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JSchaaf Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 22 2005
Online Status: Offline Posts: 753
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Posted: April 18 2007 at 7:59am | IP Logged
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I'm thinking of password protecting my blog, since I'm going to use names, pictures and lots of personal details. But I still want people to read the blog (by "people" I mean YOU people-upright, homeschool types with good intentions)
Does it defeat the purpose of a password if I post it here? I want people to be able to read my blog if they find it here, but not to be able to read it if they get to it at random or from some odd google search.
Does this make sense?
Jennifer
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Jordan Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 01 2006 Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline Posts: 137
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Posted: April 18 2007 at 8:36am | IP Logged
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Jennifer,
I'm sure someone here knows more than I do about how it would work for posting your password. I can tell you that I started a family blog when my oldest was born and added a password after images of my children were taken and posted to a very questionable webiste for adults. Whoever took my pictures found the link to my family website by searching through address lines on another message board for mothers (mothering.com). I don't know if this forum is visible to those who aren't registered, but if it is, then I wouldn't think your blog would be much safer if you also posted the password here.
Anyway, I've had my family blog private for a couple of years. It's very nice in terms of feeling safer but I'm sure fewer people visit than otherwise would because of the inconvenience of trying to remember our password. In addition to our family blog, I've recently created a public personal blog but I'm more careful about what I'll post there. Since our incident with pictures being stolen, I have learned to be careful.
I hope you can find a way to work this out.
Jordan
__________________ Jordan
Cheerios & Fingerpaints
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insegnante Forum All-Star
Joined: April 07 2006 Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline Posts: 1143
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Posted: April 18 2007 at 12:55pm | IP Logged
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4real posts are indexed by Google so posting a password here is not the perfect solution. Of course, passwording it probably reduces the number of people who will access your blog, since the blog posts themselves won't be accessible via Google for other people to find and decide they want to read it. I doubt many people would find the blog is passworded and then go do a search for the password expecting it to be posted somewhere on the Web -- but I guess people who for whatever reason you don't want seeing the blog (weird strangers, people you know but don't want to share things with) might be more likely to be "looking you up" and thus find the 4real posts.
If it wasn't an intentional decision to make this board Google-searchable, and the people in charge like the idea, the administrators can probably make it so that the site or individual forums don't show up in Google -- they wouldn't be private still but "random" people would be less likely to find the site or to find it by searching people or places (like parishes, etc.) I have wondered sometimes about whether this would be a good idea since so much personal information is posted and not always anonymously or even semi-anonymously. It seems like it's not unlikely for someone to find this site just by looking for Catholic homeschooling resources, mentions of a parish in their area, etc., and start reading about personal details of identifiable people that might not be discussed with anyone but friends offline. That could happen whether or not individual posts or threads are Google-searchable, as long as the board is linked anywhere and not password-protected itself, though.
I think I've gotten a little OT from the original post, sorry.
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cathhomeschool Board Moderator
Texas Bluebonnets
Joined: Jan 26 2005 Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline Posts: 7303
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Posted: April 19 2007 at 12:31pm | IP Logged
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insegnante wrote:
If it wasn't an intentional decision to make this board Google-searchable, and the people in charge like the idea, the administrators can probably make it so that the site or individual forums don't show up in Google -- they wouldn't be private still but "random" people would be less likely to find the site or to find it by searching people or places (like parishes, etc.) I have wondered sometimes about whether this would be a good idea since so much personal information is posted and not always anonymously or even semi-anonymously. It seems like it's not unlikely for someone to find this site just by looking for Catholic homeschooling resources, mentions of a parish in their area, etc., and start reading about personal details of identifiable people that might not be discussed with anyone but friends offline. That could happen whether or not individual posts or threads are Google-searchable, as long as the board is linked anywhere and not password-protected itself, though. |
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The board is actually a combination of searchable and un-searchable. If you logout and then go to the boards, everything that you can see and access can also be indexed by webcrawlers and can be found through google searches. We do have sections of the board (like the Teen section and the Photo Gallery at the top of Fireside Chat) that cannot be searched and won't be seen unless you are logged in. This distinction was intentionally made.
The moderators advise members not to post email addresses on this board (because of webcrawlers) and we also caution people to be careful of what they say. This is not a private forum, though we strive to make it as close and personal as possible for everyone here. Since posts are searchable and our words are permanently placed out in cyber-space when we hit that "Post Reply" button (This is not entirely true, because posts can be edited, deleted, or anonymized.), it behooves us all to take care in what we say. As moderators and members, we would never want anyone to post anything that would compromise their safety or would offend or inflame their neigbhors and friends. That is why, as moderators, we watch posts, and anonymize or delete -- in extreme cases -- when the need arises. We also encourage our members to PM a moderator if they need to post sensitive information. Moderators have the ability of posting anonymously, thereby giving our member the opportunity to request help, feedback, and prayers while at the same time remaining "safe."
__________________ Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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