So…
Between one post and the next, somebody, who shall, for the sake of discretion, remain nameless, has been playing again. Somebody has been twiddling with the settings on that nice little black header bar at the top of the page there. The one that used to be useful, but which is now an utter waste of time.
Yes, that one. The one that used to allow a quick glance at stats, but from which the stats are now missing. And don’t think you can just click to access your normal stats…oh no. They’ve been tampered with too. Though, there is, at least, a solution to that.
The little black bar that used to allow access to a Reader that still functioned, but which now allows access to a Reader that barely opens one eye in disgust before rolling over and expiring…
You also used to…as in this morning… be able to access the Site Admin, along with all the things that do still work, via this little black bar. You could even usefully toggle between all the sites you work with via a simple hover.
And, believe it or not, once upon a time, that orange notifications dot… the one that now snazzily swipes in and out… used to show you all the comments, not just a select few…
Not. Any. More.
And that is what has right royally got up my nose. (Original texted edited by censor in favour of words less graphic but with more than four letters.)
You can still access the old Editor via the Site Admin/Meta links on your home page. For now.
Which is just as well, even if it is more faffing than I need with three sites to manage.
I do not wish to use the shiny new Editor that takes ages to load and then fails to perform or offer the editing functions I require.
I neither intend, nor have any desire, to write a post on my mobile phone.
I do not own a tablet, nor have I any likelihood of doing so.
I work on a PC or occasionally, a standard laptop. Simple. So all these ‘improvements’ are a waste of my time and make blogging more difficult, not less.
It is not too much to expect that those of us who do so should be catered for, surely?
I do, however, pay for a Premium site these days… Not through choice, but for the simple reason that the add-on storage and ad-free options I used to pay for on my ‘free’ site, were also removed.
If I order a steak, I do not expect to be brought a salad and be told that I might as well get used to it….and then have to pay twice as much for the bloody thing too.
In any other arena, I would know what to call those who impose upon the helpless their unwanted ‘improvements’ that are neither requested, desired, nor, indeed, improvements…
Do you get the feeling WordPress simply doesn’t care whether we stay or go? I pay for custom features too, half of which (like the font sizing options) no longer work. I get the distinct impression that we are not the people they want as customers. My question remains — so who DO they want? The kids who post a dozen selfies, then decide it’s boring and no one reads it and leave the site and never return? We ARE their real customers, so frankly, I don’t get it.
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Me neither, Marilyn. There are so many bloggers who try to post quality content, offer helpful or entertaining posts…and they are the ones who draw people to read blogs. Many are writers…and very many are still using desktops and laptops…and will continue to do so.
Where does Atomattic’s income come from, if not from clicks on blogs?
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I don’t know. It makes no sense to me at all, not even as a “bottom line” issue. We ARE the people who drive traffic and brings revenue … so why do they dismiss our needs and treat us so poorly? They have made some very poor business decisions and it will eventually come back to bite them in the ass. It always does. I’ve been around the high tech and software biz my entire adult life and I’ve seen the rise and fall of empires. No company is immune to the consequences of bad decisions.
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The problem is that there is no other blogging platform with as good an all round package and community as this…and they know it. On the other hand, the WordPress.org software is based on something anyone can help themselves to, repackage and adapt…
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Tempting!
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I know…
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie.
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Sorry, Sue. If it’s any consolation it gets to me too.
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A lot of us, I expect, Richard. And what can we do about it? Sod all…
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You can carry on being awesome, whilst shaking your fist.
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LOL… picture of angry hobbit… 😉
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😉
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People used to say ‘if it aint broke… don’t fix it’ but these days they have a different criteria. Sites such as WP seem to want to force things to break, and I for one, don’t understand the logic behind this. We don’t need more complications!
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So far, I haven’t come across anyone who actually likes the improvements brought in this year at all..
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They must have their reasons, but that doesn’t help us to cope, or understand…
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The mobile market…that’s their target…
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apparently, blogs are old hat now, everything will be done with phones and tablets… I’m thinking of giving in and getting a phone…
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The phones are great, but limited.
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Or a megaphone and walk around … hmm… no… might get arrested or attract the wrong people.LOL
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It would be a novel experience though 🙂
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i feel exactly the same way sue, and it’s so frustrating. i’m a laptop writer/editor and these changes have had nothing but a negative effect on all i try to do here.
