New Digs
I was pleased this afternoon when I got on the computer and The Heartland was back up and running. Yet the strain on my eyes from the enormously bright Yankees wallpaper was too much for me to bear, like being assaulted by the wallpaper of a seven-year-old's bedroom. I was able to quickly switch the format to a more pleasant one for the eyes. Yet as some of you have already noticed, there are still some things yet to solve with the new system at MLBlogs.
The first and biggest for me, and probably for many of you, is the need for me to approve and disapprove of comments before they appear on the blog. This is a non-starter for me, since we do the HDLR that is nothing if not rapid conversational dialogue as we watch and listen to the games. It's painfully tedious and distracting. I understand the need for it given the occasional trolling by people, or spamming. However, the ability to flag comments as inappropriate or abusive to me remedies that right away. Also, sooner or later, bothersome posts and bloggers get the boot. For people who might not post more than once a day, or who might have to work all day--or night--this means weeding through various e-mails to approve them, rather than locating the occasional problem to eliminate. I received an e-mail from Mark, who handles technical issues for MLBlogs--a good guy who's had his hands full with the switch I'm sure. He assured me that they would address this tomorrow, along with a couple other issues such as List displays. Compared to others, I feel fairly fortunate, since some bloggers did not have their full content up with the blog, or just hated the setup.
If the comment approval issue gets straightened out, then I'll gladly be patient with the rest. I'd switch to WordPress if it weren't, and WordPress seems easy enough to handle. Yet with all the work I have to do right now, switching things would use up an inordinate amount of time that would also require contacting lots of people who read and comment here about it, and I'd rather the problems here get solved. Thankfully, MLBlogs seems to be on top of it.
I hope the way things are now is not too cumbersome for anyone sidling over to The Heartland. My apologies if they have been. That hopefully won't be the case much longer. More importantly, Opening Day is not far away at all, just over a day now. It's about time.
Let's Go, Yankees!
The first and biggest for me, and probably for many of you, is the need for me to approve and disapprove of comments before they appear on the blog. This is a non-starter for me, since we do the HDLR that is nothing if not rapid conversational dialogue as we watch and listen to the games. It's painfully tedious and distracting. I understand the need for it given the occasional trolling by people, or spamming. However, the ability to flag comments as inappropriate or abusive to me remedies that right away. Also, sooner or later, bothersome posts and bloggers get the boot. For people who might not post more than once a day, or who might have to work all day--or night--this means weeding through various e-mails to approve them, rather than locating the occasional problem to eliminate. I received an e-mail from Mark, who handles technical issues for MLBlogs--a good guy who's had his hands full with the switch I'm sure. He assured me that they would address this tomorrow, along with a couple other issues such as List displays. Compared to others, I feel fairly fortunate, since some bloggers did not have their full content up with the blog, or just hated the setup.
If the comment approval issue gets straightened out, then I'll gladly be patient with the rest. I'd switch to WordPress if it weren't, and WordPress seems easy enough to handle. Yet with all the work I have to do right now, switching things would use up an inordinate amount of time that would also require contacting lots of people who read and comment here about it, and I'd rather the problems here get solved. Thankfully, MLBlogs seems to be on top of it.
I hope the way things are now is not too cumbersome for anyone sidling over to The Heartland. My apologies if they have been. That hopefully won't be the case much longer. More importantly, Opening Day is not far away at all, just over a day now. It's about time.
Let's Go, Yankees!
Any idea how to get the links to show up??
J
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Jason,
I did the following:
In your dashboard, go to Manage-Comments.
Then click the checkbox in the upper left to check all comments.
In the drop down box on top for "More Actions", select "Trust Commenter(s)", and click Go.
If I understand things, this will always allow comments from these people.
This is a quick fix for your common commenters.
I think you can choose this option in the lower right hand corner after accepting a comment... I guess you can check that out when you approve this comment.
Hope that helps!
