4.29.2008

Blogger's Statute of Non-Limitations

So, I've been thinking of starting another, more personal, blog alongside this one. My other blog would be more about me (and limited in access) and less about my opinions and lack of regard for human stupidity.

My problem is coming up with a name/link I'm happy with and that Blogger will let me use. Obviously I got tired of this blog's old name, Hen's Teeth Pulled, so finding something that sticks is always a challenge for me.

Here's the stupid deal: I've tried several names, including paradox.blogspot.com (someone who thankfully must have realized s/he can't write at all), oxymoron.blogspot.com, blahg.blogspot.com, and - my preferred - noromyxo.blogspot.com.

The problem? Someone in the history of the internet has already taken these titles on Blogger. They then either never used them or posted twice or so and never again (at least not in the last three years or so). I would think after three years of inactivity - actually, after one year of inactivity - a blog name should be made available again, even more so if the contact information for the blog owner is no longer valid. It really can't be that difficult to create an archive of "failed" blogs (say, "paradox.archive.blogspot.com" or "oxymoron.blogspotarchive.com" or somesuch) if necessary or just delete them.

As a user, I could delete one of my blogs if I wanted to, but Google for some reason can't delete an obviously long-dormant blog? I guess not! There are actually several of these forum posts requesting old blog names, and the only suggestion Blogger has is to "get creative with hyphens." Oh please, can i? I'll do ox-y-mo-ron.blogspot.com... how's that?

Like I said in the above-linked forum, we can easily rename or delete our own blogs, but somehow Blogger can't recycle dead blog URLs for others to use? Hello? I know it can't be the technology.... Did Blogger forget to write deletion into the license agreement and now won't delete blogs for fear that these people, who haven't posted for an internet lifetime (even eight years, from what I've seen), will suddenly come back with a class-action lawsuit and shut Blogger and Google down? (I guess I wouldn't be too surprised.)

Silly? Yes. Minor? Sure. But it's still a simple solution that Google will not or cannot (legally?) pursue.

So, any suggestions for a name? I suppose I could actually use iWeb on my Mac and publish to the URL I bought and haven't used yet, digitalmsg.net/noromyxo... which, of course, I have to renew each year, or else someone else can get it... unlike blogspot URLs.