October 27, 2011

  • Down with Footprints... long live Views?

    In our conversations with Product Council members and other users, one point came up a few times: many Xangans love Footprints, but overall they are hurting Xanga.

    How can this be true? After all, most people like to click into their Footprints and see who has been on their site. However, this has impacted Xanga usage in some unforeseen ways:

    • Many users are reluctant to click around the site randomly, because they know they'll leave a footprint.
    • If you find a Xanga site you really love, you can get nervous about reading more than a few pages since you know you're leaving footprints.
    • There are some users who spend a lot of time on their footprints page, and then if someone reads more than a few posts... they will sometimes leave them an angry comment or message.

    In other words, in some ways Footprints have had a stifling effect on browsing: it can make people less likely to explore the site and find new Xangans. That's not a good thing.

    On the flip side though, some users value being able to see exactly who is visiting their site. Footprints Lock lets them do just that. But over the past five years, Footprints Lock has been one of our least popular features. And when we came out with Footprints Lock, we didn't have as many features that people could use to protect their site. But since then, we've launched Friends Lock.

    Given all this, we'd like to get your thoughts on how to move forward. Here's our proposal: Get rid of Footprints, and rename them as Views

    Right now, Footprints can sometimes show the username and location of browsers. We could simply remove username entirely, so you could only see which pages were getting Views - and not who was visiting.  You could still see the Location of non-signed in members though... and you'd also be able to browse and see your recent Views: as in, you could see which pieces of content that visitors were Viewing. You just wouldn't be able to see the username Footprints: i.e. the exact username of the person reading it. As a bonus, we would be able to kill Footprints Lock completely. 

    It's our hope that this would encourage more browsing and exploration on the site. That would mean more traffic and more comments for all.

    Before making any decisions though, we'd love to hear your collective thoughts. What do you guys think?

Comments (251)

  • I think that is a good idea. There is really no benefit to footprints except you see where your traffic is coming from.

  • Please, please, please no. Footprints are extemely valuable for those of us who have had stalkers, etc. The who is important - not just the how many/which pages.

  • I totally agree

  • Let the stalking begin

  • I love to see the footprints and know who is reading and from where. They can be disabled which is nice if you do not want to be seen. I hope we can keep them.

  • Personally I love footprints. I post really private content on my blog sometimes, it's nice to be able to stalk my potential stalkers. I mean... keep an eye on them.

  • Omg really... who cares! nobody cares if their footprints or views as long as they tell us who's trafficking our site!

  • @seedsower - We could still display location for non-signed in users... would that help at all?

  • Yeah, I really love my footprints. If you don't want to leave them, turn them off. I'd be sad if they went away. D:

  • Very interesting idea. I'm a bit of a numbers but as long as I can see how many Footprints/"Views" I get per day or week, I'd be totally cool with the proposed change. :)

    One thing I did like about Footprints was seeing the random-as-heck countries like Senegal and North Korea checking out my site lol. Made me feel special when Russia was creeping lol

  • It's a good idea, but I like to see who visits my site couse I'm curious like that.

  • Honestly, I rarely look at who visits my site.  I just like seeing how many visits I've gotten in a day :D

  • NO. The who of Footprints is the most important part. I use this to see who is coming to my site and decide whether I need to add additional security. I want to keep my family out, but still open to everyone else, and I do this by utilizing ALL aspects of Footprints.

  • I like to see WHO is reading my page. I don't think you should get rid of that. If people are mad that others are reading their pages... why are they posting at all?! They can make private posts if they don't want people going through their blog. I WANT people to read my Xanga and I like to know WHO they are, so that I know when it's not only my friends reading it but also people just finding my Xanga and (hopefully) enjoying it. So, in conclusion, I think it's fine how it is. Thank you.

  • I don't care if people see me reading their entire blog in one sitting

    I think it's important to keep footprints. Some of us don't want certain people visiting our blogs, but we do want lots of other people! We just want to know who is reading our stuff! Especially, say, if we were fired for what we wrote on our blogs once. 

  • I like seeing who's on my page. and I like foot prints. please no. :( NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

  • I see both sides.

    I have, personally, been reluctant to traverse weblogs because of footprints. I'm an incredibly private, perhaps even paranoid, person who doesn't really enjoy leaving a clickable trail, but I also like to know who (or where) my views are coming from. Perhaps I'm just walking, talking form of irony. I can also see how footprints, as they are now, can be a great tool to utilize in the event of e-stalkers.

  • but I love seeing my friends' pictures on the footprints bar... i love seeing their names on my footprints list.. lol

    it is also my favorite way to make new friends, as those who drop by my page often are likely to have similar interests as i do. 

  • @john - I do not so much care which Xangan was on my site, it is the location and websites other than Xanga that I look at, often times my posts are put on Stumble upon or the photos are linked to on we<3it or other blogs , when they look at my site I can follow them . But you know I will go with the flow. How is Baby Olive?

  • Keep the footprints. We want see who our lurkers/trolls are and their urls. That should keep those bastards away. Taking out the footprints is like wiping fingerprints from a crime scene.

    Better yet, give us IP tracker for our sites - optional of course.

  • I have not gOne to WordPress or blogger simply because of the footprint feature. Please don't take them away

  • Keep the footprints but get rid of the goddamn bots. The bots mess up the footprints.

  • please keep the footprints! i've had people i know in real life creep my blog and screen shot specific blogs. and then they send them to family members and friends. i NEED footprints to make sure they aren't on my page. this is a ridiculous idea...keep the footprints. 

  • If you don't want people reading your blog or if you're worried about who is reading it, why not put a friend's lock on it? Just a thought. Personally I don't really care either way what happens. I like knowing who is looking at my blog, but I also have Friend's Lock on so only my friends would be reading it. 

  • @seedsower - Ah ok, we could definitely keep the locations in there for non-Xangans!  That's great feedback, and I've edited the post accordingly.

    Olive is doing great!  Her parents are a bit tired though.

  • Can't you A/B test this?

    yeah, I don't check footprints much, but I can definitely see how it detracts from browsing, just get rid of it, no need to ask everyone. 
    We all know facebook is the biggest stalker tool and they don't have footprints enabled for that very specific reason. 

  • @Yosho - How would an A/B test work?

  • Tough call.  Originally I was thinking no way, I'm so used to having footprints.  However, the points you made are pretty accurate.  I could get used to not seeing the exact users that come by, but I can't say the same for some others.

  • My blog is public, I don't mind when folks browse my site.  If I were to ever write/publish a book, would I try to keep track of everyone that read my book?  But, I do understand there are folks who do get a bit uncomfortable when folks start traipsing all over their blog.  When I do want to explore a new blog, I always leave a comment asking permission if they mind, and then proceed with their okay, resting their fears I am not a two headed troll out to steal their chihuahuas.

    I’m comfortable with or without footprints.  Have at it~ 

  • I find it extremely beneficial to know the usernames of the visiting members.

  • I LOVE seeing who is visiting my pages and what pages they are visiting:   Please!!!!! keep footprints!!!!  As far as I'm concerned, it personalizes the "visiting" factor of the blog site and sets it apart from every other place.  It gives a person an idea what type of person is visiting what type of posting.  If you get rid of that, much valuable and shaping data will be lost. Accountability is not necessarily a bad thing, either.

  • Footprints are a great anti-trolling devise.  Apparently, Xanga doesn't realize what a grave problem trolling and cyber-bullying is.   It looks like Xanga is going to support trolls, making the mass exodus from Xanga become more massive.  

  • You're proposing that I'd never be able to see the username of the person looking at my site?

