denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)
Denise ([staff profile] denise) wrote2009-04-10 01:49 am
Entry tags:

The "who I am" entry!

We're adding new people to our closed beta in leaps and bounds, so I figured I'd write an entry about this journal and who I am so people know. :)

Hi! I'm Denise; with [staff profile] mark I own and operate Dreamwidth Studios. This is my "staff" account; my personal account is at [personal profile] synecdochic, which is where I post about my life (infrequently) and my fannish stuff (way more frequently).

During our closed beta phase, I've subscribed to every personal account that's been created, because I know some people are reluctant to contact us with their questions or don't think that something they've noticed is actually a bug. I wanted to make sure I caught those sorts of issues.

When we reach open beta, I'll be dropping most of the subscriptions on this account, because I don't want people to feel like Big Brother (or, okay, Big Sister) is watching. You're welcome to stay subscribed to me! I don't plan on posting much to this account -- it'll mostly be used for making posts to official communities and commenting in situations where it needs to be clear that I'm speaking as staff. (I may keep doing the bug counts, though. I've found it's really awesome to be able to read back over and see what kind of progress we're making.)

I am, in no particular order:

* thirty-two years old;
* queer;
* in an exceedingly committed relationship with the fabulous [personal profile] sarah, which we will get around to making official as soon as Maryland legalizes gay marriage/civil unions or we can get off our asses to get to a state that does;
* disabled (I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic disorder involving a defect in the connective tissue leading to joint pain, frequent joint dislocations, and a whole host of other associated side effects that make life a bit of a challenge, and have recently started using a wheelchair for mobility assistance outside the house);
* possessed of perhaps the worst case of Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Syndrome you will ever find; my average 'day' runs on about a 36-hour cycle these days, which means you will often find me around at odd hours;
* a writer of both fanfic (mostly Stargate SG-1) and science fiction/fantasy;
* incapable of answering any kind of question without degenerating rapidly into tl;dr territory;
* powered by Diet Coke with Lime and Marlboro Lights;
* fiercely protective of my friends, my loved ones, and my people;
* open to being told when I have fucked something up, and willing to take whatever steps I need to take to make things right (and I'm even working very very hard on quickly getting over the immediate defensive reaction, or not getting immediately defensive at all, as well!);
* so incredibly, passionately, tremendously in love with the idea of online community, social networking, and social media, while at the same time hating the profiteering, advertiser-centric, sell-out attitude so prevalent in the Web 2.0 world;
* amazingly excited, and at the same time amazingly terrified, about Dreamwidth and what [staff profile] mark and I are accomplishing.

(Excited because this is what I have always, always wanted to do with social media, with LiveJournal, and with the internet in general. Terrified, because -- oh my God, what if we fuck up. I've been joking for a while that every time I think about what we're doing here, I need to go hyperventilate into a brown paper bag for a bit. In fact, a friend of mine recently shipped me a package of brown paper bags for that very purpose.)

I was raised by parents who were self-employed; they say your work ethic is set by the age of seven, and hoo-boy, it's no wonder I turned out like I did. You can read an older entry of mine -- (really, i'm just noodling around here) -- for some of my thoughts about the kind of business I want Dreamwidth to be. [staff profile] mark and I are looking to create something that will support our families and let us work at home in our pajamas, not something that will ever make us millions. Watching the energy and enthusiasm that everyone's been bringing to this project, the sheer amount of talent that has assembled around this project, is amazing.

I hope we can be worthy of you all.
thistleingrey: (Default)

[personal profile] thistleingrey 2009-04-10 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
Hello! DW is a very exciting undertaking to this user, too. :)

(Eek, the sleeping rhythms sound complicated. I have much sympathy for the EDS; I have a "benign hypermobility" diagnosis, but whether or not that's == EDS3, repeated accidental reinjury is not terribly benign, I find.)

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[personal profile] thistleingrey - 2009-04-10 16:22 (UTC) - Expand
jecook: (Default)

[personal profile] jecook 2009-04-10 06:52 am (UTC)(link)
You forgot 'I provide outstanding conversation material during scenic drives'. :D

pantswarrior: Remote-control Vulcan? BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! (yay!)

[personal profile] pantswarrior 2009-04-10 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
You are, also, for the record, one of maybe a handful of people who I actually think is capable of making something like this work. Since I noted my interest in DW over at LJ, I've gotten plenty of people who go "Oh, another LJ-based site that everyone's jumping on the bandwagon for"...

And my biggest argument in telling them that no, really, it's not just more bandwagon-jumping (and seriously, I didn't jump any of the previous bandwagons, so if that's all it was, why would I jump this one?) is that it's not just attractive marketing points - I know you mean everything you guys are saying in the announcements and the wikis and the docs which makes it sound like exactly what I want in a social media site, and I know that you've thought this through and planned carefully, because you wouldn't do this any other way. Unfortunately "If you knew what I knew" is not a very convincing argument, but I'm trying.

