ETA: Site was updated with the excellent help of Hosting Matters’ excellent support folks, our procedure is fixed for the next time. I’ve still lots of tweaking to do. Recipe widget coming live soon.
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I’m still puttering about trying to figure out why the Read More links don’t create the anchor like they’re supposed to, but I will be launching the updated files, new plugins, etc. shortly.
I’m using a software repository to apply changes already working on my test server, but last time I did this, there were some permission issues. If they re-occur, I will note them and will have the Hosting company fix it as that is out of my control. Their script, made after the last update/twitch, resets permissions on files, so finger-crossed, there should be no issues.
Worst case scenario, the site is wacky for five minutes. Hopefully that won’t happen.
Once the new files are all good, and the dust settles, there should be a few welcome tweaks:
- A recipe plugin to make using them, copying them, finding them, etc. much easier.
- Adam has his own “Silverman on Security” section from Quicklinks.
- Bare link issue should be solved.
- This should mean that editing comments going into moderation is solved. If not, speak up!
- I made the video add force HTTPS so no more security warnings about mixed content. This may break some work-arounds, so if it is an issue, make sure you’ve adjusted your filter to https
- Fixed mobile site icons being “vertical columned”
- Once main site updates hit, I will update the mobile sit and plugin so that will be a bit later this pm.
- Amazon ad will be added to mobile site and I will make a few tweaks to it.
- Blogroll opens in same window because if it forces a new window, many devices block popups. So error reports galore, not to mention bad user experience. Deal with it or shift-click to open it in a new window/tab!
- Looking at adding CAPTCHA or such to Contact FrontPager form; we’ve been getting too much crap.
- Arrow controls on main site – there are hovering arrow controls to jump to top/bottom and prev/next post on the main desktop site. They are great tools, so please use them if you don’t already.
- There are no arrow controls on the mobile site but you can us links to jump to comments, and there are visual controls for next/prev post. The one thing missing is arrow to jump to top of screen, but for mobile devices, there are simple built in shortcuts:
- iOS: double-tap top of screen and it will jump to top of browser page
- Android:
There is a simple technique.I was wrong, the technique I read about was BS. There is no jump to top outside of some apps that you can get, but I can’t recommend them as I do not know them. Apparently you can swipe to top of window much faster in Android than iOS. I will get some solution soon for the mobile site.
- I plan a few slight font tweaks and such, but that’s pretty much it.
Hope the changes are good to you all, but please feel free to use this post to complain, troubleshoot, etc. I hope to push the changes about 3 Eastern. Be well.
ETA: The site is secured using HTTPS, using an SSL certificate from the Let’s Encrypt initiative. I have one Opera user reporting some errors about the certificate authority, but I am mentioning this in case anyone else gets weird certificate notifications. We’re legit, and I suspect that the Opera version is old, or that the list of CAs that install is using is outdated but not updated. Similar issues may occur to users of other older browser versions or OSes without recent builds. But please do report any SSL/certificate issues.
Villago Delenda Est
How about fixing the perpetual “site not found” error messages I get?
Anoniminous
Trying to square “the site is wacky for five minutes” and “Balloon Juice.”
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Nope, can’t do it.
Alain the site fixer
@Villago Delenda Est: Site Not Found. In what respect? All I can figure is old links to http not being redirected to https but my mind is not in that ‘hood right now. So please clarify
Amir Khalid
Shrug. Well, I never email the frontpagers anyway.
Alain the site fixer
@Amir Khalid: Once we get the recipe widget working well, I hope we can entice you to share some family recipes; I know I am not the only one here who loves Malay and nearby cuisine.
Villago Delenda Est
@Alain the site fixer: Well, often when I’m refreshing a particular post (to keep current on the comments) I’m told the site can’t be found. Then, I try reloading directly from the main page, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. This is the only site I have that problem with.
Villago Delenda Est
Just now, after hitting the “post comment” button for #6 above, it happened AGAIN.
Ruviana
@Amir Khalid: I know, right? Why would I bother them in their email when I can talk to them in the comments of their posts?
Calouste
At the moment John’s twitter is swamped with the publication announcements of old posts.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Thank you for keeping this pit of depravity open and functional!
Miss Bianca
Thanks, Alain!
Alain the site fixer
@Miss Bianca: I replied to your comment last week – sorry I missed it! Pop me an email at please at getmechamot dotcom so when I get my butt to Canon, we can meetup – either at Dorothy’s Tamales, or on the West Slope, or somewhere else appropriate!
jacy
I want my pony to be extra sparkly. Just thought I’d establish that upfront, before everybody loses it.
(Thanks, Alain!)
Alain the site fixer
@Villago Delenda Est: Thanks for the additional detail. To be blunt, that’s not right!
Not sure what or why. I’ll do some investigation. Making the long-awaited switch to using a CDN might alleviate that, come to think of it.
Royston Vasey
Any chance of stopping the auto-playing ora.tv ad/video featuring Larry King and Jessie Ventura? So annoying
Major Major Major Major
I like the soft scrolling thing when you click on @nym links.
Major Major Major Major
I don’t know what is causing this, but occasionally I’ll try to read something on mobile and it’ll go to a 404. It won’t let me read anything. The page loads, and then a second later it redirects to a 404.
Aleta
Wow, thanks Adam. Sounds great.
Amir Khalid
@Alain the site fixer:
Alas, I am no cook. With all the things that are off-limits to me for health reasons, I am barely even an eater.
