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Official HSB Tech Blog
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 4, 2007
Friends latest entries page
With the server change, we now have the Friends page back. This lists the entries of your 'Friends', with the most recent first. You can use this page to easily see the latest posts that those on your friends list have made. This was a feature we had before, but it didn't work correctly, so it was removed. It is now back and working as it should!
To see your Friends page(s), you need to add /friends to the end of your blog address, like this:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/blogaddress/friends
For easiest access, you will probably want to add a link to this page to your Links section on your blog. Then you can just click the link whenever you want to read your friends page. To do this, go into your blog settings, then to Links. Put whatever you want the title to be in the first blank box, then the address in the 2nd blank box and save. This link will then show up on your sidebar with your other links in the Links section.
We know many of our users missed this feature, so we are happy to bring it back for you! You may also continue to use RSS feed readers (Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.) to keep up to date on your favorite blogs, but some find this Friends page to be easier to manage. Now you have the option.
Jodi
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June 4, 2007
Long rambling comments (spam)
Quite a few users have been receiving a long diatribe in their comments. This person hit several blogs over the last few days. We are working on keeping them from doing it again.
If you happen to be the recipient of one of these comments (or any other comments that you do not want on your blog), you can delete them by doing the following. Go to the comment in question while you are logged in to your account. There will be a link for 'delete' either just above or below the comment. Each comment will have one. Just click on that and you can delete it.
We apologize that this is happening. We are trying to get it stopped, but more may appear in the meantime. Please quietly delete it and don't give them the attention they are trying to attract.
Jodi
Tech Support
www.homeschoolblogger.com/HSBTechHelp
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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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April 12, 2007
Slow server issues
We are aware that the server has been very slow and causing time-outs for some users. This is simply a matter of too many people trying to use the server at the same time. It doesn't have the capacity for so many at once.
However - we are hopefully getting moved to the new, larger server this weekend. This should alleviate most, if not all, of these problems. You should experience a much faster site once we are switched over. We will also be able to fix some of the lingering issues that weren't able to be fixed permanently on the existing server.
We're sorry for the frustration of the slowness. I've had problems with it myself (which is why, if you've sent in a tech support request in the last few days, I'm way behind on answering them). I think we'll ALL be thrilled when we have the new server up and running!
Hang in here with us. We're trying to keep up with this rapidly expanding community as best as we can. You have all made us so popular! :-) That's a good thing, but we are all experiencing some growing pains along the way. We appreciate your patience!
Jodi
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April 2, 2007
Newbie's Guide to Flickr
Are you running out of room in your blog photos area? Like the cool Flickr add-ons you've seen on other blogs?
I ran across a nice tutorial that explains how to use Flickr from start to finish. If you'd like to learn how to use this free online photo sharing service, this is a great place to start:
Webware Flickr Tutorial
I'm often asked about how to get more photo storage space (we don't offer more than the 1 MB here at HomeschoolBlogger) or how to use other sites' services. Unfortunately, I can't really help with that because we don't offer support for other sites. Hopefully this tutorial will help those who are wanting to know about such things. :-) Flickr seems to work pretty well with Homeschoolblogger most of the time, so I can definitely recommend it for your photo sharing needs.
Jodi
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March 29, 2007
Template Problems
Some users have been having problems with their templates looking 'funny' over the last couple of days. This is being caused by a change we had to make in the jumpbar at the top. It is being worked on and your templates should be back to normal soon. At least those using default templates - modified and custom templates may be a different story.
Unfortunately, we can't help you fix your modified custom templates because that is beyond the scope of Tech Support. You change your templates at your own risk, sorry to say. But you may want to take a look at your blog to make sure everything looks as it should. If not, you may have some detective work to do.
Work is still being done on the design of the jumpbar, so you will probably continue to see it changing until the final design is in place.
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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March 2, 2007
*Please Read* Latest news on site virus/worm activity
Here is the scoop on the recent worm attack on Homeschoolblogger and some other important information you need to be aware of.
Someone found a way to bypass the existing security measures to release a ‘worm’ on the site. This particular worm did several things, some of which caused the triggering of virus alerts for users and sometimes opening unsavory web pages. It also attached to the template code of those viewing infected pages while logged in, which is how it spread.
The good news is that the problem has been taken care of. The malicious code has been removed from all affected blog templates and from the system. The security hole they used to gain access has been plugged. So the site is completely safe and virus/worm free.
The bad news is that in order to protect the site while we work out some other security measures, we have to disable JavaScript again. We realize that many of our users rely on JavaScript to run certain items on their blogs, such as visitor counters and blogrolls, etc.
So, what does this mean for you? If you have JavaScript codes in your current template, they WILL continue to work if you leave them as they are now. However, if you modify your template in any way and re-save it, ALL JavaScript you may have on your template will be wiped from it. It will look right in the preview, but when you actually save the template, it will actually be erased from your template code and no longer work. So unless you absolutely have to change something on the template, we suggest you not do so, at least until we explain what will happen next as far as allowing some JavaScripts to run.
This only affects your blog template (the visual design of your page). You can post entries, edit entries, leave comments and do any of your other usual activities.
In short, carry on - but leave your template alone if you can! :-)
Jodi
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February 28, 2007
ATTENTION: JavaScript turned off again
Due to a worm attack (most likely caused by malicious JavaScript), JS code has been turned off on the site. This means that if you make any changes to your template, any JS code you have in it will stop working. This includes counters, blogrolls, etc. The only way to keep your code working right now is to NOT make any template changes. Once you save a changed template to the system, it will be stripped of any JS code.
If you do need to change your template, I suggest you copy and paste all of the existing code to a text file on your computer first so you will not lose your current codes. Then if/when JavaScript is turned back on, you can add them back to your template without having to look them up at the individual sites again. Right now, we are considering this temporary as we try to find another way to solve the problem, but there is no known timeframe on this.
Jodi
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