July 12, 2015

Should they stay or should they go now ?


Let me begin by saying, many thanks to the Clash for the inspiration behind today's post title. Punk rock references aside, there is a question at work here and it’s one that I would love to get you impute on.

You see, once or twice a year, I clean up my Links page. I should preface that by saying I fully acknowledge that links page themselves are seen by many bloggers as being somewhat antiquated and I know tons of folks on all rungs of the blogging ladder who ditched theirs like yesterday's newspaper ages ago. Perhaps because this is a blog where being antiquated is never a problem :), I've held onto mine and am happy to continue doing so for the time being. However...

Earlier this week I sat down to do my first cleanup of 2015 and I was struck, once again, but the tremendous volume of vintage blogs that are no more. By this I mean, they've either been taken down entirely or haven't been updated in anywhere from a handful of months to few years. I'm not going to properly delve into the topic of the reduced number of vintage blogs in recent years - that deserves a post unto itself and I may pen one in the future, but for now, I just want to get your take on what you guys think I should do in terms of my link page.

When blogs that have been shut down for good and are no longer online, I obviously have no problem simply deleting those links (and saying goodbye in my head to those lovely folks and the fond memories I have of their respective sites), but when it comes to those that haven't been updated in quite a long time (half a year or more) and/or where the blogger publicly stated that they were retiring their site, but opting to keep it online still, should I delete or keep those sites on my blogroll?



{What to do, what do? It's time to clean up my Links page again and I'm divided between keeping blogs there that are retired/abandoned and leaving them up for the wealth of information they technically still house. Please don't be shy - I'd love to hear you take on this topic! Vintage image source.}


I can see both sides of the coin here and that doesn't make things any easier. On the one hand, as I've always tried to make my blog a hub of helpful and inspiring information on the vintage (and related) front, part of me wants to keep them up. There are still great posts on those blogs and some of my readers may find it useful to discover them via my Links page.

However, on the other hand, it does make for a quicker and arguably more enjoyable reading experience if people know that they're clicking through to live blogs with new content that they may be apt to start following as a result. Honestly, I'm currently fine with either approach, but if you, my dear readers, have a strong consensus either way, at present I would be happy to go with the group majority on this one.

So (darlin’) let me know, what would you like to see? Should retired and/or presumed to be abandoned blogs remain on my Links page or should they get the axe and only active blogs remain there?


*PS* Huge and very heartfelt thanks to all of you for your splendidly lovely birthday wishes on my blog (including Friday's post), social media, by email, and snail mail this week. You've all gone above and beyond to make my 31st an extra special celebration and I am sending virtual hugs out to all of you in appreciation of that fact!

54 comments:

  1. Maybe you can set a time limit for these inactive blogs-maybe a year or six months of inactivity. While sometimes bloggers need a few months break, I've rarely seen any blog successfully come back after a huge break (1+ year). Either their style has changed so I'm no longer interested or they post once or twice and then are gone again for months on end. Plus I'm always super bummed when I find a new blog only to discover that it's no longer active.

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    1. Objectively, I think that's probably the most logical way to go. Dates will certainly be loose in the sense of that of course I'm not going to keep track of when everyone posted last, but if a blog hasn't been updated in six - twelve (or more) months and there isn't a post stating that the person was intentionally taking a break, wouldn't be posting often for a while, etc, it may be better to take them down. I too have not often seen bloggers take long breaks and come back hard and heavy, so to speak, again (understandably).

      Thank you very much for your helpful impute, sweet dear, I sincerely appreciate it.

      Have a beautiful week ahead,
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. You could always organise them into two categories - those which you know are definitely still active, and those which are online but inactive or at least haven't been updated in, say, 6 months or so.

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    1. Helen, that is flat out brilliant! I love this idea and think that it makes perfect sense. Thank you massively for suggesting it, I genuinely think I will do that and love that you suggested it. Thank you again!

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  3. Maybe divide them into two groups, ones that are live and ones that aren't?