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It really is frustrating…time consuming… annoying…
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Oh dear, this doesn’t sound good. I haven’t been blogging long enough to notice a specific change, it has all been a bit of a steep learning curve and I still don’t know how to add a Pintrest button to my blog…
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The sharing buttons are available through Publicise… or just google for a solution. There is everything out there.
It is a real pain when they improve WP…we always end up complaining with no recourse. 😦
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I dread going to look!!
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Think happy thoughts…first…
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Lol!
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Three wise monkeys comes to mind Ritu
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Aw man… there’s always something !!!!
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🙂
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🙂
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Thanks for the info Sue.
Like you I use a laptop, in fact I only HAVE a laptop. I have no ipad, ipod, peapod, whatever, nor do I own a smartphone, iphone, aphone or even telephone. I am growing increasingly tired of these changes. It ain’t broke, so why fix it? Sigh.
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I agree. Wish they’d leave well alone.
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Ugh. That is all.
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Yep.
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OK so maybe I was REALLY good in a previous life cuz all my stuff it where it’s supposed to be. I just checked. MY SITES – WP Admin (right at the very bottom) and voila! My stats, old posting method, dashboard, everything.
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All change here and though doubtless I’ll find ways round it, I do dislike being forced into such things without either warning or choice.
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I still seem to have most of the ‘old’ stuff, though some comments have disappeared into the spam folder and, now that I’ve retrieved them, I can’t find them at all! Plus the little comment icon has changed to something less useful. I write my posts on my big computer too – I can’t imagine doing anything so fiddly as writing one on my phone! I haven’t upgraded to Premium yet but am not far off doing so… yet wonder what awaits me on the ‘other side.’
Do you ever get the feeling that people are trying to justify their jobs?
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I do, frequently… and they seem to forget we, the bloggers, are trying to do ours…
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Yep, they do.
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Mobile phones and the younger set are really driving this, I guess. We’re told change is good, but there comes a point…!
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I’ve loved the technological changes of the past few decades, but there is a point beyond which it is change for the sake of ‘look, shiny!’….
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Exactly. ‘Innovate or lose your job!’
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Yep.
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I really don’t know why they keep messing with things that were working perfectly well!
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Neither do I… but they do…
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😡😡😡
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Pretty much 😦
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Fantastic post Sue. I’ve been hearing from so many about the new editor. I’m self hosted and haven’t noticed someone yet changing my stuff, although, I am missing notifications and have had quite a few annoying glitches lately. Yes, WP is so friggin’ annoying! 🙂
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All my notifications are down again today 😦
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So annoying! 😦
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It is when I’m trying to keep up x
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
For those of you who discovered the gifts that WP had so kindly prepared for us just before Christmas and wonder why they bothered… sorry unlike M&S or Macy’s … you can’t take their gifts back.. We have gone from user friendly to Disney world on speed…there are some work arounds for the time being to be able to use the old editing and see your normal stats but head over to Sue Vincent for her views on the matter. Perhaps it is time for an old fashioned but effective mass appeal to those who would seem to have more time on their hands than is useful.
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I’ll paint the placards Sally…it would be nice to believe they’d listen…
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I think they might listen to the paid for platforms but I think those of us who are free… might have an issue.. despite the fact that they use our posts often for paid for advertising if we have enough followers.. We are still however potential paid customers but I for one will not be upgrading.. I liked the simplicity and ease of posting especially with a number per day.. now I like you I am hopping between dashboards like a ferret up a drainpipe!! xx
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I pay the Premium website thing for the ‘free’ service, just to get the storage and ads removed. I wouldn’t want to go self-hosted. Even so…I still pay. Lots of us do. Lots of £100 a years add up… a mass exodus would make a severe dent in their income.
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Reblogged this on and commented:
Thanks to Sue Vincent for verbalizing what I have been thinking about the changes at WordPress!
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My pleasure, Lydia. I do wish they would leave things alone.
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Hi Sue.
Thanks for letting me know about this. Technology and I have been holding a long standoff, despite me working as a Marketing Manager for an IT company for 6 years until recently.
Being from Beyond the Flow, I naturally have little to do with mobile photos and refuse to sell out to texting and phone speak. I don’t know what can be done about it, except looking at Fair Trading legislation. A class action?
I haven’t noticed any changes to my site, even after checking but I’m not the most observant soul. Well, not observant in conventional ways.
Happy New Year to you and Nick!
xx Rowena
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You wouldn’t be able to miss these, Rowena.
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I fight WP every time I post. Is that all there is to look forward to? Constant change whether we need it or not?
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I think so, Tess…like it or not.
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*sigh*
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