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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Please Standby, Technical Difficulties

Please Standby, Technical Difficulties

by TaMara|  November 3, 201511:01 pm| 200 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Do not adjust your sets, there are some things going on behind the scenes that are causing some ghosting on the front page. It will all be back to normal soon.

Or at least that’s what they tell me.

 

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Previous Post: « Local Elections Matter
Next Post: Late Night Open Thread: “Oh, the Bush Dynasty!” »

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  1. 1.

    Nate Dawg

    November 3, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    There’s a really cool app that gets rid of Rainbow Unicorn pictures on blogs. It’s called f.uck. You can adjust it so it gets rid of them at certain times.

    Balloon Juice commenters should all get this app. Problem solved.

  2. 2.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 3, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    @Nate Dawg: I just wanted everyone to get their pony tonight.

  3. 3.

    Nate Dawg

    November 3, 2015 at 11:09 pm

    Cute. I’m a fan. :-)

  4. 4.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 3, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    @Nate Dawg: I fixed it. I didn’t realize the unicorn was going to fucking spam the entire blog. UGH.

  5. 5.

    goblue72

    November 3, 2015 at 11:11 pm

    @Nate Dawg: *golf clap*

    You win the thread.

  6. 6.

    Roger Moore

    November 3, 2015 at 11:12 pm

    some ghosting on the front page.

    You don’t say! Glad to know that something is going to be done to fix it.

  7. 7.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 3, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    @Roger Moore: I hear Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have been called.

  8. 8.

    beltane

    November 3, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    In the meantime, we can watch Cole wrestle with a crazy person on his Twitter feed.

  9. 9.

    Renie

    November 3, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    I haven’t gotten my pony yet. I thought we were all promised ponies.

  10. 10.

    Roger Moore

    November 3, 2015 at 11:19 pm

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I hear Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have been called.

    Too bad Harold Ramis is playing for the other team these days.

  11. 11.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 3, 2015 at 11:19 pm

    I know the site needs to make some money to keep Cole livin’ the high life, but the way these ads have been the last hour or so really sucks.

  12. 12.

    Mike J

    November 3, 2015 at 11:19 pm

    @TaMara (BHF): Don’t cross the streams.

  13. 13.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 3, 2015 at 11:22 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I think that is what they are working on right now, so stand by and it will be better. By tomorrow. Maybe the next. Hang in there. ;-)

  14. 14.

    Steeplejack

    November 3, 2015 at 11:44 pm

    I have been trying to refrain from slagging the site upgrade, but I have to say one thing or I am going to have an aneurysm. Launching a big upgrade while telling people, “Don’t bitch about the commenting system, we’re still working on that,” is like releasing a porn movie and telling people not to complain about the dismal sex scenes or the star’s (limp) micro-peen.

    The commenting system is 90% of the site. Jee-sus.

    My thread navigation has been reduced to this: If I want to look at a comment that someone is replying to, I make a mental note of some unique phrase in the reply, then click the hyperlink to go back up to the original comment. After that, because the “back” function no longer works, I have to open a search field, type in the remembered unique phrase and then search for it, which I hope takes me back to the reply where I was last reading.

    At least now I understand something that always frustrated the hell out of me: people quoting the entire message to which they are replying, leading to rampant thread bloat.

    Okay, rant over. I can feel my blood pressure dropping back into the high normal range.

    ETA: If it helps, let the blog overlords think of this as the plebes grumbling among themselves in steerage, rather than complaining to the powers that be, which I understand is right out (for the time being).

  15. 15.

    seaboogie

    November 3, 2015 at 11:49 pm

    @Steeplejack: Okay, rant over.

    Testing my quoting skills (as were recently explained and corrected), and you already seem over your piss-offedness. Annnnd….hit “post comment”….

    So that was totally borked.

  16. 16.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 3, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    @seaboogie: You seem to have gotten it backwards.

  17. 17.

    seaboogie

    November 3, 2015 at 11:51 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Okay, rant over

    How’s about this effort? Yup, I was right, and only one stripe in the correct place.

  18. 18.

    satby

    November 3, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    @Steeplejack: ayup.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    November 3, 2015 at 11:53 pm

    Facebook Social Plugins widget is slowing loading of front page loading more than considerably.

    Please Stand By.

    And a retro one for us whiny, onion-adjusting oldsters.

  20. 20.

    seaboogie

    November 3, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was following earlier instructions that were obv. incorrect. To be fair, though, I made a surprisingly creative hash of instructing someone else in an earlier thread.

  21. 21.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 3, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    @Steeplejack: Try tab instead of the back button. At least that worked this morning. It may change over the next few days, I know Tommy is aware and working on it.

  22. 22.

    Mike J

    November 3, 2015 at 11:55 pm

    @NotMax: The beeb‘s.

  23. 23.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 3, 2015 at 11:55 pm

    @seaboogie: Trying pasting in the text you want to quote. Then highlight it. Then hit the quote button.

  24. 24.

    seaboogie

    November 3, 2015 at 11:56 pm

    @NotMax:

    And a retro one for us whiny, onion-adjusting oldsters.

    I can’t even find my belt, much less lay my hands on an onion…

  25. 25.

    NotMax

    November 3, 2015 at 11:56 pm

    @TaMara

    And descends from a military family. Let me repeat that, a military family. Must “mention” that.

    /irresistible

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    November 3, 2015 at 11:57 pm

    @seaboogie:

    Okay, one more time: there are two ways to do blockquotes.

    1. Mash the <quote> button, type in (or copy) the text to be quoted, mash the <quote> button again to close the quote.

    2. Type in (or copy) the text to be quoted, highlight it, then mash the <quote> button once, which will put both the opening and closing quote tags around the blockquote.

