How Dare You

So it's not totally clear yet if any ONTD users are really going to move elsewhere en masse, but even if they did, I'm sure that the communities I'm trying to start are going to flop lol. Still, I thought I'd try my hand at starting to post some stuff, on the off chance new DW users see it. I figured it was only appropriate to make the first legit post in this community about the reason so many people are leaving LJ/ONTD in the first place...

In case you're unaware, Livejournal, the website that hosts ONTD, updated their user agreement recently. The new document had some pretty questionable language, which many are interpreting as homophobic, even going as far as saying the new terms make the website "subject to Russian internet laws."

As interpreted by the AV Club:

The new user agreement for the site was changed last week to incorporate the following adjustments: Agreements now prohibit “post[ing] advertising and/or political solicitation materials unless otherwise directly specified in a separate agreement between User and the Administration,” or “perform[ing] any other actions contradictory to the laws of the Russian Federation.” That’s language so vague and all-encompassing as to mean users can’t post any pro-LGBTQ text, or even talk about how, say, Vladimir Putin is a sadistic war criminal responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents, and also a laughable buffoon who can’t even handle a joke about how he’s not the most virile man in the world.

Maybe those of us who are leaving LJ — and, in effect, ONTD — for other websites are being overdramatic. The language of the user agreement is fairly vague, after all. But looking at the latest news to come out of Russia, I'm not so sure... according to recent reports, Chechnya has opened what many are calling "concentration camps for homosexuals." PinkNews reports that more than 100 gay men have been detained in these facilities, where they've been tortured, beaten and even killed.

I hate to make the first post here so sad and serious, but it's something that needs to be talked about, especially considering LJ's updates to their user agreement. :/