REBLOG: IMPORTANT RELEASE 88 INFORMATION

[campylobacter]

Originally posted by raemia at IMPORTANT RELEASE 88 INFORMATION

Hey all. As you may or may not know, Livejournal rolled out Release 88 on the 20th, which changed the default commenting structure, created visible icons lists, and removed subject lines, previewing comments, and spellcheck, among other things. If you are using a custom layout/S2 layout, this currently does not apply to you, but it DOES apply to communities which rely on default S1-style comment pages. There are nearly 10,000 angry comments at lj_releases and nearly 2,000 angry comments at news. This is big stuff.
ETA: CLICK HERE FOR THE MOST RECENT POST AT news.
In any case, here are some things that may help you:

IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON:
LJ's most recent update removed features (subject lines, ability to preview, spellcheck) that are crucial to the existence of some LJ communities. The new "expand" line is laggy and caused certain builds of Firefox and Chrome to be unable to post. Bright colors and new font hurt readability, cause headaches (I have one!), and prevent blind users from using text-to-speech programs. The cherry on top is the head of LJ Russia igrick's rude and dismissive attitude towards both English AND Russian-speaking users. CLICK HERE TO READ HIS TRANSLATED COMMENTS.

IF YOU WANT YOUR SUBJECT LINE BACK:
Well, ain't gonna happen... yet. According to the newest update on lj_releases, there will be a S2 style available that "mimics the original/previous S1 commenting pages". How long will this take? Apparently "within a few weeks". Note that S2 styles are NOT available to users with free accounts. If you disagree with this change, go to the update page and let the LJ staff know!
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION

IF YOUR CUSTOM COMMENT PAGE HAS BEEN DISABLED:
To change back custom comment pages: Go to the "Customize Journal Style" page, then click "Display" under "Customize Your Theme". Under "Presentation">"Basic Options", find "Disable customized comment pages for your journal" and select NO. Save changes and you will have your comment page back to normal. You may have to do this more than once. Some users reported that selecting YES first, saving, and THEN selecting NO worked for them.

IF YOU CAN NOW EDIT COMMENTS WHEN YOU COULDN'T BEFORE:
This is because LJ has now given ALL users the ability to edit comments, REGARDLESS of the status of the account. However, you lose the ability to edit your comment once someone has replied to it. If your comment has been screened, you cannot edit it to fix it. Source: news

IF YOU USE AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS FOR YOUR ACCOUNT:
If you have turned off automatic payments on your account, PLEASE GO CHECK TO SEE IF AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN RE-ENABLED. SERIOUSLY. GO HERE. Please post in this thread if you have had your automatic payment re-enabled.

IF YOU WANT TO SIGN A PETITION:
There is a petition for LJ to rollback the update HERE. You may also be interested in an LJ usage poll HERE by rollback88. Spread it around!

IF YOU WANT AN ALTERNATIVE TO LIVEJOURNAL:
Dreamwidth currently has open registration until the end of 2011. No add code necessary! Just sign up here! You can also import your LJ but there will be a VERY long wait.
InsaneJournal does not require an add code to register an account. Make an account here!
JournalFen's account registration is still closed, although it may open back up in the future!

That's all I can think of for right now. Please repost this or otherwise link back here. Show as many people as you can! Thank you!

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PS: Note from me, campylobacter: I would actually prefer that fandom mass-migrate to WordPress, because it functions better than most all blogging platform available. However, its user interface looks nothing like LJ, DW, IJ, or JF.

Comments

[spacegypsy1.livejournal.com]

Yeah for Campy! Thanks for this! b

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, and kudos to raemia for composing it.

I've been watching LJ self-destruct for a year now, and what I've learned from the research isn't very encouraging.

[lolmac]

You might also want to include links to the workaround-recode-and-fix posts: Stoppedhiding, Advancing and mine.

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

Wow, LJ has taken sucking to a whole new level. My auto payments were turned back on, too, so thanks for the heads up, or they would have hit my credit card in May.