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No, You Can't Access That Private Blog

Your blog is for you to share - at your discretion - with the world, with your friends, or with one special friend.

You make this choice using the Settings - Permissions wizard. If you restrict access to your blog, simply so you can actively meter your readers, you can setup alternate access procedures, and let strangers request access.

If you don't want strangers accessing your blog, and you have planned access restriction properly, you can block public access to your blog. Period.

The privacy coin, like many others, has two sides.

You can try to contact the owner - if you have a contact.

If you have been enjoying access to a blog, and the blog owner chooses to make it private (as discussed above), maybe you can find a way to contact the owner and request access, so you can continue to enjoy that blog.

If the blog owner does not want you to access the blog, he / she can ignore your requests. If the blog owner really doesn't want you to access the blog, she / he probably won't even provide an alternate access procedure.

It's a private blog - and you may not be welcome.



If you don't know the owner, you may be out of luck.

Some blogs are accessed by permission only - and only if you already know how to request access. If you don't know the owner, or a designated reader, you won't be able to request access.

Don't count on Blogger to contact the owner on your behalf, and don't post in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, and waste time while you whine about loss of access.

Find another blog to read, you can't read that one.

Comments

plainolebob said…
very informative as usual
Aviatrix said…
Also, if a blog owner simply marks a blog no-access, Google displays a message that implies the blog has gone private. In many cases there is no password; there are no posts that you are missing; there is no point trying to contact the person. They may open the blog up again, they may not.
Pokey said…
Some help you are, Chuck....:(

(But I can find similiar blogs to read)..not helpfyl....I'll just do the same with mine.
Nitecruzr said…
Hey Pokey,

Thanks for the comment.

Yes, it sucks, not being invited to the parties, too. But some parties are private, and some blogs are private.

And Blogger respects the wishes of the owners - just as you know, in your heart, that you probably would not fit in, if you crashed the party. Even if it does sound like your scene.
Unknown said…
why is this issue still not addressed? blogspot has evolved from Blogger a long time ago, but now if we cannot send any types of request, how can the blogger know we are interested on his or her blog? there should have been some access roots to that...rite??
Nitecruzr said…
Hi Amir,

Thanks for the question. My guess is it's a pure business decision.

Private blogs, in general, are a niche feature. Blogger has been asked for other private blog improvements, such as increasing membership limit, and has said "No, private blogs are not that common - and private blogs that need more than 100 members even less so,".

Your suggestion, to have a landing page for private blogs, where non members can request membership, comes mainly from non members.

Look in the forums, for instance. Find the suggestions "I need a way to contact the owner of a private blog, and request membership!", then "I publish a private blog, and need a way for non members to contact me!!". You'll find more of the former, than of the latter.

Many private blog owners (a niche, in themselves) do not care to have a feature that enables non members to harass them, requesting membership. It's similar to the idea that people who want ownership of a dormant blog (URL) should be able to request assignment of the UR:.

If you publish an anonymous or private blog - and don't publish a contact point, intentionally - Blogger is not going to force you to provide a contact point.

In short, it's a privacy issue. Owners of private blogs are accorded the respect to determine their own destiny. If someone publishes a blog, with no contact point, Blogger isn't going to force them to allow themselves to be harassed.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2008/03/blogger-limits-team-membership-lists.html

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2009/07/precedence-and-uniformity-justify.html

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