Saturday, June 03, 2006

Fantastic news!

My cousins are almost over their legal battles to get another child! For those of you who don't know these terrific people, you have no idea what you are missing. For those of you who do, please thank God that He saw fit to give this child a wonderful home. And while you're at it, please let the above-mentioned cousins know how much you appreciate all they're doing for the world!

On to a different matter: How much anonymity should one use in blogging? I almost always hesitate to mention names, except for immediate family members--and sometimes I wonder if they want their names left out! However, it seems really awkward to write about situations like the above one without naming the people who were involved. I really feel they deserve credit for their deeds. The same goes to the mother and the friend mentioned in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". Still, I want to respect their privacy. But again, who in the heck reads this thing?

By the way, I am over my funk. Apparently the cops were not called in after my evening raid, so I guess all is well that ends. Goodbye, and God bless.

6 comments:

Lydia said...

I'm very curious who these cousins are that are adopting a baby. Please email me and tell me what is going on!

I think first names are okay to use, sometimes. Perhaps not while these people are in the process of adoption, but once its finalized, I don't see why you couldn't say "Congratulations, Suzie and John!" or whoever it might be. My friend, Heather, likes to put the first letter of a person's name in the slot where she would normally put their full name. That way, noone can be exactly sure who she's talking about, but people who know her pretty well or know the situation, will probably get what is being talked about. Make sense?

Have fun blogging, M !!
(M here would mean mom, of course)

Jenn-Jenn, the Mother Hen said...

From a legal standpoint (not that there's any precendent for blogging entries) usually one's anonymity is still protected so long as you use only first names ( i.e., Betty), or only a first and last initial (i.e., B.D.). This opinion is based on publications and websites by such organizations as Big Brothers, Big Sisters; UnitedWay; Salvation Army; etc. These organizations often have foster children and/or families who have escaped from abusive situations as their clients, and so only use first names and no town as a way to protect them from "unsavory characters" who may try to do them harm. [One moment while Jenn removes her lawyer persona...]

That being said, not that any of us would ever hurt anyone, you never know who else may stumble across our blogs, especially since several of us have provided links to each others' blogs on our own blogs. And in the situation of your family members who are adopting (which is SOOOOO WONDERFUL!!!), you should be especially cautious as you don't want the child's birth parents necessarily to know where the child is. My friend in Georgetown adopted a girl who was in foster care because she and her brothers had to be removed from the home for their own safety, so until the adoption was final, they had to be REALLY careful about not letting BM (birth mom) know where she was. Even after the adoption was final, my friend didn't feel easy about it until BM finally got put in jail on other charges and so COULDN'T try to take the little girl away.

Sorry I'm so loquacious. Just thought I would render my opinion.

Love hugs and kisses from me and Stinkbumps!

ann said...

yeah, outside of issues like this one, and then just because of the birth mother, i think it's okay to use the names of people you know well, like joyce, especially if you're saying something nice about them. but if you don't know the person well, you might not use their name because that person might be especially private. i'd say be as careful as you would be in telling a story to your family in a crowded airport, or something.

Jenn-Jenn, the Mother Hen said...

On top of E-Blogger, all covered in text;
I lost Monkey Mama. When will she blog next?

She wrote us a message, it was on June 3.
But ever since then, there's nary a word!

So if you see her, oh tell her this please!
We miss Monkey Mama, we miss her stories!

Tooz said...

Oh, sh--, I'd better blog something quick. Jenn is singing again!

Jenn-Jenn, the Mother Hen said...

Gee, it's not that bad, is it?