your LJ friends. You can also receive all your LJ notifications in LiveJournal Messenger, so you can chat away and still keep up with your LJ. Check out the FAQ for all the details on how to use LiveJournal Messenger.

New in Polls

What's the best way to find out what people think? Poll them, of course! You can learn all kinds of useful stuff by creating a poll for your readers, and now we've added something even more useful: the number of participants in the poll. When there are multiple questions in a poll, it can be hard to figure out exactly how many people responded. Some may have answered every question and others only a few. Or maybe there's only one question but users gave multiple answers. You know the total number of answers, but not how many people gave you those answers. Now when you look at polls, you can see how many unique users participated. So do not ask for whom the poll tolls, but for how many.

m.livejournal.com

We're putting the finishing touches on a new mobile service and we need your help as we finalize this feature. m.livejournal.com offers mobile users a streamlined interface with full LJ functionality. Optimized for modern mobile devices, m.livejournal.com makes using LJ on your mobile phone faster and easier when you're out and about, with links to your journal and your Friends, Profile, and Post an Entry pages all right there in one place. We'd love for you to try out the new mobile service and let us know what you think in the comments over at feedback.

(And if you're currently using www.livejournal.com/mobile, don't worry, it's not going anywhere for the time being.)

Take It Back with a Paid Account

You know what they say: comment in haste, repent in leisure. Whether it's because you've had time to think through your argument a little more clearly or you can't stand the thought of a misspelled word standing for eternity, there can be a lot to regret in commenting too quickly. Those lucky users with Paid accounts, however, don’t have to worry about such things. That's because one of the many perks of having a Paid account is that you can edit your comments. So if you've ever clicked Post Comment in the heat of the moment and lived to regret it, it might be time to upgrade to a Paid account.

As always, you can get the full scoop on this week's release in lj_releases.

Notes, Geo-Location, Pingbacks, Birthday Wishes, and More

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:17:54 GMT

New Notes Feature
Automatic Detect Location
Pingbacks for All
Birthday Wishes

New and Notes-worthy

The bigger your Friends list gets, the harder it can be to keep track of exactly how you know all those people. So if you have a Paid account and have ever had trouble remembering who __frank__1999___ is, then you'll find the new Notes feature to be your new best friend. When you add a Note for a user, you'll be able to see the Note whenever you hover your mouse over the username or look at the header of the user's Profile page. Your Notes are visible only to you, so there's no need to worry about someone else seeing them. There are three different ways to add, edit, and remove Notes:

On the userhead menu that appears when you hover the mouse over the userhead icon, click Add Note (or Edit Note if you've already created a Note for that user) and enter the note in the dialog box that appears.

On the Manage Notes page, you can add, edit, or remove any of your Notes. You can access the Manage Notes page from the Profile pull-down menu at the top of the Home and Profile page.

On the Manage Friends page in the column conveniently titled "Notes."

For full details on how to take Notes on all your friends, read the FAQ.

Where in the World?

Now you can add a little geo-flair to your entries with the new automatic Location Detect feature. Instead of entering text in the Location field of the Post an Entry page, just click Detect and your location will be automatically filled in. Wondering how it knows where you are? Detection is based on your IP address and includes your country, state (for the U.S. only), and city. When you click Detect, no personal identifying information is collected or stored by LiveJournal or any other site.

If you want to get even more geo-specific, you can install the Google Gears client for Windows, Windows Mobile, or Mac OS. This third-party client can automatically detect your location down to the street address. So if, for instance, you take a cool photo of an abandoned place and want to post it in the community, you can click Detect and have the exact address of the abandoned place included in your entry.

But if you prefer to be undetectable, or to have your location defined by your imagination rather than geographic data, you can always fill in the Location field with your own text or just leave it blank. Check the FAQ for full details.

Pingbacks for Everyone!

Pingbacks, previously available only to Paid and Permanent accounts, let you track references to your posts. With this release, Pingbacks are now available to Plus and Basic users, too. Find out everything you need to know about Pingbacks in the FAQ and let the pinging begin.

