Friday, October 12, 2012

Truncating My Blog...I Hope You'll Stay With Me

Hi to all my faithful readers...and I pray you will stay my faithful readers after I make a little change to my blog. I swore up and down I would NEVER truncate (or shorten) my blog posts, but something has come to my attention.

A very kind reader, Laura from the blog Now Things Are Cookin', sent me an email telling me she had found 2 sites that had stolen my posts...FULL POSTS, right down to where I even sign the bottom. They've stolen everything...they are blog scrapers.

What are Blog Scrapers? Well, in short, it is an automated computer software that trolls blogs and STEALS your blog content, then a real person puts the entire post on their FAKE blog. This fake blog has advertising on it to make money...from your work.

I love blogging. I love creating, sewing, organizing, cooking, crafting etc. I also LOVE sharing it with all of you. If you are a blogger, you know the time it takes to make all your creations, take and edit the pictures, write the posts etc. I am definitely NOT complaining about that part of it at all. As a matter of fact, the creation of each post is my favorite thing. Blogging has actually become more of my hobby than anything else.

I just love the friends I have made through blogging, the connections and the experience itself is priceless.

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Here is a wonderful blog post by "Between Naps on The Porch" on blog scraping...click HERE to read her post.

Click HERE for another description I found on Wikipedia about Blog Scraping. I have quoted one section below that scared me to death...


"Additionally, scraped content can appear on literally any type of splog or RSS-fed spam site. This means an unsuspecting individual could find their creative or copyrighted material copied onto a site promoting pornography or similar type of content that may be offensive to the original author and his/her audience. This may be damaging to the original author's reputation."

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I could easily share the links to the sites created by these horrible people who have stolen my content and many others, but I don't want them to have the satisfaction of anyone clicking on their site and then they'll make more money. Instead, I have screen printed the site so you can see what they have done.

Here are some screen shots of their site...I have added the Red Bold Type to the pictures



They copied the entire Find a Friend Friday post.


I am so MAD at this other so called blog. Not only did they steal the Find a Friend Friday post, they also have the nerve to steal more of my posts for their side bar. Look at all the arrows I added pointing to my other posts.  Thoughts on Thursday, Tool Time Tuesday, a recipe of mine, Sew Darn Crafty, Sew Sew Saturday...I could just cry!

Look at the title of their blog...X YE Z BLOG. Really?



What it comes down to is...I can't change the bad people out there. I know that the good people in the world far outweigh the bad, but boy do the bad people make it difficult. They, however, will NOT scare me away.

What I CAN do is make it a little more difficult for them to steal my content. When a post is truncated the real "human" reader sees a portion of the post and then has to "click" over to read the rest. Computer Scrapers can't "click" over to the whole post as they are trolling the internet, so that makes it a little harder for them to steal the "entire" post and my work.

My hope is that the extra click is not going to be too much of a pain for you. I don't want to lose even one of my followers because of these evil thieves.

Thank you for letting me vent on this. By the way,  I will not be truncating this particular post...I dare them to steal this one!!

UPDATE...I did a post right after this on how to truncate your posts...click HERE for that tutorial

Your forever blogging friend,
~Karen~

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90 comments:

  1. I just can't understand how people who do that kinda stuff can live with themselves!! I used to read all my feeds in google reader, but then I read something about how the blogger can make money just by someone actually visiting their site and found out about the "next" button for the google toolbar and now I always use that to read all my rss feeds..

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  2. Doesn't it just make you so mad! Spoils it for the people who put time and effort into building their blogs! You certainly won't lose me as a reader!

    Sarah-Jayne
    bella--blonde.blogger.com

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  3. One of my blogs mentioned that Google Reader has a bookmarklet you can add to your broswer (under reader settings > goodies) that allows you to easily click through your blog list one post at a time (it even keeps track of your unread/read content).

    Since I have installed that, I don't mind truncated posts at all and enjoy "visiting" each of my blogs.

    :)

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    1. This is a great feature that I was not aware of! Thank you Janet.

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  4. I am so sorry to hear that this is happening, Karen! I'm angry and I'm not the one who got scraped... can only imagine how you feel!

    (((((Karen)))))


    No worries.... one more click to your posts won't be a burden at all!

    Hang in there!



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  5. Karen,I am totally stunned that this can be happening! It is so horrible, all your (anyone's) hard work copied in a minute...disgusting! Hard to believe the levels these creeps will stoop!

