FYI

[jjpor]

You know how it is. You decide to dust off the old LJ after a couple of months of inactivity in anticipation of the new series of Doctor Who (tomorrow, folks, as if you weren't well, well aware of it), and discover that...well, I'm sure you're also well, well aware of the Putin-related Terms of Service unilateral auto-foot-shooting that Livejournal's owners have indulged in. I actually wasn't until I tried to log on yesterday, but I am now.

So, in all conscience, I don't actually feel I can continue to post things to LJ. This post, assuming the cross-posting still works, will probably be the last thing, unless the world unexpectedly comes to its senses at some point in the future. I'm not hopeful of this happening, I'll be honest.

This goes too for the Who@50 comm, to which I will post a separate announcement. The LJ version of the comm is effectively defunct as of now. It will, however, continue pretty much as normal over here on DW, if normal is the word. Not sure how to announce this on LJ without agreeing to the ToS, so I guess I'm just hoping people see it here on DW.

I had planned to be the last person on LJ along with lost_spook. Alas, it was not to be.

I now return you to your normal programming.


EDIT: And the crossposting did fail, so not really sure whether to log in over there to repeat this or not. If you read this, and you're still active on LJ, maybe pass the word on to anybody you know I know. Thanks. ;)

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

But we have jumped ship together! I'm not sure whether that makes us equal rats or what, but at least it worked out.

And HELLO! It's good to see you; your absence is always noted. (I am also v excited for tomorrow's Doctor WHo! How have we survived a year without it? (How on earth did we manage that whole decade before, and without the 'net, too?? 0_o))

[jjpor]

Rats of a feather...no, that doesn't work. As you say, at least we've jumped at more or less the same time. ;)

I guess it had been coming for a while, considering LJ's ownership and the way things seem to be going in Russia (and not just in Russia, let's be frank) in the scary futuristic year 2017.

And Hello! Yes, I've been having a strange few months, in work, RL and fannishness, without going into any detail. I've been writing a massive and very unsuitable fanfic about robot cowboys, very possibly as some sort of reaction to the work and life stuff (it has sort of helped, tbh, even while marking a new low in my fanfictional career). But yes, thanks for noting my absence, and it really, really has been too long. Very sorry for completely missing your posts about the DW Guestfest, which as you know I've really enjoyed taking part in the past couple of times.

And as you point out...Doctor Who!!! It really does seem like such a long time, but in some strange sense also not all that long now that it is upon us. And as you say, old campaigners like us remember the Dark Times (although the New Adventures were ace, so can't complain that much). I don't know which spoilers you've managed to dodge, but I am _very_ excited for some of the things that seem to be coming down the pipeline in Series 10. _Very_ excited. You can sort of see Moffat treating the whole thing as some sort of last hurrah and opportunity to be extra-Moffaty while also shamelessly fanboying about various things. All to the good, I say! :)

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, I hope rl hasn't been too bad. :-/ I'm very intrigued about the robot cowboy fanfic, though, and don't believe you about it being a fanfictional low. (I wrangle tags on AO3; anything you write has got to be a fanfictional high, even if not a personal best!) I committed splinter!Clara/Splinter!Scaroth for guestfest and I'm not even ashamed of myself.

I did wonder where you were, but only hoping you were okay - you usually appear to countdown to the new series - and yes! Here's to the last Moffat hurrah! (Even if some people will be dreading it, well, they can look forward to 2018, after all.)

I have seen the big announcement and the major (master?) spoiler, but otherwise only the trailer! 7.20pm tomorrow!!! More Twelve, and I like the look of BIll. Less sure about Nardole, but he wasn't too bad at Christmas at least.

In the meantime, while RL has been exploding and so has LJ, not all that much has changed round here, at least as far as my online life goes. I spent my Christmas money on yet more old telly and so have consumed Manhunt and Doomwatch and have no regrets whatsoever. Were you around last year when I finally watched The Sandbaggers on your rec? I did and enjoyed it very much, although I nearly didn't forgive them for the [SPOILER] at the end of S1. But, yeah, very good, you were right.

[jjpor]

Ah, you know, ups and downs. I've had a couple of upheavals, work-wise and in the family, but you get through these things eventually. I don't mean to be cryptic, but you know I'm generally quite uncomfortable talking about RL stuff online. But yes, I'm generally okay. :)

Re robot cowboys, it's there on AO3, but without having seen the TV series in question (which strikes me as the kind of thing you'd be very unlikely to like at all :D) I doubt it would make any sense.

