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Transfering or Inheriting an Existing Blog

Forestwood
Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Pexels.com

I have yet to complete a death letter to my daughter.

She requested I write one to her before I depart this earth. Not that my death is imminent, or at least I hope not! Is it bad that I procrastinate about the contents?

I am still uncertain what is necessary to include, something I spoke about before. But what happens to our blogs after we do pass?

Will this blog fade away never to see the light of day again?

Have you made provisions for your own blog?

Given someone you trust the password to your PC or blog?

When you want to end a blog, just how do you do it? Do you link to the new one and shut up shop? Say nothing but put a redirect notice in place? Tell everyone it is closing and then leave quietly?

Blogger Ally talked about how there is loads of information on starting a blog, yet there isn’t any info on how to end a blog.

If you have a paid blog, the blog will vanish if you stop paying. Free blogs are more persistent as Colin at pendantry.com stated in how-to-ensure-that-your-blog-lives-forever

Are you happy for your blog to vanish into cyber oblivion?

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics but scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent trying to unleash a little creativity. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I am Australian. Travel and courteous discussions broaden the mind, so I travel if I can. I'm an avid reader, I enjoy photography and a variety of crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in this WordPress Community.

182 thoughts on “Transfering or Inheriting an Existing Blog”

    1. When you have put a lot of work into a blog, it makes sense to make a provisional plan for it after your demise. Blogging is however, a transient beast, as old posts rarely get viewed. One blogger is addressing that with Random blog visits called Random raids.

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  2. A paid version of your blog will revert to the non-paid one with the @wordpress.com extension at the end. Every blog does have that domain name as well. So you do not need to worry what will happen with it when you are no longer on earth. The content might change as the free version only allowed a certain amount of data. Can’t remember how much, have to check. I also wondered the other day – should I leave anote with my passwords somewhere to allow others to end my work on my behalf when I pass away or can’t do it any longer myself. To let people know that I have passed away when they send me emails? Maybe a note to my son or daughter in my safe can.solve this matter.

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    1. I think it is wise to instruct your children in these matters, so that any loose ends are tied up.
      Good to know about wordpress.com extensions. Just the paid blogs with the domain names have an issue then?

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      1. No, as soon as you do not pay any more (paid version) – or when you revert the site back to free version – the extention of the domain name (.com, .co.za, .net and so forth) of the paid version changes to .wordpress.com. Check mine for example. My paid name is cvsjoernaal.com. If you type cvsjoernaal@wordpress.com into Google, you will see my site as one of the hits. So, if you revert to free version or stop paying (in case of death for example) the site’s name will change from Name+.com/.net/.co.za etc to Name.wordpress.com

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        2. Sadly, while you’re not entirely wrong, there are a number of problems that raise their ugly heads when a site that is addressed by its own domain name ‘reverts’ to its name within the wordpress.com name (does that happen automagically, by the way? I very much doubt it; WordPress.com would need to be instructed to make the switch, they won’t know you’ve passed away). I cover some of these issues in the post that Forestwood was kind enough to link to in her post.
          Take your own site, for example: https://christavanstaden.com/. All of the links within it to other places on your site are hard-coded to point specifically to that domain. For instance, the very first link I see there is to your MY CV (Afrikaans) post. When that domain name expires, as it will automatically when the renewal fee is no longer paid, every single one of those links will die; they’ll all be ‘404 not found’.

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  3. Transfering or Inheriting an Existing Blog

    On Saturday, September 25, 2021, Something to Ponder About wrote:

    > Forestwood posted: ” Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Pexels.com I have yet > to complete a death letter to my daughter. She requested I write one to her > before I depart this earth. Not that my death is imminent, or at least I > hope not! Is it bad that I procrastinate about” >

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  4. I believe some people feel death is a topic they should avoid. But we all ultimately face death; it’s simply the end of this life and the beginning of the next. We can’t ignore or it and hope it just goes away. It’s for this reason many people don’t even make out a formal will and funeral and burial arrangements.

    Recently, a friend told me that another mutual friend was acting strangely and that the latter might have liver cancer. That other man and I have known each other for more than 30 years. Our fathers even knew each other in their youth! But we had a falling out at the end of last year over a New York Times editorial on why so many people of Hispanic ancestry in our native Texas voted to reelect Donald Trump during last year’s presidential election. That’s why I had been calling him my “estranged” friend since last December.

