Saturday, March 03, 2012

Bother Blogger!

Sometimes it feels as if all I’ve been doing lately is grumble about Blogger and the changes that are being made to it. I’m not averse to change, truly I’m not, but only change for the better. Change for change’s sake, purely to get a new look without any improvement in function, just makes me cross.

The latest little gem in the ongoing Blogger revamp came earlier this week, when the full-page and pop-up comment formats were changed without warning to the glossy (and barely legible) new Google look, all acres of white space and small, cramped, pale, difficult-to-read text, ornamented with tasteful orange highlights. What do you mean, don’t I like it?

I could have lived, albeit grudgingly, with the new look if it hadn’t brought with it the loss of two invaluable functions – the ability to subscribe to receive later comments by email and, in the full-page format, the ability to collapse comments. Without these, the full-page format, which I’ve always had, became worse than useless and I had no option but to change to the embedded format.

This has proved to be an unexpectedly positive move and I’m really enjoying the ability to reply directly to each comment, rather than having my response appear sometimes several comments below the one I’m replying to. It gives a much stronger feeling of commenting as conversation and is one of the functions I’ve always admired and envied in WordPress blogs.

That bonus apart, I’m left with the time-consuming annoyance of having to go back to many of the blogs I comment on, in order to find and read the author’s response to my comment. I will do it, because I appreciate replies and don’t want to miss them, but I would so much rather be reading and writing new posts. Fingers crossed that the Google engineers will make it a priority to fix this, but I’m not holding my breath….

54 comments:

  1. I still feel that everything that doesn't quite work the way I expected it to, is because I've done something wrong. Trying to add blogs that I want to follow to my list, on my page, so others can see them seems to be a nightmare. Sometimes the little icon to let me do it is there, sometimes it isn't....and yesterday I managed to add the wrong thing, and now cant get rid of it. However, Perpetua, it is delightful to know that others with so much more experience than me, also find things frustrating.....so maybe, just maybe, its not just me.

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    1. Janice, I really feel for people like you, who have started blogging as the Blogger upgrade gets underway. I'm not exactly an old hand, but at least I got a few months of the old Blogger without changes, as I learned the basic ropes.

      Back in January I did a post about the problems of following, which might help:
      http://perpetually-in-transit.blogspot.com/2012/01/beating-blogger.html

      Try what I advise there and see if it works for you. If you still can't sort things out and are willing to let me have your email address so that we can deal with this off the blog, you can get in touch via the Contact Me button in my sidebar. You need to put your email address into the message box or I won't get it. Good luck.

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    2. Thanks so much Perpetua, I have now managed to do what I wanted to.... pretty sure I'll be calling on you again though.
      P.S. grandaughter Izzie is now home with her family, all seems well.

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    3. Great news about Izzie, Janice. I'm sure she'll go from strength to strength now.

      Glad to be of help about the following problem. Just sing out if I can do anything else.

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  2. And the profile page has changed too! Ouch! I too hate when things slip and slide around me! Soon, I'm anticipating Blogger pasting ads whether we like them or not. After all, they are free, totally free to us, and that seems Un-American somehow.
    Always good visiting with you, Perpetua.

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    1. Yes, I noticed, Rosaria, and not for the better. Harder to read and the personal information is right at the bottom where you have to scroll down to read it. Do you ever getting the feeling that none of the Google engineers who do this stuff actually blog themselves?

      Help, I hadn't even thought of the possibility of ads. I would hate that. Nice having you visit, but I wish you had something more cheerful to read....

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  3. I agree blogger is a pain in the posterior but like Rosaria I am still overwhelmed by the fact that all this is free, so reluctantly trundle along at a snail's pace gleaning what I can from other people's helpful comments.
    Sometimes is works, more often not, but as a total lame-brain I feel that is mostly my fault.
    If I vanish completely from the blogosphere you'll know the latest "change for the sake of change" was one too many for me.

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    1. Considering the steepness of your learning curve since you first went online, Ray, I think you're doing fantastically well. You and I were lucky to start with the comfortable and legible old Dashboard, which made things so much easier. Sadly, it all seems to have been downhill from there.

      I know it's free, but Google is not a philanthropic organisation and they must be making enough from all the blogs which do choose to host ads to make it worth their while to go on supporting Blogger. Me a cynic? Perish the thought....

