Dan Antion

Update…No, Not Really

Last Monday I asked for your help in sending a message to the Happiness Engineers who build the bridges, paint the crosswalks, and fix the potholes on the section of the Information Highway owned by WordPress. 15 of the 38 people who were able to see and complete the poll, indicated they had been dropped from following this blog. Another 15 people – perhaps there was some overlap, but it was clearly not the same 15 – mentioned that this phenomenon has happened to them. They too have lost followers. Before I continue, I’d like to thank everyone who responded.

I summarized the information from the poll and the comments. I presented the summary to WordPress’ Tech-Support team, and I asked them to reopen the ticket they closed last June. The tech I was chatting with wanted to look into the situation.

The following is from the chat log:

WP-HE: “Yes, it doesn’t look like much progress has been done and I’m afraid there’s not much else I can do in this case. I’m going to ask for an update on the Github issue mentioning the developer who was working on it, but there’s a good chance they were assigned to another task with a higher priority and haven’t been able to go back to this issue.”

Me: “How long does a problem have to exist before it’s the higher priority task?”

WP-HE: “It is important, but in a large platform like WordPress.com there are many other problems that are just as important, and we don’t always have enough people to fix them all. So we have to set priorities.”

He ended with: “I understand this is frustrating, but I’m afraid there’s nothing else to do at this point but wait.”

After that exchange, I was less than optimistic. GitHub is the technical repository where programmers and designers share and store information. I’ve used GitHub many times. I follow the thread where various developers have contributed their input in the past nine months – trust me, the volume of reading hasn’t been a burden.

The support engineer I spoke with did track down and follow-up with the last developer who looked into my issue. I saw that thread when it was updated Monday night. I left a comment, emphasizing A) the lack of progress and, B) the length of time. Tuesday afternoon, I received the following response:

“I’m sorry this has dragged on so long @DanAntion 😕 But I can tell you that it’s on leadership’s list for handling, and is understood to be a frustrating, long-running problem.”

So, (finally, he gets to the one-liner) as Bill Murray said in Caddyshack:

“I’ve got that goin’ for me…which is nice.”

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. And, given the time of the year, it’s also part of Just-Jot-January. If you have a one-liner, I encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

It wasn’t that early, but heavy cloud cover was keeping it dark.
There is a light cover of ice. Maddie is slipping. I’m wearing NanoSpikes.
Sunrise from our backyard.
“OK, Smokey. You have your peanut, now off you go.”
“I’m behind the curtain for a reason.”
Red sky at night.
Blurry bunny. We didn’t want to make him move as there isn’t much exposed grass to munch on.
These birds were almost blocking traffic. They were flying between someone’s yard and the power lines.
From East Windsor, across the Connecticut River to Windsor Locks
Ice reaching out into the Connecticut River from the east shore.
That’s about 20′ (6.1m) of ice forming in the river
I couldn’t get any closer. The grass in this park is covered in ice if I were to go any closer to the river.
Connecticut River park in East Windsor, CT
Never a good site. There’s a water main break being repaired up ahead. Welcome to winter.
Grocery store (Big Y). Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing U.S. and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff in honor of New Haven Police Officer Diane Gonzalez, who died earlier this week as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call on September 9, 2008.
Emerging through the clouds

86 comments

  1. Ice makes for beautiful images, and I’m all for it in the Island View Bar (am I remembering that right?), but otherwise it’s nasty stuff; your photos have me reaching for an extra sweater. The saga of the WP problem is a tribute to your tenacity; I wonder if it will ever be resolved.

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    • You have the name correct! I wish there was a prize. Maybe my tenacity will bother someone enough to spend some time getting me to stop contacting them. It looks like we have icy temps again today. Oh well, it is January. Stay safe and warm.

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  2. It seems that “progress” with WP has joined the ranks of being stalled in traffic for hours while a bunch of workers are standing around talking and drinking coffee!

    Love the photo of the plane emerging from the clouds. Awesome! That poor bunny is almost swallowed up by the snow. But MuMu is nice and warm on her shelf. I laughed seeing her sleepy eyes. 🤗

    When you took the photo of the birds, did you stop to talk to Alfred Hitchcock?