Well, you know, I'm still very on board as regards Moffat and Twelve, and don't really know what the S8 and S9 naysayers were going on about, so I'm predisposed to like it anyway. Can't wait to see the "major" spoiler in question play out, and a couple of other things from the trailer. I hope the, er, tenth? thing that excited me about the trailer turns out to be a bit more substantial than the Special Weapons Dalek appearance (although I still appreciated just seeing her/him/it in the "crowd" scenes).

I think Bill should be very good. I don't *hate* Nardole, but I am willing to see how his role plays out. I wasn't too fussed on Donna after The Runaway Bride, and she turned out to be one of the very best new series companions, so I try not to prejudge anything like that.

We did discuss The Sandbaggers after you watched it I think, but to reiterate: It's great! And yes, it doesn't go easy on its characters, does it? I need to see Doomwatch; I've heard a lot about it, but never watched it. I think there was a film spinoff which I might have seen, but that scarcely counts. Oh, and a really bad remake/reboot on Channel 5 probably about 15 years ago, which didn't last past its feature length pilot episode. Some bobbins about an artificial black hole being used to generate energy or something... :D

[thisbluespirit]

I've had a couple of upheavals, work-wise and in the family, but you get through these things eventually. I don't mean to be cryptic, but you know I'm generally quite uncomfortable talking about RL stuff online.

*nods* And it's fine, cryptic codes and waving your arms about while miming will suffice. It's very sensible to be careful online. Sorry there were/are upheavals, but glad at least that you're okay.

And, LOL, here was me thinking you had dropped out of fandom forever and in fact you were writing 100,000+ words of fic on AO3, if I'd only thought to glance at your account there. And, no, I haven't watched Westworld, but it's one of those Netflix/Amazon things you can't get hold of without paying for, isn't it? I've heard people talking about it but not enough osmosis to know much more. But, hey, what gets you through! And if it results in amazing fic (and your fic always is ;-p), probably it helps other people get through too.

You know I've been loving Twelve even more than Eleven, so, yes, I'm with you. *bounches*

We did discuss The Sandbaggers after you watched it I think, but to reiterate: It's great! And yes, it doesn't go easy on its characters, does it?

Aha, sorry. I can never remember. I quite often will vaguely think you'd like something, or wonder if you've also seen something, and don't remember what conversations we had last time you were around. But yes! The rl stuff with the creator vanishing is also in the You Couldn't Make It Up category, too.

I really enjoyed Doomwatch! It started off with melting plastic and 70s goo everywhere, and what more can you ask in a thing, really? (Well, less sexism would have been nice, but happily the viewers in 1970 also objected and they fixed it for S2.) I liked it so much I watched the film as well, and it's not irrelevant! I haven't seen the 1990s one, but would quite like to just for foolhardy completism.

I wondered when I watched Manhunt if you had ever watched that and mentioned it to me, but obviously not! When you're not streaming cool new shows, it's definitely relevant to your interests as a WWII thing that's very unrelentingly harsh about war. (Alfred Lynch in this makes me think that his casting in Curse of Fenric was a deliberate nod, because they both have things about love/war being code words.) It takes a few eps to get going but Robert Hardy is unbelievably good in it, and also Philip Madoc is an SS officer. It contains the worst Resistance trio ever. They kill fellow agents and shack up with Germans and leave such a trail of destruction behind them that nobody wants anything to do with them.

(Both Doomwatch and Manhunt coincidentally had James Maxwell in. In Doomwatch, he had foolishly forgotten to tell his computer not to kill people, and in Manhunt he was the SS's secret weapon - if you didn't break under torture, they'd bring out JM to be nice to you and nobody could withstand that. :-D)

Anyway, as you see, nothing changes - I still blabber about ancient telly! (I know an online link for Manhunt if you might be interested, sadly not one at all for Doomwatch.)

[jjpor]

100,000+ words of fic

*points to icon*

Philip Madoc is an SS officer

Of course, the first thing I thought when I read this was "You! Your name vill also go on ze list!"

I don't think we have discussed Manhunt before, but you're right, it does sound like just my sort of thing tbh (having just looked it up on Wikipedia). So yeah, if you did happen to have a link... ;)

if you didn't break under torture, they'd bring out JM to be nice to you

The fiends!!

[thisbluespirit]

*points to icon*

:-D

After I'd watched it, I had the feeling that maybe someone had mentioned it years ago and you were the first candidate I thought of as it seemed like your kind of thing, but, yes, obviously not you, if it was even anyone!

Here's the link to the playlist. Also I did a quick overview you might find useful (mainly probably what wiki told you, with bonus advice to skip ep2, I don't even know what that is) here. There's a link to a cool fan made trailer in it, too.)

