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replying to comments - email vs comment
I am very frustrated and upset my the change in comment forwarding that was implemented this week WITHOUT prior notice.
In the past, comments have been emailed to me and I can then reply to them privately to the commentor==ers email address. Now, my replies are directed back at my post comments section and to avoid this, I have to cut and paste email addresses and risk making an error.
I, like many small time bloggers, use my blog to communicate within my community and am not interested in changes to the platform that seem to be based on corporate or pay to blog sites.
Typepad is not Facebook and it should not be. And I question who the so called many people who asked for this feature are because my search of this forum did not turn up any requests.
In the past, comments have been emailed to me and I can then reply to them privately to the commentor==ers email address. Now, my replies are directed back at my post comments section and to avoid this, I have to cut and paste email addresses and risk making an error.
I, like many small time bloggers, use my blog to communicate within my community and am not interested in changes to the platform that seem to be based on corporate or pay to blog sites.
Typepad is not Facebook and it should not be. And I question who the so called many people who asked for this feature are because my search of this forum did not turn up any requests.
I’m sad, frustrated, angry
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we're still working on this - we've heard reports of some folks having the email replies formatting oddly, even when you click on the "email" link. We're checking this out now and we'll have an update for you soon.
I’m glad we're working on this quickly.
The company says
this answers the question
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hi everyone - I'm so sorry about this. We're working on a fix for this right away. I've been in touch with lots of you directly to work with you on how we can make this better. (And if you need some more details on your account in particular, just give me a shout.)
We messed up on this one, but we're going to make it right. Once I know more details about when we're fixing this and what steps we'll take, I'll post about it here and on Everything TypePad.
Again - my apologies for the confusion, the problem, and for the missed communication. We're going to do better next time.
If there's anything else we can do to help, just let us know.
I’m sorry. And I'm confident we can help.
The company says
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Inappropriate?I'm with YOU, Joan, and I have registered my dissatisfaction via help ticket. Sadly, I got a canned response that seems to indicate that we should take it or leave it, and it almost seems to be INVITING us to leave. Apparently we hobby bloggers must be a drain on the system or something. Amazing that in this economy any business would want to dump a large bit of its customer base. I am presently looking into changing hosts.1 Comment Add a comment
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thanks for talking today, Norma - please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. -
Inappropriate?Let's face it, Typepad is now geared towards business blogs. Personal bloggers aren't enough of a market, I guess. I went to Blogger—more design freedom than Wordpress.com, easier than self-hosting. Here's how to do it: http://classical-bookworm.blogspot.co...8 Comments Add a comment
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Naaah. just the same. I've been using blogger before and found out that if you don't know about codings then you won't be able to come up with a good design. You will still encounter errors. And there is no support team that is going to help you. You are all alone with blogger, you might find some helpful tutorials from other sites but the help you can get is different. there is no personal touch unlike typepad. Blogger basic templates are poor in design. You need to find some templates outside blogger. and then install it in your blogger blog. If you don't know about coding? then nothing will happen. I think its fare if we open up our minds to the evolution and reality. And that, there is no perfect thing free from errors and troubles. The good thing with typepad is that. They will help you all the way. We just have to consider some changes and also consider the needs of the majority. Im sure typepad is doing their best for us customers.
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There's actually a lot of design customization you can do in Blogger without coding, and it's easy to find templates online, being such a popular platform. If you want a truly custom design you do have to do some coding yourself, but the same is true in Typepad. Unlike Typepad, Blogger gives you complete control over your whole blog (not just the stylesheet), and you don't lose automated features like you do when you use advanced templates in Typepad. And it's all FREE!
