Sunday, December 7, 2008

what goes up...



what goes up, must come down.

Blogger is now at a crossroads regarding user confidence in the face of a continued campaign of seeming harassment, and the wholesale removal of its users' posted content. Where once Blogger was the ubiquitous tool of choice for independent creativity and networking - an application at the very forefront of a publishing revolution - that position is increasingly on the wane as other alternatives emerge. That is a shame. The situation is now so serious, that many bloggers are uncertain as to whether it is viable to continue expending time, energy and resources on a means to an end now viewed by many as a "liability".

What is here today, may indeed be airbrushed out of history by tomorrow; with no respect for years of carefully cultivated trust.

illustration by ib.

9 comments:

Ramone666 said...

Ib, let me know when you´ve found an alternative to Blogger. I´m thinking of moving as well (had 2 takedowns thus far), but don´t really know where to go, as I´m no techie. Plus I´m still not sure the perfidious Blogger is the only host doing this, communication between bloggers on this subject not being what it should be...

Löst Jimmy said...

Sorry to read about the takedown notice crap that Blogger is wielding!
It seems there is a creeping tendency for this to happen not just on Blogger but other sites as well. This is part of a wider scandal to censure the Internet in general. Poor show it is too IB when the revolution of the internet is being undermined by greedy corporate arseholes who simply haven't been able nor willing to keep up with the times.

ib said...

Ramone666:

There is WordPress, but admittedly I'm uncertain whether it is immune itself. Live Journal may prove a better option, but if the situation with Blogger escalates any further with no public or transparent resolution, it is reasonable to assume that existing alternatives might be targeted next according to popularity.

Löst Jimmy:

Well put, my friend. It is all rather depressing.

Anonymous said...

From what I've read, it seems possible that if one uses one's own site to host the files (as opposed to mediafire, zshare, etc.), then one is (relatively) immune to the takedown nasties, even if using blogger for the blog itself. We have a yahoo small business account and use FTP to host the files on that. No takedown notices yet (jinx). So, do what you gotta do. "They can't stop us on the road to freedom..." (copyright Van Morrison, 1971)

ib said...

Ha! Thanks for the Van quote, Emmett! :)

I have heard this alluded to elsewhere, regarding a private domain and FTP. I need to look into this. And, importantly, the costs involved.

Thanks for the tip.

Anonymous said...

I believe it's $12 US per month. Not free, but not exorbitant, given the benefits.

"I used to be hip and get wet with the jet-set, but they were flying too high to see my point of view."

...not relevant at all, but it was the first Van quote that came to mind. :)

Meghan McKee said...

i am lost... what are they taking down? Music? For copyrights? I wondered about this. I figure i would just fly under radar. Not that many people listen to my podcasts, so I should be safe. If it is other things... i am curious and all ears.

ib said...

They (Blogger) have begun to delete entire posts across the board - original text, images, etc - on receiving a DMCA related complaint. This is not simply a case of removing links to audio files or approaching file servers with a request to delete infringing files.

You need to read through these past several posts, and the accompanying comments, SA, to get the full picture.

Meghan McKee said...

I did.... thanks. Go away for a few days and look at all the catching up I need to do. Shame. And amazing they are deleting the entire thing. I am surprised this is even legal. Actually it really isn't. I am sure some major class action will happen. Like you and others said, the writing is original and they only have rights to drop the attachments or actual musical infringements. Good luck with all this.