Drama Queen: LiveJournal Announcement: LiveJournal Major Notes: Spam offense, Beta testers, Server downtime, Blurb discount!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

LiveJournal Announcement: LiveJournal Major Notes: Spam offense, Beta testers, Server downtime, Blurb discount!

news

In the woozy afterglow of userpics, we've had an intense week here at LiveJournal. We've taken a step back to examine operational issues that will help us improve performance. While we continue to look within, we're hoping you'll distract Frank from nibbling on the wires by posting a two-line rhyme about your favorite snack beside a yummy userpic. Here is Frank's example: There's nothing that tickles my britches //like barbecued jeans with white stitches. To celebrate your virtual birthday, Frank will bake you up a delectable double-fudge cupcake!

Important stuff to know:

Server Time-out: As part of our continuing efforts to improve site performance, our mighty ops guys will be performing database server maintenance in the key of E on Friday, April 30th, starting at 9PM, PDT, which will last from 30 minutes to an hour. We strongly encourage you to make the most of this downtime by sharing a special moment with your pets.
New Header: We hope you love our new header as much as we do! Thanks, again, to snooby_23 for contributing the winning design!
Unite to fight spam: We want to thank you for helping us win the ongoing battle against spam. We hope you'll continue to check the report spam box whenever you delete spam entries/comments in your journals and communities! In addition, we recommend that you screen non-friend comments that contain links in your journal or communities. To update your settings, click on the Privacy Tab in your Account Settings, scroll down to Comment Screening, and choose 'Comments from non-friends with links' from the drop-down menu. You may also want to use the Anti-spam field on the same page to show a CAPTCHA to all non-friends who comment. If you're a community maintainer, you can alter these settings by selecting your community name in the 'Work as user' drop-down on that page and clicking Switch.
Be a Beta tester: In order to make our features more intuitive, we're hoping to expand our amazing group of beta testers. We're looking for around 20 additional users to help us test upcoming features. Your feedback will provide invaluable insights that will benefit all LiveJournal users! You don't have to be an experienced user to participate. In fact, we're especially eager to welcome newer users who are not particularly technical. If you'd like to throw your name in the hat, please tell us a little about yourself in lj_releases at this post, i.e., how long you've been using LiveJournal, whether you consider yourself tech-savvy, tech-competent, or tech-phobic, and anything else you'd like us to know (e.g., whether you're a social media junkie or a casual user, etc.). We'll then invite 20 users to join our beta-testing group. We want to thank you, in advance, for helping us make LiveJournal even better!

Blurb discount for LiveJournal users!

In recognition of all the creative talent on LiveJournal, Blurb is extending LiveJournal users around the world a special 20 percent discount, which covers both self-publishing and book orders (worth up to $200 in savings). And, while you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by and visit our amazing anthology: LiveJournal: The First Decade. If you've already received a copy, we hope you'll post a comment and spread the good word!

For our featured photo and more fun with Frank & Meme, we'll catch you under the cut!

Photo of the week

Congrats to taler, who won our 20th lj_photophile poll. Click here to vote for next week's photo of the week!

A funny thing happened on the way to the raw bar

When we last joined our dramatic duo, Frank had disappeared into the emergency room to get his hooves examined, while Meme had been strong-pawed into accepting Alpha's offer of representation. After carefully reviewing your suggestions, Meme realized it was time for her to grow a pair (of thicker horns, of course). She stomped over to the nurse's station where Alpha was yipping questions at Nurse Chi Wa-Wa, who had taken it upon herself to roll over and play dead. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Why, of course!" Alpha woofed ingratiatingly. "My clients always come first!"

Meme gathered her nerves. "I was wondering if Frank and I could discuss our potential case."

Before Alpha had a chance to answer, the scrape of squeaky wheels interrupted. "Hello, my lovely ladies," Frank slurred, scooching his wheelchair up between them and flashing a glassy-eyed smile. "You'll be happy to hear that I'm a-okay! Just a couple of bad boo-boos is all. They even gave me a little something for my pain," he laughed too long and too hard.

"That's nice, dear. So, I just told Alpha that we'd like to discuss how we feel about pursuing legal action," Meme over-enunciated, hoping Frank would chime in his resistance. But he only chuckled. "So, do you think that's a good idea, Frank? You know, a lawsuit? Is that something you'd like to discuss with Alpha?" She goaded him on.

"Why yes, that sounds like a delightful diversion," Frank blathered, chewing on the string of his hospital gown. "I must confess that I'm feeling a bit peckish," he continued, tearing off a corner of his robe and stuffing it down his gullet. "So, Alpha, can we interest you in discussing the case at our favorite raw bar?" Frank offered, already daydreaming about wheat grass and alphalpha sprouts.

"Why sure, that sounds divine," Alpha licked her chops, picturing a banquet of raw meat.

"Oh Frank, no, no," Meme gasped, grabbing a sheet from a nearby hospital bed and placing it over his sheared limbs.

"Well, then it's settled, let's go kick some grass!" Frank zipped ahead.

Meme is concerned that Frank is not in the right state of mind to discuss whether they want Alpha to represent them. She is seeking your guidance on whether she should keep the lunch date or adjourn to a later time. Let her know what you think, and she'll shoot you a shot of wheat grass.