Tuesday, March 31, 2009

To Blog or Not To Blog?

I have this "funny" little story to tell you about Josh and something that happened at church on Sunday...but I can't because I am afraid that someone would be offended.

It isn't gossipy...nor mean at all...but someone's actions had, I think, unintended consequences for Josh...and I think they might feel bad if they found out.

So...I can't tell the story.

But, why am I telling you about this story that I can't tell you?

Because I'm mean?

No, really...because I am wondering if anyone else finds themselves censoring what they blog about.

I have encountered this problem numerous times in the recent past...and I wonder, what do you do?

10 comments:

Hilary said...

Oh, I totally self-sensor (can you imagine what I'm censoring -- I know, shocking) -- a lot of my ward reads. And I can't just say ANYTHING.
Maybe we should start a private blog -- just with a few of us. :)

Amberlyn said...

I find that I censor myself often. I don't want to hurt any of my families feelings. I would love to blog about my stinky sister-in-law. I don't know if she reads my blog. But I don't want to hurt her feelings, or my Mom's, or my brother's. Well, sometimes I think she needs to be put in her place. But that's beside the point.

I have had conversations about this with other people. Blogging should be a free form of voicing your opinion. But it really isn't.

I think it may come down to how important is the post? How important is the person that you are afraid of offending?

Either way. Just Blog. You are a great blogger and i LOVE reading about your current events. And seeing your amazing photos.

Jeff said...

I guess the question is 'whether everyone involved would learn a lesson at a cost that doesn't exceed the value of the lesson'. Sounds easy, but I think most of us would probably choose to censor what we put in depending on the importance level. It is an interesting philosophical, spiritual, and practical connundrum -- good luck.

alexandra said...

Absolutely. I censor whom I write about if I think anyone who knows the offending party in question would read the blog, and hardly anyone even reads my blog! Even with all that effort, I'm sure I offend people unintentionally.

I guess some things just need to be left to phone conversations.

M said...

the vast majority of things that happen to us never make it to the blog because they're too personal, or there's a political angle, or, yes, they involve people who might be reading the blog, etc.

Unfortunately, the internet is forever and even though you can delete a blog entry, it will still last in some form on some server indefinitely. I've found google searches of blog posts that have been deleted, but you can still read them on the search page. So it's best not to post anything that you might regret... :O

alamama said...

I self-censor too.

Jen said...

I try to sensor what I put on my blog. There have been numerous occasions where I have put something on my blog that later I have regretted. Either because someone could be offended or because later I decided it was too embarrassing for EVERYONE who reads my blog to know about. (You know how I like to embarrass my self in public:) On the other hand I sort of use my blog as a journal because I am really bad at writing things down.
I started a blog that no one else can read but myself so I could keep a record of the things that go on in our life that are too personal to share with a large group. However, I haven't written any thing yet because I discovered that part of the fun of having a good story is sharing it with someone else.
"To blog or not to blog....that is the question."

Lara said...

I usually end up wishing I'd censored myself.

onehm said...

I have SO MANY good things to blog about that I CAN'T for fear someone in my family will be offended, because of COURSE the stories are about them! ;)

I have actually toyed with the idea of starting a private girlfriend's blog to share stories "safely"... but I'm sure things would leak eventually, right?? LOL.

I censor other stuff too...like I miscarried about a month and a half ago and never blogged about it. It felt wierd to get on my blog and talk about it. I also don't blog about the meds my kids are on for ADHD (family crap again) and about the yucky stuff too often. It's not as fulfilling to me to go back and read that stuff. I consider my blog for me first.

I would LOVE to hear your story, but I know how you feel!!

lbugsh2 said...

I personally do censor but I probably share more than I should too. Just change the names of those involved. You never know who you can affect with your story.

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