My futile correspondence with Blogger about Censorship

2005-09-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

I am, as always, grateful for all the hard work you people do and for the great tool you have developed. Just one comment, though, about the new "flag as objectionable" feature. I think this feature is contrary to what blogging is all about. Blogging, as I understand it, is all about (real) democracy, and letting everyone have their say, no matter how divergent their opinions may be from the mainstream. The flag feature, though, will lead to fewer people seeing the really radical ideas out there. I realize that you don't actually eliminate the "objectionable" blogs, but removing them from any chance to appear in "Recently updated" lists and so on amounts to the same thing as eliminating them. The reason is that removing them from these lists means that far fewer people, if any, will ever see these blogs.

Also, no definition has been given for what constitutes "objectionable" or "distasteful." I am sure all Republicans consider most liberal blogs objectionable and so on, and vice versa for Democrats. Does this philosophical objection give either side the right to prevent the public from reading the other side's views?

For that matter, my own blog seems to have been targeted for action, although it contains not a single truly objectionable or distasteful word. In other words, it contains no pornography or violence.

Regards,
Al

Hi Al,

Thank you for your feedback about the Flag for Review feature. Please see
Blogger Help for information about this button and how it works:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1200

Further clarification about Flag for Review and the actions we do and do
not take on flagged blogs can be found in our Blogger Buzz post here:
http://buzz.blogger.com/2005/08/not-automatic-for-people.html

Note that, as this is a new feature, it is not yet appearing on all blogs.
Blogs that have not yet been republished, or that are publishing via FTP,
will not display this button.

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

Hi

Thanks for your reply. However, I feel my original question has remained unanswered (I had already read all of the material you have referred to).

My basic question is this. My blog at http://alse.blogspot.com has been blacklisted (or "unlisted," as you call it). The sanctions that Blogger applies to "objectionable blogs" have been applied to my blog. Why? How can I get this decision reversed?

Regards,
Al

Hi Al,

Thank you for following up. As previously noted, information on the Flag
for Review feature can be found at the following locations:

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1200
http://buzz.blogger.com/2005/08/not-automatic-for-people.html

Upon review of your blog, it doesn't appear that your blog has been
unlisted. If you're concerned about traffic to your blog, we recommend
checking out the following Blogger Knowledge article:

http://www.blogger.com/knowledge/2004/09/promoting-your-blog.pyra

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

Hi

Thanks for your reply. I have already read the two items that you refer to, but they are not related to my question.

I believe Blogger placed a block on my blog approximately on August 1, 2005. Before that time, I received a lot of traffic from people clicking the "next blog" button. Since that time, I have not received any traffic from people hitting the "next blog" button (not even a single hit).

Also, since August 1, 2005, my blog has never appeared on the "Recently Updated" list on Blogger's dashboard. Before that time, my blog appeared there from time to time.

The above information is based on the blog's traffic tracker, which is reliable. The blog's tracker shows that, since August 1, there have been no click-throughs from either the "next blog" button or the "Recently Updated" list.

The clear explanation is that some sort of block has been placed on my blog. I would be very grateful if you would supply me with the reason for the block, as well information on how I can get it removed.

Regards,
Al

Hi Al,

Thanks for following up. As previously noted, upon review of your blog, it
doesn't appear that your blog has been unlisted. Additionally, please be
aware that the Flag for Review feature was not launched until August 17,
2005.

If you're concerned about traffic to your blog, we recommend
checking out the following Blogger Knowledge article:

http://www.blogger.com/knowledge/2004/09/promoting-your-blog.pyra

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

Hi

Thanks for your reply, but again I believe it does not address my question.

My concern is not with the flag. That is only a secondary issue. And my concern is not with increasing traffic to my blog. That is also a secondary issue.

My concern is this: Prior to August 1, 2005, I received a lot of traffic through the "next blog" button. Since that time, I have not received any traffic whatsoever through the "next blog" button. Why?

Also, since August 1, 2005, my blog has never appeared on the "Recently Updated" list on Blogger's dashboard. Before that time, my blog did use to appear there from time to time. Why?

Regards,
Al

Hello Al,

Upon review of alse.blogspot.com, we've noticed that your Navbar has been
removed, which could be affecting your traffic (and the Navbar should not
be removed from freely-hosted BlogSpot blogs). Additionally, if your blog
is marked as listed (under the Settings Basics tab) then it is eligible
for inclusion in the 'Recently Updated' list. However, we have so many
users publishing their blogs all the time that we cannot guarantee yours
will appear in the list or that traffic will be generated. It is simply up
to chance. However, even if you don't see your blog there, it is possible
that someone else somewhere will, if they load the page at the right time.

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

Hi

Thanks again for your reply, but I still feel the issue has not been addressed.

I only removed the navbar a few days ago, after the flag business was introduced. The decline in traffic to my blog began long before I removed the navbar.

For your reference, I'll repeat my question:

Prior to August 1, 2005, I received a lot of traffic through the "next blog" button. Since that time, I have not received any traffic whatsoever through the "next blog" button. Why?

Also, since August 1, 2005, my blog has never appeared on the "Recently Updated" list on Blogger's dashboard. Before that time, my blog did use to appear there from time to time. Why?

My blog's tracker is the source of the above information.

Thanks.

Regards,
Al

My correspondence with Blogger

My futile correspondence with Blogger about Censorship