Really Google, Really...?

"In an announcement that was sent out to bloggers who use the company's blogging website, Google said people will no longer be able to "publicly share images and video that are sexually explicit or show graphic nudity" on Blogger as of March 23. Google said those Blogger sites that continue to host pornography after March 23 will be made "private." That means the content will be allowed to remain up, but it will only be accessible to the site's owner and the people who the user directly shared the blog with. 

Google noted that it isn't completely banning nudity from being shown publicly on Blogger. The site will allow nudity "if the content offers a substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts." But it also puts Google in the position of deciding what is art and what is pornography -- a decision that Instagram and other sites have struggled with. Blogger previously allowed adult content on its sites, but it required users to mark their blogs as "adult." Those Blogger sites came with an "adult content" warning that would appear before a visitor could enter the site."

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Read more about this wide-reaching censorship by Google here: ZDNet: Google bans 'explicit' adult content from Blogger blogs (Link tipped by Tomais Ashdene)

In the last months we have also seen how Blogger/Google in a very disturbing way has forced an adult rating on some of the blogs that do not carry adult rated material or nudity, for example my dear friend Eddi Haskell's blog "Eddi & Ryce's Second Life".

I am starting to think it is best to move the blog to another blog provider and to stop using my Google Crome browser, my Gmail and my Google+ accounts altogether. I  should have seen this coming earlier...

Tomorrow I am going to start checking on my alternatives concerning blog, browser and web-mail.

Tell-tale Email Addresses

Please note that this blogger has a gmail-address!

My Own Private Drama

For security reasons I chose to get 2-step verification to my Google Account, which I use for my gmail, my Google+ and my blog. It adds an extra layer of security by requiring that I have access to my iPhone – as well as my username and password – when I sign in. In addition to my username and password, I should enter a code that Google should supply to an app on my phone when I sign in.

"2-step verification drastically reduces the chances of having the personal information in your Google account stolen by someone else. Why? Because hackers would have to not only get your password and your username, they'd have to get a hold of your phone." 

Well that's how it is supposed to work according to Google. Sounds awesome huh? If it worked as intended I am sure it would be, but it doesn't!

You have an option when using it to let you stay logged in for 30-days. That first 30-day period expired for me yesterday, Friday. No problems I thought and brought up the Google Authenticator app to get the code for accessing my accounts again. I must have tried about 50 of those six digit codes generated by the app, but was told every time that the codes were not valid.

As I had to go on a Christmas dinner with my workmates yesterday I gave up for the evening and thought I would deal with it again today, after I had sobered up.

Well I tried 25 times today also, then I removed the app and reinstalled it and set it up again according to instructions and tried another 25 times. Still I got the message that the codes generated by the app were not valid. Totally frustrated I shut down the computer and gave up on ever accessing my blog ever again.

After a few hours trying not to think about the damned thing, I suddenly remembered I had actually gotten a set of ten written backup-codes when first setting up the thing. So I thought I might try them before giving up completely. Lo and behold, the backup code actually did work.

So in the future I am not even going to use the app generated codes but going for the backup codes straightaway, you can easily get ten new ones when you have used the first ten.

Bock in SecondLife is back in the air again. The world is safe as this blog continues it´s fight for truth. justice and the SecondLife way of life.