The Blogger Meltdown: A Rant, but not About Blogger

Morning, all..or should I say good afternoon  Spent my entire morning in bed, and not just reading; I was fast asleep.  Didn't have a restful night so I am so glad that this is my first day of vacation and that I could climb back into bed.   Of course my mind was racing about all the things that must be done, but hey, they can be done anytime  It's not like I can actually do much with the spring clothes I was planning to dig out.  It's going to rain all week.  No, days like this are for resting.

I'd planned to do my Scorpio Full Moon post today, but that is one that I lost in the great Blogger Meltdown of 2011.  So, after patiently waiting for its return, I've come to the realization that it's out there some place, lost, with no hopes of returning, so I have begun the tedious process of rewriting.

Before I begin my little rant, I'd like to qualify something.  I love Blogger and am grateful for the day I discovered that there was another world out here besides Yahoo groups.  I've had so much fun since I arrived here and have met so many wonderful new friends.  I also understand that sometimes things do happen that are beyond our control so this complaint has nothing to do with the Blogger meltdown.  No, indeed, Blogger did its best and I commend their workers for their round the clock vigilance.  This has to do with being in limbo, something I've never been very good at.  

I happen to be what one would call a  spur of the moment type of writer.  An idea will come to mind, and I have to have it written down before I forget.  Sometimes on the ride to work, ideas and even complete sentences for future posts will come into my head, and if I don't have a pen to write them down, I will repeat them often in my head to make sure I remember what it is I wanted to say, and as soon as I get to work, I will write them down on Blogger and save for future use in draft form.  Sometimes once I start typing out these ideas, they take on a life of their own, and yes, there are other times I arrive at work, sit down to type, and find that I have totally forgotten what I had to say.   

Needless to say, at any given moment I have any number of drafts saved on my blogs.  And, this past Thursday, I had been feeling particularly creative, worked on several different drafts,  and had any number of posts ready for this week.  Then, the great Blogger meltdown hit, and all drafts done on the 11th and 12th vanished.  Posts from the 12th were returned, yes, but returned in pre-post draft form.  

Frustrating, indeed, but what I found even more frustrating was the lack of lack of information given to us bloggers.  I did follow all their updates, but never did I see one that mentioned the missing drafts, and I was far from alone in wanting to know.  I and many fellow bloggers were asking the same question  on the Help Forum:


ME: Will my drafts be returned or should I begin rewriting them?

The only responses any of us received were not from Blogger itself, but people like you and me who, because they have responded to more questions on the help board, are listed at a higher level. For instance, with my first responses, I started at Level one and am now halfway up the meter to Level two, but I don't know any more about blogging than I did before.  My level may be rising, but I have not learned a thing.  So, the following response to the above question came not from a Blogger employee, but from someone, a Level 9, who has been around the help forum a lot longer than I have: 

THEM: Blogger has informed that posts will be restored.   

ME:  I know you are saying that posts will be restored.  I read that myself, but  I am not asking about posts.  I am concerned about the DRAFTS I have lost.

THEM:  Blogger has informed that posts will be restored.

Do you know how utterly frustrating that is?   Now, please do not get me wrong. Not all of Higher Levels are what I consider as rude; some were really trying their darnedest to help.  Unfortunately, none of the helpful ones  found me.  Maybe I am wrong, but I did feel very insulted I don't need someone telling me something I have already read.  I don't need a form notice from you. I very well can read for myself and was aware that posts will be restored (which, by the way, were restored, yes, but to their pre-posting, draft state.)  My point to this is, you so-called experts were once a nerd like me, so please, show a little patience and a little kindness.  Acknowledge our frustration and, at least try to answer our questions, and if you can't, then please leave it to the employees of Blogger. 

So, as I try to sort out what it is that I lost, I would like to pose a question.  Perhaps I am wrong.  Perhaps a draft and a post are the same thing, and if so, then I do apologize for asking the question so many times this past weekend, but all I wanted was an answer.  What is your opinion about post and draft?  To me, posts are completed works that have already been put out there for the world to see, while drafts are works in progress...two different things altogether.  I'd love to know your opinions on this. 

(This is not a complaint about Blogger.  It is basically about the rudeness of some people.)