Saturday, February 23, 2019

GOOGLE/BLOGGER STRIKES

Hello, friends.  I want to share with you something that I find very upsetting.  I just got an email from Diane at the blog Lavender Dreamer.  It appears that Google decided her blog was not meeting their standards and arbitrarily shut her down and deleted her blog.  No arguments, chance to change things, nothing.  Fortunately she was able to start a new blog explaining what had happened.  She is allowing me and others to copy her post to explain what is going on.

Our former happy little blog (lavenderdreamstoo.blogspot.com) was suddenly terminated.


Why and how was it done? It wasn't someone reporting us. It was Google's automated piece of software (a bot) that roams the Blogger world looking for pre-programmed words of woe. Once it detects something it kills the whole blog without warning. Without any notification about these supposed offending words. Without an opportunity to fix anything. Just ZAP ... your digital life is deleted. Everything is gone!


Ten years of blogging, thousands of posts, many thousands of photos, over ten thousand comments and a hundred thousand heart-felt words all gone in an instant. Devastating! Be warned all you innocents in blogland.


The blog was actually removed twice, for "phishing". Which, as you all know, is absurd. We have never asked for your personal, private information. The Appeals process reinstated the blog the first time then the Google Bot zapped us again the next day. But the second time we were locked out of the Appeals process. We tried sending Feedback. Never got a answer. Tried to post to the Blogger Help Community. They never published the post. Located twenty phone numbers for Google. The numbers are all automated and only a couple allowed you to leave a message. We left messages. Never got a callback.


Google/Blogger pronounces you guilty using an "automated system" (their words) and gives you little or no opportunity to prove otherwise. It's been a nightmare.

Please visit her new blog at lavenderdreamsnew.blogspot.com.  Let's show Diane (and Google) that we still care about her and want her to continue her blog.

Thanks friends.  I know I can count on you to show her some love.

Kathy

8 comments:

  1. I'm going to do just what you did!

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  2. How shocking, I will follow her new blog as I have followed her cancelled one.

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  3. Oh Kathy! Thank you so much for this touching post. It means the world to me to know how much you care...we've been friends for a long time. I feel so much better now just being able to share what's happened. But of course I hope my old blog will be restored. Hopefully Blogger will take notice! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  4. that is scary! There should be a way to save the blog posts. I'm thankful your friend Diane was able to make another blog! I'll watch out for that!
    Phil got the printer up and working today and printed out a photo too. It looks good. It takes awhile to use up the ink, which is a good thing. Close to $50 total for 4 inks, much better than $100!!! Enjoy your weekend!

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  5. How awful! All that heart just deleted "poof"! Glad she could create another blog.

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  6. I also received an email from Diane and a link to her new blog. It is sad how her blog was arbitraily deleted without reason. And, it’s something that could unfortunately happen to other blggers.

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  7. if it can happen to Diane, it can happen to any of us. It feels ominous, but perhaps I am speaking from a sick head. 🙃 Thank you for your love for and support of our mutual friend.

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  8. Thank you for share this situation (horrible). I just learned how to back up my blog (at least I think I did ???)

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