    Suppose to get to 35 today, but the “feels like” is in the 20’s. Can’t win.

    Happy Hump Day. Stay warm and safe.
    Ginger

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    • I did look for Alfred’s signature profile off to the side of the road. I had to stop as those birds swarmed 2 or 3 times.

      The road crew is a good analogy.

      MuMu is laying on me as I type this, Ginger. Still sleepy.

      I’m glad you like the plane 🙂

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  4. Well, I’m relieved now that WP leadership has the issue on their to-do-list. Not. :-) In my experience, money talks, and none of us social bloggers are bringing in the big bucks for them. Oh well, when you fall off my radar again I’ll come find you again. :-) I wanted to read the caption on the grocery store and the lowered flag, but I couldn’t see the last part of the explanation. Have a good Wednesday, Dan. We’ve got a potential for ice this weekend. :-)

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    • Thanks Judy. I hope you can avoid the ice. If not, stay safe. Here’s the rest of the caption (you have to press the little (i) cuz WordPress)

      Grocery store (Big Y). Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing U.S. and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff in honor of New Haven Police Officer Diane Gonzalez, who died earlier this week as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call on September 9, 2008.

      Very sad.

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  5. Thank you for following up on the program glitches with the “powers-that-be”. Many of us wouldn’t know how to. (you know I fit into that group.) Too often I’ve contacted Support and don’t know how to fully explain myself in ‘computer-speak’.

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  8. Good work, Dan. I’m surprised the WP leadership responded. Loved your photos, as always. The last one is extraordinary. What a photo capture! Stay warm…

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  9. I am chuckling because I was once again dropped from you! It’s becoming a habitual thing. Every couple of weeks I simply refollow knowing that I’ll be doing it again in a couple of weeks. Oh well, you’re worth the work.

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  10. As far as movie references, you seem somewhat repeating this WP life over and over – like Groundhog Day. Terribly frustrating knowing the blogging community complaints fall to the bottom so often. Thank you for trying to get this resolved for all of us.

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    • Another Bill Murray classic. Let’s hope they get this resolved. Given that I sent them snippets of a dozen or so comments to indicate that it’s not just me, I have to assume bloggers in general aren’t high on their list. They take credit for us choosing their platform, but they have us near the bottom as far has priorities go.

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  11. It sounds like you got the ‘Anderson’ (my son) in the group. He is always respectful and at least empathetic when no one else takes the time. I guess he was raised right. 😉That Big Y looks a lot like Nebraska’s HyVee supermarkets. Here they are all ‘super’ somethings. 😄

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  12. I do hope progress is made with WP, Dan. Also, the story of Diane Gonzalez’s passing has to be one of a long struggle. I hope she has found peace. The photos reminded me of what is coming our way tomorrow. High in the 30s. Yuk.

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  13. Is that Mu-Mu’s little face? She’s adorable peeking out of the curtain.

    I hope your number comes up soon with WP.

    Our weather has been cold in the mornings but warming up to the low 50’s by mid afternoon so walks have been pleasant and the snow down here in the valley is just about gone. We have two little patches of it left in our yard so no need for crampons when walking. I hope Maddie isn’t slipping too much, and you both stay warm on those morning walks.

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  14. Virtual walk enjoyed Dan. Been getting my exercise with the snow removal instead. Monday was an all day clean up between our drive and our elderly neighbor’s. Tuesday I got to clean the drive apron after the city plowed our street. The bright spot was the eagle flying by at utility pole height just before dusk on Monday. Incredible. Better than a military power fly by. That is truly sad story about the passing of officer Diane Gonzalez. Sympathies to her family. What a long suffering. The other sad story is Covid continues to be the number one cause of death for police officers. Be well Dan. We have made it to the hump.

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    • Thanks John. Officer Gonzalez’s story has been a very sad one. I love it when eagles fly over. They are so majestic. Thanks for joining me as we cross the hill ans head to the weekend, Thanks for taking care of your elderly neighbor, I only have one left, and she’s 2 doors down. Her son clears her driveway with a plow. I take care of the sidewalk. It’s funny how I keep moving the line on the word “elderly.”

