Results tagged “Blogging” from Don't Go Into The Light
I've only been following this from a distance, but apparently Associated Press has a problem with bloggers quoting its articles. They sent nasty letters to Drudge Retort demanding they take down quotes, and the reaction in the blogosphere has been, well, predictable.
The latest round? After appearing to back off, AP set up a tollbooth for quoting as few as 5 words. At $2.50 per word, no less.
I wonder how that affects me. I'm not a non-profit organization, so I wouldn't qualify for their discount. But I don't have ads, so can't be classified as a commercial activity, either.
Fortunately, there may be some relief coming later this week. As a hobbyist, I can't afford the consequences of quoting the article directly, since it was written by an AP reporter. Instead, I'll quote random words and phrases from numerous other AP articles:
New York - The Associated Press, following criticism from bloggers over an AP assertion of copyright, plans to meet this week with a bloggers' group to help form guidelines under which AP news stories could be quoted online.
If you want to read the article I didn't quote, try here.
I hope that AP comes to it's senses soon - this is hard!
Update: Ace counter-offers.
Was to blame for those of you that could not get here over the last day and a half.
Apparently, cPanel mangled one of the server alias lines in the apache configuration during an update. I could see the blog's files through an FTP program, but going to the blog or Movable Type through a browser got a post-installation screen for cPanel.
Once I alerted Hosting Matters, they got right on it and fixed it yesterday evening. Thanks to Annette, who has fixed a couple of glitches for me in the past.
After months of complaining (and getting nowhere), I've noticed that Blogrolling is finally working again. Every ping this week has gotten through with no errors.
To whoever fixed it, thank you.
I mentioned Friday that I had an early work day - well, I wound up staying late, and spent most of the weekend working as well. There are some short notice requirements from a customer driving the workload, and I'll be putting in long days all this week.
Being busier than normal at work is never really a bad thing, because it means job security and an opportunity to pit myself against a few extra challenges. But a byproduct is that my free time is diminished, so I must prioritize what I have a little more carefully. Unfortunately, this means little or no time for blogging.
So, there will be little or no posting here at Don't Go Into The Light until this coming weekend at the earliest. I hope you will all understand and come back once I'm able to resume regular posting.
As always, thanks for stopping by.
LB
Why? Because I have to leave early for work this morning, and today's activities will be keeping me away from a computer for most of the day. That means no posting until this evening - *sigh*.
In the meantime, hope your Friday goes well - here's an albino alligator for inspiration:
Some blogging notes:
It's been a busy time for my family and I lately.
In case any of you wondered where I was in January and February, much of that time was spent on business trips. Thanks to a few readers and fellow bloggers who emailed to ask if I was OK, and thanks to Hube and Elbert for the kind emails welcoming me back. I'll try to be better about updating folks when I'm down for an extended period of time.
Short term, there may be an occasional day or two that goes by with little or no posting. It may be that there's little I feel inspired to comment about on a given day, or maybe real life has thrown me a curveball or two. I do this as a hobby, so I'm not obligated to write a minimum number of daily posts in order to keep advertisers happy.
On the subject of blogging as a hobby... this is all out of my pocket. I've considered putting up advertisements and tip jars, but so far I've resisted. If there comes a time when the hosting fees become burdensome, I may reconsider. Until then, I'm happy with things as they are.
A friend noticed that I was linking to fewer blogs lately. That goes back to being busy - I'm actually reading fewer blogs. Also, I've learned that my trackbacks are being blocked on a couple of sites (and no, I don't know why - my emails go unanswered), so I'm less inclined to do so anyway.
I don't treat my blogroll as a quid pro quo vehicle as some bloggers do. Each are blogs I both read and recommend. So give those folks a visit, OK?
Lastly, March was my best month ever for readership. I'd like to thank everyone for stopping by, you've made my virtual soapbox worth the effort.
Regards,
LB
Got a full schedule, so may not post until this evening.
In the meantime, why not visit a few of the blogs listed on my blogroll?