And you're not entirely alone in Blogger, they have an extensive user forum. I think it'll be a cold day in Tangiers before Typepad gives its users a real forum, not just this complaint board. -
Well based on my observation since I'm so into the blogosphere. I've noticed that there are so many blogger blogs that are poor in design. I think that's enough proof already. Yeah you're right, there are so many blogger templates that you can customize without coding but lets face it. It will still need some coding. I know it because i tried it. Infact, in your blog http://classical-bookworm.blogspot.co... you are teaching some codings right? For an average net surfer who really don't know about coding, even if the coding is simple, it would still be hard for him/her. It is true that blogger has an extensive forum but you will only get response if there is someone who is generous enough to correspond to your query. Or if there's someone who has time of doing so. With typepad, you get the response you need within the few hours after opening a help ticket. They will answer you as soon as possible. I believe typepad is doing their best for their customers. Infact, this issue we're discussing can be taken action but of course. It needs some time, we just have to be patient. Patience is a virtue right? Well to end this. The decision on whether we want to continue growing with typepad or not really depends on us. But i must say that with typepad. I feel contentment. I know typepad has a lot to offer in the near future. So i will stick to it and keep growing with it. Have a nice day.
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I can't argue with you about most Blogger blogs being ugly! But that's just because people only pick the default template and never change the colours or do anything with it. That's their choice, I guess. But you don't need to do any coding at all to just copy and past a nice template into Blogger.
The one unique thing about Typepad is the book typelist, and that is more tricky to reproduce elsewhere. Either you can do a little HTML like I show in that blog post, or you use an automated widget from LibraryThing, Shelfari, GoodReads, etc., which most readers are memebers of already. There's really no need for code there either, that was just my choice.
Yes, Typepad does have customer service, but that doesn't mean they're responsive to their customers in actions and not just words. I've been patient for 5 years and I that's long enough! Typepad was much better in the beginning but the last few years there have just been more problems and they've fallen behind in features. I shouldn't have to pay to be patient... -
Hello, well you're entitled with your own decision. I think that's the most important thing. The choice to do or go for what you believe in. Its sad that you are not receiving enough response from the support team. In my case, i got an answer from them whenever i call for help. I started blogging 2 month ago empty handed. By means, i don't know about codings and other stuffs or to be general, how to establish a blog. But with the consistent help tickets and answers. I was able to figure out things. How they work, etc. I was able to come up with my blog now. I learned a lot from that experienced. This is also what i've been thankful for. Because i learn something. And i know that i will keep on learning. Specially that there's someone at my back who is going to support me. What i love with the support team is that. If you will ask them nicely, even if your query is not related. They will still help you. I guess approaching is also important. Yes we are customers and we have all the right but as fare human. We both had feelings and we should consider that one. specially on interacting with others even with the support team. All i can wish for right now is that we find happiness and contentment. I can say that you've found your happiness and contentment with blogger already and so do I with typepad. Goodluck to both of us. There's just one things i want to ask from you though. Can you please help in other way? i mean, i know you just want to help others but migrating to other platform is not the solution. Quitting is not winning, though sometimes it is but even if someone migrates to other platform. They will still encounter errors and problems. I think the best thing to do is to find solution. :)to face the problem, and not turning back.
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Thank you, Sampaguita, I am extremely happy with Blogger. It isn't a question of "quitting" or "winning" with Typepad. I am not in control of Typepad and there is nothing I can do to change Typepad. It's not up to me. All I can do is choose the platform that works for me and right now that is Blogger. I'm glad you're happy with Typepad. I just want the ones who aren't happy to know that they can move and it's not that hard. I wish someone had told me that a long time ago.
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You're welcome, Great that you' re extremely happy with blogger. Nice to know that you've found what works for you. Well, i understand that you just want to give others an option. I also experienced the same when i read an ebook recommending typepad. Then i also told my self. I wish someone had told me earlier. Haha. To end this. May i know you're real name? So that i can call you by name. Take care and have a nice day.
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I'm Sylvia. :) You have a good day too!
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Inappropriate?I received the same weak, canned reply to my help ticket on this issue. I'm researching other blog hosts. I will certainly remember this issue when ever I deal with Six Apart or any company that uses their services. I wonder why Six Apart doesn't realize that besides being a knit-blogger, I am a professional and a consumer.
I’m frustrated
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Inappropriate?I'm ticked off because a) this whole comment/reply/conversation thing is and has been available through Typepad Connect for those who choose to operate that way. I was trying that out for a while, hated it, changed back, and then b) Typepad changed the frickin' regular comments to do this very same thing and c) they did it WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHATSOEVER! I am livid. The commenter doesn't even know you've replied in this "thread" unless they go back to check.