    I love your super creative blog and you just keep doing it...I don't care what it takes, I will always be back. I don't always comment but I love to read them.

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  6. This is disgusting! I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'll be happy to click through.

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  7. Karen, your's is, by far, my favorite blog I follow! Do what ever you need to do to keep it going.

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  8. I plan to stay with you. I find your posts so helpful and love coming to visit you. I just made your bobbin covers and their heavenly!
    Cindy

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  9. I'll still read you...you are part of my morning routine! So sorry that someone thinks that it ok to steal your hard work. My thought is that it will come back and haunt them someday! Keep up the good work!

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  10. That's unbelievable - even on the internet plagerism exists.... I'll click through and continue to follow you.

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  11. Do what needs to be done to protect your work. I'll keep reading your blog.

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  12. I can imagine that you're upset! Ugh!!
    But I always like to see thing from a positive side; apperently they like your posts so much, that they are stealing it from you.
    I'm wtill gonna read your blog, don't worry.
    It's funny and you have some fun ideas too.
    Part of my morning routine.
    Keep up the good work!
    Corine from Alberta, Canada.

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  13. I'm really upset that this has happened to you Karen. You are so generous with tips, advice and in many other ways. Of course I will keep following your blog. I'm glad that you have figured out a creative way to solve this problem!

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  14. Not going anywhere, and LOL at the dare :-)

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  15. What a pain!!! I will certainly stay with you. Your blogs are so informative and I love the FAFF each week. Hang in there. If anyone can discourage these blog robbers you can.

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  16. WOW! I didn't know this could happen. I mean I know there are those out there stealing certain contents but not a computer that just grabs what they want.

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  17. I will totally click once more for you!! I love your blog and I'm sorry that this scaling happened to you.

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  18. I've not heard of this before but it makes perfect (insidious) sense. Thank you for alerting us & I hope that it doesn't happen to you (or anyone)again.

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  19. I'm sorry this has happened to you, Karen. I believe you can contact the blog hosts (blogger, wordpress etc) and they can shut down the sites - but I doubt it's as easy as that! Anyway, I'll be clicking through.

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  20. This is the first I've heard about this, too. So sorry it happened to you. No problem, doing the click-over thing. Understood.

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  21. I had no idea this was possible, my word, how nasty people can be!!!!!
    Sorry this happened to your blog :(

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  22. Plagiarism is theft--no two ways about it. And they didn't even have the brains to do it creatively! I'm sticking with you.

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  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  24. Boy, there is a lot of crap happening in blogland - nothing is sacred any more. So sorry to hear that this happened to you .... the only consolation is knowing that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - so you know you've got a great blog. I don't mind doing the click-over and now I understand why some other blogs have that feature. Keep your chin up knowing you've got a lot of faithful supporters.

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  25. Hello Karen, I am so very sorry this has happened to you after all the hard work you have put into your blog. I started reading your blog long before I became a blogger and thoroughly enjoy it. Please do whatever is necessary to make this right for you. One extra click is really not a problem. I would like to send you my very best wishes, Daphne

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  26. Hi Karen. I am so sorry this happened to you. Scrapers are really criminals. As far as RSS Feed, in Blogger go to Settings, then "other". From there, where it says Blog feed, choose "short". This displays only your text and not your post images. Thank you for all of your helpful information. I may try truncating my blog posts. I also sent you an email about something else that helps stop scrapers. (I deleted my other comment because I had made some grammatical errors).

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  27. I've never heard of it before. You can't imagine what people can think off to get money. So sorry.

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  28. Karen, An extra click is MORE than acceptable...your blog is more than worth it..and if it keeps your content safe, I say go for it!

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  29. I'm sorry this has happened to you. I enjoy your blog, and will continue to stop by.

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  30. Karen, I'm sorry as well that this has happened. I really enjoy your blog and will continue to come by daily.

    Karen in San Diego

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  31. Hi Karen, will follow wherever but this is unbelievable. Its like that kid you hated in class who was always looking at your work and copying it, or your ideas! Because you are popular and have lots of followers this is why they steal it. I once clicked on a blog about quilting and what came up even made me blush and I don't do that easily. So sorry for this and I will click a button to find your whole post. Have a great weekend, Susie x

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  32. Gee, Karen, I just found your blog.... and I love it! This practice of 'stealing' information (and entire posts!) is unfortunate. And, yes, very infuriating!! I have a very small blog, and would also be quite alarmed to have info/complete posts stolen.