    But this new development was shocking. On Thursday, my estranged friend texted me a photo of his gravestone, which he bought a few years ago, after his mother died. I was stunned and asked him why he did that. He merely stated he had resigned himself to a dire fate sooner than expected. He wants to meet me in person to reveal more in detail. Sometimes things just don’t translate well via email or text.

    Several years ago I knew my father was preparing for his inevitable demise when he got rid of a number of his clothes, as well as some old lawn equipment. I didn’t question him.

    I don’t know what’s supposed to go into a “death letter”, but I’m sure if it’s to your daughter, Amanda, it will be truly heartfelt.

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    1. You are kind to say that about the letter to my daughter, Alejandro. Thank you.
      As for your estranged friend – it is sad that it sounds like he has a chronic health issue but good that he sees it as important to re-connect with you. I think I remember you mentioning this friend before. If it is the same one I am thinking of, the friendship might never be exactly the same as previously, but it will still be there with a differing dimension. Enjoy it for what it is and do not lament what was lost.

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      1. I believe he wants to reconnect with me because he’s suddenly facing his own mortality. His parents were the type who believed making funeral and burial plans was bad luck. Then his father collapsed and died in the family home in March of 2004. My friend had arrived at the house (having taken off early from work) to take his father on a long overdue doctor’s appointment. But at the last moment, his father decided he really didn’t want to go to the doctor and walked into the front room where he dropped. I told my friend later his father probably had realized the appointment wouldn’t be necessary because he knew that would be his last day. I surmised he stepped away from everyone as he didn’t want them to see him die.

        Afterwards, my friend was able to convince his mother to set up a will and make funeral plans. Fortunately, my parents didn’t believe in such nonsense and make their own plans some 20 years ago.

        I believe people know exactly when they’re going to die, even if it’s at the last moment – they just can’t express it to those around them because only they know and understand what’s about to happen and why.

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        1. Now that you say it, I can think of quite a few people who knew the end was coming. I also know of at least two that refused to give up and die even though their bodies were merely skin and bone but continued to live because their family had not yet come to terms with them leaving this world.
          The adage of one’s life flashing before their eyes might be true.

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          1. Well, my estranged friend and I had yet another falling out over another ridiculously petty issue. But, like the end of every work day, I’m done! He had already alienated a number of relatives and friends over the years with his somewhat elitist demeanor.

            Here’s one example. Shortly before Christmas 1998, he got into an argument with a waitress at a seafood restaurant over a bowl for the mound of horseradish sauce he wanted to gather. They didn’t have bowls, and she had offered him a large Styrofoam cup instead. He refused and merely joined me on the enclosed patio at the building’s front. It was a rather informal place. After another employee delivered the food, he complained about her to him. He didn’t see that the waitress was behind him, so she asked him to go ahead and tell her what the problem was. It went back to that stupid request for a bowl. He said he’d visited a number of restaurants in the U.S. and Europe. She said she didn’t care, went off on him and told him never to come back. It ruined the evening for both of us.

            He’s grown more cantankerous in recent years and now virtually has no friends. He wants to leave his estate to his oldest nephew, but because he’s on poor terms with his mother (my friend’s sister), that may be a moot point. I deleted his latest series of text messages and now wonder if anyone will show up to his funeral.

            I don’t have many friends because I’m an introvert and have a hard time trusting people. I’ve always been that way. But I don’t want to alienate myself from everyone! I’m not that misanthropic!

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            1. Hmmm. I recognise and can relate to the trust issues. But then if don’t open the cracks of our trusting boundary, noone can get close to us.
              Then there is his stubborness and testy reactions to life’s smallest problems and the fact that despite this, you might like to still have him as a friend, (because you have known each other for some years), albeit without the inappropriate ‘behaviour.’
              Testy people make trouble for themselves wherever they go and often stress themselves out way more than the recipient who is the object of their anger.
              Behind his anger is more than likely fear regret and, or, pain.
              Friends who are like this are hard work and take a toll on our own well being. We have to accept that they will be difficult and either distance ourselves from them when they are, or gently guide them to see that they need to pick their battles, for their own good. As he does not have endless time left, he sounds like he takes his regrets and frustrations out on the smallest things can’t be done the way he would like.
              What are the positives to the friendship for you?

