Althouse: Tweaking the template.

July 17, 2011

Tweaking the template.

You may have noticed a few tweaks around here. There's the "Who is Althouse? ✼ How can I contribute?" in the banner. The picture of me in the sidebar is now the width of the Blogads (and no longer accompanied by my name and some added text). The post titles aren't orange-ish anymore. And the format for posting a comment is different.

The comments system is the same, but I've seen a little confusion about it. You have to "select a profile," using the drop-down menu showing 6 ID formats. You only need to do that the first time, and if you were commenting before, you've done it before. You just don't remember.

Also, there are 2 buttons: "Post Comment" and "Preview." If you feel like you're encountering a 2-step process, it's because you hit the "Preview" button. Just read the buttons, and pick "Post Comment" if you don't like previewing.

Please move beyond this initial confusion and take note of how much cleaner and prettier the comments page looks than they old orange-and-tan thing it has replaced.

Finally, you may wonder why I'm fussing with the Blogger aesthetics when I've been saying I'm moving out of Blogger onto an independent site. It's because I'm seriously considering staying with Blogger. I won't trouble you with the problems of moving a blog this big to a new site, but they are huge. I have — with the help of some good people at Google — gotten a full export of my archive (comments and all). But there are many more problems with the transition, and having experienced some nice treatment from Google, I'm quite likely to stay here now.

ADDED: I've gone back to the old comments format. The new one, while prettier, was preventing some people from posting.

126 comments:

Patrick said...: Well, it's not surprising the Google would want to keep you. Still curious what the Althou.se would look like, but it's content that matters anyway.; 7/17/11, 9:57 AM
Sal said...: "I'm staying. Get used to it."; 7/17/11, 9:59 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: You've increased the size of the pic, without accompanying increase in density.

Result: pixelization.

Solution: Retake or resize original.; 7/17/11, 10:02 AM
Sal said...: Think of Sweden's loss of prestige!; 7/17/11, 10:03 AM
G Joubert said...: Sorry. It sucks.; 7/17/11, 10:03 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: "Having experienced some nice treatment from Google, I'm quite likely to stay here now."

Wild. I saw this article yesterday, and immediately asked myself if I could follow you into battle. "Too fickle," I thought, and sure enough, here you are proving it today.

Synova, or Freeman Hunt, sure. But there's no way to get a bead on you. I love you and all, but how anyone could trust you is beyond me.

Too fickle.; 7/17/11, 10:11 AM
Anonymous said...: "It sucks."

It does suck. And I won't be staying.; 7/17/11, 10:14 AM
somefeller said...: Acting like you are walking away from the table (or actually walking away from the table) is a good negotiation tactic. Looks like it may have worked with Google/Blogger. Nicely done.; 7/17/11, 10:17 AM
MayBee said...: I'm happy that Google is being nice to you, but I was one of the people who got locked out of an account until I'd give my cell phone number. All because I gave a thumbs up to a comment on a Google website. I created another account unassociated with this one.

I hope you have stuck up for the people who stuck up for you- like Patterico- when you are talking to the nice people at Google.; 7/17/11, 10:20 AM
DaveW said...: I was going to say I dislike using the 'choose a profile' thing, but I do like that I can post on the thread directly rather than having to open another window.

The post headlines are no longer showing up in amber, but I guess you know that.; 7/17/11, 10:20 AM
David said...: The only weakness is that you have to scroll to see your comment in preview. Being the Typo King, I preview a lot. The scrolling is more cumbersome.

But aside from that little mater, no problem.; 7/17/11, 10:25 AM
Conserve Liberty said...: @Althouse

". . . and having experienced some nice treatment from Google, I'm quite likely to stay here now."

Good for you (and good for Google).; 7/17/11, 10:25 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Sorry. It sucks."

You're a glass is half empty guy. The alternative is at least half empty. That's what you're missing.

Look at the half full side: nevadabob is leaving.

Anyway, it's largely about the comments. There are way more of them here than on other blogs you've seen moved. And in the new system, I would have to pay for the server. With the volume of posts and comments, that would be $400 a month (and who knows how much that number would rise once I'm stuck in the new system?).; 7/17/11, 10:25 AM
Joe said...: mmm; 7/17/11, 10:27 AM
MayBee said...: I mean, just a line such as "I know Google treated some of my readers poorly when I asked you to support me through my troubles, but I have spoken to them about that and ________." Or, "I asked you all to support me through my troubles with Google, and I know they treated you unfairly for it. I have assurances from them that they will help me directly in the future, and I am sorry you all went through that."

Something like that. To show that you realize it isn't all about how Google did treat and is treating *you*.; 7/17/11, 10:28 AM
Steven said...: Actually, it looks like a two-step because they have me enter the word verification after hitting "Post Comment", instead of letting me fill it in before I post. And that is annoying.; 7/17/11, 10:28 AM
G Joubert said...: You're a glass is half empty guy. The alternative is at least half empty. That's what you're missing.