    NO. NO. NO. NO. HELL NO.

    I want to know who's visiting.

  • That means we can look at hot photos without guilt!  

  • I think it's best to do away with footprints. Because of footprints, it forces us to be weary of who's viewing our pages. It actually turns us even more paranoid than we are now. A paronoid would just use Friends Lock to be safe. Not knowing would be much better.

    If the user really wants to know who's visiting them, they can turn off Xanga themes and install anti-stalk Xanga or use stat counter/site meter-like services.

  • There seems to be, and has been, a lot of stalking and hate-stalking going on in xanga and I think people should be able to see when this is going on so that they can block them if it becomes necessary, or report the offender who has 1000 views in the last 32 hours.

  • Go ahead. So long as you keep Friends Lock.

    Also can you bring back Metros and Currently Reading/Listening/Watching?

  •           Please keap the footprint s i like to see who bend on my site

  • No way! Keep the footprints! It actually makes me more likely to explore the site, because I like to look at the users who have visited me if I do not know who they are. Also I like having a general idea, when talking to my Xanga friends, of if they are up to date on my life or not. It's the negative people that have the negative impact, not the footprints!

  • I like knowing who has stopped by, and I think the paranoia some people exhibit about who is reading their blogs is ridiculous. I want to keep this feature, but if it hurts the site I guess I'll get over it.

  • ... I personally really like to see footprints ): ...!

    &&I thought footprints worked like this: if you have it enabled then you can see who leaves footprints on your page + you leave footprints wherever you go. but if you have it disabled, you can't see who leaves footprints + you don't leave footprints as well...?? I think it's a fair trade off :/ ... unless things changed since I last took a look at the footprints function /lol/

    and personally, I don't mind leaving MY footprints on my friends' pages ... because it lets them KNOW that I AM reading, even if I don't comment sometimes... vice-versa, it lets me know that they're reading my posts, even if they don't comment? ... and at times, it's nice to know who's been visiting your page .. so you can visit them back :0

    ... and, well, I think the footprints really does alert people about stalkers .. there are unwanted stalkers/readers sometimes that we want to be alerted of! ... and yah, sometimes, I WANT to know who's been reading what/which posts ... so I can read back at those posts too /lol/

    Like other Xangans, I'm also a very private person and well yah, I have my Xanga friend-locked because I blog about my personal life + things I'm not comfortable about letting strangers know ... but if I'm interested in someone else's open blog, and want to consistently visit it + view more entries from that blog ...? I just go ahead and do it! I don't mind leaving my footprints because it lets the blogger KNOW that someone's reading their posts .... I dunno, for me, it makes me feel appreciated, in a sense, when people (friends) read my entry? Though most of the time I just use Xanga as a personal diary/journal and it just contains my rambling :) ... and yeah ... sometimes, when I build up enough courage, I'll actually comment /lol/ like what I'm doing on here - I mean, right, there are probably a lot of potential readers on here ... but I don't really care? Just want to throw my voice out.. yah... mmn. I guess I just feel safe behind my friends-lock /lol/ .. .. does this make any sense..?? Ahhh /ramblingg..

  • NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.

    NO.

    It's a damn good thing we're being asked before a decision like this is being put forth; footprints are one of the reasons why I still use Xanga, and haven't completely converted to Tumblr, WordPress, Blogger, or other less customizable/interpersonal sites.

  • @mystic_sakura - "and personally, I don't mind leaving MY footprints on my friends' pages ... because it lets them KNOW that I AM reading, even if I don't comment sometimes... vice-versa, it lets me know that they're reading my posts, even if they don't comment? ... and at times, it's nice to know who's been visiting your page .. so you can visit them back :0" 

    I agree with this completely, I like footprints for this reason as well. 

  • Please keep footprints! I am on sign-in lock, but I don't like having to go to friends lock because then it's harder to interact with more of the community and get more readers. Sometimes I see blank sites that were just created viewing my page, which in the past have been people in my real life that I need to block from seeing my page. If I can't see these things I will have to remain on friends lock forever, which I would prefer not to do. 

    I also like to see who is viewing my page because sometimes it is a Xangan who I haven't talked to in a while and seeing their name there reminds me to go look at their page and talk to them. 
    Do not get rid of footprints :(  

  • I can see the the downside to the footprints but personally, I love them.. I feel like it's a great way to keep xanga as a community. When someone I don't know visits my site, I visit their site in return. I have found some of my favorite blogs this way. 

  • please  keak the footprints i like to see who vier my site

  • I thought we had the option of turning them off? I love footprints. 

  • I really am not that concerned if anyone visits my blog or not. I'm not out to win a popularity contest.

  • Please don't remove footprints.  While I understand what you mean about it possibly inhibiting people from visiting -- heck, I've felt the same way myself when visiting other people's Xangas -- I consider it a very important security and safety feature.  One of the reasons I had to leave LiveJournal was that it lacked any comparable feature, and my ex was stalking me.  She wouldn't be able to do that here because of footprints.  On Xanga, between footprints and sign-in lock, I can be reasonably safe from her while simultaneously still being able to meet new people.  On LiveJournal, I would have had to use Friends Lock.  If you eliminate footprints, I'm likely to have to switch to Friends Lock here as well.

  • I don't require footprints, so anyone can view my blog, however.... 

    I like it when people don't hide the fact that they visit my blog because SO MANY many do hide it.

    Even for the many, many people who don't like me at all, I prefer the honesty of the willingness to show your face on my blog, but if you get rid of footprints I won't be able to.

    Also, I've been able to get friends back from long ago, because suddenly someone who had been viewing me anonymously was suddenly willing to show their face on my blog.

    Very Rarely do I go in and look at footprints, but I catch them moment by moment as they show up. 

    Sometimes when someone came by but didn't comment, I will click on them and visit, and maybe get a new friend (like boilingicicle said, I think it was) or just return a visit/view.

    So that's the vote of a blogger who does not require footprints, I still think Xanga should keep them.  It's not that much of a deterrant because most of the top bloggers don't require footprints anyway. 

    Rarely do I view anonymously, but today, just by fluke, I just read most of the top blogs without being signed in.  Only one of them even had sign-in lock on.  So if I'd been specifically wanting to view anonymously, it would not have slowed me down at all.

    Keep them.

  • I would like to be able to see who 'views' my site -- I post mostly photos, and have put my site on sign-in lock because I had a rash of footprints from unnamed Chinese and Korean viewers -- The purpose of the lock was to prevent wholesale usage of my photos for who-knows-what purpose by who knows whom.  I do NOT want to have to go to friends lock!

  • I use all of the locks and I love footprints.  Because I am blogging about my family, I want more privacy.  I think if I saw 50 views and didn't know who was reading my posts, it would make me feel a little uncomfortable.

    One of the BIG reasons some of my friends like Xanga instead of facebook is because there are so many ways to protect your privacy 

  • I'd rather keep footprints. I like not having my site on friend's lock so I can get my posts out there and still have the security of knowing where my traffic is coming from. 

  • i think it's valuable for people who want specific users to stay off their site/have stalkers. i think it's a form of protection for them without taking away their right to be seen and heard by the wider community/have to put on friends lock.
    so i think this should be made an option, but not change the whole feedback layout.

  • Being able to see who is coming to my site is a nice feature, especially since it lets you know what kind of people are reading about my life.
    But at the same time this new idea wouldn't be hard to live with. As long as view counts aren't taken out entirely cause that's one of the features I like best here!

  • hmm.. I like footprints, but I could definitely see how they're negative, especially with the reasons you mentioned..