    You will be able to eyeball the results in your comment box to see if it came out right.

    blah, blah, blah, some text.
    <blockquote>the stuff you want to be quoted</blockquote>
    blah, blah, blah, your continued text after the blockquote.

  27. 27.

    Mary G

    November 4, 2015 at 12:01 am

    There is a big green and yellow blob right offshore from my house on the weather radar and they say we are going to get a quarter inch of rain. Yay!

  28. 28.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:01 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Trying pasting in the text you want to quote. Then highlight it. Then hit the quote button.

    Got it. Different means to the same end. If you start with the quote, paste and hit quote again, it works as well – and that spoke more to my logic. HOWEVER, this method that highlights the quote might help me from posting random fb links to people like I did the other day.

  29. 29.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:01 am

    @seaboogie:

    Okay, that worked. Congrats!

  30. 30.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:02 am

    There are quoting issues?

    Okay, one more time: there are two ways to do blockquotes.

    Ok, test good.

  31. 31.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:03 am

    @seaboogie: Well done.

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:03 am

    @NotMax:

    That retro one never gets old for me. But then I am old myself.

  33. 33.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:04 am

    I want my strike through to work.

    Ah! Success.

  34. 34.

    satby

    November 4, 2015 at 12:04 am

    @Mary G: oh, I hope so! Fingers and toes crossed for you guys to get doused. And I mean that in the nicest way.

  35. 35.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:05 am

    @Steeplejack: @NotMax: Thank you for making me feel young – ish.

  36. 36.

    satby

    November 4, 2015 at 12:06 am

    @NotMax: giggle. Ok, I’m 12.

  37. 37.

    satby

    November 4, 2015 at 12:08 am

    At this point I just pop in to check on the continuing saga.

  38. 38.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:08 am

    @satby: We are being nice to Tommy. I am guessing that he is frustrated as hell right now because it isn’t working and we are not a group who sits through things quietly.

  39. 39.

    burnspbesq

    November 4, 2015 at 12:13 am

    Fcuk. I can’t believe those idiots in Kentucky.

  40. 40.

    Mike J

    November 4, 2015 at 12:14 am

    @burnspbesq: They hired that crook from Memphis State. What do you expect?

  41. 41.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:15 am

    I have to call it a night. I’m sure someone will be along to give you guys an open thread sooner or later.

  42. 42.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:16 am

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I went to an earlier thread where I could test the tab key on returning to a reply from the original comment, and it was haphazard. A few times it put me a little above the reply, a few times it put me a screen or two below the reply. WTF.

    Look, I’m not demanding that everything work the way that I want it to right now. I’m just venting about (to me) a colossal part of the blog that isn’t working—is working less well than the previous teration—while we’re marveling at white space, color changes, tail fins and chrome.

    Note: I’m sure there are a lot of back-office issues getting fixed, and I applaud the upgrade team for all their efforts. It just feels like the commenting system is getting short shrift, and, as I said, that’s 90% of the blog.

  43. 43.

    Mike J

    November 4, 2015 at 12:16 am

    in re chalabi: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CS7nLXlXIAAU7TS.png

  44. 44.

    burnspbesq

    November 4, 2015 at 12:17 am

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66t9BwOwnHE

  45. 45.

    burnspbesq

    November 4, 2015 at 12:18 am

    @Mike J:

    He was a crook at UMass, too.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:18 am

    @Mike J:

    Okay, that seems sort of Jimmy Savile creepy. Or maybe it’s just my clown phobia.

  47. 47.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 12:19 am

    @Steeplejack

    Tech trivia: The reason early TV stations utilized test patterns rather than shutting off equipment was that the TV cameras of that day used Orthicon or Plumbicon tubes (primarily), which could take as long as 24 hours to warm up for optimal performance. So it was more efficacious to keep the cameras powered on and focused on something that was variegated enough in content and shades to not burn in the image.

  48. 48.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:22 am

    @TaMara (BHF):

    The quoting problems were PEBKAC*.

    * Problem exists between keyboard and chair.

  49. 49.

    amk

    November 4, 2015 at 12:22 am

    the back button issue is still there.

    just throwing some more shite.

  50. 50.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:22 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m trying.

  51. 51.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:24 am

    @Steeplejack: Did someone mention clowns?

  52. 52.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:27 am

    @Mike J:

    Fuck James Inhofe. Fuck him up his stupid ass. (h/t Corner Stone © 2015)

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:29 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I am trying to look on it as one of those moments where a lawyer has filed a motion and everyone is waiting for the response. Nothing to do until the motion contra is filed. The analogy breaks down because of the lack of deadlines, but try to work with me…

  54. 54.

    Roger Moore

    November 4, 2015 at 12:30 am

    @seaboogie:

    Different means to the same end. If you start with the quote, paste and hit quote again, it works as well – and that spoke more to my logic. HOWEVER, this method that highlights the quote might help me from posting random fb links to people like I did the other day.

    I prefer the start with the quote, paste, and hit quote again method because the system has a bizarre quirk. It used to be that if you started highlighting at the end and working back to the beginning, it would put the opening of the quote at the end and the closing at the beginning, which would result in the quoted material being outside the quotes and the reply being in them. I think that’s why you would sometimes see that effect.

  55. 55.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:30 am

    @amk: And what does the back button do when you hit it? And does it do the same thing every time?

  56. 56.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 12:33 am

    @Mary G: I saw some lightning to the south.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:33 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Pretty good song. Hadn’t heard that one before.

    On SiriusXM in the car today I heard an old soul song I hadn’t heard in years and, in fact, had forgotten. Perked me right up. Joe Simon, “Drowning in the Sea of Love.”

  58. 58.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:34 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: It’s as good an effort to frame an analogy as I’d have managed. And parties are striving (struggling?) to stay civil during the wait. With occasional and random scolding from the bench.