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              1. At this point, I really have to think long and hard about that. We’ve had so many disputes in recent months it’s sort of blurred whatever benefits merited our continued interaction. I know that sounds pathetic – almost pithy – but people often change as time moves. I still believe his health problems have distorted his attitude and general perception of reality. I don’t know and honestly I can’t worry about him right now, as I have my own dilemmas.

                We all have personal problems that challenge our physical and mental health and may make us question everything we’ve ever learned and/or done in our lives. It’s our ability to accept what’s happened, change what we can and learn from those experiences. We should never stop learning.

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  6. The death letter stuff annoys me; but then, I’m not a mother.
    As for cyber eternity, the topic pops up every so often. I don’t give a rat’s arse, as I shall be dead and utterly uncaring. But you raise the point, Amanda, of how to advise people you’re dead (so to speak). When your husband is still around he can do it and close the blog forever (as I’ve come across more than once) – or some other close or family member.
    When he isn’t and nor is a c. or f.m., then I simply don’t know.
    Maybe we need to set up a kind of central advisory centre for this kind of thing .. but how to keep it updated ?? I don’t think there’s a solution.

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    1. It is a can of worms, M-R. I suppose people don’t get notifications and so will inevitably work out you are gone, especially if there has been a hint of this. *trigger warning
      A blogger who committed suicide scheduled a post to appear after they had finished the deed. It was traumatic for me to read and some family member took it down, so there must be ways that family can get wordpress to remove it. But I am unaware how.

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  8. That is food for thought Amanda. I went over and read Colin’s blog, really interesting to think about. My daughter is visiting today, so a good opportunity to discuss this while it’s at the forefront of my mind.

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    1. These are unsavoury topics, but we can give them some thought, I think, Chris. Some bloggers like M-R, don’t mind what happens but I know if it were my relative or ancestor, I would find it intriguing to read their written words from years past. It tells you so much about a person!

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  9. I often think of my blog as a legacy for my kids, a place where they can really get to know me when they have the time and inclination. Mind you, I’d rather they found that time and inclination in my living years, but that’s looking to be unlikely.

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    1. It is a shame that children realize a little too late what a fountain of knowledge parents can be – if they ask the right questions.
      Is it the distance that is preventing them from knowing you on a deeper level, Chris?

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    2. That’s a good attitude, Chris. Perhaps the best thing you can do for them now, is to make arrangements to keep your blog alive after you’ve gone, so that your progeny can as you say ‘really get to know you’, should they want to, at some point in the future after the dust has settled.

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  10. 7 July 2008 I wrote my first article using WP.
    I greatly enjoy writing and WordPress allowed me to show other the benefits (or not) of my words given freely.
    “‘When I am gone”‘ is pretty well conclusive. But, here a poem by Rossetti.

    When I am dead, my dearest,
    Sing no sad songs for me;
    Plant thou no roses at my head,
    Nor shady cypress tree:
    Be the green grass above me
    With showers and dewdrops wet;
    And if thou wilt, remember,
    And if thou wilt, forget.
    I shall not see the shadows,
    I shall not feel the rain;
    I shall not hear the nightingale
    Sing on, as if in pain:
    And dreaming through the twilight
    That doth not rise nor set,
    Haply I may remember,
    And haply may forget.

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    1. The poem is a bit fatalistic Gerard, but life does move on regardless of whether we would like to be remembered or not. And those who live cannot keep dwelling in the past.
      Our blog posts may be better preserved in book form, as you have done. Is your book widely available?

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  11. I have closed five blogs and am on my sixth. All have been free. It’s really easy to close a blog. I simply add “closed” to the blog name on the top and give the link to the new one in my last post. Done. Everything remains as is and I often look back, especially now that I’m linking to posts from the same day in my blogging memories at the end of each post. Good luck with that letter.

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    1. Hmm… intriguing. That works as long as all the blog addresses employ the free domain names within wordpress.com. I admit that I’m puzzled as to why you might want to ‘close’ a blog in the first place, though.

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        1. Ah, I think I understand. When you’ve used up the 6GB storage limit on a free account, you create a new blog? That takes some doing, you must post a LOT of (very large!) pictures. My blog, ‘Wibble’, which has been going since 2007, is still only at 1% capacity. Maybe my post ‘Turbo boost your site by optimising images‘ would be helpful?