  • I like knowing exactly who is visiting if the data is available. If I want to stalk someone I'll do it without signing in.

  • Keep the footprints!!!!!!

    I want to be able to see who is reading my posts.

    @CecilliaMarie - I agree. If you want to keep your thoughts private why not enable friend's lock?? 

  • DON'T TAKE THE FOOTPRINTS AWAY ...no no no. That would be horrible . And a big mistake. Xanga has good options of "browsing in private" and "footprints lock". I think how it's handled is fair. Users who like footprints leave and get them, the others don't need to. I get that you want to be more of a "blogging site" like those that do get more traffic than Xanga, but you do it by paying with the "community factor" which is the core of Xanga. (If you really think it is necessary  you can set browsing anonymously as default...that can chage quite something bc people are lazy.)

     I think footprints are really important. One of the reasons why I picked Xanga, to begin witth that, is the great privacy and security you can have here (depending on your settings). These options are awesome.  I find it a whole lot more creepy to have these constant views from "Germany" where I live. I think it is someone from my real life maybe which I ABSOLOUTELY want to avoid from happnening, because my blog is as many a secret one (THAT'S why I love Xanga!) and they make me consider to go on friends lock or sign in lock again. "New York" is stalking me too. If I knew it is my friend who is from New York, I'd be super happy, if it was some blogger I don't know I'd be ok with it,  but who knows what sort of creeper is sitting behind the screen. In other words if you make it as you threaten to do here, I definitely will go on sign in lock and that can't be a good thing (for the traffic of the site) .Footprints connect me to people too. I feel extremely flattered when someone reads more than one entry from me. I think others would be too. I understand that sometimes peole have othing to say, but I still love seing footprints from them. I made friends with people I used to argue with who then read my site. (they would not have read my site. And if I ever get asked why I "stalk" them, I'll just say that I'm interested...it's not stalking at all when you show who you are. I also cringe at the thought that when I have sign in lock (I change the settings often) my enemies read my personal thoughts. If they read them, I just want to know.

    Basically it will end up like this: People who want to stalk others will do so, and leave their location....as they do now ehen they stal pages that don't have sign in lock. People who value their privacy will lock their sites more.--> bad for traffic from outside.

    I don't think that getting rid of footprints will people to cause tons of previous entries either. I think they don't read them, because they don't care..its more interesting to keep up with the "flow" on Xanga and read the recently discussed topics.

  • Please don't get rid of footprints. I like knowing the browser/locations of who is viewing what. As many people have said, it helps us determine how much additional security we need to have.

  • Get rid of footprints and me along with a lot of other users whack friends lock on, which will be even more detrimental to xanga.

    I like to know who's visiting my blog.

  • We can turn off our footprints in "Settings."  How can there be a problem?  There is no problem.

  • footprints is how i meet new people. it encourages me to write more too because i "see" a real person instead of a generic number. also, as pointed out above, it is important to have peace of mind about being able to be open on this site. i would not want family members or hostile past friends reading what i write.

  • It's so crazy to me that people want others to read their stuff, but are weirded out if someone actually does. I love it when I see that someone has taken the time to read a lot of my stuff. I don't think they are "stalking" me. I think they have EXCELLENT taste!!!!

  • I like to see who is visiting and from where. My blog is public so people can read it without being signed into Xanga. As usual it would be best to allow people a choice rather than forcing them all into one direction...you will get people being unhappy going either of both ways.

  • This is not a good idea.. *sigh

    I vote a VETO!

    NO! I agree with @npr32486 -  You're welcoming all the stalkers!

  • I actually enjoy my footprints, and it never hinders my browsing the site. I like visiting the people that have seen my site, and seeing if maybe I could connect with them if they failed to leave a comment and to connect with me. When I see that someone has gone back a few pages but didn't comment, I'll know that I at least intrigued them, and if they read that much I usually leave them a comment to say thanks for stopping by or something like that. Other people might be shy or don't think they have anything valuable to say - but it doesn't make me mad. I'm flattered if they read back pages, even if they don't comment. 

    The Footprints feature is a valuable thing to have, and while it may discourage connection, I feel it encourages it even more because it allows me to see who's come and look at their blog: maybe I didn't say anything of interest to them in my latest five posts, but they could have said something I can relate to or comment on in one of theirs. If I never saw their footprint, I never would have found what could be a potential friend or something like that.

  • I like footprints, personally. I'm not afraid to stalk people's pages either. I don't care who knows it, but that's just me. If the overwhelming majority wants it gone; it won't hurt me one bit.

  • I want the foot prints kept as they are a part of the security feature I like having here on Xanga.

  • @john - Hmm... not sure, activate it for a certain percentage of users and see if it affects page views at all to any statistical significance? But yah I see what you're saying... you can't really test it since you'd have to tell the users being tested that they weren't being tracked and see if there's a noticeable difference in behavior since it's more a psychological thing than a technical thing. Hard to do. 

    umm... I don't know, okcupid tracks, facebook doesn't, there's compelling reasons for both. 

  • Footprints are an INTEGRAL part of the Xanga experience. DO NOT TAKE THEM AWAY.

  • i WONDER if xangians can sue Facebook for not having footprints available? Since xanga has footprints people can call the police and prove that a stalker has been near them.

    I don't know if you have any liability with footprints but you should check with a lawyer....

  • Many of us have stalker-protectors anyway, so it's not going to make a huge difference if you get rid of footprints.

  • I love this idea.

  • This is a stupid waste of time. Why not fix things that need to be fixed instead of fixing shit that DOESN'T NEED TO BE CHANGED?!

  • @faerieshadow - I totally agree.  

    I was just about to say- What if we could just see WHO visited our site, but not WHAT they saw?  Instead of seeing ___________ looked at this many pages, just see that that person visited your site.  I don't really care what they look at.  I just like knowing WHO is reading.

  • I think I prefer the footprints. But I have had these thoughts as well, how knowing about footprints can inhibit browsing.

    Regardless, if you continue to show what location non-signed in visitors hail from (as Views) that's cool because I've noticed once I tell an "outside" visitor I know they were  scoping my site out, it's a deterrent from future snooping.

  • I'm terrible about going back many times to look at a blog I found interesting, and I like to see who read my blog, too.  I vote for keeping them, but I won't leave if you don't.  I've met a lot of people by visiting their sites after they visited mine.

  • @lightnindan - yes!! i've met a lot of people that way too.

  • i love footprints.... waaah. people are so fucking worried about what other people think. it's ridiculous- this awkward paranoia people have about coming off as a 'stalker.' everyone stalks everyone on the internet. plus most people probably like the fact that someone found them interesting enough to read through their entire archives. footprints are great because you can see how the person got to your site. i've connected with a lot of people through my footprints who read but didn't comment. by turning the footprints off, you are going to hurt lurker abilities to make friends :(

  • without seeing who it is footprints are pointless. doing away with footprints lock in favor of friends lock is also stupid. i'm not the type to get mad at people who come to my site and i don't understand those that do; those people are idiots. that being said; I do like to know who was on my site, therefore it's "identify yourself or you can't enter". at the same time, i don't want to restrict access to only six people(the number of friends i have) or be forced to add a bunch of people to my friends list who aren't my friends just because that's the only way i can get traffic. there is no upside to this. footprints work perfectly the way they are, the problem is the users. 

