Sunday, March 11, 2012

Old Comments Restored.

Yaro, in retirement.
The Disqus system remains down for us at least. Briefly at 2:00 AM Pacific time I got things going, but it was short-lived. Their current status page says everything's fine, but I have scores of emails from readers who can't log in to comment.. I've been unable to get tech support all night.

I've removed the system from the page, and the former Blogger comment system is back online. (Which also means of course that all the old comments are back online.)

I am totally embarrassed at how so many of you reconfigured logins, opened new accounts, etc. and now find that we're back to where we were Friday. I don't know when I'll be able to get a firm reply about what's wrong with our version of Disqus, but I suspect Monday.

I apologize to all of you. I am grateful for your support of CollegeMisery.com, and I will continue to try to make the site operational. At least until I blow my fucking head off. Then Cal can worry about it. HA HA HA HA HA HE HE HE HE HO HO HO HO HO HA  HA HA CHOKE HA HA BLARGH HA HA HA.

When I know more, I'll repost this entry.

RGM

27 comments:

  1. Hey, Fab. I'm up too. Saw the same things as you. Hang in there.

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  2. I'm fairly new here, but this stuff happens. Don't worry so much. It's the posts that I like the most anyway.

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  3. Sucks! Sorry you guys. It sounds like it's been an awful weekend. Everything's working now, though, right? Except the trolls have access again? Can't you just erase whatever shit they throw? I know it's still work, but then everyone else can still get through.

    Darla

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  4. Don't blow your fucking head off.
    We need you.
    Don't worry 'bout a thing.
    Every little thing gonna be all right.

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  5. Ain't no thing, chicken wing on a string, whatever the saying is.

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  6. Why the handwringing. The site was never down. The comments went ker-plooey, but all the content was fine. It's a great looking page and the content is hilarious. You guys run a cool page. I'm a grad TA teaching one section a term. It takes it all out of me to do that. I'm in a good hiring discipline, so in a while I hope to be lucky enough to get a teaching gig. I do not know how I'll handle 3 classes at a time.

    But I will always come here and to the Rate My Student archives for help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, to be fair about the comments, Thirsties tend to attract useful advice. If comments are gone, so's that added value.

      RMS didn't have comments per se, so all the useful information was in the posts.

      Delete
  7. Dang, and I made an avatar and everything! So does this mean that you're postponing the exam?

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  8. Maybe our collective awesomeness crashed Disqus.

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  9. From: starkitten69@geocities.com

    mr fab,
    i finished the assignment and everything b4 it was do and everything and then when i turn it in it is disapeared now!!!!! i called the library for help and they said they do not know about diskuss and to ask you what am i supposed to do? i worked really hard on this assignment because i am on softball and have to keep a 2.0 to play and for Alpha Phi but now it is gone and i even wen to the writing center but there wre closed!!!! can i pls have an extention????
    thx!!!

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  10. See, the Luddites were right. Besides, Disqus wouldn't let me go by my full name: it complained that it had to be 30 characters long or shorter.

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  11. I totally approve of this return.

    I'm sorry it took so much work from you guys to import and cancel Disqus, but I really disliked it and I'm glad we're back to normal.

    I suspect that being off-limits to the Trolls for a few days will prevent their return. Should they come back again, we can go to disqus briefly and come back, just to chase them off.

    In fact, two feminist websites I go to occasionally make comments moderation-only for a day or two, then turn it back off, just long enough to piss off the trolls.

    You are awesome and I'm sorry this has been such a headache. Please don't kill the page out of frustration!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We won't kill the page because of any of this.

      But the folks who write us and threaten to leave the page unless we deal with the trolls in exactly the way they would (technology be damned; other perspectives be damned) will have to show a bit more patience.

      We are really trying to make the place as welcoming and usable as possible. Everything we do is to try to make things better here.

      Delete
    2. I hope you'll just let the folks who threaten to leave, leave. We don't need them. You are heroic to maintain a page with free content and a decent level of useability.

      Delete
  12. What a lot of work to deal with the trolls. I feel bad for complaining about them now (although, for the record, I wouldn't leave over something like that). I'm sorry it took so much effort and trouble on your part.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't worry about it. The level of complaint we're talking about is seldom seen in the comments. People save that for their "special" emails. And you were never among the group who caused us the trouble.

      We lost a couple of folks for sure over the weekend, a result of "blog fatigque" and the endless technical demands it was taking to keep up with us. We hate that. I was a newbie at the start of this, but I've learned plenty. Cal kept telling me it wasn't easy and I never believed him. We had 9000 hits yesterday. It's a busy place, even though you can't always tell.

      But be assured we're doing our best.

      Delete
    2. And amidst all the email yesterday were dozens of nice notes...they're easy to forget sometimes in the midst of things...but we appreciate them so much. Better days.

      Delete
    3. Whoa! You deserve a raise. By the holy Yaro, you deserve more than a raise!!!

      Delete
  13. My college informed us that the LMS will be down from Thursday to Monday of next week. We just have to live with it. My online students have an assignment due on Sunday night. I am preparing myself for the complaints.

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  14. So Yaro is Santa Christ.

    Doug Walker's going to have issues with that....

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  15. Thanks for everything you do! Complainers aren't doing the work: fuck them.

    Maybe AM's idea - of just turning on "moderated comments" for a day or two occasionally to scare off fresh troll incursions - might be easier on you. But I am not doing the work and it is entirely your business.

    This site is great and I enjoy it immensely. Don't know what I'd do without it. Honestly.

    I like having the old comments back, I have to say... but I gather that even if we had Disqus, the old comments would eventually reappear?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the old comments were coming to Disqus. It's just a tough migration because there are almost 30,000 comments. And Disqus offered an easy solution to keeping trolls off the comments - which was what I really wanted, not just for limiting their ability to tweak us, but because quite a few readers were particularly upset that I somehow couldn't stop them in the first place.

      But before the failed switchover, we did talk about going to moderated comments whenever troll activity was high. Just for a while. It will cause a lag in your comments hitting the page - especially if I'm asleep or on the golf course or in class - but what else can we do? Seriously.

      Let's get on to bitching about the content and the poor graphics. That's really where the heart of this venture lies anyway.

      Delete
  16. Sorry this has been such a hassle, RGM(s). I, too, am just as happy to be back to the old comment format, but I'm also happy to cooperate with whatever makes it easier for you. Really, all of us who *don't* do the day-to-day work have a major interest in supporting whatever procedures keeps the work manageable for you, because we want this place to be here.

    Sadly, The Yaro's powers are apparently not great enough to convert all the trolls to gumdrop unicorns. Or perhaps our trolls *are* gumdrop unicorns, or Yaro prefers the entertainment of seeing what we'll do with free will, or something along those lines.

    In any case, no need to apologize, and thanks, again, for making this space, with all its attendant hassles, available.

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  17. We appreciate everything you do. I'd prefer you not go back to Disqus only because I already have an account there I use for another blog and didn't want to create a new account and a new email address to keep this name, but I'll deal with whatever you decide. I am glad you want to keep this a humane place. Deal with trolls as you think is best.

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  18. As ever, thanks for all that you do.

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