I’m SUPER FRUSTRATED!!!
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*cough* Blogger *cough* http://classical-bookworm.blogspot.co...
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Thank you! The TypePad Key Connect thingy didn't work, so now they are forcing this on us in a new way. I would love to know who has time to revisit every blog they read to see if new comments have been added. I know I don't have that kind of time.
It's a shame they don't respect us enough to care what our needs as bloggers are. One would think they would be interested considering we are all paying clients. -
At least Blogger and Wordpress allow commenters to choose to be emailed if someone else comments on a post. Many sites do this (like this one) and it's a long overdue feature on Typepad (one of many reasons why I moved to Blogger).
Another option is to use a comment tracking service such as CoComment. It's not perfect and the commenter has to enable it, but it works. -
Inappropriate?I told Support I was f*ing livid when all this happened Friday and I still am. As paying clients, we deserve better than this. If I wanted a facebook account, I would go get one.
Being patted on the head and told the same exact thing that you were about this change only makes me more angry. Don't they realize that we do talk to each other and are sharing information? How stupid do they think we are?
I’m freakin' livid, frustrated & disappointed
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I think Typepad knows perfectly well how hard it is for a non-technical person to move a blog, so they can go ahead and alienate existing customers while pursuing business clients and getting in on social networking without losing too many accounts. I think it'll backfire, though. Business clients will want a platform that works reliably, and that's not Typepad. The last "upgrade" was a buggy mess, which is why it was so quickly followed by the "All New" Typepad. Business people don't have time to submit endless help tickets. Typepad had major layoffs last year and I wonder how they're doing in this recession. They certainly lost my business.
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Inappropriate?Well, many of us started on Blogger and left it, because it's too difficult and hard to navigate, and all the Blogger blogs look the same, within a very narrow range, (no offense to yours, Bookworm, but yours is clearly more sophisticated because you know what you are doing, and we don't care to work at it so hard) so Blogger is not the answer for us. We are just disappointed that Typepad has kicked us around for so long, or neglected us hobby bloggers, and refused to listen to us -- especially in this latest iteration about our habits and style and preference for commenting compared to those who want to boost their stats by commenting in their own comments (and that is truly what it is all about -- boosting one's own comments, being selfish and thinking that people ONLY read a handful of blogs including their own, wanting them to keep on returning -- quote-unquote, "STARTING A CONVERSATION," which is just plain bullshit -- it's just about stats and egocentrism and BUSINESS -- and that is NOT the way we do our blogging at all -- we all read upwards of 300 blogs on a regular basis and cannot and WILL not do that kind of monkeying around) -- that we're tired of it.1 Comment Add a comment
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I'm with you, Norma, my blogging is not about stats and selling, but that's obviously Typepad's focus. Almost every "Everything Typepad" update is about how to increase stats and use blogs to sell. I guess they've decided that their only opportunities for growth are in business blogs and social networking, and they've let the core functionality of their blogs slide, while Blogger and Wordpress keep coming up with new features.
It's too bad you found Blogger difficult. I think things have improved a lot lately. I find that it's much faster and easier to use than Typepad—less clicks to do the same thing. As I said above, getting a designer template for your blog is just a matter of cut and paste, but I guess most people just don't bother and are happy with the Blogger look. It's too bad because it does give the wrong impression about the quality of Blogger.
All the hosts have their pros and cons, and none of them will make everyone happy. I just decided the differences weren't enough to justify paying for my blogs! -
Inappropriate?Hello Norma, i feel your sentiment. I totally understand you. We might have different concerns in blogging but i understand you. All i can ask for is just a little more patience. I know Typepad will look into this. Its good that we are voicing out. But Please don't think that typepad is taking for granted you hobby bloggers. Of course not. We are equal customers here. :) I'm really sure and believe that typepad will be able to do something about this. Just like what they've been promoting on us that we have total control. I'm sure they will give that control back to us. It just need some time and patience :).
I'm glad that you are on typepad's side when being compared with blogger.
I too is on typepad's side. No offense to blogger (bloggers). I even have so many "blogger" blogger friends. Wish you all the best Norma :) lets just wait a lil further:)
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Inappropriate?Hi everyone, Melanie from the TypePad Support team here.