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          1. Images do take up a lot of space. But only 1 % – I am impressed! In the early days of blogging one is oblivious to space but then snap! You realize 70% storage has gone. Since then, my blog hasn’t altered much.

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            1. Every photo snapped on a mobile phone is about (an enormous!) 3-4Mb. Each. If you’re using those without optimising them, it won’t take very many to fill up 6GB. Very few of the images on my site are even 100k (which is all they really need to be). Try searching for ‘online image optimizers’.

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              2. You can go waaaaaay smaller than that and not really impact the quality of the image on a website. I generally reduce images to a maximum of 350 pixels width. If that doesn’t show the detail I want, then I consider cropping to focus on the the important content, or have a separate, larger image, using the ‘click to embiggen trick‘.

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              3. Yes I will do that, but do you think readers will bother clicking on the link and waiting for the larger image to load? Are the details lost? If so, the photo may not appeal enough for them to expend time clicking on. But I guess many of my photos are to illustrate the text not always photographic quality work. Having had pics of artwork pinched for someone else’s financial benefit, I am hesitant to upload full size images anyway. Watermarks can be removed apparently….

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              4. The point here is to offer users the choice of seeing a larger/ more detailed image if they find it of interest. The ‘larger’ image, optimised appropriately, need not take much longer to load than the original. See my post ‘How to do the click to embiggen trick‘ for an example. Did you have to wait very long for the large image to appear?

                As for your ‘watermark’ point, I’m afraid I don’t understand that. Do you watermark your images? If not, well, I don’t see the objection.

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              5. The watermark on images was used as a protection against copyright. I had some large images stolen from my blog in the early days and used for promotional purposes without my permission. This still happens from time to time. I learnt from then on to either watermark art images or not load large images that could be,”right clicked.” Then I was told that watermarks can be removed.

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              6. Ah, I understand now, thanks for clarifying. It hurts when your work is stolen, and/or abused. It’s not something that’s happened to me in the digital world, though I have had ideas appropriated, without credit, in the workplace on numerous occasions. (On one of those occasions, my idea made the appropriators a considerable fortune. Naturally, being unable to prove the idea was mine, I had no leg to stand on. C’est la vie.)

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              7. My son works in IT and unscrupulous folks have used his work to make mega bucks. There is little he can do about it as it happened in third world countries and via open source software.

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              8. That must be difficult to deal with. I must say, I’m a great fan of open source software; I believe we’d all be better if we were to collaborate more instead of living in separate insular silos focused on maximising profit (for a few). But I’m also a firm believer in giving credit where it’s due, and all too often, that just doesn’t happen.

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      1. An update on this, Amanda: I’ve been looking into this further (manly via a lot of back-and-forth emails with various WordPress.com Happiness Engineers). The short answer is “it’s complicated”. I’m working on a post to explain, as best I can, but it may take me some time to complete.

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  14. This isn’t something I’ve thought about and I’m now trying to assess how much I care what happens to it. Yes, a lot of work has (already) gone into my blog and it would seem a shame to lose that. Bot on the other hand, one of the main reasons I blog is to generate conversations and interactions, and if I’m no longer around to participate in those, does it need to outlive me? I’m not sure yet …

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    1. This is the thing, Sarah. Blogging is as much about community and interaction as much as it is about sharing information with readers. What you write and the value you place on it may determine whether you think it is important to preserve, or not. I have found newspaper advertisements and letters from ancestors and distant cousins from the 19th century and I am fascinated by the language they used and what they write. It helps me to get to know their character a little more. I hope my blog will go some way to fulfilling a similar purpose to extended family in years to come. ( I am unlikely to have grandchildren myself and if by chance I do, they may not even be interested, but I feel sure someone in the wider family will want to read some parts of my blog).

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  16. Amanda, one of our blogging friends who passed has someone who is reposting her old blog posts. It is cool. I had a blog friend in California we were going to visit, but had to postpone. Unfortunately, he got sick and passed away before we could. His wife published a nice message to which we responded, then she took it down. Best wishes on your decision, but for your and our sake, let’s put off the reason for a many years. Keith

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    1. Hi Keith! I like the idea of re-posting old blog posts from someone who passed. As the lives of blog posts are mostly transient and in the present moment, it makes sense that re-blogging them gives them an extended life and introduces the concepts written about, to new readers. A wonderful idea. I suppose I will have to find some like-minded young writer who might be willing to perpetuate my humble ramblings…..