  59. 59.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:37 am

    @Steeplejack:

    The quoting problems were PEBKAC*

    Hah!, lolz and all that stuff. You have been so patient and helpful to me – thank you!

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:37 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Don’t know if you’re snarking, but the “back” function—whether the backspace key or the browser back button—was a reliable way to retrace your steps back through a thread, based on your series of “last anchored positions.” Tedious details upon request.

    It’s currently borked.

  61. 61.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:37 am

    @Steeplejack: Dear god, I post it almost every time fear of clowns comes up on this blog. From your end, cool song. New to me.

  62. 62.

    Anne Laurie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:39 am

    @Steeplejack:

    It just feels like the commenting system is getting short shrift, and, as I said, that’s 90% of the blog.

    … for you (and me, and the other regular commentors). But, while I haven’t had the SiteMeter on my screen for some weeks, last time I checked this blog was getting a million-plus “hits”, and that can’t all be the couple hundred of us regulars plus another few hundred one-time note-leavers, can it?

    Tommy and his partner are used to do this stuff for commercial customers, and I have a suspicion (I could be wrong!) that commercial practice would be to pay attention to the front-page bells & whistles first, to attract/please the greatest possible number of readers. Those of us dedicated enough to leave comments, after all, are presumably dedicated enough to keep checking back… but the casual readers won’t return if they can’t find what they need on the first try.

    Not saying this is fair, or that I know more about Tommy’s methods than can be guessed from outside the system. But I try to keep in mind, when I put a post together, that the majority of Balloon-Juice readers don’t know all the in-jokes and standard catchphrases, nor will they (usually) venture into the unknown interspace below the LEAVE A REPLY line to learn more.

    ETA: Dang. The ‘bold’ function still turns letters blue, the same blue as the ‘link’ function on my screen. My OCD means I don’t want to use bolding and confuse readers clicking for links, and my writing habits make it feel that *not* use the bold function is like typing with a key missing off my keyboard!

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:39 am

    @Steeplejack: The fact that it is currently borked was my point. It worked well before and for amk to suggest that the existence of the button means anything is rather silly.

  64. 64.

    Ruckus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:41 am

    @Mary G:
    Left 405 and Wilshire at about 3:45 and it was raining pretty good. Drove about 3 miles N on 405 and it had stopped.

  65. 65.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:41 am

    Since this seems to be a good time and a good community to practice our skills, Imma give a shot at the linky button that I’ve never used, and try something here that seems apropos:

  66. 66.

    Suzanne

    November 4, 2015 at 12:42 am

    FWIW, nothing that I mentioned as borked on Sunday has been fixed. The blog header still overlaps, the ads in the right column still get cut off, and scrolling is still oddly insensitive.

    And then, of course, the comments section still looks bad because it’s too narrow, too much space between comments, too much leading, no comment numbers, and a crappy typeface.

    Seriously. Return to two upgrades ago. Oddly, each iteration gets worse.

  67. 67.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:42 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I may be repeatedly blanking it out because of my phobia of clowns.

  68. 68.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:42 am

    @Steeplejack: If it helps, the back button and comment numbers were my biggest concerns, as well. I do know after talking to Tommy that those two things are near the top of his list to fix. I just don’t know how time consuming it will be to fix.

    I wish I had better news.

  69. 69.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:43 am

    Since this seems to be a good time and a good community to practice our skills, Imma give a shot at the linky button that I’ve never used, and try something here that seems apropos:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghj5V5cUo1s

    I didn’t do it right, but I think it’s still here.

  70. 70.

    sandralhanlon

    November 4, 2015 at 12:46 am

    http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/customer-hurt-at-restaurant-when-gun-falls-fires/article_91db0c26-c73c-579e-a445-42f79b84bc69.html

    Another “responsible” gun owner, too fearful to patronize a Cracker Barrel unarmed, imperiling the public.

  71. 71.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:46 am

    @Anne Laurie: Sincere question – why, then, does the front page look like a toddler’s attempt at sleek? With gratuitous headings/sections that don’t add to function or user experience? That’s entirely distinct from the comment questions raised. :Ducks and runs:

  72. 72.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 12:47 am

    Bad Water
    http://youtu.be/mA6HdNWRWE8

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 12:47 am

    Bouncy background music for a harried web designer.

    Your Pleasure Is Our Pleasure

  74. 74.

    amk

    November 4, 2015 at 12:48 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: what are you whining about now?

  75. 75.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:49 am

    @Anne Laurie: Sure, but if that is the thought process, it may be a bit backwards for this project. Is Cole looking to go out and find a whole new commentariat or is he looking to provide a better experience for the existing commentariat? It is quite possible that the front page bells and whistles are more important to the BlogLords than the experience of long time commenters who will stay anyway (unless there are threaded comments), but that doesn’t mean that the people who were participating on this forum in a workable format are wrong to be perturbed that certain funcionalities that existed before are gone or that the site now hurts their eyes. It worked before and it didn’t hurt before. This has changed. I know it is in process, but still….

  76. 76.

    Mike J

    November 4, 2015 at 12:49 am

    Why won’t Cole bring back the star?

  77. 77.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:50 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Okay, gotcha.

    Other cool old song I heard today: the Rippingtons, “Hideaway.” (Possibly a little too close to the smooth jazz verge.)

  78. 78.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:50 am

    @amk: Read what I wrote.

  79. 79.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 12:51 am

    @Aleta

    Will see that and raise you a Dirty Water.

  80. 80.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:53 am

    @seaboogie: @NotMax: Love it!

  81. 81.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 4, 2015 at 12:54 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I just make mental note of the time stamp and scroll to that.

  82. 82.

    amk

    November 4, 2015 at 12:54 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: meh. as I said …

  83. 83.

