A quick update on migration

We’ve had great feedback from the community about enhancements we’ve made to TypePad. We also know some of you are still patiently waiting to see the new features.

The TypePad migration is kind of like moving out of a house and into a new one. If you've been in a house for a long time, it's going to take you longer to pack everything up and move it. Much the same with some of our favorite, longer-term bloggers. We're being really careful with "packing up" your data and metadata - posts and photos, links, comments, trackbacks and all the other elements that make your blog great. We know how important your blog is to you, so we want to be certain we're moving everyone quickly and carefully.

One of the best benefits of TypePad is that we handle all the moving and upgrades for you. We're so happy you've chosen to blog with us. If there's a way we can show our appreciation to you, please let us know in the comments.

Comments

[Sylvia]

It would have been more appropriate if those who have been with Typepad the longest were moved *first*. I'm definitely in the market for another platform now.

[44john]

TypePad really impresses me with its dedication to making sure nothing gets messed up during improvements. If only all blogging services were so dedicated. Thanks for all your hard work!

--John at http://voyagers.typepad.com

[Lydia]

My blogs were migrated last week, and I'm so pleased with the new compose editor. The migration has been seamless and problem-free. Thanks to those bloggers who were migrated earlier and helped the Typepad team work out the bugs -- for me, the migration has been a breeze!

[Ginevra]

Hi Lydia! I'm so glad you're happy with it. We've really been working hard, so I'm glad to hear you're happy! Thanks. :)

[Ginevra]

thanks for your support, John. We really appreciate you back - keep sharing those awesome photos!

[Ginevra]

Hi Sylvia - I've sent you a longer email off-thread, but just to let you know we're really sorry that you feel slighted. It sure wasn't personal. I hope you'll give me a call or send me a note and let me know what we can do to help, and to keep your business.

[Lydia]

I felt the previous comment was not reflective of my experience -- frankly, I didn't want to be one of the first to be migrated, given the problems people were experiencing. By the time I was migrated, it was smooth sailing! Just wanted to say that out loud....

[Brian Hines]

Hmmmm. How could you show your appreciation to me? A Mini Cooper S convertible would be nice (racing green). But seriously...

I agree, sort of paradoxically, with a couple of previous comments. Like Sylvia, I feel those loyalists who been with TypePad the longest (like me) shouldn't have had to wait so long for the new platform. We blog the most, and could benefit the most from it.

However, I also agree with Lydia that working out glitches with smaller and simpler blogs makes sense. The only thing worse than not having the new platform is having the new platform screw up my many posts and comments.

On the whole, I'm happy with TypePad. I'll just be happier with the new platform. And comment features (please try to get comments searchable by Google -- this is important for blogegomaniacs like me who relish high Google rankings).

(Also, having just previewed this comment and seeing the scroll bar feature -- that's irritating. Hopefully it can be disabled when I get the new platform and comment features. My thoughtful, philosophical blog readers often leave long comments, which would be tough to read with a scroll bar navigation.)

[Tim]

I absolutely love the new platform...it was definately worth the wait!

[Geo]

From these gushing comments I'm not sure I'm on the same TypePad as everyone else here. I have had *nothing* but problems and headaches since the change over to the 'New & Improved' platform and virtually every attempt I have made to resolve the litany of issues has fallen to deaf or disinterested ears. I used to love TypePad and it was a joy to blog. Now all I do is fight with the 'New' platform. I am most unhappy with the incessant fiddling that has ruined this experience for me and have been seriously considering a new service if this doesn't improve - fast.

[Ginevra]

hey there - could you let me know (either in these comments, or you can email me at [email protected]) if you've already talked to technical support about these problems, or if there's something we can do to help you? I want to know, and to help.

[Ginevra]

we're glad you're happy with it, Tim! :)

[Ginevra]

Hi Brian - I'll email you offline too, but thanks for your thoughts and feedback. I appreciate your patience, too! and the scrollbar feedback is something I sent straight to product (at altogether too late o'clock last night.) I'll let you know when we have some forward progress on fixing it.

Also, if you'll take a Matchbox-size Mini Cooper, I'm sure I can find one that fits my budget.

[Ben Leis]

Is there an add-on for a printer friendly post print?

[Brian Hines]

Ginevra, thanks, but I'll hold out for a bigger Mini. I'm trying to lose weight, though. If I get down to matchbox size I'll let you know.

After my comment was posted I noted that it appeared without scroll bars. It was just the preview of it that was hard to read with the need to scroll. "Preview" should look like the real thing.

