ERROR 403: What To Do With Forbidden Blog

Or as I've also called it: Dude, Where's My Blog?

Ok, that was a little disturbing, my blog disappearing for a while, with a "Error 403: Forbidden" sign coming up instead. So here's a little info on what to do if it, or something else cyber-mysterious happens to you.

1. Wait a day. See whether it disappears on its own. Seriously.
2. Itchy? Check http://status.blogger.com/. Don't get discouraged by not seeing your problem straightaway - read all the way down, it's probably there somewhere. A disadvantage to Blogger Help is that it takes a while to source for it on its various help pages.
3. You could try http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help but I found its helpfulness limited - but at least I knew some other people out there are having problems too.
4. If all else fails, email Blogger - the problem here is again, that it's hard to find on the Help pages. So, here's the shortcut: http://www.blogger.com/problem.g. You fill out some form and they'll email you, to which you reply again.
5. Try not to overanalyze and think that something you wrote was restricted by the Malaysian government and they'll ISA you soon enough. Or connect Forbidden to what they did to guys in the Forbidden City.

So, the good news: that Blogger was quite efficient in replying to me, and humble about apologizing about the error, which essentially is part of a free service anyhow (yes, I know about something called advertising, but what the heck, eh.) Plus, I rather liked it on the Status page when they wrote: "The offending server is being replaced and then shot."

All the same, it was a nice reminder that after a year, and the occasional times when I wonder if I'm just posting because of habit, blogging is still important to me, and as I was told by others that they noticed my blog was missing, nice to know that the blog remains a new generation form of keeping in touch with people around the globe.

So, to all of you I am proud to be networked with, Dudes, Here's My Blog!