Birthday Wishes from a Special Someone

On a recent tour stop in Moscow, Moby came by the LiveJournal office to give us a video birthday card. Thanks to Moby for the best wishes, and of course, thanks to you, our users!

Those are the highlights of this week's release; as always, you can get the full scoop in lj_releases.

Advisory Board Election Winners

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:44:04 GMT

And the Winner Is . . .

The votes have been tallied, the results are in, and we have a winner (two, actually). Congratulations to the newly elected user representatives to the LJ Advisory Board: from lj_election_en, it's kylecassidy, and from lj_election_ru, it's nekbke! You can see the full breakdown of results for lj_election_en here and for lj_election_ru here. Thanks to everyone for your participation.

Advisory Board Elections, New Themes, Green by Design Contest

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:44:48 GMT

Advisory Board Elections
New Green Themes
Green by Design Contest

The Polls Are Open!

Calling LJ users to the polls—voting starts today, June 22, for user representatives to the LiveJournal Advisory Board! Voting takes place in lj_election_ru for Cyrillic-language users and in lj_election_en for all other users. Here's what you need to know to be an informed voter:

Polls are open from 9:00 a.m. PDT and MSD, June 22, to 4:30 p.m. PDT and MSD, June 26.

Only accounts created before March 31, 2009, are eligible to vote in this year’s election.

Only one account per registered email address may vote.

The candidates in lj_election_en are webqatch, vichan, kylecassidy, jameth, and daphaknee. Click on the username to see a candidate's nomination statement.

If no candidate receives a clear 51% of the first-choice vote, the winners will be determined using an Instant Runoff process.

We'll announce the winners and the results Monday, June 29, 2009, after the results have been examined for accuracy and veracity, and (if needed) run through the Instant Runoff tallying program.

The new user representatives to the LJ Advisory Board will be seated and begin their terms on July 1, 2009.

Now get out there and vote!

New Green Themes

Although Kermit the Frog might have struggled with being green, we think it's not really that hard to go green. And we have some new green themes for your journal to help make it even easier for you.

We've partnered with One Million Acts of Green, brought to you by Cisco to bring you these three new themes:

A green theme is the perfect way to show the world just how much you love our planet. Plus, by adding a green theme to your journal, you’ll be supporting One Million Acts of Green, a collaborative environmental campaign encouraging everyone to go green one act at a time. The goal? A million acts of green.

After you add a green theme to your journal, visit the One Million Acts of Green site and record your own Acts of Green. Whether you turn the lights off when they're not in use, ride your bike to school/work, or just get your friends to start recording their Acts of Green, every single act makes a difference.

Green by Design Contest

While we're on the green theme, we thought the designers among you might be interested in this Green by Design contest. To enter, all you have to do is create a Green Badge with an earth-friendly design and/or eco-minded message. The winning badge will link to the One Million Acts of Green site. You can get full details and information on how to enter at lj_contests.

Advisory Board Election Announcement

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:02:19 GMT

Let the Nominating Begin!

As of today, nominations for user representatives to the Advisory Board are open. You can only nominate yourself, so if you want to run, you need to join lj_election_en or lj_election_ru and post an entry in the election community stating that you are nominating yourself as a candidate for the Advisory Board elections. To support a nominee, comment on their nomination post in the election community with a clear declaration of support. Nominations close at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009. You can find full details on the election and the nomination process in news and on the profile pages of lj_election_en and lj_election_ru. Happy nominating!

Advisory Board Election Announcement

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:47:23 GMT

Advisory Board Elections

Calling all potential candidates—nominations for user representatives to the LJ Advisory Board open next week! As we announced last month, we're holding Advisory Board elections this month and we want you to take part.

Nominations for user representatives begin on Monday, June 15, 2009, and close on Friday, June 19, 2009. All the election action—including the nomination process—will take place in lj_election_en and lj_election_ru. But don't worry, we'll announce all election happenings in news, so even if you’re not watching the two election communities, you'll still be able to participate and know what is going on.

Nominations

As stated above, nominations open on Monday, June 15, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. PDT and MSD, and close on Friday, June 19, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. PDT and MSD. We will post again in news on the 15th so that as many users as possible are aware of events.

