Private or Public--We Need to Decide

Dear Friends,

We have enjoyed each other's company on this blog for nearly a month now. We are relishing our last days of summer, with family and friends, before our lives settle into the more regular routine of fall and winter. I know that as we return from vacations, job hunts, making life decisions, setting up new homes, and starting new jobs we will turn again to our old BBB Board friends who have proven to be of such wise heart, great mind, and deep soul.

We all have many things to say, to respond to; conversations to take joy in and to share. But we also need to make a decision about our blog. All of us who are authors here are known to at least a few, if not all of us posting. In addition there are some readers, who have been involved in the Musings or Dark Horse threads, who have petitioned me directly to have access to this blog. We are not known to the world at large, but may become so. I need to hear from all of you as to which direction to take this blog.

If you wish this to be a blog, kind of puttering along on its own steam in cyberspace, that may give some pleasure or darn good advice to the lovelorn or the misled (think Jilly types :-D) or the inexperienced, then it would need to be public. If you wish this to be a private forum, where everything that's said, thought, and discussed stays only between these four walls, so to speak, it will need to be private. There are good arguments to be made for both sides.

But I feel that everyone here, whom we all value so much, needs to feel safe and secure in the sanctity of our friendship. If everybody is comfortable with a "public" forum (although it probably won't be any more public than it is now, one never knows) then fine. But if even one of our band of merry souls is uncomfortable, I feel the blog should be private.

I would like everyone to please let me know your feelings about this. Everything you each tell me personally will be held in utmost confidence. Please email me at aprilinparisfrombachboard@gmail.com . Again, if even one of you would like to keep this our own private magical kingdom, then that's the way it will be. I will hopefully hear from everybody within a week and let you know the outcome, but not how the votes swung percentage-wise nor who made which choices, if that's alright with everyone. I will also need to hear from the readers/followers at my email address.

One more thing. A member of a blog may be an author, who can post, comment, and edit, or a reader who can comment only. If the blog is to be private, we will need to decide on a system of how to allow/invite in new members and whether all members should automatically be authors or some be readers. On a closed blog, there may be 100 of each. Perhaps you would like to use a system of sponsoring personal friends to become members? I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks to all...and may our romantic portrayals grow ever wiser, sweeter, funnier, and even more heartfelt and loving with time.

Hugs,

Nadya


Addendum:  An issue was brought up, asking if the blog was public, would there be a way to block commenters who weren't following our unwritten code of honor and respect between us? Good question. The answer is: yes, I have the ability to block anyone from the blog, anytime. Just an FYI. :-)