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Official HSB Tech Blog
June 13, 2007
The Ban Has Been Lifted!!
For those on AOL and CompuServe who were not able to get into the site over the last couple of days, the problem has been corrected. If you know of anybody who was affected by this situation, please let them know that they should be able to access the site normally now. If they still can't, please contact me at the tech support email address over on the sidebar.
Thanks to Shawn, our web tech guru, for getting us all fixed up once again. :-) Now maybe, just maybe, he can get a little sleep!
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June 11, 2007
Banned users (with update)
I've been receiving reports that some users are getting messages that they are banned from the site or certain parts of the site. This is not intentional and is some kind of a glitch in the system somewhere. So if you or someone you know is currently 'banned' from the site, please know that our web tech is working on the problem and we will get everyone back in as soon as possible. My guess is that a security measure has gotten a bit TOO tight and is therefore keeping some out, but I don't really know that for sure. I do know that it is our #1 priority right now to get this corrected.
Check back here for updates. I'll let you know here when I get any news about this.
Jodi
(who was on 'vacation' for a homeschool conference this weekend and can see by the volume in her email box how much she was missed.  )
UPDATE: From looking at the emails I'm receiving, this problem seems to be limited to AOL users. If anyone is getting the banned message that is *not* on AOL, please email me at blogadmin@homeschoolblogger.com and let me know. We are now fairly certain that it's probably an issue with AOL not being compatible with something in our current set up. Now we just have to hunt it down and fix it!
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June 4, 2007
UPDATE on server change
Our server was moved Saturday night and most things are going well. We have some small issues to contend with (as is always the way with computers!), but for the most part the move was a success. If you had some trouble logging in or working on your blog yesterday, you are not alone! We did have some outages off and on, but things seem to have settled down today.
If you did have problems yesterday, please try again today. Most of those problems should not reoccur now that the server has stabilized. We still may hit a few bumps in the road, so if you do notice a slow time or a time when you can't seem to log in or get blank pages, please wait a little while and try again. Most of these issues clear up in a few minutes. But, again, this should NOT happen on a regular basis any longer and we believe you will be very happy with the speed and reliability of the site since our server upgrade.
This has been a long time coming, and I speak for everybody on the HSB team when I say that we are THRILLED that it is finally done! We've been very frustrated, too, and have been doing everything we could to make things better while we waited for this more permanent 'fix'. Thank you for your patience and loyalty as you hung in here with us and prayed for us as we worked through these issues. We are sure everyone's blogging experience will be much more enjoyable now!
Jodi
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June 2, 2007
Server migration problems
Unfortunately, the move to the new server did not take place last night as planned. Right at the end, the server decided to have 'issues' and it was unable to be completed. A 3rd party has to fix the problem, then we can start the process again. Hopefully that will happen tonight!
So the bad news is that it didn't happen last night, but the good news is that it is still going to happen! So please be patient just a bit longer and things will be greatly improved once the move is complete. And please pray for our web tech as he works to get this taken care of - he is running on very little sleep and has other projects to take care of besides just ours.
If I find out any other information, I'll update you here. (Sorry for the gap since my last post, I just didn't have anything to report!)
Jodi
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March 26, 2007
JavaScript currently enabled
For those who have been waiting to make changes to their templates, now is the time! JavaScript is enabled right now. Things will change again in a little bit, but for now - go for it!
We do need your help, though. To keep our community safe, we will need to partially shut down JavaScript again pretty soon. BUT we want you to be able to use the scripts you enjoy. In order to do this, we need to set up a filter on the system for each safe script our users want to employ. So please send us the code of the scripts you are using.
To do this, go into your template and copy each script you have starting with . Just copy and paste each one into an email to me at hsbadmin@homeschoolblogger. I will compile a list for our web tech to add to the 'allowed' list so when we do turn JavaScript back off those scripts will still work.
Thanks for your patience while we work through this. And send me those scripts!
Jodi
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February 17, 2007
Downtime on Thursday Morning (2/15/07)
Everything is back to normal now, obviously, but I thought I'd explain what was going on with the system on Thursday morning. Many couldn't login to their accounts or see parts of their blog pages from early morning to mid morning. Apparently, some data was corrupted on the server, which caused the site to stop functioning properly. Our genius web tech was awoken from sleep to work on the problem and got everything running again (Yay Shawn!!!). He's still trying to pinpoint what caused the problem (accidental or malicious attack) so we can try to avoid it in the future.
The good news is that a new server has been ordered and will hopefully be online in the next few days. We'll be moving to this better server as soon as we can (we'll let you know when that happens as there will most likely be downtime while this is completed) and that should fix many of the problems that we've been experiencing. The fact is that our 'little' community here grew at a rate of speed which was a complete surprise and we have just been trying to keep up ever since. We're very happy that HSB is so popular and hope that you enjoy that fact, too - but with that have come some periodic growing pains. We really appreciate your patience and loyalty as we work out the kinks and figure out what is best to do for the good of the site as a whole.
