I don't want to stay on this subject too long but I do want to explain my decision to remove the pattern from Mondays post. As you know some people found the pattern in poor taste. After some thought I removed the pattern and apologized for the situation. My poor email server nearly had a melt down after I apologized and removed the pattern. 99 out of 100 folks thought I should not have removed the pattern. I even had a couple of people from the clergy tell me they did not think the pattern had a religious context. I have never had that many emails in one day. I stopped counting at 500+. Many said the pattern was not appealing to them but they just deleted it and were not offended in any way. Several want me to send them the pattern. About 10 said the pattern was a mistake and agreed that it should be removed.
Here is why I agree with the people who thought I should take it down. My blog is not about artistic freedom. It's not about a discussion of current political or social events. I'm just a guy who likes to make patterns. Thousands of folks have signed up to receive my email newsletter. when they signed up they saw my work and had a reasonable expectation that they could expect similar to arrive in their emails. For me that is an implied contract I have with my readers. I have a responsibility to not send emails into your house that are not the common standard of the work I have always produced. The removal had little to do with my thoughts on if it really made a religious statement. I actually did not think their was a religious context but I am able to see the point of few that it did. My primary reason to remove the pattern is because it was not something I usually post. If it had not been sent in the email I may not have made the decision to apologize. I consider your email box to be personal.
There is no way I can reply to all the email from folks who want me to send them the pattern.
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. Everyday is a learning experience for us all. I'm lucky to have thousands of people who care enough about the blog to make a comment. it would be bad if no one cared.
That's all I'll say about this. Tomorrow we will get back to the fun of scrolling.
