What is this cold case blogger’s name?

Nic H. Vidocq … which is a pen name, of course!

Who is Vidocq?

The historical figure must be known (if not, check here). Me? Check the About page!

What is a Vidster?

When I started DCC, I used the pen name “Vidocq” because, obviously, I am intrigued by this historical character. However, people started to wonder whether I was associated with the Vidocq Society. The answer is: NO! Around the same time, a good friend, Deb Dobson, suggested to change Vidocq into Vidster and I liked it. It personalized me, separated me from the Vidocq Society, and it sounds less ancient.

What is a “Starting Point?”

Just some suggestions where to start reading my blog. DCC holds over 900 blog posts. With so many cases it can be overwhelming if you start to read from scratch. Some folks only read a few posts but many explore the site as a whole and for them I wrote the “Starting Point” page.

Why do you have a picture of a military fort in DCC’s header?

Dinaburg Fort is located in Latvia, Europe. It is the biggest fort in the Baltic States. I chose this photograph as my header since it represents how I feel about unsolved homicides.

The arches you see are a familiar feature in old prisons. In this photograph, you see green moss everywhere. To me that indicates the cold, moist areas where unsolved homicide files are stored in a dismal state with little done to properly preserve the evidence. The arch opens into another area that holds the same dreadful features but one thing is different: the other area has two windows. These windows are like eyes and they let me look into a different direction.

Passing the arch symbolises to me that the cold cases that have been stored there for decades are now taken up by different people but still without results. However, there is hope that one day we just might find that piece of information that allows us to see the case with “new eyes” as represented by the two small windows.

The cold case is a puzzle. However, if after decades the puzzle pieces still do not fit together then maybe it is time to think outside the box. Maybe the bits of information that formed a single puzzle piece were never meant to be placed together. Maybe we started the puzzle with the wrong pieces. And that is what this blog does. I look at the puzzle again and try to find whether there were alternative explanations for the facts in hopes to regroup the puzzle pieces to get a clearer picture.

Are comments immediately posted on DCC?

No, never. All comments are moderated by me personally. They are filtered for spam and hideous remarks.

I gladly post comments and approve ping-backs however, if your comments are hurtful to murder victim family members they get deleted. If you launch a personal attack on anyone, I will delete your comments. If your comment is a mere extension of an argument you have in real life or elsewhere online, I refuse to be dragged into that and will refuse to post your comment. Accusatory comments unsupported by evidence will be deleted as well. The rest gets posted a.s.a.p.

If I leave a comment on the Contact Page, does that get automatically posted on DCC?

No, comments sent via the contact page land in my email inbox and are therefore for my eyes only. However, when I feel that the comment was meant to be online, I will check with you via email.

Who designed your logo?

The logo is a Vidocq original!

What do you do when you do not blog?

Well, I read a lot and love to observe people so, you can find me on park benches and in coffee shops!

I’ve got tons of blogs! Can you add them all to your blogroll?

No. The blogroll reflects what I read and check (almost) daily so if I don’t frequently visit/read a blog, they are not mentioned on my blogroll. DCC is not a news aggregator. There are many blogs out there concerning missing people, unidentified people, and unsolved homicides. However, you can never list them all so I will not even try. 

If I know of a cold case that has not gotten any media attention, can I email the information to you?

YES! Use the contact page and email me. I will get back to you as soon as possible and then you can send me attachments, etc. Please try to scan as much as you can or, collect links for me. If you do not have a scanner, use a digital camera. Take a good quality picture of the documents and email them as .jpg files.

One note about contacting me: if you use the contact page to reach me, I assume you expect me to reply. If you haven’t heard from me in about a week, check your spam/junk folder – and please add my address to your list of approved email senders.

Can anyone guest blog on DCC?

No. The people who guest blog on DCC are either team members, friends/professionals I know in real life or, family members of murder victims who have communicated extensively with me before posting. No guest blog was or will be written by a stranger. Also, I do not post pieces that have already appeared several times on the web via other blogs or websites. Be unique!

Will you review my cook book?

No, alas. I only review books related to the topics discussed on DCC. The only exception would be if I am part of a blog tour.

Does DCC respect my privacy?

YES. No email address is ever shared, no email address lists are kept to be spammed later on by mass emails or newsletters. 

I LOVE your work! Can I quote it, copy it, paste it???

Fair use is ok, however, a link and a nod to DCC is appreciated. As you can see at the bottom of the page, all rights are reserved. If you lift whole parts of my text, I expect you to include links to DCC, the post involved, and mention in your post where the original text came from. I do the same for you. Remember that if you use photographs to include the credits as well. We regularly check the web using Copyscape and we will call you on ‘unfair’ use.

Who is your webmaster?

Clouseau is responsible for all the tech things related to DCC and he’s the best in the business!

Can we ask Clouseau tech questions about tweaking plug-ins, widgets, and developing websites in general?

Yes, he would love to get feedback about the technical aspects of the website. To many, including myself, the technical difficulties of running and maintaining a site/blog are not obvious. The themes we use are free WordPress themes, but they have all been enhanced and improved by Clouseau. If you are thinking about starting a blog or your own website (online marketing) and need some help, contact him.