    TaMara (BHF)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:54 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    ETA: Dang. The ‘bold’ function still turns letters blue, the same blue as the ‘link’ function on my screen. My OCD means I don’t want to use bolding and confuse readers clicking for links, and my writing habits make it feel that *not* use the bold function is like typing with a key missing off my keyboard!

    Me, too. It kind of makes me twitch.

  84. 84.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:55 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Bingo.

  85. 85.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 12:56 am

    @seaboogie:https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=will+it+go+round+in+circles+billy+preston

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 12:57 am

    @Anne Laurie

    Also beginning to suspect that the designer(s) may have a mild form of Color Vision Deficiency.

  87. 87.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 12:57 am

    @amk: A functionality that existed before is gone now. Try the back button and see what it does. And fuck you for the the suggestion that I am whining. You don’t really want to exist on a politeness plane, so there you have it.

  88. 88.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 12:57 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I suspect that Tommy et al are trying to rummage around in the plumbing in what should be the off-hours, only to discover that this here is a 24/7 blog that doesn’t really have any off hours, so there’s always someone here to bitch about what needs to be fixed.

    They should probably do what my bank does and announce that they’re going to do maintenance (say) from 6 am to 8 am on Sunday morning and shut ‘er down to do it.

  89. 89.

    Mike J

    November 4, 2015 at 12:58 am

    @NotMax: You get that from running f.lux all the time.

  90. 90.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 12:58 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    When I referred to the “commenting system,” I didn’t mean just people who actually write comments. Right now the comments suck even for people who are just reading them (I assert). The navigation problems affect you even if you’re just trying to connect replies to original comments and then move back to where you were in the thread. That’s why comment numbers are important. If I could tell that the reply I’m at is comment #91, then click up to the comment to which it is a reply, I can pretty easily get back to #91 even if the “back” function is borked. At least I’ve got some good signposts that are better than “commenter so-and-so at around 11:30 p.m.”

    Also, I would posit that a “commentary” blog like Balloon Juice is fundamentally different from one for “commercial customers” that needs to “pay attention to the front-page bells & whistles first, to attract/please the greatest possible number of readers.” People don’t stay at Balloon Juice because they stumble upon it and are mesmerized by the bling. Almost everyone talks about coming here from a “content” link somewhere else—Sullivan, LGM, Digby, etc.—and then staying because of the scintillating wit and insight of the Juicitariat*.

    * Not intended to be a completely true statement.

    ETA: You cannot criticize the blue bold! You just cannot!

  91. 91.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:00 am

    Oh, goodie; the Republicans will put in defunding Planned Parenthood into the omnibus bill. Get ready for another shutdown.

  92. 92.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:02 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    You could temporarily substitute (the typographically more correct) italics for bold. Just don’t use <i>! That’s right out. Use <em> instead.

  93. 93.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 1:03 am

    @NotMax: Weirdly, I have a minor form of it, but it does come with an upside – improved night vision. I will sometimes see something as more blue than green or vice versa, but I also see most darkness as just after twilight.

  94. 94.

    Amir Khalid

    November 4, 2015 at 1:06 am

    Of late, I’ve been messing about with Google Translate as a way of improving my German. I type song lyrics in the source text box, like

    Öffne deine Arme, öffne deine Arme
    Öffne deine Arme, Baby, lass meine Liebe herein laufen kommen

    and if my translation was good I get

    Open your arms, open your arms
    Open your arms, baby, let my love come running in

    in the target box.
    I have tried here to reproduce the problem mentioned up thread, where if you highlight text from end to beginning (rather than beginning to end) and then hit the quote button, the blockquote HTML tags appear in the wrong order. It didn’t happen either time.

  95. 95.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 1:07 am

    @Steeplejack:
    http://youtu.be/vWzBDaYjW-E

  96. 96.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:09 am

    @Aleta:

    Ugh. Sorry, good song, but every time I see “Raeletts” it makes me think “Let Ray,” which was the apocryphal joke about Ray Charles’s hiring practices.

  97. 97.

    John Cole

    November 4, 2015 at 1:09 am

    FOR THE ONE MILLIONTH FUCKING TIME, THE NEW COMMENTS SECTION HAS NOT BEEN DONE.

    SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT ANYTHING RELATED TO THE COMMENT FUNCTION.

  98. 98.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 1:11 am

    @NotMax:
    http://youtu.be/DetneVLbayg
    The Pinetoppers

  99. 99.

    John Cole

    November 4, 2015 at 1:12 am

    And we have a ton of shit to do. Re-arranging stuff. Changing spacing. Changing coloring. Fixing random bugs. Jesus. We’re aware of the issues. It’s why when we want input, we put up threads. So stop with the “x hasn’t been fixed since the last time I mentioned it.” IF we think something is fixed, we’ll let you know and solicit your opinions. Until then, you’re just bitching and helping people fill their pie filter.

  100. 100.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:13 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I was wondering that myself. It just looks like every bell, whistle and widget WordPress offers has been shoved onto the site, regardless of aesthetics or functionality.

    And I still don’t think the recent post list should be the first thing we see when the site loads.

    Then again, this IS a ton of work, and I hate sounding pissy about the results.

    Eh. Gonna go look for something to yell “get off my lawn” at now.

    ETA: I open my mouth ONCE, and the timing is a disaster.

  101. 101.

    Mike J

    November 4, 2015 at 1:14 am

    @John Cole: Why did you change the star to a heart ?

  102. 102.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:15 am

    Since I’ve been feeling Broadway lately:

    The definitive “Send In The Clowns,” with Judi Dench

    It’s a clip of the BBC production of the play so you can see the context of the song, which is that her lover has just told her that he’s choosing his wife over her.

  103. 103.

    Nate Dawg

    November 4, 2015 at 1:15 am

    I’m so glad someone mentioned the scroll problem. I thought something was wrong with my mobile device. This is *the* biggest problem for me. Makes long threads damn near impossible to peruse.

