Oh LJ No

[kerravonsen]

Yes, LJ have done it again; made arbitrary changes while ignoring the feedback of their users. The new comment stuff sucks.

While there is a workaround, the workaround sucks too.
1. Switch your journal to an S2 style. (but these are apparently only available to paid users)
2. Set "Disable customized comment pages for your journal" to "No".
3. In Account Settings -> Display, set "View all journals and communities in my own style" to on, and set "View comment pages from my Friends page in my own style" to on.

What this does is (a) disable "site style" (which has the new comment stuff) in your own journal, and then (b) force you to see all journals in your own style. Which means that I can't see journals in people's own styles, which is sad.

In commemoration of this, I've changed my LJ journal style into something mournful.

Also, I will mention the fact that Dreamwidth is currently offering open registration until the end of the year. This means that one doesn't need an invite code to create an account. Just sayin'.

Comments

[kalypso]

And, you know, I did try switching to an S2 style earlier this year; I spent ages working it out and setting it up. And after a few hours I switched back, because I hated it.

[vilakins]

I like my S2 Expressive style, but I've modified it quite heavily to remove all the features I couldn't live with.

Smooth Sailing is a nice clean S2 style I use for most of my comms as I don't have to change much. I don't know what their customised comments are like though as they're not paid accounts.

[vilakins]

I put my customised comments back on to get the subjects and icon selection back, but WTH, they've made the subject part of the comment. It's not even bold. I can't believe they've stuffed up so badly. I haven't seen one approving, well, comment.

I Can Has Subject Line

[kerravonsen]

Really? I wonder what the difference is between the style I'm using and the style you're using, because in the style I'm using, the subjects are in bold.

Re: I Can Has Subject Line

[vilakins]

They might be bold but it's hard to tell because they're in a smaller font--in all four browsers I have access to. Why, LJ, why?

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Hey... interesting - I just came over to look at your mournful style, and I can comment here. Does this mean they've fixed things, or is it something helpful about your mournful style? Back in a minute...

OK, looks like I can comment in some other people's journals viewed in their own style. But not in all, and not in my own.

I Can Has Subject Line

[kerravonsen]

So it looks as if there's something helpful about my mournful style. Good.

Re: I Can Has Subject Line

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

It also appears that I cannot send a private message to those journals with a style LJ doesn't like any more. So unless I have those people's email addresses, I can no longer communicate with them by any means.

This seems to be an insane thing to do, especially with no warning.

Re: I Can Has Subject Line

[kerravonsen]

Eh? Why would private messages be affected?

Re: I Can Has Subject Line

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

No idea. It's possible that some people have just disabled that option previously because they don't want PMs, as a bit of scouting around suggests that option isn't "greyed out" in all the journals where I can no longer comment.

I haz a subject line, yes?

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

I'm so confused. I don't see a difference. It appears that all my friends' journals allow me to comment, give me a subject line, and give me the option of a drop-down menu for my user pics.

What does it meeeeeaaaaaannnnn????

That being said, every new unannounced change makes me a little nervous. Most of my friends are holding tightly to LJ, so I'll probably keep hanging out here, but with each change, DW is sounding more viable.

Do you know of an easy way to either A) download my LJ to my hard drive (I've got 6 years of journaling here, and not just fannish stuff); and/or B) transfer the journal as completely as possible to DW?

Re: I haz a subject line, yes?

[kerravonsen]

I'm so confused. I don't see a difference. It appears that all my friends' journals allow me to comment, give me a subject line, and give me the option of a drop-down menu for my user pics.

What does it meeeeeaaaaaannnnn????

It means that your friends are savvy enough to work around the problem, or that they, coinicidentally, have previously done the things that work around the problem.

The problem itself is with the "site style" for comment pages, which has been changed so that (a) you can't add subject lines in comments, (b) you can't SEE subject lines in comments and (c) you don't have a drop-down menu for user pics.
One can still MAKE comments everywhere, it's just those particular things that one can't do, on pages that use the "site style". And it so happens that "site style" is the default.

Do you know of an easy way to either A) download my LJ to my hard drive (I've got 6 years of journaling here, and not just fannish stuff); and/or B) transfer the journal as completely as possible to DW?

B is really easy. You just "import" your LJ journal to your DW journal. This functionality can import your profile, your icons, your friends groups, as well as importing all your entries and comments. (Organize -> Import content).

Then one can set up automatic crossposting from DW to LJ, and it will remember what was crossposted, and one can later import comments from LJ and they will end up attached to the correct posts.

Of course, if everyone is doing it at once, the queue for imports will be rather long, but c'est la vie.

[livii.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the detailed info - that worked for me, I had #1 and #3 done but not #2. It's ugly now - everything on the comment pages is vertical like my layout, which is nice as a reading list but not so much for commenting, but at least it's not hideously unfunctional and I still have the old icon choosing style.