    I have never heard of 'truncating'. What does this mean as far as trying to locate further posts and info on your great blog??

    Thanks
    Tricia
    RI

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  33. Oh this is terrible! I just don't understand why people do that sort of thing. I love your blog and I won't mind the extra click.

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  34. Oh my, I just don't understand why people do these things. I'm so sorry. I'm glad there are ways of working around it,but it sure takes some of the joy out of it. I doubt you will lose readers over it as I am sure everyone is as upset about this you (and I and so many others) are.

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  35. I have never heard of this before. I need to check it out. THanks

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  36. I just found your blog and I love it. Thanks for making us aware of this awful act. It's too bad because the real creative and crafting community are awesome, warm, honest and trustworthy people. I am also a blogger and crafter and I so happy you made us all aware of this. Best wishes and I will continue to follow your blog.

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  37. Karen,
    So sorry this happened to you...and sorry it happens to anyone! After your post, I'm wondering if I should truncate my posts as well because I've been seeing traffic on my stats sourced from pornography sites which makes me nervous. Maybe mine are being scraped too...Any thoughts?
    xo
    Jacinda

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  38. That is just the saddest thing. With advanced technology always comes the good and the bad. Will definitely continue to be a "follower", so keep up the good work!

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  39. Perhaps you could do a post on how to truncate. Your 'how to's' are wonderful!

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  40. I have never heard of this, but am grateful you shared your experience with us. Can you tell us how to truncate our posts to avoid the same troubles? Is it a setting somewhere in the blog platform? Code you insert into your post??

    Thanks oodles in advance! I had an image stolen and it broke my heart, I would hate to have my entire blog ripped off, too.

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  41. Hi Karen! Truncate away! You were one of the first quilting blogs that I found and I'm a faithful reader. I'm now a blogger too, thanks to you--you are an inspiration.

    Nancy

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  42. Horrid!
    Whatever you decide, you have my support. I know that Tool Time Tuesday belongs to you and I thoroughly enjoy it.

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  43. I had someone steal one of my blog posts, also. You can file a complaint with the DMCA complaint and have the website possibly removed. I was fortunate and didn't have to take it this far. You might. Good luck and of course I will keep reading.

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  44. By truncating and adding a read more link, these thieves will become advertisers for your site -- turn their theft into a win!

    I actually prefer when posts are truncated, I can usually tell within the first few seconds if a particular post is one I'm interested in or not within my RSS feed so don't need the whole thing. When I'm browsing through a blog I actually find full posts annoying as it usually means more scrolling and less posts per page and therefor *more* clicks. I'd rather just click though to the articles I like, I will have to open them up in a separate page regardless for bookmarking/pinning/evernote etc.

    Just don't truncate to short, one blog I read started posting a thumb and maybe one sentence... not enough info, I've found that when going through my posts and deciding what to read (I only have so much time!) I often end up skipping them because there isn't enough info for me to make a decision so I move on.

    P.S. Truncating your posts does mean your readers will be forced to actually visit your site but this usually does more good than harm to your blog. RSS feed readers do nothing to help build brand recognition or encourage commenting/other community building. You may end up with a few less readers but the ones you keep will be far more involved!

    And of course, if advertising support is important to your blog then you are cutting into your profit margin by allowing people to view full content offsite. So again, while truncating *may* lead to some drop off in readership the ones you keep will also be more valuable in a literal monetary way ;-)

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    1. P.S. I don't recommend getting rid of images as one commenter suggested -- images help sell your post and make it stand out from all the other posts they may have in their rss reader, which is all the more important if you are truncating. If you are worried about your images being stolen, watermark them :-)

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  45. WHAT?! ANOTHER click?! That's just too much. You've pushed me over the edge. I will be unsubscribing to your blog. I KID, I KID. :D

    Actually, I have always wondered why blogs have that extra click. Now I know! I totally get protecting your hard work. Thanks for the education. And as another poster already said: Truncate away! I can't imagine bailing on you because of an extra click.

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    1. I was about to type that same comment so I'll just go with "Ditto" instead and save myself. ;)

      BTW, thanks for showing the screen shots of it. I'd heard about it but didnt quite understand until I saw it.