Steve
http://mybrewers.mlblogs.com
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I posted a comment in MLBlogosphere for that... here's what I wrote.... not as painful as it sounds:
Your links should all still be there even if they do not appear on your blogs. If there is HTML code in any of the links, the system doesn't seem to want to display any of the lists. What I did was copy all of the links to an excel spreadsheet for when the link lists are more like they used to be (hopefully). I then deleted each list and created them from scratch, which really only took about 10 minutes because I had them all in excel. After I was done with the 'new' link lists, I saved them and they did not appear.... until I changed templates.
I really tweaked my old links with HTML, including pictures for links, etc, so I hope that ability comes back soon!
Hope that helps... e-mail me directly at mybrewers@gmail.com if you want.
Steve
http://mybrewers.mlblogs.com
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Hey, Jason !
My first reaction when I checked out the new MLBlogs sites was, "I thought the sites looked very cool"...Except, when I first looked at my site...I was in total shock...They had my logo listed under the MLB banner, not the Yankees. But, I was able to quickly change it back to the classic Yankees symbol. It's not the interlocking NY that I did have; but, of course, I am very proud to display any [and all] Yankees symbols !!!...I still do like the new look, but the way the comments section is set-up is totally ridiculous!...It takes away all the fun and spontaneity of actual "real-time" conversation; live-blogging of games; and just reporting up-to-the-minute, breaking news and sports stories...If anyone [including myself] is going to make the effort [and take the time] to offer comments, I would think all would agree, that we like the idea of viewing our comments [and comments of others], seconds after they are posted!...."Sending", "Receiving", and "Viewing" comments IMMEDIATELY is a big part of what makes "BLOGGING" so much fun !!!...So, Jason, I hope MLBlogs makes the proper adjustments to correct the "comments" flaw [and, others, I'm sure], so that we all can continue to experience the fun standards of "BLOGGING" that we all have become accustomed to!!!....And, a final note: The timing of all this is very interesting!...If a change was going to be made, [which, of course it was], Why didn't this take place about a month ago? [and, not, just one day before the new 2008 Baseball Season is about to begin]...so everyone would at least have a chance to get used to the new changes; and, also, MLBlogs would have been able to correct any errors and poor judgment that were made when setting-up this new system!...Isn't that what "Spring Training" is all about???....Take care, Jason!...It's time to get ready for the new Baseball Season to start; and, for the Yankees to begin their journey to their 27th World Championship in 2008 !!!.......[ Jimmy ].....
http://baseballtheyankeesandlife.mlblogs.com/
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In light of the 'trust commenters" ability, what I will do is go through my other posts today and click "trust commenters" for the good people who have posted here. That should alleviate things here at The Heartland in the HDLR until MLBlogs makes any changes, which might not actually be necessary. Steve, thanks for the great advice on the comments and Links.
Jimmy, good to see you and great point about the timing. On the one hand, we were told to be patient with the switch, which is understandable. On the other hand, the timing meant needing to be patient at exactly the time when the season and blogging would heat up quickly. Also Jimmy, if you could either e-mail some thing about yourself and your blog so that I can add them to the List description with your blog in it.
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Let's try to see if this comment will be immediately posted.
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Comments are up and running, people, saving the nation, universe, and most importantly the HDLR.
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testing...
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Jason,
I posted a comment on Bombers Beat, and it was listed right away [as in the past]...So, this comment on your Blog, will be a test to see if comment is also listed right away !!!
Also, I did send info about my Blog in an earlier comment...Just checking to see if you received it!...
I will try to get a post up on my Blog by the end of the night!
Go Yankees !!! About 16 hours to the "First Pitch", tomorrow at "The Stadium" !!! I can't wait for the Yankees to take the field!
http://baseballtheyankeesandlife.mlblogs.com/
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Comments are listing as fast as before! Great News !!!
Bottom of the 4th.....
Nationals 2, Braves 1...
Homerun by Chipper Jones, first at new Nationals Park !!!
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Jimmy, I got the e-mail but despite my best efforts several times, have been unable to upload the descriptive text for your website. As soon as MLBlogs changes our managing abilities as bloggers, I will be sure to add the description right away. I would have in the first place, but didn't know details about you personally, and didn't want to hazard guesses.
Opening Day tomorrow. YES!!!
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