[hewn & hammered]

Same here. I wonder if the enormous number of bugs I'm seeing - and which support marks as "we're working on it," which in the past has meant that I won't get a response for at least 6 months - is a result of the transition, or rather Typepad being understaffed?

[phil alexander]

Could some one PLEASE tell me whether typepad plans to fix the problem with advanced templates? In so far as when I make a switch from basic to advanced, I lose ALL formatting? I just launched a web business, and I am horrified and panicked by my lack of ability to switch to advanced templates without losing data and only getting reverted back to some basic template that I don't want!

[Ginevra]

Ben - if you go to file -> print in your browser, you'll get a printer-friendly version of any post. :)

as far a widget for "print this", though, that's a great feature suggestion, so I've sent it along to our product team.

[Ginevra]

Hi Phil - I'm working on an answer to this for you right now. You can email me off-thread at [email protected] to discuss this in more detail, if you like.

[Ben Leis]

ok cool, thanks ginevra that was helpful

[Sylvia]

Are those our choices? Wait in line for months or be alpha testers? Hmm...

[Sylvia]

This is one of my issues with Typepad. It applies (really ugly) print styles to your blog whether you want them or not, and there is no way to override them. If you want to print your blog as it looks you have to download it and do surgery on the code. Just more hoop-jumping I don't need.

(And yes, I submitted a ticket, and I was thanked for my suggestion. :-| )

[Sylvia]

Really? Uh oh. I just got a "We're working on it" for the conflict between the new comment system and the Amazon product previews javascript. It causes a torrent of code to magically appear on my blog. I can't wait six months or whatever for that to be fixed!

[Cosmo Scharf]

OK GUYS PLEASE READ THIS: Want my appreciation? Add a feature in the control panel that lets users directly edit the HTML of the site and add HTML. I always have something I want to add but can only put it in a post or in the sidebar. I want an HTML for the whole blog like Blogger does for free. If they can do it for free, you can at least add that to Typepad where I'm paying you guys $170 a year. E-mail me at [email protected] to discuss.

[Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed.]

I have the same concerns

- I won't switch to Advanced template because i did a test on another blog and it messed everything up.

- I want to make my comments show up on google too
- most of all I want to allow my readers to subscribe to comments so they know when I've responded! now I can't even email them to let them know. It is beyond annoying now. I've stopped recommending typepad to others...how can I when others have told me they regret it when they what WordPress users can do.

We can't even make our URL be our domain/blog

I hate to even thinking about moving 3+ years worth of blog posts but I'm thinking seriously about just starting over with a new one and then slowing migrating my posts to that one.

[Ben Leis]

Is there a Facebook Connect application yet?

[Ginevra]

Hey Cosmo - I'll email you directly in just a minute. we're doing a LOT of improvements, including the direct edit you mentioned, and I'm happy to chat. Anytime.

[Ginevra]

Hi Ben - we've got a really good Facebook-friendly application called BlogIt, which you can read more about here:
http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2008/04/bringing_bloggi.html

[Ginevra]

Hi Ariane:
The email address in comments will be back soon!

I've been speaking with our product team recently about the design changes, and we've got some great improvements we're bringing out. If you'd like to email me to talk further, I'd be happy to - you can reach me at [email protected]

[Ross]

Looking forward to migration to the new platform. Indeed I'm waiting for migration to progress some development work. Soon, please.

[Account Deleted]

I'd like faster response times to problems. I'm not a high-paying business, but I've used other low-fee servers that provide response time within an hour or two, not a day or two. Like another commenter above, it makes me feel like you are understaffed, which is odd considering the fees you charge, or just plain can't be bothered by us smaller customers.

I also HATE the scroll bar preview. Never seen a blogging platform do that before, and it's a rotten idea. Get rid of it. If a free service can show the comment how it will actually appear, so can yours.

Last, I was really bugged (pun intended) that I was rolled over early without warning to a new platform that obviously had not been beta-tested and was full of bugs, and so was unwillingly used as a guinea pig. It's nice that when I complained about it you gave me a month of free service - but that doesn't make up for all the aggravation and wasted time struggling with all the flaws in the initial platform. As a busy grad student at the time, I didn't have time for that.

Next time, get our permission, and beta test with willing participants before rolling it out for everyone else. You very nearly lost my business over this.

[Ginevra]

Ross, would you email me at [email protected] - I'll check where you are in our migration plan and move you up to ASAP if it's possible. :)

That goes for anyone! Questions, comments, anything you don't want to leave on the blog, please let me know.

