Just when I think WordPress can’t possibly make their service any worse, they find a way to make it worse.
Not content with forcing us to use their crappy block editor or with trashing their media library so that those of us who have a lot of photographs can’t access them, now they have decided to have the block editor “manage” widgets on your template.
What it actually did was destroy every graphic in my sidebars effectively making them useless. I ultimately realized I couldn’t fix it, so I deleted anything that contained a graphic. I’ll bet they’ve decided my theme is “obsolete.” This won’t be the first time this has happened, but honestly, I’m so tired of WordPress and their bullshit.
There’s a workaround, but you can’t use it unless you buy their business plan. I don’t have a business and I don’t need their plan. In the end, I deleted a lot of sections from my template. I will never buy their business plan and would never recommend WordPress to anyone who has a blog OR a business. Unless I really hated them and this was some form of punishment.
I should not have to upgrade so I can dodge WordPress’s bullets. Tomorrow — or probably the next day — I’ll see if there’s any other template I like. I don’t want to change from this one, but my guess is I don’t have a choice.
I feel as if they are trying as hard as possible to make me quit. It’s just one horror after another. At first I thought my computer was broken, but eventually realized it was WordPress. Again. They’ve probably decided my template has passed its “use by” date. Personally, I think WordPress has passed its use-by date. I think they passed it long ago. I would never recommend them to anyone.
If I didn’t have a 12-year investment in this blog, I’d be gone tomorrow.
They’ve totally trashed the media library. I can no longer access most of my stored photographs and I pay them for that storage.
I have a huge investment in this blog. I can’t move it somewhere else but I’m really, unhappy about this. It’s galling that there IS a workaround, but you have to pay them a lot more money for the privilege of NOT using their software. What is wrong with this picture?
I wish I could close up shop and leave, but I can’t quit without losing everything I’ve written here — and it is a lot to lose.
Just to warn you — if all your widget graphics are pixelated and unreadable? It’s not you. It’s WordPress. Again.
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Categories: #Blogging, Anecdote, Software, Technology, UPDATE!, WordPress
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Marilyn, I “feel” you, as the language has learned to say. Your site is such a gem! Your use of photographs and graphics is so much a part of what you share. I upgraded to the “Business” plan a few years ago and, as Robert Frost might say, “that has made all the difference.” But he’d be wrong. It’s still a pain in the neck. The greater pain is that I have fallen into despair re: the future. I grope for words! Be well, my friend.
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I already knew that upgrading would not actually solve any of the problems because they use the same software on their “business plan” sites as they do on all their other sites — and it’s their really bad software that is the problem. I keep hoping that there will be a spark of intelligence somewhere in their management, but I see no evidence of any such spark. I never though I’d say this, but I’m getting discouraged — and rather depressed. I’ve really enjoyed blogging, but they’ve made it a painful, miserable experience. So I’m posting piece — mostly easy ones that don’t require a lot of effort and it’s sad for me because the whole point of this was to be able to write and take pictures and make a difference, even if it was just a little itty bitty difference. After 12 years of blogging, I’m seriously considering giving up. I haven’t given up YET — but I feel it like someone on a beach. I see a big wave that is WAY out in the ocean — but I can also see that it’s on the way and if I don’t get out of the way, it’s going to overwhelm me.
I don’t want to quit but the way it is now, I’m not sure I have a real choice.
Thank you for your encouragement. It’s nice to get positive feedback, especially now.
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True! I am so scared to change anything and the block editor gives me a mental block. I write everything in Word and then do a copy paste for I find that so much easier. Like traditional essay and composition writing.
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I should have done that from the beginning, but to be fair after working at this for 12 years, the volume of material would have overwhelmed the computer — any computer — I’ve ever had, so probably it wouldn’t have mattered in the end. I’m just tired and it never gets any better. I keep hoping someone in WordPress’s management will have a bright idea and realize they are not improving customer relations — but then again if that was an issue for them, they never would have made the mess we are currently in. I do not know how much longer I can keep going. I am very discouraged.
