Blog Views and Other Obsessions – What’s new?

~ Book Club Mom

Here’s a mishmash of my current blogging experiences:

In my last post about blogging, I announced that I was tentatively happy because my spam comment problem seemed to be resolved. You may remember that my blog had been inundated with spam and it was even spamming email accounts connected to blogs that follow me. That was horrible. To fix it, I turned off pingbacks and trackbacks and closed comments after 30 days. IT’S WORKING! What a relief. Now I don’t have to spend time deleting spam. If you are having problems with spam comments, I highly recommend you turn off pingbacks and trackbacks and close comments after 30 days.

Have you noticed that the fonts have changed in draft mode? It doesn’t affect the final post so not really a big deal, but you know…change.

How’s everyone doing with the block editor? Are you using all the features? Have you converted your old posts from the Classic format? I’m doing pretty well and don’t find it hard to use, but I don’t use nearly all the features. I do like using the “Resuable” blocks when I write a post, though, and forced myself to learn how to create them. It saves a lot of time. As for converting from the Classic format, I have had mixed results. I’m not on a mission to change them all, but if I’m linking to an old post, I like to update it.

Did you notice that the Reader layout is different? At first, I thought, “Whoa, WordPress, enough with the changes” but I actually think it’s an improvement. IMO it’s easier to get an idea about the post and honestly, everything looks more attractive.

Now here’s something that I wish would happen. When I link my blog to something else, I have to manually set the link to open in a new tab. I would love that to be a default setting. Does anyone else think about this?

That’s about it for me. What are some of your recent blogging observations? I hope you’re having a good Saturday!

Thanks for visiting—come back soon!

34 thoughts on “Blog Views and Other Obsessions – What’s new?”

  1. I have noticed the Reader layout changes. I think it’s better. I agree with wishing the link would default to opening a new tab. Hope you’re having a fab weekend, Barbara!

    Here’s something that still puzzles me: I am right now “commenting using (my) WordPress.com account,” but when I hit POST COMMENT, my Gravitar will disappear, and it’ll be a weird logo or design thing. But sometimes when I post using my account, my Gravitar (just a photo of my face) WILL show up. Odd!

    1. That IS strange, Priscilla. I run into problems when I try to comment from my phone. It always prompts me to sign in even though I’m already signed in. I’ve never really figured out the purpose of the Gravatar except to show a pic of the commenter. I wish it would link directly to a person’s blog. Thanks for stopping by – yes having a great weekend – hope you are too!

  2. Yes, defaulting to opening a new tab would be good. And I wish we could click on bloggers’ names next to their comments and go to their blogs. We used to be able to do that, but not anymore. I’m glad that your spam issue has been resolved.

  3. I always have to change links so they open in a new window. I too wish this were the default, but I hear from my smart-phone friends that opening new windows is sometimes a problem. Not sure why, but I’m sure there’s a techy reason why that I just don’t (yet) understand.

    1. Hmmm, that’s interesting – I’ll have to ask around. That would be a good reason not to do that, although I don’t like clicking on a link and losing the original site. Thanks, Jo-Anne!

  4. I’m glad I saw this post
    How annoying about the draft posts with the font
    I kept making it bigger but when I went to preview it was enormous!
    Also when I go to My Site I can’t go to the admin page anymore
    And does anyone know how to add comments to a square gallery it seems you can only do this in an image 🤔

    1. Hi Alison – interesting – I’ve never tried adding comments to a square gallery, that would be handy, and that reminds me that I should have added that it would be great if you could link images in a tiled gallery to another post – you can only do that with single images. Thank you for reading and commenting – I think WordPress has come a long way over the years and I like a lot of the changes, but there’s always something that can be improved. It’s a lot better than the email marketing platform I use for work, though.

      2. It’s trial and error, b.ut with some good surprises. I sympathize with those who prefer the Classic. I’ve had to move on because we use a similar platform for work and I needed to adapt. Thanks for the visit 🙂

  5. After your last post about the comments I followed your suggestions and then forgot about it until this post. I checked my spam. There were 7. 7 spam comments when usually there are hundreds and hundreds. THANK YOU.

    I am not a fan of the block editor. At all. I usually do my post on ‘an’ image then just post the image. I think as a result I have less exposure. But I just don’t care for it.

    OTherwise…same old same old. WP thinks change in and of itself is a good thing. I do not necessarily agree with that. 😉

    1. Oh I’m so glad your spam comments problem has been resolved! It was such a hassle for me, I’m relieved to not worry about it. As for the editor, we all use what works best. Sometimes that’s the Classic, sometimes that’s the new editor. Thanks for reading and commenting, Colleen!

    1. I haven’t noticed, Donna! I read someone else’s post telling me to change my links to open in a new tab – but I had never thought about it until then. Thanks for reading!

    1. I’m a believer in going with what already works. I do like new technology and features, but not when they make it too hard to figure out. Thanks for reading and commenting, Noelle!

  11. I’ve been having problems captioning pictures lately and I’ve noticed a couple of my widgets have disappeared! On the one blog that I don’t pay for, the number of ads has quadrupled. It’s quite annoying but I can imagine starting on a different format.

    1. Oh wow – that’s unacceptable. I use the free blog and I’m not seeing any ads. Are they from the viewer’s side? As for captioning pictures, I only use that feature now and then but I wish the captions would display when the images are in a gallery. Thanks for reading and commenting, JT.

  12. I have no use for the block editor, so I’ve never bothered to switch over. I still have the option to use classic, and I do. (I write essay style, which has nothing to do with blocks.) And yeah, I’ve noticed the font in the drafts is suddenly smaller. I think Word Press employs a lot of people who have to justify their salaries, and they do so by tinkering with the formats. They enjoy it, me…..not so much!

    1. Hi Ann – all valid comments. The font is definitely pretty small. That would be the one thing I’d like changed back. Remember when they warned us the Classic format would disappear? I guess not! Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂

      1. I think it will disappear eventually, but they’re going slowly because so many of us prefer it, and we pay the extra. But it’s coming, I’m sure. And then I’ll have some decisions to make!!!

  13. Hi Barbara. I haven’t been blogging much in the past few months but I hope to rectify that over the winter. I’m one of the bloggers who had no problem with classic editor. I use block editor but I’m definitely no expert on using it with all the bells and whistles.

    1. Hi Jennifer – thanks for stopping by! I was worried the block editor would be too hard, but I’m finding my way. I do like the better flexibility with graphics, but I had no problem using the classic. Looking forward to seeing more blog posts from you 🙂

  14. Have you noticed that the fonts have changed in draft mode? No, not at all

    How’s everyone doing with the block editor? I don’t use it, there are ways to get back to the original better editor– and that’s what I do.

    Did you notice that the Reader layout is different? I don’t use Reader it’s too bossy for me. I use Feedly which allows me to be in control of when and how I see the blogs I follow. Highly recommended if you follow a lot of blogs, easier than Reader.

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