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It Is Done

A letter has been sent to the powers-that-be at WordPress. Please, continue to comment with your support and re-blog (especially re-blog) the post Save HarsH ReaLiTy; I believe the more it gets around, the less likely WordPress is to miss it. And who knows how long it will take for them to pay attention to my letter? Now the comments are in the hundreds – lets strive for the thousands before the lucky person who reads our petition gets to see the post!

On behalf of myself, all of you, and equally, Jason, here is what I wrote. I sincerely hope it is adequate to the task at hand:

Hi,
I’m writing to bring to your attention a situation which I and hundreds of other WordPress users with both free and paid accounts feel that has perhaps been overlooked.
A popular blog, aopinionatedman.com has been given a partial suspension due to flagging for excessive “follows” within a certain time frame which, I am led to believe, is a common practice used by “spammers.” The above mentioned site is, however, not one of these.
Mr. Cushman of the blog entitled “Harsh Reality” is a genuinely caring advocate of the WordPress community, a place where many people find entertainment, an outlet to share, and in many cases literally life-saving support, as I’m sure you know. Please find here: https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/14/save-harsh-reality/ a petition of support for what he does, his blog, and how much his practices mean to other bloggers. Advocates for Mr. Cushman’s continued full-service abilities can be found in the hundreds in the comments of my post. I understand that there have been complaints against aopinionatedman.com, yet I strongly suspect that the supportive souls far outweigh the negative feedback.
I, therefore, humbly request that you reinstate his ability to “follow” and “like” other blogs. I’m sure I am far from the only blogger who has been encouraged by Mr. Cushman to pay for his or her site – not that I nor anyone else would necessarily remove our “paid” status from WordPress, but it would be a shame if such an advocate, not only for bloggers but for WordPress themselves removes himself from your site.
Thank you in advance for your speedy attention to this critical matter.
Yours very sincerely,
Linda G. Hill

Again, please direct all comments in support of Jason C. Cushman, aka Opinionated Man at HarsH ReaLiTy here: https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/14/save-harsh-reality/

Now I’m off to bed, exhausted but satisfied that I have done my best to SAVE HARSH REALITY!!!!!

YEAH!!!!!


by 49 Comments

The Harsh Reality

So I read WordPress’s Terms of Service. Fun times. Basically they cover their “assets” by saying they can do whatever they want – we agree to this when we sign up. Feel safe? Check section 16.

  • Termination. Automattic may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your WordPress.com account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Here’s the link if you’re interested in reading the rest: http://en.wordpress.com/tos/

HarsH ReaLiTy’s access to “follow” and “like” blogs was suspended. This is why, and I quote from a letter made public in the forums:

Hello,

We have noticed unusual behavior in your account, and have disabled several social features of WordPress.com, such as liking and/or following, as a result.

You have agreed to our Terms of Service which specifically says your “blog is not getting advertised via unwanted electronic messages such as spam links on newsgroups, email lists, other blogs and web sites, and similar unsolicited promotional methods”.

Your rapid pattern of liking or following has exceeded our hourly limits many times, which caused your account to be flagged.

Your ability to follow other blogs will not be restored. If you genuinely need to follow so many blogs, we would encourage you to use an external RSS feed reader (eg. Feedly.com).

Lisa | Community Guardian | WordPress.com

As a result of this, Jason Cushman, aka Opinionated Man, owner of HarsH ReaLiTy, has said he will close down his site – and I can’t blame him. He has done more for bloggers on WordPress than anyone I know: what enabled him to do so is the very thing they are accusing him of doing wrong.

One would hope that the above is at least in part a form letter, sent to those whose blogs are flagged. One would also hope that there is a real human being investigating these automatic flags – a human being with compassion, common sense, and an eye for discerning what is truly malicious and self-serving and what is genuine human interaction, as evidenced by the comments here: Save HarsH ReaLiTy!!.

It is with this hope that I will send the above link to the Terms of Service people. I can’t help but believe that they will see that their automated systems have picked up on a unique situation and that the matter needs to be dismissed as a non-issue.

Please – I ask you one more time, if you haven’t commented on Save HarsH ReaLiTy!! do so now. The more support this gets, the more chance there will be to get Opinionated Man back.

Don’t let this be a Harsh Reality!!!

Other posts on HarsH ReaLiTy:

https://idiotwriting.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/je-suis-opinionatedman-we-have-the-power-to-care/

THIS IS A VERY SAD DAY FOR BLOGGING

https://ahillbillyblogger.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/free-harsh-reality-from-wordpress-jail/

and of course: http://aopinionatedman.com/2015/01/14/closing-harsh-reality-going-private/


by 482 Comments

Save HarsH ReaLiTy!! – SUSPENSION LIFTED!!!

No one likes spam. In internet terms (as opposed to the stuff you find on the grocery store shelf) it’s the bane of our existence. Its sole purpose is to get our attention and once it does, it either begs us to buy something or gives us something we would never pay for – something like a virus.

Then there is the exception to the rule. In fact, there is only one exception that I’ve found in over a decade of browsing the web. It may have seemed like a “spam follow” at the start, but when I followed the cookie-crumb trail that led me back to its source, it ended up benefiting me beyond my wildest dreams: it was HarsH ReaLiTy.

