New blog and an explanation!

Today we are adding Eric Swenson to the list, let's all give him a big welcome!


And now for a little explanation... There's been a little differing of views between myself and some of the other class moderators (not class of '94, but other years) as to whether it is O.K. to add people to our blog list without getting permission first. If you've been following our site from the beginning you know that I started out NOT asking and then I quickly switched to getting permission before listing a site because we had two classmates who blog "publicly but anonymously" and they asked to be removed from our list (it is important to note here that they were not mad). THEN I went back to not asking due to a variety of reasons, here are just a few...

Reason #1: First and foremost, almost NO ONE ever replied back. Then I would forget who I had asked already and it was a lot of work trying to keep lists of people and their blog addresses in queue while waiting for a response. And some people thought that I had added their blog and that by asking I was letting them know. So I would get emails later from them asking why their blog wasn't added, because I had asked? It's all very confusing...

Reason #2: Sometimes I would have a sibling or a friend of a classmate leave a comment with a blog address for us to use and then I would leave a comment on the classmate's blog asking permission to use it. And then I would wait, and wait, and.... well you get the idea. So after a little investigating, usually they (our classmate) would respond with "I thought someone already gave you my blog address".

Reason #3: A lot of times (usually with the guys) the spouse runs the blog and they don't know us from Adam! So they see my comment and wait around to ask their spouse about and in the meantime they usually forget.

Reason #4: It's just EASIER! If I come across a blog, or someone else gives me the heads up on a new blog, the simplest thing to do is add it to the list and leave a comment on their blog letting them know what I have done. Then, if they ask to be removed I can easily get on it and take care of it. Other than those first two unusual situations, I have never had anyone ask to be removed from our list. I would like to note here that if it looks like someone is trying to blog "anonymously" - not using names or pictures, than I do make an exception and ask permission.

Reason #5: I just figure that if your blog is public than you expect that people can and will find you. That is the nature of the internet.

Reason #6: What fun is a site with nobody listed? If you have the same 10 people on the site (and they happen to have all been buddies in highschool) all the time, then people are less likely to see something they want to be a part of. They see it more as a gathering place for that particular group and can feel awkward asking for an invite. You've got to get lots of different people on there and make it something people want to check out regularly.

O.K. so no more reasons for now. I'm pretty sure I've gotten it all out of my system! I just wanted you all to know why I've chosen to do it this way. I hope you get that I'm not trying to offend anyone or make them mad, just doing what's easiest and (in my mind) best for the growth of the site.