I haven't analyzed it that far. I'm just saying, for me, it is less user-friendly.; 7/17/11, 10:29 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Crack You do not know the problems I am encountering because of the huge size of this blog. I don't even know that it is possible to cram this blog into WordPress, but I believe the cost per year even to start would be $30,000. Once in, I'd be captive and stuck with rising prices. There would be ads all over the place to recoup the expense. I'd have to provide in my will for a way to keep the thing going after I died, to the injury of my heirs. And that's just a few things off the top of my head.

You say I'm "fickle," but you are snap-judgment opinionated. You purport to be dedicated to science, but you jump to conclusions without needing the evidence. That is operating within a scientific framework.; 7/17/11, 10:30 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I'm just saying, for me, it is less user-friendly."

Less than what? Than the thing you haven't seen?!; 7/17/11, 10:30 AM
edutcher said...: As I said before, I like the "Who Is Althouse" and "How Can I Contribute" items in the masthead and the way you phrase them. The "all-law Althouse" feature is probably good so the legal eagles can focus on that aspect of the blog.

The moving difficulties aspect I understand because I went through several similar changes (platform, db) where I last worked.

If there was one thing you could do (and I don't think you can if it works the same way here as other Blogger sites), it would be make the preview box bigger.

PS FWIW, I don't think it was a threat or negotiating tactic to move. She was faced with the problem of a tech support who refused to do his job. The problem of blogs disappearing is still there, just not as widespread as it was.

I do think her experience and the support she received from the blogosphere, especially the Rightosphere, alerted Google to the fact they had a customer service problem on their hands and that they needed to get some professionals on the job.; 7/17/11, 10:32 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Actually, it looks like a two-step because they have me enter the word verification after hitting "Post Comment", instead of letting me fill it in before I post. And that is annoying."

Okay, thanks. I don't see that because I'm the administrator.

There were 2 steps in the other process if you clicked on the post to get to the post page and then on "post a comment." What we have now is the comments box appearing at the bottom of the post page.; 7/17/11, 10:33 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "If there was one thing you could do (and I don't think you can if it works the same way here as other Blogger sites), it would be make the preview box bigger."

You can pull the right bottom corner out to make it bigger. See the little lines?; 7/17/11, 10:34 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: The design does the job.

Make my living more as a developer than a designer these days.

But, I still believe that design should proceed from functionality.

Having three rollovers in the masthead is kinda nice. I've been frustrated with Typepad because it doesn't allow for Flash banners as mastheads. Does Blogger?

The design is doing its job. The new comment layout is a little frustrating. But, once you become habituated to it... no problem.; 7/17/11, 10:35 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @edutcher Right.; 7/17/11, 10:39 AM
galdosiana said...: Testing this new comment system out. And I must say, I'm happy you're probably staying here. Hopefully whatever kinks are left will be worked out for you.; 7/17/11, 10:40 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "The post headlines are no longer showing up in amber, but I guess you know that."

I made that happen.; 7/17/11, 10:41 AM
Simon said...: La donna è immobile.; 7/17/11, 10:42 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "The new comment layout is a little frustrating."

It would take 5 seconds to go back to the old one. I am under the impression that a lot of people -- including me -- think the other page is ugly.; 7/17/11, 10:43 AM
David said...: I am getting less error messages.

That's a plus.

(Blogger's errors, not my own.); 7/17/11, 10:45 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: I like it. The scroll buttons didn't work right on the old format, and if you left the page and came back it always refreshed at the top of the page. On long threads it was annoying having to scroll through to find your place again. It remains to be seen if the word verification is as funny as it used to be.; 7/17/11, 10:46 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: My only complaint, so far, is that, with this laptop, it is hard to see the different panels and text boxes. It is that light blue against the white screen. As a result, it is, so far, harder to deal with.

That may be easy to get used to, or, if others have the same problems, may be easy to solve with an edit of the template. We shall see.

I understand the economics, but would also like to point out that Blogger does have its problems - most notably for me its inability to handle multiple edits at the same time. The result there is the loss of the time spent composing the post, which may be substantial. As a former software engineer working somewhere in the vicinity, it is just plain bad software design. And, Blogger/Google is so unresponsive to user problems like that that they don't even bother to respond to most of my complaints by email - if you can even find an email address to email.

Nevertheless, I will continue to follow the site because it is well worth it. Thanks.; 7/17/11, 10:47 AM
edutcher said...: Ann Althouse said...

"If there was one thing you could do (and I don't think you can if it works the same way here as other Blogger sites), it would be make the preview box bigger."

You can pull the right bottom corner out to make it bigger. See the little lines?

Got it.

Doesn't work when you click the Preview button, but that's no problem. Preview now seems only necessary to verify HTML. As long as you can get a better look somehow, it's good.