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    1. That is such an awesome idea, Melanie - and one that had never even crossed my mind before. It's such a logical way to go and one that I really think I might take. Thank you so much for suggesting this clever approach, my dear.

      Have a fabulous week ahead!
      ♥ Jessica

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  4. Maybe you can add a category named Retired/Inactive?
    Even if a blog is not updated anymore some information on it might still be interesting to read?

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    1. That is a flat out fantastic idea, dear Lithia, and one that never even crossed my mind (perhaps because I've not seen it done elsewhere). I really think it's a smart approach and will likely be taking it. Thank you so much for putting it on the table, clever lady!

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. I personally have no problem with reading old posts on old blogs if I haven't noticed them yet, or even for re-reads. To me it's sort of like Netflix, of course there are tons of shows that I can watch that have been cancelled for years. It doesn't make them any less enjoyable and/or relevant. Is there a limit on how many links you can post at one time? That's the main thing I would consider when removing old blog links. Hope that helps :)

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    1. Generally speaking, I'm with you there big time, but I have gotten the occasional less-than-friendly email or blog comment with someone pointing out that some of the links on that page hadn't been updated in ages (as if that was somehow my fault!) and in general I know that it does put others off when a blog has been sitting ideal for a while, so I really wanted to get the impute of my frequent readers here and love all the suggestions that have been pouring in - yours very much included.

      Tons of thanks!
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. That just comes across as so nit-picky and a waste of time for everyone involved, I can't believe people would complain about that when they could be spending the time looking for blogs they do want to read. A lot of people were commenting that a retired/active list would be good, and I love that idea!

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    3. Doesn't it though? Fortunately I don't get a lot of comments from folks like that, they tend to come more via email, but even there, it's not an epidemic by any means.

      I adore that idea, too, and as soon as I can carve out a day (likely a nice leisurely weekend day) to revamp that page, I'm going to take the "active" and archives" approach. It's brilliant!

      Big hugs & happy Tuesday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  6. That is a great idea. I might just add some goth blogs to my links page! At the moment, I have pages that are linked to me directly.

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    1. I'd be delighted to read such a page and clink through to each blog you mentioned on it. I've had a goth side for more than half my life now and follow a handful of goth/gothabilly blogs, always looking to add more that speak to me to that camp.

      Have a wonderful week ahead, dear gal!
      ♥ Jessica

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  7. That's a difficult one - but if it's a blogroll, I guess as a visitor to your site you'd expect they were being updated? Maybe you could have a separate section for those that aren't...? I could easily go either way! x

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    1. Fantastic idea, and you know, one that never once crossed my mind, I think in part at least because it's not a practise I've seen done elsewhere. Usually, in my experience, if someone even has a blogroll still, it's either up-to-date or peppered with dead blogs. This super smart middle ground approach is brilliant and I really think that I'll be taking it.

      Thank you very much for your great impute, my dear!

      Big hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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  8. It's always such a shame when favourite blogs disappear. I think it can be frustrating when you click on a link and it goes nowhere. A little disappointing perhaps (?)
    Amber
    http://www.sweetwordsprettypictures.com

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  9. I would like to still be able to see the old links. Since we're talking "vintage" everything doesn't have to be new, and there's still some great inspiration on those older sites!

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    1. Hi Susan, thank you very much for your impute. I swear, I had that same train of thought, too, but fully acknowledge that not everyone feels the same way in so much as they find "dead links" to be frustrating. Some readers have brilliantly suggested two categories, one for live and one for dead/retired/etc blog and I think that I may take that approach, as it's really a best of both worlds kind of way to tackle things, I think.

      Many thanks again & have a terrific week ahead,
      ♥ Jessica

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  10. I think it's really hard to maintain a blog alive... mainly with all those social networks that are really more easy to use... Since I'm on Instagram, I have less motivation for my blog... It takes about 2 to 3 hours to plan a good blog post for 10 to 20 comments on the best ones... an Instagram pictures takes a few seconds and give you hundreds of views and likes.... harder and harder to find motivation!
    Yes, blogging is a hard work, that's why I think that maintain the link to former blogs is a good idea... it's not like fashionable blogs that can be fast outdated... it's vintage! A lot of former vintage bloggers are still active on Instagram and I love to follow them there!

