A Message to Everyone

This is a copy of the email I sent to all the readers.


Hi guys,

Thanks for being interested in my blog. I am really happy that quite a number of people are keen on reading this kind of rambling, or at least have a look at it.

As you know, I have been quite paranoid with the security and anonymity of the blog, because of my "risky" situation. I implemented a "semi-private" blog model, where I ask you guys to ask me if you are interested, and I tell you the URL in private. I also twiddled with all the settings to ensure that the blog is not included in the directory of blogspot.com and also in search engine's results. The reason I did those things is because I want more people to read it. Making a blog password-protected tends to decrease the readership as it adds a layer of inconvenience in the reading experience.

However, essentially this blog is still a public place - as long as someone gets the URL and type it in, anyone in the world can read it. So whenever someone links to me in their blogs, or leave my blog's URL on their address bar or history, there's always a chance for strangers to crash into it and know all about the posts. I have always estimated the risk to be small, but then I have been living in constant worry about it. Sooner or later, someone might link it to me, or some parents or friends might see my blog URL in the history, so the blog is ought to be exposed one day.

Despite my desire to promote readership, I decided that a compromise needs to be made between security and convenience. I feel that the constant worry is not worth the convenience in exchange. After all, when I turn it private, I guess readers who are really interested would still log in and read it; while uninterested people would not read it anyway whether or not the blog is easily accessible.

So, I am turning the blog to a password protected blog. What happens is, next time, you will need a Google account (@gmail.com) to sign in to my blog.

If you have and are using your gmail account ( i.e. you are reading this email in Gmail), then you should receive another email from me inviting you to read that particular blog.

If you do not receive this email in Gmail, then please do either of the following:

• If you have a Google account, reply this email and tell me your gmail address so that I can send the invitation.
• If you don't already have a Google account, sorry but you would need to register for a new Google account in order to read my blog. Just go to www.gmail.com and register for a new one. Anyway Gmail is actually one of the best email service, so it's good to get an account there.

I am sorry for the inconvenience, but hopefully with this change, we will enjoy a better place for discussion and reading. :)