Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

“Squeaker” McCarthy

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

He really is that stupid.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

The revolution will be supervised.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

This fight is for everything.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

The willow is too close to the house.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

We still have time to mess this up!

After roe, women are no longer free.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Site Update

Site Update

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We will speak of this once, and then we will never speak of it again: John’s designer is no longer working on the site redesign. I’ve picked up where she left off, have the redesign completed and working on my test server, and it will be pushed to this server tonight or tomorrow night.  When that happens, I’ll put up a post where you can post questions and issues.

Here’s an open thread.

Reader Interactions

70Comments

  2. 2.

    Cassidy

    Poor girl. After being sick and coming back to this audience. It’s a tough crowd and that’s before you add in the all around assholishness of some people.

    I’m just glad to see that we’ve made the titles eleventy bazillion times bigger for all the oldz. ;)

  3. 3.

    mr.peabody

    OH NO! I HATE THE NEW SITE DESIGN, EVEN THOUGH i HAVEN’T SEEN IT!I’LL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN!
    THIS IS BIGGER THAN BENGHAZI, IRS, AP WIRETAPPING COMBINED!
    AND, OH YEAH, I HATE ALL OF YOU!

    /Just thought I’d get that out of the way.

  5. 5.

    RSA

    Open thread, huh? Media Matters reports that water is wet Evening Cable News Guests Were Overwhelmingly White And Male.

    This led me to dig up an abstract I’d read a few years ago, for a journal article about news reports:

    African American and White law-breakers were represented in a way consistent with their perpetration rates. However, Whites were overrepresented while African Americans were underrepresented as victims of violent crime. Furthermore, Whites were over represented and African Americans were under-represented as police officers.

    Cultural stereotypes, how do they work?

  6. 6.

    Schlemizel

    so probably a stupid question but why do I get a different font in Chrome than in Firefox?

    I have no problem with any of this, the redesign really isn’t much of a change at all.

    Thanks to everyone who put a shoulder to the wheel to make it happen

  8. 8.

    different-church-lady

    What pushed her over the edge: our dumb whining, or trying to get WordPress to do something that bears some relationship to cause-and-effect?

  9. 9.

    debbie

    I won’t be around when it’s time to post questions, but please loosen up the tracking just a bit. Everything will be more readable.

  10. 10.

    newsouthzach

    I’m not seeing titles to posts currently — not sure if that’s a local issue or a FYWP one.

  11. 11.

    The Red Pen

    Now that the site design has changed, all I get is ads “male enhancement” pills.

    I mean, that’s OK, I have a friend who might need them.

  12. 12.

    Cris (without an H)

    Sympathies to the designer for trying to work through chronic illness and everything that goes with it. (Fuck cancer.)

    But as for “thankless,” or “this tough audience,” grow up. Putting up with bitching clients who are never satisfied is one of the few hazards of a pretty hazard-free industry. Web designers aren’t cleaning toilets or picking up trash. You want thankless? Go work the window at the DMV. A day with the assholes you get there will send you running back to web design.

  13. 13.

    Bobby Thomson

    Jeez, she read the comments? Or worse yet, paid attention to them? For the love of FSM, why?

  14. 14.

    Robert

    There’s putting up with bitching clients and then putting up with commenters who won’t shut up, joking or not, about every single change happening in a site redesign. It’s a world of difference. And then when she stopped working on the site, at least three, if not more, comment threads broke the hundred comment threshold fighting over people bitching about the site redesign while it was happening.

    What I don’t understand is why comments weren’t disabled during the redesign. It would save some bandwidth and let the designer work in peace on the site redesign.

  16. 16.

    Arclite

    @Schlemizel: Not to get too technical, but each browser (Chrome, Explorer, Firefox, etc.) has its own rendering engine that interprets the site code slightly differently. So the site will look slightly different depending on what you use, and will also look a bit different on another device like an iPad.

  17. 17.

    Keith G

    I’ve not read any of the design comments during the last week – too busy to read much of anything. So, I do not know any feelings expressed.

    I do like the cleaner look that I get on my screens. The fonts are cool and the block quotes are a god send. Thanks for the efforts so far, and mistermix, I will appreciate all your efforts as you devote scarce time to finishing this.

  18. 18.

    mistermix

    I’m not going to go into the details of why the designer quit since I don’t know her well enough to know, and it really doesn’t matter. The redesign was stuck at 80-90% done for months, it wasn’t getting done, she quit, and here we are.

  19. 19.

    dance around in your bones

    @mistermix:

    I know you’ve done the redesign already and y’all are gonna whip it out tonight or tomorrow, but I really REALLY hope the little striped pants megaphone guy has been put back as well as the links at the bottom of the page to previous and next posts. I love the new comment numbers style.

