It was edited

I should have copied my secret before mailing it. Surprisingly, it actually did end up on the PostSecret site for this week, but the bottom of the card was cut off. I think it was deliberately edited by Frank, the guy that runs the site, even though there was no reason to. The card was slightly smaller than the 4 x 6 it mentions postcards should be, so it wasn't too large or anything. Cutting off the bottom portion completely changed my secret and the message I was trying to convey with it. Changed it from a message of despair to one of hope.

Makes me wonder now...just how many other "secrets" have been edited prior to being posted on the site or in his books. How cruel to give people an avenue in which to reveal things about themselves that they probably haven't shared before, only to erase the intended meaning. I feel really invalidated right now. If my secret wasn't good enough to be posted in its original form, he should have thrown it away or put it in a box or whatever the hell he does with all the secrets he gets that he doesn't have the room to put on his site.

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As Sans pointed out in the comments, there is a legal disclaimer on the site that says:

By submitting information to PostSecret, you grant PostSecret a perpetual, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, distribute, and otherwise exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to that information at its sole discretion, including storing it on PostSecret servers and incorporating it in other works in any media now known or later developed including without limitation published books. If you do not wish to grant PostSecret these rights, it is suggested that you do not submit information to this website. PostSecret
reserves the right to select, edit and arrange submissions, and to remove information from the PostSecret website at any time at its sole discretion. No image from this site may be used for any purpose without expressed written authorization, with one exception; you may post one image as a link to this site.

I was aware of this when I mailed my postcard. However, given the purpose behind the site and the range of "secrets" that get posted (including pornographic, violent and other types of things that many people would find offensive and/or disturbing), I figured "editing" and "modifying" meant the card would be reduced if it was too large or illegible things would be made legible. Never imagined it meant completely altering a secret, and I'm sure most people that read that disclaimer never consider that would happen either.

There is now a PostSecret community (aka bulletin board) where people are able to leave comments about the secrets posted, the link is at the bottom of the page. I left my own comment about how my secret wasn't posted in its entirety and what was said in the bottom portion that was cut off.

Anyone that reads my blog can probably figure out which postcard is mine, its really a no-brainer, and what I wrote wouldn't really be a secret to any of my readers either. I sent it in because I felt there are probably a whole lot of parents out there that could relate to it. I hadn't seen a similar postcard and wanted to give voice to my thoughts in a larger forum than just this silly blog so others could realize they aren't alone. I read her note every day, several times a day, hoping it will make a difference...but it never does.

Here's the card and if you click on it...it will link you to the bulletin board where the comments are being left.


I have sent a message asking why it was altered. Maybe it was a scanning error or something. Seems rather odd that it so neatly cuts off at the bottom, literally just before the area where the rest of the message would have started, and there is no edge there like on the other three sides. We'll see if I get any kind of reply back.