Tinkering

Please forgive any interruptions in service as I am tinkering with the many, many bugs on my excessively ancient WordPress install. I apologize wholeheartedly for letting the spam situation get so out of control. No endorsement of any love spellcasters, lottery spellcasters, spell counter-casters, bitcoin financiers, contract hackers, What’sApp Illuminati brotherhoods or school essay writers was ever intended.

For now I have turned on full comment moderation while I go through literally thousands of pages of spam comments that took over when the anti-spam plugins failed. Things may look weird off and on, but I’m working on it.

21 thoughts on “Tinkering

  1. This new site even if itโ€™s temporary feels nice and clean compared to the old. You can zoom into pictures with fingers without having to open the picture as a separate tab which is nice! Good luck with the refurb

    1. Me too, which is why I dragged my feet on necessary technology upgrades/fixes so long. Now I’m paying the piper. I will do all I can to get that little library feel back, scout’s honor.

  2. Livius, I agree with the other commentors. It is good to have the comment section turned back on and it is very good to not have to read the spam comments. You are doing marvelous work and I greatly enjoy The History Blog. I think I enjoy the old format but the new is not bad either. Use whichever is easiest for you. We, your readers and the beneficiaries of your work will adapt.

    1. I am ashamed to admit that I did not realize the comments section had broken so badly because my email alerts and notifications also broke. I just thought it was a busy holiday season lull and was shocked to find the sheer volume of spam that had flooded posts. Appalling neglect on my part, and I will rectify it by ensuring it does not happen again. Thank you for being so patient.

  3. Hi from Sydney, Australia. Just realised Iโ€™ve been follow your blog since 2008 and have never left a message. Just saw the new format and it looks great. I didnโ€™t have any issues with the old format but in this life the only certainty is change. Many thanks for all your hard work keeping us posted over all these years. Onwards and upwards for 2023.

    1. Oh my goodness, you may well hold the record of time spent reading before commenting! I’m thrilled that you’re comfortable with the new format when you’ve been here from the very beginning. Thank you so much delurking with such an encouraging and positive response.

  4. Hi, livius,
    Love your work! Always broadens my horizons and it’s such a treat. I wish you would turn back on the ability to email a posting. So often you post something that I know a friend would enjoy. I copy and paste in my email program, but once upon a time I could send it after the article. Now that you are revamping, perhaps you could turn that back on.
    Thanks!
    Lisa

    1. Oh, good one to put on my to-do list. That share button used to be a plug-in that I had customized. When I’m capable of installing plug-ins without generating errors, I will certainly bring that feature back. Thank you for reading and sharing my posts over the years. I’m looking forward to you being able to do so again in the near future. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Hi there,

    I’ve been follow your blog since 2017. I’m a professional awards-winning web designer and web developer. If you need some help your blog, please tell me. I’ll do my best.

    P.S. That’s for free, surely. I respect you work.

    1. Wow, what a generous offer, thank you so much. The day may soon come (like Monday) when I make you rue your kindness. Thank you also for being a regular reader for nigh on five years!

  6. Finally! I was tired of all the bots complaining that they got better, more up-to-date results on compacom. LOL
    I like the new look much, much better. On the old one, the print was tiny and I had to zoom in. Plus the black on parchment is easier on the eyes.

    1. The old theme was so old smartphones literally did not exist when it was created. To call it not responsive is a pathological understatement. ๐Ÿ˜€

      Thank you for outlasting the bot invasion!

  7. Hi, another long-time-reader-first-time-commentor here. Just wanted to let you know that this blog is one of my favorite websites and you do amazing work!

  8. I have been reading your blog for years. It’s the only one I check every day. I was wondering why suddenly I wasn’t able tocomment and I tried to contact you to let you know, and that didn’t work either. Now I know! I love your blog!

    1. I didn’t realize the contact form was broken until this weekend either! It was like that clip from Pirates of the Caribbean when the captain slow-motion walks down the stairs while the ship goes up in smithereens around him.

      Thank you so much for checking in every day, smithereens notwithstanding. XD

  9. Aaaaah finally no more spam comments! I had been trying to drop a comment here and there for the past few months, only to discover that I couldn’t (while the spam could…). Then I tried to drop you a message about the issue, only to find your contact form was just as broken. Bummer…

    Not a fan (yet?) of a new look, but that’s probably just me (never a fan of site changes, no matter where). I’ve been reading this blog since at least 2012 (certainly before, but that’s my earliest feed bookmark). Glad to know the quality content will keep on coming.

    1. I too narrow my eyes at change. I don’t think I’ve ever truly liked a design update, but this situation was dire with a capital dire. Sometimes you just gotta chew off your own foot to get out of the trap. At least the spammers have to suffer now instead of the rest of us.

      Thank you so much for your decade-plus of readership!

  10. Only a recent follower, but i love the new look โ€” seems like a sound evolution upon the old one. And nice not to have to deal with people selling their get-rich-quick scenes in the comments. ๐Ÿ™‚

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