Thank you, Madame.; 7/17/11, 10:48 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Ok, another complaint. Word Verification used to be in the same step as posting. Now I click on Post Comment, and it responds with the WV stuff. I then have to enter it. I preferred the old way. Just me, I know. Just seems a bit more inefficient.; 7/17/11, 10:49 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: It would take 5 seconds to go back to the old one. I am under the impression that a lot of people -- including me -- think the other page is ugly.

I think that the comments thing is more about functionality.

The new page makes the users scroll down past all the previous comments. The old page allowed one to post without paying much attention to previous comments.

So, depends on what you want users to do. You might say the new page enforces a little more attention to the comment stream of the thread and discourages hijacking and freelancing.; 7/17/11, 10:53 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: It looks better, too. That orangey color was just ugly.

wv:quadis--quadis vadimus?; 7/17/11, 10:53 AM
Phil 314 said...: Doesn't work as well on my iPhone; 7/17/11, 10:56 AM
Carol_Herman said...: "Not exactly." The "first offering" ... like in a religious experience ... is the "POST A COMMENT" box. True. There are 2 buttons. But I've never used 'preview' ... And, as soon as I hit this "post a comment" button ... I'll get another box ... and, the "mystery WV ... Which still needs to be entered. But it's not among the first choices.

Nor do I see my "profile." I've already told you six things about me and my ID? Who knew?; 7/17/11, 11:01 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Ann,

@Crack You do not know the problems I am encountering because of the huge size of this blog. I don't even know that it is possible to cram this blog into WordPress, but I believe the cost per year even to start would be $30,000. Once in, I'd be captive and stuck with rising prices. There would be ads all over the place to recoup the expense. I'd have to provide in my will for a way to keep the thing going after I died, to the injury of my heirs. And that's just a few things off the top of my head.

You say I'm "fickle," but you are snap-judgment opinionated. You purport to be dedicated to science, but you jump to conclusions without needing the evidence. That is operating within a scientific framework.

Oh, stop it. If you had said it'll cost you $30,000 at the beginning I would've been right there with you (you notice I'm not complaining about the tweeks) but you didn't - you went for the little girl/narcissistic "they were nice to me" angle and that's a bunch of fickle-assed bullshit.

Look, I've learned my lesson - I can't do anything about your lack of character, in certain areas, or your lack of concern about it. You're like the French, all about the imagery. I accept that. But you, too, are going to have to accept - without quarrel - that you put yourself in these weak-assed positions (much like Jane Fonda) and trying to call people out for pointing out the obvious - like you really should stay away from these meaning-of-marriage-type-questions - is worthless, because you set it up that way.

As the old saying goes, I'm just trying to be real with you, partially because it seems few others are - including yourself.; 7/17/11, 11:05 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Ann, you may think the present format looks "cleaner" but I feel that the orange topic headings were not only more helpful to quickly orient/focus the eye when scrolling thru headings to see which ones captured my fancy in terms of commenting; they actually enhanced the visual aesthetics compared to the present vanilla "legal brief" format--but then you're a lawyer, aren't you? ...'cept this ain't no legal forum now, is it?; 7/17/11, 11:05 AM
Carol_Herman said...: Crack Skull Bob, in your blog roll call ... doesn't seem to be Crack Emcee. But he has a blog. So does Chickenlittle. Shouldn't they be added to the "blog roll?" It what was once the WONDERFUL SCREEN for typing in comments! Gone, in the name of progress? REALLY?

Here we go, again. Ain't no word verification at the first finger punch.; 7/17/11, 11:06 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "you went for the little girl/narcissistic "they were nice to me" angle and that's a bunch of fickle-assed bullshit."

They helped me out of the problem that was the worse thing about being here on Google. That changed the balance. You are wrong to think that I'm won over by gestures of niceness. I am not. I had a horrific experience (the blog deletion) and real help, with a contact that I can use in the future if I need help again.; 7/17/11, 11:07 AM
G Joubert said...: Less than what? Than the thing you haven't seen?!

Less than before. More changes to come implied?

BTW, I'm not complaining, just giving some honest initial feedback. And your reply to Crack@10:30 really explains it all. So, enough said.; 7/17/11, 11:10 AM
Moose said...: I can't wait til you're off Google.; 7/17/11, 11:13 AM
roesch-voltaire said...: Because readers have to scroll through, and hopefully read, all the comments before posting, it may improve the level of dialog, as ST also noted.; 7/17/11, 11:13 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: I like the new comment posting format. It makes more sense for it to be at the bottom instead of the top.

As for the location of this blog, I don't care. It's not my blog. I'll visit Althouse no matter where it resides.; 7/17/11, 11:14 AM
VikeDawg said...: I don't like or dislike the design, but here are some things I have noticed>

I love the new comments, because now I can navigate away from the page and come back and it will remember where i was on the page since the cursor isn't stuck in the comment box. This is nice for when I click a link in a comment and forget to right click to open to a new tab, or maybe I won't have to do that now :)

You have to re-size your profile picture, it is all pixilated.