    in fact, my browsing would go down by doing away with footprints because i would no longer be going to check out the random person that came to my blog. 
    views... ahh views, these always annoyed me because they never said who was looking at your post. as soon as you post it it says you have one view(even though no one has looked at it yet.) then, sometimes even though there are no footprints identifying that post, the view number goes up. I would like to be able to click the "4 views" link and actually see WHO looked at my post. 
    i think that the way that people have been trying to "drum up business" is idiotic. I say that not to insult any individual, but to accurately describe my thoughts on the methods being used. if xanga is supposed to be a community for bloggers then anonymity in who is visiting is not something we should promote. 
    this is what i see though, and it bothers me. "popular" xangans are complaining about not getting traffic/comments even though the most asinine things they post regularly hit top blogs and get double if not triple digit comments not counting conversations happening in the comments section. the answer to this? forming cliques or "clubs" to blatantly self promote at the expense of other bloggers. i've experienced the ups and downs of this, when the ASSCAT team did their contest recently i had an upswing in traffic during the contest, but whenever there is a NY meetup or something else in which i am not involved my traffic takes an even bigger dive because all focus goes to posts related to that. note, this is not an indictment of these bloggers, it's merely an observation of how "blogging clubs" affect individuals who are not "in". 
    in contrast to that, the "bloggathon" which the xanga team ran for the ENTIRE COMMUNITY was good for traffic without dividing up bloggers into separate cliques and groups. the key to promoting xanga is promoting xangans, not just popular xangans, not the xanga elite, but average everyday xangans who may get 1 or 2 comments a day/week rather than 15+ within an hour of posting

  • doesn't matter to me, I don't even look at them, but I do get semi nervous about exploring others pages...

  • @livefastbleedslow - yeah, I agree, too much paranoia!  If you have a public blog people will probably read it! I like my xanga stalkers fine, because I like getting viewed.

    If people want more views they should not require footprints, but I think the requirement should be an option for those who prefer fewer views without going all the way into friends lock.

    @UnconventionalButterfly - I have to say that's a good point.  What about all of the multiple 'suggestions' made by Xangans that never get addressed, not even with an acknowledgement that anyone read them.  It makes me wonder what is the point of the Xanga suggestion section.

  • I'm a silent user of footprints.  I would never mention them to anyone or post about them or leave an angry message because of footprints.  On the other hand, I check them pretty much every day, for a variety of reasons.  I like to make sure my regular subs and friends are reading my stuff, even if they don't comment.  I just like to know I haven't offended someone or lost someone or something like that.  I also like to check for new folks who are regularly reading my site but are reluctant to comment...and I often visit them and sometimes sub them.  I almost always begin commenting someone's site if they have regularly appeared in my footprints, just out of interest to see why they're interested in me.  Several of my current subs are people I started reading because they were in my footprints.  And I also use them for a somewhat negative reason:  if I get into a nasty comment exchange with someone I like to check my footprints for a few days to see if they're lurking on my site.  I find it uncomfortable to blog about my personal life if I don't know who is listening.  Recently someone unexpectedly flamed out on my blog and it was useful for me to know this person has been lurking for months without commenting.  Sometimes it's good to know you have a negative audience too.  That's all my thoughts about footprints!!!

  • @iones_island - hahaha i thought i was the only one that felt that way about the views link.

  • Haha, yeah, I've been shy about visiting more than a few pages on someone's blog before. I don't want to look like a stalker or something. Not having footprints would be kinda nice.

  • @fromprivatetopublic - that's the thing, they're taking away the 'WHO". 

  • @grammarboy - if you don't want your footprints showing you can usually view anonymously.

  • I'm going with nay on this one.  I personally don't mind if someone knows I'm reading their posts but I do want to know who was on my page.

  • TO THE XANGA TEAM! I'M BEGGING YOU PLEASE DON'T GET RID OF FOOTPRINTS! CALL THEM VIEWS WHATEVER JUST LET US KNOW WHO'S VIEWING!!!

  • I hate this idea. Please keep the footprints!

  • i don't care people seeing i've visited their page..i think it's there for the public,otherwise they should put on a friends lock,delete me from their friends,make their post private etc..also i'd love to see who visits my page..i've added many people that have visited my site,not left feedback but i liked theirs so i added them,,

    the bottom line is,i don't care if my site has 5000views and i can't get to know any of these people.i'm here to connect,not to stalk.

  • NO!!!  Please don't get rid of footprints!!  That would be going backwards!!  I have met so many new people through looking at who viewed my site!  If people don't want people looking at their blog, they can always do friends lock! 

    I will leave Xanga if you take away footprints.  They are one of the best features!  Don't rename them, either.  UGH!

  • KEEP FOOTPRINTS!!!

  • NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

  • it's not going to make your site more popular,,,

  • @Roadlesstaken - You're so right. That is a tough call. There is some good area with it, but over all, without it, people will view more and not worry being call a stalker. 

  • I vote a big no on this one.

  • Dislike. 

    I really enjoyed the footprints, and i loved leaving them.
    Will this mess up "sign-in lock?" I liked having it where you had to have a xanga account to view my profile. I don't want to resort to "friends lock" because I want the entire xanga community to be able to see my posts, just not outsiders. 

  • Definitely keep Footprints. PLEASE.

  • Keep the footprints. Because people who dont want their pages viewed as heavy are free to express it to those who are visiting. But for the rest of us...who dont cause any problems, we like the Footprints. Hostility from a few does not mean, the rest of us who do not have issues and welcome visitors, dont get the privilege of seeing who views our page.

  • I love footprints as well.

  • keep the footprints. i dont care if you rename but keep the feature as i find it helpful to see who has been on my site

  • I often use the footprints feature to see who has stopped by recently, because I don't always update with new posts, my visitors don't always leave comments. I, for one, rely on them to determine who is really interested in what I have said or done.

  • Yeah, my browsing habits are completely different on Xanga than on any other site. I'm less inclined to click content that's being recommended to me because I know I'll leave a footprint, and some Xangans take offense or make assumptions when you visit but don't comment (or when you do comment but they don't know you).

    It's gotten to the point where I mainly just comment on ish sites because they're actually there for a large audience to read, whereas different Xangans have different preferences as far as who they want to see their content.

    Anyway, if footprints were gone, I'd probably be more inclined to seek out the content that I actually would comment on. It would also be easier to find which Xangans actually do write to be read, as opposed to the ones who are like, "Why the fuck are you even on my personal blog that I put on the internet myself with no restrictions."

  • By seeing the username footprint I often get connected with other like-minded Xangans who blog on similar topics, even if they don't leave a comment. It also lets me know if certain Friends of mine have read my most recent post yet. I'd be very unhappy to see Footprints discontinued. 

  • I feel like a compromise would be to show all locations / names and then give a number of total views. For example, A saw 14 pages and B saw 1 would show up as A and B saw 15 pages.

    It's a passing idea. Wouldn't solve the stalking issue, but few things would.

  • One thing I love about xanga more than anything is the footprints... I wish other sites can have them too. See, while some are conscious about them it kind of makes me to see when an old friend has came back and comes by and I go go a visit to their page. If these didn't exist I would never know. It's a form of them caring and I like seeing they stopped by. 

    please keep them... PLEASE!!!! 

  • I think I would be okay with getting rid of footprints and just knowing the views. I like knowing who's come to visit (and not left a comment) and I don't mind that they're there, but I would learn to deal with not having it.

    But I wonder about another feature that I've seen in the past on blogging sites, which is controlling the privacy settings of individual blog entries. For example, suppose I want to post a public blog for everyone to see, even non-Xangans, but I have other blogs that I don't want the whole universe to see. Of course, you're going to say that there are protected lists, but those are limited (especially for non-premium users). If it were possible to make some of my entries viewable to friends or Xangans only and others viewable to everyone, that might help to ease the concerns of some other more paranoid users. Just a thought.

