Every now and then I can see that someone is taking the time and trouble to trawl their way through my blog, from the earliest posts onward. It is nice to think that someone may be finding it an interesting read, but it also makes me feel uncomfortable.
I haven't bothered to read all my own posts from start to finish. I dash out a post, send it out into the ether and then move on, apart from answering comments, of course.
Anyone who begins at the beginning of this blog will be confused. Everything and everyone had a different name, for I began the blog as a reaction to the theft of lots of the posts on my other blogs. Years of work, if blogging can be called work. Years of my stories about my family, my friends, my life, taken and reposted on a handful of other fake blogs.
Why? I really don't know. Some I managed to get taken down but the process is long-winded and exceedingly tedious. I gave up. Walked away from all that I had done. Sulked for a few months, then reinvented myself as Felicity, our home became Parsonage Cottage, my family were all given false names, even the dog, the cats and the hens.
I led a double life. The shocking thing was how easily I adapted to it. Makes me wonder about myself...
Eventually, the game became stale and I reverted to my own name, Elaine.
Now trawling through from the beginning is fine, though whoever has taken the time to do it may end up totally bewildered! That, in addition to seeing some sudden, very large, spikes in my viewing figures (a big number of hits in the space of moments) is rather more worrying, for that is what used to happen on the old blogs.
It was pure fluke that I stumbled across the fake blogs - I was researching for a post I wanted to do, a topic I had superficially covered, but wanted to write about in more depth. I came across a blog post on that very subject, began reading it and suddenly my brain kicked in and realised that I was reading my own words, presented as the work of someone else. I began digging and delving, became quite paranoid about it for a while.
Deep breaths, Elaine.
I can't imagine anyone stealing somebody's blog and pretending it's their own. How strange is that? I hope that you are wrong on this occasion and it's not happening all over again. I can certainly imagine it would make you feel rather paranoid . . . but chin up, at least you are NORMAL - whoever did it has a real problem about their self image by the sound of things if they have to pretend to be someone else . . .
ReplyDeleteIt sounds crazy, doesn't it. It isn't even as though my posts are about anything special, yet those fake blogs were there, and they didn't just consist of posts scraped from my blog. I was able to inform another woman about her blog content being scraped, too. She also got some blogs closed down. Madness!
DeleteHow weird, its almost like stealing someones identity. Hopefully its just someone who enjoys your blog and is reading it from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind someone reading through, other than the fact that on this particular one they will be left scratching their head in puzzlement at the first half of the posts!! Sudden spikes of over 100 page viewings all within one minute is not normal for my blog, I am much more used to five or six hundred in twenty-four hours!
Delete"I am much more used to five or six hundred in twenty-four hours!"
Delete-eyes bulging- You get that many?!?
Well of course you do. Your blog is very unique and special. And I'm so glad you get thus rewarded.
It's just, that it took my breath away. :-))))))))
Silly me, but it did. :-)
I had no idea that fake blogs existed, but then I guess we are always being told about fake news. Let's hope that that it is someone reading through from the start, I've had people do that on my blog but have never done it myself.
ReplyDeleteThere was the mysterious Russian thing a year or two ago when everyone suddenly found they had 1000s of visitors from Russia, that was strange but only lasted for a month or so
It was truly perplexing, I still don't understand why they would do such a thing. I should think something like this would be difficult to spot on your blog; I notice it because I get far fewer visitors, so one hundred in one minute causes quite a big and noticeable spike, and set my antenna tingling again. In comparison with the spike the slow and steady trawl through from the earliest posts seems quite benign.
DeleteCan Google or Blogger do anything about it? That is so unnerving! I do hope you don't give up blogging...I love your posts. Besides, we know you are the real thing and that is what counts.
ReplyDeleteThat was the route I went down with the original blogs. The process was long-winded, tedious and far from satisfactory, although I did succeed in gettiing quite a few taken down. There was no particular theme on the blogs, just random posts, going back years. One woman who I was able to contact had had lots of her posts about travelling through various parts of the States, in a huge great camper vehicle, stolen. Other people were walkers, crafters, family people, a whole range.
DeleteWow!!!!! That stealing is scary. Makes one wonder, what kind of a person, resorts to such...????????
ReplyDeleteAnd now, reading the whole blog, from the start. Me'thinks if someone wanted to do so, it would be kind of them, to say so, to you. Like: "I find your blog so interesting, that I want to read here, from the beginning." A kind of a heads-up, to you.
Spikes in viewership. Don't think I've had that. Yes, I get a lot (for me) of Views, for awhile. Now they are 'down', like a lot of summer blogging is 'down.' Due to people being out and about. But spikes. Interesting.
Well, not interesting. Since you said they came, when you had stealing done, before. -sigh-
Yes, blogging is work! Yes, we put time and effort, into it. Yes, it rots, to have people "lift" our stuff, and publish it, as their own. Horrrrible!
And then, I circle back to.... The realistic view, that its the World Wide Net. Full of nice and not nice and ..... Well, full of all kinds of people reading.
Which brings me round to the ultimate view... That if we ponder the realistic view, very long, we would all get off the Net.
And though it is probably the wisest way... We have too much fun, to leave completely. -sigh-
Vigilance! And Courage! Guess that's the only way, to proceed.
Please keep us updated on this issue, now and then.
ReplyDeleteBecause...
You know....
I am now going to worry.
