WordPress is up to mischief again. I wrote a post on this issue some time ago here – The Trials of the button.

Here is the problem – wihout making any personal choice, we are randomly stopping following people, they disappear from your list and you don’t know. You just assume they haven’t posted in a while as nought has popped up on the feed. But unbeknownst to you, you are no longer following them. They, distraught, unable to fathom why you have left, throw themselves in the nearest river as life holds no meaning for them anymore.

Or something like that.

I do not follow very many people, but it still has taken me by surprise again and again. Only yesterday in fact, I realised another whom I read had been ‘unfollowed’ by myself and the Cloud, and so headed over there to let them know of the occurrence. Despite it happening quite regularly here on the Cloud, when I noticed that one of my favourite followers had stopped following me, I was sorely saddened and did rent my clothes (but no-one was willing to pay £400 a week for them as it turned out), thinking they had scarpered by choice. (As a mark of how fabulous sonmi is, she would like it noted that despite the apparent unfollow, she still read said bloggers blog, and commented because she enjoys their blog so much and is not as mad a box of frogs on a rollercoaster.)

It turned out that the blogger had no clue that they had unfollowed me, and did think that I simply hadn’t been posting at all and even considered the possibility that I might have blocked them. Blocked!! The very idea!! *faints briefly .

Alls well that ends well for the Cloud is not thwarted easily.

The sticky part is in the detail though; you see knowing this happens is all very well, but it seems rather bad form to go to someone who has unfollowed you ask if it was a conscious choice or a mistake. ‘Awks’ I am informed is the best way to describe this situation, for there’s a chance that said blogger did wish to stop following you and will be put squarely upon the spot by having the question lobbed at them. Tricky eh?

The best advice I can give is to make a small list of your favourite folks on here and check every now again to see if you are still following them.

So, be aware that if I suddenly stop following you there’s every chance it is a mistake. Unless I have actually chosen on purpose to unfollow you. Then….awks. laughs and holds her ribs. 

It really is an outrage though, I shall be complaining to the wordpress powers that be and highly recommend you do the same if it happens to you so they become aware how widespread the problem is.