yay, LJ tricks!

[kuangning]

via kadath:

"LJ has rolled out a new "feature" whereby your account is now searchable by the email address you registered with, unless you opt out. If the set "people you want to know your LJ exists" doesn't entirely contain the set "people who have your email address," you can go to the Edit Profile page, scroll down to Contact Info, "Find by email," and turn email searching off."

Edit: to quote further from the entry: LJ is claiming it's opt-in. In LJ's universe, "opt-in" means "allowing opt-out via a pop-up window at the home page (which users with a client or a persistent cookie and bookmarks do not visit as a matter of course) on the first login after the new feature is rolled out, but the feature is active until then."

Comments

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

No, it's an opt-in feature, thankfully.

http://news.livejournal.com/110919.html

[kuangning]

To quote further from kadath's entry: In LJ's universe, "opt-in" means "allowing opt-out via a pop-up window at the home page (which users with a client or a persistent cookie and bookmarks do not visit as a matter of course) on the first login after the new feature is rolled out, but the feature is active until then."

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

I'm curious where that info is coming from, because that certainly wouldn't be opt-in. That's opt-out with a reasonably visible method of opting out.

I suppose it's buried somewhere in the 50 pages of people bitching about the new profile page on the news post. *sigh*

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/feedback/14769.html says:

Existing users will be presented with an opt-in page after the feature is launched so they can make the specific choice that best fits their personal preference. If no choice is made, existing users will have the option defaulted to "No."

While I suppose it's possible that they didn't actually implement it that way, I don't see any reason to believe otherwise.

[midnightfae.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm rather pleased by the feature. It popped up on my screen when I logged in recently, asking me what my preference was, and I chose to let people search, but not to display my LJ name. So that I can choose who does and doesn't have my LJ name. I didn't even have to go looking for it to turn the feature off.

It makes it easy for me to find people I make friends with outside of LJ.

[kuangning]

And that's great. But the default still ought to be "inactive till you turn it on," and not "it's active but we'll give you a pop-up the first time you log in after the change, provided you log in from the home page, and allow you to turn it off."

Besides, that still puts some people in the position of having to go "Oh, you found out I have an LJ. Well, I do. But I don't want you to have my username, [Mom]/[Dad]/[controlling partner]/[stalker ex]. That kind of conversation always goes over so well.

[midnightfae.livejournal.com]

I consider LJ to be just like any other online database I'm a part of - Facebook, Myspace, the UCD student directory, OKC - and am not surprised or disturbed that they're trying to make it easier to find people on it. I don't even *have* an opt-out option on some of those other sites. LJ, like most things on the internet, is, in many ways, a networking tool.

[mopalia.livejournal.com]

Yes. My version is - "oh, you found it. Yes, I talk about work - but I work with you, so I don't want you to read it." Grah.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

It *is* inactive until you turn it on.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I just tested it on two different friends who hadn't set theirs yet. It is off by default until you select otherwise. Anybody who is trying to claim LJ is lying about that is selling you a crock of, well, something or other, but it's not true.

[kuangning]

The feature isn't working yet. I know that when I went in to change mine, "No" was not pre-selected as it should have been.

[i.livejournal.com]

i don't care if anyone finds either of my lj's, but for someone who is always logged in, it certainly is not opt-in. i only saw the popup because i logged out of my regular account to do some maintenance on my second one.