I have been experiencing some issues loading your page though. I am using Chrome and 3 out of 4 times I have to hit reload at least one time, sometimes multiple times, to load your page. Anyone else having problems.; 7/17/11, 11:15 AM
Carol_Herman said...: This idea that Google is "free" is a misnomer. Because Google DATA MINES. And, they make their money by gleaning off the words we print (type?) ... And, that's where the money IS.

That's why Google worked overtime to keep you!

Yes, even nevadabob! And, AlfaLiberal, and the garage ... ALL OF US ... all together ... are a diamond mine as far as Google is concerned.

If math were money ... you'd understand why Drudge, the other day, reported that Google's share price jumped 10%.

The last person on earth who had figured out how to get wealthy like this was Barnum.; 7/17/11, 11:16 AM
edutcher said...: Shouting Thomas said...

It would take 5 seconds to go back to the old one. I am under the impression that a lot of people -- including me -- think the other page is ugly.

I think that the comments thing is more about functionality.

That's it. If you can be a little flex, it doesn't seem that hard.

There are several other Blogger sites that do it the current way.; 7/17/11, 11:21 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Crack,

One of the sources of frustration you feel toward Althouse is she doesn't feel like she's rich and powerful, but she sure as hell looks like it to me and you.

This goes back to Woody Allen movies. Allen is, in reality, the hero movie maker of our mandarin class... all those technocrats, bureaucrats, administrators and public employees who are pulling in $150,000 alone or $300,000 as a couple.

They don't feel like they are rich and powerful, but they are. They don't feel like they have their thumbs on our necks, but they do.

I can see it from both sides, because when my wife was alive, I was for some time in the mandarin class. Fell out when my wife died and I lost her paycheck and our income from music.

Now, I'm back to looking at Woody Allen movies and thinking: "Those bastards don't have any problems except for the ones they imagine. Phony assholes should be shot. Why should I sit here and pay attention to their self-serving bullshit?"

The mandarin class is running the show. They don't feel like it, but they are.

Gaydom is the favorite obsession of the mandarin class. The mandarin class most prides itself on separating sexuality from function. That's the proof of how incredibly smart they are. They don't fuck to breed or for sheer pleasure like the yokels.

Gays are at the top of the heap because their sexuality is completely abstracted from function. This means they are really smart and ideologically pure. The mandarins all wish they were gay, but some of them aren't.

And, incidentally, never met a lawyer who wasn't a Dylan groupie. Dylan is the troubadour of the mandarins.

Don't bother to fight it. Just get away from it as far as you can.

Not worth it to get that pissed off about it.; 7/17/11, 11:21 AM
Penny said...: NOW I understand why it made good business sense for Blogger to work so hard at helping you have a seamless transition to a new site.

Congrats to their tech guys who saved this account. Work, well done!; 7/17/11, 11:27 AM
MayBee said...: I had a horrific experience (the blog deletion) and real help, with a contact that I can use in the future if I need help again.

Did you say anything to your new contact about how your old contact locked your supporters out of their google accounts?; 7/17/11, 11:28 AM
Carol_Herman said...: Killing gays,Shouting Thomas, is where the FUND-E-MENTALS got off the Jesus train. And, set up shop among zealots.

As to Woody Allen, all I can tell ya ... is that I remember him the same way I remember Carl Reiner. WRITERS! For Sid Caesar's Show of Shows!

I even think Woody Allen is shy. (Just as I believed that to be true of Reagan. Under his actor's skin.) Woody stood up and did monologues ... A type of comedy others FOLLOWED!

And, I can even remember one skit ... sort of.

Woody is invited to a cocktail party. On his way there, coming down the Connecticut Turnpike. He hits a deer. So, he puts the deer's carcass onto his front bumper.

At the party, where he's parked his car on Riverside Drive ... the deer manages to be in the punchline.

America was really once able to laugh at itself. Mort Sahl's career, for instance, was obliterated by the FBI. Who was angry at him for saying "it was more than one bullet." The IRS visited the Hungry i. And, told the owner they'd face an audit. It they let Mort Sahl appear again!

You have no idea how brave out comedians were!

And, just what fantasy Woody Allen tapped into when HE wrote the scripts! And, HE made the movies. Where men could go and lust ... as if Woody really was "every man."; 7/17/11, 11:30 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree with Virgil Xenophone. The headings should be a different color for ease of viewing. I did not think the orange color was attractive but it was better than the monochrome layout.

This is the first comment I made so it will be interesting to see how the new commenting process works.; 7/17/11, 11:32 AM
Phil 314 said...: Now seeing this for the 1st time on my computer. Hey, headlines actually show up! (on the iPhone headline font size was the same as the body text) I do miss the different color off the headlines. The comment change so far is no big deal (though I confirm that in a second when I post this). I would say a long comment on the iPhone (which is tedious) doesn't fit the preview window and I didn't see any scroll buttons to see it all.