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  4. In a rather perverse way, it is reassuring that I'm not on the only free (because I signed up before they started charging and they honoured that) platform that changes things unpredictably. I guess we each have to be grateful we don't also have the irritations of the other platform! Just hope that I can decipher the code when I hit the 'publish' button!

    Hey, ho, if we didn't have blogs to maon about perhaps we'd have to consider the weather... :-)

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    1. Catriona, I'm quite sure that in blogging, as in other areas of life, there is no such thing as a free lunch. I guess I should be grateful that most of the time Blogger lets people comment and at length, whereas with your platform I've learned that only short (the shorter the better) will do.

      If you want a moan about the weather too, I'm happy to oblige....:-)

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  5. Oh! Weird... no code! OK...

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    1. I took it off back in January, Catriona, as it meant some people couldn't comment at all.

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  6. It was all so easy 3 years ago when I started blogging. It's got progressively more difficult to manage and I'm wondering just how long my patience will last.

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    1. It was basically OK when I started a year ago, Ayak, but then we had the big meltdown in May and it's been downhill ever since. Sigh...

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  7. I have no idea what you're all talking about, but I'm sure you're right!! I came along AFTER the changes had already been made, and am probably a classic example of "you don't miss what you've never had". Interestingly, though, randomly scrolling through and hitting the "next blog" button at the top of my own, I have stumbled across quite a number where the most recent post says "I've moved my blog to xxxx!" Maybe now I'm starting to understand why. Sorry for you, perpetua, and all the others struggling to make sense of someone else's "Improvements". Whatever happened to "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"

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    1. Well, they say ignorance is bliss, CB. :-) This particular change I'm moaning about does actually postdate your entry into blogging and only happened last Monday. You wouldn't notice it on your blog as you have embedded comments, and it really depends on how many blogs you follow and comment on as to whether you would have noticed elsewhere already. My blog was affected, so I noticed instantly.

      Do you know, I don't think I've ever used the Next Blog button. I seem to come across more blogs than I can sensibly follow without it. As for "if it ain't broke..." This is what happens when the desire for an integrated 'new look' across all Google products takes precedence over function.

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    2. Me too! Inasmuch as I have no clue what everyone is talking about. Perhaps as someone else has said, it's because I haven't been at this blogging thing for very long (since last October). Do I have 'trouble' to look forward to? Yikes!

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    3. Don't worry, Astrid. Your comment format is the embedded version, so you're fine. :-) The problem comes if another blog uses one of the comment boxes (full-page or pop-up) and you want to follow the comments being posted on that blog. With the new look boxes you can't sign up for that.

      Unfortunately I think we may all be in for a few more changes before the new Google look is complete.

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  8. I noticed something funny happening to the comments box and wondered what........
    Goodness only knows why they have to keep tinkering with something that already works really well. I don't remember being asked to fill in a questionnaire....dear Jean, what do you think we should change next ?......!!

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    1. If only, Jean. Wouldn't that be a first? The thing that makes me cross about this particular change is how very badly it's been done. The new look comments boxes, especially the full-page are so much harder to read, with all the comments squashed at the left of the page, and then to lose functionality as well. I honestly don't think they noticed they'd left important things out....

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  9. If we held our breath when dealing with Blogger we could all become divers for pearls...

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    1. Even if we don't like swimming, Fly. :-) It's a real nuisance, though, as I like following the comments on my favourite blogs, such as yours, because the comments too are always worth reading. Having them plop into my inbox, along with the replies, is not only convenient, but means I can chip in again if I want to, just with a click of my mouse. That's why I changed my format to the embedded, so that others can follow comments if they wish.

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    2. I see the point of it...and when I have a moment I'll look at it.

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    3. That would be great, Fly, and if you do make the change (which takes only a few seconds) I think you'd enjoy the ability to reply directly to comments.

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  10. I must say though, that I do applaud the new ability to reply directly to comments. Now I just hoping that I am not forced to use the new editor!

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    1. Absolutely, Broad. I'd noticed on your blog how well it works and it was only the irritation of the incorrect time-stamps that stopped me moving over to it before. Now I have, I wish I'd done it sooner.