Ready to declare your candidacy? This is how the nomination process works:

Users may only nominate themselves; no third-party nominations will be accepted. To nominate yourself, join the election community (lj_election_ru for Cyrillic-language users and lj_election_en for all other users) and make a post any time during the nomination period. Posts to the election communities will be moderated—all posts that meet the guidelines described below will be approved.

In your nomination post, you should:

Clearly state that you are nominating yourself as a candidate for the Advisory Board elections.

Include a statement about why you think you would make a good representative or why you’d like to serve.

Use an lj-cut if the post is more than two paragraphs.

Set Comment Screening to All Comments.

Optionally, you may also include a link to an entry in your journal or a community that further states your position or platform, or that has your answers to these five suggested questions, also found in the community profiles of lj_election_en and lj_election_ru:
1. What do you think is the value of LiveJournal?
2. What changes would you like to see LiveJournal make in the next year?
3. Why do you want to be the elected representative?
4. What do you think are the community’s greatest concerns?
5. What skills, qualifications, or unique perspective do you think you would bring to this position?

Supporting a Nominee

To support a nominee’s candidacy, you should comment to their nomination entry stating “I support this nomination” or something substantially similar. You may support multiple candidates’ nominations. Nominees need 300 motions of support in order to be invited to be a candidate in the election. Candidates are asked to assist by only unscreening those comments that express this motion of support, and election moderators will help with that process.

Once a post has comments of support from 300 different users, we will send the nominee a certification form to the email address currently registered and validated for use with their account. The form outlines the responsibilities and commitments that the user representative will likely have and asks the nominee to certify that they are willing and able to serve if elected. In order to be included in the election poll, a nominee must return this signed form via fax or email scan by 5:00 p.m. PDT and MSD on Friday, June 19, 2009. Instructions are included in the form.

Campaigning

It's hard to run for office without campaigning, and naturally we expect nominees will want to campaign for this election. Go for it. We do ask, however, that candidates and their supporters stay within the LiveJournal Terms of Service (i.e. no spamming, no encouraging others to spam other journals on your behalf, and such activities). Candidates who wish to serve as an Advisory Board representative are asked to maintain behavior befitting the position.

The Election

We will post the election poll starting at 9:00 a.m. PDT and MSD on June 22, 2009, and closing at 4:30 p.m. PDT and MSD, June 26, 2009. We will announce the opening of the polls in news and post the election polls in lj_election_en and lj_election_ru. Users will be able to select their first, second, and third choice.

Voting in the poll
Cyrillic-language users may only vote in the lj_election_ru poll, and all other users may only vote in the lj_election_en poll. Additional restrictions include:

Only accounts created before March 31, 2009, are eligible to vote in this year’s poll.

Only one account per email address may vote.

Tallying the results
After the polls close on June 26, 2009, we will determine the winner of the elections in the following way:

If a user receives 51% of the first-choice vote, that candidate will be declared the winner.

If no user receives 51% of the first-choice vote, we will begin an Instant Runoff process. The user with the lowest tally for first-choice vote will be eliminated, and the second-choice candidate on those ballots will be substituted as first choice. This process will continue (drop the lowest candidate, reassign to next vote, tally again) until any user has 51% of the vote.

If all ballots are exhausted and no candidate has 51% of the vote, we will return to the first round and award the election to the candidate with the most first-choice votes.

New Advisory Board Members

We’ll post the results and announce the winner on Monday, June 29, 2009, after the results have been examined for accuracy and veracity, and (if needed) run through the Instant Runoff tallying program. The new user representatives to the LJ Advisory Board will be seated and begin their terms on July 1, 2009.

LJ Birthday, New Mood Theme, HarrisInteractive Survey

Thu, 21 May 2009 23:09:19 GMT

Note: We have disabled email notifications for this news release due to problems that have caused some users to receive duplicate emails of our recent news post. We expect to re-enable these email notifications with the next news post.

