Community Info

Community Information

Below is information about the "LiveJournal Abuse" community on LiveJournal. To join this community, click here. You may leave the community at any time.

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User:lj_abuse (35637) Paid User
Name:LiveJournal Abuse
About:Users must make ALL REPORTS OF ABUSE by following the instructions in http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=105. Any reports sent through email, or directly to a team member, will not receive a response. Please do not directly email anyone regarding your problem. The only way to report abuse is through the report form. Please read the important information about filing a report in the FAQ before making a report.

If you are interested in joining the LiveJournal Abuse Prevention Team, there are a few things you should know first:

  1. Due to legal requirements, we cannot accept applicants who are under 18 years old. Applications which do not include a birth date will be discarded.

  2. The Abuse Prevention Team is an unpaid volunteer internship intended to give users a way to contribute to the smooth running of the site. It can also provide valuable professional experience.

  3. The Abuse Prevention Team does not accept every applicant. We select new members based on what skills match our needs at the time we are looking to add more volunteers. Applying to the Abuse Prevention Team will not guarantee you a position on the team.

  4. Team members are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, a legally binding contract stating that they will not share any private information they are exposed to through their work. This is to protect our users' privacy and to maintain confidentiality of personal information.

  5. By applying, you give your consent to the team managers to investigate your journal contents and your behavior on the site.


Things To Understand About Abuse Prevention Work

  1. People don't write to the Abuse Prevention Team when things are going well. Many cases involve upsetting, unsettling, or "triggering" content. Abuse prevention work includes exposure to graphic sexual or violent images, threats, strong language, and unpleasant situations. If these things upset you, this isn't the place for you.

  2. We do care about how you act on LiveJournal. Team members are active users of the site in various other ways in their personal use of the site, but many users judge the Abuse Prevention Team as a whole on the behavior of members elsewhere, even when those members are not "on duty". Team members are expected to use good judgement in their personal behavior on the site while they are team members. We do consider someone's past experience, abuse history (if any), and behavior on the site when reviewing applications.

  3. The Abuse Prevention Team takes action on violations of our Terms of Service and provides information that helps users deal with various situations. We don't mediate between users, and we don't "punish" people. Though there is some personal leeway in decision-making, you will always need to handle cases according to policy. If you want to help people get along with each other, or want to join the team because you feel the policy is wrong or misguided, your application will most likely be declined.

  4. Abuse work is a strong time commitment. Team members have a weekly quota of work, based on the number of people on the team and the number of cases that we receive, to ensure for full coverage. How long it takes to reach quota depends on your experience, typing speed, reading speed, and the type of cases you choose. However, if you can't generally commit at least 7-8 hours total per week, possibly more, through your training phase and the first few months afterward, you will probably have problems making your quota, and may risk removal from the team.

  5. It will take you at least 2-3 months for training, and possibly more. We generally expect that volunteers will remain with the team for 1-2 years before moving on. If you have major life changes coming up soon, you may wish to postpone your application.

  6. Answers and emails from the Abuse Prevention Team are quasi-anonymous: the person receiving them generally cannot connect you with your journal. However, there is always the risk that someone will target you for harassment simply because you are an Abuse Prevention Team member. Please be sure you are willing to accept this risk before applying.


Requirements For Team Members

Abuse Prevention Team members need to write well, handle complex and sometimes-disturbing content, and be able to commit a sufficient amount of time to the team on a regular basis. Members must work well in a team environment and with other volunteers and staff. Absolute confidentiality is required, and you will be required to sign a binding legal contract stating that you will not disclose any information to any third party regarding the specifics of your work.

No prior customer service background is required. However, applicants must have reasonable technical skills and a close familiarity with LiveJournal, both how to use the site and the standards of LiveJournal community behavior and practice.

Applicants should have excellent critical thinking, reading comprehension, and problem-solving skills, work well with a minimum of direction, and be able to cooperate effectively with others to perform tasks. Superior writing ability is also a must. (The use of spellcheck and grammar check is perfectly acceptable, but the most important skill for an Abuse Prevention Team member is the ability to communicate simply, clearly, and effectively.)


The Application Process

To apply for the Abuse Prevention Team, please email the answers to the following questions to lj_abuse@livejournal.com. Your subject line should be in the following form:

[username] abuse application

Replace [username] with your actual username. Applications using any other subject line may not reach their destination.

Please fill out the items in as much detail as possible. Informal writing style is acceptable: tell us about who you are, what makes you interested in abuse prevention work, and give us a sense of both your personality and your professional skills. This isn't like a resume, where brief is best; we'd rather "too long" than "too short".

Please be sure to doublecheck your spelling and grammar. Applications with blatant and obvious spelling and grammar problems will be automatically declined.

Your application will be shown to current Abuse Prevention Team members, who participate in the selection of new team members. It may also be furnished to members of LiveJournal staff as necessary. Aside from these considerations, any information you provide will be held in strictest confidence. However, if you are uncomfortable with providing any of this information, we encourage you to rethink your application, as any application that does not contain all of this information may be automatically declined.

You may simply copy and paste this application into your email. Please send your application in plain text format only; no HTML mail. It is not necessary to copy the formatting.


Application Begins


Your full name:

Your current username:

Your date of birth:

If you've used other usernames as your primary journal for an extended period of time in the past (not secondary journals or community journals), please provide those usernames:

Amount of time you estimate being able to devote to abuse work per week, on an average basis:

After having read the information above, why do you want to join the Abuse Prevention Team?

What are your greatest strengths?

What are your greatest weaknesses? (Look, we've all used the "my strengths are my weaknesses" or the "my weakness is that I work too hard" lines on applications in the past, too. Please be honest. We think a lot higher of someone who can admit to their weaknesses than someone who claims to be perfect.)

In your opinion, how should LiveJournal balance a user's free expression with the Terms of Service and the site's business needs? Which should be given priority (if either), and what issues does this bring up?

What experience and skills do you feel you can bring to the team? Please be as detailed as possible. We're interested in life experience, work experience, and activity on LiveJournal.

Tell us a little bit about yourself! We've left this deliberately open-ended, but if you're stuck, tell us about your hobbies, your life goals, your passions, etc.


Application Ends


After Applying

You won't hear back from us immediately; we keep all applications on file and evaluate them each on their individual merits. Approximately once per quarter, we decline applications that we feel aren't suitable for a position on the team. It simply means that we feel you're not a good match for us at that time. We may also contact you for a re-application or updated application if some time has passed since your initial application.

Application is an ongoing process; we are always accepting applicants. When we need additional members of the team, we consult our records, and contact the users whom we feel would be a good match at that time. Because a significant amount of time may pass between your application and us contacting you, we'll make sure you're still interested before proceeding. We simply don't have the resources to accept and train everyone who's a suitable match all at once.

If you're contacted about the possibility of joining the team, there is an additional screening process after that point.

The Abuse Prevention Team is currently managed by [info]markf. If you have any questions about the application process, about abuse work, or about the status of your application, please feel free to email lj_abuse@livejournal.com with the subject line "Abuse Application Question".
Memories:118 entries
Maintainers:2: arie, markf
Members:31: abuse_docs, abuse_team, abusebot, amanda, amyty, angrychicken, arie, astronewt, bensoup, claire, coffeechica, dawna, elyssa, fweebles, herrsatan, idonotlikepeas, janinedog, jemmix, kyra, legomymalfoy, luminairex, markf, marta, peresedov, q_marik, sk111, snarkbite, stevieg, tammy, the_kitty_kat, tupshin
Account type:Permanent Account

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