[Ginevra]

I make so many bug/bugged/buggy puns it's kind of ridiculous. ;)

I really appreciate you sticking with us through this. I know it wasn't always easy for people. It was thoroughly tested, by beta users, by focus groups, by ourselves and our kick-*ss QA team - but we didn't find everything. Again - you have all of our appreciation for sticking with us. My partner is a busy PHD student, so I understand that just having the things in your life you -expect- to work...work! is important.

The scrollbar preview is going away! Tra-la. I hate it too. :)

We are working on staffing up our support team as well as rethinking how we support our customers. It's tough this time of year, especially, but if you ever have any questions or feel as though you're not being heard, please call me, email me, or IM me - you can reach me anytime at [email protected] and I am more than happy to answer your questions or concerns, or find someone who can.

[Account Deleted]

Thanks, Ginevra. Frankly, given the many bugs that created what I thought
were obvious formatting problems, it's hard for me to believe that it really
was thoroughly beta tested. But if you say so . ;)

I basically like Typepad, as even with the problems it has some features I
really like that I haven't found elsewhere. And I'm glad you're working on
improving it and are actively soliciting suggestions - another plus.

Thanks again,

Aimee

[Cookie!]

You are not alone.

I have given up trying to get help from TypePad. I am tired of being frustrated with a blog I should be enjoying. There are a lot of us who are looking into other options because of the changes TypePad has forced on us.

[Ginevra]

No worries, Aimee! Please let me know if there are any other questions I can answer for you - you can always email me at [email protected] If I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does.

[Geo]

It's been a lot like being in Beta testing without being *told* that you're in Beta testing.

[Alison May]

Hi Typepad... hmmmmm. I think you know I love you. I do. But I feel like a kid waiting for a Christmas that never comes. I've been blogging with you for four years and I'm ready for a new design but I'm loathe to start faffing around with it until I've got the new features enabled and waiting is making me cross because I'm an impatient little madam...

So I think what I'm saying is this: if I knew WHEN I was going to be migrated I could stop throwing internal hissy fits and we'd all be happier!

So..erm...when?

[Ginevra]

alison - send me a note to [email protected], and I'll figure out when you're being moved.

[Ginevra]

I'm really sorry that you feel that way - we've done extensive beta testing, but we know this change has been really difficult for a lot of people. Please feel free to get in touch if there is something I can do to help.

[Ginevra]

I'm so sorry that you haven't had a good experience so far - but please let me know if there's something that I can do. You can email me anytime at [email protected] and we'll work on making this right.

[Alison May]

Will do Ginevra. As usual thanks for your super quick response. I do appreciate it.

[Ginevra]

Hey JLT - just let me know if you get the "we're working on it" and you need more information - we're happy to provide this to you. That message usually means just that: the ticket's with engineering and we're working on a fix. If there's something you want to know about in particular, please let me know and I'll find out more of the "guts" of the problem for you. You can email me anytime at [email protected]

[Ginevra]

Hey Sylvia - thanks for your email! I know we've already talked about this offline, but the Amazon code you're seeing is a bug we should have fixed in a few weeks. I haven't seen this on any other blogs, but if anyone who's reading this has seen it, I'll encourage you to file a ticket with technical support so that we can get them and engineering on the case ASAP.

[Ginevra]

agreed! and it will - soon. I leave a lot of comments and I'd prefer to see them the way I intend them, too. :)

I've got a snowball's chance of seeing my own Mini in this lifetime, but if I ever get one, I promise to let you borrow it.

[Sylvia]

I'm very glad to hear that. The only information I got was the "We're working on it" status message.

[Patricia H. Kushlis]

I'm just wondering how we know if we've been migrated or not. I've seen a few things that I think are new, but they are not the remarkable change that is being advertised.

I suppose that means that my account hasn't been migrated yet, but it would be nice if you could let us know what's going on in a more specific way than these general announcements.

{and apologies if this has been said already; I didn't read all the comments.)

[Ginevra]

Hi Cheryl: You should see a message in the application when you're moved (an example of it is here: http://everything.typepad.com/blog/2008/10/q-how-will-i-kn.html) or you can email me and I'll find out where you are in the migration process.

[mary]

I really love the ease of using Typepad, and even recently upgraded my account. However, as of a few days ago, all of the images in my blog (even most of the sidebar images) are gone, and I did open a ticket. I got the "we're working on it", which in the past has meant that weeks will go by without any resolution. I'm really frustrated that this probably means I will have to go without posting any blog posts for a long period of time. Is there ANY way to escalate issues?

[Patricia H. Kushlis]

Hi Ginevra -

Looks like a bad day for TypePad. Just now, when I signed on, the opening
page told me that I don't have any weblogs, and now I can't comment on a
TypePad blog (http://armchairgeneralist.typepad.com/my_weblog/) because the
full page with "post" button doesn't come up.