Birthday Suit
New Mood Theme
Your Opinion Matters

Our Birthday Suit

You might have noticed that LJ is sporting a new look today in honor of our birthday. The Home page is all dressed up in a new header to show off our birthday spirit. And to share the birthday spirit with everyone, there's a new birthday gift in the Gift Shop. If you have a Paid or Permanent Account, or have had your account for 5 years or more, the birthday v-gift is free for you to send to up to 5 friends. So sing a rousing round of Happy Birthday and get on over to the Gift Shop to start spreading the birthday love around. The party doesn't stop here, however: Look for more special birthday fun to come over the next few months.

In the Mood

Looking for different ways to express the emotions behind your posts? This week's release includes a new mood theme to help you get across the mood you were in on your visit to update.bml. The new manga-inspired theme is called Full Stop and you can find it on the Mood Theme Preview page—check it out and let everyone know how you feel.

Ready for a mood change but not sure how to do it? Take a look at this FAQ for instructions on how to change your mood theme using the themes available on the Mood Theme Preview page. If you have a Paid Account and complex emotions that aren't adequately expressed with the available themes, you can create your own Custom Mood Theme. If you have complex emotions to express but don't have a Paid Account, it might be time to upgrade your account.

Your Opinion Matters

As part of our efforts to get better insights into our audience of readers as well as writers, we’re participating in the spring HarrisInteractive NetObserver survey, which runs through May 31. The survey builds a portrait of Internet users and LJ users—and you have a chance to contribute your opinions. If you're an LJ user in a European country, including the UK and Germany, you also have the chance to win one of several prizes totaling 5,000 euros in value! Of course, the opinions of users in the U.S. and other countries are welcome, too. All you have to do is click, tell us what you think, and enter the drawing for your chance to win.

For more details about this week's release, visit lj_releases.

Advisory Board Elections General Announcement

Fri, 15 May 2009 21:06:19 GMT

Advisory Board Elections
Theme Design Contest Postponed

Advisory Board Elections

Have you ever wanted to be more involved in shaping the future of LiveJournal? Do you have strong opinions about the kinds of features and services LJ should offer its users? Are you ready to play a more active role in the LiveJournal community? Wondering how you can act on your vision for LJ? Run for user representative to the LiveJournal Advisory Board! Advisory Board elections are nigh and now is the time to throw your hat in the ring.

The LiveJournal Advisory Board is an international group of well-informed, highly respected users who help guide the values of LiveJournal by advising the management of LiveJournal Inc. on the development and operations of the LiveJournal platform. Current members of the Board include danahboyd, courtjesther, brad, lessig, and suhel_seth. Advisory Board members each bring a unique perspective to the Board: law, business, knowledge of social media, and awareness of LiveJournal history.

But without the unique perspective of the LiveJournal community, the Board is incomplete. That's why the Board also has two user representatives—users elected by the users—among its members. Here's how it works:

Two Elections

Just as we did last year, we are holding two elections: one to elect a representative from the non-Cyrillic community (English speakers) and one to elect a representative from the Cyrillic-language users (Russian speakers). Posts regarding the elections will be announced in news and ru_news. The elections will be held at the same time and governed by the same rules. The decision to hold two separate elections reflects the fact that the LiveJournal community can broadly be split into two different segments of Russian and non-Russian language users.

Timeline

This year, the nomination and election process will take place during the last two weeks of June. Open nominations, and the chance for users to second the nominations, will be held the week of June 15–19. When the nominations close, LiveJournal will certify the candidates who have been nominated and those candidates will have time to communicate with users regarding positions or campaigning. The elections will open up on June 22 and close on June 26. The new LiveJournal User Representatives to the Advisory Board will be seated on July 1, 2009.

