Yesterday I reported that the blog of Dr. Jim West had been maliciously deleted by someone who apparently guessed his password. In the ensuing maelstrom, Biblioblogdom went into a panic. Blogger and WordPress were besieged by bloggers frantically changing their passwords and backing up their blogs.
While many expressed their condolences to Jim, there was also an ugly undercurrent of suspicion and many bloggers including myself felt the need to make a public statement denying involvement in the heist of Jim’s blog. I say “heist” because if in fact someone did get access to Jim’s account it is possible that they were able to create a backup of the blog (Manage>Export) and even make the blog not publicly visible (Options>Privacy) but they could not delete the blog!
That’s right. You heard me correctly. They could not delete Jim’s blog. The reason is this: when you delete a blog on WordPress, the system sends a confirmation email to your personal email address. Your blog doesn’t disappear until you confirm deletion through that email. I know this is true because I have tried to delete some of my old blogs and it is a pain in the neck. Such a pain, in fact, that I just left the old blogs on there.
So here we are, folks, in a sort of Ocean’s 11 situation. Everyone thinks the blog is gone but it is actually just a shell game being played by… Hmmm. This is an interesting thought. Perhaps it was Jim himself who tiring of the blog wars decided to pull the plug (or bull the blug as we blogger like to say). Or, here’s another strange thought, Jim is in fact playing dead. After three days, he is going to rise like Lazarus (or rather the beast of Revelation 13) and blogdom will be shattered and shocked and his popularity will soar to new heights.
Jim made an official statement on Chris Tilling’s blog. Read the full statement but here’s a snippet:
“I want to thank all those who have dropped me a line or posted on their own blog words of encouragement and urging continuation. I’m appreciative and even (potentially) a bit humbled (ah but that’s already passed, thankfully- what a wretched feeling that humility nonsense is).
While I appreciate your sentiments, I don’t think I’ll re-enter the fray.”
Interesting that these comments should be released on Chris Tilling’s blog, someone with whom Jim has contended at length in public regarding the true faith.
So, I’d like to offer some alternative scenarios to what is being publicly presented:
- Jim’s cat was fiddling with the computer while Jim was off watching the game.
- Jim’s dog deleted the blog because he was tired of being ignored when he wanted to go for a walk.
- Jim is being held captive by the evil Chris Tilling in an underground vault.
- John Hobbins, in an Old Testament God-Of-Wrath sort of way, decided to smite Jim.
- Jim was struck on the head and is now sitting in a field of daisies, humming.
- Jim was kidnapped by radical Fundamentalist homeschoolers who are now holding him in an undisclosed location trying to show him how smart they are.
- Jim saw a vision of NT Wright saying, “Jimsy, why persecutest thou me?”
I’m sure there are other possibilities, but these all seem likely explanations.
Several others have been blogging about this disappearance: Esteban Vázquez broke the story, Bob MacDonald waxed poetic, and offered a blogline, Mark Goodacre writes an encomium, Doug Chaplin and Chris Heard also chime in. And many others I’m sure.
17 responses so far ↓
Nick Norelli // February 21, 2008 at 7:51 am
You know what, you might be onto something. I do now remember that when I deleted my first WP blog I got the confirmation email and had to respond to it. Unless they also had access to his email it would have been impossible to delete. Good observation.
Mike // February 21, 2008 at 7:56 am
interesting…what if Jim’s blog password was his e-mail password though?
Lingamish // February 21, 2008 at 8:51 am
Nick, I omitted mention of your post about Jim. Sorry about that.
Esteban Vázquez // February 21, 2008 at 10:02 am
I knew it was you who did it, Ker!
Lingamish // February 21, 2008 at 10:16 am
WordPress is giving this message when you try to access the blog:
“The authors have deleted this blog. The content is no longer available.”
So I don’t question that the blog has been deleted. But, without Jim’s consent? How?
Man skal huske at tage back-up : PergaMent // February 21, 2008 at 11:52 am
[...] tidselgemytter har tilsyneladende hacket Jim West’s blog (baggrundsstof ovre på Lingamish). Jim er alle bibelbloggeres fader, og det er kun en uges tid siden han fejrede besøg nr. 400.000 [...]
scott gray // February 21, 2008 at 1:06 pm
perhaps if he hadn’t chosen ‘zwinglirules’ as his password, this never would have happened.
Peter Kirk // February 21, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I don’t fully understand the Danish title of the trackback link from PergaMent, but I suspect it means something like “You should have made a daily backup”. Indeed you should, Jim, or at least a weekly one as I do, that is if you really wanted to preserve your blog.
Lingamish // February 21, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I’m not able to back up my blog very often but I do have everything archived in a folder thanks to Windows Live Writer. If WordPress ever tanked or I wanted to switch providers, I would use their backup function. Alternatively you can just start a new blog, and republish select posts using Windows Live Writer.
But, you know, it’s been so long that I’m beginning to wonder if Jim West ever existed…
Robert R. Cargill // February 21, 2008 at 3:33 pm
you know, we haven’t considered the fact that it could just simply be yet another result of the strange properties that the dharma initiative was studying here on the island. it could have been a polar bear…
Lingamish // February 21, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Sorry to Ken who left this comment:
It wouldn’t be the first time Jim deleted his own blog without warning.
I accidentally deleted your comment when trying to delete someone else’s SPAM.
Breaking News: jwest.wordpress.com « Lingamish // February 21, 2008 at 4:03 pm
[...] I still haven’t received a satisfactory explanation for this disappearance. As I said in my post this morning, there is no way to delete a blog unless you also have access to t… What’s going on here, folks? Split personality? Dr. West and Mr. Hyde? The ghost of Zwingli [...]
Higgaion » Jim tries again // February 21, 2008 at 4:38 pm
[...] Jim tries again Jim West apparently has a new eponymous blog, even as Lingamish plays Columbo. [...]
James McGrath // February 21, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I think you’ve got it exactly right! Here’s my reconstruction, based on yours, of what transpired:
Jim’s cat was fiddling with the computer while Jim was off watching the game. Seeing this as an opportunity to allow the cat to take the blame, Jim’s dog deleted the blog, because he was tired of being ignored when he wanted to go for a walk. Jim is now being held captive by the evil Chris Tilling in an underground vault filled with daisies, humming after being smitten on the head by co-conspirator John Hobbins in an Old Testament God-Of-Wrath sort of way. When Chris and John were debating over whether to subject Jim to non-stop recitations from Wright or Zwingli, Jim was kidnapped by radical Fundamentalist homeschoolers who are now holding him in an undisclosed location trying to show him how smart they are. While there, Jim saw a vision of NT Wright saying, “Jimsy, wherefore persecutest thou me?” Being carried up to the third heaven, Jim was able to use an angelic computer terminal to create a new blog, before being returned to Earth. His present whereabouts remain to be ascertained.
Lingamish // February 21, 2008 at 8:34 pm
James, your explanation is fundamentally sound. Why didn’t I see it?!?
scott gray // February 21, 2008 at 8:49 pm
so–
what kind of trouble is the cat in? i thought jim hated cats.
Blue Cord » Biblical Studies Blog Carnival XXVII // March 3, 2008 at 5:21 pm
[...] For those who wish to follow the conspiracy theories about the deletion of Jim’s blog, Lingamish is a good place to [...]
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