I'm not convinced. So far I've resisted the hard sell to switch over to beta, until I get some feedback that it's a good thing to go for. I don't know about you, but I'm finding it very difficult to post comments on blogs that have gone beta, and I don't want to lose what few readers I have, if they can't comment on my posts. I'm just starting to see an increase in the number of new signatures in the comments, and like a delicate orchid, they need careful nurturing to keep them coming back.
One blog I'm particularly having difficulty with is Bentley's blog, now entitled Blogging with Gzus. (whatever a Gzu is?) If you're reading this Bentley, I haven't stopped visiting your blog, I just can't log in to comment. I keep typing in my password, both for Blogger, and for Google without success. I've even tried leaving an anonymous comment - but no joy there. I know he's recently converted, so I'm wondering if that's why I can't get in, or if it's some other reason? When I could get in, he told me he couldn't see that much difference between the two, so if anyone has any further experience with beta, this is the place to share.
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I took the plunge and switched over to the beta version recently. It held my blog in limbo for about 24 hours and then all was well. I have not gotten up the nerve to "upgrade" my template yet. Sometimes I have to click on the "sign in with Google" link to comment on other blogs, and then sometimes I don't (because I get a screen that tells me I'm already signed in with it).
I'm hoping that this problem is a temporary glitch that Blogger will fix before they really cause ructions in the Blogosphere.
Blogger is claiming that it's an accidental issue that's being investigated.
Funny how suddenly none of the old Blogger bloggers can comment on the new Beta Blogs if they're logged into their account, even as an anonymous commenter.
Sounds to me like it's just more pressure to switch.
Well it worked on us. We switched to WordPress.
Deacon, while we were looking to switch away from the old Blogger, Kate switched to the Beta. Instantly she could no longer contribute at the old blog. Nor could she invite either me or The Boy to contribute to hers.
Now we can't comment on any of the Beta blogs (as is being reported by all the old Blogger bloggers who are resisting the switch).
So we got to test drive the beta blog at Kate's place. Some interesting new stuff, but it's very difficult to customize (some things won't work at all!). It does have category tags (called labels), which would be nice, but all in all, it's pretty sucky.
And after all that upgrading (read "screwing up"), there's still no trackback feature (the backlink thing works intermittently, and doesn't ping a non-blogspot blog). Also, NONE of the javascript hacks I collected and tweaked and had tweaked by my readers works now on Kate's blog. None. Not the graphic smiley hack, not the profile pictures on the main pages hack, not the recent comments hack. The included recent comments widget thingy works by an RSS feed, and doesn't update right away, so a comment made now may not show up in the recent comments for hours and hours.
Also, the blogroll widget has no way to separate your blogs into categories. In the old blogger, you'll see that at UDoJ I have some links in the blogroll, some in the more formal blogs, some in the take-a-break blogs etc. I hard coded all that into the template by hand, but it was the way I wanted it.
The new widget just lumps them all together. There may be a way to work around all this stuff, but it's just not worth it to me to figure the new code out all over again. I was happy with it just the way it was. The only reason I was considering switching in the first place was that Blogger was down all the time.
Had blogger spent all their resources on fixing that and adding categories, I wouldn't have switched at all. Instead they designed this Frankenstein's Monster, which does everything in its power to thwart any attempts at customization. Then Blogger has pulled this crap of pressuring everyone to switch to the new, even crappier blogger, and it STILL goes down on a regular basis.
My advice to anyone who asks is "don't switch". Either resist until they force you (which will probably not be long), or move.
FYI, your URL will not change by switching to the beta. People will still be able to find you. And you can keep the general look and feel of your blog, because there is a very similar template on the beta.
Kristine, at Amused Muse was using the same template you are, and she just switched. Not a great deal of difference in the look, but she seems rather unhappy I think. I can't locate it right this moment, but I'm sure I read a somewhat unhappy remark about it earlier today.
Ok, I'm done rambling, I just wanted to put all that out there for you, so you might be a little more informed in your decision.
Kisses.
Wow! Thanks Janiebelle for that information. It's made me more determined than ever to resist crossing over to the dark side.
I'm still waiting for some new templates to show up on Beta.. I am not impressed at all. I haven't had any problems posting on blogs so far... Nice blog by the way!
Thank you. I do what I can.
Hi Barry, I really haven't had any problems with the new blogger that I am aware of, maybe I just got lucky.
To begin with it made me sign in twice, like enter blogger account, then enter google account, but now it doesn't ask me for either, so I;m fine with it I think, your comments have been coming through fine, atleast I can read them...lol
The GZUS thingy, slang for Jesus, TC
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