An Open Diary Entry to All

Thank you DMS

thank you to both of you. I was totally lost over these past few days!

Thank you for the caring and thorough explanation.

Thank you for trying to restore things! i think we all appreciate it

Thank you for all that both of you are doing. I love this place.

As one of the many OD lovers, I wanted to thank you for taking your time to explain to us. Myself and many others were probably impatient when b/c we didn’t understand what had happed. I wanted to be the first to apologies for being angry when the site went down. I truly had no clue what had happed. But with DM’s and yours explaination, I have a better understanding on the situation. Thank you.

Sorry, but I’ve heard this speech before, and this is the second time my entire diary has been lost. How ironic that those of us who were quick to jump over and put our money into your dream are the ones who have lost the most. AGAIN.

Thank you for such a kind entry. I completely understand that you both are doing your best to repair what this heartless hacker has done, and I will continue to support this site.

I haven’t written here in so long because it hasn’t felt safe (sorry), yet I continue to support it with my subscriptions because I know so many in the community. I truly hope you can prosecute whoever is messing with the site. Since it’s not for monetary gain, it almost certainly has to be a disgruntled user. Please please check on those names you already know.

Much thanks for all of your work. It’s appreciated.

my note above wasn’t signed, no idea why. –irri

I am so sorry that this has happened to OD and to both of you. Your care and concern are obvious, and with that I am sure you take this attack personally. I wish that we, of the community, could relieve you of that burden. Thank you for making security a priority. The knowledge of that will restore the comfort of writers and the continued well-being of the community. With support,

I understand. And I’ll be patient, and hope for restoration. Although my whole diary of four years is gone from the site, at the very least I have a downloaded backup of everything before last July. I know others may not be so lucky, and my heart goes out to them. What a horrible, awful thing for someone to do. I hope they’re apprehended.

Thank you. It was a good thing to put out a personal entry like this right now, when I think people needed to see it.

To quote Bluto Blutarski from Animal House ” Seven years of college, down the drain”. Keep smiling!

I can’t possibly express how much this place means to me, but it becomes more apparent than ever when something like what happened on Saturday occurs; when I cannot get in here, so to speak. I don’t understand this sort of behavior at all, and it really saddens me that anyone would find this kind of destruction a worthy use of life, time, energy, intellect. All the best; and thank you.

thank you for everything you and the DM do, although there are jerks on this site that really don’t deserve to be here you have my support and many others for creating such a great enviornment for us to write in. thank you so much for all you guys do. Alicia

I appreciated the notice that was posted to make us aware of the problem. Btw, this font is difficult to read. 🙂

I appreciated the notice that was posted to make us aware of the problem. Btw, this font is difficult to read. 🙂

thank you for opening up to us I myself have been on OD since 2000. And I know you guys are going to do everything you can do fix this thanks again ~Amethyst~

Between Friends has the hiccups.

Thanks for your thoughts about this site. I hope the perps are apprehended this time.

thanks

If they catch them, will you post a picture from the arraignment? Its only fitting they be umasked.

It must be frustrating for you to get this happening.

(pssst, pssst, over here)…I’m not saying she did it but Gel has been a very unhappy diarist of late….I’m just saying is all.

Oh, one other thing….no need to credit me any days…you folks are taking enough of a hit from lost ad revenues and data recovery fees. No sense piling on. But do look into that Gel thing we spoke of.(nod,nod,wink,wink).

thankyou for this.

huh

This entire situation just sucks. I can understand the anger that some diarists have because they feel because of past communication problems with the DM, but I also believe that you and the DM are truly doing the best you can right now. I hope whoever did this is caught and tied up by their tiny bytes.

Stoning, definitely.

Hey wait a minute…..what was that 3, 2, 1 Blast-off entry you did just before the lights went out ….hmmmm?

I too have a huge responsibility in protecting data. I’m sorry this has happened to you.. and to all of us. You have my support.

Seeing no entries there after nearly 6 years here has nearly brought me to tears. This is probably one of the most important times in my life (the birth of my first children) and I count so much on the support from everyone here. I don’t understand what would make someone do something like this.

huh?

