All about Dreamwidth--invite codes and everything.

[tzikeh]

I've been surprised at how many people (not just in fandom, but all over lj) are whining and moaning about Dreamwidth without actually knowing anything about it. It's so frustrating (to me--I own my inability to not be frustrated by this right now), because anyone can read about it everywhere. Since I'm tired of repeating myself (yes, yes, again, I have only myself to blame for the compulsion to reply with links and info every time I see a comment about dw that's wrong and I swear I'm working on that tendency honest), here's some shit you can read.

(For those who are all wound up about invite codes... gmail used to be invite-code only. LIVEJOURNAL used to be invite-code only--for four years. DW is just being cautious about server overload during closed beta, and it's only in closed beta for 19 more days.)

Basic information about Dreamwidth can be found at their FAQ. Any kind of news or updates can be read at dw-news. A list of official dw communities is here. A great post that offers up many of the reasons I love Dreamwidth is here. A list of dw mailing lists, one ore two of which might interest you, is here. And the Dreamwidth WIKI, fa cryin' out loud, is here.

You can join the irc channel to see what's up in a blow-by-blow kinda way, and ask questions when the conversation takes a turn toward something you're interested in. You don't have to join the convo, of course, if you don't want to; the channel's discussion topic will wander about, from Dreamwidth info and updates, to Age of Sail AUs set in Silicon Valley, to fisting (a lot--dude, I don't know). But good, timely info can be had by hanging out there. Server - irc.dwscoalition.org Channel #dw.

And, finally, from denise's dw itself:

Closed beta is expanding.

We're adding more people to the closed beta on a daily basis, in order to get new sets of eyeballs and to start gathering better data on server load. (We're trying to figure out what we're going to need in terms of server resources at open beta launch. Right now we're running with minimal resources, and we want to know what we're going to need when we start getting heavier traffic.) (NB: emphasis tzikeh's to reinforce the "invites are not about creating a clique" thing)

This means that some people have invite codes to give out, but not a whole lot of invite codes.

We're inviting people who've expressed interest in the project on a more-or-less random basis -- by sending invites to people who've subscribed to our project mailing lists, people who have created OpenID accounts and set/validated their email addresses, and people who have volunteered and/or contributed to the project -- and we're also giving some people invites to hand out. This is so we can get a really broad sampling of users of all sorts of technical levels and experience.

We're handing out invite codes to our existing users to give out in small batches, to watch things very very carefully. This is temporary. (NB: ibid.) We'll be a lot more generous with invites and with giving out invite codes towards the end of the month.

Your best bet to get an account is using your OpenID to comment.

If you absolutely can't wait for April 30, your best route to getting an account is to log in with OpenID, then set and validate your email address. OpenID accounts can leave comments, but they can't post entries.

We're inviting anywhere between 20-50 OpenID users a day right now.

So, there ya go. Whether you give a flying fuck, that's a whole other dump truck full of fish sticks. BUT--for those who do care, I hope this is helpful.

Comments

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Maybe folks have short memories, but it wasn't all that long ago that you could only get on livejournal via invite code too.

LJ did away with invite codes in December 2003, over five years ago - I think of that as being "long ago," at least relative to internet-based media fandom. Longish ago, anyway. (I agree with your post otherwise!)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Fair point re: 2003; I consider it not all that long ago because 1) I got on lj via invite code, and I felt like I was already late to the lj party w/r/t fandom, so I'm only comparing to myself and not the (likely) hundreds of thousands who've joined since then; and 2) five years isn't all that long ago for me (I'm really using that a lot these past few days because I'm getting a sense that people think I'm stating truth when I'm only stating experience) for being on the internet with fans.

eta: I've been fannish on the internet since I was old enough to plug the big clunky phone handset into the suction-cup modem, back in bbs and usenet days, so we're talking close to 25 years now. Eek.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Hee - clearly you have a much longer view! I did not discover fandom until 2002, so my perspective is all crammed into a shorter space.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

:nod: But even with LJ, fans started using it as a fannish gathering place as early as... 2000? I think? And I got on in November 2002, with an invite code--which they continued using for another year. So two years of fannish conglomeration before I got to join in; Dreamwidth promises to be nothing like that. Once it's up, accounts are immediately available for something like $3 a month? And if you choose not to pay another $3 for the second month, you don't vanish; your account simply becomes a free account.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

I read this and went, "Wow, she was on in 2002? I don't think I got on until 2004!" then I went to look, and... I started mine ten days before you, looks like.

...I'll have been on LJ SEVEN YEARS THIS FALL. Good God.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

SEVEN YEARS.

If we were dogs, we'd have been on lj for one year!

[hubbit.livejournal.com]

But even with LJ, fans started using it as a fannish gathering place as early as... 2000? I think? And I got on in November 2002, with an invite code--which they continued using for another year.

Oooh, LJ invite codes! SHINY!

My wife tel got her invite code in June of 2002; she was invited by others in her LOTR fandom community, so in her case LJ was for her many varied fandoms right from the start. (But she's been "fanning", as it were, on paper since the days when these were photocopied and furtively passed around at cons.)

I joined the LJ party comparatively late, in July of 2003, also via an invite code. However, I more or less use LJ as a blog and occasional rantspace. Dry, boring nonfiction. :D

Edited to repair a simple error in punctuation.