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I agree. The changes that they keep making seems very unfriendly to the community from what I gather. I guess like most corporates they are more into minting money.
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I’ve had the same theme since I started this blog in 2017 and can’t find any reason to change it. It’s not at all fancy and I have no graphics on my sidebar or widgets. So I’m hoping I can leave well enough alone.
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Simplicity works. Just don’t try to change it temporarily because they won’t let you back in. If ever we wondered how WordPress feels about us, i think we have the answer. They would like us to leave. It’s like working at a job where they are trying to force you to resign. Except WE are paying THEM.
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It used to be such a great place to blog. Maybe WordPress should divide into two entities or divisions, one for the commercial market that caters to their business needs, and one that caters to the needs of personal bloggers.
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They should do a lot of things, but they aren’t doing any of them nor do I see any signs of any plans on their part to do anything. They really don’t want us. We aren’t making them ENOUGH money.
How much IS enough??
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Apparently it’s never enough.
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WP sent out a post about this earlier this month. The tip-off to me was their wording: “You don’t have to do anything!” That there was pretty fair warning.
Marilyn, I have kept my same theme for 8 years and haven’t changed a thing because I’m scared that once I do, there is no going back. Phooey on ‘just try it out.’ No, I don’t think they let you try out anything. You try it–it’s yours. Not going down that rabbit hole!
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That’s how I wound up trapped in the block format. I “tried it out” and discovered I couldn’t go back. When I said I hate them? I really do hate them. They are not only BAD at what they do — I don’t think I’ve ever seen software this pathetic on a major site — but they are thieves.
It IS a rabbit hole and you are right to not go there. That’s why I dismembered my template rather than picking a new one. I figured i’d “try” a new template and this one would disappear and never come back.
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My Blog is such a mess right now and I have no idea how to fix it. It’s a wonder I get anything posted. Combined with my own abundance of ineptitude it’s a real carnival over here.
YET I still find it rewarding and creative. So I fight through – and on. As you do. And my small band of followers always stays and slowly grows. I have no idea why. I think they just watch in wonderment of what I’m going to do next?
I’m not really good at it, but I keep punching.
Keep punching Marilyn. And we’ll keep reading.
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I don’t know how much more I have in me. I feel like instead of enjoying this, it’s an endless battle to just keep even remotely functional. It’s depressing and I don’t have a lot of fight left in me.
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Have you backed up your blog using an offline browser like HTTrack?
This is something I do regularly (plus WP’s version of backup) as WP have trashed a number of my blogs and then, on complaint, played the sales game for support services.
However, I’ve always managed to reinstate my blog in full, or repair what was corrupted, from either the back up or from my offline copy. The other option is to make a “private access” copy of your blog under a different name.
Then, if the original is trashed, you just backup your copy and import it into your main site.
Complicated? No really, but the first back up AND offline copy will take a long time.
The negative side is you will lose comments that were made and may trash a few dynamic links.
I grant you that’s NOT a perfect solution, but is workable.
Paul Gray.
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My problem isn’t a backup — though that is a different issue. It’s that I don’t have individual backups of what I’ve written — all 12,000+ posts I’ve published. I gave up trying to save them all a long time ago. There were simply too many and it’s 12 years of blogging.
Their backups ONLY work on their system. You can’t install them on another system that isn’t WordPress so unless you have individual copies of each post — 12,000 is kind of a lot — when you leave WP, you leave everything behind. There will come a time when I will have to do that anyway. I don’t think I’m going to live forever or blog forever but in the meantime, I just want to be able to use their tools without the pain and misery they cause. I use their block editor because they keep making their “classic” editor more useless with each update and now they’re using the same faulty software to manage our templates. Older templates don’t work properly now and the only way you can update to support older software is to upgrade to their very expensive business plan. I don’t have a business and I can’t afford their plan anyway — AND given what wretched service they have provided, I resent paying them now. I’m not going to pay them MORE so I don’t have to use their software. That’s insane — paying a company extra so you don’t have to use their software? Seriously?
So I’m just stuck. They will back up my blog. I have to have them do it — it’s too big to do on my own. But their backups only work on their platform, They are really AWFUL.