Once the new server is hooked up, work will continue on some of the lingering issues from the software update which right now are not workable for the long-term on the current server. After the move, the site should run much faster, smoother and with less complications. I know you are all looking forward to that almost as much as we are! :-) Until then, you will probably experience some slow times as the current server is simply overloaded with activity. You will either need to be patient or try again later when it may be less busy. Just remember, this is temporary and I have been assured that the new server will cure these woes. I am really excited about that!!
If anyone is still having difficulties logging in, please email me. Just click on 'Email Tech Support' under Links in the sidebar. Anyone with other difficulties, but who can login, please use the Contact Support form (you must be logged in to get to this page).
Jodi
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February 8, 2007
HUGE NEWS! JavaScript is back!
As of last night, JavaScript code capabilities have been turned back on. We were unable to strike a working balance between the safety of having it turned off with our users' needs to use JavaScript on their blogs for various applications, so until a better solution is found - it is back!
What this means is that if you have a visitor counter, blogroll, verse of the day, etc. that uses JavaScript to work and were unable to use it after the site update, you can now add the JS code back into your template and it should work. YAY! I know this has been an issue for a lot of users (including myself), so I'm sure we'll have many very happy bloggers upon hearing this news.
Remember, you will have to put the code back into your template for it to work. You will probably need to go back to the original sites for counter codes and such to get the full code since it would have been cleared from your template if you made any template changes since the software update was done.
Jodi
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January 24, 2007
New password/Security question problems
Currently, the security question is not working correctly for the password request. Therefore, you will need to email me directly for a new password and I'll set a new one for you manually. Email me at blogadmin@homeschoolblogger.com to request a new password.
Once you are logged in with the new password, go to the Profile screen and there is a text link at the bottom for changing the password to one of your own choosing.
Jodi
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January 24, 2007
Blog Manager Navigation - the basics
Here are some very general descriptions of what each area of your blog manager contains and how they relate to the previous (pre-update) setup.
On the first screen (I call it the User screen):
My Blogs – if you had more than one blog on your username you might need this but this is not needed the way we have the system right now.
Profile – This has your basic profile information – mostly what shows up on your profile screen when people click on your username – pretty much the same stuff that was there before.
Friends – This is where you manage your friends – pretty much the same set up as before.
Photos & Files – This is where you upload your graphics, photos, etc. There is still a 1 MB limit for all files. This takes place of the ‘Uploads’ section we had before.
Messages – We now have a private messaging system where you can send messages to other users and they can send messages to you without having to use email. If you have messages, there will be a number in parentheses after this link telling you how many unread messages you have.
Search – This lets you search the site for other users by name, location, and several other variables. This is a better and more detailed search than we had before, which is still on the front page of the site.
? Help – FAQ and template code resources.
X Logout – Logout of the system.
On the other manager screen (I call it the Blog screen), which you get by clicking on your blog name on the User screen, the items are as follows:
Entries – Your blog entries/posts. Once in this section you will see other ‘sub-links’ to view entries, edit entries, manage your categories, etc.
Template – Here is where you edit your template if you like – you will get other sub-links here that are related to your template management.
Settings – This has the settings for your blog, such as who can view and comment, etc. This was called something else on the previous setup, but once you are on the screen it will all look familiar.
View Blog – Just takes you to your blog page so you can see it.
Back to My Account – Takes you back to the first screen (User screen).
? Help – Same as on the user screen.
Hopefully this will help make the new format less confusing for those who are used to the old one. Everything we had before is still here and most things will look the same once you get to the screen, so try poking around a bit in the links to get familiar with the various manager screens.
Jodi
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January 24, 2007
Login problems? Try this...
Please try manually clearing the cookies in your browser. Instructions for Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers are as follows:
In Firefox, go to Tools…Options…Privacy… Click on the ‘show cookies’ button. Scroll down the list to ‘homeschoolblogger.com’. Highlight this and click on the ‘Remove Cookies’ button. Close Firefox and re-open. Try logging into HSB again to see if it worked.
For IE, go to Tools…Internet Options…General tab. Click on the ‘Delete Cookies’ button, then click ‘OK’. Close your browser and any other instances of IE that are running (Outlook, Outlook Express, etc.). It may be best just to reboot, as this will definitely clear out any instances of it running. If anything is left running, this will not work. Re-open your browser and try logging into HSB again to see if this fixed the problem.
This has worked for some with login problems, so please give it a try if you are still having trouble.
Jodi
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