June 5, 2011

I'm so close to going live with the revamped blog.

We're in the final testing phase! I think it looks beautiful — very crisp and clean. And I think you're going to love what the comments page looks like. It will have buttons to make it easy to do links, blockquotes, boldface, and italics.

After all these years, I will be breaking out of Blogger. The new blog will be here.

80 comments:

Almost Ali said...

So far, so good!

Lincolntf said...

Congratulations and Thank You, in advance.

Anonymous said...

You could go with a sans-serif font and really shake things to the core.

Anonymous said...

A little sparse at the moment!

Congratulations on your new freedom! I will be glad to get away from this comment page

tim maguire

coketown said...

I expected a chatroom in lieu of comments since that's what most posts turn into anyway.

Is registration going to be altou.se-specific, or use some third-party commenting system like disqus? If the former, nobody take my name! Ooo I would be so mad. >:(

Shouting Thomas said...

What role will tits play in the design?

Just thought I'd pre-empt Titus.

deborah said...

Righteous.

Lincolntf said...

I hope the Satanist Mormo-Prots had a say in the design.

Anonymous said...

I see you've gone with WordPress.

Are you rolling this yourself, or have someone setting it up for you?

Right now I'm tempted to ask tons of questions and offer (more) unsolicited advice about setup and service providers. I'll try to temper my geekiness here.

Scott said...

Ann, I hope you will consider that many of us will be viewing your blog primarily on an Android phone or iPhone. If a small format screen makes the design blow apart, or if it makes it difficult or impossible to post comments, you could potentially be pushing away new readers who don't want the hassle.

Trooper York said...

I generally don't comment at blogs where I have to do a specific sperate registration dohicky.

It seem like it is too much trouble.

deborah said...

May we have an approximate timeframe?

Lauderdale Vet said...

I see you've gone with WordPress.

How could you tell? I see that she's hosting with RackSpace on an Apache server, but I don't see the usual wp-login tell tale signs.

<curious>What gave it away?</curious>

1775OGG said...

Cheers and keep it up, eh!

Automatic_Wing said...

You could go with a sans-serif font and really shake things to the core.

Or comic sans. That would be really edgy.

chickelit said...

Trooper York said...
I generally don't comment at blogs where I have to do a specific sperate registration dohicky.

I predict that when Althouse leaves blogger, there will be an uptick in business at your establishment. Your place will become even more like an after hours lounge.

Man are you going to be busy.

G Joubert said...

What gave it away?

View the page source and the code reveals this:

"http://althou.se/admin/wp-login.php"

wp-login.php = wordpress login.

gadfly said...

May the Althouse-Malchow venture prosper.

For those readers rooting for a sans serif font, Georgia serif just ain't gonna make you happy.

GMay said...

Trooper said: "I generally don't comment at blogs where I have to do a specific sperate registration dohicky."

Sweet, one less Yankee fan to endure!

Conserve Liberty said...

So I just opened a WordPress account using my Google identity here. I hope that reserves my name!!

Roger von Oech said...

Ann: nice combo domain name + country identifier to create your name!

Lots o' possibilities. For example, I've registered:

Oracl.es (Spain)

and

Fooled.me (Montenegro)

A year ago, I played with getting

foolish.ly (it was available then)

but I didn't want to deal with Libya.

Good luck with Althou.se

Paddy O said...

Wordpress blogs don't necessarily require any registration. I think they can be made to use it, but it's not necessary. Not the self-hosted ones, at least.

Anonymous said...

How do you sign up as a simple commenter at Word Press?

Lincolntf said...

Pass the simplicity test, I guess.

Anonymous said...

It seems like at Word Press that you don't really have any sort of "trademark" to your name the way you do at blogger. What am I missing?

I'm Full of Soup said...

"How do you sign up as a simple commenter at Word Press?"

Althouse has no interest in simple commenters. She has told you that many many times yet you still come back. :)

T J Sawyer said...

