Random Items of Interest

[neadods]

Presenting random items of interest from my f-list for people who may have missed them the first time around:

LJ is having a permanent account sale next week:
Now, to kick off the summer properly, we're starting with a 24 hour permanent account sale. A permanent account is the ultimate prize for a LiveJournal addict, comes with 50 user pictures and all of the current paid features, and has the added convenience in never having to pay for your account again. Considering that we've added a lot of features since our last permanent account sale two years ago, we've bumped the price up to a fair $150 USD. The sale starts Tuesday, June 7th (midnight EST) and will last until Wednesday, June 8th (midnight EST). That's a lifetime for 6 year's subscription fees.

They are also updating ToS:
In housekeeping news, our lawyers have informed us that everyone needs to agree to the new Terms of Service. We were supposed to do this in January when we got acquired, but we forgot and now we can't put it off. If you login, post a comment, or post an entry after next Wednesday (June 8th), you will also be asked to review and agree to the new Terms of Service.

Conservative Blog Names the 10 Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries
The Kinsey Report is #4 ("The reports were designed to give a scientific gloss to the normalization of promiscuity and deviancy.") and The Feminine Mystique is #7. (They don't actually give a quote I can use against the book here, as their blurb solely complains about Ms. Friedan's politics and choice of partners.) The original site is here, but the original cite on nemo_wistar's LJ is worth the reading for the comments. Note that uncommented (dis)honorable mentions include The Descent of Man, Origin of the Species, Unsafe at Any Speed, and Silent Spring, just to count the "biology and protection are wrong" books. And under "women are eeeeeeevillle," there's a listing for The Second Sex.

And a great deal less Earth-shattering:
Plan 9 from LJ
There's a spate of posts in plan_9_from_lj, the community for MST3King bad movies. I want to put in a quick plug for my recap of the Bollywood classic Maine Pyar Kiya, Parts 1, 2, and 3. Love, corporate espionage, shoulder pads, moonwalking, and a pigeon.

Comments

[lagilman]

I've been mulling the permanent account sale, but I think the $$ is just a bit too steep for something that may not have a tax writeoff potential. Need to check on that... (on the one hand, I do use if for publicity/promo purposes...)

[havocthecat]

I'm waiting to read your recap until I'm done with mine, so I don't feel quite so guilty for procrastinating. :)

[maryannegruen.livejournal.com]

Soooo....are you going to do the permanent account thingy?

Since you know all the ins and outs of most of this, how does LiveJournal and the likes of Blogger make their money with all the free accounts? I'm assuming LiveJournal is looking for some cash right now with this permanent account thingy. But is this all enough to pay the toll for them?

I don't even think Blogger has any paid accounts. How do they keep going?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I think I am going to get a permanent account. If the next big thing on the Web doesn't blow LJ away in the next 6 years, I come out ahead.

I have no idea how the finances of LJ or Blogger work. In the case of no paid accounts, presumably they have a grant for providing a community service?