I’m so sorry this happened to you. The hacking was disrespectful and cruel and I feel so disheartened by all of it. Much love to you and your family,

Thank you. I appreciate your hard work, and your understanding of how important this site is to us. Take care, and try to get some rest in between all of that work.

Thank you for making me sit my butt back down and calm the heck down and try to be patient!I’m just worried that I’ll never see my thoughts again.. No matter how hard you all try to get them back…. I just hope you can!

I will add my thank you to you and the DM for all you’ve done for this place.

I appreciate your entry. It doesn’t take away my worry and concern regarding the future of this site, however. We can’t forget how the site went unmonitored, with no explanation, for a year. No doubt some are worried that will happen again.

I’ve been telling people all morning that I will be a member of OD for as long as OD will have me. I have faith in this place and the people who run it behind the scenes because this place has always come through for me in the end. Thank you for writing this entry and I’ll be sure to keep spreading the word that this place is worth sticking with. *hug*

**sigh** It does suck to lose so much… but I won’t be going anywhere… even being one of the original 100 that lost everything the first time! I’m here for the long haul.

I appreciate your care and hard work. Many of us here are taking this personally- feeling attacked and violated. So I can only try to imagine how awful it is for you and for the DM. I lost five years of diary entries and all that goes with them. I think that your loss is bigger.

I support this site, I do. But I’m worried and half sick over the thought that almost six years of my life in writing may not be coming back to me. That’s hard to swallow. Still, I’m going to put my faith in your staff and pray that you can bring things back to normal. Be well,

How comes you don’t have a ‘block this user’ button?

thanks for all your work, I have been here nearly 3 years and I never knew you had a proper office and staff and everything. silly of me. I just come here to write and this place has saved my life. thankyou.

it’s such a terrible thing to do, hacking destructively, in a way that benefits no one, and is much to the detriment of many. it’s sad people do this just for kicks, or to prove a point.

You write so incredibly beautiful. And thanks to you and the DM and your staff for ALL of your hard work into making this a wonderful sharing community. I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I hope you don’t mind… I’m going to link this to my diary for my favorites to come to. *hugs*, Dawn

I came over here from Gabrielle’s journal–and just wanted to leave you and the DM my voice of support. This is a wonderful community and I am grateful for all that you have done to bring it about. Hang in there–you’re doing great! 🙂

Thank you.

I’m feeling rather sick about this. I have been unable to download my files for the past year or so… Nothing to do with you. It’s my computer. I keep thinking that I’ll have Bear fix it for me, and then I forget to ask him. And now… if I don’t get that year back I don’t know what I’ll do. But you say I will. And I’m going to cling to that. I feel bad for you guys. Really.

I don’t know what I will do if I get my entries either. I have been loyal to this site for five years…but now I almost feel as if I am FORCED to go somewhere else. My memories are too precious to entrust to this. I do backups every month, and coincidentally, was just about to back up August when the attack happened. Some very improtant entries were lost… But it’s not just me that is hurt.

Good luck.

Thank you for taking the time to write.

Thank you for writing this. As I have written elsewhere, the waste of energy and creativity that hacking involves always make me sad.

I would just like to echo the thank you messages that have been left for you by many already. This entry is worth reading for every member who puts their heart and soul into this community. Many times over my years with OD I have seen people say “it’s just a diary”, “it’s just a website”, etc. While it is just a diary on just a website, what some of us give in our level of participation…

it’s really so much more.

First time you’ve written in over a year isn’t it. … The real question is WHY NO MORE RECENT BACKUP THEN LAST MONTH? Absolutely criminal in this day and age!

Thank you for sharing your views and I will gladly post a link to this page so everyone can read it and understand how hard you all are working to get everything back to where it was. I understand that not all entries may end up returning but at least you are trying. I certainly hope the culprit is caught and punished.

i sure appreciate all the work and time that’s gone into trying to restore this site. thanks to all you who are working on that. take care,

very nice entry.