If it happens, it happens. When it originally happened, and I stumbled across it gradually recognising it as my work, it was just like finding that my work had been photocopied and then pasted into someone else's blog. These fake blogs don't/didn't get comments, didn't seem to do anything other than steal and paste the work of others. There must be a reason for it, but I don't know what it is.
DeleteDon't forget, it could be that the spike was not connected with that kind of thing at all, indeed I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been logged in and doing some preparation work for another post. So don't worry yourself too much.x
I had no idea that unscrupulous people stole blogs and reinvented them as their own! I just don't see the point, surely it would be more trouble than it was worth? That was truly awful, Elaine, but I don't know how any of us who have blogs would know how to find out if someone had stolen ours!
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
It was news to me, Margaret. I had never heard about that kind of thing, still don't hear much about it. I uncovered it purely by accident, because i always like to do a bit of research if I am going to spout off about the history of somewhere, so I was cross-checking some details about one of our neighbouring villages when I found the first fake blog. Otherwise I could quite easily still be blissfully unaware of it all and still writing my old Pear Tree Log blog. Once I found that, I searched through the blog for any more of my posts - and found plenty. Then I started some serious searching and uncovered more associated fake blogs, they all linked up in some tenuous way, there was a common thread through their fake 'followers' list. This was a few years ago now, so the full shock and details have faded a little.
DeleteIf you think about it we all lay ourselves open to being copied. That is the nature of the beast. We trusting souls are like lambs to the slaughter. In my world, you have either got it or you haven’t. Take it as a compliment and carry on. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery they say. Be happy that the yolk of your idea turned into an ugly duckling then into a beautiful swan and it all started with YOU. We don’t get paid for doing this, we are doing it purely for enjoyment. At the end of the day they won’t get an iota of the thrill you got by hatching out your words, your turn of phrase, putting a small part of you on the page.
ReplyDeleteLX
The sudden big spike in the space of one minute was the bit that triggered my wobble, refreshed the memory. I am over it. I have starched my upper lip and my size 7's are firmly planted on the ground again, onward and upward. Thanks, Lettice. I hope you are having plenty of idle thoughts.
DeleteHi Elaine,
ReplyDeleteI might be one of the causes of your concern and I deeply apologize for frightening you! I came across from Sue's blog (which I've been reading for ages), found one of your recent posts and as I adored both the style and the subject, I decided to dig deeper :) it WAS confusing but nonetheless charming and with your permission, I'll keep reading from now on, for as long as you'll share the Parsonage with us. I don't have a blog of my own but recently moved with my family to Scotland from Germany, and I find blogs a great way of getting to grips with how local people live and think. For an expat family, it's invaluable so thank you for writing and please don't stop sharing. Not all lurkers are evil!
Hello Oana - and welcome! Sorry for confusing you - but all the cloak and dagger stuff helped me to get back into blogging in a way which made me feel comfortable. Please feel free to ramble around as much as you like, it is all just snippets about life around here and in the surrounding villages, my family and our animals, with the occasional red herring thrown in to confuse. I wasn't so much worried about whoever was reading through the earlier posts, it was that unusually large number of hits in such a short time and that wasn't down to you, rather something automated. I hope you are settling down well in your new place and that the Scots are making you feel welcome - if not, then try Lincolnshire! Once again, please feel welcome to read whatever you like, it is an open blog - and thank you for letting me know.
DeleteThanks-was just wanting to make sure I'm not the direct cause of your upset. We seem to share a great many interests-we also have rescue dog and cat, small child (not grand but our own) getting into all sorts of trouble, I'm an avid amateur historian and archaeologist (not since the Boy was born, but soon I'll be able to take him along when I volunteer), I love cooking and baking, old books and even older buildings. Old furniture and all manners of old, beautiful things. I just don't like living in the countryside :) so I enjoy walks and random holidays, plus other people's blogs about living in the country. Edinburgh is PERFECT for me! and I really enjoy reading about all rural parts of the British Isles (plus France, Italy and a few other places too, for some variety). Please keep sharing!
ReplyDeleteOne small boy will definitely be keeping you busy, and fit. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city, no wonder you like it so much. Trust me, although I embrace all that the countryside has to offer, there are occasions when I have the fleeting thought that perhaps I would like to go back to town/city life...it doesn't last, but I can see the advantages. Thank you so much for giving me these glimpses of your life.
DeleteSo how did you know someone was reading the blogs from start to finish. I notice People have looked at some of mine but would not know if they were trolling through them. Only thing I notice now & then is the hits go up. Used to get a lot from Russia and the USA but it settled down a bit. Seems to come in waves
ReplyDeleteIt was simply that I could see the old posts were being read in an orderly fashion, not flicked through at random. If you click on the 'more' button next to posts, it gives you a list. That wasn't the part I had a problem with, I only mentioned it because it was happening at the same time as the sudden spikes, but they involved a lot of hits in a very short time span, not individual pages.
DeleteDear Elaine,
ReplyDeleteI love to go back aND read to current times on blogs recently discovered. Absolutely no nefarious intentions. It's a way of getting to know the writer. I'm not sure I have followed your blog back to the beginning. It is most regrettable that you had your work stolen or destroyed. I enjoy your blog and hope nothing is amiss. Sincerely, Billid
Hello Billie, Don't worry, I don't have a problem with anyone reading the older posts, I only mentioned it because I became aware of it at about the same time that I had the very big spikes in numbers. I am delighted to have you read, and happy that you are enjoying it. Thank you for letting me know!
Delete