  104. 104.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 1:16 am

    @Steeplejack: Haven ‘t heard that. Is it about hitting on backup singers?

  105. 105.

    Amir Khalid

    November 4, 2015 at 1:17 am

    @John Cole:
    The Juicitariat shall gripe, alas. Indeed, it doth delight in griping. You cannot compel an end to it, any more than King Canute could compel the tide to go back by royal authority.

  106. 106.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:17 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    I think that is an artifact of an earlier version of the site software. People also used to be able to bork an entire thread if they didn’t close their HTML tags, e.g., bold, but that no longer happens.

  107. 107.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:18 am

    So, if I understand this correctly; the comments portion of the blog is not finished.

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:18 am

    @Nate Dawg:

    If it’s a phone, I switched to the mobile site on my iPhone (which was borked for me long before the recent update) and the scrolling problem disappeared.

    I don’t have the scrolling problem on the iPad, so I just stick with the regular site.

  109. 109.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:19 am

    @Amir Khalid: But, but, Amir; John used ALL CAPS.

  110. 110.

    amk

    November 4, 2015 at 1:19 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: meh, the same thing I said but in a less pedantic way.

  111. 111.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:19 am

    @Aleta:

    Nice.

  112. 112.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 1:20 am

    @Steeplejack: I certainly couldn’t spend an hour with it. I just couldn’t.

    @John Cole: Did you ever consider telling people, before launching the new site, that comments would be addressed later? For the short term, you have made your site worse. Did you think that people would sit quietly while you fucked around with it? Do you find the comments unimportant? Because people who comment find it significant. I’ve said before that if you had bother to tell people that the current comment system was a place holder, you would have gotten fewer complaints. As of now, you’re sort of fucked complaint-wise.

    Try not to be an asshole. People actually care. Some even think you are a nice guy. So fuck you too.

  113. 113.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:20 am

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: My apology for my assistance in the poor timing.

  114. 114.

    Srv

    November 4, 2015 at 1:20 am

    You know, all y’all’s fucked up.

    This reimagining should have been a week long drinking party. It’s not to late to start. Maybe there should be a reddit iama commenter

  115. 115.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 1:23 am

    @Aleta

    Always a soft spot for Mama Cass’ rendition.

  116. 116.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:23 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Yeah, next time try not to say anything I’d want to respond to, okay? Or… something. Sheesh.

  117. 117.

    Anne Laurie

    November 4, 2015 at 1:24 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    Sincere question – why, then, does the front page look like a toddler’s attempt at sleek?

    All I can say: I’m assuming this is the sort of front page that commercial businesses like!

    Whether it’s appropriate for our little bloggish haven, or for non-commercial blogs in general… I have an opinion, but I’m the only one I can speak for. Do remember, though, that The Guy In Charge said this was “the first redesign [he was] looking forward to rolling out” — so: Cole’s blog, Cole’s choices.

    Also, I remember previous migrations, and they were worse. Way way worse (*shudders*). This is a shakedown cruise, during (thank goddess) a relatively slow news period.

  118. 118.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:25 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    For some reason, I was hearing a little King George in that.

    I told you skeptics that it’s not all hip-hop.

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 1:26 am

    @Omnes Omnibus

    Tom! Will Fix It.

    ;)

  120. 120.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:28 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Perhaps an announcement or permapost could be made that they will be working on the blog between X and Y time, so please expect some wonkiness. It might help with some of the impatience if people know that work is being done at specific times and that’s why weird things suddenly start happening.

  121. 121.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 1:28 am

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): wow. I love looking for her in old BBC things. Also for Maggie Smith.

  122. 122.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:28 am

    @NotMax: You owe me a display, sir.

  123. 123.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:29 am

    @John Cole:

    OKAY, FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!

    As I said above, you can think of this as the plebes discussing things in steerage. Nothing to worry your pretty little mind about. But the idea that we should shut up because what we’re talking about is out of bounds is bullshit. Stick your fingers in your ears and give yourself a few choruses of “La-la-la, I can’t hear you!” Or, better yet, stick your head up your ass where you can’t hear anything.

    But everything that we are discussing is valid.

    HOW THE FUCK DO YOU LAUNCH A SITE “UPGRADE” BUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS IS “UH, WE’RE STILL FIDDLING WITH THAT”?

    Why not continue to work behind the scenes on a test server until you’ve got something a little more ready for prime time?

    And I note this especially as Tommy was boasting a few weeks ago about how the commenting system was going to be awesome, you could have threaded/unthreaded, mucho options, etc., etc. And now it’s “Jeez, I’ve looked at 15 different plug-ins and we’re still trying to find something that works.”

    Oh yeah. FUCK YOU AGAIN, ASSHOLE! This is one time where your rageaholic shtick is really wearing thin.

  124. 124.

    Nate Dawg

    November 4, 2015 at 1:29 am

    @Anne Laurie: I kinda like the front page. Spacing and other issues will be fixed, but I think it’s workable.

    I feel for Tom. Anyone that has played with WordPress and its plugins knows what a pain in the ass this process is, and it can take time. So yeah, understanding.

  125. 125.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 1:30 am

    @Steeplejack: Co-sign.

  126. 126.

    Anne Laurie

    November 4, 2015 at 1:33 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I just don’t want us experts to use up all our best whinge-arias on the ‘work in progress’ and be left silent by the final result!

    You know, like Mark Twain’s theory on cursing — use the Universal Adjective too universally, and what will you have left for the serious offences?

  127. 127.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 1:33 am

    @NotMax: My absolute favorite. I used to have a version by her (I think , unless it was Ella ) on a mixtape that was sublime but I can’t
    find it anywhere on youtube.

