As a rule once I post something on my blog, it stays there. Sometimes I will notice a glaring spelling error, or have a link error pointed out to me and go in to the post and change it (though more often than not I leave spelling mistakes). But the post itself remains.
In over 280 posts in fact I have only removed two, having had second thoughts.
The first was a post about an online forum which showed the forum in a negative light. I honestly didn't realise how many people would read it, and it skipped its way to the top of my most read posts lists within about three days. It was when I received emails asking to quote from it (yep, some people do ask for permission) that I deleted it. It was something I had written in anger, and whereas I still agree with a fair amount of what I said, the feedback I got - both in agreement and disagreement with me - disturbed me. So I took it down. Which is why on the right side of this blog you see the top ten most popular posts only in fact list nine posts. It was too easy to find, and I didn't want people using it as a stick to beat others with.
Should I have been that bothered?
The other post was last week. I had ranted in one post about three or four topics, including Julian Assange. I was arguing that, whatever you may think of him, the calls to storm the Ecuadorian embassy were wrong. Diplomatic immunity of embassies shouldn't be threatened, otherwise there would be precedent set for all kinds of misbehaviour and threats to sovereignty.
I was astounded to receive a quite vicious email and a comment from someone accusing me of being a rape apologist. I am anything but. My post was misunderstood, possibly deliberately misconstrued, and I pulled it without re-reading it on the spur of the moment. I regret doing that now. Just because one person misread what I was trying to say, and was mean about it, doesn't mean I should have taken what I wrote down. I was having an over-sensitive moment, perhaps.
I'm curious about what other bloggers do. Once you blog do you leave your post there come what may? Or have you ever had second thoughts and taken something down? What would encourage you to remove a post you have written?
Hiya,
ReplyDeleteFor what it is worth I respected your Mumsnet post but sorry if it gained you unwanted attention and emails.
I also agree with the sentiment you outline above about Julian.
What they say on the radio is that it is a shame that Wiki Leaks has become synonymous with him alone, as this case has cast a shadow over his work, which is maybe what is intended - I don't know. But yes, there are precedents at stake. Everyone says he should go and stand up to the law, as if it is a foregone conclusion that he will get off if he is innocent - unfortunately things are not always as straight forward as that.
In answer to your final three questions. It was a yes to the 1st. And it would have stayed a yes, but the person who took exception to the post tweeted about it for an hour and a half sending 1,150 to my blog. That felt like heat, but would NOT Have made me take the post down - even the things they were saying about me wouldn't.
But then the person asked a person in authority to call me (at 10 o'clock at night) and THAT made me take the post down.
I thought I did it to "keep the peace" but I woke up in the morning with lead in my stomach because I had been censored.
Freedom of speech is worth MORE than keeping the peace. I did a video about it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GvbgYXDEdQ&feature=plcp
Thanks for a thought-provoking post.
Liska x
yes I have and stand by removing it. Sometimes we post and don't think through the full implications of what we right, and it's acceptable, once those things have been pointed out to us, to apologise and remove or rewrite the post IMO.
ReplyDeleteI think that at the end of the day it's your blog and if you want to remove something, it's completely up to you.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you can do though, if you think it is serious enough to warrant it, is to write a response post to clarify/answer the negative feedback and a small edit on your original to link to it.
Hello Little Me,
ReplyDeleteI have never removed a post one I've put it up, but there are quite a few I have left in 'brouillon' and not published because they were of a political nature or written in fury so rather vitriolic! I decided 3 years ago to write in 'brouillon' and publish an hour later - a decision that has probably saved me some hate mail from infuriated and ignorant Romanians over the years!
Your posts are always excellent, I love reading them since they are writtenfrom the heart - and your blog is YOUR place. Write what you like and if there's one cretin who cannot read properly that's not your problem. You didn't force him to visit your blog nor stay there long enough to read a full post.
Re spelling mistakes, yes, I go back and correct days later if I missed them and someone points it out to me - and I continue to add hyperlinks if they crop up.
Hope all's well - kiss that little daughter!
Sarah
PS an excellent idea from a frogatlarge above
ReplyDeleteSarah
PPS Oops, I didn't mean to write 'ignorant'. that was meant to say 'indignant'. Freudian slip^!! Now you know why I write in brouillon for my blog!!! :/
ReplyDeleteSarah