Thought for the Week
WordPress is a large, genteel society built on the principal of mutual sociability:
- Create a blog (“New tea shoppe now open for business!”)
- Write posts with suitable tag words (“Hallo, care for a cuppa me-tea?”)
- Your posts will show up in the WordPress Reader (“Tea is served!”)
- Other bloggers will see and visit you (“Hallo, heard you were serving tea.”)
- Many of them will “Like” your tea and possibly “Comment” on it (“Lovely, do please visit my tea shoppe, as well”). Some may even “Follow” you (“Ta! I’ll be back!”)
- You will then visit their shoppe, Like and possibly Comment on their tea, er, um, blog posts, and maybe even Follow them back (“I say, let’s make a regular thing of this!”)
Lovely. Only last week my shoppe hit a wall. Or at least a very thick mass of jungle growth (highly uncivilized for a tea shoppe). And so I had to find a digital machete to cut my way back to my beloved fellow tea lovers!
What happened? My email notifications caught a bad case of the stupids. “Like” announcements now tell me that “Cecil” or “Felicia” liked my post, but offer no links to their shoppe! And until two days ago, “Please Moderate” emails showed up completely blank (“We’ve blocked someone from entering your shoppe, hah-hah, but aren’t going to tell you who it is—jolly good fun, eh?”) Fortunately, the latter has been restored, but Like notifications are still being worked on by the good people at WordPress.
For those who’ve noticed my lack of etiquette in not visiting their shoppes of late, what can I say but that I am utterly beside myself with embarrassment! I have, however, decided not to sack my entire staff as they, well, own the shoppe, you see.
But I shall find a way! Currently, I’m using the WordPress “Bell” (notifications) menu to visit those who’ve Commented, Followed, and Liked my posts. This is an imperfect method in that it only tells me about some Likes, unlike email notifications, which until now informed me of all Likes. One other snag: the Bell menu sends me not directly to the blogger in question, but to our neighborhood bobby (Gravatar). But unfortunately, many shoppe owners have failed to update Constable Gravatar on their current location.
Nevertheless, I shall continue to be resilient (from the Latin resilīre, to “spring back”) and resourceful (from the Old French resourdre, “to rise again”)! And finally, to paraphrase Sir Winston, “I shall never give up!” I shall find my way back to you, dear friends…
Just in time for tea!
It wasn’t just your email notifications. What was WordPress thinking? As frustrating and unimpressive as all get-out.
No idea, Jane. My knowledge of computer code writing is pretty much on a par with my knowledge of, say, ancient Sumerian.
In redesigning their email notifications without identifying the complete value of those notifications and how they’re used (which increases WordPress traffic and so is good for the company as well as the users), they’ve done their users and themselves a huge disservice. Sigh
Hmm. I have not experienced these WordPress glitches myself. Thanks for pointing out the bell here on my laptop screen. It works just like my WP Comments app! Neat.
My pleasure, Susan. We’re all here to show each other the way.
Hmm.
Speaking of that, so you happen to know how to make stanzas in poetry in WordPress?
WordPress wants to add a space between every line, so I end up separating stanzas with double spaces. I do sometimes manage to copy and paste a poem from some other source and retain the single-spacing/one-space-between-stanzas formatting, but never with my own pieces.
Long morning. Just trying to get stuff sorted. Had to read it 2X to get it. Yeah, not the great day for thinking 😀
I think it was WordPress’s intent to remove the link back to commenters’ and likers’ blogs. Enough of us seem to be unhappy with the decision, though, that I hope they will reconsider. This is another of those tech “improvements” that aren’t. I suspect WP’s “Happiness Engineers” are getting an earful. Bless their hearts.
Interesting, Donna, first I’ve heard that others are experiencing this, as well. They told they’re working to resolve “my” problem, so I assumed it wasn’t widespread or intentional.
Mitch, they told me they were trying out some different things, but why they would eliminate such a useful feature is beyond me. Thanks for bringing this up.
Or, as my dad would say, bless their pointed little heads.
What will it take to persuade WP to stop trying to fix things that aren’t broken?
Um, barrels of cash???
They got an earful (or an inbox-ful) from me, Donna! When someone “likes” or comments on one of my posts, I like to return the favor, and the old “Why don’t you see what they’re up to?” was a cute way to show me where I could find some of their stuff. As technologically challenged as I am, I don’t have the time to figure out how to find each reader. It’s frustrating, and yes, I feel rude!
Ugh. I thought it was my old computer which takes long naps and has dementia.
Oy. I’ve got one of those, Gary. It executes familiar functions well enough, but its short-term memory is pretty much non-existent.
I often think technology will be the death of me. Either that or Satan lives in the wires. I say this only half in jest (sigh).