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    1. Oh my word, does it ever taken a monumental amount of work/time/energy/resources to write (and take photos for, if applicable) good sized posts. Believe me, I know that. For years now I've been debating scaling back my post frequency because I have so little time left for anything else between my blog and shop, but haven't yet really done so much. I may next year though, dropping down perhaps to two posts a week, but for now I'll keep up the usual pace of three or four a week, if I can.

      I digress through! :) You're absolutely right as well about older posts being "vintage" and worthy of remaining, so those that are still on my blogroll, but which haven't been updated in quite a few months, are going to get their own category on that page - and only those that have been truly removed (aka, aren't online any more) will be completely culled for the time being.

      Thank you again very much & have a terrific week ahead,
      ♥ Jessica

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  11. I've googled certain things I'm looking for and sometimes my search leads me to abandon blogs. I'm happy I've found the info I needed from them but disappointed that the last post was a year ago. So thanks to google I'll come across them at some point in my travels. I don't think they need to take up your space.

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    1. I run into that on such a frequent basis, too. A Google search will take me to a fun/beautiful/helpful/etc post from a while back, I'll click on the site's header or what have you to get to the homepage of that blog and then discover that it has laid dormant for one to several years now, often with no post indicating that the writer was retiring from blogging (or taking a break, etc). I get it, I really do, and know that sometimes you don't see big things coming in life that might cause one to have to step back from blogging, but it does always make me sad to see a blog that hasn't been updated in ages with no such post. I always hope that nothing tragic happened to the author or their family and find myself wishing them well with whatever path life has taken them in now.

      Many thanks for your impute, dear Debra. I sincerely appreciate it.

      Have a beautiful week!
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Is it possible to have the live and dead blogs listed separately? That way those who only like current content wouldn't get annoyed.

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    1. That is an excellent idea, Dawn, and one that never ever floated into my head before. Thank you very much for suggesting it. Interestingly, several readers have proposed it and you know, I think it's the route I'm going to take, as it makes 100% perfect sense.

      Many thanks again & have a fantastic week!
      ♥ Jessica

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  13. I have to say that I went through all (yes, really) the blogs on your links page when I was just starting to read vintage blogs and wanted to find more. I did find it frustrating that there were many that hadn't been updated, so from that experience, perhaps it would be better to remove them. On the other hand, people might still want to browse the inactive blogs, which I'm sure still have excellent content. Could you perhaps divide them up and have an "inactive" list or something like that?

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    1. That is a great idea and one that somehow, had never crossed my ol' mind. This is exactly why I love getting my readers' impute on things. Thank you so much for suggesting that I split the two into separate categories (on the same page). That seems to be the general consensus, so I think that it's the route I'm going to take.

      Many thanks again & have a terrific week ahead!
      ♥ Jessica

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  14. Denise @BuyRVintageJunkJuly 12, 2015 at 5:16 PM

    You'll probably hear this a lot, but can you have two categories-one for active blogs and one for retired/dormant/abandoned blogs? That would allow your readers to make a choice (and may remind them of past blogs) when they look at your Link page.
    I found Grown Up Glamour because of one of your blog posts, so thank you!

    Hope all is well with you, Jessica, and hope you are having a good summer. :)

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Denise. Other than Tony being away and the fact that I could use with about five hundred more hours in each given day, I'm having a really nice summer so far, complete with some sizzling hot weather, which I just adore. I hope that, likewise, your own is going swimmingly and that you're enjoying each day of this beautiful season.

      Thank you very much for your impute here. I really adore that approach and am surprised I never thought of it in the past. Thankfully you, and numerous other wise, readers did and I super appreciate it! I think that's the approach I'm going to take, as it makes so much sense and should appeal to those on both (keep and toss, so to speak) camps.