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Agreed
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Tell me about HTTrack. i’ve never heard of it. What does it do that’s different from WP’s backup? Does it actually preserve your content in some way that is readable?
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Yep, your site gets downloaded onto your PC complete with it’s format preserved.
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Welcome to the club, and you forgot to tell people to be very careful~! They are also crooks~!
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They are bad. In every way a corporation can be bad, they are. I really loathe them — from the idiot engineers to the corporate assholes.
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My site looks the same this morning. I have not changed the theme in a long time because I am afraid of what will happen to widgets, and I really don’t want to reconstruct things if that is even possible.
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I didn’t change anything, but THEY changed how they manage widgets. Lucky that you don’t have any graphics in your sidebars. Actually, I don’t think you have much in the way of widgets, do you? It simplified things if you don’t have the extras that are supposed to make our blogs special. I deleted the sections that looked really horrible and were unreadable. I’m just so enraged that they won’t let you use a plug in without upgrading to a format you don’t need — and can’t afford — TO AVOID USING THEIR SOFTWARE. What is wrong with this picture? A bunch of corporate thieves!
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Most of my widgets are texts or links. I actually went into them and they converted everything to a block editor sytle format. Most are now titled “Legacy widget” so I guess I can keep it because it is already there. I hate the block editor except for one thing. It is better for copying articles over to rjptalk. If I copy out of classic editor it does not bring the pictures correctly. Mostly I avoid their new stuff as much as I can.
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I really hate them. If there was any way to repurpose this blog, I would – but it’s too big. It’s actually huge.
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My theme has been discontinued, but it’s so simple it still looks OK ~ so far. That utterly sucks about yours, Marilyn 😡
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I deleted the really bad sections, but I think I’m going to have to find another format — and I like this one and I don’t think they have anything else that is even remotely similar. I’ll figure it out, but I am so angry with them. If I could transfer this material to another platform, I’d do it. Unfortunately, I can’t. They have (naturally) made that impossible. It was not always impossible. They’ve just set it up so we are stuck with them unless we are willing and able to dump everything we’ve ever done and move on — and I’ve gotten too old to start over.
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I haven’t come across this problem so far . I do suspect that the theme for my blog is probably obsolete and that if I try to change it I won’t be able to change it back. I won’t pay for themes so if they do mess it up I’ll be limited in what I can choose.
It is sad to see so many bloggers so frustrated with WordPress that they are ready to leave and I know that the only reason you and others stay is because of all the time invested in the blog and the friendships amongst the community. WP don’t appear to care about this at all. They are just going their merry way trying to become some kind of platform for businesses and “influencers”. They are actively discouraging the customers they already have, even the paying ones.
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Yup, you got it. I think they really want us to just go away. But you know, there are a LOT of business platforms out there and they are by no means the best of the bunch. The same crappy software we use is what their business customers are forced to use, unless they pay even more to get someone else to manage their website. I’ll stay until I can’t. I’m too old and tired to start over.
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It is sad that it has to be like this.
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I have to remind myself that nothing is forever and that if we didn’t know that the age of blogging for the joy of writing and taking pictures is over, we’ve absolutely gotten the message by now.
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I just got a “newsletter” from WordPress in my email where they are talking about encouraging people to write with challenges and how happy they are the blogging community is so strong. I took it all with a large grain of salt.
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they are ridiculously make it as hard as possible for the bloggers
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They don’t want us. They want business customers, not bloggers. OR big-time “influencers.” They don’t want US and if it wasn’t clear before, it’s very obvious now.
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Exactly
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I am far too old to keep playing these games, and might just cancel WP and go somewhere else…
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My problem is the 12 years I’ve invested in this blog. I can’t move this material anywhere. They have made THAT impossible too. I’m 75 in three weeks. That really IS too old to start from scratch — and losing more than 12,000 posts? It’s worse than starting from scratch.
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Haven’t you been saving your posts? I keep a record in notebooks and save them all on USB’s. WP usually keep them under POSTS too…
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Oh no!
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Oh, YES.
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🥺
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