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

I appreciate this!

Do you know whether creating an Open ID creates any kind of hold for that username? Because that would be pretty tempting.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

This, I do not know! But they have a search function, and it might be in the FAQ or the wiki. I do know that setting your OpenID there increases your chances of getting an invite code, as denise says.

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

Since it turned out I already had one for here, I went ahead and did that! I'd love to be just plain "bone" over there, but I'll wait until the 30th and try to get it then if I don't get a code before then.

[wolfling]

I'm thinking no, since I had an open id and then created an account with the same name when I got an invite code but didn't reference my open id at all when doing so.

Though that would be sweet if it did.

[florahart]

It doesn't, because it isn't actually creating an account in that name. However, since until the end of the month there are only invite codes, and right now there are, I dunno, maybe 1000-1500 members? That's a wild-assed guess, but I think given how many invite codes went out last night, it's probably fairish. By the end of the month as they start giving out more and more of them it may be that there are like 10,000 members. Even still, at that point, your odds of getting hold of the username you want are fairly good. :D

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the information! I was able to get a code, and get my name the way I wanted it. Yay! :)

[bailunrui.livejournal.com]

People are getting up in arms about invite codes? LIVEJOURNAL used to be invite-only. GMAIL used to be invite-only. It is standard practice nowadays that when you roll out a beta, invitations are the way to go and reduce server load.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I know! I just. Yes. Yah. Yawohl.

[klia.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this. And apologies if I contributed to your frustration.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

You did not contribute to my frustration. :)

[ratcreature]

I've seen no whining posts, and I know why invite codes make sense, but scarce resources (which they are at least as long as the service isn't even open) just never make anyone happy, whether the system makes sense or not. It always creates the impression and feelings of inclusion and exclusion and so on, even if connections are more imagined than reality. (I mean I understand they did some random distribution of invites too or something for fairness? I'm on the newsletter update ML, but the last updates were kind of tl;dr what with going on and on about bugfixes or something so I didn't actually read the last couple.) So that simply creates grumpiness, even if there is no better way to make the service not collapse whiel testing, and manage growth.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

It always creates the impression and feelings of inclusion and exclusion and so on, even if connections are more imagined than reality.

That's part of why I posted this--because this is a "teachable moment". :D Lots of people got Dreamwidth invites and accounts before I did, but I didn't feel like they were a clique that had left me out, because I understood the reasons. Since it appears that many people don't, I hope that, if they read this post, they will.

[thecomfychair.livejournal.com]

Very helpful entry, do you mind if I link to it? I'm in the process of making my own "Whee! Dreamwidth! post, in part because I know a few people upset over the invite code thing. It doesn't seem like an unusual decision to me, but I can see why it might be perceived poorly by others, so I think this post would be helpful to pass on.

(and whee! DW! I'm restraining myself as to getting an account until finals are over, because I know my productivity is going to go waaaay down once I start getting into the shiny new site)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Of *course* you can link to it, silly!

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

Am I nuts for not going, er, nuts over invite codes since I'm happy to pay for the service? I mean I get not everyone has money to spare but still. It's a startup company. I'm thinking they wouldn't mind the cash.

[florahart]

Yes, but you can't get an account until they start selling them. That's the thing, for folks who want to run there now.

They plan to sell enough seed accounts at the end of the month to pay for a specific amount of stuff; after that, they are hoping to maintain a ratio of paid:free of 1:24 (4% paid users), which should provide enough capital to run what they expect to need.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

No, I get that. I mean I'd buy my account now if they were allowing it. But they're not and I'm happy to support them with cash so I don't mind waiting until the 30th.

I think for me it's more my observation of people on my flist (not all, but some) who couldn't have told you what DW was a week ago but now they're begging for invite codes simply because they've seen other people doing it.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Those of us with invites still have to buy our accounts after they open up for purchase. They're just letting us in free *now* to test everything. So the money will be there, invite or no.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaaah. That's the piece of the puzzle I was missing. Thank you!

[niqaeli]

Augh, thank god it is not just me I'm hitting the scream point every time I see misinformation about Dreamwidth being spread. Look, I actually don't care if you hate it, -- your loss, moving on -- but for the love of god would you hate it on its actual merits?? Twitchtwitch. Twitch.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Hee. Yes. I felt the same way about OTW. Good God, *read* about the damned thing before you start hating on it. Stop using third-hand info to justify your bitchin' and moanin'.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

I've been surprised at how many people (not just in fandom, but all over lj) are whining and moaning about Dreamwidth without actually knowing anything about it.

I'm surprised this surprises you -- isn't this just standard? *g* I mean, seriously, about anything, there are always a lot of people who'd rather complain or whinge than seek out information, who decide they know what's what without learning anything, whether it's something relatively innocuous, like this (or OTW, or), or serious, like RaceFail09. How many people during that commented to others to say, "I don't know anything/much about this, but here's my opinion anyway..."

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

*g* Well, okay, maybe not surprised so much as "what, AGAIN?" And yeah, I thought of OTW as another example.

[bonibaru.livejournal.com]

Yup and I'm glad enough, honestly, to not have them cluttering up the servers by not moving over :D

[elynross.livejournal.com]

Heh.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

This was helpful, thank you!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

You are welcome! Spread the Good News far and wide! *g*