Thank you both for making sure to let all of us know what is going on, and especially for the notice on the website so that we had at least an inkling of what was happening. Good luck both with the cat and with the OD situation… The hard work you put into this site is phenomenal. I love it here. Thank you. hugs,

All I can say is I’m kicking myself that I didn’t do monthly downloads or something. I just got married and have I lost all those entries??? It makes me absolutely sick and I’m most ticked at myself, for putting more faith in this site than it really deserves. After nearly 5 years here, it’s come down to this. I can’t even say I’ll miss this place. I just want my diary back so I can download it.

I too came across from Gabrielle’s diary. I will add a reference to this entry to my latest entry to spread the word. It is a shock to lose one’s entries; thank you for helping us understand how much more shocking it must feel for the creators of this site. Yes, you’ll get some negative reactions but the vast majority of diarists understand and very much appreciate your efforts.

Hi 🙂 I’ve been writing here for around 3 years. My diary is empty but I expected that due to the DiaryMaster’s entry. What was done is crappy and I’ve already read an entry blaming the OD Staff. This isn’t your fault. I do think it was caused by an irate (past?) oder since it isn’t the first time the site has been hacked. Does that make it your fault? No. You do the best you can and if we get (c)

out of line we accept the consequences for that. You live by rules as do the rest of us. Intentionally destroying the OD Staff’s hard work as well as each individual diary is contemptable but I don’t feel contempt, I feel sorry for the person that holds so much venom that he or she unleashes it in such a manner. I hope my entries are restored but no matter what I know that my happiness (c)

isn’t contingent on those entries. They were an expression of me and although I used my diary as a way to work out my own personal issues they aren’t me. This wasn’t a personal attack on me but I do feel it was a personal attack on the ODStaff, probably more accurately your husband. Don’t give them that. Stand tall and put the blame where it belongs. On the hacker. I support you 100%. (c)

Thanks to you both for keeping us updated. 🙂

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 🙂

It’s hard to understand the “reasoning” behind this…but, yes, i take it very personally. And to all on the OD Team– you ROCK!!!!

Thanx so much DMS. it’s so nice to know that you both care so much aboutyour readers and I do agree that the hackers were wrong in usuing sept 11 while many were mourning. Thank you so much for caring and continueing to care.

Thanks to you both.

All I can say is thank you!

we all appreciate and respect the hard work, talent and dedication that the both of you and the rest of the staff puts in to provide us this global community. I sincerely hope that an arrest IS made, and an example is made. Attacking people’s written souls is deplorable and disgusting and I will never understand the inclination.

i dont really see why someone would hack this site, it seems kind of childish like a little boy pulling the little girls barbie dolls head off. but thank you for trying to get everything back. i just really hope you can get all of my entries back because most of them are from when i was going through a hard time. if they do come back i will save all of them to a disk for safty reasons, i kno that

it was not your fault for the attacks so i wont blame you like others will

Thank you for sharing…

I also came over from Gabrielle’s journal. Some of these entries make me want to spit…but then I remembered, this is America, and free speech is the fabric of our country. OD is just another vehicle for one to express their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs…if not you and DM creating this place, then who? Many thanks for ‘all’ you do!

Oh, I did want to say thank you and I do appreciate your hard work.

I hope everything goes smoothly and things are up and running for you and us again as soon as possible, but I’m sure we will all be patient, especially after reading your entry.

I am pretty new to OD but I have been here long enough to love this place like a second home. I’m not very computer hip so I suppose that’s why I don’t understand why someone would want to hack into OD. Either way, I appreciate everything this site has done for me and I appreciate the efforts that you and the DM and have made to restore this site. I just thought you guys should know. Thanks.

I will stand by OD through anything and am willing to pay more for subscription service if that becomes necessary. OD has meant a lot to me through the years. Thanks to you and DM.

This was very heartful by all of us. HUGS

Thanks to all those who work on this site, and I’m sorry it’s caused you so much stress – emotionally and monetarily! Hope you find the fool responsible! 🙂

Thanks so much, I know I have been so lonely for the past few days without the support of my friends here.

I stay supportive of this wonderful site. I know you are all doing your very best.

Thank you for your entry. It saddens me that these hackers chose September the 11th of all days.

