Cyberspace Censorship, Corporate Intrigue or Sabotage on Blogger?

In February 4-6, 2011 USA Weekend "Is There a Bully in Your Life?", Madonna Behen defined bullying:

Aggressive behavior that is intentional, repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power or strength. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting or punching, teasing or name-calling, intimidation through gestures, social exclusion and sending or posting insulting messages or pictures by cellphone or online (also known as cyberbullying).

Behen quotes Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying Institute in Bellingham, Washington, co-author of 'The Bully at Work':

'Our society is more aggressive, more warlike, more combative, while traits like empathy and compassion are downplayed".

Obvious aggressive bullying is that, obvious. It often can be corrected directly at school or at work. Passive-aggressive bullying is a more insidious, extemely damaging form of bullying.

Social exclusion also occurs in cyberspace. Computer and Internet hackers deny blog writers and editors access to their own drafts and already published blogs by hacking onto email addresses and passwords.

Recently Blogger, an international 'non-profit' Internet discussion forum was hacked by an aggressive Australian 'for-profit' web design developer company. By naming their company 'Google I/O: Preview of Web Design API', Brett Morgan and Pat Coleman, present their takeover of Blogger cyberspace as a legitimate 'done deal'.

Morgan/Coleman have blocked access and disrupted service by altering Blogger 'open source' software to 'read-only', driving business to their web design company, as their describe in their discussion on www.youtube.com/watch?v=BazoWR1kYbM. (Or check Google Search at 'Blogger at 'Google I/O:New API preview-Blogger Developer Group/Groups'.)

Numerous bloggers have described their blog interruption/disruption on many Blogger Question/Answer Forums, seeking the usual Customer Service help from the 'Old Blogger'. What is diabolical about the Morgan/Coleman takeover is they also have disrupted gmail/password and URL access to Google, other Blogger bloggers, and anyone who tries to communicate with them through the Google/Gmail/Blogger path.

Over the past 3 months, there are occasional messages from Brett that routine maintenance is blocking Blogger service. However, there are no reports of resolved problems, return of blogs or writing/editing access to blogs by bloggers.

Much of the basic World Wide Web development has been publicly funded in the US under Department of Defense money and in the UK through public library and other funding. Public funding and the arguments over who owned what in cyberspace has created 'free cyberspace' on the Internet for worldwide communication of thoughts, ideas, stories, for new Internet writers, editors, graphic artists, photographers, musicians, as well as computer engineers and technicians, and people learning about computer and the Internet.

Blogger has been one of these spaces. Blogger also is the name of the now 'open source', free software written by the software engineer who originated the forum.

On April 1, 2011, in an industry with a history of April Fools Day jokes and announcements, Blogger left a message on The Blogger Blog that Blogger 'sold' its 'no money exchanged' forum to Google, who has been providing gmail/password registration and access to Blogger cyberspace.

Blogger has been very valuable to bloggers. Blogger potentially has an enormous international readership. Analagous to well-known internationally read and recognized newspapers like 'The New York Times', 'The LA Times', 'The London Times', 'Paris Match' and others, anyone with Internet access could find blogs on Blogger.

Blogger also embodied the idealism of the early Internet, making the exchange of ideas between world cybercitizens possible. Blogger rules were based on an honor system: the blogger is responsible for his/her own content, don't hack onto or alter the software or disrupt or block other bloggers, blogs or websites.

This seemed consistent with the early Google USA philosophy 'Don't be evil' and the theory of net neutrality, that everyone should have equal access to communication in cyberspace.

Anyone who reads the Business Page of major newspapers is familiar with the term 'hostile takeover', a minority stockholder tries to leverage a buyout/takeover or a company. Hostile takeovers are a part of business in the US, internationally, globally, and now in cyberspace.

This takeover is not done by stock or financial maneuvers, but by disrupting service to current customers by software hacking. It is an incredibly aggressive technological maneuver to capture free cyberspace.

Undoubtedly many other issues will be raised. How can publicly funded 'non-profit' free cyberspace be captured by a 'for-profit' web design company, thereby closing access and availability to all other Internet users? Why would Google seek to become involved or not get involved in protecting the software and cyberspace for an enormous number of loyal bloggers? How did Google allow hackers using a Google address to interrupt Google and Google/Gmail addresses/passwords, software access to these, and to registered Gmail customer cyberproperties?

It is ironic that it is business profiteers rather than governments seeking to censor cybercitizens, deny access, block and disrupt access to the open forum for ideas and discussion 'Old Blogger' represents.

Around May 5, 2011, Yahoo News reported Google claimed Chinese hackers disrupted email addresses/passwords and government computer user access. Perhaps further investigation will yield other governmental or corporate hackers. One blogger reports efforts to contact a major US business newspaper to inform them by email were thwarted by 'delivery delayed' and deleted emails.

Whatever the outcome, many bloggers may be forced to move to other Internet Service Providers (ISPs)  in the Blogosphere. 'Old Blogger', the 'nice guy' who provided mostly reliable blog service is, and will continue to be, missed.

On June 14, 2011, ABC News  reported the US government has a Portable Internet Access system available which it may supply to 'rebels' in countries who face communication disruption from dictatorial foreign governments. US bloggers also may need such equipment and backup blog ISPs  to continue on through the disruptions, whether by censorship, corporate intrigue or sabotage.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Contact  mkrause383@gmail.com
or mkrause54@yahoo.com to request a copy or comment on this or other blogs posted by mary for monthlynotesstaff on http://Howtoregainaccesstoblogs?(monthlynotes23).blogspot.com/ and http://monthlynotes.blogspot.com.

Takeover of Blogger by Brett Morgan & Pat Coleman 'For-Profit' Business API 'Developers'

BLOGGER ALERT!