We are so sorry to hear of everyone's frustrations! As bloggers ourselves (and all of us are indeed bloggers), we completely understand how frustrating it can be when an unexpected change occurs.
Generally, we do our very best to make sure that we provide as much information as possible to our members well before any changes occur (as I'm sure you've seen from time to time on our Everything TypePad blog - http://everything.typepad.com), so we're really sorry that this information wasn't relayed to you guys in a timely fashion.
I wanted to explain a little bit about why the change to commenting by email happened, and hopefully shed a little light on what we were hoping to accomplish. Also, we want to provide you all with an alternative - you can still email your replies directly to your readers! We also want you to know that WE HEAR YOU. Your opinions and feedback mean so much to us, so please know that we are listening.
Over time, we have received a large number of requests to change the way that replying to comments via email works. The vast majority of these requests were specifically to have email replies post directly to the blog, and since we are always looking to make TypePad the best blogging experience for all of our members, the behavior in TypePad was changed to reflect this.
Please know that we appreciate that this change may not fit with how you have used TypePad in the past, and we have provided this feedback to our engineers who are looking into options for improving the experience. We did want you to know, however, that you can still reply via email to your readers who have chosen to share their email addresses.
If you are on the New TypePad, you can do this by going to Settings > Comments, and clicking on the commenter's name:
http://clip2net.com/page/m0/1797367
There, an email address will appear. Simply copy and paste this email address into your email reply (removing the default from the email that you are composing), and the email will be delivered to the reader instead of being posted to the blog.
If you have not yet switched to the New TypePad, go to Weblogs > Manage > List Comments, and click on the drop down arrow next to the comment title, then click Edit Comment. There, you will find the email address if it has been provided by the reader:
http://clip2net.com/page/m0/1797390
Again, copy and paste this email address into your email reply (removing the default from the email that you are composing), and the email will be delivered to the reader instead of being posted to the blog.
We hope this helps! Please let us know if we can do anything at all to help make this an easier transition for you, and keep in mind that we are looking at making some tweaks to the specifics of how this works, thanks to your feedback.
Thanks so much,
Melanie
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This does not help and I'm annoyed that someone on your end thinks it might. Just like I am very annoyed that you or someone with the same name told me that this was a Known Issue that was being fixed. Then I get a scripted reply from someone else basically telling me to suck up because this is how it's going to be from now on and there will be no opt-out. This is how not paying customers want or deserve to be treated and it does not show any understanding of us as bloggers or people.
I do not want to take extra steps to copy/paste here and there. I really do not want to deal with that new version of TypePad, either. If I wanted a facebook account, I would go get one. AND I would LOVE to know who exactly has enough free time to read, comment and revisit blog after blog because I know I don't. In fact, I don't know anyone who does. Yet these are the people TypePad values over us knit bloggers.
It's nice that you all are listening, but it would be even better if we were being heard. -
Hi there,
As I mentioned previously, we're all bloggers as well, so we completely understand where you're coming from in your frustration. We absolutely value all of our bloggers. No one is more important than anyone else, be it a Fortune 500 business blog, a knitting blog, a cooking blog, or any other type of blog. Everyone is equal and we work really hard to make sure that everyone is well taken care of.
Unfortunately from time to time there will be changes which don't exactly fit in with the way that you use TypePad. As I mentioned before, the changes were actually due to a super high number of requests from many different bloggers over a long period of time to have emailed replies appear on the blog. The requests came not only from business bloggers, but from people exactly like you. We wish that we could make everyone happy (and we certainly work hard to do so), and we're definitely looking into making some changes that might make it easier for this change to fit in with the way that you use TypePad.
We'll make sure that your specific feedback reaches our engineers. Let us know if you have anything else to add. We're open to hearing your thoughts and feelings.
Thanks,
Melanie -
I think what doesn't make sense is why Typepad has to take away one option in order to roll out another. Why not just make both reply modes possible with a link in the notification email? People want options, they don't want to be told what to do.
