Happy little elves have been playing again…

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Sue Vincent

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.

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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…

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About Sue Vincent

Sue Vincent was a Yorkshire born writer, esoteric teacher and a Director of The Silent Eye. She was immersed in the Mysteries all her life. Sue maintained a popular blog and is co-author of The Mystical Hexagram with Dr G.M.Vasey. Sue lived in Buckinghamshire, having been stranded there due to an accident with a blindfold, a pin and a map. She had a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion, the hidden country of the heart. Sue  passed into spirit at the end of March 2021.
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63 Responses to Happy little elves have been playing again…

  1. Marilyn Armstrong says:
    December 28, 2016 at 08:44

    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.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Sue Vincent says:
      December 28, 2016 at 08:46

      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?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Marilyn Armstrong says:
        December 28, 2016 at 08:58

        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.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  3. Richard Ankers says:
    December 28, 2016 at 08:47

    Sorry, Sue. If it’s any consolation it gets to me too.

    Like

    Reply
  4. jenanita01 says:
    December 28, 2016 at 08:52

    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!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  5. ksbeth says:
    December 28, 2016 at 08:53

    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.

    Like

    Reply
  6. robbiesinspiration says:
    December 28, 2016 at 09:28

    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…

    Like

    Reply
    • Sue Vincent says:
      December 28, 2016 at 09:32

      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. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. Ritu says:
    December 28, 2016 at 09:44

    I dread going to look!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. pensitivity101 says:
    December 28, 2016 at 09:45

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. quiall says:
    December 28, 2016 at 13:14

    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.

    Like

    Reply
  11. Helen Jones says:
    December 28, 2016 at 21:58

    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?

    Like

    Reply
  12. Eliza Waters says:
    December 28, 2016 at 23:16

    Mobile phones and the younger set are really driving this, I guess. We’re told change is good, but there comes a point…!

    Like

    Reply
  13. Judy E Martin says:
    December 29, 2016 at 16:41

    I really don’t know why they keep messing with things that were working perfectly well!

    Like

    Reply
  14. dgkaye says:
    December 30, 2016 at 02:07

    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! 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  15. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. says:
    December 30, 2016 at 08:58

    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.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Sue Vincent says:
      December 30, 2016 at 11:33

      I’ll paint the placards Sally…it would be nice to believe they’d listen…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. says:
        December 30, 2016 at 11:40

        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

        Like

        Reply
        • Sue Vincent says:
          December 30, 2016 at 13:14

          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.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
  16. LydiaA1614 says:
    December 30, 2016 at 09:28

    Reblogged this on and commented:
    Thanks to Sue Vincent for verbalizing what I have been thinking about the changes at WordPress!

    Like

    Reply
  17. Rowena says:
    December 30, 2016 at 11:05

    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

    Like

    Reply
  18. Let's CUT the Crap! says:
    December 30, 2016 at 23:48

    I fight WP every time I post. Is that all there is to look forward to? Constant change whether we need it or not? o_O o_O

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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