Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Editing the Blogroll

You may have noticed a couple of changes to my blogroll - if you ever look at it. It's been a long time since I did anything to it, but as I was cruising down the list the other day, I realized that there were a few there that had changed their names, one I'd misspelled (sorry, Jeff), some that had gone inactive - no new posts in ever so long, and some that I just didn't visit anymore for whatever reason. I also had some new ones that I'd been keeping in my "Favorites" list that deserved a place on my blogroll.

So a-editing I went. Delete, delete, delete. Edit, edit, edit. Add, add, add.

But one deletion broke my heart again. MySmile is missing from my blogroll now. She died back in July and in the same way that I used to call my grandmother every couple of days for a few months after she died, I would click on MySmile's link and go to her blog, halfway anticipating a new entry that would make the last couple of months just a bad dream. But there never were. Only a couple of new comments - one from her mother saying that she was gone and one from me, trying to explain why I was still visiting.

How do you de-activate a blog once the owner has passed on? MySmile's sister has taken this opportunity to print out the entire blog for her son Link before it goes away, if it goes away. So, I suppose this is something to think about. Perhaps in your final papers somewhere - you know, the ones that go to family members afterwards, we should all include our blog information. User name and password so that those left behind can make decisions about blogs. Because for now, it seems that MySmile will live forever in the blog-o-sphere. And maybe that's the way it should be.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is something I wondered about. I also wanted to blog as a journal for my kids in a 100 years and was told after I started, that I don't own my blog because it is with my host so if I quit, it may be all deleted. I was wondering how to keep it and someone suggested printing it out. Someone said you can't copy it to a disk either because of the reason above. I don't know enough about computers or the system, but I would love to have it in at least it's text form for my kids and my self to read way in the future.

Anonymous said...

Good question. Maybe MySmile should live forever in the blog-o-sphere. Maybe this way you and the rest of your family will always have a part of her.

Me said...

That is a good idea to pass on the blog information to her loved ones, especially her son.

Robbiegirl said...

The exact same thing happened with my friend Boo, who died in April.

She was a great friend of mine, even though we never met.

Three of us went to her funeral, which was of course very sad, but also wonderful to hear the stories about the things she did and what kind of person she was outside the blogsphere.

We spent some time talking to her two sons and daughter, and they said they had discovered her blog after her death and they were very grateful for it. Dom implied that it was painful to read, but also filled him with love for his mum.

Of course, we'd seen a different side of her than they had. It was great to be able to share that with the family.

Blogging leaves a record of the person you were, I guess. And that's a precious thing indeed.

Knock knock - it's cancer! said...

Wow, I never expected this post. It gave me goose bumps. I have too, wondered what would happen, and have gone to such lengths that I have stated that should something like that ever happen to me, I would want my husband to be able to have access and post something for my blogfriends.

We're all connected....

BlondeBlogger said...

Okay, I am really creeped out. First, the song "Lightning Crashes" has been playing on the radio a LOT lately. And it's an old song, but one that was tied to my almost dying in childbirth with Natalie.

Then, tonight, I read about three different blogger deaths, and as I'm reading your post, I had another blog up with a graveyard as the banner with a sign that said "Dead End."

I am so freaked out by all of those coincidences! Sorry, didn't mean to make this about me, but I just had to vent that!

An old blogging friend of mine passed away not long ago, too. It's just so sad to see their old entries and to know they're not there anymore. It's just surreal.

I'm so sorry about your friend. :(

Anonymous said...

Hi S--that is such a poignant read about MySmile. I'm sorry to hear that about your friend.

Periodically I also go through the blogroll and edit if necessary. Usually, I only delete if a blog has become inactive.

Me said...

Sayre,

Not to do with your lovely post, but I tagged you!

Anonymous said...

Blogging is such a new genre. I don't think much consideration has been given yet to archiving them, unless as suggested, the family 'copies' them to disk or paper. Such a sad thing to think about, but what a wonderful record to have.

Hootin Anni said...

Hmmmmm, excellent question. Personally, I'd keep the blog up on the blog roll myself. So I can go back and read the good stuff to remember her.

[ps, I signed up for Fun Monday below]