At any rate, I have faith in you and Mark. And so do a lot of other people, many of whom are already contributing. This is going to work, and it's going to be awesome. =)

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ext_3159: HatMan (dreamwidth)

[identity profile] pgwfolc.livejournal.com 2009-04-10 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
Wow. Someone whose sleep schedule is even more frakked-up than mine. Impressive.

Diet coke with lime rocks. Although I wish Diet Cherry Coke hadn't been all but entirely replaced with Cherry Zero. :p

Anyway, nice intro. :)

(And now back to checking that thing about bolded interests...)
ext_16352: (Default)

[identity profile] ladyvox.livejournal.com 2009-04-10 10:29 am (UTC)(link)
"Wow. Someone whose sleep schedule is even more frakked-up than mine. Impressive. "

/giggles
I was thinking the same!
ladyjax: (Default)

[personal profile] ladyjax 2009-04-10 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
I think what you're doing rocks.
ext_16352: (Default)

[identity profile] ladyvox.livejournal.com 2009-04-10 10:03 am (UTC)(link)
That's a nice post! Tis always nice to know a bit about those behind projects like this (though I say 'like this' - I have not really ran into any similar projects.. There are so many lj-based offshoots but NONE of them give me the feeling that DW has given me since I started keeping up with you guys a while back). And well, I am sure you gals&guys can make it work - and for what it's worth, as soon as I am able to do some volunteering myself to help out here or there I will.

You must psyched over the Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/07/us/AP-GayMarriage-Vermont.html?_r=4&hp) then! :) I know I am, and then I myself actually am from the country that was the first to legalize same-sex marriage. For 5.5 years I have traveled back'n'forth between the Netherlands and the States to keep my (same-sex) relationship working, as due to too little income marriage with someone from out of my own country wasn't available to us in my own country and well, marriage in the States for sure wasn't gonne happen. So I never managed to get hold of a proper visa, and well, eventually the long-distance thing put too much strain on the relationship so .. yeah. It makes me sad thinking about all this, and how different everything could have been if people would just allow others to live their lifes the way they think is best, instead of having to abide the rules of those too short-minded to see tis really none of their business to have a say in stuff like this. /steps of her wooden box and giggles
naraht: Moonrise over Earth (Default)

[personal profile] naraht 2009-04-10 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
You're doing, as far as I can tell, an absolutely wonderful job. Thank you for answering my questions and for having created this amazing thing. :)
sohotrightnow: the top of a swimming young woman's torso. ([tv] the sun lifts a halo)

[personal profile] sohotrightnow 2009-04-10 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much for the intro! :D My main problems thus far stem from my own laziness (I never remember what password I'm using here, and I haven't been bothered to prettify my style yet), so I really have nothing to report. I'm totally jazzed about this, though -- to say "thank you for all the work you're putting into this" just doesn't seem to quite reach the level of work you've put in or excitement I've got, but it'll have to do.

[identity profile] troubleinchina.livejournal.com 2009-04-10 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, that's you! My offline friend Katie reads your fic, IIRC - she made a cross-stitch inspired by one of them. (I, not having watched SG-1, can only smile and nod.)
bethac: (Default)

[personal profile] bethac 2009-04-10 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi, I have a question. I checked the "not right now" box on the would you like to buy an account now question when I made my DW journal after an invite. That was mostly so I could just get my bearings and set up, but when I am ready to pay for the year where do I go? I'm thinking it is not an option again until after it opens on the 30th? I'm sorry if this is covered somewhere else, I checked and did not see it, and checked the tags on my profile box, etc.
I hope that made sense.
Thanks so much, and I am really loving the DW setup.
Elizabeth
forthwritten: stained glass spiral (Default)

[personal profile] forthwritten 2009-04-10 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
You can't purchase an account right now, but will be able to do so when DW goes into open beta on the 30th. Here's a link to the account levels and pricing structure.

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[identity profile] bethac.livejournal.com - 2009-04-10 23:06 (UTC) - Expand
sky: (dgm - komui squee)

[personal profile] sky 2009-04-10 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Diet Coke? BLASPHEMY. (I kid, I kid.)

I find this whole project so amazing, though, and I don't think I'll ever be able to properly express my gratitude and awe for everything you guys have done already. I mean, even if Dreamwidth stayed at the level it was now, with the beta journal importing and the subscribe/access split and the other stuff that's out for us to test, and your guys's general philosophy... I would've been a convert with just that, but to think it's just going to keep getting better and that there's more features down the pipe, that you guys want to provide what the users want and you really have a passion for this that I don't seem to sense in the LJ staff these days... well, I'm rambling, but it all makes me very bouncy and giddy and excited with all the possibilities. :)
Edited 2009-04-10 15:45 (UTC)
kate: Kate Winslet is wryly amused (Default)

[personal profile] kate 2009-04-10 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sort of ridiculously excited about this. (Underneath all the stress from work.)

