RSS Feed Update
January 22, 2010 Sorry to dedicate a whole post to mundane site news, guys, but we've been fiddling with our RSS feed and I know that has a lot of you concerned.
As I noted on yesterday's post, we pulled the full feed in an attempt to thwart evil thieving spam bloggers. However, over the past day or two we've had the benefit of talking to some Very Smart People who've shown us alternate ways to foil scrapers. (See? We even learned what "scrapers" are. Told you they were smart.)
Therefore, and here's the part you want to hear: we are restoring the full feed tomorrow.
Who loves ya? Huh? Huh? That's right: we do.
(Well, except for those sourpusses who started the name-calling and excessive nastiness the second we touched the feed. Can't say we love them. Nope. In fact, those guys - just being honest here - kinda suck. Fortunately, most of you are NOT those guys - so thanks for that.)
Reader Comments (90)
Wow...people suck!
(pisstt) Hey RSS addicts- over here...Did ya know there's a little button at the top if your browser called favorites (or bookmarks) you can actually SAVE an entire blog here, and the best part is when you click it- it comes right up. So when a feed is wonky, you can still read it with minimal effort. I know- pressing buttons is difficult, but I just know that you can do it!
Hey Anonymous @ 9:31,
I would say that the word suck is a strong, descriptive word. Not a curse necessarily, though I do have some church friends who are opposed to its use. The problem is that words like suck and ass have multiple uses and can't be lumped in to one category or another. Jen doesn't swear at all so, for her, suck is an extremely strong word.
Which fits how she feels about people who say mean things about having to click a button.
Sorry to offend.
john
Keep up the good work.
Never posted here before. You make me giggle . . . telling people they suck. :-) Keep up the awesome wreckerating!
Just a point on the ads. Yes, the RSS feed now comes with ads... but, honestly, that doesn't bother me in the least. The CW feed is a pretty image-heavy one anyway, so another extra graphic at the bottom isn't gonna break anything, and (IMHO) it's not nearly so irritating at the bottom of an image-heavy feed like CW as it would've been at the bottom of a pure-text blog.
Yes, ads are annoying, there's no getting around it... but, honestly, I'd take a dozen ads alongside a functional RSS feed than no ads and no feed. Site revenue's gotta come from somewhere, after all.
Also, once again, thank you so much for bringing the feed back up (and so swiftly, too!) and many many many apologies that so many people saw fit to embrace their inner tantrum-throwing two-year-olds over it.
No offense taken; thx for the explanation. I know there are church people who think s*** is a fine word, so I'm not sure if it has too much to do with that, but thanks, anyways. Of course, it's *not* :) like you guys run an insanely popular blog and couldn't come up with another creative word to fit your feelings (dare I list them here?), but I understand what you're saying in the long run, even if I don't necessarily agree. :) Enjoy your "day off"! And yes, people are lazy. Unfortunatley, that's just a bane of life. :)
Yay, thank you! When the feeds started showing up differently, I figured you were trying something new, but I didn't mind coming to the site when I saw a new post was up. Keep up the good wreck-alicious work :)
I have your RSS sent to my iGoogle desktop, so every day (when I get home from work - I teach school and don't have a second to read blogs at work)I click on the feed, it opens your blog in a new window, I either have a good laugh or am awed by the creativity and skill of cake-makers, and then I mosey on. Therefore, I noticed none of your troubles and can only take your word for it.
At any rate, thank you, thank you, Jen, for the cakes, but especially for your humorous commentary. You are a daily delight.
Don't you just love people who get all pissy about the FREE stuff you're giving them?
On a happier note, I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday with my 4 year old and we saw baggies of naked mohawk babies in the cake aisle (getting some white-white to add a necessary detail to something on the second photo here: http://kimberlychapman.livejournal.com/522510.html ), and she pointed to them and said, "That's what's on your computer all the time!" Because you're the only blog that gets a permanent tab open in my browser.
WV anzator: Watch out for the dreaded anzator, the Australia/New Zealand alligator that eats drop bears and hoop snakes for breakfast.
Since my reader/internet connection is so dang wonky, I was cussing THOSE two things out. Didn't realize it was at YOUR end!!! LOL!
Glad you got it resolved and I can go back to rightly and regularly cussing at my reader and internet connection.
Soooo, not to be all 20th century or anything, but I just have no idea what an RSS feed is. No need to tell me--I'm pretty sure this is one of those cases where ignorance is bliss. :-)
Mean people should cut the High Priestess of Cake Wrecks some slack when she needs it! I'm glad your Very Smart People were able to help you.
