• Mood: disappointed
• Music: R.O.D-THE TV- O.S.T. DISK B - Anita 12sai

An Open letter to the LJ Developers

Recent discussion on the issue of community invites has once again brought to my attention a problem I've seen in the general handleing of problems by the LJ staff. I understand that with a site this large, the number of problems you have to face is huge. I also understand that there is a great deal of stress involved in dealing with these issues. However, all to frequently the programers justify their actions with "If it's so easy to do, feel free to do it yourself. This is an open community, blah blah blah"

I understand why this is happening, however that doesn't change the fact that it is QUITE rude, and solves nothing. I can't code to the level that is required of LJ. I can barely edit my style to behave the way I want it to, and had to "borrow" code from component_help to do it. The general reaction of LJ Staff then to my questions of "Why couldn't we have this feature instead are met with "Do it yourself, or you don't matter" This sends the WRONG message about LiveJournal in my opinion.

Now I understand that there is suggestions where non-coders can post requests, however that is not my issue. My issue is rather than a holier than thou responce of "do it yourself" I think that the staff would be better served with a responce of "This is the wrong place for that, ask in suggestions please.

LiveJournal is a community, but it's also a business, and like it or not, the users are the customers. A little customer service goes a long way.

Edit:: Note in the above I was speaking as an avid watcher of the discussions before, and not as a participant. I have no personal desire to change, have changed the behavior of LJ in any mannor not currently underway. I used myself as an example, cause I'm easy to get in touch with for me, and was the first to agree.
To those of you who attacked me personally, thank you for your time, your comments have been ignored.


To the idea that many users are confused as to who is and is not LJ staff...I'm probably one of those to some extent, and the idea of being able to quickly distinguish who is and is not (even on a post per post basis ie allowing a staffer to respond both personally and officially would probably be good) however this is not the place for that, so I'll take it to suggestions