  • Please no changes! Please! With protected posting, friends lock, disabling footprints and user sign in lock please let us decide for ourselves how much privacy we want. Keep it like it is. Face Book makes so many changes it often causes nothing but trouble. KEEP FOOT PRINTS~ KEEP XANGA AS IT IS PLEASE!

  • I love footprints.  I hope you keep them.  

  • I like keeping track of whether or not my family or ex-boyfriend is visiting my site.  I love footprints.  

  • Are you kidding me????  Please don't be like facebook and go changing things that don't need fixing!  Seriously, if I am uncomfortable with someone reading my blog I block them.  It's as simple as that.  There are a few on here whose blogs I have read from start to finish, I asked them if it was OK first and it was 'no problem'.  Footprints = a very good thing, please don't do away with them.  By the way?  Thanks for asking.   

  • I like reading my footprints. I like leaving footprints. I use footprints lock. Please don't change it. I've never found a system for viewing visitors that I like better.

  • i think xanga users need to calm down if footprints are a problem.  i doubt i'll stop blogging if you make a change, but i like seeing if a new user is reading something i wrote, because it gives me a chance to connect with someone new.  

  • I would like to see that change.  One person has blocked me, just for going on her site and reading a post, before she decided to friend me.  My reading her post had nothing to do with stalking- it was just reading.

  • I like footprints but I have always wondered if it was hurting traffic.  So I think it might be worth a shot to see how it would impact xanga to take off the footprints.  

    I like overall numbers more than the specific anyway.  So I like the idea of keeping a running total. 

    I also think that if tracking the data of the footprints is slowing xanga down then the footprints are worth giving up.

  • I've been on the receiving end of flaming rants from the loony fringe who are either paranoid about strangers reading their blog (hello! Friends lock!) or demand tribute in eProps for the privilege of reading their drivel. Now when I click around unknown sites, I sign out first. Still, I prefer to keep footprints even though mine have been a little depressing lately.

  • Keep the Footprints.

  • I can see the pros and cons but the overwhelming majority on here want to keep them. Maybe you could do a test period to see what happens. It would be interesting to know how it would affect viewership.

  • I like my footprints...it tells me who's been a calling and where they've been looking...and if'n I need to take a look see or if'n I need to do something else...this is a great tool to have..smile

  • I check the footprints quite often - just to get a feel for what attracts readers.  Keep them, is my vote.

  • I really like the footprints & it makes me feel good if I see a new reader has browsed through several pages. That's the point of posting... To be read. I've never worried about leaving too many footprints on someones page, because I assume they want readers too. If not, why would they be posting a public blog?

  • It seems to me that if people want to control who is visiting their site, they should use Friends Lock.  Otherwise, who cares who is visiting your site?  Your plan sounds fine with me.

  • Footprints as they are add security to xanga. If there is suspicious activity, we as users can easily see who it is without contacting very busy you if that person becomes a problem. 

    Eliminating footprints, however, would definitely add more freedom to browsing. 
    Perhaps there could be a compromise... allow users to see footprints from friends and subscribers but all others will just show location and time of views? Or vice versa?

  • @Composing_Life - Ohmygod, like, I am so going to spam your site with footprints. xD

  • I would be honored to know someone was stalking me. I seldom use footprints (for username viewing purposes).

  • I like the idea of getting rid of them.  If you're afraid of stalkers, make your site friends only.  It's one of the unfortunate side-effects of the internet; makes creepy stuff like that super easy. :(

  • please keep footprints!  people who don't want to leave a footprint should just turn theirs off!

  • to lose xigned in xangans visiting kills for me much of the point of eing here that I see real people visiting.  most of my traffic is spiders and I don't give a flying crap if syria visits...but maybe I do not want the pentagon viewing my site?  wow so and so visited twice lets see what they're about!  if it's all annonymous yeah, now i have more views and less readers... oo i can stalk people and them me far easier...woo.  taking away the public listing ruins both the security and the specialness of meeting real people who seem to find us worth a second or third look...or wether so and so actually isn't lying when they say they read.  or whoopie why not comment once and hit f5 to increase the views so it's just view volume again yeah...more meaningless statistics and less personal interaction or information.  yeah.   I find the notion far morelikely to make this place less accessable to those of us who only have 60 friends and actionable pay attention to the patterns of them visiting versus oh wow so and so hasn't commented in 3 months cause I wrote crap delete friend they obviously don't care when in reality they are visiting just pehaps a tad busy or without any input at that time.  oo blog rings again closed societies where we randomly have twice the effort to get a comment out of someone..

  • I like footprints the way they are. I like knowing who reads my posts and footprints don't stop me from finding and visiting new xangans.

  • keep the footprints!!!

  • Much of the time, I find people who don't want to leave footprints (or any trace of their visit) are likely UP TO NO GOOD.

  • I like having the info from footprints. 

  • I wouldn't be so quick as to completely erase it, I would like to see a trial of with and without footprints. There is definitely the discouragement of reading people's posts, but I'm not sure if we reduce time on reading our footprints...whether we would spend more time on Xanga...I would propose, it would reduce the amount on xanga.

  • I agree that footprints might stop people from exploring more. But if you get rid of them, a huge percentage of people will go on friends lock, and that will stop the exploring aspect much more than footprints ever did. If the idea is to have a more open exchange, I think it will have the opposite effect. BUT I think it's great that you asked us, and that you are being innovative with the site and thanks for that!

  • I like the footprints just the way they are - I've met several friends as a result.  If I really need to "lurk" around, I can always log off!  now, get to work on making the cut and paste from MS Word work for posting blogs on firefox - works fine with explorer!  thx, Al

  • @john - no, for all the reasons i outlined in my comment. honestly, i couldn't possibly care less if i tried really really hard WHERE the person is, i want to know WHO it is. for all i care they could be anywhere from the moon to my bathroom. the only way location information is helpful is if you are trying to figure out if certain people are on your site(assuming you know where they are) or if someone is lurking from multiple accounts (different screen names, same location) as a disclaimer, opinions expressed in this comment are solely those of the commenter and those who recommended/replied in agreement. and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of every last xangan ever to log in whether they be living, dead or pretending to be dead,. 

  • I like the footprints feature!  Please don't change

  • I'm fairly positive that all the footprints do not show up ~ lots of people tell me they looked at my site such and such a time, etc. ~ but the footprints do not show up half the time, at least ~ if you keep them, I would like to see them become accurate, at least.  It seems they used to show up accurately ~ a couple years ago ~ but no longer.  It kinda bugs me a bit, but seriously, it is not that major in the whole scheme of things that are really important in this world.

  • I would miss the feature, but okay. Maybe you can keep the username in place if the person is a Xanga Friend? Surely people don't mind being stalked by a Xanga Friend...

  • This new idea seems better. With footprints it's kinda similar to having cameras set up all over a city, which is sort of disagreeable. I read less because I feel like I'm stalking kinda

    How about the option to leave footprints on a public, or private, footprints page? It'd be like a very casual way of saying hi without having to say anything. The reader just clicks a button, maybe the "Leave Footprints" button, and that's it. It then shows up on the on the writers "footprints" page with all the others who left theirs too. This way it would connect other readers too and we could just follow each others tracks; without saying anything we could easily find more people with similar interests. Xanga has friends, subscriptions, and eprops, but those require talking or asking for approval, which surely makes some readers, especially rather introverted ones, which many people online seem to be, uncomfortable. There's a Japanese website called ameba.co.jp that has this feature and it's very popular. It's called peta. Here's a link to someone's public peta page: http://peta.ameba.jp/p/addPeta.do?targetAmebaId=ohamahaamichi

  • Don't take the footprints away or everybody will be going on friends lock :(

  • PLEASE don't get rid of foot prints. Don't you offer the option to turn them off??? PLEASEEEEE keep foot prints around. pleaseee.