I think Typepad doesn't get that people don't want sympathy, they want features that work. We're not paying for a support group to share our "thoughts and feelings" with, we're paying for a technical service. -
IslandBookworm, I completely agree.
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Inappropriate?Well, "simply" copying and pasting email addresses, and having to go inside the Typepad account to so, when we have the email right in front of us, is a big hassle. I absolutely cannot even DO that from my BlackBerry, where I often return emails.
We've done it the other way for so long that we might forget, a), and b) we don't WANT to have to do extra steps, and c) when we do it that way the original comment is not included in the reply email. So instead of saying, "Yes, I know what you mean," and it relates to the comment and makes sense, it then arrives as an empty, out-of-context email to the person. And since we have done it the other way for so long, our commenter does not believe she's been responded to in any event.
I understand that some bloggers want to increase their stats and their numbers of comments by commenting in their own comments, to increase traffic back, and to pad the comments, and that they are doing this for business and therefore want to be able to just do one answer, blah blah blah.
That is not the way *I* want to do it, and never have. I do not understand why the Typepad Connect is not good enough for THOSE people who want to comment in their own comments, and why our emails, which are inherently PRIVATE, are being "kidnapped" from us and rerouted. It seems so very WRONG in every way.
It makes the risk of saying something meant to be personal and private to our readers -- and again, we keep trying to reiterate to the people in Typepad that the knitblog demographic is so much different than the other demographics in that we are personal friends with a lot of our readers or have personal connections that if we happen to say, "Yes, and I didn't like the dress she was wearing at the festival, either," (as an over-the-top radical example) we don't want to mistakenly have that posted in the blog for all to read.
It's a very untenable situation.1 Comment Add a comment
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hi Norma: I'm --really-- sorry that this happened and understand why you're upset. We're working to find the best solution ASAP. I understand that being told "hang in there" isn't what you want to hear right now, but we'll get this sorted out as soon as we can.
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Inappropriate?Well, of course you're not going to hear anythng from people who like things JUST THE WAY THEY WERE if you don't even ask them or give them a heads-up. Just because you hear from a large number of users who want a change DOESN'T MEAN THE MAJORITY of users want it. This makes NO SENSE to me at all, especially when users can do this very thing with Typepad Connect. I, in fact, tried Typepad Connect myself for several weeks and just changed back on Thursday. I gave it a fair shake and didn't like it; I absolutely do not want any extra steps in replying to people who leave a comment on my blog. I don't have time for extra steps! I agree 100% with everything that Norma has to say (except for the Blackberry part, because I don't have one of those). I honestly do not understand.
I’m so mad that I don't have options
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Inappropriate?Hi everyone - I know it's frustrating, we're working on finding out more about why this change happened and how we can address your concerns. It's a holiday weekend here in the states, so it'll take a bit to get a clearer picture, but we'll send out an update as soon as we've got one.
Thanks to everyone for your feedback and we DO hear your concerns, so we're working overtime (in fact, my mom is bossing me from the other room about working over a weekend) to make sure we can make this right for yall.
hang in there - we'll get you an update ASAP.
I’m sorry for the hassle, but confident we can help.
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I recognize you! :D
I think the long weekend is a factor in why so many of us are on top of issue. Because we do have the time that we might not have during the week.
The last thing I want to do is pack up years of content, hundreds if not thousands of photos and take it all to another site, but, right now, I'm feeling like that may be what it's going to come to because, for me, this commenting thing and that scripted reply is a big deal.
I do realize that TyepPad is trying to keep the outspoken members happy and that is a good thing. It's just a shame that it's at the cost of upsetting a lot of quiet and formerly content clients.
Tell her you're dealing with an army of angry knitters. ;^) -
I understand! We're working on this as fast as we can - as soon as I know more, we'll update everyone. It's hard to hear "just hang in there", I get that completely. Blech.
Angry knitter army! *runs and hides*
I'll make sure we update here and Everything TypePad once we know anything more. -
Inappropriate?Melanie - My quick search of recent posts to Everything Typepad do not warn or discuss this change to the comment format. What I do see is a bragging reference to so called Small Businesses such as Rubbermaid and Photobucket. They are Small Businesses?
