Guest Book

This is John Morgan's mom here. We were wondering if you, dear reader, wouldn't mind letting us know who is actually reading this blog. We do have software that tracks the IP addresses and internet service providers, among other details, of those who view the blog. You may have noticed the small counter in the sidebar which keeps a running total of visitors. We installed the software as a security measure to make sure that only friends and family were accessing the blog, since it contains photos as well as personal information about our son (and ourselves). We knew that sometimes there can be some unwanted visitors and unfortunately, that appears to be the case with this website. Even though the blog is NOT "listed" on the Blogger website, nor is it accessible in any way other than by going directly to the URL, we have had a few mysterious visitors (including one from as far away as Tehran, Iran, bizarrely enough). Many of the visitors in the tracking log we have no difficulty figuring out--usually it tells us the town you are in. But some of the entries are still question marks to us.

So... we are faced with the option of restricting access to the blog only to those whom we invite via an email. That would mean logging in each time you view the blog, which would be a nuisance for those of you, like JoMo's grandparents, who visit on virtually a daily basis! As an intermediate step, if you could let us know, either via posting a comment or by sending us an email, that you are one of our visitors and letting us know your internet service provider (e.g. AOL, SBC, Wildblue, etc.), that would help us figure out who is friend/family among the entries on our tracking log, and who is an unwanted "lurker" or stranger. You need only do this once (unless you change your ISP, in which case please let us know). We can then take steps to block certain IPs from accessing the blog. It's sad to say, but in this day and age, I suppose we have to be vigilant, especially when it comes to our children.

Think of it as "signing the guest book"! If all our visitors do that, then we won't have to take the step of restricting access to "invitation only".

Thanks for your help! Sorry for the bother!

Susan