Yes, I'd like to know where my account and WhirledView are in the process.

Cheryl Rofer

[Ginevra]

Cheryl - would you send me a quick email to [email protected] with your account information, and I'll look up your status for you.

[Ginevra]

the "we're working on it" usually means your ticket is with engineering - if you want to drop me a line anytime I can escalate your ticket for you. it's just [email protected]

[MizLiz]

My site is lost. I've been trying to get help from Typepad for 48 hours. It is still down. My account is "up to date," I've paid in advance. I haven't visited this comments until today because I am new and have been busy setting up and learning to blog. I loved Typepad until Saturday. I will love you again if you will help me. Is anybody out there? Please don't just keep ignoring me. My feelings are hurt and my readers are upset.
?????????????

[Ginevra]

Hi Memaw - thanks for your email, too - we'll work on getting this sorted out for you. I don't know for sure what's going on but help tickets are the right place to be! :)

[MizLiz]

SANITY and HOPE have returned!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
One of your elves, Zalary, found the problem, explained it to me, and fixed my mistake!
I NEVER would have known what was happening. I messed up and I take responsibility, but I did not know until YOU stepped in.
I understand working with a small staff (been there, done it for years) but telling me up front would have helped while I waited.
Anyway, I'm back and I'm grateful and I love most things Typepad!
Liz - Memaw!!!!

[DD]

I joined Typepad in its early phase in 2003. In those days, I was using pMachine and was literally lost in HTML and my page looking funny all the time because I couldn’t handle “the code.” Typepad was a revelation. After pMachine, things literally clicked. In the ensuing time, I went through literally all the major blogging tools that were coming online. An early pre-Typepad Blogger user, I went successively through platform after platform – from Xanga and BlogCity to self-hosted Wordpress and Wordpress.com. I created dozens of blogs and discontinued as many.

I returned to Typepad from time to time to discover that the platform was improving constantly. I had my grievances, too. And then I left and returned again.

Now in my “mature” blogging years, I find Typepad a great “blogging multiplier.” The application is more seamless and functional. I appreciate the quick implementation of widgets. I love not having to tweak with code. My last self-hosted WordPress blog looked beautiful and was smooth, quick and functional – but in the background it was me, chained to an oar, sweating off every step of the way with various glitches and bugs and the constant need to struggle with “the code.” Not pleasant, to me at least. And on top of all, I was spammed to death and hacked several times.

Right now I have the time to focus on creating content, which should be the target for all bloggers. I have other things to do (like a regular job) besides blogging.Typepad frees me from headaches and takes care of all the rest in the background.

I know that a lot of people do have their problems with Typepad, as some of the comments here suggest. No doubt I am on their side when it comes to customer support. Overall, however, and after all this back-and-forth with all kinds of platforms, I can say that, in my personal experience, Typepad does the trick with the least trouble for the blogger. I like the new platform (and dislike the Typepad Connect Beta).

I give the new Typepad a high grade. So far, I haven’t been hit by any serious problems. I certainly hope customer support grows proportionally to the platform’s progress. That’s key to success.

[Age of Autism]

I run my blog as a business.

1) My lead editor can't access the site from his office, nor can his officemates - meaning just going to www.ageofautism.com. Did I read somewhere about a browser problem??

We've had trouble logging into our account too. Which creeps me out completely.

The Rich Text editor keeps flipping back to HTML and the "publish on" seems funky.

The photo insert requires more steps than it used to to get a photo to position where you want it.

Everything is publishing much faster - which is wonderful.

Thank you. KIM

[Ginevra]

Hi Kim! Glad publishing is working faster, at least!

The logins are case-sensitive - have you tried all the UpPer AnD LoweRcase combinations? Give me a shout at my email address if you need some help - [email protected]

If you've already got a help ticket open, that's the best place to track and troubleshoot any of this stuff, but I'm happy to help out.

[Ginevra]

pMachine- you ARE old school. I think that's just called "school"!

Thanks for your kind and eloquent words about the product. I really appreciate it. Let us know if there's ever anything we can do to help you. :)

[Denise Wakeman]

Still on track with migration? I've been a TypePad user since Sept 04 and my blog still hasn't been upgraded. Everyday I log on and hope...any more news?

Blog on!

[Ginevra]

Hey Denise! We're always so glad to hear from you. If you want to shoot me a quick email I'll try to make sure you get in this week's batch of migrations. We're almost done, and there might be SOME reason you're not in there yet (lots of posts, links, metadata) but give me a shout and we'll get you sorted. [email protected]