Oh, so, I meant that, about good bye.

[lettered]

Thought about it a lot, and I'm leaving Livejournal.

That's all dramatic and stuff, but I probably won't be gone until the end of the year. If most people decide to leave, and there's a mass exodus before then, I may be gone earlier. But this journal, my fic journal, and my private backup journal will be gone for certain by January 1, 2008.

I have a lot of stuff to say about the whole LJ/6A debacle, but for some reason every time I start a post on it I just have to get up and walk away from it, give it some time, read lots and lots of Harry/Draco, spend time with my family, or eat ice cream. Can't decide whether I'm too angry about it, depressed perhaps, lazy maybe, or possibly I'm an ostrich? Anyway, during the strikeout in May I felt very energized, but maybe that was because I thought that it was possible that LJ had made a mistake, and after hearing customer complaints, would fix it. In other words, I knew I was going to give Livejournal another chance. Well, I did, but I am still displeased as a customer. So, I take my business elsewhere.

I don't know where. One of the reasons I'm staying on LJ for another few months is that I want to see how many other people leave and where they go. Even if a lot of you leave (which I sekritly hope you will), it will not be all at once, and LJ will still be the place to be in the thick of fandom things for a while. If there is a mass movement, decision making, support/rallying/reasearch/etc to be done, I want to be involved. And if people are going to continue to discuss the issues connected to why I'm leaving, I want to be a part of those discussions. Because I do have a lot to say, and I want to say it to my flist, people who I'm interested in having around wherever I end up.

I'm going to back up the journals I have here and copy them to Insane Journal for now. I'm going to be cross-posting to Insane Journal (where I am tkp) and possibly Journal Fen over the next several months. I hope to gradually phase out: to just post links to fic here, instead of actual fics here, etc. Then I will be gone. I know I can make myself do that, but I know I can't make myself never visit LJ again. If you do decide to stay and not post elsewhere, I may still visit from time to time, but I will not have an account here ever again. I don't want to lose touch with any of you. I mean, well, except you; you're always talking about your grandmother's corns.

So, um, this isn't quite yet goodbye, and won't be for a while. Mostly I'm just posting this because once I say I'll do something, I'll do it. And now I've said it.

Okay, now that announcements are over: what're your thoughts? Leavin' on a jet plane? Why? Staying, why? Cat macros? Why not? Where are you going, if you go, where're you lookin' at, what are your hopes and dreams for fandom future? What did you think of the last ep of Mad Men? Is Jason Isaacs the man, or what? How 'bout that burr86, Barak, and Brad? Does the news comm make you laugh, cry, headdesk, or wha...? Did anyone even like the first two Bourne movies? What's your favorite pizza delivery service? Do you think Livejournal would disallow canon!Buffy/Angel fanart? How come I can't spell misogyny? What's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist? And the number one question all of us are asking: how come Buffy never wore the go-go boots again?

Comments

[semby.livejournal.com]

When this whole debacle started up again, I was very motivated about everyone leaving LJ, but the more I think about it, and the more I read people on my f-list saying "I'm staying," I'm beginning to doubt that it's the right thing for me. I hate to say it because it sounds like I lack faith in fandom, which isn't the case, but I'm just not convinced that we'll be able to recreate the same community and environment we've had here all along. If most people do end up moving definitively, I'll move too, but right now I'm not so sure. I've set up my IJ and GJ, but so far it feels pointless since everyone's still here as well anyway.

I've also really just wanted *everyone* to choose one place to go so I don't have to keep up with multiple friends pages, but if some people are *definitely* staying, and people like you are *definitely* leaving, I think I'm going to have to adjust to spreading myself across two (and hopefully only two) journaling sites. I don't want to lose any of you!

[tkp.livejournal.com]

I guess part of the reason I did decide to leave is I really do have faith fandom can recreate the same community elsewhere. If it doesn't, well...that'll suck. But while I have seen lots of people saying they're staying, it's not with the kind of conviction with which the fewer people are leaving. So I figure, if those of us who do leave do find a stable place elsewhere, those left behind will eventually come too. And I completely understand that "not leaving unless everyone else does" sentiment--I felt that way the first Strikethrough. This time through it just feels wrong, for me, personally, to stay, but I understand those who are.

I don't want to lose you or anyone else either, semby. You were one of my first lj friends. But I have a lot of confidence that fandom and the networks and friends everyone's established here will continue on in some form, even if it's shaky for a while.