"... buttons to make it easy to do links"

OMG! Blogging finally comes into the twentieth century.

This is my biggest complaint about Blogger. It's not that I can't produce a link, I just refuse to do it. There is no reason one should be required to lapse into HTML for such a basic Web function in 2011.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.

gadfly said...

What gives with the "a" in "althouse" title not matching the typeface of the other letters?

The last letters are identical to the present blog but the small "a" has a curled serif and a blob on the top-front of the letter.

I presume this is a temporary title to keep the new one a secret -- for the time being.

RuyDiaz said...

OT: E. Coli outbreak likely from German Organic Farm.

Link

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and best wishes with the new blog format!
Just hope I can still get in to comment on it!!

Peter Hoh said...

Gadfly, I'm pretty sure that you're looking at a single font on the new site's temporary main page. The "a" matches, despite the differences you point out.

I'm not going to do an exhaustive search for the font used, but it's similar to Georgia and Times Roman.

In both of those fonts, the only lower case letters with blobs are a, c, f, j, r, and y.

The curled serif of the a is reflected in the t.

kent said...

Can't wait!

Peter Hoh said...

Coketown brings up an important point. People have developed a presence here around their names. Were someone so inclined, he or she could wreak havoc by registering some of these names on the new site.

AmPowerBlog said...

Well, I'm looking forward to it!

Palladian said...

"What gives with the "a" in "althouse" title not matching the typeface of the other letters?...I presume this is a temporary title to keep the new one a secret -- for the time being."

Wrong on all counts. Sharpen up.

"I'm not going to do an exhaustive search for the font used, but it's similar to Georgia and Times Roman."

More similar to Times but not really similar at all, other than it's a serif. Sans-serif typefaces are barbaric.

It's older than Times and much older than Georgia, but Aldus Manutius, and Dr Fell, wouldn't recognize it at all.

Lauderdale Vet said...

A non-exhaustive search at whatthefont.com says that it's likely to "Adobe Bodoni"

Lauderdale Vet said...

Sorry, it's late.

"Bodoni Std-Book from Adobe Bodoni"

Anonymous said...

Just to be clear, I do not advocate sans-serif fonts.

I am concerned about my beloved name and the ridiculous Lucha Libre mask I have in my little picture. Those things are a part of me, man.

Trooper York said...

I would suggest that before you go live you register the user names of some of the more frequent commenters here. Otherwise someone could hijack you identity and post using your name. Imagine Jeremy posting under Fen's name or Robert Cook posting as Dust Bunny Queen or Garage Mahal posting as AllenS.

This sounds kind of fishy to me. You should be able to just transfer over your google identity as many of the commenters have established a definite persona.

Please explain how this would work to those of us who are not as techincally savy as we should be.

Trooper York said...

Because if you change that then the Althouse Blog as it currently exists will be gone.

It will be something different. But not what you have built up all these years. I thought that was what you were trying to protect?

Kirk Parker said...

"It will have buttons to make it easy to do links, blockquotes, boldface, and italics."

Uh, and strikeouts? Surely you didn't forget about strikeouts???

wv - mantint: something in a primary color like red, green, or blue; not one of those femmy colors like teal.

jamboree said...

Are you doing a customized designer theme?

There are a bunch of themes I like, but not all of them have the latest features which I would require.

It's good you waited. Previous versions lacked a few feature that just kind of taunted you - and made the complexity a pain in the butt. Now is a good time to switch.

Anonymous said...

It will have buttons to make it easy to do links, blockquotes, boldface, and italics.

I'll be happy if it eats fewer than three out of four attempts to comment.

But won't you miss your friend nitecrowler at Blogger Help?

Or comic sans. That would be really edgy.

Papyrus!

edutcher said...

Excellent!

And using good software development methodology, I see.

If the last place I worked had given that something more than lip service on the last big project in which I participated, they might still have the market share they enjoyed at the time.

Trooper York said...

