Blogger must have decided it was losing money so it redid its interface to make it much harder to use. I think they want us to all stop using it, which I am considering because it is so much harder to use now.
I love this bug: you can't backspace from your new post. You're just stuck forever on your dashboard after you publish a new post.
And I can't understand why you can't block hecklers and harassers from commenting. That's a function just about every communication technology has and no medium needs it more than blogs, since they are magnets for loons.
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I'm kind of having the same issues with the interface. I still can't get used to it.
By the way, I noticed some comments before about Toon Boom and it's different versions. I have Toon Boom Animate Pro 2 but what is the major difference between that and say... Studio 7 or Harmony? What version do you use?
What happens if you select the messages from crazy people and press the "spam" button? It keeps letting the messages go by?
I've noticed this sort of problem a lot over the years -- not with Blogger (I don't have any blogs on Blogger), but with virtually everything. Designers apparently feel that their designs get stale every now and then and redo them for no reason, and the redesigns are virtually always worse because they are done by people concerned more about form than function. I have news for them: the web is about function. A new design will impress nobody if it impedes people from doing stuff, especially if it was stuff that used to be easy.
I can't understand why I see this mistake being made over and over and over and over again.
Couldn't agree more. It's absolutely terrible.
And yes, it makes me want to blog less.
Sometimes Google's decisions defy logic.
Sadly, JK, you've run into another programmer group that values coding style more than usability.
Programmers feel as strongly about their art (yes, coding's an art, but with letters/numbers instead of shapes/colors) as you do yours.
Still, I'd be just as frustrated as you with the new interface, and might try creating the post in another tool, then just upload the whole entry.
Hecklers, harrassers and loons. Those are correct and official words for these people.
Too true, Mr K.
Mark K., Toon Boom Harmony, the big brother of all the toon boom apps, is a network-based multi-user program used by big animation studios (Disney Australia was an early adopter).
Harmony Solo is Harmony set up for one user. It has many tools for importing/animating 3D objects, rigging characters and 3D camera. It's complex and probably overkill for those just wanting to draw/ink/animate 2D characters (for that their Animate 2 program should suffice nicely.
I think there's some third-party software that makes Blogger less of a pain to use.
I don't know which to recommend, but they do exist.
http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=42347
For me, it simply takes longer to put up posts. To do things I use to be able to do easily, I have to manually add HTML, like I'm living in 1998.
My blogs are ending soon anyway but this is just hastening the death.
You have looney fans? Bummer dude. Here is a Patsy Cline tribite
Crazy
Yeah, I can't say I was too happy with the new look when I came back to Blogger... But that won't keep me from my inking tests! (Hows that for a segue?)
@ Kurtwil: Thank you kindly. I was just wondering because I'm going through some programs I'm considering using on my thesis film but Toon Boom Animate 2 should be fine anyway. Thanks for the tip.
I stay with Blogger despite all of their crazy shit. Most of the people I like moved to other formats online and what happened was that I found those interfaces were worse than Blogger's. Or maybe I was just sick of moving to the latest cool thing.
My blogs are ending soon anyway but this is just hastening the death.
No, Yowp -- say it isn't so!! I'll really miss your blog posts, and hope you reconsider.
Know how you feel.. it's been a while like this.
Not only the interface is ugly. Every time i post its hard to orden your post. I never had a post that was good in one go, I always have to edit because the text isn't where it's suposed to be, especially when you put in multiple images.
I think programmers never heard of the word "user friendly".
I think it's just REALLY funny to see you criticize Blogger's changes with this amazing experienced visual artist handwriting.
I know it's odd and off topic. Please don't put me with the Crazy People. I promise I'll never ask you to pick between being my boyfriend or teacher, hahaha XD
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the new blogger either. I think I've managed to get used to it already, but I do prefer the older way they did things.
A lot of artists have abandoned Blogger for Tumblr. I know your buddies Katie Rice and Marlo Meekins have done just that. Do what you want.
I've had it for a couple months and made my peace with it.
The old interface was easier to use and better looking. Now it just looks like every other "slick" Apple product.
It's not just blogger, other sites on the web have been doing this lately too. Sometimes I think these kind of updates are really just an excuse to put on more tracking crap in some lame attempt to further monetize websites. (Ever look at the script side after these kind of changes?) The problem is when code monkeys do this and have no clue how to make it seamless with the interfaces we're used to and have grown to love. More or less when this happens it ends up looking like a lame attempt to reinvent the wheel, just harder to use and with more bloat that makes everything slower.
So do i.
The sad thing is, I think I know how to use that just by looking at it. I've successfully integrated myself into the garbage.