The fiends!!

I know! It would certainly work for me! (JM wasn't keen on being a secret weapon; he cried a lot.)

[jjpor]

Thank you! :)

[ravenskyewalker]

Ah, yes, the Wilderness Years... still feel jinxed by them. lost_spook might remember my expressing fear about falling so hard for Capaldi as the Doctor, because the last time I was that engaged with DW, the Seventh Doctor and Ace got put on hiatus. So, you can understand how well I reacted to the year's hiatus, Capaldi leaving earlier than he really needed to (and the persistent feeling that the BBC pushed him), and the feeling I get that #12 and Bill will remind me of #7 and Ace (especially since Ace called him Professor and #12 has somehow become a university professor), so another (possible) favorite TARDIS team for me gets cut short...

Too much spoilery stuff I want to debate, but will shut up. No one needs to stumble across spoilers they've somehow avoided until now.

[jjpor]

The parallels are definitely there. I'm trying to adopt a wait and see attitude, as I don't want to prejudge Chibnall's stewardship of Who the way I think a lot of RTD partisans prejudged (and still do tbh) Moffat and his Doctors, but I agree Capaldi is going to be a very hard act to follow, and I like Bill very much as well.

[primsong]

I admit that while the reasons are quite sucky, I am supremely pleased to see folks over here at DWth - it's quite nice and comfy.

[jjpor]

I could get used to it. :)

[aralias]

hello both - saw LS's message, and have friended over here.

[jjpor]

Thank you :)

[thisbluespirit]

If somebody hasn't already done it'll C+p your announcement into the LJ who_at_50 for you. I had a lot of comms to shift and commitments signed up for, so I signed the agreement, but with an aim to move out gradually before my paid account expired!

[jjpor]

Thank you very much indeed! That would be very much appreciated, if you could do it. :)

[thisbluespirit]

Done. I left comments on, but directed people to reply to the Dreamwidth comm if they can.

[jjpor]

Thanks again. :)

[alatefeline]

Alas! I'm sorry for your loss (and everyone's loss) of the LJ-that-was.

[jjpor]

It's all very sad, but I wouldn't feel comfortable using it anymore, not so much due to the implications of signing up to the new ToS, as for what they represent. I had some good times there, though, so I will miss it.

[primsong]

I was somewhat forced into needing to click the Russian TOS in order to continue with my modding for DW100, but otherwise I'm not going to be doing anything with it anymore. Sad, but to everything there is a season etc etc so hopefully better times are ahead.

[jjpor]

Indeed! :)

[liadt]

There is a TOS work around, but I signed it before I heard about it! Still it's lucky that DW is here to migrate to.

One day to go!

[jjpor]

I have been told there is a workaround, but tbh I think it's more the principle of the thing for me. As you say, it is a very good thing that DW is here (and I say that as somebody who was a bit sceptical about it when it was first set up).

And yes...one day to go! :D Looking forward to it very much indeed.

[juliet316]

It sucks what LJ is doing, but at least DW is here, and it's nice over here.

As for tomorrow, I'm excited for it, even if it is the beginning of the end of for twelve. *sniff*

[jjpor]

It certainly seems nice so far. :)

And yes, I liked it a lot, but as you say the idea that it is all coming to an end so soon makes it all rather bittersweet...

[clocketpatch]

Welcome to dreamland. I'm a little bit happy with the situation after being intially angry at lj. It got me back online, and it seems to have been the impetus to get everyone (myself included) tp actually jump over to dreamwidth, which I suspect will be a lot more relevant with its newly increased usership.

The new series and the big spoiler have me happy burbling with excitement. I finay got around to watching The Husband's of River Song + this year's special and found Nardole to be tolerable. I'm interested in the team TARDIS dynamic going forward since I can't think of a time since the 80s when the TARDIS has had three passengers and no romatic intanglememts.

Finally, it is very good to see you around! Best of luck with your fic (whatever fandom it may be in) and I hope that rl hasn't been too hard on you in the interim.

[jjpor]

Hello there! It has been too long! And thanks - life does get on top of you sometimes, as you know, but these things pass in the end.

You're right, there is a silver lining to every cloud, and getting people active again and talking, even if they're mainly talking about what a stupid thing for LJ to do, is undoubtedly a good thing.

I really liked the opener on Saturday - I think Bill fits in very well, and Nardole is actually much better with another companion pushing him into the background (seriously, quite liked some of his asides and interjections). Fingers crossed for the rest of the series, really.