I wrote to Kimberli:
For whatever reason, a number of people told me they never saw the Shit Ball post. I suspect it’s because they’re going to this URL:
http://travelswithcharles.tumblr.com/
Rather than this one:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/travelswithcharles
In the first URL, it appears all private posts are “private,” that is, hidden. In the second URL, they show up.
Kimberli wrote to me:
The first link is to your open follow blog and the second link is to the invite only group blog. As an invited member I can see all regular and private posts and I can reblog your posts making what ever edits I want (but I don’t). When a post is “private” I can’t reblog it or edit it. It seems that when a post is reblogged and edited it lives on even if the originator deletes it. Not much privacy on Tumblr. I guess that’s why it’s called “social media”.
The whole thing is a learning curve for me too. I dislike the fact the when I’m viewing your invite only blog on a mobile device using the Tumblr app I can’t make any comments or see the “heart” button. I have to log on through a web browser to have these comment options.
And there you have it. A more or less definitive explanation of why some of you read about Shit Ball and some of you – perhaps the fortunate ones – didn’t.