So lets check this out; 7/17/11, 11:37 AM
Anonymous said...: I post using an iPhone. When I preview there is no way for me to expand the preview box. I will not be able to proof read comments that are more than 2 paragraphs long. I then have to hit "edit" then I can see my whole comment.

Generally a nice snarky comment does not need 2 paragraphs so this should not be a problem for me. If I ever get the urge to post an in-depth thought then it will be a problem :)

I also liked the one step of entering the WV and hit the send button. That is a minor gripe. More importantly, how will we know what the WV is before we send?!?; 7/17/11, 11:43 AM
Irene said...: I like it.

There's no place like home.; 7/17/11, 11:45 AM
Phil 314 said...: OK so the preview window (which I use all of the time due to my frequent typos and incomplete sentences) is different. That's no biggie.

So now my only comments/complaints are:
-different color for the headline
-improve the mobile device interface
-fix the pixulated picture

(and no good reason to include avatar image in preview pane); 7/17/11, 11:45 AM
roesch-voltaire said...: ST I always thought the Mandarin class was what my students took until I read your jeremiad against Althouse as part of the Mandarin class and so I Googled and discovered the Time Magazine article from 2001 on the topic. As noted this class has less to do with money, and more to do with how they obtained position by doing well in elites schools. According to the article,"Often they find themselves serving merely as high-level advisers to Talents and Lifers--the Mandarin is usually the management consultant, not the chief executive--and they're the most disliked of the three groups. They tend to think they've earned their place in open competition ("meritocracy" is the Mandarins' name for their path), but outsiders think of them as privileged, conceited teacher's pets who are prone to concocting corrupt arrangements behind closed doors." So you resent Althouse as a teacher's pet, who makes over $150,000 and can have no real worries-- outside of our shared existential ones, but to think she and other Ms are running the show is over-the-top ignoring who are the real chief executives that run the show.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,135534,00.html#ixzz1SNhJPpmD; 7/17/11, 11:50 AM
G Joubert said...: Carol_Herman@11:30

Killing gays,Shouting Thomas, is where the FUND-E-MENTALS got off the Jesus train. And, set up shop among zealots.

One of ST's recurring themes is the notion that gays have been the subject of genocide at the hands of homophobes is way overblown myth and drama queen stuff. And to be honest, I don't know one "fundamental" (and I know many, because I consider myself one) who in any manner advocates that way. Antithetical to the core.; 7/17/11, 11:51 AM
Joan said...: It doesn't surprise me that Ann is opting to stay with Blogger after all. My blog is minuscule fraction of hers, but I still decided it wasn't worth the hassles and expense of maintaining it on my own server.

My wish for Blogger functionality still includes the ability to ban (or force registration of) commenters.

I very much appreciate that the orange post titles are a thing of the past.; 7/17/11, 11:57 AM
Alex said...: You say I'm "fickle," but you are snap-judgment opinionated. You purport to be dedicated to science, but you jump to conclusions without needing the evidence. That is operating within a scientific framework.

Crack isn't a scientific type of guy. He operates always on his "gut feelings".; 7/17/11, 11:58 AM
Alex said...: Ann - are you set up in such a way now that if you do want to move to Althou.se it can be done quickly?; 7/17/11, 12:00 PM
Phil 314 said...: Finally, you may wonder why I'm fussing with the Blogger aesthetics when I've been saying I'm moving out of Blogger onto an independent site. It's because I'm seriously considering staying with Blogger. I won't trouble you with the problems of moving a blog this big to a new site

Shorter version:

HOPE AND CHANGE, not so much

and

This is HARD work; 7/17/11, 12:01 PM
Alex said...: ST - you are fucking nuts.; 7/17/11, 12:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Very disappointed. It's your site, I'll keep coming back, but google sucked, sucks, and will suck.

I had to change the way I comment (and ultimately decided to leave blogger altogether) because google decided to make life difficult for people who don't tie blogger to their gmail account. My gmail account is for a specific purpose and it isn't this and I don't care if google did buy blogger, it's still none of their business that it is tied to my yahoo account.

But google says no, everything we buy will become a no-go zone for other email providers and screw you if you don't like it. Google is evil.

And actually, commenting is now a 3-step process. 4 if you want to preview.; 7/17/11, 12:04 PM
Phil 314 said...: Used to be two ways to post a comment. One involved clicking the hyperlinked headline and going to the specific post with comments and the other was just to click the comments link at the bottom of the post on the "front page". No biggie; just different; 7/17/11, 12:11 PM
Anonymous said...: @Carol_Herman This idea that Google is "free" is a misnomer. Because Google DATA MINES.

The Vodkapundit put it best when he said if the service is free, it's because YOU are what's being bought and sold.; 7/17/11, 12:17 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Alex,

Crack isn't a scientific type of guy. He operates always on his "gut feelings".

I told you I'm on to you:

You just say shit to try and goad me into playing with you - I ain't biting.

Find a new boy, because I ain't the one.; 7/17/11, 12:26 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Best book to discuss "The God of the Bible. Written by Frank Shaefer. Who was born into the Evangelical movement. And, then had a change of heart:

Sex, Mom & God.

