I have had this journal for a while now. Word has just gotten out that Livejournal will be offering permanent accounts again in the next few months for a limited time. I am debating whether or not it is worth it. I still am rather annoyed about the money I spent several years ago buying a permanent account over on Ancient Sites, and then two years later they folded in the dot bomb meltdown. When they reformed as Ancient Worlds, they comped us poor saps that had paid back in their old incarnation with a year of patron time on the new site.
Does anyone think it is worth it? Not worth it? Of course, they have not announced when or how much yet, but I am assured it is coming.
Fanny Fae 
I’ve been debating the same thing. I stll haven’t come to a conclusion.
Yeah, I am still a bit hesitant. I am just going to think about it a bit longer and by that time, maybe it will be available at last. 🙂
That’s probably best. Do you know if you can use name change tokens on permanent accounts?
I have absolutely no idea. That is a really good question, though. Maybe you could write to customer slavery service and see what they have to say! 😉
It says in FAQ that it has all the functionality of a paid account. But I’m not sure. I think I will email them.
FAQ REFERENCE: How do I change my username?
http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=25&view=full
Yes, you can rename a permanent account using a rename token —
everything about the account, including its permanent status, would remain the
same. Only the username will change. As noted in the FAQ above, a
rename token costs $15 USD.
LJ seems to offer this once a year, and has for quite some time. They haven’t folded yet, so…
Of course, personally, I’m not so sure I would spend the funds on a gaming journal; even long time players will get tired of their pups. And sometimes, it’s just time to retire them, you know? That part though is up to you. ^^
The only reason I would do this journal, and it is my muse’s journal, is the fact that I post most of what I write here. This would be the one that I would most likely get my money’s worth out of. Even if I retire Fanny; which I sincerely doubt I will; I’ve been writing her as an OC for far too long. I am just trying to get an idea as to what all you get for your money. I do like having the paid option but it is a pain in the butt to have to pay for it every year or six months or whatever.
You get everything you would as a paid account, but do not ever have to pay for it again.
I’ve had a permanent account for something close to five years… so it’s been very worth it for me, just from the cost and not worrying about my account expiring. Plus, it’s been nice to have the perks of tons of icon room. But the most useful perk for me has been all room over on Scrapbook for photohosting.
But I can understand the hesitation… it was a real gamble when LJ was just someone’s backyard project, so I thought of it as a donation at the time. Now, though, LJ is part of a bigger company…
The price when I bought mine was 100 (so it’s paid for itself now). I suspect that it’ll be more than that now, but probably not much more.
How many icons do they give you? Is it the 100 or more or less? I wanted to do it last time but my budget would not allow it. I am seriously considering it this time. LJ does seem a bit more stable, and I would probably do it for Fanny’s (this) LJ versus my own personal one. I use it far more anyway.
137, currently, which is the max anyone can get.
That actually sounds like a good deal. 🙂
I wanted to do it last time but when I went to do it I was too late.
I didn’t know they would be offering it again.
Please let me know when it becomes available.
I will definitely keep you posted! I am leaning toward it, I just have to find out when and how much! 😉
I asked about the expected cost and was told that they thought it would likely be around $150 this time around. I’m debating it myself as well, most likely for this journal as opposed to my personal one, as it’s here that I load most of my writing to.
Which is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I write so much more for Fanny as opposed to my own personal journal. I could see getting one for her, since it is the one I use most often. I was told it was possibly going to be around the $150 mark. If it is, then I could see doing it. If it was much more than that, I might be a bit more hesitant.
*coughs on $150* OMG.
Yeah, it seems a bit much. But I have been on LJ since 2003 – so that is three years, I had a paid account with extra icons since then. So you add up $35 times 4, that’s $140 I have spent over time – not to mention the ones I have purchased for others. It seems a bit high, but hey, I dont have cable, so I can afford to spend it here, maybe? 😉
My .02.
I really like having a permanent account. I have 137 icons, I used a name change token on it easily enough when I decided to switch journals between pups, and I love not getting those annoying “Your account’s expiring soon!” emails for it. 🙂
http://community.livejournal.com/theatrical_fen/1171680.html?thread=24082400#t24082400
OOC
Aww!! Thank you! *hugs* That means a whole lot coming from you! 🙂 I tell you, after this year, I was beginning to wonder if I lost it for Fanny due to all the stupid drama that I went through in the fall and through this winter. I never want to ever go through that hell again.
My muse adores yours, btw. She finds Jackie quite amusing, and actually thinks she would be quite the powerful woman if she set her mind to it! *g* 😉
OOC
I had a whole list of OCs I wanted to post, but I thought it would look like I was playing favorites, so I had to refrain myself. 🙂 Fanny is always amazing, always!
Aww! Jackie likes Fanny. She thinks her hair is cool and she’s really pretty and successful!
I (well, the mun rather) has a perm account, and I do love it. At the moment I have 137 userpics for it, as well as ten GB photo hosting space, which are the two benefits I find most noticeable (aside from simply not having to renew paid every so often).
On the con side, they’re not cheap– mine was $150, and I’m guessing they’ll be more this time around.
That is good to hear. No, I didn’t imagine that they would be cheap at all. I was figuring at least $150. I am hoping it isn’t going to be a whole lot more than that. I really can’t imagine that they would double that amount, that would be far out of most user’s price range and more than just a bit elitist. Companies and people tend to get greedy – and hey, it is whatever the market will bear.
I know that prior to this sale, the one before that was $100. *shrug*
I’d basically say that if you can afford it, go for it– I haven’t regretted getting mine, even if in the intervening time I’ve sometimes been strapped for cash. ^_^
Aside from the userpics/photo hosting combo, you also get guaranteed access to all paid features they ever design and implement down the road, etc. And those userpics keep going up; I think it’s about 1 new one per month. I think.