GInerva - Please know that the reason I chose Typepad as a PAID platform 3 1/2 years ago was that I wanted a place to chronicle the last days of my life for the benefit of my boys and family. That I was able to connect with wonderful people that share common interests with me has been the best part of blogging.
I fear that moving to another host will risk my losing content and connections and right now I'm too sick and tired to deal with that. Please let whoever made this boneheaded decision know that adding hassle to anyone's life is unfair and that having a canned response or flip attitude about it is unkind.
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I'm sorry to hear about your health crisis, Joan. I don't think the young-uns at Typepad realize how important blogging can be. It's not always just for fun or to make money. There are real human issues at stake. I don't compare my situation to yours, but I am disabled by chronic illness and blogging is just about the only intellectual and social outlet I can physically manage. It's not just a minor inconvenience when things don't work, it's a real diminishment of quality of life for some people.
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Bookworm - I understand what you're saying but to say that we're "young-uns" who don't understand how important blogging can be is just completely unfair. Just among the Support staff, we have invested YEARS of our own time into blogging and we are all EXTREMELY passionate about it. So while you can nitpick about product features you're unhappy with or service issues that you don't like, please do NOT say that we're not passionate about blogging or understand the needs of our subscribers. The entire TypePad team knows exactly how important blogging is and THAT'S why we stand behind our product.
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With respect, I don't think you do understand the needs of your subscribers when you don't inform them of impending feature changes and take away features they value. Remember the blockquote debacle? Maybe if you consulted people first you could save yourself a lot of work and a lot of grief. Yet another reason why Typepad needs a forum. It would be better to have all this out in the open.
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Inappropriate?Colleen - Nitpick??? You are disrespecting my opinion, the time I devote to blogging and the relationships I treasure which are conducted through the comment feature on my blog.
If you and your coworkers are passionate about blogging, changes to key features of how we blog should not be changed without warning, notice or without the option of opting out.
Sometimes it's not what you did (although it is here) but more how you did it.1 Comment Add a comment
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Joan, I apologize, I was actually talking to IslandBookworm and not you. We know this change wasn't addressed properly and we're going to make sure that changes like this are handled more elegantly in the future. My apologies again.
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Inappropriate?Guys please Calm down, Typepad is now working on this issue to bring us comfort and contentment already. Being heard from Miss Ginevra the sixapart community manager, from Colleen, and from Melanie. I think it just need some time to wait. I know this might be a hassle because time its precious but its necessary :) See? they hear us, so lets support them and wish them all the best to come up with the solution as soon as possible. Peace ^^
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Inappropriate?To the support staff who are trying to help: I don't think you need to waste time and energy answering IslandBookworm's comments unless you want to. IslandBookworm, I mean no disrespect, and you can go ahead and air your grievances and disgruntlement (and you can even now turn your anger at me if you want to) but your comments are actually proving to be a distraction from the service WE are trying to get taken care of here. It doesn't help matters to keep saying "Typepad sucks." I don't think Typepad sucks, for the most part, and I'm sure all of its people are basically good people, trying to do their best on an individual basis -- that's the way it is in life (I often say I "hate people," but on an individual basis they're just great).
But this latest move was not well thought out, it was definitely BONEHEADED, as Joan said, and the response we got to our help tickets was inexcusably dismissive and trivializing of our complaints and of our worth as customers.
We are long-time customers who feel that we are being trampled on and ignored and disrespected by that initial and repeated canned response that basically said, "Suck it up, buttercup."
Also, I appreciate Sampaguita's attempts at being the voice of reason here, but now she reveals that she is a brand new customer, a brand new blogger. That puts all her comments in a new light. Again, I say, "Thank you, Ms. Sampaguita, for your nice comments," but we are trying to get our voices heard here and our customer service taken care of. We are long-time bloggers, with established blogs and established readerships. We are trying to get the service we deserve. We are NOT being unreasonable in asking for it. We have paid hundreds of dollars in fees over the many years we have been Typepad subscribers, and frankly, we deserve better.