  128. 128.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:33 am

    @John Cole:

    And fuck you again. People aren’t just complaining (in this thread, at least) that things are broken and aren’t fixed right now. They (we) are articulating concerns about design decisions that seem to have been made without a good understanding of how this blog works, from the perspective of the actual users. And they’re discussing user-interface issues that could actually help you improve the motherfucking blog.

  129. 129.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:35 am

    @Aleta:

    “Hitting on”? More like “let Ray” so you get to be a Raelett.

  130. 130.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:36 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    LOL. Now you’re just being an agitator.

  131. 131.

    Anne Laurie

    November 4, 2015 at 1:39 am

    @Steeplejack: I wanna use italics and bold. I’m greedy like that!

  132. 132.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 4, 2015 at 1:39 am

    @Anne Laurie: Sorry, Cole’s ham-fisted interjection just changed the dialog. I’ll outsource to what Steep has already said in several comments.

  133. 133.

    Mike J

    November 4, 2015 at 1:41 am

    @Steeplejack:

    This is one time where your rageaholic shtick is really wearing thin.

    Usually he’ll become maudlin not too long afterwards.

  134. 134.

    srv

    November 4, 2015 at 1:42 am

    WordPress is the Obama of Content Mangement Systems.

  135. 135.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:42 am

    @Steeplejack:

    They (we) are articulating concerns about design decisions that seem to have been made without a good understanding of how this blog works, from the perspective of the actual users.And they’re discussing user-interface issues that could actually help you improve the motherfucking blog.

    That’s been my point all along. But, as AL noted, Cole’s blog, so his design decisions could overrule our input based on used experience. His place, his rules.

  136. 136.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:43 am

    @Steeplejack: ALWAYS.

  137. 137.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 1:44 am

    Tommy may also have to fiddle about with the factory settings of Mr. Cole’s Rage-o-meter™.

  138. 138.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:45 am

    @srv: No, it’s the George W. Bush of content presentation systems.

    ETA: Content management in a FYWP site is done on a SQL database.

  139. 139.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:45 am

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):

    To clarify, my “impatience” is not about timing—that things aren’t working perfectly right now. My impatience is about my “Holy shit!” reaction to some of the design decisions that were made and implemented (consciously, it seems) and seem to be working exactly as intended. Or problems that could/should have been caught in the test-server shakedown-cruise phase before the site went live.

  140. 140.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:45 am

    @NotMax: Now you’re just fucking with me.

  141. 141.

    Anne Laurie

    November 4, 2015 at 1:47 am

    @John Cole: Turn on your bedroom humidifier and try to get some rest, John — we’ll all feel better in the morning. (/ducks kicked slipper)

    @NotMax: I {heart} your comment!

  142. 142.

    sharl

    November 4, 2015 at 1:50 am

    Until the backspace function is restored – to return to where you were after clicking on @Commenter’s_Earlier_Post internal link – an alternative is to right-click on that internal link, then select “Open in new tab”. That way your location in your original tab will stay put, and you can read the earlier comment in the new tab. You can daisy-chain your way back through internally-linked comments as far as you like (for as many tabs as your browser can handle). Then just close those newly generated tabs when you’re finished with them, and proceed from where you left off in your original tab.

    That’s for a PC running Win7. As I recall, Macs have the same functionality, but involving different keyboard selection(s).

  143. 143.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 1:50 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Then you’re gonna have to embrace the blue!

  144. 144.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:52 am

    @NotMax: I think there may be a problem with that, the heads on those screws have had the slots all stripped out trying to adjust it in the past.

  145. 145.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 1:53 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    Most likely because I’m too dense to make the connection, but no comprendo. Did I somehow give offense?

  146. 146.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 1:54 am

    @Aleta:

    People have heard the Judy Collins or Frank Sinatra versions so often that they don’t realize what an angry song it’s really meant to be until they see it in context.

    @Steeplejack:

    I was thinking more of tonight’s various website weirdnesses, which I was chalking up to things being fiddled with under the hood. But as I said to Anne Laurie, more communication would be better so we have an idea of when we should expect things to suddenly go sideways because they’re hitting that piece of code with a hammer and when something has actually broken.

    Of course, my parents moved us into a house before it was quite finished being built, so maybe this just seems normal to me. My brothers slept in the living room for a couple of months because they hadn’t finished the part of the house where their bedrooms were.

  147. 147.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 1:55 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    Installing f.screw might help with that.

  148. 148.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 1:55 am

    @Steeplejack: I love blue(UCLA Bruin).

  149. 149.

    amk

    November 4, 2015 at 1:57 am

    @sharl: That’s a good tip, thanks. Clicking the scroll wheel also opened the particular post in a new tab.

  150. 150.

    PJ

    November 4, 2015 at 1:57 am

    Ok, deep breath everybody! One more time!
    This is a website sponsored, as far as I know, by someone who does not get paid for it or the aggravation that comes with it. Problems will be fixed, or they won’t; it’s not that big a deal. If your leisure/self-esteem/ability to communicate is completely bound up in this website, it might be a good idea to take up some other pastimes, or, perhaps, start your own site.

  151. 151.

    srv

    November 4, 2015 at 1:57 am

    @Steeplejack:

    should have been caught in the test-server shakedown-cruise phase before the site went live.

    This isn’t Amazon, this is Sparta!

    The Sparta of WordPress!

  152. 152.

    joel hanes

    November 4, 2015 at 1:58 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    With gratuitous headings/sections that don’t add to function or user experience?

    Seconded. Hell, thirded.

    “recent comments” was useful.

    Our Most Recent Posts ain’t useful.
    If you _must_ keep it, make it collapsible.

    “Balloon Juice Blog” has no reason to exist.
    Nor does the label “Quote rotator”

    Also, I want a pony, and a Kenner Roads And Bridges construction set, and a new fishing pole.

    And to retire someday.

  153. 153.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 2:01 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    Most unexpected “Am I Blue” ever.