    I’ll give you a foot massage if the little guy comes back :)

  20. 20.

    YellowDog

    With apologies to Oliver Stone (never thought I would write that!) and John C. McGinley, every asshole has an opinion and they all stink.

    I may be in a mood after dealing with my HOA’s architectural review board (we’re putting in a screened porch and patio). They would not review my application until I put it on the form that had the name of the HOA at the top (instead of the otherwise identical generic form available on the management company’s website). Plus, they want the county building permit before they will approve the project. That is back-asswards. I feel JC’s pain.

  21. 21.

    Yatsuno

    @YellowDog: HOAs are evil. If I buy a house it will NOT be in a neighbourhood with an HOA. And I’m thinking condo associations are just as bad.

  23. 23.

    TaMara (BHF)

    I hope that she left us because as John says, we’re “all assholes and fuckers” and not because she is too sick to continue.

    I’m rather she think I’m an evil bitch than for her to be too ill to continue.

  24. 24.

    Cassidy

    @mistermix:

    Megaphone guy is gone. The top graphic will be exactly the same.

    That’s just unacceptable. I hate the new site.

  26. 26.

    RaflW

    Thanks mistermix. And appreciation to the designer, hope sh’e just super-annoyed and not ill.

    Hanging with a bunch of howling jackals could make one feel a bit sick in the head. Removal from the scene is probably best.

  28. 28.

    Redshirt

    @Robert: Here’s a radical idea – test all the design changes on a prototype site. Test them thoroughly. When everything looks good, make the switch.

    Crazy, right?

  29. 29.

    dance around in your bones

    @mistermix:

    Megaphone guy is gone. The top graphic will be exactly the same.

    ::::weeps copious tears::::

    Thanks for the reply – this must be difficult for you….despite the bitching and moaning, it’s only because we love this place so much.

  30. 30.

    Lee Rudolph

    I am deeply impressed by how many people there seem to be whose memories are so good that they can remember what the site looks like from day to day.

  32. 32.

    RareSanity

    mistermix,

    This is a small thing, some would probably say an insignificant thing, but it really turns my OCD up to 11.

    Would it be at all possible, to adjust the formatting of the comments, such that the comment number, doesn’t cause the first two lines of a comment to be indented?

    Maybe move the placement of the number so that the bottom of the number, lines up with the bottom of the text of the commentor’s name?

    With that, I have no other comments regarding the site redesign…

  33. 33.

    Dave

    Megaphone guy is gone for good? Fuck that noise. It’s time we take this shit to the streets!

    [ throws metal trashcan through front window ]

  34. 34.

    belieber

    When mistermux is not speculating whether Sarah Palin will run, or how the Netflix business model cannot work, or how we must continue to talk about why everyone continues to talking about Benghazi..or posting crappy music videos from unknown artists….he’s taking forever to do the most basic of site theme changes…something a 14yo could do in a day.

  39. 39.

    mistermix

    @RareSanity: Comments look quite different, don’t know if they’re OCD triggers or not.

    @belieber: Actually, I took a half day from my normal work yesterday to complete the site, the first day that I actually touched the code of the site, so as usual you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.

  42. 42.

    RareSanity

    @mistermix:

    Sound good to me!

    As other have said, you’re a mensch for stepping in. I don’t envy you, but I respect the hell out of you for taking it on.

    As they say down under…Good on ya, mate!

  43. 43.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    I hope John’s designer is well. I likewise hope she wasn’t reading the bitching. But mostly that she is well.

  44. 44.

    Scout211

    @Arclite:

    Thanks for this. Being a tech no-nothing, I was wondering why everyone was noticing a different font right now and for me, everything looked the same.

    After reading this, I checked Safari and realized that the font is VERY different right now using Safari. I normally use Chrome for my desktop (Mac) and iPad and the font right now is the same as before using Chrome.

    Interesting.

  46. 46.

    Violet

    Mistermix, thanks for stepping up. Sorry the site designer is having problems and hope we didn’t run her off. Wishing her the best.

    Glad to hear the Cap/small cap will be gone in the update. The indented lines where the numbers are in the comments also bug me, but it’s a small issue.

    I think some of the issues the other night is that people didn’t know the update was coming. At least no one seemed to know in the comments. Some advance warning might help ease the transition.

  48. 48.

    Tonal (visible) Crow

    Please fix the “spam filter” so that it issues an error message highlighting the “spam” issue(s) and permits you to edit the message to fix them.

    At present, WP simply throws away a “spam” comment without a peep, leaving you to wonder where it’s gone.