      Many thanks again & have a fantastic week,
      ♥ Jessica

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  15. Jessica,
    Making "the cut" is a hard thing to do.
    Here's another vote for "two stack" way od running your links. One should be for all the active bloggers, and the other one should be for the "dormant" of those poor "abandoned" little ones... sentimental as I am, I'm not the one to tell you to just make them perish into oblivion.. So let them be - someone might find them useful one day, no? (just like we re-use old clothes) :)

    Marija

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    1. Hi sweet Marija, thank you very much for your helpful impute. I'm happy to know that you're voting for the two categories approach. It's such a smart, logical idea and given that it seems to be what most folks here support, it's the route I'm going to take (I just need to set aside a day soon to revamp that page).

      Many thanks again (I love your comparison to older clothes, so true!) - have a beautiful week!
      ♥ Jessica

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  16. My vintage blog probably fall in the not updated in six months category. I haven't retired it, I just haven't been sewing much in the last seven months or so, so none of my blogs have seen much action.

    I like your links-page and perhaps you should decide what to keep on an individual basis? Keeping blogs that may not be updated anymore because they have useful and informative posts. While blogs that may be more focused on posts of short-term interest prhaps isn't interesting if they aren't updated frequently?

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    1. Hi lovely Isis, thank you very much for your terrific feedback, I sincerely appreciate hearing from someone who has a blog that they're still keen to keep up, but who hasn't posted anything new there for a while. You make excellent points and I feel that they're in line with the general consensus here so far, which has been to separate the two (active and inactive) blogs into different categories. I will happily keep your sewing blog in the active camp, knowing that you do plan to post there periodically.

      Huge thanks again & have a beautiful week,
      ♥ Jessica

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  17. I'd say if they're not active they should be off the list. There is nothing more disappointing than finding a new blog and then realising it's actually "finished" or "offline"!

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    1. That is rather frustrating for sure and I'm going to be weeding out all blogs that have been completely shut down/are no longer online, but based on the many great suggestions to do so, separating the once thriving, but now "dead" blogs into one category and active blogs into another, so that those who may want to visit older, now inactive sites can still do so, if so desired.

      Thank you very much for your great feedback, dear Nora. I really appreciate it,

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  18. I think you should leave them on but maybe have two lists. One for old blogs and one for updated blogs. I personally love reading old blogs that are no longer updated. They still hold a wealth of information and the blogger has left it online for us to enjoy xx

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    1. Thank you very much for your helpful feedback, sweet dear. That is really in keeping with most folks here are saying and it's such a great idea. I'm surprised it never crossed my mind, but love that it did so many other people's. I'm going to be taking that approach and just need to set aside a day this summer to revamp my links page now.

      Many sincere thanks again - have a fabulous week!
      ♥ Jessica

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  19. Oh wow, I think I'd leave them up for 6 months- and then the user(blogger) can just google whatever they need and the search engine will her there anyways! You can free that space for newcomers.
    I am wondering now that I wrote "her" - do you have any male vintage followers?

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    1. Thank you very much for your helpful feedback, sweet Lorena. Great question! I do have a very small number of male vintage readers (I know at least a couple of chaps from the UK) and a few (probably an even smaller number) of non-vintage wearing male readers. Few comment though, save for my friend Ally from the blog Shy Biker, so it's hard to know how many are out there reading my posts or not. Interestingly, I have a fair number of male customers over at my Etsy shop and do a brisk trade in vintage men's accessories. I literally can't vintage bow ties in stock, they usually sell out within days of me getting them. Sure wish I could find a bunch more, but they're not too common around these parts. Other things like cuff links, regular style ties, and tie clips/tacks do nicely as well, so there are definitely guys out there wearing and enjoying vintage.