  154. 154.

    eemom

    November 4, 2015 at 2:02 am

    @John Cole:
    @Omnes Omnibus:
    @Steeplejack:

    I love all of y’all. Jussayinzall.

  155. 155.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 2:03 am

    @efgoldman: Thanks, ef – I was thinking of you when I wrote that….

  156. 156.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    November 4, 2015 at 2:05 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Now I’m feeling like we all climbed onto the sloop John B without realizing it.

    And now I need to go to bed, because I have to work in the morning. Good night, night owls.

  157. 157.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 2:10 am

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    Reposting because FYWP!

    [. . .] Cole’s blog, so his design decisions could overrule our input based on used experience. His place, his rules.

    Certainly. And nothing I have said contradicts that. Everything I have said is aimed at making the blog a better place for commenters and readers. IM motherfucking HO, of course.

    What I have seen time and again in the blog upgrades is that we get a lot of tail fins and chrome—different colors, changes in fonts and format, stunning innovations like “[Commenter] says” instead of just the commenter’s name on each comment—and meanwhile, ON A POLITICAL BLOG, no one can write socialism for years because it’s a naughty word. Yes, that one got fixed a while back, but people still get snagged on an almost daily basis on FYWP’s arcane list of forbidden words. Watson, for fuck’s sake?! C’mon, man!

    This time was advertised as being different, because Cole was paying big bucks to have the pros from Dover come in and rebuild everything from the ground up. I am a little nervous not because the results weren’t perfect right off the bat but because, as a former software developer myself, I see disturbing signs that stuff wasn’t vetted and fundamental design decisions were made that either ignore or radically alter the way the blog worked before.

    ETA: Oh, great, another innovation: this time FYWP didn’t even tell me my previous comment went into moderation; it just hosed it and me.

  158. 158.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 2:18 am

    @sharl:

    A useful workaround. But incredibly kluge-tastic. Help, Amir! What would be the German adjective for the noun kluge, a workaround or sloppy fix?

  159. 159.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 2:22 am

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):

    Okay, I haven’t experienced any site weirdness tonight like you describe—just the “generic” problems of the upgrade.

  160. 160.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 2:24 am

    @NotMax:

    http://youtu.be/mqwdoZ0LC8k

  161. 161.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 2:24 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Of late, I’ve been messing about with Google Translate as a way of improving my German.

    So, off topic of the blog issues, one thing that I have always found curious is how many folk on the blog speak/write/know German. Is it a HS/College language experience that is common?

    When I was in middle school and 1st year HS in the US, I elected to study French – which came in handy when my family moved to Canada whilst I was in the 9th grade – and I became semi-fluent. I remember that our language choices in middle school were: German, French and Spanish. Funny that Spanish references here are pretty much nonexistent, considering how practically useful they are, and German references abound. Given the news about Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche, is there a nice long German word for deceitful clusterfuck, or is it being coined as we speak/write?

  162. 162.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 2:25 am

    @NotMax:

    Holy. Crap. You are right about that. That is Space Ghost Coast to Coast level of unexpected.

  163. 163.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 2:28 am

    @eemom:

    Back atcha, sister. Been missing your comments and your unerring ability to stick your finger in someone’s wound.

  164. 164.

    joel hanes

    November 4, 2015 at 2:28 am

    @efgoldman:

    braces with buttons

    gateway drug to real bib overalls
    well-broken in, and in a cool climate,
    the world’s most functional garment

  165. 165.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 2:34 am

    I hope that I get the link stuff right using buttons here, because this is a good and apt song for our sitch: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVt-Ay3-NFA&quot;

    Mercy, mercy, mercy

  166. 166.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 2:39 am

    @Aleta

    The Velvet Fog interprets “Blue Room.”

  167. 167.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 2:44 am

    @NotMax:
    whoa Nellie, swoon

  168. 168.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 2:46 am

    Just reread this thread before either (a) going to bed or (b) making a rum and tonic and surging on into the deep night. I want to add one thing to emphasize what I hope was clear above but may not be.

    All the “complaining” is not just about “It doesn’t work how I want it—wah! Fix it right now!” It’s (also) an attempt to let the people in the driver’s seat know how the Balloon Juice “consumers”—the readers and commenters—are seeing things from their side. And what some of us are seeing—and saying—is that significant elements of blog usability have been damaged and/or are not being addressed. Cole’s blog, Cole’s rules, sure. But if he’s smart he should listen to people who are trying to help him, even if it’s hard for him to hear it.

  169. 169.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 2:47 am

    I think that this speaks to our situation

    Almost got it, but not quite there yet….advice on this Steep?

  170. 170.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 2:50 am

    @Steeplejack: I hear you.

  171. 171.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 2:59 am

    @NotMax:
    Laura Nero Mr. Blue
    http://youtu.be/EUuppC6nR0I

  172. 172.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 3:00 am

    @Aleta: I mean Nyro

  173. 173.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 4, 2015 at 3:08 am

    @Steeplejack: The problem is, as usual, is communication. Cole knows what the problems are, communicate what’s being done about each problem and when we can expect some resolution.

    ETA: On the other hand, there are some that just enjoy complaining over and over again.

  174. 174.

    NotMax

    November 4, 2015 at 3:15 am

    @Aleta

    From Laura, a sharp 90 degree turn to Lenny.

  175. 175.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 3:15 am

    @seaboogie:

    Okay, your link-fu seems to be working all right. The problem this time is that you linked to a YouTube “search” thing instead of to a specific video. Cannonball Adderley, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”

    The other thing that you have to watch for on Balloon Juice links is that FYWP is very finicky about the leading http://. There are several situations where it will put in two copies of that and/or prefix the current Balloon Juice thread address to your URL. Both of which lead to commenter Steeplejack popping up with “Linky no work. You fix.”

