Blogging Rules

I've been thinking about how life gets more complicated as more technology develops. It should be the other way! All these neat gadgets are supposed to be time savers and make life easier aren't they? Right now I'm talking about the computer and blogging in general and I have a feeling I'm not the only one who gets pulled to the computer screen for longer blocks of time every day.

I first started blogging a little more than two years ago when surfing Internet and stumbling upon Bonnie's Quiltville Scrap User's System. I noticed a few comments and a couple of links and I followed those until I came upon the blogging world. I lurked around for a couple months but I was afraid of the big scary world out there and the imagined evil lurking behind the screen.

BUT... I ran across a marvelous quilt on Quilting Bebbs' blog and I posed a question and decided blogging manners and rules included revealing myself to Anne. She responded and I was hooked! Wow! I was communicating with someone in England!!! It reminded me of my days trying to stay in touch with a pen pal but SO MUCH FASTER. Computers, Internet and especially blogging are so great! Pretty soon I was commenting on other blogs and people were following links back to me until I belonged to my own little blogging community. And I've been happy ever since!

But notice that the minute I connected with another blogger, that I started following blogging rules (made up by myself) and I religiously answered e-mails that came in to me and visited the blogger. And once I hooked up to Bloglines then I could subscribe to every blog visitors' blog and comment there too! But I guess this is an old story. What I'm getting at is that the computer world has made communicating so fast and easy and such a time saver but I end up sitting here reading and writing and commenting and making new friends until I get swamped. And it's no fault but my own! And I love doing it! But sewing and housekeeping get ignored though thankfully I haven't been delinquent with my job yet. (That day could come!)

It's very interesting that some bloggers use their first name, some an alias, some a full name, some show pictures of themselves some don't and some even have their mailing address posted on their blog! I decided that I didn't mind posting my full name and my picture but I'll only post pictures of friends and family if I get permission (if I've gotten your permission once, my "rule" says I have it until you tell me to stop!) Some of my non-blogging friends think I could be tracked by the information I've posted on my blog, but really, who is going to hunt me down in the back woods of Japan? And why? I'm a housewife with no children at home who quilts. No great ransom material there.

An interesting situation came up a couple weeks ago when someone I didn't know contacted me asking if I had the mailing address of another blogger because they wanted to do something nice for the blogger. I had the address and was ready to e-mail it off when I said,

"Wait. What are the blogging rules about this?"

It makes me a little sad that I can't just assume that what is said is what really is. I wondered if I'd have the same qualms giving out an address of someone if I was stopped on the street by a stranger. You know,

"Where does so-and-so live?" "Oh, see the purple house second from the left? That's her house."

But the blogging world? I ended up going to the blogger and asking if I could reveal her mailing address (she said yes) and then passing the information along.

What about you? What are your "rules" for blogging?

Um...Here I am practically fresh out of bed, no make-up and making my morning blog hop before I start house cleaning chores etc. MY blogging rule says it's okay not to be spruced up to enter the blogging world. This is the real ME friends, and this is where I am at when I'm visiting with you!