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  15. MuMu looks like she’s doing a Snoop Dog imitation–made me laugh!
    I worked with a guy who, when presented with so many IT requests would say, “You’re number 1 on my number 2 list!” Coworkers walked away smiling every time. He’d look at me and we would bust up. Thanks to WP, I feel like I’m back working with Kevin–laughing as the person walks away. Geez Louise, Dan–their response is ridiculous. Bottom line: keep checking to make sure I don’t accidentally unfollow you. Craziness.

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  16. I’m checking in with you today on this very topic. I haven’t seen any comments or likes from you in weeks and that is unusual. You are [or were?] one of my regular commenters. Thank you. I’m just telling you this not to goad you into reading my blog, but as an example of how frustrating it is to lose readers through no fault of your own.

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  18. I commend you for your persistence with WP, Dan. It is not comforting to hear them say there are many problems worse than yours that required their attention. But, WP is still the best blogging platform out there. Love the one-liners!

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    • When I was working, we had our company website on WordPress. I’m sure those problems take priority. I think they should have a dedicated crew for blogging, given that a lot of us pay for the platform.

      I’m glad you like it. I have to maintain my sense of humor.

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  19. “On leadership’s list…” that just turns my stomach.
    But I see you’re trying to make the best of the (very cold) week. The winter scenes are beautiful. Of course, MuMu peeping out from her curtain is my favorite though. =^-^= Be careful on that ice. I know, I know…
    Hugs on the wing!

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    • That’s because you remain adept at translating corporate speak. Yeah, it’s on their list, about 100 levels below “make a profit” and “dominate the world of blogging.”

      I’ve been wearing NanoSpikes as necessary, sometimes even in our yard.

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  21. Sounds most frustrating. Sorry to hear about the officer’s death. I read your blogs in the reader and don’t get email notifications! But since you’re one of my favorite bloggers, I check you out if I think I’m missing something!

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  24. I did the same, Dan! I even included the directed quotes from the bloggers who got un-followed from my blogs. Several of them re-follow me every couple of weeks. One blogger apologized for not visiting and realized he got un-followed.

    Several happy engineers responded to me because whoever saw the email responded, not the same one consistently. One pretty much said nothing can be done, another one said would relate the message to the designer.

    I don’t think there’s anything the happy engineer can do. It’s the problem of the WP system and I don’t think they’ll do anything about it. I pretty much gave up on telling them. I’d just visit some who didn’t show up for a while and see if they got un-followed.

    When one blogger follows me every other week, even a couple time on the same day, I save her emails, wanted to send them to WP, I even gave up on that. Sigh!!!

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      • I tried to orchestrate a protest but as some happy engineers responding to you that WordPress is so huge that they have to prioritize the services.
        I follow my own blog so that the posts would show up on the Reader for me to see how they look. I get dropped every couple of weeks. Whenever I made a post, I checked to see if it’s posted. I got dropped again today and I had to follow myself again.

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  25. I wish you all the best with WP, Dan. I don’t even try anymore. As my husband says, “It is what it is”, or in this case, maybe it is what it isn’t. I don’t feel happiness is involved in any way and that “response” at the end of your post isn’t worth diddly doo dah! But I enjoyed the photos, especially the one of MuMu, even though they look very chilly.

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  28. HI Dan, this sounds very frustrating. I didn’t join the poll as I haven’t had this particular problem either with my own followers or in following other blogs. I have other problems, but not this one. I couldn’t share to Twitter or FB for a whole year in 2019. It was very annoying as I could not link my blog to either of those platforms and readers complained.

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  30. Although I’ve never had the problem with followers disappearing, I still find it disturbing that WP isn’t resolving the issue. They have all of us under their thumb. We could go find another hosting site and boycott WP, but that would be like shooting our own nose off to spite our face. Or would it. Those of us who know how to do it could transfer our blogs and attach a hidden forward to our blogs here at WP, so followers are not lost.

    Just thinking out loud.

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  31. Your cold photos warm my heart, especially the plane through the clouds, and the flag at half mast honoring the police officer.
    As to WP… these people should be glad their lack of problem solving hasn’t resulted in losing their jobs. Here is what I do, as this happens to me, too- I keep a list of the bloggers I really enjoy following. Every so often I review the list to see if someone has dropped off the face of the earth. That always means a WP drop.

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