    What I have found virtually foolproof is to copy the destination link and completely overwrite the BJ-supplied prefix. And, as always, you can eyeball it once it’s in your comment. What you want to see is something like this:

    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkslGrRExcQ">the Buckinghams, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy."</a>

    which will appear as this: the Buckinghams, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”

  176. 176.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 3:28 am

    @efgoldman:

    Okay, I’ve been watching Black-ish, and in the Halloween episode there was a scene where the well-to-do cousins were mocking the ’hood cousins because all their clothing/gear was knockoff stuff. Then later they bonded because they were going to go up against some miscreant trick-or-treaters who had stolen somebody’s candy. So one of the ’hood cousins yells, “Throw me my Fadidas [shoes]! Let’s go!” For some reason I have been laughing about that all week.

  177. 177.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 3:41 am

    @NotMax: I love that. Never knew of him until now.
    http://youtu.be/e6lAh9MC1PQ
    Blue Eyed Elaine

  178. 178.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 3:41 am

    Okay, I am going to cast a spell of cosmic healing over this thread: Pharoah Sanders, “Astral Traveling.” Be at peace, brothers and sisters.

  179. 179.

    Aleta

    November 4, 2015 at 3:54 am

    @Steeplejack:
    Working on a Groovy Thing
    http://youtu.be/Ab1ixxpwSZw

    Good night

  180. 180.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 4:04 am

    @Steeplejack: A hearty and heart-felt thank you to you. I pretty much surmised the first part, but thought that I was in the youtube link – is there a way to tell that? Also, do I need to be at the beginning of the song/video, or will the link pick up at the beginning even if the song/vid has started?

    I printed out your instructions for future reference (Yay – I managed to do that without printing 59 pages!), and will keep that at hand. I really appreciate your patience with me on this and all of the effort that you put into making it as clear as possible.

    Hasta la escritura….

  181. 181.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 4:10 am

    @Aleta:

    Night-night. The Fifth Dimension, “California Soul.”

  182. 182.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 4:17 am

    @seaboogie:

    The easiest way is to go to the specific page for the song/video. Then you can copy the URL at the top for insertion in your Balloon Juice link. The URL will be the same whether you have started playing the song or not.

    If you want to pick the song from the list of YouTube search results, you don’t want to copy the URL at the top. You need to hover over the link to the specific song/video you want, then right-click and choose “Copy link location.” That will snag you the URL for the specific song/video that you want.

    Happy to help. Let me know if you need further details. I’ve written user manuals for accounting software, so this is a lot less boring!

  183. 183.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 4:24 am

    @Steeplejack: Giving it a shot, and patience please – I’ll be astonished if it works…

    I think that it did work – thank you!

  184. 184.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 4:37 am

    @seaboogie:

    Yes, that did work. Congrats!

    I will say that my practice (usually, unless a joke is involved) is to let people know where the link goes, because some people have bandwidth issues and don’t want to chase after blind links that may disappoint them when they get there.

    Pieces of a Dream, “Fo-Fi-Fo.”

  185. 185.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 4:47 am

    @Steeplejack:

    That song always reminds me of this song: the Dramatics, “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get.”

  186. 186.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 4:47 am

    @Steeplejack: Good point, and understood. I was kind of trying to not over-reach in my efforts, lest I fell short. It is late/very early, and we are few, so a good time to fiddle around..

  187. 187.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 4:52 am

    @seaboogie:

    Well, you’re doing great. So fiddle away.

    That Dramatics song segues right into Fleetwood Mac, “Hypnotized.”

  188. 188.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 4:58 am

    No segue. Just dumpster diving in YouTube. The James Gang, “Midnight Man.”

  189. 189.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 5:02 am

    Les Dudek, “Old Judge Jones.” Allman Brothers lite.

  190. 190.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 5:09 am

    Allman Brothers (heavy), “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

    I have been to her grave. “Elizabeth Jones Reed / Loving wife of Briggs H. Napier.” It’s not far from the grave of Duane Allman in Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon, Georgia.

  191. 191.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 5:15 am

    Milton Nascimento, “Dancing.”

  192. 192.

    seaboogie

    November 4, 2015 at 5:19 am

    @Steeplejack: imma check all this stuff out, and left you a message upstairs….

  193. 193.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 5:23 am

    @Steeplejack:

    This song (inexplicably) goes with that one: the Classics IV, “Spooky.”

  194. 194.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 5:25 am

    For Omnes and Mnemosyne: Elvis Costello, “Alison.”

  195. 195.

    Steeplejack

    November 4, 2015 at 5:26 am

    @seaboogie:

    Last song for you: Buffalo Springfield, “Kind Woman.”

  196. 196.

    Amir Khalid

    November 4, 2015 at 5:35 am

    @seaboogie:
    In my case, I never learned German in a formal setting. What happened was that some years ago I was in a bookstore one day. I was in the languages section. My eye fell upon a German language self-learning kit. It seemed like a non-strenuous pastime for a new medical retiree. Also kaufte ich es, und dann …

  197. 197.

    Satby

    November 4, 2015 at 5:46 am

    @eemom: me too. Glad to see the actual techies all see the same issues I do. Thanks Steep!

  198. 198.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 4, 2015 at 10:26 am

    @NotMax: Nah, you just made me laff too much, with your allusions.

  199. 199.

    worn

    November 4, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Because Tommy is a coder, not a graphic designer or UX expert?

    Tommy – I’m not trying to slag you, by the way; porting the site to a new codebase has to be a Herculean task. The comment above is just the impression of someone who is in the design word and is also a bit picky about typography.

  200. 200.

    worn

    November 4, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    @John Cole:

    Shut up? Why certainly! You don’t think I’m the kind that would keep blabbin’? Some people never know when to stop. When I’m told to shut up, I shut up…

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