A blogger's disclaimer

I stumbled across this this morning (via plasticbag.org). It's a blogger's disclaimer, designed to be reusable and general. And some of it I agree with - particularly the first paragraph -

Do not assume that you know everything there is to know about a writer simply because you read their weblog on a regular basis. Any judgements you make will be based on the information they have provided you about themselves, which is probably vague, incomplete or embellished....

but some of it is just plain wishful thinking, particularly the section on people who already know the writer reading the blog. Basically the position taken seems to be that if the writer asks you to stop reading it then you are more or less obliged to.

View weblogs as online journals, no less sacred than a diary hidden between the mattresses.
...
If they do not want you reading it, or suddenly stop posting entries, ask them why and if necessary, stop going to the site. It is important that as a friend, relative, co-worker or whatever you may be to the writer, that your presence at their weblog not impede their ability to express themselves. Remember this is their outlet. They may not want you to read certain things they might write about you or others you care about, in order to spare your feelings, avoid drama or maintain their privacy. You should respect this and immediately stop going to the site, and never relay any information you gather at their site to others who might use it against them.
...
Ex-friends, lovers and estranged family members who have been cut out of the writer's life should refrain from reading their journal. If the relationship has ended, there is no reason you should get daily updates on the person's life.

I find myself amazed that it's even possible to take this view of a blog. The writer has chosen to publish these things about their lives into an open forum. They are implicitly accepting the right of anyone to read the material. They should be aware at the time of publication that anyone they know could stumble across it. Basically, if they've got something to say that they don't want everyone to see then a blog is not the place to publish it. If you're not using a tool like LJ which allows you to set security settings for your posts then be resigned to the fact that other people can read it. That's the whole point of online publishing. If you want to keep a private diary then keep it under the mattress.

(no subject)

Yes, even Dork Tower is into blogging :)

It all comes back to me

Suddenly I've remembered what it was that I was going to write yesterday. Which was that on Sunday night, I heard a really interesting Analysis programme on Radio 4 about the future of the Church of England. How can it hold itself together, continue to run the parish system, afford to keep up those old churches? One of the things I didn't realise is that the Church has more active members than all the political parties combined (although I'm not sure how they made that measurement. Maybe parishes submit average attendances). Also, it raises more money each year for the upkeep of heritage buildings (the churches) than any other organisation including English Heritage and the National Trust. But how long can it keep doing so? You can listen to it or read a transcript if you're interested - I highly recommend it.