Anyone for Dreamwidth invite codes?

[liv]

I have a few. The site's still very much in beta, and really so, we're actually working on bugs, not just that web 2.0 thing where everything is permanently in beta. But if you want to play around or reserve your username before the official launch, do comment. I expect you all know what Dreamwidth is by now; I might do a post talking about it properly later on, but right now codes up for grabs. If you think I don't know your email address, pm me.

And yes, I am planning to move over fully as soon as the site launches into public beta. More on that later.

ETA: Four down, two to go... within a quarter of an hour of posting. You guys are quick like bunnies!

ETA2: All gone! I'll try and pick up some more but no promises, they're still limiting site growth pretty strictly just now.

ETA3: Already 3 8 people in the queue for any more that show up. There may be faster ways of getting codes than joining said queue, but I'll give them away as fast as they show up if you'd like to add your name to the list. Sorry, Americans, it just fell out that way.

Comments

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

I would, please. My email address is linked from my LJ profile page.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[mummimamma.livejournal.com]

Yes please! So far I have registrered with an Open ID which works great by the way.

[liv]

Did you receive the email ok? The site is reporting to me that you haven't used your code yet.

[rozallin.livejournal.com]

I would like a code as and when one becomes available please.

[liv]

The only email address I have for you is @lj; is that the one you want to use for your main DW address that will control the account?

[miss-next.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I don't know what Dreamwidth is. Please enlighten me!

[megamole.livejournal.com]

Replacement for LJ. Same codebase, different priorities.

[liv]

Dreamwidth is an actual code fork of LJ, run by people who know what they're doing technically and business-wise. It's being rewritten almost entirely, with the aim of keeping all the good features of LJ and removing all the annoying ones, and adding some new cool stuff as the project gets bigger.

So, like LJ it has fine-grained privacy controls, is easy to use if you're not into coding and highly customizable if you are a geek or web designer, has icons and threaded comments and a decent notification system and collates everything you want to read on one page. But unlike LJ, it has no ads, doesn't use twee emotive terms like "friends", has a separate category for journals you read from people with access to your restricted content, handles OpenID properly so you can work across several sites easily, has accessibility built in from day one, has a sensible and non-intrusive system for adult content... Come and play around; you can log in as miss_next@livejournal.com if you don't want to create an actual account when you know nothing about it.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

yes please :)

[liv]

I'll send it to your Gmail address, that ok?

[megamole.livejournal.com]

Have already asked Katy.

[kake]

Thank you! I'm now on there as kake (finally! I have my name back!)

[liv]

Ooh, yay! I am really pleased to have Liv over there, but kake is your name in a much more serious way. Glad I could help.

[deborah_c]

If you should get any more (or have a friend with spares), I'd love one next time round?

[liv]

Do you still need it? I have three more.

[daharyn.livejournal.com]

what deborah_c said? Please?

[redbird]

damn! That's what I get for being asleep.

Yes, please, I would like one, if you get more.

[liv]

Yeah, I know, the Americans were all asleep when I posted, and the religious Jews were smack in the middle of being offline for three days, and even the not-so-religious Jews and Christians are probably busy with Passover and Easter, so it was bad timing. But six codes is six codes, if they're not fully randomized or fully fair, I am not going to get too worked up about it. But anyway, you're on the list if no-one else can help you sooner.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Gods, I blink and something like this comes up. I realise you'll have a very long list at this point, but I'd love an invite code.

[liv]

I have a couple more; are you still looking?

[darcydodo]

Uh, what's Dreamwidth?

[liv]

'K, so you know how LJ was sold to a big Russian media company who are more interested in making lots of money and having influence in Russia than in actually running the site properly? Well, some people who were involved in the old LJ from right at the beginning decided that they would make a new version of LJ which they would intentionally keep small. They're not trying to make millions of dollars as fast as possible and then sell or dump it, they're trying to make something sustainable that will eventually pay them salaries so they can work on it full-time, and maybe employ one or two other people, and that's all. That means they don't need ads or commercial sponsorship at all, which is how LJ used to be when we both joined, and something that makes it feel much more comfortable for me.

And because they know what they're doing, they're among the very few people in the world who actually properly understand how the LJ behemoth works, both technically and socially, they decided that while they were at it they might as well rewrite things and make it actually good. So they've split LJ-friends into "journals you read" and "people who have access to your locked content", and they've redesigned the whole site so it's easy to use and modern and stuff, and they've created a whole load of completely new journal styles, and made OpenID actually work so that you can be friends with people on different sites. Also taken away stupid features like the Snap pop-up previews and the thing where you flag someone else's journal for being too "adult" and the thing where you can "nudge" people if you think they haven't posted enough recently.

