Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS

[andrewducker]

Originally posted by deathpixie at Signal Boost: Return of the DDoS

For those wanting to know more about the recent DDoS attacks, yes, it looks like it was the Russian government trying to shut down the dissidents again.

As I said last time, while it's frustrating not to have access, LJ is a lot more than a social network platform. From the article:

"LiveJournal isn’t just a social network. It’s also a platform for organizing civic action. Dozens of network projects and groups mobilize people to solve specific problems — from defending the rights of political prisoners to saving endangered historic architecture in Moscow."

So while I know many are considering the move over to Dreamwidth and other such sites, supporting LJ is a way we can help support those who use it for more than a writing/roleplaying/social venue.


Also, as a FYI, LJ is giving paid users effected by the outage two weeks of paid time as compensation.

Comments

[andrewducker]

Not that I wouldn't mind using DW more - but I am very glad that LJ is used so much in Russia for political discussion, and I support its continues existence. I've been paying for an account for nearly ten years, and I don't see myself stopping soon.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

I'm interested; where did you get this? Were you reading FoF or was it via someone specific who wasn't deathpixie? LJ connections fascinate me...

[andrewducker]

I got it via drjon. Is it making the rounds?

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

I've seen it three times in a row now. And "users effected by" has niggled at me each time.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

A few more Russians will be using DW it seems. Note the comments here...

http://vriad-lee.livejournal.com/885074.html

There could be a tipping point at some stage if the attacks keep up. Whereas Westerners may prefer Facebook or Google+ as the place to move to, Russians might feel more at home on DW where they have more control over how their content is presented.

[erindubitably.livejournal.com]

deathpixie is a mutual friend of Morag's and mine... we were just surprised to see her post show up in your journal!

[andrewducker]

Aaah, understandable.

Now repeated several times on my flist.

[andrewducker]

Interesting. I hope that DW does get more business. But doesn't get hit by attacks.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

The invite-only approach will at least allow them to control the growth, so a sudden en masse migration from LJ probably couldn't happen unless they wanted it. Which is probably for the best, as I can imagine the attacks following them there.

[andrewducker]

Although if you go here:
http://www.dreamwidth.org/stats/stats.txt
and look at the newbyday for the last little while, there's definitely an influx going on.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

Indeed - from 10 to 20 thousand a day, compared to their normal low hundreds. It'd be interesting to see a breakdown by country. And it shows the wisdom of having some means of controlling signups.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

And going by the 'new accounts' list (here: http://www.dreamwidth.org/stats.bml ), a lot are Russian - or at least use Cyrillic.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

I sort of hate the 'boost the signal' button posts generally. It smacks of... I don't know. Self-promotion? The idea that "I've said this better than anyone else can" or something? I don't know, it just pisses me off. It's the same feeling I get when I see someone say "Repost this, guys, let's make this 'go viral'!" And I'm like "THAT IS NOT HOW GOING VIRAL WORKS!" Except that it is now, and that's sort of sad.

[andrewducker]

I wonder how long until their Russian numbers overtake their UK ones.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

Probably not long. But what doesn't compute is this: "Accounts - That are active in some way: 32694". They're getting something like that number of new accounts every second day at the moment.

People are either creating accounts 'just in case', or are confused by DW. I expect it's a bit of both, with the splitting of the circle into readers and those granted access causing the head-scratching.

[andrewducker]

Oddly, that was one of the primary things about DW that attracted me. Being able to read people without giving them access seems pretty vital to me.

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

It's great - how it should be done. But it's not the reason for the surge in new members, and could be very confusing to non-English readers. An LJ clone that is quite a bit different from LJ where you configure the most important interface.