It's all in the details...for example:

"

LiveJournal currently has a four-tier account structure. All accounts

LiveJournal currently has a four-tier account structure.

are available in accordance with local law including the Children's
Online Protection Privacy Act (COPPA) which restricts children under the age of 13 from registering;

"

Why was the "Childrens Online Protection Privacy Act" part removed?
Does this mean that children under 13 will be able to legally join now? You know the problems LJ has had with minors.

Also, a few paragraphs below that, our journals go from "Owned" to "retained"...what gives? Does this mean that we no longer "Own" the intellectual content of our journals?

...and Permanent members will be interested in this:
"

Permanent Accounts: These accounts have access to all
the paid account features for as long as the site continues to

Permanent Accounts: These accounts have access to all
run, with no recurring fees. These accounts are generally the paid account features for as long as the Service continues to
bestowed upon the LiveJournal.com founders, administrators, or run, with no recurring fees. These accounts are generally bestowed
those that have earned a Permanent Account by virtue of "Work upon the LiveJournal.com founders, administrators, or those that
Excellence" for LiveJournal.com. LiveJournal administrative have earned a Permanent Account by virtue of "Work Excellence" for
communities such as news, development, et al. are also established LiveJournal.com. LiveJournal administrative communities such as news,
as Permanent Accounts for the benefit of LiveJournal users. development, et al. are also established as Permanent Accounts for the

benefit of LiveJournal users."

Instead of for as long as the site runs, it is now for "as the Service continues to
bestowed upon the LiveJournal.com founders, administrators, or run, with no recurring fees.". What a way to weed out those who have contributed so much and remove their permanent connection to LJ. No grandfathering in the oldies.

There are probably more "little" things that have already changed that will, or "should" be of concern to us...

p.s.
Sorry the copied parts show up so funky, I didn't edit the HTML from the copy paste. Everyone should be able to find the related passages in the link...

I'm not sure about the COPPA thing. That did strike me as odd. The ownership, i figure that comes down to the difference between LJ getting it's stuff together as they went and the legal eagles making it all crisp and clear. "Ownership" has such connotations.

Obviously, I'm interested in the Permanent Account status. 6A did say that permanent accounts are still honoured, no change. Again, i figure this is the difference between LJ doing it and running the show, versus 6A running the show, and not having set those up themselves. They can't very well go and say "well, tough beans", but if the people who ARE LJ (i.e. Danga) are ever gone, then they don't have as much to answer to, shoudl they decide to scrag Permanent Accounts.

Why was the "Childrens Online Protection Privacy Act" part removed?

They moved the stuff about people under thirteen to later in the document. The thing is, COPPA never said they couldn't offer accounts to people under 13. Rather, it says they can't do it without getting parent/guardian permission and following a bunch of other rules. In the past, they figured it wasn't worth the hassle.

Does this mean that children under 13 will be able to legally join now? You know the problems LJ has had with minors.

Yes. They have changed their stance. If you scroll down, you will see that LiveJournal now allows people under 13 to use the service if they have a parent/guardian oversight.

Also, a few paragraphs below that, our journals go from "Owned" to "retained"...what gives? Does this mean that we no longer "Own" the intellectual content of our journals?

I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about. Both versions state that "The author retains all patent, trademark, and copyright to all Content posted within available fields". The new version changed "owns" to "generally retains" in the line stating "Once a username is chosen and paid for, that user owns it until the journal is deleted, whether by LiveJournal.com or the user." I admit that this change seems problematic, but I think it only applies to your username and not the content of your journal.

The Permanent Account language did not change at all; it does not say "These accounts are generally the paid account features for as long as the Service continues to
bestowed upon the LiveJournal.com founders, administrators, or run, with no recurring fees." It only appears that way because copying and pasting from the document takes portions from both sides of the table. The only change in the Permanent Account section is that they changed they way they italicized the name of the section.