Jason, also known as Opinionated Man, has a huge (over 50,000 blog, twitter, and Facebook combined) following on his blog, HarsH ReaLiTy. His passion for connecting with other bloggers is instantly recognizable by the way he interacts in the comments. How did he get such an audience? By following other blogs. By doing the exact same thing our self-serving spammers do. The difference is, Jason gets the attention of other bloggers and once he does, he helps them! Not by selling them things they don’t need – by guiding them to find followings of their own.

He has dedicated hours and hours to create places for bloggers to find their communities:

http://aopinionatedman.com/2014/12/29/wordpress-meet-and-greet-3-all-bloggers-welcome/

To help them draw attention to themselves:

http://aopinionatedman.com/2014/11/13/share-your-blogger-profile-all-bloggers-welcome/

To help them promote themselves:

http://aopinionatedman.com/2014/08/06/share-a-post-all-bloggers-welcome/

The trickle-down benefits alone are nothing less than astounding. If you have ever read any of my helpful hints on blogging, you can thank Jason – he taught me three quarters of what I know.

Why am I telling you all this? WordPress has seen fit to suspend HarsH ReaLiTy’s ability to follow and “like” other blogs. It’s a crime. WordPress is taking away one of its own biggest assets – a service provided to its own patrons, FOR FREE, and out of the goodness of one man’s heart. I wrote a post myself about how hard he works to help others grow their blogs here: https://lindaghill.com/2014/09/23/wordpresss-own-welcoming-committee-harsh-reality/

If Jason C. Cushman has ever helped you, if you have ever read any of his blogging advice, if you have ever guest posted for him, if he has ever re-blogged you, if you have ever commented on HarsH ReaLiTy and met another blogger there, please sign below.

Comment – leave your words of support or just write the words, Save HarsH ReaLiTy. I will make sure the WordPress powers-that-be see this post and all the support that goes with it.

Re-blog – make sure this goes out to every corner of WordPress that Jason has reached.

HarsH ReaLiTy is not a spam blog. It is WordPress’s shining star.

Edit: I’m purposely NOT responding to comments here so as not to dilute the message: WE SUPPORT HARSH REALITY AND WHAT JASON DOES TO HELP BLOGGERS!! Thank you to all who have shared and commented so far, and thanks in advance to all who will. Please keep commenting and re-blogging! Let’s keep this at the top of the Reader!

Edit: Now that HarsH ReaLiTy’s suspension is lifted I’ll turn off the comments here. This post will remain, however, as testimony to what Jason means to us! Long live Opinionated Man!!
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who commented and re-blogged. Your support is both overwhelming and heartwarming.
Now pass around the cookies!! 😀

Edit – April 20th: Jason re-blogged this with the following comment:

I actually didn’t read this until now because I was moody at the time. I feel the love from this post and the comments here. Thanks bloggers. -OM

I’ve turned the comments back on. You’re very welcome, Jason. It was the least I could do for all you’ve done for this community. 😀


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JusJoJan Day 11-20 Prompt

And now for something not completely different… I was originally going to make the three prompts for Just Jot It January 2015 Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmatic, however, Writing has been covered in many of the prompts that fell under the Reading category which makes it seem a little–get ready for another “r” word–redundant. So for the second prompt I’ll skip straight on to ‘Rithmatic and make the third prompt something truly different.

Here are some ideas on what you can do with the prompt, “‘Rithmatic”:

1. Write something on adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions… you get the idea.

2. Choose a number to write about. Any number.

3. Got a magic 8 ball at home? Roll it and see what comes up.

4. Don’t use the prompt at all! It’s not mandatory – it’s only if you get stuck. Alternatively, use the prompt every day for 10 days. It’s up to you!

Your next prompt will be posted on January 20th, to cover the dates from the 21st to the 30th.

I hope to be able to read more of your upcoming JusJoJan posts, but it seems Alex might still not be attending school next week at the rate he’s going, so it may be hit and miss. So I’m counting on you. Please make sure you check back to the prompt page and see who has posted – it’s a great way to build your blogging community and reciprocate. And don’t forget the most important part – have fun!!

This post is part of JusJoJan: https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/01/just-jot-it-january-pingback-post-and-rules/ Anyone can join in!


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS January 10/15

Since my youngest son, Alex, has been sick for more than a week now, the word “sick” came to mind when I thought about this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. This led to the thought that “sick” nowadays isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, when the younger generation (than mine) says something is “sick” it means it’s wonderful.  THAT led me to today’s prompt.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “opposite.” Let it flow from your fingertips. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


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Two More!

I need two more comments to get me to 20,000! Who’s gonna help?

commentsWhat also surprised me when I noticed how close I am to 20K, is that almost 1/3 of my views have comments. I think that’s pretty decent.


by 79 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Views and Follows

On average, how many posts and/or pages do you look at before deciding to follow a blog?

I hope someone answers zero, because often I get follows without views – then again, if anyone has followed me this way, chances are they won’t see this post. 😛

Anyway, please leave a number in the comments. And while you’re at it, write a one-liner and leave a link to it! Instructions below the line.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Anyone who would like to try it out, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday, if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Make it either funny or inspirational.