There's no FUN in FUND-A-MENTALS. It's a business that depends on schmucks to join them. And, oddly enough they are "pro-life," but "anti-gay." And, they reference this shit from "God-of-the-Bible." Holy mackerel.; 7/17/11, 12:32 PM
Carol_Herman said...: GOOGLE gets more resumes coming into them, then there are positions! And, here, I'll make a bet that "Night-Cruiser" saw the door. It didn't slap him in the behind. As he was sent flying out of Google.

So, "getting no response" from someone tasked with answering the Google tech support line ... Is just ONE example of how AT&T learned how to do business, better. While Verizon did not!

The real shakeups occur at the top! Believe it. Or not. That's how you get a sudden shift in the direction a company takes ... when someone beyond the guy who writes codes ... comes in ... to solve problems.

Can't fool me.; 7/17/11, 12:36 PM
Carol_Herman said...: A long time ago a man named Mike Daisy got a job answering Amazon's telephones. (Back in the day we were still using land lines.) His book is funny. He talked about how his supervisors timed all the incoming calls. And, he found a way to become a top performer. He'd handle a call in under five seconds. As soon as he said "HELLO" ... he disconnected.

Maybe? Well, maybe, that's how phones still get processed?

Though at Google ... because of the algorithms ... they know how to DATA MINE. And, that is an art. "Night-Cruiser" failed his test. Maybe, he was looking for a way to get fired?; 7/17/11, 12:39 PM
BJM said...: @timmaguire42

The Vodkapundit put it best when he said if the service is free, it's because YOU are what's being bought and sold.

We will be so screwed privacy-wise when the govt gains access to our health records and ties the IRS into the backend that's it's pointless to get worked up about Google.; 7/17/11, 12:41 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ann - are you set up in such a way now that if you do want to move to Althou.se it can be done quickly?"

No, I have reached a point in the process where I am almost sure it can only be done for a shocking amount of money (with no control over the future price). And even then, I am not sure it can be done right. It certainly can't be done quickly.

And I got the archive from Google. The problems have to do with getting his huge file into a new system and making it work.

It might have been do-able if I had left the old comments behind. I did not want to do that. Even if I had, however, I think the constant expansion of the size of the blog, because of the rate of posts and commenting, would have generated new problems and been very expensive.

I'd rather have the known problems than the unknown problems.; 7/17/11, 12:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Please do work with the Googlers to speed up load time of your blog. S L O W.

Regarding the $400 or $30,000 per year, those are interesting numbers, I am curious what you earn in advertising from this blog. If you want to mention it...; 7/17/11, 1:03 PM
AlgonquinS said...: I've got a template you can tweak, right here.

↓; 7/17/11, 1:12 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Thanks for the heading color restoration, Ann. Glad to see you're amenable to suggestions... we (those of us who agreed with me ) thank you..; 7/17/11, 1:13 PM
Anonymous said...: "Look at the half full side: nevadabob is leaving."

And I'm taking your blog with you. A lot of people come here for my comments, not yours. You're predictable and boring.

For the past several years, I've made your blog an exciting place for intelligent debate. But I dislike where this blog has gone as you've commercialized it for your own enrichment. It used to be a place where discussion happened. Now it's a bunch of links to products with throwaway timed posts in between.

So, I leave it to you and GarageMahal to masturbate to each other.

Enjoy your circle jerk.

And good luck getting Barack Obama re-elected.; 7/17/11, 1:15 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Now if only AA would put the "ALTHOUSE" heading in alternating day-glo fluorescent green & pink. LOL!; 7/17/11, 1:18 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Google buys me, timmaguire42 @12:417 PM ... ???

I bought the stock! It's a fantastic investment!

And, my mom bought AT&T ... way back in the mid-1960's. There's nothing like it out there!

This is how Americans earn dividends. Or? Stock appreciation.

Stock appreciation is the best applause.

Oh, yeah. When I was a kid, Barnum sold my mom tickets to his circus. The only place she wouldn't take me, though, was into the side show. She said "that's a shame." Though it did let freaks earn income. And, particpate. Where being on the train was probably more fun than being on display.

But, me? I grew up in retail. Google PROVIDES. We all grow richer ... through "free" participation.

Though, for some reason, most people fear raising their hand up in a classroom. Where, I'd just rather comment than lurk.; 7/17/11, 1:19 PM
AlgonquinS said...: This tweaking reminds me of what happened to the old light bulbs.; 7/17/11, 1:22 PM
virgil xenophon said...: AlgonquinS/

You aren't, by the merest happenstance, related to "AlgonquinJ," by any chance? LOL.; 7/17/11, 2:06 PM
1775OGG said...: Ah ha, while some problems related to posting comments seem to have been fixed, the sequence of posting comments is now more weird. Plus Google can't seem to handle multiple users posting comments at about the same time and there's no recovery with this new version.