To all Bloggers experiencing Blogger service disruption and blocked access to blogs:

Australian API 'Developers' Brett Morgan and Pat Coleman appear to have initiated a takeover of Blogger for 'for-profit' Business API Development.

Blogger left an April 1, 2011 notice of no-money-exhanged 'sale' of Blogger to Google API Developers on the Blogger Blog. View www.youtube.com/watch?v=BazoWR1kYbM or check Google Search at 'Blogger at 'Google I/O: New API preview-Blogger Developer Group/GoogleGroups', May 10-11, 2011.

This takeover may explain many Blogger complaints of lost blogs, lost access to blogs, and other difficulties.

'Old Blogger' prohibited alteration of the 'open source' (free) software and tampering with other bloggers blogs/blogspots/websites on Blogger. Morgan/Coleman plan to have 'read only APIs',  presumably to drive web design business to their new 'for-profit' business and advertising API Development company.

Here is a copy of the email I sent to Morgan/Coleman today (Wednesday, May 18, 2011):
I've just learned of your takeover of Blogger fo your Google API Business Development company.

Under Blogger rules, websites are the property of the website owner. I have been trying to regain access to my http://monthlynotes.blogspot.com/ series of over 40 blogs since April 9, 2011 when someone hacked on and shortened the gmail password blank to 1 character less than the 18 characters required for my registered password.

I have left several Blogger Forum and other messages to have this corrected by the old blogger help customer service team, some of which have been returned as undeliverable.

Immediately return access of my blogs to me at mkrause381@gmail.com by correcting the password blank characters and restoring my previous gmail noted above. I see that your plans included changing existing Blogger websites to 'read only APIs' to demand website design fees for your company.

Blogger has been a free blog website for discussions, notes, journals, graphics, and other materials for bloggers who wish to do this and learn more about computers and software. The Blogger software is 'open source'. Blogger rules do not allow alterations of the software, particularly to damage or block other blogger's websites.

If you feel that you have 'taken over' Blogger for your company and disrupted bloggers service and access to their blogs you should reconsider your purported ownership of Blogger. It is a non-profit website with Internet Service Provider services provided through Google Gmail.

Brett & Pat, you should buy your own servers and run your own 'for-profit' business Internet Service Provider company for business and advertising.

In the interim, you should alert all Bloggers to your purported takeover, return websites and access to all current Bloggers to allow Bloggers to decide if each wants to continue to publish original materials on what has been a very valuable 'Old Blogger'.

Notify me of return of website access and gmail/password to my new gmail mkrause383@gmail.com.

Bloggers: email Brett Morgan/Pat Coleman at www.brett

How to regain access to blogs after blog interruption?

What a terrible weekend of blog troubles! Late Saturday afternoon my 'Blogger'/gmail account password suddenly did not allow me to sign-in to access my series of blogs on http://monthlynotes.blogspot.com/ through http://monthlynotes22.blogspot.com/. I had just changed topics and was eager to complete a new series on 'Conflicts in Culture' in the US and in US Psychiatry. My blogs are all original with original photographics and are copyrighted. I have had the same gmail account and password for almost a year, since I began to blog. Occasionally, it has been necessary to re-enter gmail username or password. But sign-in had always been successful. I realized the Blogger 'sign in' box for password had been shortened by one space, one space shorter than my password. This blocked my sign-in and my access to my group of blogs for additional posts, edits of drafts, addendums to already published posts, in general for work on my blog series. Like many others, when I have the Internet connection, I like to get projects done. This suddenly became impossible and has been very upsetting. What was worse was that after following directions to contact www.help@gmail.com to 'reset password' to fix this problem, I was informed that I had sent too many inquiries, that this was under investigation. I also sent some emails, explaining the change in the password blank spaces blocking my password entry. I mentioned other issues. Immediately before this happened, I created a 'wikipedia' account, which I subsequently deleted thinking this might be the problem. I tried all the Google gmail remedies to 'reset password'. Some asked for a telephone number to send a text or voice verification code. None worked. The circular reasoning in the instructions was frustrating. If you cannot sign-on, you cannot check your email under that gmail account to check for the instruction email from gmail. Luckily, I have an outside 'alternative' email account to receive these instructions. Beginning about April 4, 2011, I also received messages from the outside email company and from gmail 'security' demanding account confirmations, which my anti-virus software tells me are fraudulent inquiries. So there may be team of email/password hackers out there terrorizing us by blocking, altering, or stealing our email accounts and any other accounts these codes provide access to. The next problem is that another set of instructions says to create a 2nd author or team account to sign-in. Again, if you cannot sign-in to your blog, you cannot access the 'setting' to create a 2nd author or team account. Then the biggest problem arises. It is not possible to create an additional gmail account to create another sign-in route. If you create a second gmail account, gmail automatically deletes the first gmail account, which is the only access account to your Blogger account. If you have written over 40 original blogs with original photographics, you may begin to panic as I did that someone has hacked on to steal your book-in-progress. That no help is immediately forthcoming, leads to the worry that Google/Gmail/Blogger staff don't care to fix this major problem, 'are in on it', or are sadistically laughing at you as you attempt to regain your blogs. Should we include a warning 'This email account is not connected to any bank or money account'? Also, it is no longer easy to log on to Google Gmail forums for help questions. Answers on file include the information above. If you find this and have any other ideas on how to recover one's own blog email me at mkrause54@yahoo.com. (I cannot access mkrause381@gmail.com, the original gmail account, or mkrause382@gmail.com. Access was delayed to the newly created mkrause383@gmail.com.) What if Google can no longer protect bloggers or keep work safe, secure and accessible to the blog owner, the 'content owner'? What is the 'next big thing' after blogging--typing on a typewriter? Typewriters are not so easy to find, after the introduction of the laptop and Internet-dependent software.