I would suggest that before you go live you register the user names of some of the more frequent commenters here. Otherwise someone could hijack you identity and post using your name. Imagine Jeremy posting under Fen's name or Robert Cook posting as Dust Bunny Queen or Garage Mahal posting as AllenS

Hate to tell ya, but something like that goes on here all the time.

PleasedToMeetMe said...

The biggest reason I've lurked here over the years, rather than participating is the stupid Blogspot comment page. Excited to see the new you.

AllenS said...

I'd like to see The Althouse Woman institute a comment registration application. Whereas, you would have to post your screen name, but have to register to comment with your full name, and an email address so she could ok your registration. How many asshole driveby trolls would show up? None. That would be a good thing.

Anonymous said...

We need another Weiner post.

Big breaking news today. (alert GarageBanal that the other shoe is dropping today).

Be a good post to kick off the new design with.

Anonymous said...

" ... but have to register to comment with your full name, and an email address so she could ok your registration. How many asshole driveby trolls would show up? None. That would be a good thing."

I would stop reading this blog if this was done. There are simply too many risks associated with doing something like that.

I don't want Democrats trying to ruin my life like they did to Joe The Plumber once they found out his identity.

Too many fascist bullies and thugs in the Democrat Party. I don't want them following my children to school and intimidating them (or worse).

Fen said...

*finger's crossed for an IgnoreLibtard function*

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Uh, and strikeouts? Surely you didn't forget about strikeouts???

I'm happy to report that the new blog does support strikeouts, I used one in the comment I posted there last week.

Professor- You are going to save that test post that includes my comment, aren't you? I want to be on record as the first real commenter at your new site, but for the moment at least that post is gone.

Sal said...

I'm going to think of a new identity.

Fen said...

/ot

Uh-oh. The other women are coming out:

A new woman has come forward with what she claims are photographs, chats, and emails with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). These appear to undermine severely Rep. Weiner’s explanations that he was the victim of a “prank” or a “hack.”

The detailed new information suggests that the Brooklyn- and Queens-based representative and the young woman in question were involved in an online, consensual relationship involving the mutual exchange of intimate photographs.


http://biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2011/06/06/weinergate-bombshell-new-woman-comes-forward-claiming-cache-of-intimate-photos-and-online-communications-with-beleaguered-congressman/

Anonymous said...

Hey, GarageBanal ... remember last week when I was alerting you that another shoe was going to drop on your former goldenboy Anthony Weiner?

Yeah. Today.

Always listen to me, Garage.

Patrick said...

"Be a good post to kick off the new design with."

I don't know if the Weiner thing would be the post to start the new location. It should be a good post - not a lame "Here's my first post," and I would argue not even a "Cafe" type.

Make it interesting.

Anonymous said...

Me so horny!

Robert Cook said...

"I don't want Democrats trying to ruin my life like they did to Joe The Plumber once they found out his identity."

Once they "found out" his identity? When was it ever secret? He's the publicity hog that put himself into the public eye, and if his life has been ruined--which is unlikely--it is by his own doing.

Anonymous said...

If Flashy Tony's wife Huma Abedin cannot trust him, how can the people of the 9th District of the City of New York trust him?

Anonymous said...

"He's the publicity hog that put himself into the public eye, and if his life has been ruined--which is unlikely--it is by his own doing."

All he did was ask his President a simple question about small business tax policy while standing on the sidewalk when the president walked by and shook his hand during a campaign event. That's hardly being a publicity hound.

The moment he did that though, Democrat Party state officials launched illegal searches into state databases trying to dig up dirt on the poor man.

Prior to the 2008 election, Vanessa Niekamp, an employee of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services, at the behest of its director, Helen Jones-Kelley, used state computers to search for information on Joe Wurzelbacher. On November 20, 2008, Niekamp reported the violation to the State Inspector General. State and local officials completed an investigation into Jones-Kelley's order, concluding that the searches were improper. On December 17, 2008, Jones-Kelley resigned in disgrace.

