This seems a really dysfunctional way to implement a sort of f-lock

[ratcreature]

Tumblr has created a way to not show a Tumblr via the web URL but only on the dashboard to followers. But as I understand it, the behavior is that anyone can follow you if they know your name unless you explicitly block them. So content is not actually private as such, because if I for example came across one of these error pages following at a web URL, I could follow the name in the URL and then see the content on my dash, at least unless/until I got blocked.

Only I probably couldn't find any specific content because I'd have to scroll back through my dashboard to see it, since the URLs don't work anymore for anyone, logged in or not, including the owner even, based on the reblog comments?! So if you hide your Tumblr, how could you find or see your old posts if neither archive nor tag links work any longer?

And how does this behave with reblogging? The post says the social functions all work as before, including reblog, does that mean if your followers, who may not even realize you disabled URLs as there is no symbol on the posts like on LJ/DW, can still reblog and it would show on theirs with a proper URL (and be visible to all including search engines if they set their Tumblr for maximal exposure?) or only reblog through the dashboard feeds to their followers but not the public Tumblr?

This implementation of (faux-)privacy doesn't sound like a recipe for wanky misunderstandings and disaster at all... /sarcasm

Comments

[ratcreature]

I think Tumblr is well suited if you want an audience, especially if you post regularly, and interaction beyond likes is less important. And it is convenient for pictures, though I dislike the size/resolution restriction the reformatting for the dash imposes -- you can't really have a preview and then link to your impressively detailed high resolution artwork easily, much like posting long fic is awkward.

With its reblog format that actually makes exchanging ideas and listening to others harder it already leads itself to outraged wankiness even easier than previous platforms, and this opens countless new opportunities to be ruffled over exposure levels and "what does it mean to post on the internet" disagreements. I still remember the (bizarre) kerfuffles over fans who claimed that linking to their public stories was like archiving them, for example. So fandom can create these without even being set up for misunderstanding.

It would be one thing if Tumblr had actually created a way to hide posts from everyone you didn't approve, say introduced "approved followers" (or even gave mutual following new meaning, i.e. undifferentiated like with LJ), but this isn't like that.

[neotoma]

Yeah, as a privacy measure it's kind of terribly seive-like in nature. I'm not sure what they mean for it accomplish, except maybe they're making a gesture at concealing things from easy googling?

Outraged wankiness that is really hard to trace back and figure who said what and are there any other voices in this argument. A friend of mine describes tumblr as 'a place where you emote at each other', which I think is pretty accurate.

Otoh, they have made blocking people easier, and considering I get hit by porn-blogs every couple of weeks, I'm so glad of that.

[ratcreature]

The thing is, I'm not even sure it helps with google. Because if my Tumblr is set to maximal exposure, i.e. allowing search engine inclusion and public urls etc, and I reblogged another fan's post, it would show on my Tumblr with their name, no? And then that post is public and google will index it. (I have never used reblog because I only post my own content on Tumblr.)

[ratcreature]

What do porn blogs even do? Do they reblog fannish content labelling it as porn or something, and you prevent thst with blocking? I don't think I've encountered that.

[neotoma]

I don't know what they do actually. If someone follows me and all they have on their blog is gifsets from porn, I block them as soon as I can.

[ratcreature]

Huh. Weird. I guess they might do it for the clicks they get from people who check who followed them? Or maybe the connections help with something for search engines. With my jamesmcavoywithsloths one that actually has many followers I just never paid attention who followed, and my personal one is just too obscure because I only post my art and haven't been producing any in ages.