*sighs* =o(

As a fairly long term and feircely loyal OD’r….I thank you & the DM and all that are involved for everything that you’ve done & will continue to do. I will definately keep my “eyes” open for anything that might have something to do with it, and if you can think of anything else that I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask. *HUGS*

I wish I understood the why of it all. No offense to you or the DM but I am not sure I’ll be staying. It happened before and I am sure OD will remain the target for future hackers. I am not sure what the answer is. I am very sorry for both you and the DM. I am sure the stress has been very terrible and I sincerely hope he is able to recover some of our words.

I think the DM made a typing error in his entry that should be corrected soon. He talks about A backup copy, and people are assuming it was the ONLY backup copy. They think he means the August copy was the LAST time you backed data up. That’s not likely, is it? If it’s not, he might want to post an edit. Most complaining entries are focusing on the lack of backups.

I am not going anywhere. I’ll stay here. I am sad though..I lost the letter that I wrote to my daughter when I learned that I was pregnant with her, my pregancy, the birth, letters from my husband when we learned that we were having a little girl. I would give anything to have those entries back. I didn’t save them on my computer. Stupid I know. =/

First: Thank you for creating such a wonderful place.! Second: Thanks for the notice letting us know what was going on. Third: Hope you catch & prosecute the creep(s) that did this!

One more adding her support…Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. I can’t imagine the frustration and anger this has caused you. And it is totally sickening that someone would choose 9/11 as a day to carry out such an act.

I can’t believe how much I missed not being able to come here for so many days. And then I was even more incredulous as to the reason why. Your entry is so heartfelt. Reading this made me feel so much better. Thanks for your loving words.

I have given so many subscription gifts and paid for Plus diaries of so many when their funds were low … I feel like I’ve taken a substantial financial hit too. Whoever did this won’t keep it quiet. Those of us that have been here for so long here things. And pass those things on. Thanks for your concerns. —

Bless you and your husband for all the hard work you have taken to put the site back together. We are a big family whether we all know each other or not.

my thanks to you both for creating and loving this site. it means the world to me. I’ve met so many wonderful people. *hugS*

no matter how many times i have thought about leaving, or even using a different “diary” site, i always come back here. i’ve been here for a little over 4 years and even though it isn’t since the inception, it is a long time. hearts and souls go into some peoples writing, others just use it for something else. we can’t blame you or the DM for what happened and anyone who does is a fool (c)

as for your comments on the day they chose, i couldn’t agree more. the last thing i wanted to do saturday was watch, read or even think about 3 years ago. unfortunately, that didn’t happen. i’m sorry that someone did this to you. i’m sorry that they did this to us. most of all, i hope that you catch them, reward or not. love,

You said it so well…. whoever did this must be a miserable person, because they want to make us miserable, too. Many of us (make that ALL of us) are in OD for friendship and therapy, sharing good times and bad. OD is what keeps us sane. You and the DM are so appreciated for what you do here. I hope you catch the person (or people) that did this and may they rot in jail!!

Fingers crossed that your team can bring us all back to life. Thank you for your hard work. (And [negative prick] above can go pound sand).

Thanks Mrs. Diary Master, Keep your chin-up and keep the master sane! 🙂 It is a trying time but we will stand together and work through it! like others I have written my own entry in support of the Diary Master & OD. You have my patients and my support! Take Care!

~

Hmm. Whatever.

Aloha… Ya know… in the grand scheme of things… losing my entrys (1,270) is no big deal… I know that everyone certainly doesn’t feel that way… but… life will go on… What happened wasn’t fair… but in life… there is a lot of stuff that happens that isn’t fair… Keep up the GREAT work… you are more than appreciated by this writer… Aloha oe…

Please let the DM know that we really, honestly do appreciate all of his hard work — he probably needs to hear that at an awful time like this. I almost feel bad (almost) for the hacker. You’ve got to be a pretty pathetic individual to do something like that. But that pity doesn’t last long, ’cause dammit, I want my entries back.

Thank you. I feel a little more reasured now.

I am feeling a bit foolish at how much I missed my dear friends and family here the past few days. It truly is unique and I count myself lucky to be part of it. Thank you for your untiring support and effort.

Thanks for the update…I have my fingers crossed for all of y’all.