Pity!; 7/17/11, 2:10 PM
Anonymous said...: @Carol_Herman Google buys me, timmaguire42 @12:417 PM ... ??? I bought the stock! It's a fantastic investment!

Not in some time, and probably not ever again.; 7/17/11, 2:18 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Best "recovery" in the world is to get into the habit of "copying" before you hit any buttons.

But to show my confidence, once Google got fixed, is that I don't do it anymore. But it is there. And, it is a personal choice.

I haven't lost a comment to Google ... since Google came along and fixed "Blogger."

And, I LOVE this site!

Learning new tricks? It's like driving. I get so set in my ways that I once complained to my son that he was "going the wrong way" ... when he chose another route into Pasadena. "Mom," he said, "I'm the driver. And, you are the passenger."

Ain't that true, here, too?; 7/17/11, 2:21 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: nevadabob,

"Look at the half full side: nevadabob is leaving."

And I'm taking your blog with you. A lot of people come here for my comments, not yours.

Incredible. Laughable, but incredible as well. What a maroon!; 7/17/11, 2:24 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Wrong timmaguire42! Invest like Warren Buffett. Do not sell! (I didn't with the Berkshire Hathaway stock bought back in 1987, either.)

The trouble with people is they think they make their money buying and selling. That's not true.

But to each his own. My garden grows ... now ... with little effort. (And, yes. I know Schwab uses their inventory ... which they can lend out to aggressive position takers.) Doesn't bother me in the least. No buying. No selling. No cost to me.; 7/17/11, 2:24 PM
Almost Ali said...: I am under the impression that a lot of people -- including me -- think the other page is ugly.

The old comment system was out of sync, not just color-ugly. So much so I normally click on the time stamp to read the comments, and post from there. Now it's all in sync.

Not to mention that figuring it out is not exactly rocket science - unless you're a prosecutor in Orlando.; 7/17/11, 2:27 PM
AlgonquinS said...: Virgil, are you talking about the world famous lawyer, Algonquin J. Calhoun?

If so, I have all the Amos 'n Andy shows on DVD. I think there's something like 67 individual shows. Blatz beer was a major sponsor.

Too bad that they are now politically incorrect. It's some really funny stuff.; 7/17/11, 2:28 PM
Almost Ali said...: P.S. I also like the "Sign out" option at the bottom of the page - under the comment box.; 7/17/11, 2:53 PM
ken in tx said...: Re-post warning--Thank you for tweaking the interface. What you did solves my complaint and makes me feel good that someone actually reads my comments.; 7/17/11, 3:01 PM
virgil xenophon said...: AlgonquinS/

LOL. At age 67 I'm of the generation that grew up with them on radio, then followed them onto tv. The radio stuff was even funnier than the tv series--if that's possible.

PS: There's a radio station that plays old radio shows to inclu Amos & Andy on Sunday afternoons--some great stuff. To get 'em all go to http://radioshowcds.com/cd_amos_and_andy.html; 7/17/11, 3:06 PM
virgil xenophon said...: CORR: "...radio station in New Orleans.."; 7/17/11, 3:09 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The problems have to do with getting his huge file into a new system and making it work.

My brother used to specialize as a tech consultant on handling gigantic computer files. He was an expensive hire.; 7/17/11, 3:12 PM
Michael Haz said...: @Althouse - Have you considered publishing your blog, at least the early years at this point - in print? It could be an interesting venture into new media (Meadia?) No one has published a blog as a book and your blog certainly has the substance that make its publication possible and interesting.

Althouse Blog - The Early Years. It could work, and it sure would be an interesting commentary on politics and society during a very specific time frame.; 7/17/11, 3:32 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Looks A-ok to me Professor!; 7/17/11, 4:28 PM
Simon said...: @Michael I started doing something similar for the 5th anniversary at SF, but there are three problems: (1) The pagecount stacks up very quickly; (2) how do you handle links? (3) To review and edit all that writing is a long and sometimes tedious task.; 7/17/11, 4:28 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Ann, it looks like nevadabob has you by the short ones. My God! he's leaving and no one will have any reason to come here after he leaves! So you might as well pack it in. Since he hasn't said where we can go to read his brilliant comments, I guess I will just quit using the internet altogether. In fact, I think I'll commit suicide.

wv:suckyr-- nevadabob obviously thinks you're some kind of suckyr; 7/17/11, 4:39 PM
Phil 314 said...: And I'm taking your blog with you. A lot of people come here for my comments, not yours. You're predictable and boring.

For the past several years, I've made your blog an exciting place for intelligent debate. But I dislike where this blog has gone as you've commercialized it for your own enrichment. It used to be a place where discussion happened. Now it's a bunch of links to products with throwaway timed posts in between.

So, I leave it to you and GarageMahal to masturbate to each other.

Enjoy your circle jerk.

And good luck getting Barack Obama re-elected.

Wow, just Wow.

But will he follow through?; 7/17/11, 5:13 PM
Paddy O said...: It looks more classy, less bloggery.