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  17. What a wonderful and timely post, Amanda. You do tackle the hard stuff. This is perfect for today as it is a subject to which I have given great thought in the last year or four.:) As I wrap up my life the subject of a letter never came up but I think it’s a wonderful idea. I’m going to seriously contemplate it and the content it will have within. As for my blog and passwords, my son has access to everything and helped set up my site. I think it’s also a good idea to give that information to my daughter. One or the other, if not myself will inform my readers that the blog is closed and why. I pay for mine and all the writing I did is backed up in word docs. Almost 11 years worth. Thanks for more fodder for thought. I appreciate the links to more info as well. Have a great week. Hugs, M.

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    1. I am all glad this info is useful for you, Marlene, albeit it being sad that we have to contemplate this. But death is a fact of life, isn’t it? Better to plan it ahead and we have the peace of mind that the written aspect of our lives is sorted, how we prefer. I didn’t realize you had been blogging for so long and that it was a paid blog. Have you seen the price rise over time or does WordPress honour the original t’s and C’s?

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      1. The price has not risen since I started paying for it. Lets hope it maintains that status. My original post was Oct 31, 2011. I blogged from bed at my son’s house since I could do little else. Always looking for silver linings. Death of the body is an absolute. Best to be well prepared at any stage. It just means my energy is going to be differently creative. 🙂 Change of address is how I see it.

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  18. A very interesting post, Amanda. Thank you very much for including the link to my post on the subject; though that doesn’t address the very important point you raise about the need to talk about, and prepare for, the inevitable.

    … there is loads of information on starting a blog, there isn’t any info on how to end a blog

    That’s not entirely true. For instance, the WordPress.com support site does have some information on ‘ending’ a blog.
    You’ve got me thinking, and I thank you for it!
    I do hope that you don’t struggle too much over the content of your ‘death letter’. The important thing is to get it done. Bite that bullet. Eat the peach. Wind the frog!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgRkJ2CgXm8
    PS

    Free blogs are more persistent as Colin at pedantry.com stated…

    No, no, no, no, NO! It’s ‘pendantry’. Two ‘n’s 🙂 But, I forgive you: it’s a mistake many have made in the past, and I’m sure others will continue to do so. In fact, if you consider the derivation of the word ‘pendant’, the problem is pretty much a self-inflicted wound 😉
    And that domain name you’ve quoted… well, I have been thinking about grabbing it for a long time now. So I’ve just done exactly that – but purely to keep it out of the hands of those who might register it and then try to flog it to me for an exhorbitant fee, or abuse the good name in some other way. At least for the time being (none of us lives forever). The main address of ‘Wibble’ will remain at pendantry.wordpress.com… hopefully, for a good while after I’ve gone.

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      1. Heh. Don’t fret. As I said, you’re in good company, lots of folks make the same mistake. I kind of did, too: I talked about ‘grabbing the domain name you’d quoted’. But the one you mentioned was pedantry.com (which has been ‘for sale’ for some time now, looking for a sucker, and as we all know, there’s one of those born every minute). The one I was thinking of was peNdantry.com — which is now, for the time being at least, safely in my hands, and pointing at pendantry.wordpress.com 🙂

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          1. Furthermore, @peNdantry: there seems to be some confusion as to whether paid blog revert to free blogs if left unpaid. (see Christa’s comment.) Have you any evidence that clarifies that?

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              2. Nope, pretty sure that’s not it. It’s called the ‘world wide’ web for a reason. I have more information on this now, but there’s too much to cover in a comment. I’m composing a new blog post to explain, and I’ll let you know when it’s done.

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  19. Personally I feel it is not a good idea to write something like a ‘death letter’.

    Instead you can name it ‘the happy memories’ and record a few events which you felt were memorable.

    Ultimately it’s between you and your daughter and your decision is final.

    As far as the maintaining the blog is concerned, I feel it’s irrelevant after the author left for Heaven…..the idea is none can replace the author or author’s style of writing.

