Things to Say

I'm tired of being politely euphemistic, so let me go ahead and be straight as I possibly can about a number of things, and you can take them or leave them.

First: I've been getting a number of reports via e-mail that a few AOL Journalers are being harassed in their comments and through e-mail because they've decided to keep their Journals on AOL, post-banner ads.

Folks, being angry with AOL about the banner ads is one thing, and it's entirely reasonable to feel that way. Harassing individual AOL Journalers because you are angry with AOL about the banner ads is another thing entirely. And harassing AOL Journals to leave AOL Journals because you are angry with AOL undercuts the moral stance of the other folks who have objections to the banner ads, as it leaves the entire group vulnerable to, well, charges of harassment.

In the wake of the banner ads, people have perfectly legitimate and principled reasons for leaving the AOL Journal client. People also have perfectly legitimate and principled reasons for staying. Those of you who are upset with the banner ads have a fight with AOL, not with individual AOL Journalers. Allow me to suggest you keep your focus on the appropriate place. Don't be a jerk to people who just want to write their Journals in peace.

Now, let me address a bunch of things that have been on my mind recently.

Do I think AOL will change its mind about the banner ads: No. This is a personal opinion, unfettered by any whisperings in my ears from AOL higherups. I could be wrong. Heck, I wouldn't mind being wrong. But I don't think I will be. However, my having this opinion should not be construed as suggesting people are wasting their time complaining about them. As I noted, I could be wrong.

But I said there would never be banner ads on AOL Journals, right here: That particular entry doesn't say that there would never be banner ads on AOL Journals. It says that at the time (six months ago) there were banner ads on AIM Blogs and not on AOL Journals. Between the time I wrote that and this moment, the folks at AOL decided they were going to put banner ads in AOL Journals. It doesn't mean I lied when I wrote it, or that AOL allowed me to misinform people, despite the best efforts of people to suggest otherwise. It simply means that AOL decided to implement banner ads on AOL Journals after I wrote it.

Why didn't I do anything about the banner ads: When I was told that AOL was thinking about adding the banner ads to AOL Journals, I told them I thought the community wouldn't be happy and that I wouldn't do it, and that if they were going to do it they should at least let me tell people about them so they could prepare. I agree that some folks would say I should have done more, but I don't think it's accurate to say I didn't do anything.

Why I didn't tell people the banner ads were coming on a particular date: AOL didn't tell me.

Why AOL didn't tell me: Got me.

Does this make me look clueless: Well, yeah. As you can imagine, I'm not happy about that. As I've said several times now, I wish at the very least I had been able to tell folks this was coming. However, in this case, what's done is done. If it had been up to me, I would have done things differently. It was not up to me.

What am I doing now about it: I'm passing along the comments I'm getting and to the extent I'm involved in current internal discussions about the banner ads, I'm offering my own opinions about the matter, for what those are worth.

Why don't I talk about it every day: Because some days there's nothing to report on the AOL end. Certainly not in the last couple of days, since like most people, the majority of AOL folks have the weekends off. Naturally, if there is something new to report, I'll report it as soon as I get the information. Unless I have something new to report, I'll post entries on the other topics I generally write about.

Will I resign my position: No. If AOL decides not to renew my contract, that's one thing, but I like my job here and I really like the people who make up the AOL-J, even those members of it whose new blog addresses are now on some other service. So I'm sticking around.

I should resign anyway, because I did my job poorly: Eh. This ain't FEMA. I accept responsibility for my failures. AOL implemented banner ads after I gave my opinion they wouldn't be well-received and didn't tell me when they were implementing the banner ads, so I was caught off-guard when the ads arrived. However, these are reasons, not excuses, and to the extent that I failed to do my job, for whatever cause, I apologize again, as I have done before. But I don't think the solution is resigning; it's doing what I can to make sure I'm not caught flat-footed a second time, and to serve the AOL-J community as well as possible. I have responsibilities here beyond the banner ads.

Also, you know, look. It would be one thing if I had known the implementation date of the banner ads and was told not to tell people. To be clear, at no time did AOL suggest any such damn fool thing. On the extreme off chance that it had, that would have been something I would resign over, because I think that would have been wrong, and there's not enough money out there to make me do something I think is unprincipled. There is always another gig (and this isn't my only source of income, so that helps, too). But to be entirely blunt about it, I'm not going to blow a significant hole in my finances because I was not told the information I needed to do what I think is my job. There's a moral difference between these two circumstances, and the side of the moral equation I'm on does not call on me to resign.

You still blame me personally: Fine. I'd much rather you blame me than to harass other AOL Journalers. And if you don't think I'm not kicking myself over the whole situation, you'd be wrong. I know how much blame I shoulder, and I shoulder it willingly. If you try to add more blame to my shoulders than I think is appropriate, I'm likely to shrug it off.