Requirements for Candidacy

To be considered as a candidate for the Advisory Board elections, a user must be:

at least 18 years old as of May 1, 2009

a LiveJournal user since December 31, 2008

nominated and elected using their primary LiveJournal username

willing to use their primary LiveJournal username for Advisory Board business, either by using their actual journal to make posts in official communities or using it to respond to comments and official threads

willing to serve under their full legal name, including having their name recorded on minutes, correspondence, opinions, or other material in relation to their service

available to travel to the once-a-year, in-person meeting in San Francisco, CA, to be held in September (travel costs will be reimbursed)

available for quarterly conference calls, and for consultation via telephone or email correspondence should a situation arise that would need their advice

willing to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in relation to the work and discussions of the Advisory Board

Requirements for Voting

To be eligible to vote in the election, a user must have created their account before March 31, 2009. Voting will take place in the form of a poll, which will remain open during the week of June 22–26. The winner will be determined via Instant Runoff Voting. This means that users will be able to select their first, second, and third choice candidates. In the event there is no clear majority, the lowest-ranked candidates will be eliminated and the users who selected those candidates as first choice will have their vote reassigned to their second-choice candidate. This system is repeated until a clear winner is evident.

Serving on the Board

Logistics
The LiveJournal Advisory Board will meet in person this year in September, in San Francisco, CA. It will hold quarterly conference calls with the management to consider major issues. LiveJournal Inc. will reimburse all travel and related expenses, and offer an honorarium, which may be paid directly to the member or to a charity of his or her choosing.

Structure
The LiveJournal Advisory Board is independent of the LiveJournal Inc. management structure.

Elected user representatives serve a one-year term on the Advisory Board.

Should a user representative of the LiveJournal Advisory Board become unable to perform the necessary duties, he or she shall inform LiveJournal Inc. management in writing. After his or her resignation has been accepted, the user with the next-highest amount of votes in the final vote tally from the previous election will be asked to take up the open position on the Advisory Board.

Meetings
The agenda for meetings and conference calls will be agreed upon between LiveJournal Inc. management and the Advisory Board. Management will respond promptly to any request for documentation.

The LiveJournal Advisory Board may publish position papers by majority vote, including dissenting position papers should LiveJournal Inc. management not follow their recommendations. Beyond the posted statements, LiveJournal Advisory Board members will be held to confidentiality and will be required to sign legally binding non-disclosure agreements to protect the integrity of Board discussions. Advisory Board members are welcome to discuss their role and the work of the Board in public forums but are asked to respect the confidential nature of the discussions that take place.

Birthday Theme Design Contest Rescheduled

In April we announced that later in the spring we'd be holding a special Theme Design Contest as part of our ongoing tenth birthday celebrations. What happened? We ran into a little delay with the contest, which meant that it would overlap with the Advisory Board elections, which would then in turn need to be pushed back. Rather than having a series of cascading delays, we're going to just switch up the order and have the elections first, followed by the theme design contest. So look for the contest to start after the votes are tallied and the results are in, and in the meantime be thinking about your design!

Happy Birthday, LiveJournal!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:42:53 GMT

Happy Birthday, LJ!

Cue the cake and candles, it's our birthday! On April 15, 1999, brad registered the LiveJournal.com domain name, giving birth to the web's original community blogging platform. Ten crazy years later (and not without some growing pains), LiveJournal is still going strong and we're ready to celebrate. It's not every year that you turn 10, so we have lots of things lined up over the next few months.

Birthday Theme Design Contest

Everyone likes to get dressed up for their birthday and we thought it would be fun to come up with some new birthday suits for the site. Or rather, that it might be fun for you (if you're into S2 and CSS) to come up with some new outfits i.e. journal themes. If you love making new themes for styles like Bloggish and Flexible Squares, the LiveJournal Birthday Theme Contest is for you. Submissions open on April 29 and we want to give you time to fire up your imagination. The theme of this theme contest is "LiveJournal Turns 10," but other than that we're leaving it as open as possible so as not to stifle your creativity. You can use Frank, the LiveJournal logo, base your theme on an existing or past LiveJournal site scheme, or any number of things relating to LJ's tenth birthday. Winning entries will be featured in the Journal Themes on the customize page. We'll announce all the rules and technical requirements here and in lj_design on April 29 when the contest officially starts. We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Commemorative Writer's Block and LJ Spotlight

Part of getting older is looking back on your life and reflecting on those special moments. For the next several weeks we'll be running Writer's Block questions about milestones in your own LiveJournal life. We're mixing these in with the regular questions, so keep an eye on your Home page for your chance to wax nostalgic about topics like your first post ever and more.