  • Is there a way to show who checked your site without showing how many pages they viewed?  I love knowing who is reading, but the footprints DO keep people from reading much at a time b/c you don't want to be seen as a stalker.

  • I kinda doubt that would improve traffic, even by 0.1%, for anyone.

    Xanga is losing users because they're bored, they feel like Xanga is missing something. Nobody ever left because they didn't like someone in their footprints, you can block someone with one click. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my two cents. I like knowing where the person came from to find my page and what they're looking at, but maybe that's just me.

  • I personally like footprints. I would be sad to see them go. 

  • Kill the footprints. KILL THEM. :p

  • Please KEEP footprints - it is useful for those of us who fear that certain people in our lives may discover our Xanga accounts. Many of us really don't like being on Friends lock and Footprints lock allows us to avoid that while still keeping an eye out for people we don't want visiting our sites - it also gives us the ability to block specific persons we suspect but aren't sure about. So unless you are going to give us another way to have this exactly same functionality (and I really don't see how you'd do that), do NOT get rid of Footprints, please!

  • @CreativeUndertow -  You made VERY good points, goes right along with what I just said. Xanga team, please listen!

  • I don't understand why it's an issue. If you don't want to leave footprints you just turn them off right? It's not a huge deal for me either way but I think it's fun to know who's reading what on my blog. I wouldn't quit xanga if you didn't have footprints but it's one of the features I like.

  • I like footprints.  I have footprints lock enabled, but not friendslock: you can view my site but not if you don't want me to know who you are.  I'd like it a lot if I could keep it that way. 

    I don't want to do anything crazy, like block out all xangans (since I've returned from a years-long hiatus, all but one of the friends I made on this site have left or changed xangas).  I'm posting this stuff on the internet because I'm okay with people seeing it.  Even strangers.  But I want something back: I want to know who is looking. 

  • Please please please keep the footprints!  It actually gets me to click on and check out MORE xanga sites because I'm curious about out the xangans who visit my site!

  • SAVE THE FOOTPRINTS

  • I like the way Facebook lets us block with username and email addresses. They can't see us at all and we can't see them. I never worry about "footprints" there.

  • Get rid of them.

  • Yay more cowardice. How about a little honesty "yes, I read that post, yes you interest me" instead of allowing people to hide behind the mask of anonymity. Faceless, nameless stalkers, hooray. -_-

  • Set an option to be anonymus and just heave it show "A xanga user visited". That would work no?

  • Personally I like footprints.  And if someone doesn't want random people reading their blog, they should put it on friends lock.

  • I like footprints because they sort of introduce you to someone who took enough interest to visit your posts and could lead to a friendship.

    But mostly, I am wondering why the Russian Federation is always visiting my site.  Everyday ... Russian Federation.

  • Keep the footprints.  I frequently use them as a social tool to connect with people who browse my page.  

  • If people really want to keep their xangas private from "stalkers" they can put them on private! 

    Please remove footprints because they really are killing xanga :[

  • Can you at least make it an option that we can see who's trafficking our sites?  I'd hate to see the feature be taken away entirely, and personally, I like to know who's been poking around.

  • MOAR FOOT PRINTS!!! >:O

  • Good idea. 

  • @BinarySearch - Korea seems to visit mine a lot. haha. or they used to. the location ones that visit almost all blog posts, those are pretty awkward... 

  • I like footprints. Please don't get rid of them.

  • i don't think we should keep footprints -- i agree that it's inhibiting our browsing of others' blogs.

  • I agree with the sentiment of who.  I'm not so concerned with which parts of my site are being viewed but it's a peace of mind thing to know who's visiting my page.  

  • I miss suhock. I wish we could track even better than footprints. I like to know when the same person has a bunch of different identities. 

  • I don't like Footprints.

  • With "Recent Visitors" I hardly look at my footprints anymore. I don't really care how much or how little someone looks at my page, it's the someone i'm interested in. 

  • Footprints hasn't really stopped me from visiting and checking out other people's blog.  I do have to admit after footprints were first implemented, I was very hesitant to do that.  I used to diligently check my footprints to see who has visited.  But nowadays, I just check to see where they are coming from. 

    I'm ok if you remove them.  I'd like to keep the the location and how they got to my site (e.g. Google search, or inbox or from another xangan...).  But if your users felt threatened or felt stalked, would you be able to share footprints with them? 

    If you disabled footprints, does it make it easier to maintain the program and logic behind the scenes?  Will your application maintenance / testing be a bit easier? If so, go for it.

  • Last April, I did an opinion piece for BaldMike2004 regarding nuclear energy.  Every day since then, that post has been viewed by Russia, Ukraine, Lativa, all over Europe, Southeast Asia, India, Africa, South America as well as North America....and Antartica.  Hopefully I'm having a good effect, but I wouldn't be able to measure this without the footprints.  Even eblogger has stats where you can check your audience.  I say keep the footprints.

  • I like seeing if somebody has looked at my site, because I want to see their site and maybe form a friendship from them. Maybe there is a way to show "people who have visited the site" without showing "People who have clicked through every single page because they love your writing so much and now they look kinda creepy."

  • I vote to keep the footprints and leave things the way they are! :(  I don't care how many views I get nor do I care about leaving too many footprints on someone's page... I just want to keep track of who's reading my stuff.

  • Please keep Footprints. I like seeing who has viewed my posts and how interested they are in my site. I don't mind having many views by a signed-in user. I'm only creeped out when any anonymous user clicks through all my pages.

  • No, No, and No!  I want to keep footprints!  I'd absolutely hate it if you got rid of them.  Please don't!  Besides allowing stalkers free rein over Xanga, I think it will inhibit some folks in expressing themselves in their posts, if they don't have a clue who is reading.  It's kind of like knowing there is a stranger loose in your house somewhere...but you don't know WHERE they are or WHO they are!

    Kathi

  • I really like the footprints, I'd like to see them stay. It sometimes helps me find new blogs I like to follow

  • please keep them . . . worries about "stalkers" and privacy can be handled adequately through friend's lock and protected posts.

  • I love the footprints feature, and would miss it a lot. 

  • i'd say go back to views. not that i feel insecure about walking all over people's site but i know how it couuld be an issue for somebody

  • If you want trolls, stalkers and lurkers to take over Xanga, go ahead and take off the footprints.

  • Views > Footprints.

    I like this proposal.

  • Oh no! Please don't get rid of footprints! I like seeing who it is exactly seeing my site.

  • So, you now want to take away the one really useful part of thesecurity, the part that allows us to SEE the ones who are on our sites, even if the names  are bogus! NO, the footprints are important, and like others who feel this way, we don't care how many pages people read, but we DO care who is reading them. Please, don't put us back where we were several years ago!!

  • Ummm...I think there's a bigger reason that people are bailing off xanga. And that is because the "Team" has/is getting rid of all the features that make this site unique. It's become so sanitized and generic that is gotten boring. Can't you just stop fucking with it?

  • Never stopped browsing for fear of using footprints, nor had a negative experience from someone because of footprints.  If you say others have, that's okay, but in my time on Xanga, that has never been the case.