In response to the event, Republican Shannon Jones sponsored House Bill 648, which mandates civil and criminal penalties for illegal access of personal information on state databases. On January 6, 2009, Governor Ted Strickland signed the legislation.

You see, Republicans, they protect privacy.

Democrats on the other hand mine information to destroy you if you ask the wrong questions about their policies.

So if you want Democrat spies hunting through the records for information they can use against you, by all means, vote Democrat.

Patrick said...

Weiner: "It's me." I suppose the left's confidence that this was a set up may have taken a hit. Or, at least it would if the left was rational.

Patrick said...

I saw that photo, and the ring quite clearly, and had the same reaction Bob.

ricpic said...

I can't log in via WordPress. Even after I invented a new user name after being told ricpic was taken. They accepted the new user name. But now they tell me my email address is invalid. Will we have to log in via Word Press to comment at the new Althouse? Put another way, will we have to have a WordPress account to comment at Althouse?

Fred4Pres said...

Your timing may be perfect!

The Huff Puff and AOL merger is failing.

AllenS said...

ricpic,

Me too.

Calypso Facto said...

I was able to set up a username and password at the new site last week, but today it tells me "invalid username". Hopefully when it's fully operational all will be hunky dory.

ricpic said...

Well, glad I'm not alone. Problem still unsolved.

Bayoneteer said...

Yeah Ann! I will so not miss those horrible anti-meat Google ads. Yuck.

Ann Althouse said...

"Yeah Ann! I will so not miss those horrible anti-meat Google ads. Yuck."

Those are not Google ads. I don't have Google ads. Those are BlogAds, and BlogAds will continue. There will also be more ads, in fact.

Anonymous said...

Not everyone would be comfortable doing this, but it *is* possible to lock in a usename and avatar across most internet platforms with a Gravatar.com account.

Triangle Man said...

Ooh, with new improved drop shadows! Me likey.

Anthony said...

I left Blogger a few years ago after it decided that I -- you know, the account holder -- apparently posted too much and might be a spammer so on every post it made me enter a word verification. Attempts to contact Blogger to correct it were unsuccessful. So I loaded WordPress onto my own site and it's done (fairly) fine ever since.

Anonymous said...

I worked up a slight revision to your logo to tighten up the kerning where it looked too spaced out. It's a subtle edit, but I think it makes it look more logo-y rather than just type. (Althouse is a brand!)

Feel free to use it if you like.

Anonymous said...

BREAKING!

Flashy Tony is having a "long-term affair" with a woman not his wife via Facebook instant messaging.

RadarOnline has just printed some of the "sexting" messages the woman provided that show she and Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner having adulterous online cybersex.

ken in tx said...

Both Chrome and IE display nothing except the word 'Althouse' , no posts, no comments. Are other people seeing something else?

Anonymous said...

"Both Chrome and IE display nothing except the word 'Althouse' , no posts, no comments. Are other people seeing something else?"

You must be visiting the "new" URL.

althouse.blogspot.com (current)
althou.se (new)

Don't use the new one yet.

Godot said...

Sad but necessary. Onward.
_

Tibore said...

Moving will be a good thing. And: Will the archives move as well, or will they remain on Blogger?

Ann Althouse said...

"Will the archives move as well, or will they remain on Blogger?"

They'll move. I'd hate having this blog, which I've worked so hard on, just end and begin again somewhere else. And a big reason for the move is that I don't trust Blogger not to delete me again. I care a lot about the archive and want to preserve it.

Rose said...

I just want to say I hate the Disqus commenting system.

Shawn Levasseur said...

As to how I discovered it was a WordPress powered blog?

Simple.

There was a tiny "Log In" at the bottom right of the page. I clicked to see what login interface came up. It was WordPress branded.

Alexhead said...

I can't log in via WordPress. Even after I invented a new user name after being told ricpic was taken. They accepted the new user name. But now they tell me my email address is invalid. Will we have to log in via Word Press to comment at the new Althouse? Put another way, will we have to have a WordPress account to comment at Althouse?