Blogs used to be fully public sites mainly for sharing links. Some people decided to bare it all, in public, and post everything and anything on their minds, in their lives, and so on.

Well, people have gotten fired for this, in the past few years, though that doesn’t really worry me. And people get into social trouble for this, though that, too, doesn’t really worry me. What concerns me is really the function of MY blog.

You see, sometimes it’s a diary. Sometimes it’s a pressure valve that lets me vent steam. Sometimes it’s my personal notebook, or a repository of things I’m researching and thinking about.

Some of the things I want to write about, I cannot, because even if I want to save those thoughts and comments for posterity, I know they’d be better left unsaid, because a blog is a fully private place, without any regulations as to who is viewing, or where, or in what context.

Or, rather, it used to be.

The long and the short of it is this:

There will, from now on, be posts that are marked as “private”. Those posts will only be visible to users who are signed in, and who are of a high enough rank to “see” those posts. For everyone else, the posts will simply be invisible, just not there. As you read this, there are at least 4 or 5 invisible posts on this very page! If you can’t see them, you’re not signed in.

And from now on, if you want to comment on my site, you will need to login. The very first time you do so, you’ll have to register. It’s not a big deal, believe me, and when you do register, I’ll promote you to a level where you can actually view whichever level of my private posts I deem appropriate, and you will be able leave comments on them, as well as being able to comment on all the other normal posts.

The only problem I can see is that it will present a blockage for those readers using RSS. I don’t foresee a workaround for that, though. However, unless you’re really into my complaining and gossip (which is the bulk of what I’ll be suppressing via privacy filters), you might be glad of a filter that blocks it from you… and if you’re really into it, I suppose you’ll be happy enough to come on over and sign in, in order to secure access…

Just one of many changes coming your way. Keep your eyes peeled, more are on the way. And for those of you who are ready to register right now, that link, one more time, is here.