;>)
Mitch, I just had my tea! Sip sip horray! Only you could create this beautiful script depicting our tea time on WP! By the way, I’m a Winston Churchill fan. I couldn’t “find” you on my reader for quite some time. My friend Martha Kennedy completely disappeared. It appeared to some that I threw out my tea in the harbor! Yikes! I’m still navigating the learning curves, or intense switchbacks, of WP! Stay blessed and healthy! Happy Monday!
You too, dear friend!
Awweee, thank you so much!! 😊
Yes, something weird is going on with WordPress. I am getting full posts of those I follow under my notification bell……unwieldy and ridiculous.
Me too! Unwieldy indeed. No idea whether it’s intentional or accidental.
The only way I have found to stop this is to unsubscribe – which really does defeat the purpose…A few times I re-subscribed a few days later and it stopped for that particular website. Other times it failed.
Hope you iron the wrinkles out, Mitch. It’s frustrating when tech doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. Good use of humor here. God bless!
Thanks, Nancy, you too!
Bit of a sticky wicket, wot? Your response, though, is ticketyboo.
Smashing.
Hi Mitch, I have had the same issues!
Hmm, does make me wonder if it’s intentional, Charles. Email notifications without links are essentially useless.
Love the funny outlook and commentary to it. At first my thought was ‘oh good, I’m glad I don’t have those problems’. Then to my dismay, I realized…hey, I don’t have those problems. 🙁
Mitch, thanks for raising this pesky technical issue with WordPress. My humble “tea shoppe” has also been hit. I’m not familiar with the “Bell” menu and opted for using the WordPress search bar. It’s not only time-consuming but also doesn’t include foreign-language blogs. Hoping that the problem is corrected soon.
Thanks, and hoping it’s resolved for you ASAP too, Rosaliene.
I have heard that other WP users have encountered the same problem
Hope it gets fixed soon 🌹
So I’m finding out. Hoping indeed.
🙏👍🙏
To be honest, I only go over the bell symbol for seeing and replying to comments and replies. My inbox would explode pretty soon if I got an email for every comment.
I totally understand, Erika. I put up with the crowed email Inbox because the email Like notifications are complete, and the Bell menu only tells me about some of them. As far as Comment go, those do seem to be complete on the Bell menu.
Oh, so you don’t get the whole information over the bell symbol. Then I totally understand the effort to dig through the emails.
Last week I noticed that the WordPress email did a major format change. I haven’t been affect by it, but most likely they did something on their end. Hopefully they will fix it soon.
Sooo frustrating! Keep calm and blog on! ☺️
Thanks for the heads up Mitch, may have to do some digging and ensure my shop staff are working properly when I’m not in. Difficult to get good staff you know
;>)
Ahahahha Kate, that made me giggle 🙂
Thanks for pointing out the software issue with WordPress, hopefully, they will fix it soon.
I assuming that since there is a comment thread that you will actually receive this. I was wondering what was going on with my site as well. Thanks for telling me about the bell!
Just doing my duty as a fellow WordPressian, sir.
Hurrah for that bell! Lots o’ interesting things under it.
Make mine Earl Grey, if you don’t mind. 😎
Hey, Mitch, I’m starting to see a link to other bloggers who “liked” my posts again! It’s not showing titles of their posts, but it does get me to their blogs. 😃👍Maybe we got through!
:>( I’m not, Annie. Their name is listed, but there’s no link to their blog site.
Hope it all gets sorted. I loved how you explained WordPress using a lovely Tea Shoppe as your metaphor. Now I want a cup of tea with you! Hope you have a great day. Keep writing, I love your posts xx
OK, so apparently, it’s not every notification. Janet, I was not given the link to your blog, but thanks for liking my comment. *sigh*
I love the Tea Shoppe analogy, too.
The site a lot of people migrated from, Vox, encouraged the idea of “neighborhoods” and hosted, or set swag to, many group meetup events. But we usually drank booze, not tea.
Ah, I hear virtual “adult beverages” are the best.
Hahahaha……love how you’ve shaped this post, Mitch! All the irritation is just swept away.
Yes, a lot of bloggers are facing this issue. Hope it gets resolved asap.
Thank you for this post…It explains it all..I just posted a humble (not clever) what is going on?
I hope they fix this soon..
Drop on in, Mitch! The kettle is on, and the scones are in the oven. 🙂
You had me at “scones.”
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I appreciated your recent visit. ^_^ I have been neglecting my blog as well as the wonderful blogs I follow. Trying to get back into it all and catch up a bit. I miss reading what you and the others have to say. As for my end, I am hoping to have some more pictures from my recent trip loaded within the next few days. Health, time, and memory permitting I also am hoping to get back to being a regular visitor as well as writer. 🙂
I think you’re worrying too much. But I don’t pay aylttention to my stats or who follows me. If I see comments from someone new, I eventually click through to check them out. But I don’t pay attention to likes and I disabled most email notifications.
thanks for writing, Mitch – this is very helpful!
sincerely,
David
My pleasure, Ben.