      Thanks again - big hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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  20. Mmmm, difficult question! I can understand what you mean, (by the way, I love that song :) and guitar :), but well, the blogs that said good-bye, and it's sad, I admit, OK, delete the link. The ones that don't update for a while... I wouldn't delete, but that's just my opinion (OK, you will say, I asked :) Because we never know, maybe the person is having a hard semester and is planning to blog again in some months... we never know. But maybe if they didn't update after 6 months... mmm, then maybe delete! As I said, it's a difficult question! Hope you have a lovely week, dear Jessica!
    DenisesPlanet.com

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    1. Aren't the Clash awesome? I was hugely into them as a teen (like countless others before and after me). Thank you very much for your helpful feedback. I really think that different categories (on the same general links/blogroll page) is the way to go, especially since so many folks here suggested as much.

      I really appreciate your impute, sweet lady. Thanks again! Have a beautiful week!

      ♥ Jessica

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  21. Happy Belated Birthday Jessica! I was just cleaning up a bit yesterday but after 5 minutes I gave up!

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  22. Jessica, I've not the time to read all of the responses, but what about a section for blogs you love, have gone silent for one reason or another, but still do not wish to de-link? "Dearly Missed" or "Gone But Not Forgotten", that sort of thing? That way, too, they're still easily accessible for those wishing to obtain information or wanting to see if the blog is 'back' or not. So many things can take people away from that, from illness (as you and I understand well) to family issues or heaven knows what! As an example, we have been preparing to put our home on the market since midwinter, and when we *did* list the home earlier this month, it sold in twenty-four hours. Though we haven't anyplace to go yet (!), as you can imagine, I've been quite busy packing our home up, and there's plenty to deal with though we put quite a few things into storage prior to listing. Of course we're also looking at houses, land, and rentals (the latter because we probably won't find the right home before closing). Alas, that means my blog and even shop are very much on the back burner right now. All sorts of things can draw people away for a bit, but if they are able to come back...might as well have a special spot for them at the bottom of the list, I guess. :)

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    1. Hi Jen, thank you very much for your detailed, helpful comment and impute here on this topic, I sincerely appreciate it. Many folks suggested the (brilliant!) idea of two separate categories ("active" and "retired") of blogs on the same links page and that is what I'm going to do not. It's such a logical, obvious idea, but it never crossed my mind (perhaps because it's not something I've seen done elsewhere on other blog rolls). Now I just need to carve out a free day to devote to revamping my links page and we'll be good to go.

      I will definitely check once or twice a year to see if any of the "retired" blogs have returned and move them accordingly, if they have. For as you point out, there are many things that can take a person away from blogging and I wouldn't want to boot someone out, so to speak, if such could be avoided.

      Congratulations on your house selling so quickly. That's staggeringly fast! As someone who has moved many, many times under all kinds of circumstances over the years, I can certainly understand the spot you're in right now and appreciate that you shared about that with me. I'll keep my fingers and toes firmly crossed that you're able to find a great new home.

      Sending tons of energy filled hugs your way,
      ♥ Jessica

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  23. A bit of both? If a blog was no longer active but had a great story still linked to it, maybe put it into a category for future reference?
    ChristyByTheSea

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    1. Hi sweet Christy, thank you for your helpful impute. Two categories definitely seems to be the popular vote here, so that's the route I'm going to be taking. I'll be dividing "retired" and "active" blogs up and housing them both on the same existing links page. It's such a smart idea and I really appreciate everyone who suggested it.

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  24. I'm a systematic and a huge lover of lists, especially when sorted in categories like your links page. So here is my opinion and an idea: What I hate most about lists is if they are not maintained, I hate clicking on a lot of broken links, then I just skip the rest and don't want to continue. Pages are taken down or moved and the list should be updated regularly with such information. I think you should go through your list every 6 months or so, delete the dead links and keep the retired ones which you think deserve it, and write a (retired) after their title. Then we all know that it is no longer updated, but that you recommend it anyway. This reminds me that I have a links page on my good old website (samati.dk) which really needs a good clean up, but I have enjoyed not working on the internet since I closed my blog. Do keep in my that it is your blog and you decide what you want there and what to do with it. :)

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    1. Hi sweet Sanne, based on your terrific feedback and all of the great, helpful impute from others here, too, that is exactly the approach I'm going to take. Split the page into two main categories (of active and retired, but still online, blogs) and sort through all of them for dead links (as in sites that have been flat out removed from the web) once or twice a year. It's a logical, handy system that will likely work well for most readers and certainly for my own organizing and updating purposes as well.