    A thought provoking post indeed!

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  21. I have never thought of such a thing and in fact, would not consider such a thing. As for the blog, when I’m gone I’m gone and it doesn’t matter what happens to words of no import. If I’d written some seriously deep thoughts that moved people to change their ways or act in a better way, then that would be a different matter. But my simple travel thoughts and odd musings? Better they die with me!

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      1. Sorry, I’m often late in catching up with replies and this is very late, no excuse, but I do get there in the end. A compilation of my blogs? Absolutely not. There’s enough self-published rubbish out there without me adding to the pile. I’m of the old-fashioned idea that an editor is essential in any undertaking and I don’t mean a ‘friend’ who reads for the mistakes. i mean a thorough editor-going process by someone who knows what is right for a readership. I sometimes compare my blogs with what I wrote when I was writing professionally and frankly, I’m sometimes appalled at the sloppiness of my writing today. I’m trying to do better but it’s easy not to bother too much when there’s no one checking on you!

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        1. Don’t ever feel that there is a problem coming late to the comment party, Mari. I have my email reminders of blog posts come in on a weekend and slowly work through them, so I also might comment on a blog later than many others. It just means that there might be more interesting comments to read!
          As for your reference to using an impartial editor and the amount of self-published stuff out there. I needed to hear that. It encourages me to be more professional in my post writing as compared to just letting rip on something I feel or think. Blogs are cathartic in that way, but it is a public platform and we need to be mindful and professional too! I will remember your cautionary words if I decide to publish something. Thank you.

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      2. Definitely not! My paltry thoughts are not worth keeping. There’s enough rubbish printed today without me adding to the pile. I trust my judgment enough to know when something is worth a life outside the blogosphere and none of my posts come into that category.

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  22. I should probably have read the linked article before I opened Still Restlessjo, Amanda, but I’m not sure that I’d be any wiser. I keep getting reminders from WP and half expect to just disappear one day. Then I’ll have to write it all over again, but better. Smiling!

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    1. I am unsure if I trust that WordPress won’t delete inactive storage full blogs – but you should be able to access them via archives.org I hope.
      Years before I started blogging I set up a detailed website via free provider – think it was webs.com
      Suddenly they decided they weren’t going to support free websites anymore and mine was archived. I had forgotten the password and therefore could not access it to edit as it was archived. I can still see the page but cannot respond to anyone who leaves a message on the guestbook. All that time writing it was kind of wasted…..

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      1. Very frustrating! At the end of the day I have to accept that it’s me I’m writing for. And I very seldom looked back at what I’d written, so maybe there wasn’t value in it.

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      2. I am unsure if I trust that WordPress won’t delete inactive storage full blogs – but you should be able to access them via archives.org I hope.

        (I think you’re referring to the ‘Wayback Machine’ – archives.org?)
        On the other point: although T&Cs can change, WordPress.com support told me recently (emphasis added):

        This is also a big point what we at WordPress.com “sell”, your free sites will never be deleted or purged, as many others from our competition do. So, your free blog can be on the internet forever (or until there is no WordPress.com)

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  24. I have asked WordPress the question, and this is their reply – thus the site becomes as I have explained a .wordpress.com site. I like the rest of the explanation, I think it answers your question: Hello Christa,
    Thank you for contacting WordPress.com Support.
    We have this conversation on WordPress about what happens to my site when I die. Especially my paid site.
    I assumed it will revert back to the .wordpress.com domain name assigend to it when I signed up. With a data problem as I use upload more media and thus more data on my paid site.
    Other thinks it will not revert on its own, everything will be lost and gone.
    If your site is set to automatically renew, it will renew as long as the payment method you chose is active.
    Once expired, all subscriptions will be removed from your account and will be downgraded to the Free Plan.
    Furthermore, when a WordPress.com site owner passes away we like to help the family or estate determine what happens with their loved one’s WordPress.com site.
    To notify WordPress.com about a deceased user, please email us at help@wordpress.com and include the:
    user name or e-mail address for the account (if known),
    the URL/site address,
    a brief explanation of the situation,
    and the desired action for the site (making it private or transferring it to another owner) in your message.
    If you would like to transfer ownership to another account please attach the following:
    A copy of the deceased user’s death certificate.
    A power of attorney or legal document stating their authority to act on behalf of the deceased, or a signed, notarized statement including:
    Their first and last name
    Their current contact information
    Their email address
    Their relationship to the deceased user
    The action they’re requesting (e.g., “Gain access to the account.”)
    Hope this helps and please let us know if there’s anything else we can assist you with.

