Searching for Elwood

I never dreamed that something as simple as not changing the rules would cause such a to-do. There has been a much bigger kerfuffle over the last couple of days than there ever was when I initially changed the rules nearly a year ago.

I logged on to over eighty messages in my inbox and was so overwhelmed that I had to just leave it after skimming a few comments and reading a couple of pms... Honest to god, I'm not sure that I can bring myself to wade through them all. I'm not even sure if I can manage the time! I'm stunned, frankly, and a bit disheartened.



There was a whole lot more to this entry, but I thought better of it and deleted it. Better to sleep on it, you know? I'm not feeling particularly tolerant or charitable at the moment, and we'll just have to wait and see if I'm still feeling this way in several hours.


PS -- Thank you, Karin, for soldiering on and continuing to use this community in the way that it is intended to be used.

There were other images posted today from last night's premiere of Be Kind, Rewind, but they were not posted here. The community members who posted them chose to do so in their own, locked journals, because they didn't want to deal with the negativity that can occur when photos of Elijah and Pam are posted.

One of our members found some thumbnail images today of Elijah all bundled up and sitting on a bench with a woman (who turned out to be Heloise of Savoir Faire fame), but again, the images are posted in their own locked journal, in order to avoid any potential negativity (per the discussion on this entry) they might generate if they were posted here.

From where I stand, is seems pretty clear that negativity, or even the possibility of negativity is harmful to this community. elijah_finds was created to share Elijah-related news and photos, and if endlessly negative comments from a handful of people (and it really is only a handful) are discouraging others from posting their finds, then the community will suffer for it.

We've sailed along pretty smoothly since I last adjusted the rules and posted the changes in this entry of May 20th, 2007. So, I really see no reason to change them again; the rules will stand.

I'm sorry if this seems unfair to some of you, but this community is not succeeding if the people who are doing the hard work of finding things for us are afraid to post them here. I'd like to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome here, but the truth is that the majority of people are fine with the rules as they are.

If you're not one of those people, you are of course welcome to take the pictures and news elsewhere to discuss them. I received a comment from one davidessex who has set up a community called elijahandpam specifically for the discussion of topics that are not allowed here, with all points of view welcome. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you might want to go check that out so that you have a place to speak your mind when the rules here would prevent you from doing so.


I hope this is clear and that I've stated my reasoning well. I can't answer questions or comments for awhile, because I have a raging headache and need to put it to bed, but I hope to be back around sometime tomorrow.

I received a whole spate of alerts this morning about Day Zero, all of which go to different blogs with the words "Wonderful Day Zero video" and an imbedded video to watch.

DO NOT CLICK THE VIDEO. It is actually a link that will redirect you to a site that says you need to download an ActiveX codec, and won't let you leave without doing so. I have no idea what the download really is, but I had to use my computer's task manager to shut down the browser.

I'm going to make a (hopefully not futile) request of all of you people who are happily downloading the pirated copy of Day Zero:

Please, no spoilery comments, entries, screencaps or even icons in this community. Some of us are actually going to wait for the DVD, which doesn't come out until late February. (Edited to say that some lucky few may actually get to see it in the theatre in January, but I'm thinking that it won't be the majority of us.)

A gentle reminder to members who post entries in this community...

Please remember to LJ-cut the following items:

• Large-ish photos. I have suggested a 400 pixel wide/40 K limit in the rules, but it's really more of a guideline. Please indicate the photo's subject matter on the cut tag or entry title.

• Multiple images, even if they're small. Outside the cut (in the tag, the title, or in the entry itself), please give a brief description of the picspam, e.g. Elijah at various premieres, with Robin Williams, Dominic, and Pam

• Embedded videos. These can really be difficult for people with slower connections, so please keep them off their friends pages!

• Long entries or SPOILERS (which should always be marked, even when inside a cut). Please be considerate of your fellow fans.

The simplest cut is:
<lj-cut> content here </lj-cut>
which results in a tag that says, "Read more..."

If you'd like different text on your cut tag, use this one:
<lj-cut text="blue-eyed dork inside"> content here </lj-cut>
to get this:

( blue-eyed dork inside )

AUGH. I meant to commemorate the first anniversary of this community, and I MISSED IT. It was actually October 16th. Oh, well... operating under the ever-popular theory of Late Is Better Than Never:

Happy Anniversary, elijah_finds!!!

