Thursday, June 23, 2011

Keep this blog PG rated? - Feedback required

The first time I set up a Hammer website was sometime in the late 90s. It was entirely devoted to Hammer Glamour and by and large nothing more than a collection of pictures from those actresses often in various stages of undress. I did also write something like an Internet diary then but without blogging software this was hard coded even though I still pride myself of the fact that I came up with a blog-like idea before it was all en vogue.

The trouble was that I must have unwittingly broken rules by my then-website provider as from one day to the other the site was off the air and I could never get a reply from my host as to the reasons for that. I had suspected that a certain someone may have ratted on me about the site but couldn't prove it... but that is neither here nor there.

After sulking about the demise of that site I eventually decided to start another Hammer Glamour site hosted elsewhere. That site has now also been taken offline but at my own accord as this blog really has proven way more successful in relaying all my Hammer related ramblings. I had, however, then made a conscious decision to keep the site PG rated and focus more on writing about the movies and the actresses. So no nudity of any kind was allowed there.

When I moved to Blogger I kept that policy. Though occasionally titillating at the moment all the posts and pictures are pretty much work safe and child friendly.  Over the years I learned that Blogger seems to be OK with posting some more risque stuff provided the blog is hosted as an "adult" blog. I especially enjoy the Casual (Un)Dress Friday posts that my buddy David Z posts over at his own blog.

Posting my latest entry about Marie Devereux got me thinking again as most of the pics I have of her from my collection are of the slightly naughty variety that at the moment I am not publishing here.

Question is: Should I occasionally post some more of those kinds of photos?

If I did I'd have to change my blog to an adult blog. This shouldn't make a huge difference to any of my readers who all seem to be clearly adults and are often quite considerably over the legal age and have probably all seen that, done that and bought the T-Shirt to prove it.

If you read these posts from a blog reader you really wouldn't notice a difference, however, anytime you were going to access my blog posts directly you'd get a content warning that you would just need to accept before you are allowed to get to the blog. So really just one slightly annoying click more.

I'd have no trouble continuing the way I did up till now but would like your input whether you would also be OK to get a few more revealing posts every once in a while. Does it annoy you to have to click the content warning? What are experiences from other blog owners: Does it cost readers? Does it gain readers? Did you ever get into trouble with Blogger? What I will never do is post photos with the vital parts blacked out cause that is just pure lame.

Feedback would be greatly appreciated either via the comment section below or through Facebook or Twitter.

7 comments:

Christopher Dunham said...

PG? NEVER! Go ADULT. I've always loved Hammer for giving us all the color and sex that Universal Monsters didn't, couldn't and wouldn't.

bruce holecheck said...

I've been struggling with the same problem, myself. I have a *ton* of photo negatives to lost nudies and exploitation pics I've been thinking of scanning and posting, but I'm not sure how it will affect people who visit from work spots or have "safe" search settings. I'll be following your decision with great interest!

Radio London said...

My answer would be - post what you want to post and don't worry about it. It's YOUR blog, Holger!

That being said, I don't generally check blogs at work, but I'd be hesitant to do so if it were labeled as an "adult" blog.

I wouldn't mind seeing a pic or two of Devereaux, though! (Umm...For historical purposes, of course).

Radio London said...

Off-subject, but what happened to the "Watching Hammer" blog you contributed a Top-10 Hammers to last year?

Holger Haase said...

Thanks for all your feedback so far. I also got some Twitter and FB responses plus emails. Will leave this up for a few days before I'll make up my mind.

As for the Watching Hammer Blog: Your guess is as good as mine. I just hope the blog owner is OK. I had been in personal touch with him but haven't received a response to my queries for quite some time. Noone else has either. So I am sorry to see that blog going towards the blog graveyard but I am even more concerned about the guy behind it. He seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth.

Mirko di Wallenberg said...

Hey Holger, I personally have no problem with nudity, frontal or otherwise, when stars of Hammer or other movies are involved. That said, as you probably know, Marisa Mell, the subject of my blog, had one time in her career a close link to porn to earn her the needed money to go on living. I struggled a long time in posting these photo's or not. On the one hand they belong to her bio on the other hand they were done out of necessity and thus not really her free will! So I decided against it to publish them, ever! Her life was besides that interesting enough to report on the blog! I did post a series of nude photos with Helmut Berger of their joined movie in Italian Playboy but here again, in respect to MM, covering up her most intimite parts by a butterfly! So in the end I think it has to do with once's feeling to the subject and not much if you like publishing frontal nudity or not! So what will it be? I am curious! All the best, Mirko!

Holger Haase said...

Thanks for your feedback, Mirko. I have now made up my mind to keep this nudity free and PG. Reasons explained in latest blog post. Thanks for all your feedback, folks.