Thank you both for caring and for putting forth the effort to get this site back up. I haven’t been here long but already feel lost without OD.

Thank you for your heartfelt letter to us. It is hard to understand why someone would want to hurt all of us like this. This letter is precious and to be cherished. Thank you. Love,

i was lucky enough to back things up on the sixth. feeling sympathy for everyone right now. we’re all a big support group for one other in a time of loss. please let everyone know who is involved in running the site that while there may be some negative vibes out there, i’m beaming positive thoughts at you guys. hope the recovery process isn’t too painful.

Thank you much for your heartfelt sharing of the thoughts within…. It’s a great world we live in with a few awful people who try to ruin it and corrupt it for everyone who is good. You are one of the good people, thank you. Hugs

I feel very pivileged to be part of this community that all of you have helped put together. Never will you find such a place where so many the customers overwhelmingly support the organization, and we know that you feel the same for us. Please do not feel disheartened in providing this service. Even something as awful as this can pull folks together rallying their support. Keep it up. Thanks.

Thank you (and DM) for all you have done, for this site. Very disappointing that someone would do something like this… Your entry makes sense, it was so well said… still I cannot imagine the headache DM must have with this all *sigh* So far, nothing of mine has been restored, and sadly, nothing was saved or downloaded. I am just sick about it… all.

Wonderful. I would like to think that even the cynics would be convinced, and it’s too bad that they won’t understand. But I can’t even imagine how this must feel for you and the DM. This isn’t your fault. Hackers shouldn’t be out there tampering with our identities like this. I hope they find the person who did this and we all live happily ever after.

The most important thing, is that I’ve LIVED those words I wrote, and no amount of hacking can erase the memories that are stored in my mind. That said… I’m reserving final judgement (as to whether I stay or go after this), until I decide whether the DM was asleep at the helm or not. My husband is a computer genius, and his suspicion is that had their not been negligence involved on Open

Diary’s part, then this couldn’t have occured. It doesn’t take expensive security measures, it takes diligent, DAILY, backups! Knowing that I lost precious entries that I’d intended for the baby I lost to adoption to read, when it could have been prevented, is aging me by the minute. But, shame on me for being naive enough to believe downloading wasn’t necessary. *shrug* I can appreciate

the stress you are both under, but it’s almost insult to injury to read (for the second time) that “though it is expensive, we will do it”, because… folks… it truly is the LEAST you can do! Behaving as though it’s some grand favor, is what prickles my skin. I’ve been here for over four years. Whether or not OD has my business in the future, depends upon what happens. Until then… I wait.

Let us know if we, the O.D. community can do anything to help. I am so amazed somebody would hack this site. Must be really bored with their life. I hope you and THe Big Cheese will be well. Much respect

I would like to think that most of us appreciate and understand the amount of behind the scenes work and love that you all pour into this site. I’ve been around here long enough (3+ years now) to know that the DM and company consistently go above and beyond to maintain this haven for all of us. Thanks for everything. I look forward to another 3+ years of OD.

Wonderful entry and appreciated by many, I am sure. Thank you. : )

No disrespect, but can you really blame people for being “less tolerant” when they’ve lost years of their lives because the right security measures weren’t in place? We’re paying customers, and when things go wrong, we have every right to be pissed off.

I am sorry but some of this entry really makes me laugh. I have been noting and emailing the DM and his staff for over 2 months because I lost my dairy. I created a new one when I was not able to sign into the first, so now I am paying for two diaries, both lost! It took 60 days for him to even reply to my notes, and now two more weeks have gone by with nothing. I certainly am not the only one-

complaining about the fact that he is so lax in responding and or fixing problems with this site. With the number of diarists here, and the cost of a subscription, I don’t feel “sorry” that the new security will be so costly. I feel it should have been implemented all along. Don’t we deserve that? I realize this is a much bigger problem because everyone was affected this time, but when it was just

One or two of us complaining, it didn’t seem to matter to anyone at OD. It wasn’t a big deal that I have been here on and off for 3 years, and lost my diary, twice. And over the past 2 months noone even offered me any kinf of refund. To do that you would actually have to respond though.

