re: bandwagon

So, everyone apparently has something to say about OD being down (and then down again) so I thought I’d throw in my two cents. Take it or leave it. 

So- things that are awesome about OD (let’s start there, shall we, so I don’t sound bitter or something). 

• OD is for the most part, free.  That’s pretty awesome, …but so is Xanga and Livejournal.
• There is less of a chance of people finding my diary here simply because it is a smaller site, and not as large as Xanga or Livejournal
• I don’t get a rash of pop-ups, reminders, or newsfeeds everytime I log in
• The people are pretty good- they’re not here to see how many readers they can get- they’re here because they want to write.  Sure there are popularity contests here and there, but for the most part, it’s pretty diary-centered.
• I’ve been here for almost ten years now, and though I’ve been gone here and there, I don’t think I’ll ever leave as long as the site keeps on running.  

Now, for the stuff that pisses me off

• Losing a shitload of entries in 2004.  What the fuck.  That was lamesauce.
• Downtime.  I mean really- give us a splash page or something.  An update.  Because of all the previous attacks, people worry about this site more than others because it is small, and there have been successful attacks where people lost shit.  Can’t you understand why people might be more concerned about this site than others, simply because of previous data loss?
• Telling me it’s fixed when it’s not.  That’s unnecessary, and is the internet equivalent of a run-around with a thumb up your ass.  Don’t tell me something is fixed, and then don’t even have a splash page for the same error that has been happening the last two weeks.  That’s the kind of bullshit that pisses people off- and rightly so.
• The over-privileged ‘lifetime’ members and ‘oldies’ repeating their complaints on the OD facebook page. A lot of people have been here a long time- and let me tell you something- the internet doesn’t give a fuck about your claims to have been here a long time.  Go jerk each other off somewhere quiet- this ‘fact’ doesn’t weight your opinion any differently than anyone elses.  Make a concise point that hasn’t been made 40 times before you in the same thread in a well written manner, and quelle surprise- people will listen! 
• People telling others that we all need to relax when the site goes down, and that this is just the DM’s ‘other’ job, and therefore his ‘best’ should be good enough.  If it were good enough, you wouldn’t be losing members, and this discussion wouldn’t be happening.

Lastly, the argument that the ‘measly’ $100 that people pay for a lifetime membership is Bruce just trying to get his overhead paid, so paid members shouldn’t be pissed at the downtime.  Nope.  ‘Undercharging’ doesn’t make Bruce a ‘nice guy’- it makes him a shitty businessman.  Because that’s what running a website like this is- it’s a business.  It became a business the second he accepted a single cent for this service- the fact that he’s not charging a lot for it just makes it bad business.  And when you run a business like a personal stomping ground, people get pissed.  If there’s one thing I know about people, it’s that you don’t fuck with their money.  I don’t care if it’s $20, or $2000, you don’t fuck around with people’s money.  So when other diaryists insinuate that this ‘tiny’ amount is suddenly worthless, you piss people off.  QED