Feel I ought to stand up for my fellow code monkeys: a company the size of Google has UI specialists and designers, they will have told the programmers what to build. Not the coders' fault!
The unfortunate thing is that while the new user interface is decent for people like myself who do diddly with their blogs, it bites for the creative people like everyone here.
Most of (if not all of) the upgrades I think have to do with the fact that as more improvements are made to whatever browser you use for your Cyber life, the more trouble it is for these websites to support all versions of those browsers.
To be honest, I wouldn't blame you if you left Blogger for greener and easier surroundings.
Totally agree, the new interface it's a Sh.. !!
I agree, it is easy to use and I am always searching for the buttons I need to use.
I agree, it is easy to use and I am always searching for the buttons I need to use.
I tried reading this outdoor on my mobile device, but the black on dingy orange is insufferable.
"Looney Tunes" is a good name! I saw an MTV ad fairly recently looking for "alter online ego type stories." Sometimes I laugh reading usernames and what people say to each other. It can be entertaining to me. If I'm not mistaken Steve Martin wrote a little book about his Twittering. That's creative in my view. Blogger is easier than building a web-site? I haven't tried altering the code on my blog. I was reading about personal branding today. I would say John K accomplished that. I think having a Blog keeps a person a bit personal without having to directly talk to people. It's good.
I hate how it forces you to view your page views, as it's something I aggressively don't care about. But I'm really only on here to follow your blog anyway. Whatever you move to, I'll move to.
I agree with you on this big time!!
It feels like they do that on purpose to laugh their butts of!
It is super messy and everything is a lot harder and more complicated to do!
Another thing I hate is when I go back to really old blog posts(those who are couple years old), some links to older images don't work anymore! I often use that blog as some sort of backup. One of the main reasons why I rarely update my blog!
And I wish website developers would give users the option to decide whether they want the the new update or not. I hate when they force it on us!
I really hope they read your and everyone's opinion on this new Blogger thing!
Haha, I loved seeing this critique, and I agree with you.
You said it! This thing has been turned into a waste of time and talent. Instead of do what one does best, this thing makes you waste time with other crap. By the time you get through all of this, that spark, that drive just fizzles out.
You may wanna just jump ship and go Word Press.
This is the best rant YET!!!
I LOVE it!!!
Kill 'em John!!!
i dunno man. I managed to use it fine and I'm kind of a moron... I mean I spent half my day today looking for my direct messages on the twitter website.
absolutely the best way to deal with blogger is to use Windows LiveWriter I think.
If you have problems, read the Blogger's New Interface Tutorial.
Its all web 2.0
just look at those drop down boxes
I bet it works fine on a tablet or mobile touch screen
Why don't you just switch to WordPress? It's so much better. You could get your images nice and large in some kind of image slider, and have better control over comments or add in the Akismet spam plug-in, or use DISQUS instead. WordPress is amazing.
I'm finding it difficult to use it on mobile opera inorder to customize my movie blog. http://watchlastresortonline.blogspot.com
Developer Geeks don't even realize their's a whole other booming phase of development called Usability Design.
Oh what's that I hear?
I'm hearing some pale geek tell me, "Welcome to my weird and windowless basement. You better like the strange smell down here. He, He... cause this project is my only chance for true animal love. Also this is my geek intelligence test for you, as I am the arbiter of intelligence. If you don't like what juices my circuits, I'll scramble your creativity and if you make a sound I'll go one step further and hack your career!"
Yep, I agree completely. The "new" (I comment so late, it's been around for a while now)... either way, that "new" interface is not a usability triumph. Lots of white spaces, but still: No good. The old one was better (and allowed use of older computers).
I wondered if it was just me. This new interface is a nightmare. I've used Blogger.com since just before they were acquired by Google. This is by far the worst change yet.
It sucks. Period. They have made it impossible for creatives (their bread and butter) to even use the thing without wanting to kill something by the end of the day.
By the time you are done dealing with the beast every creative juice you woke up with has fled along with the hours of the day.
I've stayed this long because other platforms are not much better.
I liked being able to go in the back end and change things easily. They say Blooger.com is for newbies. Have to disagree. It was for people who are creative and that was proven by the large number of arts and creative types of every category who have used it over the years.
Google has sucked the life out of Blogger.com. User-friendly is a joke to Google. It tries to compete with every platform on the Web (Twitter, Facebook, other blog platforms like Tumblr, etc.) and because of their obsession with controlling the entire Internet experience they are void of what users (publishers and visitors) want or need.
After publishing a number of blogs over the years I'm done. In search for a new platform. Appreciate somebody taking this subject on. My hat is off to you.
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