I disagree for various reasons. First of all (fersteval? ;) ), I fail to see how an 'open letter to LJ' on someone's journal entry will do anything but garner attention. It has garnered a lot of attention, but to get a journal suspended, LJ's going to need some kind of abuse report.
You know how I feel about eating disorders. Strongly. And I've looked at a lot of these communities. There are hundreds on LJ, and have been for years. Literally, hundreds. Pro ana is a huge movement. There are pro bulimia communities, too.
Anyway, these communities tend to have the stated purpose of supporting people who are already anorexic by giving them tips on how to not kill themselves at it (not eating protein or dairy of any kind? be sure to take these vitamins...). Do they actually do this effectively? Hell, no. But they provide some form of validation for these mentally ill people, and it's going to be tricky for LJ to prove they're bad. Much trickier than it is for them to point to child pornography laws and say that certain fanworks are bad. Are they going to go to that much trouble? Doubt it.
Starving oneself is no more illegal behavior than self-cutting. I'm sure there are pro self-mutilation communities out there, too. Bad idea, highly disturbing and offensive, but illegal? Not technically.
I know people are mad about fandom suspensions, but this 'gotcha!' game is helping no one. Seriously, it bothers me that fanfiction and fanart is being equated with trafficking in child pornography, too. But pointing at other communities on LJ and saying 'well they're worse!' is...actually pretty juvenile. What's going to happen here is LJ is going to start shutting down everything mildly questionable, and then everyone will be pissed. That'll be fun.
no subject
You know how I feel about eating disorders. Strongly. And I've looked at a lot of these communities. There are hundreds on LJ, and have been for years. Literally, hundreds. Pro ana is a huge movement. There are pro bulimia communities, too.
Anyway, these communities tend to have the stated purpose of supporting people who are already anorexic by giving them tips on how to not kill themselves at it (not eating protein or dairy of any kind? be sure to take these vitamins...). Do they actually do this effectively? Hell, no. But they provide some form of validation for these mentally ill people, and it's going to be tricky for LJ to prove they're bad. Much trickier than it is for them to point to child pornography laws and say that certain fanworks are bad. Are they going to go to that much trouble? Doubt it.
Starving oneself is no more illegal behavior than self-cutting. I'm sure there are pro self-mutilation communities out there, too. Bad idea, highly disturbing and offensive, but illegal? Not technically.
I know people are mad about fandom suspensions, but this 'gotcha!' game is helping no one. Seriously, it bothers me that fanfiction and fanart is being equated with trafficking in child pornography, too. But pointing at other communities on LJ and saying 'well they're worse!' is...actually pretty juvenile. What's going to happen here is LJ is going to start shutting down everything mildly questionable, and then everyone will be pissed. That'll be fun.