chomiji | Strike, SUP, Stupidity, Sadness (Reply)

I'm not sure what exactly the best action to take about all of this is ... I think what's worrying me most is SUP's attitude. I can see making the decision about the basic accounts, but why not include us all honestly? Like, "We're sorry to have to do this, but we have to change our business model, thanks for your cooperation" - not trying to slip it in under the radar as "streamlining the new user registration process." And the business about the interests is just weird, especially after the fairly sensible guidelines they'd issued earlier for content (I say "fairly sensible" because let's face it, they need to deal with the laws on this subject).

I'm also not exactly sure what to think about the fact that the SUP exec felt so sure it was OK to spout off like that about his customers in Russian - surely he could guess that someone would translate it? I feel that his arrogance is typical for young Russian businessmen, who tend to have a cowboy-ish outlook, but damned if I think that we need to be his chew-toy while he gets his head straight about how one catches more flies with honey than with vinegar.

But when I think about all the people I've come to know in the past 14 months at LJ - and those I'm just getting to know - the idea of people scattering to other services makes me cry. Especially because (and this is the voice of experience here, after working with issues involved in ramping up web-based systems for a larger user base since 1995) I don't think any of these other services are ready to handle a large new customer base.

Anyway, I'm also using this as a place to post some SUP contact information - it wasn't desperately hard to find, but people don't always think to look. If you do decide to contact them directly (and I think that especially those of us who actually pay SUP money should consider doing so), I'd recommend blunt but polite as the approach. No pussy-footing around, but no rudeness.

e-mail: info@sup.com or LJ@sparkpr.com

postal: 16th floor, Smolensky Passage, 3 Smolenskaya Square, Moscow, Russia 121099

ETA: Gee, the young man has an LJ!
Живые записки Антона Носика
http://dolboeb.livejournal.com
A personal weblog of Anton Nossik, Moscow-based Internet journalist and manager, currently CBO of SUP company, a partner of SixApart for LiveJournal project
(In Russian, of course)