You're awesome, and your awesomeness is infectious, which is a really cool thing to see - especially when it results in something like Dreamwidth. This is going to be spectacular. ♥
ase: Default icon (Default)

[personal profile] ase 2009-04-10 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so excited you're doing DW. BTW, is that diet Coke, lime flavor, or diet Coke with real limes? (The coolest summer thing I have seen done with limes: squeeze into ice cube tray and freeze. Your drinks get more deliciously citrusy as they melt. Yum.)

I hope MD will get off its high horse and legalize gay marriage soon. We have to stay ahead of Virginia on this one.
princessofgeeks: (Default)

[personal profile] princessofgeeks 2009-04-11 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
thank you. that about covers it.
lanterne_rouee: multicolored paper lanterns (multicolored paper lanterns)

[personal profile] lanterne_rouee 2009-04-11 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
O.O

this site is exactly what i was hoping someone would make years ago. i just found out this year (2009) that you guys were making dreamwidth - which is good, because i'm not patient enough to wait a whole year - and i've been so excited and following along in one way or another every day since. didn't think i was going to make it to april, i was so excited! lol

i'm in awe of you and what you're doing. thank you for what you're doing! :) i think you are cool and i don't even necessarily like people most days.

but what's freaking me out in the good way at the moment is that we have a few things in common. lol

the tl;dr thing, for sure.

your last two bullet points (minus the terror of course).

caffeine free diet coke + real lime + marlboro menthol lights (although i've just been trying out camel no. 9 menthe lately and i think i might be switching for good. either to these or the camel crush ones).

caffeine free because-- i can't believe you posted a link explaining what i've been describing to people (in tl;dr fashion) half my life about my circadian rhythms/sleep patterns! i didn't even know they'd come up with a name (or several possible names) for it! just wow. i got really excited before i even clicked on the link. (though i got a bit scared after. why must everything be tied to psychological disorders these days? harrumph.) i'm going to have to follow the slightly different named links on that page and see which one mine is.

anyway, here i am - so excited, learning things from people already. today, i was explaining why this site is awesome and why i'm so excited to someone unfamiliar with lj or any of the diaspora sites. it was such a pleasure. gives me a starting point from which to whittle it down and be more succinct in the future, too. :P
jo_lasalle: a sleeping panda (Default)

[personal profile] jo_lasalle 2009-04-11 08:23 am (UTC)(link)
You don't know me, but I wanted to say thanks for my invite code again! :-) I really like the look and tone of the place so far, and am looking forward to it developing more!
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)

[personal profile] siliconshaman 2009-04-11 10:57 am (UTC)(link)
Holy crap!! Sorry.. I just noticed that the joint condition you suffer form is a more serve version of the one I have...except when I was diagnosed it didn't have a name!! [wa-aa-ay back in the 70's!] Umm..yeah... wow. Ok now I need to go do some reading.
Thanks, for everything!!
cbpotts: (Default)

[personal profile] cbpotts 2009-04-11 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
You have impressed the daylights out of me with this entry. You have tremendous passion, vision, and drive, and I'm very tickled to meet you.
wendelah1: (Default)

[personal profile] wendelah1 2009-04-11 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I am really excited and happy for you!

[personal profile] mephator 2009-04-11 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks for the intro!

[personal profile] mongoose 2009-04-11 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I think my lodger may have got Non-24, as well. I've just sent him the link you gave to the Wiki page - thank you for that. Having seen what he's like, I can only sympathise!

Lodger has just come downstairs to tell me he's quite certain I'm right.

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[personal profile] mongoose - 2009-04-11 21:00 (UTC) - Expand
xancredible: (Default)

[personal profile] xancredible 2009-04-11 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Just waving and saying 'hi' and letting you know that I'm VERY excited about being here and being able to be a part of this!!
commodorified: a capital m, in fancy type, on a coloured background (Default)

[personal profile] commodorified 2009-04-12 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, Hi! And yes, I'm glad you posted this as i was a bit bemused to find I already had a new friend.

This looks fabulous, and I'll be buying an account the second I can.

Go you!
deviant: (Default)

[personal profile] deviant 2009-04-12 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi [staff profile] denise, pleased to meet you. :) I am very excited about your project and can't wait to see what's in store for it.
elfy: (Default)

[personal profile] elfy 2009-04-12 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Heya :)

First of all, thank you for doing all this, it's amazing! I have problems with my hips, not as severe, but I sympathize, really! And good look for you and sarah, so a marriage will be possible soon :)

Anyway, I just wanted to point out a really minor bug I had while creating my account (YAAAY!):
http://i42.tinypic.com/2eoa42u.png
See the note about the birthday, it's over the link. Minor, like I said. Even more minor, as I'm using a Mac and Safari. Just thought you should know.

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