Have fun!


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JusJoJan 5 – A December Evening in Tokyo

I’d like to tell you a story. It’s a true story of a weary traveler who landed after a thirteen hour flight in a country far far away from home. Alone, tired, and barely able to read the signs or speak the language, she found a train that would take her to a station close to the hotel in which she was booked for the night.

Crude map in hand, and fully equipped with an address, she approached a policeman who was standing guard at a road block and showed him her piece of paper. Much to her astonishment, he directed her to go in the exact opposite direction to which she believed she was supposed to go. This should have been her first clue, indicating what was to come. After a little wandering around, she decided to ignore his directions and go where she thought she should. So far, so good.

She walked a little way and came across another hotel. Surely, she thought, they would know where their competition was located! Sure enough she was rewarded with success – another, even clearer map of where she was to go. So off she went.

She had been informed by the website from which she had made the reservation that the hotel was only a ten minute walk from the train station. She wandered along sparsely lit streets, dragging enough luggage for an eleven day trip behind her, quite positive that soon she would recline on a cozy bed, softly slipping into dreamland.

An hour later, she stopped at a convenience store. Whilst waiting to speak to the busy clerk, a stranger stepped up and asked her if she was looking for directions. In English! (It must have been the two maps in her hand that made him ask.) Yes! She replied and showed him the address of the hotel. Oh dear, he said. That is indeed a long way away.

And so she set off again, trudging down dark unfamiliar streets, the traffic on the wrong side of the road and the sidewalks non-existent. Had she never visited this far away country before and felt supremely safe there, she would have lost her shit by now.

After several miles back in the direction she had come, she stopped at yet another convenience store – one that appeared to be on her initial map, a landmark promising that she was close to her destination. Finally.

The clerk there, in broken English, told her she needed to go up the street – again, not in the direction she would have gone, but he was quite insistent. So off she crawled, lugging behind her her tonnes of luggage. By the time she reached the train tracks from which she could, in the distance, see the station at which she had disembarked from her train she was almost in tears. And so she set off in the direction of a large supermarket, hoping that there, someone would be able to finally give her a definite direction.

It was by chance that she came across and made the decision to go into a car-rental office. She stepped up to the desk with her luggage and placed her two maps on the counter.

Help, she whispered, holding back the tears. Three men behind the counter shuffled about, trying to make sense of this woman, our poor traveler. She attempted to speak their language but came out instead with a word here and there and, in her extreme exhaustion, flailed about in sign language, gesturing her utter desperation until the three employees were all but backing away in fear. And then he appeared. Her knight in shining armor.

With one glance at the original map, which just happened to have GPS coordinates included in the address, he gestured to her, Come with me.

She heaved her luggage into the trunk (he wasn’t that gallant) and slipped into the passenger seat as he punched in the coordinates on his street finder, and within seconds they were whipping in and out of traffic in that little rental Toyota. Three minutes later they were at her hotel. Eureka!!!!

He popped open the trunk and went into the lobby while she struggled with her suitcases, wheeling them finally through the door of her refuge. The knight (Sir Non-Gallant) spoke to the desk clerk, laughed a little (by this time she didn’t care) and she thanked him profusely for dropping her off.

And that is how she came to rest, finally, sixteen and three-quarter hours from the time she had boarded her plane to the moment her head hit the pillow and she drifted off into a thankful slumber.

And thank God for little GPS-equipped Toyotas and the marvelous, kind-hearted Japanese men who rent them out.

The End.

This post is part of Just Jot It January. Click here and tell your true story: https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/01/just-jot-it-january-pingback-post-and-rules/ It’s never too late to join!

JJJ 2015


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS January 3/15

Time moves in a strange sort of way when there are so many holidays clumped together, doesn’t it? So I was surprised at how fast Friday seemed to get here this week – and with it, time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt! It’s been a while since I left the prompt open for many interpretations. I’ve decided to do just that this week.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “t.” Think of a word that starts with it or includes it, and write away! Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

socs-badge

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!


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JusJoJan Day 1-10 Prompt

Happy New Year, everyone!  This post will be a combination of my very first “Jot” for this year, in combination with being your (our) first prompt of the month. See how easy Just Jot It January is? 😀

Your prompt for January 1st to 10th is: reading.

Some suggestions:

1. Make the title of a post the name of a book and let inspiration take you from there.

2. Write about something you’ve read, whether it’s a newspaper article, a novel, a short story, or even a blog post. Don’t forget to link back to it! I’m sure it would be appreciated.

3. Write about what reading means to you. What would happen if you couldn’t, for some reason?

4. Don’t use the prompt at all! It’s not mandatory – it’s only if you get stuck. Alternatively, use the prompt every day for 10 days. It’s up to you!

Your next prompt will be posted on January 10th, to cover the dates from the 11th to the 20th.

I can’t wait to start reading your JusJoJan posts! Don’t forget the most important part – have fun!!

This post is part of JusJoJan: https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/01/just-jot-it-january-pingback-post-and-rules/ Anyone can join in!

JJJ 2015