I have already made the initial steps to move my blog to a different host, but I would sure love to not have to do that. The move is excruciatingly difficult, much more than I have time for. Each and every one of us in this group has personal things going on in our lives that make this kind of thing overwhelming -- I am in midlife, working full time while also studying for a major exam, some of my Typepad blog friends have sisters or children who are gravely ill, some of my Typepad blog friends are gravely ill THEMSELVES and one of them will be entering a major heart surgery next week and we are all pulling for her. Our blogs, in many cases, are LITERALLY our lifelines. It sure would be a nice world if we could just get what we pay for and not have these ridiculous hassles to deal with when we've got so much else going on in our lives..6 Comments Add a comment
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Hello Norma, good day. I apologize for intruding. More than anyone else, we new customers. I think you guys, the legends of typepad deserve more. I'm really sorry. I highly respect you guys. Well i just hope that typepad would be able to bring the honor back to you guys already. I'm sure they will. I know deep inside your heart. You love typepad and will never abandon it. Me being a new customer already love typepad and its community. I have a lot more to learn and I want to look up to you guys. By the way Norma, is it ok if you share to me your blog address? :) Take care and more power to you. Wish you all the best ^^
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Norma, thank you for a thoughtful reply. I am not going to make any excuses as to why multiple members received the same response from Support, other than that we answer literally hundreds of requests a day and sometimes we share responses among the team so that we can efficiently handle a high number of the same question. We're a small team so we have to find ways to work efficiently, so we can't change that part, but we will work on making sure our responses are more thoughtful and helpful. We're always striving for improvement that way.
We'll have more concrete information about the change and what's happening going forward soon, so I won't speak about that part. I can really only speak on behalf of myself and the Support team in saying we're sorry you felt dismissed, we love our subscribers and would never intentionally want to hurt them on an individual basis. I hope you understand. -
Norma, I started commenting on this thread not to say "Typepad sucks" but to let you all know you have the option to move and it's not that difficult. I went through the same thing you're going through, and eventually did decide to move. It would have been easier for me if someone who had done it had told me how, so that's what I'm doing in case it is helpful to anyone reading. After that, I've just been responding to others' responses. I'm not one to drop a comment and then vanish, ignoring the responses of the other people in the conversation.
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Colleen, thank you thank you thank you for admitting that your help staff used canned responses. It was obvious, but it's nice to hear it finally said out in the open. Just being straight with people will help a lot.
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This isn't a matter of "admitting" anything. We share responses in specific situations. Most of our responses are one-offs that can't really be templated. I know that's minor but I don't want anyone to get the impression that most of what is said by Support is canned, because that isn't the case.
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Yes, it's just as you say. It's too bad Typepad doesn't keep up its Known Issues blog because that might save you the time to respond to the same issue over and over again. Seems to me it would be easier to just make one (informative) posting and push it out to everyone by email or dashboard alert than to copy and paste it hundreds of times in help tickets.
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Inappropriate?Sampaguita, my blog address is http://nownormaknits2.typepad.com. Come visit if you'd like.2 Comments Add a comment
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Hello Norma, thanks a lot for being kind :). I have visited your blog already and found it very nice, informative with huge readership. Its just a proof of your greatness. Well I've added myself as one of your readers. So much about business. I guess i deserved something personal also and your blog is just one of the right place for that. Thanks a lot once again. Wish you all the best Norma, happiness and good health always. Take care and have a nice day :)
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Norma, in response to your comment about "boosting one's own comments, being selfish and thinking that people ONLY read a handful of blogs including their own, wanting them to keep on returning -- quote-unquote, "STARTING A CONVERSATION," which is just plain bullshit -- it's just about stats and egocentrism and BUSINESS" - I have this to say in response.
I am a fashion/art/design/travel blogger and I write intelligent, witty, and cultured posts featuring original photography. My community finds it good practice to respond to the thoughtful comments our readers post as it bolsters relationships and creates a culture of interaction and purposeful engagement. Isn't that what we're all here for? If not, you'd better not waste any more time whining about what you don't understand and quickly find yourself a new hobby. -
Inappropriate?It does make me feel better to know that there were hundreds of questions regarding the change that prompted the canned reply. Add me to the list of those annoyed by the unannounced change - I'd replied in email to a few commenters as I usually do, late at night and in bed w/my iPhone and imagine my horror to find that I'd posted those to my blog!!! Evidently there's no expectation of privacy.