Your ” look what we are doing for you attitute offends me) It should have been done all along. We all put to much faith in this place, and now we have to suffer the consequences. And- am I the only one who can do the math here? With the money this site has made, the diarists here should have had the best of everything.

I guess it’s a reflection of the importance of this site to many people that they get so personally affronted at occasional loss. For myself, I’ve seen this happen so many times before and yet you and the DM keep plugging away, keep working to keep the site operational, and using every method necessary to ensure that we can keep using the service that you provide, at, I suspect, very little …

… if any financial gain to yourselves. I hope you do gain from the knowledge of how important that service is to so many people, and how it has enriched the lives of so many of us. And for that service provided, $30 a year seems utterly inadequate. But I’m glad you do it, and I’m so glad you keep at it. Thoughts, love and the promise of free beer in London —-

Thank you for your efforts. 9/11 – that is pretty sick, isn’t it?

I didn’t even know you had a diary. Thank you for a thoughtful entry. I am one of the patient ones, hoping my entries will return 🙂

you guys rock and work hard.I am proud to be a memeber here.

I had forgotten about your diary. Thanks for addressing all of this. I’m sorry that your family has to deal with the financial aspects and all of the time that the DM has to invest in fixing this problem.

I totally agree! Who in there right mind would want to ruin people memories, creativity, and hard work. It’s sad really. I’m sure everything will be fine and back to normal soon though! You guys have done great so far. 🙂

I’m bothered by all this, but I am amazed at the support I am seeing here. Thanks for everything

I know this probably wont be read, but thank you for trying to fix all of this. i have been wrinting on here since i was 13, almost 14, and now im 18, ive had a few other diaries on here, but this is the one i love and i would hate to lose what i have, and i know everyone must feel the same. Again than you and the DM for trying to fix everything.

I wanted to thank you and the DM for working so hard on restoring everything. I have been a loyal ODer for over two years and 800 entries, and have never left the site (despite the technical problems) because of how you and the DM care for the site and the diarists. OD is unique, and my favourite website. I am faithful and thankful that you guys take time out of your lives to do this.

Thank you. You are both appreciated.

Thankyou dear girl. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the DM. I can only imagine the pain you all went through when this outrage occured. And those of us who have lost our diaries will have just to be paitient. If however they cannot be restored we still have each other. My first thought was have I lost my favourites. That was more important to me than the lost entries. Sending you love

Thank you and bless you and the DM. I’ve been here almost 4 years. Luckily, I keep copies of every entry, but still… I hate to see good things destroyed. Wish I could do something to help. But, alas, all I can do is pray and express my deepest thanks.

(this is going to sound just like all the notes before it, but I just had to throw my two cents in too) I truly, from the bottom of my heart love OD. I’ve been hear since I was 16, a sophmore in high school. Now I’m 20 and a sophomore in college. This diary has been my lifeline for so long, I will be here as long as it continues to exist, and I just want to thank you so much for all you’ve done.

Would GLADLY help with a contribution. Please find a way your loyal diary family can do this

Thanks.

My heart goes out to yourself, the DM and your staff. Thank you for providing such an amazing outlet. I will be patient because I know you are doing your utmost to restore diaries. I share your disgust and disappointment at such a callous act. My thoughts are with you.

Just keep up the good work, and never falter.

What can hackers get out of destroying peoples memories, hopes and dreams? *sigh* I guess we’ll never know… keep up the good work with the restoring, and thanks for caring about all of us out here 🙂 We appreciate it! Adios

I care about you both too, and your family. I hope that this whole thing can be repaired, and prevented from happening in the future. I know it sounds cliche, but I truly could feel your pain as I read this entry. (((hugs)))

I cant believe so many people are giving you and OD Master such a hard time, as if that hacker attack was YOUR fault! I know you guys are doing everything in your power, and I thank you both for it. I love this site and I’ll never leave no matter what! Taran

I’ll add my thanks to the lineup! *hug*

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns, and many thanks for making this very special place possible.

This has been simply devastating. Thankyou so much for trying so hard getting our diaries back, it means so much to me that you value our diaries so much. Good luck with the restoration and thankyou!

