Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hold On There!

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Yesterday Ol' Groove started getting complaints, farewell letters, and all kinds of other bummer types of messages. "Groove, you changed the way the pics are displayed!" "Groove this new way of displaying pics SUCKS!" Well, I agree with ya (well, all except the gettin' out of Groove City part). I HATE the way pics are being displayed.

So, then, why the change? Ol' Groove is gonna level with ya. I didn't change it. Blogger/Google in its infinite wisdom decided the slideshow gimmick was kewl and foisted it upon all of us. Didn't ask if we wanted it. Didn't warn us it was going to happen. Didn't give us a choice as to whether or not we wanted it. Just popped up in the middle of the night.

I feel like my blog has been burglarized.

I work hard on the look and design of my blog. I pick and choose the elements that go in or stay out. I don't appreciate what Blogger/Google has done, either, Groove-ophiles. As much as you hate it, I hate it more.

Many of us have griped and complained to Blogger, only to get a "form-letter" style response. I dunno what's going to happen. All I know is if I can't control my own blog at Blogger, I'll be movin' on to another host.

Stay tuned. Meantime, you can right-click the images to get them to pop up in their own window. Unless they've screwed that up in the past five minutes.

Sorry for the rant, Groove-ophiles. I hate to be negative here at the Diversions, but when "Big Brother" messes up our playground, Ol' Groove gets kinda angry.

Hang in there, baby!

17 comments:

  1. That's strange... it looks normal (ie non-slideshow) to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. bastards have done the same to me, started some time yesterday. I'm fuming over it, Groove. like yourself, I put a lot of time and effort into making the Street what it is, and I feel now like someone's just walked in and pissed all over it. my visitor stats have dropped through the floor. what in Grud's name were the idiots thinking of? & why wasn't I at least given the option to decide whether I wanted a change or not? seriously, Groove, it's killed me blog, and, right now, the only option I can see open to me is to shut down the Street. why on Earth would they think, for one second, that this was what we wanted? they've ruined everything.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Strange - they never showed up like that for me. I use a Firefox browser - maybe that had something to do with it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. hmm, i seem to be in the complete minority here, but i totally prefer the slideshow to the old way. i found it ery annoying to have to click an image, wait for it to appear, then go back to main page etc. i offer didn't bother to read your posted comics because of this. now it's way easier.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I use Firefox, too, and it's definitely showing up for me. I've seen it on IE, as well. It depends on if the page completely loads whether you see the slideshow or not.

    There seem to be a few of you who do like the new format, buddy. I can understand what you're saying, as it gives you one page to click instead of back and forth the way it's always been. You can also right click on the slideshow thumbnails to open it in a new window to "biggen" it.

    My real anger comes from the rude way the slideshow has been shoved on us with no warning or choice. It's ugly, it isn't showing anything for old posts (which is what really, really kills me--way to half-way do something, Blogger!), and it slows things waaaay down.

    For those of you who like the slideshow, I'm glad. Maybe if I'm given a choice I can figure out how to give us the best of both worlds (old and new viewers).

    I've added a poll on the subject. I'll be watching how the voting goes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't like it! You can't click the photo image to make it larger instead it goes to the next picture...even hitting F11 does not help. How can we change it back?!?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Groove! I just wanted to say I'm annoyed about this too. I've always appreciated the huge amount of work you've put into this blog ( same goes for Joe on his! ) and this forced change is a real pain in the ass. I've noticed this format change on Facebook too: again no option or consultation. I've voted "get rid"...

    :-(

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hopefully, I'll eventually get to choose for myself, cerebus660.

    Right now, Mikeyboy, it's out of my hands. You can right-click the image so you can look at it the old-fashioned way, though. Hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've just complained about it to Blogger via their Twitter page. I'm not that bothered about the fact it's a slideshow but, when I close the window, I find I can't scroll down the page. I have to hit the "back" button and then reload the page from scratch to get the scroll facility back.

    It's weird. There's been no mention of it on either Blogger Buzz or their Twitter feed - and usually they can't wait to boast about their new innovations.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm just right-clicking and opening in new tab now.

    Love the blog, thanks for all the hard work. I definitely add way WAY more books to my MyComicShop.com orders thanks to you!

    Your pal in Milwaukee,
    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't like the change, but if this was how it had to be I'd make myself get used to it. How anybody could walk away from this incredible blog is so far beyond me that I can't even imagine it. The squeaky wheel will get the grease, and I'm guessing this "new way" won't last long once the complaints start rolling in. I'm sticking with ya, Groove, no matter what!

    ReplyDelete
  12. P.S. ...if I may...

    JOE! Just like DIVERSIONS, the STREET is ESSENTIAL to me, so I seriously urge you not to shut down. You guys have worked too hard to throw it away due to something that can't possibly last (I hope). I'll always be a loyal reader! If worse comes to worst, we'll send Vinnie and Rocko over to Mr. Blogger's house with an offer he can't refuse!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Steve, I agree with ya. Blogger is always bragging about their "new innovations" (which are usually someone else's old innovations), so this stealth takeover is especially aggravating. Thanks for griping at them. If enough of us do, maybe they'll listen. Maybe.

    Jim, thanks man. You know how to make Ol' Groove feel better. Be sure to tell the folks at MyComicsShop.com about the Diversions, okay?

    Joplin John, what can I say? I think you love the Diversions even more than I do, and any time I think I've had it, I think about you and carry on. Thanks, man!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Put me in that unpopular minority that prefers the new format. I read the comics on an iPad, and the "slideshow" thing is infinitely easier than going back and forth to the same page! Keep up the mind-blowing work...!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Add my two cents to the call for a change back to the old way of doing things.

    Rip Off

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello!
    I am one of those who a few days ago,in a fit of mild anger,wrote and complained about the moronic decision by "Blogger" to (try) and change the way we look at the pretty pictures.
    But of course,and thank you for the info., when I right...click the image...everything is all right with the world.
    Keep on truckin',Mr Groove!
    /Mr Anonymous

    ReplyDelete
  17. Did you update to the new Blogger interface?
    I'm still using the old one on FireFox and everything's reading normal (Or as normal a it ever get for us...)

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.


All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.

As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!