  • okay--personally, i would be VERY unhappy if footprints was removed.  i have a situation with an abusive ex, the father of my first child--and the way i had found out that he hacked my email account was that i saw his footprints on my page. i didn't know he had a xanga account, and his user name was his old email address.  that clued me in that he had hacked me...i had to change passwords everywhere, delete accounts, etc.  for ME, the footprints are something i check every day BECAUSE of that. 

    please, PLEASE do not get rid of this feature!

  • Or just tell people to stop being childish and if they want to view a site without the person knowing they can just log out first.  This way you get your hits and your ad money and they get to see the site and everyone's happy.

  • I vote to keep footprints. Not knowing who has been to my blog would probably end my site here. I don't mind anyone reading my blog as long as they are signed in and leave a footprint. I see a big problem with "snoopers" without footprints.

  • I post my blogs on other sites as well as on Xanga.  BUT I have made my Xanga site PRIMARY because of the footprints feature!   Recently I paid to become a Lifetime member of Xanga, again, mostly because of the footprints feature.  I gladly leave my footprints everywhere on Xanga so that I need not comment just to let someone know I have at least viewed their blog.  If there be some uncomfortable about letting me know they viewed my blog site, they don't offend me by not viewing it.  They can disable footprints if they want to do that anyhow.  And they can block me if they don't like me.  I'm fine with that!
    Footprints has NOT inhibited Xanga.  Just the opposite is true from my point of view.  Don't take it out.

  • If it wasn't for the Xanga footprints, I wouldn't found out about my stalker who has a criminal record. I made a police report and he is slapped with a restraining order and his online activities monitored.

  • That's a terrible idea. Please keep footprints. I want to know who is reading my posts. And thus, the requirement for sign-in lock.

  • Why don't you give attention to more easy management of posts instead? Like blogger, where you can edit/view/delete/tag (label) multiple posts in batches. The reason people are leaving here is not because of footprints, probably because of lack of ease in managing the posts.

  • @grizzlybearr - sorry, but why don't you friends-lock your blog if that happens?

  • People need to use the friends-lock feature instead of complaining about people creeping on their blog. If you don't want people reading your blog, don't let them have access in the first place. Stop whining over things you can change.

  • @written_conversations - because i like that new people can run across my blog. i've made some really good friends due to having my blog open. i like having it open...i just hate that i have creepers. but this one is new so hopefully they wont find it! lol.

  • I like it as is. I get a lot of creepers on my page, looking at my photos but never saying hi. I like footprints because if I see it happening everyday, they get blocked and I feel safer. I understand your argument, but removing footprints would also lessen a feeling of security for many of us here.

  •           I don't see why anyone should be afraid of leaving "footprints" unless they're stalkers and we don't want stalkers.So: Keep the footprints and those who are not comfortable should just learn to deal with them or stop stalking around. Grow the f...k up!

  • I hope that you keep the footprints. It is one of the distinct features of xanga that other blogs don't have that I especially like. Personally, I get curious and want to see who looks at my blog, which is what I believe the footprints option was originally designed for anyway. People who get paranoid or leave others angry messages for "stalking" their blog should just put a friends lock, and people who are afraid to leave footprints can always just browse other people's blogs without signing onto xanga. That way, it'll only show their general location and not their xanga ID. I think it's really unfair for those of us who like the footprint feature on xanga to be denied this feature just because these people are too lazy to take the necessary steps to satisfy themselves.

  • terrible idea! no! :( keep them.

  • I really don't want to nix footprints.  It's really nice to see who's visiting my site, and, personally, I don't mind leaving lots of footprints.  In fact, if I know I'm going to leave lots of footprints, I will message that particular xangan about it to explain that I just really like reading their stuff.  Essentially, footprints help me to be more social.

  • Keep the footprints.  It is a means of protection! 

  • footprints are like fecal matter that a visitor leaves behind on your xanga page. you can then pick up the feces and examine it, which is useful because i like to know who's been on my page and for how long. and if i find recurring feces, then i know something is up, either i have a fond visitor or a stalker. all in all, it makes me feel safe to know who's been on my site. footprints might discourage or make users wary of their visiting pages but there are plenty of ways to avoid that, as @chippedskull mentioned. overall, footprints is a great feature and should be kept

  • I vote for getting rid of footprints.

  • I actually liked footprints.   

  • Footprints are the whole reason I've come back to xanga. Don't get rid of them.

  • i want footprints to see who is coming.

    you can make this an option for those who want it, or those who do not

  • Get rid of Footprints, and rename them as Views.

    That's fine for me. We already have Friend's Lock so I don't really need to know which friends were on my page. I would rather have them view my entries freely without those deterring footprints.

    The problem with Friend's Lock though is if someone wanted to add me and her page was Friend's Locked too, I wouldn't be able to view her page and make a decision to add her or not.

    If there was a way to view the page of the person who initiated the 'Friend Invite' then that would be awesome.

  • Keep the Footprints.

  • I think this is great. I think I was in high school when Footprints came to be, and I remember I stopped looking at people from my school's Xangas if I didn't know them well, and I stopped checking my friends' as often because I didn't want them to think I was obsessed and checking 329324 times a day.

    There is no concept of "creeping" on Xanga anymore - there hasn't been for years - and that's what makes the Facebook experience so exciting, in part.

    I have always felt uncomfortable with footprints, and I did try the feature where you turn them off, but so many others have it set so you can't see their site unless you have footprints on. The setting was virtually useless.

    Without footprints, I would definitely roam Xanga more freely. I can already think of people whose entire blogs I'd read - not in a creepy way, just because I think they're interesting.

    I have been on Xanga since early 2005 and have seen a whole slew of changes, obviously. I have to say that Footprints is one that made me unsure, and honestly I don't feel like I "got used to it," because it is something that drastically alters they way people go about this site.

    I am so glad you guys are seeing this now. I think you will be surprised with the results if you remove Footprints. I think some people who weren't here before Footprints might not understand the FREEDOM not having them allows.

    I agree they're fun, but I look forward to my good ole' Xanga in a world without them. Please follow through!

  • Leave the footprints!

    I never leave comments on here but this one, I need to put in my word. I like knowing who comes by my site and sometimes there are those who plagiarize and it's happened to me twice and I was able to find out both times by looking at those who go through my entries. I don't know if I'd use Xanga if the footprints are taken away.

  • I like footprints and I've used them to keep stalkers off my blog!!  Don't lose the footprints!!

  • I like this idea - I love footprints, but I can definitely see why some people wouldn't like them, and feel self-conscious about leaving too many. I like footprints because I like to see how much traffic I'm getting, not because I want to see WHO is viewing stuff. So I'd be fine with switching to just Views! :D

  • It's interesting to me, reading through all the comments, that almost all the comments against the removal of footprints have been "recommended" at least once, and few of the comments for the removal of footprints have been "recommended." It seems that people who want to keep Footprints have very strong feelings, some perhaps stemming from personal experience - I know quite a few bloggers who utilize Footprints who have had trouble with stalkers in the past.

    Some people might respond "well, that's what Friends Lock is for," but if Friends Lock was the only way to protect the site, it seems as though it would hinder growth. By having Footprints Lock, new people are able to visit unless they're blocked. With Friends Lock, new people are unable to visit unless they're invited.

  • To me,footprints are a nonissue.Why is it that a few paranoid people can get there way by complaining about something that most everyone else are fine with?It's like politics.100 people like how something is done and 3 people don't like it,so they have to appease those 3 to be politicially correct.I like to see who has visited my site really.If someone looks at a lot of the pic I post,its no big deal.If I didn't want them to be seen,why the heck would I put them on the internet for the whole world to see.The reasoning of humans astounds me at times.

