June 2012 Graduates Should Start Planning Now

The discussion about Blogger account and blog access recovery, and authentication requirements, never ends.

Account / blog ownership recovery is not at all a simple issue. Occasionally, we see the extreme cases, and the frustration.

I made two blogs for school in im pretty sure 2009, so three years later I am no longer at that school, and it was registered with that school email, therefore I have no access to this email anymore, and the email account has most likely been deleted. I really need to delete these blogs because there are photos of people on there and they dont want them there.

My personal opinion is that the solution is obvious. If you cannot maintain either primary access (account name and password) or secondary access (access to a working email account) to your Blogger account, you should not publish a Blogger blog.

My opinion is not always well received, in Blogger Help forum. Some people have criticised me for my apparent lack of compassion, for the improvident blog owners. My sympathy is with blog owners, in general.

My most recent FAQ discussing this issue seems to have reduced - but not eliminated - the criticism.

One popular scenario seems to involve people who recently underwent an email address transition - for instance, recently graduating from college, and having to suddenly change email addresses.

In the past, one popular activity, involved in the frequently repeated scenario "I don't have access to my email account any more and, of course, never bothered to remember my password" would typically start with the plea

Please, can Blogger tell me my email address??!!

and Blogger Support would helpfully provide a hint

Your email address is r****or @ gmail . com

or possibly

Your email address is r****** @ ***e . edu

Many of those requests have come from people who, as college students, had created one or more blogs of frivolous or offensive content, that need to be deleted immediately (ignoring the blatant lack of ability to prove their ownership of the blog(s) in question).

This isn't an unusual scenario, among young people. We should note that most college grads can hopefully remember the name of the college attended, so the hint "***e . edu" should not be too obscure for the graduates themselves.

Recent developments in Blogger account recovery makes me hopeful that Blogger will soon eliminate the silly account name hints, and start relying entirely upon automated recovery processes. I do not think that it's unreasonable to expect that, by June 2012, those preparing to graduate from college should consider their post graduation activity checklist with some care.

• File forwarding address for all postal mail.
• Pack up and move all personal possessions in dormitory room.
• Return rented and borrowed books and similar materials to owners.

It's possible that they could add

• Setup a HotMail, GMail, or Yahoo email account.
• Transfer control of all personal Blogger blogs to a new Blogger account, based upon the new email account.

And possibly even

• Remember the new Blogger account name, and password.

Like Blogger blog ownership as a corporate resource, Blogger account management deserves some planning. If you are looking forward to graduating in June 2012, why not start preparing for graduation, now?