      As far as the new editor is concerned, they have said it will happen, but nor when.

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  11. I'm too busy trying to adapt to Google Chrome. FR has taken Mozilla FIrefox off our computers because HE likes Chrome - I can't find anything and am totally feeling out of my depth for the very first time in a long time. I thought these things were supposed to be more intuitive!
    Bah! I'm going to start writing letters again.
    Axxx

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    1. Oh, poor Annie! That does deserve a big hug. I use Chrome for blogging, but that's because Blogger doesn't always interact well with Internet Explorer, which is DH's preferred browser. After a fair bit of pleading/nagging he agreed to my downloading Chrome, but this was in addition, not instead of. Can't you have both, so that you can each use your preferred browser? I'm still learning Chrome and quite a lot of my lesser-used bookmarks are only on IE.

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    2. Piggybacking on Perpetua's suggestion, Annie, we've downloaded several different browsers here. Tom has his favorite, I mine, and we have a few others that I've had to resort to from time-to-time. Might be worth it for you.

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  12. I'm not sure about the whole blogger interface. Trouble is, once you're in, you're in.

    In many ways I'd rather pay a fee and have a more flexible service.

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    1. I was very sure of it when I first started a year ago, Mark, but the changes since have irritated and unsettled me. I do in fact have my whole blog backed up privately on WordPress, in case future changes are more than I can take. I'd lose a lot by moving in terms of followers and visibility, so this is very much a last resort, especially now that we have threaded commenting here.

      I don't know enough about paid platforms to assess how much more flexible and/or supportive they would be.

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  13. Dear Perpetua, I had hoped that this messiness would all be behind you and other bloggers, but, it seems like two steps forward and one step back. Here's to hoping that it is just growing pains and all will settle down soon.

    I like wordpress, but, keep meaning to add a favorite blog list and a few other things, then something happens and I panic, afraid I will lose what I have. Silly, I know.

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    1. Thanks for the sympathy, Penny. I think we all need it over on Blogger. As far as I can see, the root cause of a lot of the upset is that the changes have not been thought through in terms of making sure that the existing, and much valued, functions are carried forward into the new look.

      Don't worry that you might upset something by creating a blog-list on your blog. WordPress appears to be very stable and I've created one on my back-up blog without any problems other than learning the WP method for doing so.

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  14. I haven't been too bothered by the whole comments thing but I am totally miffed that now when posting a link to my blog on Facebook the thumbnail of the blogpost picture doesn't appear. I generally don't mind the changes unless they take away something that was working and then I certainly do mind! And I get it that Blogger is free. Oh, well. I'm sure things will work out soon - they always do.

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    1. Not being on Facebook, that isn't a problem for me, Penny, but it must be very annoying for you who uses social media a great deal. There have been a lot of grumbles about it on the Blogger help forum too. Perhaps it's a ploy on the part of Google to get FB people to switch to Google+......

      The upset about the comment formats is because they have taken away something that was working perfectly and made following the comments on many blogs a whole lot more difficult.

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  15. It is crazy trying to keep up with who's commenting where. I like the direct communication but it is a bit of work.

    I still leave responses as new comments sometimes and watch as they move further and further away from the person I was talking to.

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    1. Tell me about it, EF! Following comments has always been easy if time-consuming because of the extra emails, but now it is just plain hard work.

      It's taken me a while to remember which reply button to press in order to leave a response and not a new comment, but it's all part of the fun that is Blogger. :-)

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  16. My reaction to change is kicking and screaming and rending of garments until I learn my way around it all -- so I can understand your frustration, Perpetua!

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    1. And weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, Kathy! There's certainly something purgatorial about Blogger at times. :-)

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  17. I hope they do change it. I have to admit that I tend to go back to blogs to check responses to comments. Commenting is something I am not doing enough of nowadays!

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    1. So do I, Sue. When I first started blogging, I too used to go back to blogs to read follow-up comments, but soon found subscribing by email suited me much better. With the number of blogs I now follow, having to go back to check is going to be time-consuming and confusing for this bear of increasingly little brain. :-)

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  18. I hate to admit that I don't know enough about the technostuff to even understand what changes you're talking about. One daughter sent me an e-mail this week complimenting me on my new blog design and format. She said that it was a huge improvement and more compatible to her iPhone. She did ask if I had made the changes or if it was done by the blogger technowizards. She know my limitations. Very sweet that she would even ask.

