New draft LJ policy document went up this morning, with a note that it's just a draft, and that they want feedback on the policies from users.

Points probably relevant to the fan community:

-- Non-photographic images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct are not allowed on LiveJournal. They are not covered in the child pornography section of the policy, but in a separate section that says that whether or not they are legal, LJ does not want to host them. People reported for having non-photographic images of minors having sex will be required to remove the images but will not be permanently suspended.

Unanswered questions (so far): Who determines whether an image is of minors? Does nudity constitute "sexually explicit conduct"?

-- "Content which incites, encourages, or advocates rape, pedophilia, or the abuse of children in any way" is not allowed on LiveJournal. It is not stated to be illegal, but LJ does not want to host it. It is grounds for permanent suspension.

Unanswered questions (in the policy document, but partially addressed in comments): What about fiction?

Comment thread including the following response from LJ staff: I'd call advocacy promoting it as a good thing, or in a context more relevant to a fictional work, I might say "only to glorify". So a fictional story which involves minors having sex with adults, or involves a rape, would not be in violation of the policy unless it really went out of its way to emphasize that the portrayed acts are wonderful activities which people should be allowed to engage in. The policy as proposed is not really aimed at fictional works, though, and I don't think it would apply to fandom in any significant way. (-- markf)

-- Adult content is still handled by the flagging system; if someone reports that you have unflagged explicit adult content, the content or your journal can be flagged against your will by the Abuse Team as "Explicit adult content," but there won't be any other penalties.

My thoughts:

I'm pleased by the fact that there seems to be a move toward more specific policies and by the fact that "content LJ chooses not to host" has been separated from "content LJ believes is illegal." This is, at least, more communication than there's been.

I think the questions above are going to be problems. We'll have to see how they're handled.