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  46. So scary! But what I really want to know is do you find these fake blogs to know if you've been scraped? I too have often wondered about the jump, makes much more sense now. g

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  47. That is awful about what is happening!! I have only come across one truncated blog, but perhaps they did it for the same reason. I definitely don't mind the additional click if it keeps your blog content out of their hands.

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  48. One more click to your great content - it's a burden I am willing to take to make life a bit tougher for the "bad guys" - and thinking of doing it for my own...

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  49. That is horrible! I've never heard of this before, do you know how she found your posts? Is there a way to see if it's happening? I just started blogging in June, and the amount of time it takes to learn everything and get a blog going just to have someone take your ideas is messed up!
    I'm sorry you had to go through this, I'm still not completely sure what truncating is, I'm going to research, A LOT, but I'll still be reading!! Thanks for all you post!

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  50. Oh my, what a shame this happened to you! I've never heard the term "blog scraping" before but, as a Scrapbooker myself, I wish it had another name! Your blog is great and well worth an extra click to foil a cheater.

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  51. Oh my goodness I've never even heard of this before(just goes to show you how much I know). I'm so sorry they did this to you. I must admit, I've always been rather annoyed at the shortened posts but now that I understand WHY bloggers do it, I fully understand. Don't worry...I'm not going anywhere! :)
    P.S. Is there any way to report them?

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  52. TERRIBLE!! I will click up a storm if that's what it takes to read your posts!! Just keep writing!!
    P

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  53. I had no idea this was going on! Thank you for keeping us informed!! And I will stay with you. That's for sure!

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  54. I must be the worst (or best?) blog reader, because I never minded having to click. I know advertisers pay per click, so if a blog wants to "force" me to read it that way instead of from Flipboard, no problem. Scraping is an even better reason to do it!

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  55. Will never stop following a fellow blogger simply for protecting their work! :) I have never minding following a click.

    Kristy @ Shona Skye Creations
    http://shonaskye.blogspot.com

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  56. Já tinha ouvido falar desse tipo de coisa feia,e um clique a mais não vai me fazer desistir de você,já tem outras pessoas usando ,só não sabia que era para proteção.Não tenho blog ainda,mas dá um medo grande de começar e ser descaradamente roubada.Sinto por você,por esta chateação.Beijo e Deus Abençoe.

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  57. This is very sad news Karen! I enjoy reading your blog and get so many great ideas from you.

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  58. Ugh, that's awful! Just plain awful! I'll keep reading no matter what safety tactics you have to employ. =)

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  59. Click,click,click what ever it takes <3

    Forever Follower
    Karen

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  60. Karen, an extra click is no big deal to me. I love your posts and have been following your blog for several years now. I did note one thing when I was reading your post above. Blogger, with it's sick humor has listed an advertisement for a web scraping site on your sidebar. This particular site advertised on your post sidebar says "Web Scraping Simple and Fast, with 97% accuracy. Extract Data from Any Website." That is the main reason I will not let Google or any one else advertise on my blogs, don't care what it pays, you have no control over what they put there.

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  61. Oh dear... I'm sorry this has happened to you. I've never come across it neither have I heard of 'blog scraping' before. Thanks for the sharing, Karen. I've always enjoyed reading your blog and I don't mind clicking an extra button if that is what it takes to get your work protected.
    Have a great weekend,
    FarahLin

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  62. First we have to deal with spammers leaving comments, then pinning our work without permission for their Pinterest, and now this. Thank you for alerting us. I have added links to this post and the "truncating" post to my blog. Thank you so much for the info.

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  63. Vaya que si dá rabia que se aprovechen del trabajo de uno!, Esperemos que ese ladron desista de robar tus posts. Tu Blog me gusta mucho. Me simpatizas porque a traves de tus escritos uno puede conocerte y hacerse amiga tuya de la particular forma en que uno hace amigos x Internet. Claro que hacer un CLICK mas no nos va a impedir seguir al pendiente de tu interesante, ameno y siempre colaborador Blog.
    saludos desde México-.
    Maru R.

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  64. How awful to have your hard work violated like that. I don't mind clicking through at all, especially now that I understand why its beneficial to the blogger.

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  65. This is CRAZY! Who would do this? I am so sorry this has happened to you. I love your blog and think you do a wonderful job. I don't mind clicking to read at all. Especially if it stops the stealing.

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  66. Thank you for sharing this experience with us--even though it is unfortunate. Fools will be fools. I appreciate your posts because I need to consider truncate my posts. I've seen this, but never knew how it could be done.

    thanks for sharing this with us and sorry --hopefully these fools will lose business and be exposed for who they are.

