Folks, the update hit last afternoon and it was pretty undramatic. There are likely a few issues here and there, so please use this post to report them. I will be working on other things this morning and early pm, but will check this post before I consider my work done.

There is no guarantee that I will fix everything or do what is asked, but I will see what I can do for things that make sense or are truly bad. Thanks to all for your kind words and help in identifying remaining issues.

ETA: Back button is fixed and HTML help hidden for now. I know there are a few small issues to solve on the mobile site too, but since most users access the desktop site, it’s my priority right now.

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:

1. A recipe plugin to make using them, copying them, finding them, etc. much easier.
2. Adam has his own “Silverman on Security” section from Quicklinks.
3. Bare link issue should be solved.
4. This should mean that editing comments going into moderation is solved. If not, speak up!
5. 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
6. Fixed mobile site icons being “vertical columned”
7. Once main site updates hit, I will update the mobile sit and plugin so that will be a bit later this pm.
8. Amazon ad will be added to mobile site and I will make a few tweaks to it.
9. 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!
10. Looking at adding CAPTCHA or such to Contact FrontPager form; we’ve been getting too much crap.
11. 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.
12. 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:
    1. iOS: double-tap top of screen and it will jump to top of browser page
    2. 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.
13. 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.

Note: I am reposting this for the night readers.

Folks,

I’ll be updating the site, plugins, and tweaking a few settings later this week.  After last night’s SSL certificate issue, I’ve dusted off the test server and will soon be hard at work.

I’ve not been around much the post couple of months, so consider me out of the loop. Are there any issues, tweaks, suggestions, etc. I need to hear before I begin work? I’m not planning on changing much styling but with the theme update, there might be some slight appearance changes here and there.  So since I’ll be digging into all kinds of stuff, I just wanted to get your suggestions/peeves so I can see what can be done.

Besides the main updates, I’m planning a special area for National Security posts by Adam and his associates, and also hope to get a good recipe plugin going to snazz up that aspect of things a bit.  And snazz in this case means order and standardized layout, not fancy gimmicks!

I’ll be reading the night crew’s feedback tomorrow, and will work on what I can from this, and the earlier, post.

As always, I’m prepared for lots of grousing, but let’s focus on trying to make things better! If you have specific lines of CSS or what have you that you’d like me to  alter, please let me know the specifics and I’ll see what I can do.  The less analysis and thinking I need to do to tweak it and make you happy the better – it will ensure your change gets done.

I will be hitting the hay sometime soon, so don’t expect me to respond to your comments tonight, but I will respond in the morning, so please do check back.

‘Night all, and good day where appropriate.