I was really surprised not to see anyone on my flist remark on this, because it contains people who are in a constant low-to-moderate level of annoyance with LJ. But here it is: LiveJournal axed "Basic" accounts. That is, it's pay or ads only now, apparently. (Presumably if you already had one you get to keep it, but you can't create a new one that way, nor switch to it.)
See also the LJ Herald post.
See also the LJ Herald post.