You don't like my tone: Well, you know. There are only so many tones I have, and some of you have chosen not to like any of them. This is the tone I have today.

I don't actually give a crap: Wrong. I absolutely sympathize with the folks who are upset with AOL about the ads -- when I woke up last Tuesday and saw the ads, I knew people were going to hit the roof, not only because of the presence of the ads, but in the manner they arrived, which is to say "surprise! here we are!" And the install issues didn't help. And it's also not to say that I and other people (read: Joe) have abandoned the idea of forwarding concerns and issues to higher ups, because we pass along what we've gotten and what we've seen. I'm not at all pleased that the community I've been a part of and helped build has gotten such a jolt.

But I'm also not a mirror. I've had my own thoughts and reactions to the banner ads -- some of which I have been at liberty to share and some which I have not -- but given who I am as a person and who I am in terms of my relationship with AOL Journals, my responses both public and private are going to differ from other people's, and that means some people are going to be unsatisfied with my responses.

And that's fine. I like this job, but it isn't always easy, and not everybody is always happy with the way I chose to do my job. You can't please everyone. Sometimes, given the circumstances, you can't even always please yourself. Nevertheless, you continue trying to do your job to be as useful as you can be to the largest number of people. And that's what I try to do here in AOL Journals. I try to be useful and I try to tend to the community. Some days it's easy, and sometimes it's not. Some people will be happy with how I choose to do my job, and some people won't. As long as I feel I am doing the job as best I can, I can accept differing opinions on the matter.

What we do now: Those for whom banner ads are an affront I suspect will need to find elsewhere for their Journals, although I suggest not deleting your AOL Journal for now -- it can serve as an archive, at least in the short term, and who knows? AOL may reverse its decision. Those for whom banner ads are not an issue, of course, are perfectly fine where they are.

As for the AOL-J community at large, allow me to suggest that the community is the people, and while I would personally prefer people keep their AOL Journals, I don't see why folks who see the AOL-J community as their home need to feel it is not, regardless of what server their Journal is on. In the offline world, you don't stop being friends with people when you move to a new house. In the online world I don't see why it needs to be any different.

Written by johnmscalzi Blog about this entry

This entry has 58 comments: (Add your own)

#58 Comment from slacbacmac
12/18/05 7:57 PM | Permalink

Agreement x57>>it's a very long way of saying that the
Advertisements are a bad idea all=to. [delete@will]
#57 Comment from judithheartsong
11/26/05 11:06 AM | Permalink

http://sztahanov.blog.hu/index.php/2005/11/25/aol_journals_hirdetacsbotrainy_ka#trackbacks

judi
#56 Comment from memes121
11/23/05 11:10 AM | Permalink

First, I am way behind on my emails. Second, I do not blame you or Joe for any of this. Third, I am staying. I don't like the ads but the friends I have made here are way more important than any ad you tune out and don't pay attention to any longer. I have been called a traitor for staying. I think that is sick. I know of several who are being harassed. Enough already! These adults have turned into five year olds because somebody didn't play fair. If you left, I respect that. Please respect those of us who are staying. Please, grow up!
#55 Comment from glendar0812
11/23/05 11:02 AM | Permalink

ok so i've been slow getting around to this ... been sickypoo. However, I will say that I agree with you, your outrage and your decisions. We all have to do what is necessary to keep our jobs and at times there are pieces of our jobs we'd ALL like to dump into the nearest garbage bin.

The banner ads are a nuisance, but in no way should any of us BLAME you for them. You aren't the CEO of the Company and HOW MANY OF US have been given the low down way after any comment or choice was possible to affect any change? MOST. Probably at some point ALL. of us.

Kudos to you John for taking the smashing tomatoes being thrown by the colonials who forgot to get the LOG out of thier own eye. I don't love the banner ads but I do not for one minute think you came like a thief in the night and personally placed them there.

Your journal is one of the highlights of my day. And I've met some great people here ... some moved on ... personally I have a new journal more because I can figure out some things on it and FIND it to post to it than because of banner ads.

Banner ads phatooey. Ignore them. Was it 'wrong' of AOL to put them there, probably. Do we have to click on them? NO. Do they cause pop-ups .. sometimes now I get pop-ups whereas before I did not. So those are my thoughts and I for one will continue to visit your journal ...

:) cheerios and milk (not spilt milk ... no wheaties)
Glenda
#54 Comment from upseted
11/22/05 7:03 PM | Permalink

I personally am sick of folks calling me a whiner, telling me to get over it, etc. John, your post is WAY one-sided. I have not harassed anyone about staying, yet you're not addressing any of the comments dismissing those who are upset by the banners calling us traitors, etc. And, that's visible right here in the comments section.

First: I've been getting a number of reports via e-mail that a few AOL Journalers are being harassed in their comments and through e-mail because they've decided to keep their Journals on AOL, post-banner ads.

It's going BOTH ways, John... just read the comments. :-(

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Things to Say