My ISP (a famous cable company who I shall not name) has been having trouble in my neighborhood, service has been so spotty that I haven't been able to post lately. Sorry.
That aside, with Christmas approaching, posting will still be light, as this is a very busy time for TB and I.
We hope that all of our readers have a wonderful holiday season.
Cheers,
LB & TB
Had some internet trouble this morning, couldn't get to the blog! By the time it cleared up, I had to leave for a doctor's appointment.
Now, TB and I are going to the store with the kids. Hopefully I'll get a post or two in before bedtime. If not, Hope you all had a great day!
LB
As some of you may recall, Blogrolling has not been updating me (along with, apparently, quite a few others as well) in their database when I ping, either through Movable Type or manually through their ping page. Hube (who blogs at Colossus of Rhodey) actually got a response to his email on the issue, in which a "Beenish M." alludes to a sweeping upgrade that will likely fix everything (but he's looking into the problem anyway).
Recently, I got my own email as well:
Sent: Tue 11/13/2007 11:39 PM
From: Jonathan Clarke [brsupport@tucows.com]
To: lb@dontgointothelight.com
CC:
Subject: [#AFM-230578]: Blogrolling Support Request
Hello LB,If you could provide the username and password for your account we could certainly escalate this situation for you so we can see what is going on with the server.
Jon C.Domain Direct/Netidentity Customer Service http://www.domaindirect.com/supportform.html
http://www.netidentity.com/Support/SupportMain.aspx
Toll-Free: 1-866-337-8633 (North America Only)
Local: 416-531-2084
Fax: 416.352.0113Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: AFM-230578
Department: Blogrolling Support
Password? Their manual ping form doesn't work and they think my password is going to help? And lets not forget that most reputable web companies, including Mr. Clarke's, tell folks not to give out passwords to anyone.
My reply (Sent: Thu 11/15/2007 5:07 PM):
Jon,While I appreciate the offer for help, I'm confused about the request for a username and password. It's the inclusion of my blog in other folks' lists that's a problem, and one that existed long before I aquired an account.
LB
Nine days later, still waiting for a reply.
If you didn't know, Blogrolling wasn't invented by Tucows. No, that distinction goes to Jason DeFillippo, who sold Blogrolling to Tucows in 2004. From the Jason's announcement on the Blogrolling website:
The decision to sell the company was a very difficult one for me and after talking to several companies who were interested, I decided on Tucows because they are an extremely upstanding group of guys (they're Canadian, after all!) who will treat all of you with care and respect.
Sure wish Jason could have seen the future...
Still haven't found a new plugin for the blog roll that's compatible with MT4. If anyone knows of one, please let me know. Yes, I know I could use Blogrolling, but I'm having trouble with them right now and would rather wait until they answer my support request before risking its use. Maybe I'll just hand-jam it into the template...
I added Snap Shots - I've seen it on several blogs and thought I'd try it. if I get enough complaints I'll turn it off.
If you have any trouble registering to post comments, please let me know. It worked okay in testing, though.
Hope you're all having a great weekend!
While panning provocative costumes for kids (a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with), Glenn Reynolds weighs in with this statement which appears to approve of slutty wear for adult women:
"I'm okay on slutty, but not for 9-year-olds."
This begs the question: Isn't it about time for another sweeps week? Your fans need pictorial examples.
The conversion to MT4 is nearly complete. While the blog is once more functional, I still have a long list of things to tweak. The blog roll plugin I used before doesn't work with MT4, so I'm looking for a replacement. Anyone know of one?
Also, commenters need to register in order to post. This will hopefully keep the spam comments down to a minimum. Registering is quick and painless, and I promise your info will not be shared with anyone. I'm working on a comment policy, so use common sense in the meantime.
If anyone runs into a glitch, please leave a comment or send me an email with the word "bug" as the first word in the subject line.
Thanks for stopping by!
Well, soon, anyway. It's been a long break, and we're playing around with updating the site and doing some housekeeping. Upgraded to Movable Type 4.01 - what a pain that's turning out to be, but it should be to the good after it's finished.
In the next week or two we'll be making regular posts again.