The fix Melanie suggested is a bit unwieldy. I've taken to deleting the routed- to-my-blog-email-address, then cutting and pasting in the commenter's email, if I don't have it in my email already or on my iPhone.
It strikes me that that would be a bit unfriendly for businesses, email servers won't be picking up new addresses - thereby losing the ability to keep current info on those that would comment on the blog.1 Comment Add a comment
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thanks for this, Carrie - we're working on a more complete solution right now. I'm so sorry for the hassle. :/
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Inappropriate?Denise: WTF? Did you read any of what Norma, Cookie, Vicki, Carrie and I wrote? Our complaint is that we were forced into a change in format that did not suit the way we interact with our readers and commenters. The lack of notice of the change was the biggest issue because the interacton and replies to our readers and friends had their privacy violated. We treasure our public and private conversations - that is first and last why we blog.
You certainly come across as "intellegent, witty and cultured". Get over yourself. -
Inappropriate?hi everyone - I'm so sorry about this. We're working on a fix for this right away. I've been in touch with lots of you directly to work with you on how we can make this better. (And if you need some more details on your account in particular, just give me a shout.)
We messed up on this one, but we're going to make it right. Once I know more details about when we're fixing this and what steps we'll take, I'll post about it here and on Everything TypePad.
Again - my apologies for the confusion, the problem, and for the missed communication. We're going to do better next time.
If there's anything else we can do to help, just let us know.
I’m sorry. And I'm confident we can help.
The company says
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Ginevra, thank you for actually listening to us and seeing that our needs are different than the needs of other users. It's reassuring to know that we are being heard and that TypePad is going to fix this issue.
I'm looking forward to the fix. All that copy/pasting gets old after a while. -
you bet! we've got all sorts of things we can do to help alleviate this. In the meantime: sucky. I'm really sorry. :/
But we'll make it work! -
Inappropriate?Add me to the list of "do not want" on this new change. I enjoy personal dialogue with commenters via email and the ease of being able to email back and forth without publishing aid conversation. This new change just made my blog a party line (remember those!) and I much prefer the old privacy of a personal conversation. I will be adding a blog post regarding how this change has happened and that hopefully it will be fixed. I also hope that Typepad will fix it quickly because party lines, well, they went away for a reason *lol*
I’m annoyed
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we'll get an update for you ASAP - I'm so sorry this happened.
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Inappropriate?*chuckle* -- Maybe that's just the issue. Many of the new bloggers AREN'T old enough to remember party lines! Witness that Denise person who criticized me above, for example. She missed the point of our complaint, and seems to think that we don't respond to our commenters at all. Ha! OPPOSITE WORLD. Heehee.
I've also entered into many conversations with a lot of "pro" bloggers who deign to tell us that if we have private off-line conversations with readers that it "leaves the others out of the conversation" and that that's rude. Totally clueless that we can actually have more meaningful, more personal conversations IN ADDITION TO the blog content. So if I happen to say, "Oh, and by the way, let's schedule another session to rip out the brown blotchy thing," (haahahahah, OR WHATEVER), the whole world doesn't need to know about the rest of that off-blog conversation since we happen to be friends, and IT IS NOT rude to the others. I'm sorry: That is the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard.
And because we have built up such strong relationships with our readers, they come back day after day, AND they comment (or not, on any given day), BUT they don't have to be required to come back to the same blog over and over again in a day to find out if I've answered their comment. THAT, to MY mind, is the rude. But they're entitled to their way of doing business, as long as we're not dictated to or prevented from doing it the way WE prefer.
Anyhoo. Enough of this. Ginevra and Alex and Andy, thank you. You have heard us and you are doing right by us. And as I tell my daughter, I still love you even when I get mad at you. I'm still a fan.
Now just don't fuck up again. Hahahahahahahah. (KIDDINGGGGGG!) -
Inappropriate?we're still working on this - we've heard reports of some folks having the email replies formatting oddly, even when you click on the "email" link. We're checking this out now and we'll have an update for you soon.
I’m glad we're working on this quickly.
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