Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!!

Wednesday, 09 March 2005

Update Part I:

One of the first things you will notice is that the logged-in Home Page has changed slightly. Apart from the toned down colors of the right column, there are 2 new functions on your blog list: an Edit link and the Blog Center link.

Post and Edit: These functions are no long found on the same page -- editor above, blog preview below. Now each has its own full page and you should find it easier to work in both settings. We englarged the posting area to allow for easier editing and composing of longer posts. There is a preview button to see how it looks on the blog without actually posting it to the public.

As soon as you click Post and Publish, the page will refresh and you will be transported to the editable preview of your blog in full page view. We think you'll agree that these full page views are easier to work with.

Blog Center: Clicking on this link, you'll find an Easy-Access to common tasks that you can get to without navigating all the tabs and buttons. The links are redundant; you can always get to the commands the old fashioned way, too.

The Profile Page: This section has also been redesigned; it's better organized and contains more useful info, check it out.

Coming soon (tomorrow, in theory): folksonomy tags! HUH? Wait until tomorrow or figure it out yourselves!

posted by: howard at 23:38 | link | comments (26) |
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Comments:

#1 10 March 2005 - 01:26

Two thumbs up on the changes. I really like it.

Any plans to add a feature to be able to post an entry as a draft before posting?

:o)

Muskrat28

#2 10 March 2005 - 02:10

I like the full-page views for posting. They load a lot faster. Thanks, Howard!

InMyLife

#3 10 March 2005 - 02:16

In the "Profile Page", you need to change the editing options (located below the profile pic) from Italian to English. =] --> "Modifica profilo" and "Nascondi profilo". All I'm noticing for now.

jenius

#4 10 March 2005 - 02:54

I just tried to post a couple of different and both times it came up with "this post is empty" and the post disappeared. ?

serenaluchang

#5 10 March 2005 - 06:38

That's nice! Thank you!

zhen

#6 10 March 2005 - 06:57

serena: I don't know what happened. We were working on the system, but judging from the time difference, I don't think that was it. It was something funky in your Internet connection to mo'time at the time.

Muskrat28: yes, we are already working on drafts!

IML: your welcome.

jenius: Thanks! (or should I say, grazie?)

howard

#7 10 March 2005 - 08:30

help... i dunno why but i can't seem to post anything! the cursor appears in the Title line but i can't type anything in the post box! waaaaahhhhhhhh

darkscarlette

#8 10 March 2005 - 08:38

Hmmm, I just tried posting and it worked fine. What operating system and browser are you using? Do you know how to empty your browser's cache or delete your temporary internet files (they're the same thing, depending on your browser).

Close all your mo'time windows in your browser.

The delete your temporary internet files [Tools menu -> General tab -> Internet Options] and try again. Let me know if this helps or if the problem persists.

howard

#9 10 March 2005 - 08:52

howard i just followed ur instructions and deleted all the temporary internet files... still no use :(

Oh btw i just tried to post the Title (the only line i can type in, on the "Post page") but i got the same message that serenaluchang did - "THE POST IS EMPTY" boohoo.

darkscarlette

#10 10 March 2005 - 08:53

What operating system and browser? (version numbers, please...)

howard

#11 10 March 2005 - 09:05

browser: MSIE 6.0
OS: Windows XP

darkscarlette

#12 10 March 2005 - 11:30

Did you make sure that you had ALL the mo'time windows closed (not reduced or hidden) when you cleared the internet files? Quit the browser completely, re-open it in google and then perform the operation. Afterwards re-open mo'time...

howard

#13 10 March 2005 - 15:05

I'd like to say, quite constructively, and not in a complainy sort of tone, that I miss the little part where it listed the number of posts and comments in the past seven days on the "home" page, next to the blog name.

Other than that, you done good! :)

AmericanGirl

#14 10 March 2005 - 20:25

that's nice, but I can't add my posts into categories... I don't have those tickboxes on the screen

mojito

#15 10 March 2005 - 22:59

AmericanGirlyGirl: It's a valid point and we had wondered about that... There is actually a movement afoot to test putting it back in. Over the next week or so we'll evaluate doing just that. Thanks for the input...

mojito: Categories is currently "a work in progress". We are updating the whole category interface right now. I mean really, at this moment. It should start to come alive pretty soon.