Also, like old LJ but better, they're getting volunteers involved to do coding and run the site. I've been writing FAQs (new FAQs which are readable and answer simple questions with a direct answer and don't make you have to wade through five screens of text to find what you want), and working on the new journal styles to make the system more consistent and produce decent HTML and CSS. Lots of people who know even less about programming than I do are involved, as well as lots of people who are serious experts, including some of the employees who got sacked from LJ in January.

So, because of all these things, and because I'm getting increasingly cross with all of LJ's stupidity (remember when they were suspending journals for Harry Potter slash, for example?), I'm moving my journal to Dreamwidth in a few weeks when the site goes into the stable, open beta phase. Because it handles OpenID sensibly, I think it shouldn't make much difference to my friends who want to stay here, but we'll see how that goes.

If you are quick, you might be able to get the username Darcy *tempt tempt*! (I got Liv, cos I was in there really early as a volunteer.)

[taimatsu]

Could you pop me on your list? :)

[ravingglory.livejournal.com]

Hmm ... I think I'll just use OpenID there unless a lot of my friends move, which currently doesn't seem likely.

[leora.livejournal.com]

I would like to add my name to the queue, although I'm hoping that numerous people on my friends list may end up with some. So, maybe I'll get one elsewhere.

Slowpoke

[ajollypyruvate]

Eee, well, I've no idea what Dreamwidth is (and shall research it later) but, what the heck! I'll join the queue along with the others.

[liv]

Dreamwidth is shaping up to be an actual viable replacement for LJ, something I've been waiting for for a long time now. It's a code fork, not a clone, so they're making some pretty dramatic changes and writing something usable and modern, and getting rid of all the accumulated cruft from a site that's developed mostly organically over ten years. It's commercial and has a serious, long-term business plan in place, but it's not a web startup dependent on venture capital or advertising revenue. The people running it are people who were employed by LJ in the early days so they know the site better than pretty much anyone else in the world.

The thing that impresses me is that it's not even open to the public yet, and it's already bigger than Inksome or CommieJournal and more stable / usable than InsaneJournal or DeadJournal. Just that, an LJ alternative which is ad-free and has prospects for actually being viable beyond a bunch of friends who don't mind the scaffolding showing, would be a big deal, but they're introducing some really useful new features. Most notably, you can read people's journals without giving them access to your locked content, or vice versa, without messing around with awkward filters (and they no longer call someone your "friend" just because you happen to have their journal in your feed list).

Eventually they hope to make it seamlessly interoperable with other sites using the LJ or Dreamwidth codebase, and possibly even Blogspot and Wordpress further down the line. If that happens it would be the awesomest thing ever, but even if they don't quite achieve that, it's already looking a lot better than LJ in many ways. And because they're putting serious effort into making OpenID actually work, I am hoping I'm going to be able to move over there fully without abandoning LJ or really even making my still-on-LJ friends notice much difference.

Also, almost entirely female-dominated Open Source project, where they're providing mentoring for newbie coders, and are seriously committed to accessibility in all meanings of the word. Genuinely queer-friendly and open to people from all cultures in the way that LJ pays lip-service to, but they're actually walking the walk. (I have been told to rewrite some of my draft FAQs so they avoid using the word "see" or assuming that people are reading the internet with a standard screen+mouse+keyboard setup, which is challenging, but so very well worth doing.)

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

A little late, but yes please

you can use my lj email?

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

just seen your comment on lj email - have added an addy to my lj

[liv]

Sorry to be a big meanie, but I really have no idea who you are. If you're looking for invite codes from random strangers, I suggest you keep an eye on the DW codesharing community, or else wait until 30^th April when the site will be in open beta and there will be a lot more codes on offer.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hypatia_/]

I've been watching the Dreamwidth development for some time, mainly I'm interested in the philosophy and intent around diversity and accessibility - LJ accessibility has definitely deteriorated and that is a factor in my reduced presence here. That said the chances of me writing significant content would be low unless it really was easy to use. The problem is I don't see how a journal system which is that flexible can be kept accessible - that paricular aspect of LJ inaccessibility will surely occur on Dreamwidth?
In other words, I'm interested enough in the philosophy I'd like to test it out, but not sure if I would actually be able to make much use of it.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hypatia_/]

Meant to say, one of the areas I'm interested in is the cross posting - if it is truly accessible and allows cross posting to other systems it would allow someone like me to make better use of the media my friends inhabit as well.

[jenny-pop.livejournal.com]

hi. random user here who wants a dw code (if still available). my email add is namurit@gmail.com
thank you!