LiveJournal Advisory Board

Meeting on 25th April 2008 (minutes approved June 27, 2008)

Members Attending

danah boyd, Esther Dyson, Brad Fitzpatrick

Management Attending

Andrew Paulson, Matthew Berardo, Jonathan Kim, Sergei Komarov, Edward Shenderovich, , Benjamin Wegg-Prosser

Apologies

Larry Lessig

1. General introduction
* Background papers to role and remit of the advisory board – Board members to feedback comments

2. Account Structure

o Proposed changes to LiveJournal Account structure discussed. Various options considered – Management to work up more detailed proposals for user consultation
o Board members suggested any new account structure should be developed in tandem with new experimental advertising formats – for example – allow users to select / influence the advertising they see – Management to investigate

3. Technology Outlook
* Discussion took placed on state of LiveJournal technology infrastructure. Management to consider comments and update users on technology issues when appropriate
* New co-location facility for LiveJournal discussed.
4. Policy review
* Non-photographic images of minors – revise policy to one which focuses on legality, emphasize extent to which material is screened (friends only / flagging etc) - Management to revise and release
* Pro-ana – revise policy to one where support is being actively given and promoted; Management to revise and release
* Convene a working party to develop LJ’s thought leadership position on this issue – Board members to develop in conjunction with Management

5. User elections
* Existing members agreed to release statements endorsing election process – Board members to return comments.

6. Next meeting
* June conference call – Management to agree date

Meeting on 27th June 2008 (minutes not yet approved by Advisory Board)

Members Attending

Danah Boyd, Jen Brady, Esther Dyson, Brad Fitzpatrick, Zafar Khashimov, Larry Lessig

Management Attending

Andrew Paulson, Matthew Berardo, Sergei Komarov, Edward Shenderovich, Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, Marina Pustilnik

Apologies

Annelies van den Belt

1. Approval of minutes from meeting of 25th April 2008 in San Francisco
* Agreed
2. Welcome to new members
* The two new user representatives made short introductions and welcomed on the board following their elections in May
3. User policy update
* The revised policy relating to the publishing of inappropriate content online where the legality was borderline was discussed. An update to the policy was circulated and discussed – The statement which Management circulated was agreed.
* It was suggest that contact should be made with relevant NGOs who will be able to advise on issues surrounding the publication of potentially illegal material – Management to pursue
* Discussion on communities that promote potentially harmful lifestyle choices was discussed. A research project was proposed which would look into this issue in more detail. The results of this project should be available by end of summer – Management to pursue
4. Account structure
* Discussion followed the potential changes to the LiveJournal account structure which were discussed at the previous meeting. Concerns were expressed regarding the reaction from users about displaying advertising in Basic Accounts. Management emphasized that nothing was cast in stone and final agreement would only be reached after thorough consultation with users – Management to develop further plans in light of comments from Board

o Board members suggested that more information be given on the financial position of LiveJournal to justify the proposed changes - Management said they would consider but emphasized that LiveJournal had wide range of views on the relevance of LiveJournals’ financial position in relation to this issue.

5. Advisory Board communications

o Board members expressed concern about the proliferation of LiveJournal official communities – Management made clear that refining these was an important part of plan to update LiveJournal

6. Any other business

o Board members asked at which point it would be appropriate to discuss issues relating to the account structure in public – Management asked members to respect confidentiality of discussion until after public announcement.

7. Next meeting

o Advisory Board General Meeting –November, San Francisco (TBC)

Post script – the date and venue of the Advisory Board General Meeting has been changed due to scheduling issues.