As alienor points out, it's not nearly that cut-and-dried. Indeed, in many ways it is *very* analogous to the SCA situation. In both cases the social community was there first, and the commercial entity as we know it built up on top of that, without much consent by the community. While it certainly varies, I think you're seriously underestimating the depth of feeling that many people have for LJ as a community.
I mean, really -- how *is* SUP (the owner of LJ) different from the SCA, Inc? They're both commercial entities that exist essentially to provide services to a community. Yes, one is for-profit and the other isn't, but that's a rather fine line to draw, and means less than most people think.
Similarly, how is LJ different from the SCA on a social level? Yes, you are a member of LJ who feels rather casually about it -- similarly, I'd guess that the considerable majority of SCA participants don't give all that much of a damn about the Society in the large, but just care about their friends in it. There are differences, but I suspect that, if you step back and look at both entities in the aggregate, they are more alike than you're giving them credit for...
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Date: 2008-03-18 10:30 pm (UTC)I mean, really -- how *is* SUP (the owner of LJ) different from the SCA, Inc? They're both commercial entities that exist essentially to provide services to a community. Yes, one is for-profit and the other isn't, but that's a rather fine line to draw, and means less than most people think.
Similarly, how is LJ different from the SCA on a social level? Yes, you are a member of LJ who feels rather casually about it -- similarly, I'd guess that the considerable majority of SCA participants don't give all that much of a damn about the Society in the large, but just care about their friends in it. There are differences, but I suspect that, if you step back and look at both entities in the aggregate, they are more alike than you're giving them credit for...