(no subject)

[helen99]

Looks like Dreamwidth is having the same problem as LJ did a few years ago. Their response is different, however.

http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/16590.html

Instead of deleting accounts, etc., Dreamwidth has decided to let the chips fall where they may and stick by its terms of service, which state that they will not remove an account unless it actually violates US law. Someone being "concerned" about content is not enough.

Apparently, however, it *is* enough for Paypal, who believed the trolls and withdrew its support of Dreamwidth, demanding that it remove posts that were in fact legal (racy in the eyes of contributors is not equivalent to illegal). So Dreamwidth is now looking for another merchant processor. Their provider has not withdrawn and is supporting them all the way.

When they find another merchant processor, I'll be interested to see who it is. I've wanted Paypal to have some competition for a long time now - they seem to have a monopoly on merchant processing unless you pay directly by credit card.

Comments

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

I loathe Paypal. The idea of paying a gatekeeper for the privilege of buying online is ridiculous. Almost as stupid as removing legal content because OMG someone is offended. *eyeroll*

[dreamfall.livejournal.com]

Just as an informational note - the reason online gateway processing is expensive is because it's considered risky. The idea of paying a gatekeeper for the privilege, as it were, isn't very ridiculous from a vendor/merchant standpoint. And as providers go from a merchant standpoint, they are considerably less expensive than Authorize.net (and on par or lower than iTransact). They're actually one of the least expensive out there.

This is not a defense of paypal, I'm not getting into whether they are good or bad at what they do. It's an explanation of why there are charges to purchase online. PayPal is not the sole monster in that pit, every single gateway provider does it.

(Sorry, meant to post this as a reply instead of a new comment, so I'm reposting it correctly)

[teaotter.livejournal.com]

Any time you pay *anywhere* with anything other than cash, someone pays a gatekeeper for the service. Business bank accounts are more expensive, in large part because the bank has to process so many checks for them. Credit card companies charge businesses in order for those businesses to be able to process their cards.

So you *always* pay for the transaction, unless you pay in cash. Online is no different.

(Note: not an endorsement of Paypal.)

[helen99.livejournal.com]

Using paypal sure beats spreading my credit card number all over the internet - at least it's just in one place. They already went through their big security breach thing, so they're rather careful about that now. The only problem I have is the lack of competition.