Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS

[ffutures]

Originally posted by deathpixie at Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS

For those wanting to know more about the recent DDoS attacks, yes, it looks like it was the Russian government trying to shut down the dissidents again.

As I said last time, while it's frustrating not to have access, LJ is a lot more than a social network platform. From the article:

"LiveJournal isn’t just a social network. It’s also a platform for organizing civic action. Dozens of network projects and groups mobilize people to solve specific problems — from defending the rights of political prisoners to saving endangered historic architecture in Moscow."

So while I know many are considering the move over to Dreamwidth and other such sites, supporting LJ is a way we can help support those who use it for more than a writing/roleplaying/social venue.


Also, as a FYI, LJ is giving paid users effected by the outage two weeks of paid time as compensation.

Comments

[keristor.livejournal.com]

I don't trust any 'privacy' options. If it is on any system not under my direct control, it's not private (unless I've encrypted it). OK, there are degrees, if I have a SLA with the company then I can sue them if my data gets out, and depending how much I pay that may inhibit them (also, how much damage would be done to their reputation with higher-paying users). As far as LJ is concerned, I behave as though anything I write might as well be open to anyone if they look, the only benefit of filters is to limit those who I would rather not see it by accident see it (for things like planning a 'surprise' party or whatever). But if someone on a filter decides to copy a post and send it out as spam, I have no control over it (except to beat the person to a pulp if I meet them so they won't do it again, but the damage will have been done).

Any 'privacy' on a corporate system is purely at the whim of the owner. If LJ's owners wanted to do so they could turn every post 'public' at a whim, and no one would have any recourse. The same for security, they could delete every post from a user if they feel like it. The most any user could do would be to leave (again, after the damage had been done), and as we've seen the vast majority don't leave (and those who do are soon replaced). Look at all the fuss over Facebook's privacy and security gaffes, and it still has a growing number of users.

Filtering can be better done by user-controlled software at their end. With Usenet, for instance, I could filter down to "I only want to read X if the subject includes xxx" (and yes, case sensitive or with regular expressions if I wanted), or "Y only if in a comment to Z", or any other combination. I could filter out messages with images or video (OK, if they had such in those days), or over a certain size. And although I was happy editing the filters as text, they could as easily be made GUI-friendly.

Yes, the same goes for email (although not as much now as when it was common for an email to go through tens of servers en route to the destination). But if I really want it private then I can encrypt it for only those people who I want to read it.

Adverts? I don't see them on LJ or anywhere else when browsing...