  • I quite like being able to see who has stopped by. If it is worrying people then make it so that a person's name can only appear once on the list

  • I personally like footprints.  I kind of like see who is browsing my site and if I see them a lot I will normally send a friend request.

  • So... this is about marketing? I love that the xanga team actually lets their users think they have a say in something, but over the years, I've noticed progress happens regardless of how someone feels about it. My first xanga blog was in 2004, and I still miss soooo many things, and resent so many other things that have *intruded* into my web presence. The problem with other host sites is not having choices, but the problem here is that having choices stifles 'the public'. I pay for a couple of my blogs, one is lifetime, the other premium, and I would love for paid blogs to be able to actually keep options they started out with, if the user so wishes. Genuine stalkers can generally be handled with outside trackers, which I've actually used to have xanga security address an issue for me. But on my most personal and private blog, a footprint is a nice way to see when someone has touched base with me, like knowing someone got your mail or something. I would love to be able to keep the footprint feature, but perhaps give it an off switch for people who need to turn it off. You will always have nervous people watching trackers, either your own brand or an outside source, and frankly, I think it would make those particular people even more nervous not to be able to see traffic like that. That is what traffic is all about. I like checking footprints. I don't happen to like views because I think that's showing off, and copies another blog site I use much less than I use xanga. Not all of us are trying to market ourselves. Sorry about that.

  • No please do not do away with the foot prints.  I would then have to post private and I don't want to have to do that.

  • If I friend's-lock my blog, how will my new art patrons find me? It would be nice if there was a way for visitors to message and say..."Hey, this is your cousin from Kentucky. Friend me." That would help a LOT LOT LOT of security issues.

  • @bloodbreath - you make two very convincing (and original, in my reading of comments here so far) points in favour of retaining Footprints. perhaps our styles of Xanga usage are similar and explain my agreement; however, your points are universal.

  • I like footprints. Installing some kind of site/IP/link tracker has always been at the top of my list on any site I've run outside of Xanga, and I was ecstatic when you guys implemented something similar. 

  • @hollowhopes - I certainly understand the 'freedom' that having no ability to track people via usernames gives, I had somebody come to my very doorstep from another country, (for real, NOT paranoia) because they felt that they had that right due to reading my Xanga. Then, because there were no blocks in place to stop them, the person found 'friends' and they all continued to be on my site 24x7, and continued to make up fake sites that appeared to be mine. So, even if no one else here knows what can happen without the ability to differentiate via name the sites that visit us, I certainly do...and footprints are a vital part of not having that happen again. Going behind a 'friends lock'  wall keeps us from having casual interaction with any new readers, which is FAR worse for Xanga than keeping 600+ fake accounts from harassing one person for 5 years or so.

  • @moniet - I'm genuinely sorry that happened to you, but I feel like that's more of an issue for law enforcement at that point than Xanga's overall policies. I have had the same man come to my door at night in a ski mask for about a year, and though this had no relation whatsoever to the internet, I did feel intense fear to ever be home alone, because he only visited then. The cops said it wasn't technically illegal, and so I understand that avenue isn't always useful.

    But I question how often such an internet-related incident happens. I had a friend as a teen who ran away with a pedophile from WoW, but this was a "voluntary" action, not a stalking. That is the only incident I know of in my own life, so I imagine it's not rampant. I think it might make more sense for the overall Xanga community to act aggressively to any reports from users towards such behaviors (like specially helping you track the man down and banning him permanently from the site) while allowing footprint-less browsing for the remainder of the normal Xanga members who are not stalkers in actuality, just harmless stalkers in content reading.

    I have to assume that your situation is an anomaly and not the norm. At least, I would hope. The scariest part is that he somehow found your last name and address! There are messed up people in this world.

  • @hollowhopes - The local police would not touch this issue because it was 'international' so I was referred to the FBI, who told me they would do nothing till 'actual' harm was done to me, that in fact it's not illegal to go sit in somebody's driveway or to send them enough phone messages that the answering machine breaks. While that is far from Xanga's problem, the issue I see is that with no way to id individual 'hits' and connect them to an actual Xanga site, there is no proof that one person is making the visits. We had trackers that were VERY effective for giving the ID info for our sites, which John himself posted instructions for bypassing, in essence aiding the stalkers in the ability to be on our sites unless we were totally walled off...unable to be read casually at all. 

    If you or anyone else wishes not to be ID'd by footprints, you can already turn them off and browse quite freely. But you can only read my site if I know an actual Xanga ID...and to me that is fair enough. I post as openly as possible to share from my site, but in return I want to know who is reading. I've never left any rude comments to anyone that reads my site but did not leave a comment, no matter how many pages. Unless they have already made problems on my site by previous actions...such as rudeness or making problems in my comments section, my site is there for them to enjoy. I can block them if they create issues, because I can see the footprints names. But without knowing who is visiting by name, all the 'views' tell me is useless garbage. Get rid of 'views' and keep footprints. I care nothing about where they were before they came to my site, but I do care who they are.

  • rename foodprints as views sounds good.

  • I like using the footprints to visit other people that aren't really friends with me.

    There's not really many good ways to find new people.

    I like seeing who visits.

  • Keep 'em... but let us turn on/off whether or not people can see our username. I really like seeing that I get hits from other countries.

    Also: A total-view counter would be nice.

  • Keep Footprints!  I like to know exactly who is coming to my site.  

  • I LOVE footprints! nonono, please no. please keep footprints! :(

  • honestly, I think footprint lock should remain. I have had issues in the past with other users, but not since I have had this site, which is due to footprint lock.

  • Actually footprints get some of us to do more exploring. I only have two or three people I keep up with regularly. Sometimes I'll branch out if one of them recommends an entry but for the most part I never get out of that little triangle unless I see a footprint from a user I don't recognize.

  • Long live footprints!!  views are worthless..

  • Please no changes! Please no changes!!!

  • it is a good idea! but if cut it off ,it seem give us many inconvenient!

    http://www.imitation-gucci.com

  • I rarely check my footprints these days.

  • i like footprints and I often visit new people who visit me.

    I agree with theologians cafe... product council sucks. I think I'm going to quit paying premium now.

  • I don't really like this idea. I like being able to see who reads my page. Maybe you can still show who's viewing your site, but not get so specific & not show how many times or pages of your site that they viewed. Just show that they were there once.

  • Please do NOT get rid of footprints.  Some of us really like them!!! I have been disappointed that they aren't working properly.  (I know people have viewed the site, but footprints are being left.)  Even with a friends lock, there are other reasons, this feature is important to some of us.  Make it optional if you want, but please, don't get rid of it!

  • I really want to know who is reading my blog. Would it be better if we keep footprints and keep a seperate tap of how much views.
    so we don't get to see who viewed how much of our blogs, but we know the traffic and who has been here.

  • I like footprints. It is amazing to see all the countries that come to Xanga. It can encourage one to write even if comments are low on their site. People can read but may not have time to comment. I know they know I was there which shows I do care but did not have time to comment.

    Yes, there is bad and good to them but I think the benefits outweigh the bad.

  • POEATREEMAN I SEE FOOTPRINTS ONE WAY, YOUR WAY

    WHEN WILL I KNOW THE REAL FOOTPRINTS AND HOW MANY VISITORS DUE I HAVE EACH MONTH, AND COUNTRIES THEY COME FROM?

    ITS BEEN TOO LONG WAITING FOR ANY ANSWERS FROM YOU.

    IF YOU WANT A BETTER SITE , SHOW US

    POEATREEMAN
    10/15/2012

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