      Many thanks again & have a fabulous Saturday!
      ♥ Jessica

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  25. Maybe you could split the list, so discontinued ones are clearly marked. Some old blogs are still fun to read. (Another Nickel in the Machine, for example, is a quirky London history blog that hasn't been updated since last September, but it was written for so long and is so entertaining that I still go back to it to see what I've missed.)

    I have a rolling list of blogs down one side of my main page. There are 10 slots, and the most recently updated ones appear there. If someone doesn't update their blog, it simply falls off the list.

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    1. Hi Mim, thank you very much for your lovely impute here. Your suggestion of marking older blogs is very much in keeping with a lot of readers suggested here and that is to split old/inactive blogs and list them separately from ones that are still updated on a regular basis. It's such a fantastic, obvious solution, and yet it had never really occurred to me before, so I just adore that it did to a lot of other people and that is the approach (two categories on the same links page) that I'm going to be taking just as soon as I have a day free to reorganize my links page.

      Many thanks again & have a great weekend!
      ♥ Jessica

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  26. Thank you for reminding me that it's about time I did a clean-up of my own links page! When deciding which links to keep and which to ditch, I usually think about whether the blog is one that I currently read. I also like to keep links to sites that are great resources, even if they are no longer actively updated. I usually like to pop a little note next to the now-defunct blogs to let my readers know that while the site isn't being updated with new posts, it is a fantastic place to go for hair tutorials/ amazing artwork/ fashion inspiration or the like.

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    1. Thank you very much for your impute, my dear friend. I too enjoy a lovely/helpful blog, even if it hasn't been updated for a while. So many folks wisely suggested that I split the active and inactive blogs up into two categories on the same page, so that's what I'm going to do. I just need to carve out a chunk of time (as I need to open all the links up and see when their last entry date was) and then that's how things will be set up there,

      Many thanks again & have a beautiful Sunday!
      ♥ Jessica

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  27. Somehow - I missed this post in summer, when I was struggeling with my health ... Thanks for still haveing a blogroll.
    I have to do another clean out, too. ... And it is hard to let some beloved blogs behind, that already got abandoned by their owners. Personally I'm really sad about the dying blogosphere but this is how it is ... Also I feel a littel tired about blogging and reading blogs, which depends more on vanishing reads and comments. Why to do a photo shoot? For three people reading (ok commenting)? Sniff. I know, we will loose more friends out there ...
    I just keep not continued blogs on the roll, that I especially love ... most of them are closed down sooner or later anyhow.

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    1. You're very welcome, sweet dear. Thank you in turn for still having one as well. I swear, when I was new to your site, I discovered some other (primarily European) sites that were also new to me via yours and really appreciate that fact.

      I only just (finally!) found the time about two weeks ago to do my thorough blogroll clean out/revamping and am very happy to embrace autumn with that done at long last. As usual, I will continue to tidy it up once or twice a year and new vintage related blogs as I find them.

      I'm deeply sad about that, too, and know that it's just a matter of time until I pen a whole post strictly on the subject (I've had the draft - and title - for one in my head for easily a couple of years now). It hasn't completely dyed yet, thankfully, but our niche has certainly dwindled a great deal and that makes those of us who are still around all the more invaluable, not only in their own right, but to one another and the support that we're able to provide to our fellow vintage blogging peers.

      Thank you from the bottom of my heart for yours here (and elsewhere online) and for still blogging yourself, too (believe me, I know what a massive labour of love doing so is and how frustrating it can be when you don't feel like your efforts are rewarded). I adore your site and am so happy that we've been a part of each other's online world for years now. Hopefully we can still keep going for a long time to come.

      Tons of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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