Also, is that.ico in the address bar new? Or am I just noticing it. It's you! You're your own icon.; 7/17/11, 5:13 PM
Paddy O said...: and... I don't like the two step login. It takes just long enough for me to think the comment posted and then go to another page, only to come back and realize it didn't post.; 7/17/11, 5:14 PM
Paddy O said...: plus.. no more WV jokes, because there's no more writing once the word to be verified finally loads.

That's all.; 7/17/11, 5:15 PM
Paddy O said...: One more thing... since you own the althou.se domain, are you going to use it for other purposes? You could host your own images. You could become a moose or squirrel blogger. You could run an online boutique selling Meadehouse paraphernalia.

Or is it is going to sit empty and sad, a forgotten warehouse of what could have been?

This was like three or four more things, wasn't it?; 7/17/11, 5:24 PM
Moose said...: Paddy -

Moose NOT squirrel for crap's sake. Please...; 7/17/11, 5:31 PM
Levi Starks said...: I really would like to contribute, but I feel that Ann and I have such a special relationship that I wouldn't want to cheapen by adding money to the equation.; 7/17/11, 5:31 PM
Shanna said...: Testing (couldn't sign in earlier...); 7/17/11, 5:42 PM
gregwithtwogs said...: Who moved the cheese??????????; 7/17/11, 6:14 PM
yashu said...: "Can I read All-Law Althouse!"-- do you mean that to be a question, or exclamation?; 7/17/11, 6:46 PM
Dual Freq said...: Ann, I think you want to use the 220x220 version of your profile photo:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6150/5944758884_98b0f8f22d_o.jpg

You're using the 100x100 version and upsizing it and that causes it to be pixilated. Anyway, you should be able to just change the link to the one provided by flickr for original image.; 7/17/11, 6:56 PM
gadfly said...: As long as you are tweaking, I would suggest that you make the body of the blog wider. The wide white unusable borders doesn't do the look any good, but more room to display text would make for easier reading and less page downs, especially in the comments.

Instructions here.; 7/17/11, 7:43 PM
Carol_Herman said...: YES!

The format I love!

Thank you for listening to us, Ann.

It's nice to experiment, too. As long as we can "go back" ... and be like we was.; 7/17/11, 8:19 PM
Chip S. said...: I took a nap today and had the weirdest dream. Althouse had changed the format for commenting on her blog.

I've gotta start hanging out at Lucianne.com.; 7/17/11, 8:21 PM
Paddy O said...: I second the width change suggestions.; 7/17/11, 8:43 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Now we're back to the orange comment page?

Fickle!!!!!!

Jesus Christ, Ann - it's your fucking blog.

[shakes head]; 7/17/11, 9:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: As I say in the post update, I went back to the old comments-posting form because several people emailed that they were completely unable to post.; 7/17/11, 9:55 PM
Almost Ali said...: Yup, it's definitely rocket science.

Which means Linux, and/or a dated version of Java. And for that the masses must adapt... to the few.

Although in this case it's six of one, half a dozen of the other...; 7/17/11, 11:42 PM
Lincolntf said...: Test from PC.; 7/18/11, 7:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Sorry Carol, you don't get to tell me I'm wrong. Only time does. And I bet it won't agree with your assessment. The issue isn't should you buy google 10 years ago, the issue is should you buy google today.; 7/18/11, 7:39 AM
SGT Ted said...: yay, I can post again!; 7/18/11, 8:37 AM
SGT Ted said...: nevadabob left his tiara in the cloakroom.; 7/18/11, 8:43 AM
Preston said...: I'm sorry you went back to the old format. I find that whenever I want to read comments, I'll click on the original post at the top of the comments page so they will show up in wider column width and thus be easier to read.

I understand your concern about folks not being able to post comments, but I wonder if that is not User Error. Are the Blogger people working to understand that problem?

I hope you will reconsider your decision.; 7/18/11, 1:09 PM
Lincolntf said...: Preston, I can assure you it had nothing to do with User Error. I jumped through a half dozen Google hoops trying to post with the new format to no avail. The moment Althouse switched back, I (and everyone else) was right back to being able to comment. It's definitely a user specific issue, but the difficulty lies with Google, not us.; 7/18/11, 1:39 PM
traditionalguy said...: Is it finished yet?

Like they used to say on Amos and Andy about watches, "...see here Andy, it's time we simonized our blogs."; 7/18/11, 3:15 PM
Almost Ali said...: I still suspect the 'can't post' issue had/has to do with dated (or partially blocked) Java Script.; 7/18/11, 3:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Well i think Google doesn't allow that,but in searching big suits in google mensusa(d0t)com is in no.1; 8/2/11, 12:25 AM
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Anonymous said...: Sell a product. If you've ever been interested in retail but are not interested in opening up a brick and mortar type store this business is for you! You actually have two ways to go when you sell products you can sell products sell products online; 1/4/12, 11:57 PM