What a to-do! I have Cakewrecks in my favourites so all I have to do is click on it, and ta-daaa! the site is there, a giggle a day. And while I am tecky enough to be a computer teacher, I don't bother with RSS feeds, and would certainly not admit to reading 100 blogs a day. Sheesh! There are other things to do.
You ROCK!
I just have the CW site bookmarked, so didn't notice the RSS issue. But I really don't understand all the complaining. It's a blog, folks, free entertainment. Just be glad Jen and John Husband of Jen still want to put up with us.
So while you're posting about mundane RSS stuff, how about editing in what your solution was so the rest of us can maybe follow suit? *bats eyelashes*
To be honest, I never noticed any change at all in my "rss" feed. I have an rss feed through firefox on my bookmark toolbar.
So, I guess it ended up not mattering much to me at all. Funny how that works.
I don't think I fully understand RSS feed, though. So that might help. Ignorance has always helped me in the past.
post script:
I've never had any trouble with adverts. I have adblock plus as an extension to my firefox and have never seen an add on here since then.
The page is very quick to load, as well. So, in conclusion, I am a very happy customer all around. Continue. *nod*
w.v. coksts (really?...wow.)
"Sucks" is a PG word these days, no matter its official meaning or origin. It's the meaner, hipper "stinks." I'd put it on the same level as "crap" and not blanch at hearing it from a 12-year-old.
That said, it depends on the usage. Saying, "That sucks" is different from telling someone to "Go suck it!" I'd judge from your aggravation that perhaps you mean to convey something about halfway between the two, which sounds both fair and still PG to me. Wreck on, CW!
THANK YOU! :D
We love you too!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! I LOVE this site, love you, love the easy feeds!
Pam
Every time you adjust those feeds, I have to adjust my tinfoil hat!
hehehe... just kidding, my tinfoil hat is securely glued to my head!
WV: slinymem - tell all those haters to kiss your slinymem
Huh? RSS what now? I would be concerned if you were fiddling with ANY type of feed, let alone an RSS type. Besides, didn't your mother ever tell you that fiddling causes hairy palms? Geez!
i'm apparently behind the times and have no clue what an rss feed is, but hooray for people helping you to fix it!
the internets are a scary place
I don't know what feed or RSS is either. I'm so out of it. If it was messed up though, I'm sure I wouldn't have been a jerk about it. Lighten up people.
Good luck dealing with the scrapers, though I, myself, have no idea what that term means... ^^;
(forgot today was Saturday meaning no new post - looking forward to Sunday Sweets 8D )
As a techie geek myself who is married to a engineering geek, we appreciate the difficulties you've had making this work with the synd feed. Thanks for your hard work.
And as for the naysayers who wish to assert their opinion...if you don't help bake the cake, please don't gripe when it doesn't turn out the way you want! It's free entertainment brought to us by Jen and John, for goodness sake!
On the whole 'is suck inappropriate' debate: you could always go the route of my 11th grade pre-cal teacher. She disapproved of saying that something sucked, and she would correct us and tell us that, instead, it 'inhaled profusely'.
Though, I personally am okay with using the word suck. The alternative is just funnier.
I didn't know YOU had done anything. I thought I had inadvertently messed with my own settings, although how that affected my Mail as well as Google Reader, I have no idea. I was hating on myself a bit, but never on you!
I'm just happy that whatever I did, I managed to switch it back so I can see the "pretty" pictures again :)
@cc, thank you very much for the helpful visualization. I will start using that.
IA had tried to post a comment about how to get a quick and nice load from my crackberry,but it didn't go through.
After the site redesign, I had much trouble loading it. I gave consturctive feedback, and Jen and John were very accomodating. It was still slow, and I adjusted my settings and it is fine now.
It does take a few seconds, but I can click a button, entertain myself otherwise for a few seconds and then read my favorite blog with no troubles.
while in Blackberry browser:
menu: Options
select Browser Configuration
uncheck Support Javascript (leave prompt on and if a site really requires it, it will ask you to turn it on)
uncheck "Use Background Images" this helps the dark background problem, and most sites work best. If you run across one with white font (bloggers - don't do this!) it is easy to turn background back on.
uncheck "support embeded media" then it doesn try and fail to load videos and annoying moving ads.
Column vies is the best view for a nice readable font that fits the page perfectly. Also you can change your font size in General Properties.
and also change image quality to low there for better speed. Never repeat animations.
Hope this helps the frustrated blackberry users.