Well, I’ve certainly learned my message. I had been putting nearly all of my poetry on this site. I’ve never kept the paper I wrote them on, or saved them on my computer because I figured I’d lose the paper or my computer would crash. So my bright idea was to save it on a website. Even if my comp dies, a website wont! Yikes. So, my question…are we absolutely NOT going to get our entries back?

Thank You…

Good luck with getting everything back up and running…and thanks for not giving up

You both are simply amazing. Thank you for everything. Good luck!

I support you guys all the way. Whoever did this is so stupid and they need to get a life. Thanks for working so hard for us.

Dear DiaryMistress, I didn’t even realize you were still writing a diary. Much apologies, for not following up with you as in the past I did love your entries as I felt it got us closer to the DM. Thanks for this eloquent entry and hopefully all will be resolved. Have a good day,

in this situation, i’m expecting the worst. if i get anything back i’ll be grateful… i’m just grateful that the site is back up, to be honest. but a blow like this is way below the belt, and had effected me, as i am sure it has effected many other users, in not trusting OD enugh to write in it, just yet. i am very much grateful for your words, as they did help with this horrible…

…empty feeling i’ve had since first seeing my horror show diary front page. i understand everyone is working very hard over there for all of us on opendiary, and i thank you, and the DM, and your family, for seeing us through this.hang in there. it can only get bette, right?right?

heh…*enough*better

yeah, i’m hangin in. i’ve put too much of myself in my diary not to. thanks for all you’re doing on your end. i’ll write.

thank you.

Thank you. THis site is home. I support it, and I’m staying put. BTW…how’s the kitty?

I’ve read a lot of stupid crap from a lot of different diarists about how this is all a ploy from you, the DM and the DiaryFamily. Conspiracy theorists. 😉 I think what you have done is great, and I’m thankful for all the hard work everyone has put into this site. It’s more than anyone realizes, that’s for sure.

I’m having a hard time with the people who are so sure they’ll never get their entries back. I have faith in you. And I’m so sorry it was done on a date with so much sadness already attached to it. My heart goes out to you and your family, including your staff.

i believe you said something in a paragraph near the middle about your initial reaction to the attack, being unsure if open diarists would be understanding this time…naturally! personally i’m amazed and extremely thankful that you and the DM are so patient in restoring the site and all the lost entries…i for one love this site and understand that it will take time to get everything back

…to normal. thank you so much…i can’t tell you how much this site has impacted my life, not just in being able to record my feelings, but in being able to talk to lots of other people, get and try to give advice…i’ts difficult to explain. anyway, hang in there, and thanks again!

I never downloaded my diary & the whole thing disappeared. I don’t blame the DM at all. The hacker is sick & I hope you catch him. Meanwhile, I have started my new diary and am grateful for all the love & friendships I have because of this place. The hacker couldn’t destroy that.

thank-you for your concern but as for me, I have my diary downloaded and even if I didn’t it isn’t the past I have a memory. I have been here almost since the first, I believe OD was only 2 months old when I joined.The diary is a lovely source of communication and they couldn’t touch that. No matter how they tried the hackers failed in the most important way so don’t lose any sleep over it.

I just feel sad right now 🙁

Interesting perspective. Yes, I’m a “c” diary, yes I’ve been here for over 5 years now and yes I was/am heartsick over losing 5 years worth of writing. But do I blame you? No. I blame myself. Not 2 weeks ago I was sitting around and I thought to myself, “I really need to backup my diary.” But did I? No. So I only have myself to blame. I, for one, think all the diarists out here (C)

…who are moaning and groaning and going on and on like the world has ended need to really take responsibility for themselves. *nods* In closing, this was a lovely entry. Thanks for taking the time to convey your feelings over this whole mess.

I hope it does work out.

Glad you’ve shared with us your thoughtful perspective & feelings about this! I detest what this *cracker* (one bent on destruction) & his awful activities. I also find it bizarre that some very angry diarists are convinced that they know MUCH MORE about OD’s system than the DM does, & how much better it could be run, even how much it all costs, apparently being computer experts, themselves…

Whoops, after “what this cracker” I left out “has done.” (My distractibility and the note character limits don’t mix too well.)