Chp 222. Addendum to Mizo Blog Directory

Here you will find all the frequently asked questions about the Mizo Blog Directory. You can also post any questions (or requests) that you have about the directory here. Commenting has been disabled in the main Blog Directory page because of the ever-increasing page size, which leads to longer loading time of an already heavy page.

Here you go – some of the common questions that land regularly in my inbox.



Q. Is this the official Mizo Blog Directory?

No, absolutely not! There is no such "official" Blog Directory, and there can never be any "official" blog directory. This directory is just an initiative taken up in order to bring as many Zo brothers and sisters together to a common platform where they can get to know each other and share their writings.

Remember, you have the total freedom to voice your opinion wherever you like, and no person or organization can take that freedom away from you. By claiming anything as "official", you become a member of a (dis)organized machinery - a definition that goes against the very essence of freedom of thoughts, expression and free-will.

Even if the Government of Mizoram makes a Blog Directory, that can never be "official". Nobody owns you or your opinion. Welcome to the internet revolution, baby.



Q. I know many Zo bloggers who are not in this list. Why?

As I said earlier, every individual have the rights to do whatever they want. In fact, many of my closest friends are not registered here and that doesn’t change anything. It’s their wish and I totally respect that.

Currently I have subscribed to the blog feeds of more than 300+ Mizo bloggers, out of which less than 150 are in the directory. Being in this directory or not being here does not make any difference. My main intention is to assist the new bloggers (registered or unregistered) who are new to the blogosphere and make them feel comfortable in this new domain and introduce them to other bloggers. The pen is mightier than the sword, but in this cyber age, the keyboard is even mightier than the pen . And our intention is to make sure you realize how powerful you’ve become.



Q. Hi Kima. My friend xxxxx blogs at xxxxx.com and is new to blogging. Can you include her on your Blog list too?

Sorry friend, but like I mentioned earlier, unless the person comes here and register personally we don’t add people just like that. We’ve had such issues in the past when it comes to linking people "without their consent" as there are certain users who want to "protect" their privacy while giving public access to their blog at the same time… Hence at the end of the day, we want to avoid any needless controversies here. Hope you understand.



Q. So is it legal to link somebody on your blog even if they don’t want you to?

Yup, it is completely legal. But it’s a matter of netiquette to always ask permission when you’re linking anybody to your blog, although you’ve done nothing "wrong" per se if you link without informing them.

No Cyber Law on this Planet can penalize you just because you put a link of another site on your blog, unless:

1. You are describing your link as one thing but actually sending your visitors to a completely different target (Shetland News v. Shetland Times)
   
2. Linking to illegal sites like porn, pirated mp3 downloads etc. Interesting read: "Links to Illegal Material / Liability for Hyperlinks" ( Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 )
   
3. You are deep-linking and bypassing advertising agreements (Live Nation Motor Sports, Inc. v. Davis)
   
4. You are hot-linking certain images (stealing bandwidth) or webcasts (stealing potential customers).

Hence to put it short, merely linking a site is definitely not a form of copyright infringement.

Another interesting read: IP: Is it Legal to Link?

This is an odd question for old time Internet geeks. Is linking legal? I mean, that's stupid. It's like asking whether it's legal for a duck to fly; that's what ducks do. Similarly, that's what the World Wide Web is – hyperlinked text.

But in spite of all these, always remember it is good netiquette to ask people for permission (or inform them at least) if you are linking them to your blog. Other people/communities may not be that understanding but as a Mizo, the last thing we want is to create any sort of enmity or groupism that divides us bloggers.



Q. So how do I register?

You just have to fill the form at the bottom of the Directory. Simple as that. And I will update your info manually once every month. I cannot update after every single new submission because it takes time inserting new codes and links etc as any HTML savvy person will tell you how unfriendly the blogspot WYSIWYG editor is. Hence it’s quicker and easier to do it in a group at one shot (remember, I too have my own official work and all these are just voluntary work).



Q. What do you expect to gain from this?

Nothing personally. But I yearn to see the day Mizos are recognized in the blogosphere. In this Cyber village that we live, I want every other bloggers across the world to know who the Mizos are. I am tired of people asking us where we’re from and when we reply "Mizoram", people ask if that is in China! And such questions come from our OWN fellow Indians! I am also tired of foreigners assuming I meant a "native American" (read: Red Indian) when I tell them I’m an Indian.

All that can be achieved only if we play a more active role participating regularly in online activities like blogging, discussion forums, social networking etc. Interact with others and show the World who we are. That is our mantra.



Q. You’ve named it as "Mizo" Blog Directory. Who exactly are eligible to be listed here?

The term "Mizo" is perhaps one of the most debated topics within our community. Hence I do not want to get into any such controversial discussions. The rules here are simple. Do you consider yourself to be a Mizo/Zomi/Zofa/Zohnahthlak etc? If yes, then by all means please do register.

It doesn’t matter if you belong to an ethnic group that is genealogically not a part of mainstream "Mizo" tribe, or you don’t speak the "duhlian" dialect. It doesn’t even matter if both your parents are non-Mizos but you’ve been brought up in Mizoram and have a close affinity towards the Mizos. At the end of the day if you consider yourself to be a proud son or daughter of the Zo lineage, then I’d be honored to have you register here.



Q. Are you going to maintain the directory in your blog forever? It seems to be growing and growing everyday…

Yes of course I have plans to move it to a completely separate domain name with no connection to my blog. This is just something that is here for the time being. Something like indiblogger.com would be a good example. A common platform where all the bloggers can interact with each other productively.

And I guess that’s what rocks about working in an organization that is the number 1 in India when it comes to digital specialization. It makes it easier for me to take care of everything right from the technical aspects to server space to designing and GUI complete with our own CMS and API while making sure we stay ahead in terms of SEO. This is what we do every day.


Please post any questions you may have. We are at your service.