We don't want LJ Spotlight to feel left out of the celebrating, which is why starting on April 20, the Spotlight will be shining its bright light back on some old favorites. Each week we're going to feature a popular pick from the past (kind of like the Greatest Hits of Spotlight) alongside two newcomers. That way we can all make new friends but keep the old.

Sneak Peek at the Birthday Book

One birthday plan we've had in the works for a while now is an anthology of LiveJournal entries from the past 10 years. (Maybe we've mentioned this before?) We're very busy finalizing the content of the book (let's just say we have new respect for all the work that goes into creating a book) but we wanted to give you a little advance preview of what's in it. Starting today, we'll be posting a weekly excerpt from the book over at lj_turns10. First up, it's Frank!

Coming Soon to a Journal Near You: Attack of the Blog Slurper!

We're using Blurb to make our book, and we're having so much fun that we want you to get in on the bookish good times, too. That's why we're super-excited (!!) to announce our new partnership with the friendly folks at Blurb. Blurb makes it easy to create your own bookstore-quality books, using their free BookSmart software and your content. Even better, Blurb makes it easy to turn your journal into a book with their Blog Slurper. In just a few short clicks, the Blog Slurper pulls (or slurps, if you will) your journal entries into the BookSmart software, where you can format it to your heart's desire. In less than a week your book will be printed, bound, and on its way to you. So if you've always wanted to hold your LJ in your hands, this is your chance.

Photographers should definitely check out the Blurb Photography Book Now contest. With a distinguished panel of jurors and a Grand Prize of $25,000, the contest is a great opportunity to showcase your work to an international audience.

To get you started, Blurb is offering LiveJournal users a little birthday discount. From now through June 30, 2009, you can get $10 off the price of a $29.95 book. Just enter promo code livej10anv when you order your book. Click here to let the books begin.

Tell Your Story

That's enough about us for one news post. Let's talk about you. We're sure you have a story of greatness to share, and our friends at Nature Made want to hear it.

Greatness doesn't have to come in big packages. Whether you volunteer at an animal shelter, play in a band, or try to live a green life, it's the impact and inspiration of your personal story that matters. Answer today’s Writer’s Block: “What change have you made in your life that you're most proud of?” to share your story and inspire others.

After you’ve answered the Writer’s Block, you can submit your story of greatness at NatureMade.com and enter to win $1000 and a spot in the Nature Made “Fuel Your Greatness” documentary. If you have a Basic, Paid, or Permanent account and want to share your story with Nature Made, click here to answer the question.

Delete Comments, Report Spambots, Accelerator Add-on, Find Your Friends

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:25:56 GMT

Happy April! All joking aside, we thought you might find these new features helpful in your day-to-day LJ life:

Delete All Comments from a User

It's a bummer when an unwelcome guest pays a visit to your journal and leaves a bunch of rude comments behind. Cleaning up after them can take a long time. That's why we've made it easier to mass-delete comments from a single user in a post. When you click Delete on one comment by that user, a dialog box pops up that gives you the option to delete all the comments by that user in the post. Happy spring cleaning!

Report a Spambot

We've also made it easier to report a user that you suspect of being a spambot. The pop-up menu that's visible when you hover your mouse over the userhead icon now includes an option to report that user as a bot.

Just click on "Report a Bot" to get the investigation going.

Accelerator in Internet Explorer 8

The latest version of Internet Explorer has a new add-on for LiveJournal users. Accelerator makes it easy for you to quickly post an entry about an article or web page to your journal without having to leave the site where you found the item you're writing about. Just select the text you want to post and let Accelerator do the rest.

Have You Found Your Friends?

The Find Your Friends feature is up and running, helping connect LiveJournal users with friends from their web-based email contacts who are also on LJ. Whether you're new to LJ or you're a longtime user, you just might be able to make an old friend into a new Friend. You can set your own preferences for being found or not found on the Account Settings page under the Privacy tab.

As always, you can get the full details on the latest release in lj_releases.