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  25. Amanda, your post and the linked blog raise an important question and one I’ve briefly thought about then pushed to the side! As if one’s passing is not upsetting and hard enough with everything to sort out in the physical world there is now a whole virtual world to take into consideration. I occasionally come across sites from people I know died suddenly, the blog still there, unchanged. Also one wonderful blogger who died recently gave it over to her partner and it is still being run … does feel a bit strange though.

    I’ll ponder your question and issue…

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    1. I don’t think my children are that interested, but feel sure that there will be some distant relative that is interested in reading about my thoughts and reflections on life, Kerry, but it is good to read that you are comfortable for your blog to vanish. Of course, it will probably still be accessible I think at archives.org?

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      1. I don’t suppose anything really disappears on the ethernet? Perhaps I shouldn’t be so blasé about my writing, as a 2nd cousin recently found me through one of my posts (that mentioned a shared ancestor). Two parts of our family are now reconnected and it has been such fun!

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        1. Now that is wonderful to hear, Kerry! But I am not surprised as it has happened to me a few times. That is just one way the internet is a lovely force of positivity and connection!

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  27. I’m not too bothered by my blog disappearing. There’s nothing profound for future generations that’s for sure, though images of things that may well have disappeared for good have some value I suppose. I have thought about how to put something on the blog about my death but have yet to do anything about that. A number of blogs I’ve followed have disappeared, but I think because people have taken them down rather than passed on.
    I was going to say that I’m more bothered by the ugly WordPress ads that appear on my site as well as yours, but yours have suddenly disappeared. Did you change your theme? I might make an exception to my island posts and do a rant about those ‘sponsored posts’!

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    1. Please do a rant about sponsored posts, Graham! I think it is a worthwhile topic for sure. So you aren’t seeing any ads on my blog? That is curious, as I haven’t changed anything. It might be that my stats have dropped below a threshold to which advertising is not warranted? I was thinking about upgrading just so that I can get rid of ads, but then most people mentioned that they don’t always see ads on my blog anyway! So what would I be paying for, only some more storage, perhaps?
      Many bloggers have left blogging during the pandemic, which is curious. I can understand if you are a travel blogger, but if you write about other things, why would you stop writing when presumably you have more time on your hands at home?

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. I thought about upgrading too, but the way they’re going about this just pissed me off so I decided to ignore it. Recently though, they started putting the ‘sponsored post’ into every post, above the comments. I wouldn’t mind but it’s not even a current or serious promotion on their part, just a irritant to the blogger.
        It was funny that your ads disappeared on the day I commented. Mine are still there on the home page, but not in the individual posts currently. I doubt it’s a stats thing, since I’m quietly confident that my stats are way less than yours!

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        2. Is it possible that you’ve installed an ad blocker? (I use ‘DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials’ and ‘AdBlocker Ultimate’ on Firefox, and so am never bothered by most <spit> adverts).

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  28. I first started blogging (on a site that just I used – I actually posted blogs on BootsnAll before personal blogging became a thing) in 2007 on the Blogger platform. For eight years (2007-2015) I wrote posts and uploaded photos about our sailing journey on this personal site at an average rate of four posts per month.

    Then, we sold the boat and switched gears and lifestyles – first house and pet sitting, then RVing. I started a new blog in the fall of 2015 and have been blogging there about our adventures, at Roaming About, ever since.

    But. I kept my It’s Irie blog, because it might still be a resource for others and I know the subscribers are people who enjoy sailing stories, so I posted there that I wrote a sailing memoir once that was published last year.

    I like and prefer keeping the old blog online. I sometimes go back there to grab content or link to certain episodes of my life. The only problem is that I have to keep paying for the domain name. I’d hate for it to vanish, after creating content on it for eight years…

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    1. Do you know what will happen if you stop paying for it, Liesbet? Do it have a free version that it might revert to? If not, you could export it to a free WordPress plan, perhaps, in order to keep it going?

