The G-Rated Parenting Blog Facebook Doesn't Want You To See*

The Tumblr blog Reasons My Son Is Crying is only 6 days old and already has an enthusiastic following. That's because the site's chronicle of the very specific logic behind a toddler's meltdowns is familiar to anyone who has ever cared for young children, or even used to be one. Reasons My Son Is Crying is finding fans on Reddit and parenting blogs alike. Facebook, however, is not laughing. They've blocked the website "for being spammy or unsafe" (the blog is neither) and removed all posts that linked to it. This isn't the first, or even the hundredth time Facebook has blocked innocuous links and content. In 2011, Facebook briefly took down film critic Roger Ebert's page for "violating the terms of service" after a controversial post by the author generated complaints. Facebook soon restored Ebert's page and said its removal had been a mistake, but declined to explain further. While Gawker has shed a little light, Facebook's system for moderating content remains mostly opaque, and the company website says it needs to stay that way: We can't share all of the details of how these systems work because if we did, the spammers might try to get around them. However, they're designed to automatically detect suspicious behavior, block it and warn the person who's engaging in it to slow down. There's clearly a bug in the system if something as innocent as a parenting humor blog on Tumblr is getting blocked. We've emailed Facebook to ask why the site was blacklisted and if they'll consider reversing their decision. We'll be sure to let you know if they write back! *Update: Facebook has unblocked the site. They ignored our email, but told Betabeat that blocking the link was “a mistake by one of our automated systems." No specifics were provided. Facebook's algorithm for determining what content to block remains a mystery. Anyway, here are a couple more of the many reasons: All photos copyright Reasons My Son Is Crying.

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The G-Rated Parenting Blog Facebook Doesn't Want You To See*

Pandora Young

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Pandora Young