I'll post a little news about it pretty soon...

howard

#16 10 March 2005 - 23:03

Sorry to be a wet blankey but the members of my blog don't like the 2 -window format and naughty words have been said. I'm finding it slower to load even on broadband, and the post i just tried to make has come up in the preview window with my name and time but no actual text. And yes, i have emptied my temporary files! I'm running on XP and i think the latest IE.

Leelu

#17 10 March 2005 - 23:44

Leelu: No worries about wet blanketiness. I really want to hear from everybody about what they think. Obviously, there will be different opinions on the matter, but the goal is to make it easier and more intuitive for the great majority of people. (I'm not saying that the upgrade fits that definition, but that's the idea.)

What is the specific complaint about the new 2-page system, apart from loading issues (which I cannot replicate -- it seems as fast or faster to me and others I've talked to)? Do they want to refer to older posts or comments as they compose their posts? That's only thing that really changes a lot. The larger posting area and full page editing are not worth giving up the split-frame? If you have the time and desire, I'd like to know more about the objections. Thanks.

As for the posting bug, I'm at a loss because it's been tested on XP and IE, as well as Mozilla and Firefox, and I see that many folks are posting. There is a possibility that there is some obscure bug with your browser settings and the editor. If the editor was loading slowly, perhaps your Internet connection was momentarily funky somewhere along the line -- which would also explain a blank post if some info was dropped in the connection between your computer and our servers.

Keep me informed of further strangeness so that I can tell the tech team what to fix.

Looking forward to hearing your further comments,

h

howard

#18 11 March 2005 - 00:55

Right sorry, that was me being thick and clicking on the preview button at the bottom of the edit window rather than on the preview button at the top.

I think with our blog - as it's a group blog our posts are mostly short and are in direct response to what other people have been saying, so for us a bigger editing area is not that useful whereas it's important for us to be able to see previous posts while we write. One of the reasons I moved our group from Blogger was because it was set up in a similar fashion to what you have now. but i can appreciate that group blogs may be in the minority and the changes you've made are of benefit to other types of blog.
Cheers,
leelu

Leelu

#19 11 March 2005 - 01:03

Are you guys using the subscription and digest features? That is a way to get a quick overview of recent activity on the blog in a handy view. It is especially useful if you all subscribe ONLY to your group blog.

Actually the best solution is this: You should always first open the blog by clicking the Edit link from the home page, not the blog name or post link.

You get the full page edit view, where you can edit posts or comments directly, but more to the point, the "write" link is conveniently active at the top of the page for reactive posting.

howard

#20 11 March 2005 - 02:06

i did everything exactly as u said... it's just not working! *tears at red hair in frustration* maybe there's something really screwy with my system :(

darkscarlette

#21 11 March 2005 - 05:31

darkscarlette: WHen you say you cannot type anything in the text area, please describe it in more detail, or if you know how to take a screenshot, email it to howard(a)motime.com. Does the text area itself not appear? Do you see the editor's toolbar with all the little icons (like in Word?) Do you have another computer at your disposal to try posting, just for comparison?

howard

#22 11 March 2005 - 07:41

thanks for trying to help howard... i just emailed u the screenshots! (the text box area itself appears but no the editor's toolbar doesn't). i'm at work hehe so i'll be damned if i were to be so daring as to go borrow someone else's PC to try posting haha but will try again when i get back home later!

meanwhile i'll just tear out my red hair by the handful while suffering from withdrawal symptoms...

darkscarlette

#23 12 March 2005 - 07:21

Thanks for the info. Howard, using edit instead of the blog name does work much better. I'll stop moaning now!
Cheers,
Leelu

Leelu

#24 19 March 2005 - 17:06

exercise me, i think i have the same problem as darjscarlette. I can't load the editor's toolbar and post anythings. i wanna ask how can i solve this problem?

sorry for my poor english,haha..
I'm not good in english =)

octo

octo

#25 19 March 2005 - 19:04

did you follow the instructions on deleting the temporary internet files? this is a strange problem experienced by only a few users. others with the same systems can post just fine.

until i figure it out, you should try downloading firefox and seeing if that works.

please let me know. and i'll let you know when i have the fix.

howard

#26 20 March 2005 - 19:24

TO ALL THOSE WITH EDITOR PROBLEMS:

If the editor does not work for you on Mo'time, please go to this demo page (click here) and tell me if the editor loads. This will help me troubleshoot. Always include your operating system and browser (with version numbers) when reporting a problem. Thanks.

howard

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