  49. 49.

    belieber

    @Jebediah: You got me there. I don’t have my own blog. If only you knew what I do have running…lol. Several sites and let’s just say that to me WordPress is just a toy and trival to set up. I much prefer Drupal as there is nothing you cannot do with it. Also, I’m not a graphic designer but I don’t think you could have picked a more shitty looking theme…old and new.

    mistermux is obviously out of his depth on website setup as much as he is on his political musings. You could probably find some kid willing to accept a cat calendar as payment who could have it done in an afternoon.

  51. 51.

    The Other Chuck

    @RareSanity: Already fixed on my end. If you’re using Firefox, grab an extension called Stylish. Once it’s installed, go to BJ, click the multicolored ‘S’ at the bottom left of your browser (if you don’t see it, go to View->Toolbars and check “AddOn Bar”). Click “Find styles for this site”, then install “Better Balloon Juice” on the site it takes you to.

    The style should work with other browsers too, I just don’t know the steps, so here’s the direct link: http://userstyles.org/styles/63141/better-balloon-juice

    I’ll have to fix the style once the redesign is done, but it does work fine on this interim style.

  52. 52.

    kwallio

    I’ve missed all the previous site redesign threads…so pardon me if this has been hashed out already..but can we get the rotating titles back? Or is this something we don’t talk about?

    Thanks to mistermix for stepping up to finish the design.

  54. 54.

    The Other Chuck

    @belieber: Wow, e-peen comparison among PHP devs. That’s a “tallest midget contest” if I’ve ever seen one.

  55. 55.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Jebediah: I vote for just go away. Drupal. Hahahahaha. I guess Joomla’s the bees knees also.
    This is a blog that needs to be user friendly for Front Pagers while also engaging for the readers.

  59. 59.

    Tonal (visible) Crow

    And in today’s installment of “Outlawing guns won’t reduce violence because people’ll just use hubcaps instead”:

    http://www.newschannel5.com/story/22240628/tullahoma-father-charged-after-child-shot

    TULLAHOMA, Tenn. – A 13-month-old child remains hospitalized, and her father is behind bars after police said the girl was accidentally hubcapped in the chest.

    …

    Police reported the child’s father, 26-year-old Kevin Sayre, was polishing a 1982 Dodge hubcap inside the apartment, when it flew out of his hands and repeatedly struck the victim in the chest at high velocity.

    The child was initially transported to Harton Regional Medical Center ER, but was later flown to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

    The child remains in stable, but critical condition. Family members said they believe she will make a full recovery.

    Tullahoma Police Chief Paul Blackwell said police see this type of incident far too often. He said owners need to be very careful when cleaning or handling their hubcaps.

    “Don’t check once, check twice, and understand the mechanics of your hubcap, ” said Chief Blackwell. “A lot of problems happen when people aren’t familiar with how their hubcap works….

  60. 60.

    belieber

    @Jebediah: Why are you not posting your name, address, phone #, occupation, employer, mothers maiden name, SSN. What are you trying to hide?

  61. 61.

    EthylEster

    @Robert: Because someone forgot an BJ internet tradition: commenters love to be assholes. For some here it has become a way of life.

  62. 62.

    belieber

    @JayinCA: lol..so much more entertaining and less ironic than “I am announcing to you that I am adding your soon to be banned and changed handle to my pie filter.”

  63. 63.

    belieber

    @The Other Chuck: You want to turn this into a php vs asp conversation? Really? Or maybe even (ssshwingggg) Winbloz vs Linux? And here I thought this would not be fun.

  64. 64.

    mcd410x

    The letter spacing on h2 is a bit too tight for comfortable reading. At least on Chrome.

    (I’m a graphic designer, aka, a professional poo-dodger; good luck!!).

  65. 65.

    Jebediah

    @belieber:

    Why are you not posting your name, address, phone #, occupation, employer, mothers maiden name, SSN. What are you trying to hide?

    Because I did not start jabbering about how great this thing that I totally have is and if only you could see it you would be totally impressed but I can’t show you cuz its secret but believe me its great but I can’t show it so you have to just take my word for it. I didn’t ask you for enough info to commit identity theft. I just asked, where are these great sites of yours?
    You seem hungry. Have some pie. Pretty soon my pie filter will be 90% your various nyms.

  66. 66.

    tom

    The font differences people are seeing are most likely because different browsers may not fully support google fonts which are being used for the title font here. If it supports it you’ll see one font (Neutron or something similar I think is what’s being used) if your browser doesn’t support it you’re seeing whatever the default font is.

  67. 67.

    gmann

    Tell the designer we wish her well, good health & much luck with her new job at Firedoglake. . .

  68. 68.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    Just please tell me that the redesign is a responsive theme.

    Please?

  70. 70.

    dance around in your bones

    @JGabriel:

    I know. I have commented about megaphone guy in about a bazillion threads (as have many others) but apparently it is not to be.

    ::::sobs in sympathy::::

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