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  68. Karen, I'm mad for you! I guess there are always folks out there who want something for nothing, isn't there? Glad you found a way around it.

    I just discovered via Ancestry .com that I have ancestors that helped settle Rhode Island in the 1600's! And now I see that's where you are! Maybe we are related! ha

    Lynn (PS: had a typo, had to remove it! sorry)

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  69. How sad Karen... but I guess it is a back handed complement of sorts! I will click 5 times to get to your blog... so no worries here! Congrats on finding a way around the computer demon! Kathi

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  70. Do what ever you need to do to protect your content. Obviously, those of us who thoroughly enjoy your blog, will click through whatever. :)
    ~Christina in Cleveland

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  71. I feel so bad that such a horrible occurrence has invaded your "space" but, I want to thank you for taking so much time to post this and the follow up post on "truncating." You will, surely, be getting many more "thank you's" to follow! Would you suggest editing all of our past posts with the shortened versions as a precaution to protect our work?
    Thank you, once again!

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  72. If you alert Google/Blogger, will they take them down? I know they can set them right back up but it can at least be a little more difficult or time consuming to do so.

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  73. So sorry this has happened to you. Your blog means the world to me. I am new to the whole world of blogging. I hope your not disscouraged by a few nasty souls.
    Kel

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  74. That is really too bad! I enjoy your blog and don't have a problem with the extra click. My blog is done that way, too. I really hate that we can't enjoy sharing ideas with others without having someone steal our work. It is difficult to ignore it and move on, but I look forward to seeing more of your ideas. I like your slant on things.

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  75. Do what you have to do to protect your work. All of us who follow your blog appreciate the time and hard work you put into your postings. It would be a shame for other people to profit from your work by stealing.

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  76. Don't ya just want to use violence , I know I would like to break their fingers LOL and you still have me one click or two. Cheers

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  77. I am so sorry to hear this has happened to you Karen. So many of the blogs I read have had to truncate, and although I have not had a problem (that I know of yet) I think I will follow your advice and start truncating my blog too. It would be HORRIBLE if my content ended up somewhere offensive, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. Thank you for your tutorial it explained it all so clearly! Good luck in the future, I hope the problems stop!

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  78. That is crazy! I put so much time into editing photos and writing my posts, I would be so mad if that happened. How do find out that content has been stolen? How can we check? I click through on most blog posts that I subscribe to anyway. It just reads better from the original post for me, so I'll still be reading :)

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  79. Things like this is why I never post pictures of my G-kids. I would love to show them off, but won't take a chance like that. So sorry this has happened to you. I will continue to follow you and if I need to take a few extra clicks so be it - I'll gladly click away!

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  80. I'm really sorry this has happened to you.
    I'll continue to read and follow your blog no matter what change you have to make. My blog is set up the way you described it. I didn't know it was called "truncating". So, I've learned something new. (^_^)

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  81. Hi Karen

    I have been following your blog (silently) for a while now and appreciate everything you post.

    I'm so sorry to hear you experienced this, but I'm glad you have found a way to get around it with the truncated posts.

    I just wanted to say how much we all appreciate your great blog and your inspiring posts.

    Claire

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  82. I'm so sorry this happened to you! I found it has happened to me too and am trying out the truncating posts thing for a while to see if it helps.

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  83. OMG! I'm really sorry for you. You're such a creative and helpful blogger!! I'm putting some photos of my personal life and etc. on my blog. Now i'm very uncomfotable about it. Thanks for sharing this information, i should be more careful next time. And again, sorry to hear that you had to have such a bad experience..

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  84. Oh that makes me so mad! I'm really sorry that happened to you and very glad that someone caught it and brought it to your attention. One extra click is worth it if we can help keep your content attached to YOU. That paragraph you found on Wiki would scare the snot out of me as well.

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  85. It is always sad when a few bad eggs mess things up for the rest of us. I don't mind an extra click.

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  86. Karen - This has me scared to death! I am a new blogger and now am considering not doing a blog at all! ugh!! I have barely figured out how to get a post up and join a linky party, let alone figuring out how to truncate a blog. :( I am so bummed...I was really enjoying the blogging world! Thanks for sharing this valuable information. I love your blog! :) Even if I decide not to blog myself, I will visit your blog still and I don't mind the extra click either.

    Blessings - Sara

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