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!)

[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.

[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.

[klia.livejournal.com]

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

[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)

[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.

[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.

[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..."

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

This was helpful, thank you!