I was stunned by the whining too. I am willing to go to any effort to get my daily fix of your amazing humor. The cranks get very tiring, and I only just recently started reading comments again as it had gotten to negative and upset me more than the post lifted my spirits. I am in a better frame of mind these days and can laugh at the sucky cranks again.
I come to Cake Wrecks the same way I do all of the blogs I read - through a bookmark. So I didn't notice any difference at all, and I'm sorry you've had so much hassle from so many mind-bogglingly lazy people. Or if not 'lazy', then far, far too entitled. This site is free guys - if you are giving nothing you can expect exactly that back and have no right to complain if you don't like a change.
Anonymous 7:24 - I would say 'suck' is a very, very mild word as well but as a UK reader, I'd ask to refrain from the use of 'c***' - it's considered much more offensive over here and I know of lots of young people who read this blog.
I know it's not considered particularly offensive in the US so you couldn't know and please don't take this as a criticism or rebuke - just a friendly request for any future posting. :)
@Hannah--
I am willing to bet your version of a no-no word (C***)and the version of what would make that vulgar in the U.S. are definitely NOT the same word! Took me a minute to figure out what everyone meant, because I couldn't imagine why CW would EVER say that! rotfl...
I love this blog, and I love the comments from readers, too!
I don't usually read ALL of the comments, but today I just had to ... and might I say how hilarious I think it is that there are debates over "offensive" words? I'm a "to each his/her own" kind of gal, so I just breeze over things that might offend me coming from, say, my pastor or child, when it's not said pastor or child saying them.
Jen & John, you two ROCK on such a high level that I'm not sure you can be touched. Love love the blog & will never understand the people who insist on the name-calling & excessive nastiness over anything you do. Thanks so very, very much for all of the time that you take to give us FREE entertainment!!!
Glad you could bring the full feed back but, really, was it *that* bad? My RSS feeder still gave me a link to the post. Does clicking one little link really ruin your day? Especially when you follow up the linkage by reading the funniest blog on the planet? I'd happily click links if it saves Jen and John from getting scrapped (which is only slightly less horrible than the imaginary medical procedure you think of when you hear "scapers").
Keep on wreckin', Jen and John, keep on wreckin'.
I'm so low tech I don't even know what RSS is, I just came in to say Jen and John are awesome and WHINERS SUCK! kthxbye.
I think it's a nice surprise to come back to after the weekend.. now I get the full graphics and stuff in my RSS reader, which is great. And if doing that has somehow foiled evil spammers.. even better. :) Thanks for a great site.
Inhaled Profusely?!?!? Love it!!!
My coffee was exhaled with great exuberance when I read it!
Sorry for the whiners, may they be "scrapped" though being "scraped" would be much more painful.
Am I the only one who thinks of Labyrinth when I hear about the scrapers? Why do I picture little puppet goblins on a big drill looking thing?
Some people can be as challenging as some of these cakes.
To say my blood runs cold would be overstating it, but it does drop a degree or two when I see people with an inflated sense of entitlement tsk/complain/threaten about perceived limitations on their enjoyment.
Anyone who "needs" to get through "100+" blogs a day might need to consider just reducing their intake without comment. Those who would normally view this blog by RSS feed on a tiny screen might consider, hmm, waiting until they are around a larger screen (I know, you want it NOW). The rest of the cranky should simply properly read posts that clearly state a temporary (!) change is coming up.
Thank you very much for the original humor (and the hard work behind it), the charm, the weirdness.
@Anonymous -
Once again, you completely failed to get the point. This blog is not here to cater to the flighty whims of every blog reader out there... it's here as a COURTESY to you, and at NO COST to you, might I add. The moment you start contributing something around here is the exact moment you get to complain, bellyache, and yes, WHINE. Moaning about how inconvenienced you are is the epitome of an ingrate, after all they do for you, the reader, and to not even allow them time to come up with a feasible solution for stopping the @$$%&!#! that have been ripping them off before launching selfish tirades against them is just so low class and bratty, I can't even... It may seem as if I'm coming on a bit strong but I can't help it -- people who act as if they are entitled to everything really REALLY hack me off. I see it in this generation coming up after mine more and more every day: people are raising spoiled little brats and nowhere is that more obvious than in a comment section. I reiterate: this blog is here for your entertainment, FREE entertainment, made possible through the hard work and dedication Jen & John, because they VALUE their readers (even the ones that suck) but it is not an entitlement. I hope in the years since your post here you've perhaps grown up and matured a bit. Fingers crossed... and for whomever called Jen stupid: NOT OKAY you ungrateful coward. Perhaps it's time to start blocking certain troublemakers. I certainly wouldn't blame them.B