The rot is spreading worldwide. Until I started to see several bloggers complaining of the same thing, I thought my spam filter had gone into overdrive.
Yes, at first I thought it was just me, Gwendoline, but the responses here make it clear that it’s widespread.
Ah, these glitches are the worst! Some days these things get to you like an itch that can’t be ignored.
Mitch I have noticed the same thing – of course my followers are only a few above 600 so it isn’t dire. I have been deleting my emails since they are worthless. Instead I just go to my comments page and run down that… It was convenient to do it on the phone but no more.
Hi, Mitch—A charming invitation… I’ve been having that email problem too. It’s compounded by my inability to use the WP phone app since I “upgraded” and the new phone ate all my passwords and gobbled my cookies for dessert. I’m now dependent on Reader and computer, slowing down my likes and comments. We bumble along…
One lump or two? 😉🫖
;>)
The same thing happened to me! Now I get an email notification that someone has “liked” a post on my blog, but very, very few of them give the blogging address of the person who liked it. I used to always visit the blog of everyone who liked or commented on my posts. Now, I can’t! Why, oh why, does Word Press keep changing things, and not for the better? I am a patient person, but I can see the cay coming when blogging at Word Press may not be worth the effort……It is so frustrating! (And the last time I contacted them about a problem with tagging my posts, the “happiness engineer, or whatever they’re called these days, simply told me that my problems would be over if I switched over to block editor…..)
Ah, yes, the much-loved (not) block editor.
Don’t stress over it too much, Mitch. With the number of followers you have, I consider it nothing short of a miracle that you might take the time to comment on one of my meager offerings. Although I have to say… WP does regularly frustrate me when things change that really don’t need to change. I would love to track back and sip someone else’s tea when they’ve been generous enough to sip mine.
Exactly, Russell (and thank you).
Interesting article 👍
Thanks for sharing 😊
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Love this article, maybe you’ll love my articles? Come shop for some tea….
I shall most assuredly stop by, madame.
Tea? Blogging? What’s not to enjoy! You have my attention, Mr Mitch, and a charming article this is indeed. Thanks for bringing this to our attention in a droll manner. If you ever feel like reading about tech, music or books, be sure to visit my own blogs. I would appreciate the returned favour.
I’ll definitely drop by.
Oh, when those WP gremlins appear… it’s enough to make anyone angry. You are the glass half full Mitch. Thank goodness.
;>) Try to be anyway. Thanks, Jennie.
You’re welcome, Mitch.
Ugh, yeah, this latest set of WP “upgrades” were disastrously ill-conceived. I was so annoyed with the loss of any useful information in the email notifications that I opened a chat with them, which didn’t really go anywhere, and a few days later I registered another complaint via their ZenDesk, and this time they opened a GitHub issue for it. Come to find out via the GitHub link that, not surprisingly, they’ve gotten a TON of negative feedback on removing the commenter info from the email notifications, and they’re apparently working to put it back. They should have run this change by some actual users instead of just having their QC department go “yeah looks good roll it out” or whatever they did …
So it would seem, James.
So, I’m not alone in my frustration. I usually use one of those “like” emails to visit the person’s blog (if it’s not familiar) or check out a post I might have missed. Clanging that little bell in the corner of the screen just doesn’t do the trick for me.
On a related note, I’ve always thought of my post as being more like a coffee shop than a tea shoppe, mainly because I’m addicted to coffee, don’t really like tea that much, and figured out long ago that some people in my audience might get upset if it’s a liquor store.
On the other hand, I’d be happy to stop by for a pint, Michael. ;>)
you coined this write up artfully….i really enjoyed reading it…thank you Mitch.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sophia.
The image of Winston intrigued me to read your post with curiosity, and the cups of tea hooked me in further, and I thought this was going to be a story about the English drinking their cuppas, but alas, I was pleasantly surprised to read a very intelligent and witty post about the recent WP changes, that seem to be thrust upon us, just as we get familiar with the system. Well done Mitch for highlighting this. Cheers, Steve
Thanks, Steve.
P.S. WordPress has finally added links back to Like notification emails. There are still some glitches, but it’s getting there.
Cheers, Mitch
There’s definitely a lot of maintenance to keep up with not only your blog but also with what others are saying and doing too. There’s SEO to which I’ve been having to really learn. Makes me wish there were more hours in the day to do everything in my blogging checklist.
Are tags written as phrases or single words? Do we put a number symbol (#) before each tag? Thank you!
Single or multiple word tags can be used. Sometimes combinations, like “happy kids” vs. just “kids,” are more effective than single words. I don’t use hashtags (#) very often, but some people consider them very useful for bringing additional traffic to their blog.
Thank you so much! 💯
blogging is a long term struggle i like it though its kinda hard i provide tips on my blog here goodyonblog.com
Good to meet you, my friend.