Betty Cracker
Okay, there are “Mayhew on Insurance” and “Silverman on Security” Quick Links. Where are the “Cracker on Chickens” and “Cole on Pet Waste Removal” links? Is it because our areas of expertise might be deemed insignificant and/or gross? No fair! (j/k, obvs.)
Shell
Well, at least you’re not calling out. “Brace!…Brace!…Brace!”
schrodinger's cat
@Betty Cracker: There needs to be a link for Cracker doodles!
Alain the site fixer
@Betty Cracker: I’d love to get Betty on Life and Cole on Crap, but that’s most of the blog anyways, or so it seems. Perhaps we’ll see how the gallery functions work after the dust settles; you continuously put out great imagery that should be collected in one view/area.
Alain the site fixer
First snag, So working with Hosting folks to fix as I am not admin on the server, unlike with my test setup. Luckily I learned last time to plan better so site is still working for users.
John Revolta
Every time there’s an update the site works worse for me.
Of course it may have something to do with the antique browsers I’m using on my steam-powered computin’ machine.
Anyway, just in case: it’s been nice knowing you all.
Amir Khalid
And the Back button is messed up again. That must mean the site update is in progress.
Mike J
Looks like you caused a bunch of tweets about old postings, but it;s not really an issue. Just odd to seem them pop up.
Can you explain to posters how to post pictures along with stories that don’t appear as a whole post on their own?
germy
I keep seeing tee-shirt ads:
“deplorables for trump” and “hillary for prison”
Barry
Being able to navigate on an iPad sounds great. Endless scrolling is a real PITA.
Keith G
@Alain the site fixer: Can you just insert some code that automatically places a ‘Cole on Crap’ sub-heading on everything John posts?
germy
Bad day for Chris Christie:
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxu13Cr_fcU/V87ih3JjGlI/AAAAAAAAmVA/VpQzoIQmkxMKHzwJNkjxEWOi-QSG0TZEACLcB/s1600/chris-christie-whopper-on-the-bridge_DonkeyHotey.jpg
Alain the site fixer
@Mike J: I’ll see what I can do.
@Amir Khalid: Sorry about that.
There are rights issues, I can’t solve them without Hosting folks and so files are mid-update. And no idea why the plugin is re-sending out tweets. If I try to access that page, it wants me to update site db and I don’t want to do that until I know the files are sorted. So we’re blessed that it’s working as it is right now. I’m not really on Twitter or FB so please let me know here if you still see stuff
Roger Moore
@Major Major Major Major:
Except it seems to have broken the back button again.
David Rickard
Alain the site fixer: This update is gonna get pretty interesting.
Reader: Define “interesting”.
Alain the site fixer: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we’re all going to die?
Alain the site fixer: This is the sysadmin. We have a little problem with our upload sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then – explode.
Reader: We’re gonna explode? I don’t wanna explode!
Roger Moore
@Amir Khalid:
Having lots of things off limits to you should make you more of a cook rather than less, since it will be so hard to find prepared food that won’t run afoul of your restrictions.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
The back button is completely not working, and that annoying script that sloooooowly scrolls the comment to the top when you click on the date is back. IIRC, they were linked before.
That scroll script is the web equivalent of the dancing text that all Powerpoint beginners think is just SO COOL!
Alain the site fixer
Yeah this sucks because all I can do is send an email. There is no number to call. I could have fixed it on my server in 20 seconds. But it’s a weird situation with their permissions such that even a script they run every 5 minutes isn’t taking. Like I said, I’m afraid to update the WordPress database so that means not going to the admin pages. I fear doing so will make the site worse until the permission issue is fixed – we’re kind of in a state of grace, limbo. It CAN get worse.
Mike J
@David Rickard: I’m a leaf on the wind.
Alain the site fixer
Files fixed it looks like but I’m going to wait for email from support before I do the files again to be sure they land, then the db update.
And then I can work on a few style things, etc… And then the mobile site and we’ll be done for this stage.
Roger Moore
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
FTFY.
OzarkHillbilly
@David Rickard: The penguin on top of your computer will now blow up.
BLAMMO!
Alain the site fixer
Files fixed db updated. a bit more to go.
Alain the site fixer
Updates done. Now just tweaking some styling etc.
Miss Bianca
@Alain the site fixer: OK, will do! If I screw up your email addy I’ll come crawling back via your front-pager link here (you left one in, right?) ; )
And once again, thanks for all the work you do on the site!
The Other Chuck
You can fix the back-button behavior with “Even Betterer Balloon Juice”. Google for it, I’m tired of fighting FYWP.
Omnes Omnibus
In case no one has mentioned it, the back button is broken again. FF/ Windows 7. I am presuming it is/will be one of the tweaks on the tweak list.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Is this thing on?
<a href="http://www.google.com"Google <== That's a link.
Let's see if I can edit now…
[edit:] Man, all the HTML-escaped characters are ugly…
Cheers,
Scott.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Link fail, of course.
Now to go back to edit…
Cheers,
Scott.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Welp, editing still throws me in moderation – at least with a bad anchor link.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruviana
Hi Alain:
The back button now takes me to the front page, not to the comment I was trying to return to. Prolly what Omnes said but some more description. FF/Win10
The Other Chuck
Looks like posting a proper link just causes the post to be silently swallowed.
Slow clap.
Disgusted sneer.
Bye.
Chris T.
@Major Major Major Major: Hm, the scrolling is nice, but “back” doesn’t work any more…