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      1. If I stop paying, the blog will get wiped out and the domain name I chose will be available for someone else to buy. The free Blogger version is not available for the name of the blog I wanted to use. They come up with the domain names.

        Changing a Blogger blog over to WordPress – if possible – would be a nightmare. In the best case scenario (if it would work), I’d have thousands of posts to check and make sure no issues showed up with the text and the photos! Nope, that’s not on my agenda. I do no have time for that.

        And, again, WordPress would come up with the domain names. I pay for my current WordPress blog too, since I picked the name, Roaming About.

        The only way to keep all the content – in my opinion – is to create a photo book/book out of it. One good thing is that I have EVERY blog post I ever created (the first draft anyway) in a Word document, as that’s where I write them. And, of course I have all the photos as well.

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. Oh no, Liesbet. I can see why you must keep it. It is just as well you have it all in a word document!
          There would be no point in printing it out from blogger either.
          I started with blogger but think I imported only a dozen posts into wordpress. That was manageable.

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        2. Liesbet, I tried to comment on your post titled My interview with Travels tails about being a Nomad, and it says comments are closed, so I hope it is okay if I comment here. I am constantly in awe of your ability to live so frugally. It is an inspiration to others of us.

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  30. Hubby and I keep a list of everything on the internet that we have an account for – with passwords. I’ve added a note to the list that I would like an obit of some sort posted to my blog so that my friends and followers know that I have ‘moved on’. After that, the family can decide what they want to do with my blog!

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    1. Now that is a good thing to include in a death file, Margy. I might steal your idea if that is ok? As my kids are not really into words and writing, I might have to write my own. How weird is that?

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  32. As you often do, you bring up an issue that I can honestly say I haven’t ever thought of before. And yet, now that I have, it is a weighty issue. The thought of my blog falling into oblivion makes me uncomfortable. So I will certainly think on this issue more. Thank you, Amanda, for yet again challenging me out of my comfort zone.

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  44. Pingback: Is Blogging an Online Journal? – Something to Ponder About

  45. This might be an obvious question but how is it that you have so many comments on your post? I’d like to read about your tips and tricks. Such great conversations under every post. Truly amazing.

    My blog loses readers if I don’t post/interact for a while, so it’s not hard to imagine the ‘death’ of my blog. It would be sad, but at the same time – not much I could do… Maybe some decades later someone will discover it and I will become an overnight sensation and I will rule from the grave. A blogging buddy has a ‘If you’re seeing this, I’m dead’ post that he schedules and rescheduled regularly. Once he won’t be able to reschedule it, we will learn of his transition. I think it’s a good idea. I tell my community that they will know if something happens because I will just stop posting and responding to everyone. Usually, if I do go on a full break, I let everyone know. Otherwise, I lurk here and there.

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    1. The rescheduling of a if you read this, I’m dead post is a great idea and would certainly help readers from far flung places get closure. But I fear that I would forget to re-schedule it or be unable to temporarily – if I am away or without internet and then what would happen. I would be dead prematurely! It might be a fun insight into what readers might comment or reflect on, but it could also be sad if noone commented. And why would they? The interaction they have with this blog is with me, and if I am no longer here, what would be the purpose of writing a comment. Oh that is a can of worms to think about!
      I have been writing for about 10 years here at wordpress and I spend a lot of time blogging, but I think interesting comment and the ability to be curious about those who do comment has served me well. You will notice similar names coming up in the comments time and time again. These are the core readers that one develops a kind of internet friendship with. If we can travel safely again, they can even turn into real friendships. Reading other people’s blogs is vital to this, but it takes time!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Yea, I thought of it, too – It seems to be for people who look at their drafts/scheduled posts often ( I don’t). It would be awkward to write a post “Ehmr… the post you read yesterday about me being dead is not true…” Would they believe that I was me? WOuld they think I’m a zombie? Of course I’m joking, but yea, weird…

        I seem to go through phases. Every time I build a ‘regular’ group of people I interact with, suddenly, they start leaving the blogosphere… It’s like a domino effect. I guess the challenge is to find the people that will stand the test of time.

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. Blogging can be a transient type of activity. I have lost readers too as they transition to other things or stop blogging. For the last few years though, my community has been pretty solid. I guess that could be one of the positives of Covid??

          Liked by 1 person

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