You guys have all helped make this a great community! THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed with entries and comments -- I appreciate your support more than you know.

And, now, a wee really big present for you all

( under the cut )

For various reasons, there have been some changes to The Rules for this community. The complete rules can be found on the userinfo page, but these are the latest changes:

This has been added to the community description:

Though this is an Elijah community, he will occasionally be shown or mentioned as being in the company of others. If this bothers you, then this may not be the community for you. Please read The Rules below before posting or commenting; said rules will be enforced, and those who cannot abide by them will have to find another playground.

And these are the actual changes to the rules:

2) What is not allowed:
- offensively negative comments about Elijah; this includes comments about his companion(s). While good-natured criticism is fine, overly negative comments may receive a warning from the moderator, and anyone who continues to make negative comments after two warnings will be banned. Decisions about what is considered "offensive" will be at the sole discretion of the moderator

3) Entries:
- should have a descriptive title or brief summary as to what sort of images are behind a cut (i.e. "Elijah and Pam shopping in Soho" or "Photos from various awards shows") so people will know what's behind the cut before clicking

5) Above all:
- Rude behavior, bullying and attempts to intimidate others will not be tolerated and will result in being banned from the community


Everything else remains the same, but if you haven't read them in awhile, it might be a good idea to refresh your memory.

Thank you! You guys have helped turn this community into something to be proud of, and I'm very grateful. Occasional fine-tuning of the rules and regulations is to be expected as we grow larger and our group more diverse. I appreciate your patience and support!

If you've visited this community over the last couple of days, you may have noticed that a few entries were deleted. I want to make it clear that I did not tell the authors to remove their entries. I did, however, remind them of certain rules I would like followed, and then explicitly told them that their entries could stand. They made the choice to delete the entries themselves.

I make this point because I don't want people to be afraid to post things, worried that I'm some tyrannical, hard-ass mod who will come down on them for the slightest mistake. I do try to be as forgiving as possible, but I also gave the rules a good deal of thought and would like them adhered to as much as possible. This goes for both the entries and the comments made on them.

Please take a moment to review the rules when you get a chance, and especially before making an entry. If there is anything that you would like clarified or explained, I would be happy to do so.


By the way, if you receive anonymous comments either on an entry or responses to one of your comments, you are welcome to un-screen them yourselves, if the comment is appropriate and within the rules. I do not receive comments on anyone's entries but my own, so I don't necessarily see all the anonymous ones. So, please go ahead and use the little "eye" icon above the screened comment and let them be seen! I don't want the anons to feel left out. :)

Now, let's go back to having fun, wot?

Y'all are doing a great job in this community -- I just want you to know that! I'm using this icon almost completely facetiously. ;-)

However, there are a few things I feel I need to remind everyone about:

• Please be careful with potentially spoilery entries, comments or photos for upcoming projects (especially something like Oxford Murders; it's a murder mystery, for cryin' out loud!). I know some people like spoilers, but others don't -- really don't -- so, please, either try to avoid spoilery entries and comments, or mark such things well (and in the case of entries, lj-cut for and mark as spoilers) so that they can be avoided. A good trick for hiding spoilers is to make your text the same color as the page (white, in this case), so that it has to be highlighted in order to be seen (and, obviously, you have to mark it as such, so that folks know it's there). That lets people choose whether or not to read it, rather than posting it where the spoiler-phobic might stumble across it.

• There are still some people who are watching the community, but haven't joined. There are locked entries that you will not be able to see unless you actually join the community. You can choose to join but not "watch" it, but if you watch it without joining, you're missing out.

• Remember to try to remain neutral in entries or comments regarding Elijah's choice of companion. That includes both negative and positive remarks about said companion, and speculation about their relationship is not allowed. Nothing seems to inspire conflict like photos or talk about who Elijah chooses to spend his time with, so, pretty please, let's just avoid the topic as much as possible.

• Please, remember at all times to be respectful of each other. We don't all think or believe the same things, and that's our choice as individuals. I will not tolerate people being insulted just because they believe differently, and I will take action accordingly, if necessary.

That's all! Keep up the great work, and thank you for all the wonderful things you've been posting!

There will be occasional locked entries on this community, items that for various reasons are better posted privately rather than publicly. Because of this, it is recommended that you actually join the comm, rather than just add it to your friends list (see the link at the top of the user info page that says "to join this community, click here"), so that you can see these friends-locked entries.