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    1. Janet, it's just about the way blogs are set up for comments. Your blog has the same format as mine, with the comments below the post, rather than in a separate pop-up or full-page box. The change is to the other formats, so doesn't affect your blog.

      I like your new look too and can imagine it will work better on a smartphone.

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  19. Well, I looked.

    If I ticked 'embedded' it informed me that I had to have post pages activated.So when I ticked 'embeddded' post pages became disactivated.

    I'm taking up pearl diving as an alternative to expletives.

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  20. And now when I went to the New Look to see if the embedded would work there I've lost my old Blogger setup and can't get back to it.

    And it seems to make the computer slow up...

    Never mind Blogger's Dynamic views...I've some pretty Dynamic Views of my own.

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    1. Fly, I'm really sorry you're having problems because of this and I'm puzzled as to why. You definitely had post pages enabled before and always have had, as I've been reading your blogs long enough to be sure of that. I can help you get back to the old Blogger, but I'll do it by email, not on here.

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  21. Dear Perpetua,
    Because of truly technologically challenged, I'm in the same boat as "Calamity Jane" who commented earlier. I don't really understand what you are telling us here. The big problem I have is that every time I go to a new blog and want to sign on as a follower, my little icon doesn't appear with all the rest. It appears by itself with the word "Dee" under it. Makes me seem to be an egotistic loner!!!!

    Peace.

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    1. Good morning Dee. Sorry to overwhelm your with the nuts and bolts of Blogger. :-( Your blog is fine, but a good number of blogs have their comments in a separate box or page. Last week Blogger changed the look of these and left out the "Subscribe by email" link which lets you get follow-up comments sent to you, instead of having to revisit the blog to read them. Many bloggers are not pleased about this, to say the least.

      As for your other problem, let me think about it and I'll get back to you.

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  22. Perpetua, since I found your blog I've been impressed by your diligence in responding to individual comments - something I have rarely got round to unless the comment challenges me or asks me something. Just for the record - I have run a Wordpress blog for several years (for the church - now taken off my hands) and hated it as being non-instinctive as far as I was concerned. I'm entertained by the new interactive Blogger template, however - as you will see if you read my blog live - and think the posts themselves much easier to read. We had a sermon about change at our diocesan Synod last week - but our Bishop doesn't really do social media!

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    1. It hadn't occurred to me that I'm being diligent, Christine. :-) It's simply that I really enjoy and appreciate the comments I get and also enjoy responding to them. The new threaded comments format adds to the pleasure as far as I'm concerned, by enhancing the feeling of a real conversation.

      I'm interested in your impression of WordPress as non-instinctive. I'm assuming by that you mean the dashboard and posting process.I'm still learning it, but don't find it too bad now, though I may never actually make the move there, if Blogger manages to behave itself in future.

      I'm certainly intrigued by the Dynamic Views look on your blog and even applied it to mine temporarily to see how it would look. However I missed the widgets and other things in my sidebar too much to implement it permanently. Resistant to change - that's me. :-)

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  23. I'm missing my widgets too - in fact, I've just spent a very late half-hour seeing if I can restore them. I can, but only if I revert to the classic view. Maybe I won't bother ... I'll just go to bed instead! :-)

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    1. Christine, I found that the basic widgets like followers and blog-roll will appear if you hover over the appropriate button on the right-hand edge, but I felt that visitors wouldn't find them. which really negates the point of having them. Also I have other add-ons, like the fun little ClustrMap, which I enjoy too much to sacrifice.

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  24. It's my Creative Commons licence badge and my site meter link that are missing - to say nothing of the highly misleading pic of Greenock (complete with palm trees) on which the current weather is displayed! Gone, all gone ...

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    1. Christine, sorry to hear about your vanished widgets. :-( There is a very long thread in the Blogger Help forums, in which Google asked for feedback on the new Dynamic views format they have spent so much effort on. Most people love the look, but the biggest deterrent to its adoption is the lack of a proper sidebar and all the widgets it can contain. The 5 little buttons on the sliding sidebar is all that they have yet provided and a lot of people think that simply isn't enough. It certainly isn't for me.

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I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.