Friendslock

I have changed the security of all the entries on this journal to friendslocked. I anticipate this to be a temporary change only while I work on my secret plan. Once I've achieved it, I will revert the security to open.

Public service announcement

I have so many thoughts that if I ever get started typing them out, I'll end up with a thirty thousand word essay, so I'll try to stick to the brief and relevant stuff.

Here's where I am.

I do not believe that the fiction I write is harmful, in any way, to anyone. I do not believe it encourages sexual violence or pedophiles. I do not see any reason why anyone who wants to read my writing should not be able to -- regardless, even, of their age. I am aware that my beliefs may not necessarily be echoed by Livejournal's TOS, or even to some extent by current U.S. federal law. Fortunately, for all the misplaced and misunderstood bleating about the first amendment, here is one thing that freedom of speech really does mean: that stating I disagree with a law is not against the law.

Because of these beliefs I have long resisted locking my adult work, even though it is, in fact, LJ's official policy. I do not want my work restricted. I warn for it, I place it behind cuts, and that is in my opinion enough to protect people who don't want to read it.

I do not want a policy of comment-to-be-added because I know it will discourage people who would otherwise want to view my work, I know myself well enough that I would not keep up with requests, and I don't want to be obligated, through LJ's mechanics, to sort through the journals of dozens of people who want to read my work, but I who don't want to read theirs.

There are a variety of solutions to this dilemma, some of which could be carried out while remaining on LJ. But I don't want to remain on LJ, because now and for the last six months -- ever since the blowup over the ads, for those who were perceptive enough to see the change in the weather -- I no longer feel welcome on Livejournal and I no longer want to support them as a "community."

But I still want to keep my work as open and available as possible, and a fragmenting or scattering of fandom will restrict both me and potential readers. So here is what I am going to do.

I have created an account, under the same name, on Greatestjournal. I will post all past and all future work there, unlocked. I will retain this account on Livejournal and post entries, containing links to the Greatestjournal entries, unlocked. People who wish to comment but do not wish to spring for a GJ account can still do so here.

Over the next week or so I will work on erasing possibly controversial entries from my journal, replacing them with links to Greatestjournal entries. Livejournal does not, at this moment, have any policy opposing or restricting links on their service; as long as the material is not hosted on their site, they have no legal issues.

I will retain this account for as long as this is true. I will not, of course, give a single penny of my money to Livejournal/Sixapart for as long as their current administration remains.

Here's where I am.