Things are different around here. Here’s a place to post your questions, suggestions, observations, discoveries, and tips for navigating this somewhat-strange, somewhat-familiar environment.
Patience, Please
This site is under reconstruction and will look strange for a while. We regret the inconvenience.
I really like the new blog layout so far. The old one was great, too, but I think this one looks awesome, and it has mostly everything from MB 1 and much more!
This is so exciting… *Dances and pies*
I like the wider comment-column; it makes it easier to read. I also like the colors! MuseBlog’s original colors have returned at last! Please don’t change them. -gives colors big hugs-
GAPAs: What is your favorite/least favorite part of the new blog?
I’m liking it, as well. My only comment would be: Is there anyway to get the comment box to be at the bottom of the page? It would make things slightly easier when threads get long. Not that it’s a big deal to have to scroll up, or anything, I just am kinda used to having it at the bottom.
I also like the new blog layout, however, I’m not to thrilled about about the placement of the comment boxes. I liked it alot better when they were at the bottom; it made it easier to reply to the latest few comments without nesting the comments. *sniff* oh, well I’ll get over it. I really like the new colors
At least Muse Academy is still in the same layout as Old MB. Yeah, that’s what I’ll call it, OMB. This will be NMB, at least, for a while, until it’s just plain ol’ MB again.
I don’t know, it seems a bit… garish. However, it’s probably just my infamous and stubborn resistance to change talking
On the positive side, I like the nesting comments (say goodbye to numbered responses!) and the wider format.
You think everything’s garish.
I know what you mean though, it’s a little bit too bright, maybe. The old look had all that white space and stuff.
I don’t mind, though. I’ll grow to love it all, in time.
The colors all come from the old MuseBlog (sampled directly from a screenshot). They appear brighter on some computers than others. You’re right there’s not as much white space. The layout for this theme doesn’t provide as many dividers as the one we used before, so essentially we’re using color to divide up the space. The advantage of this theme is that we could customize all the colors, allowing us to create the closest possible approximation to the old appearance.
…I do? Since when?
But look! It’s point something, so the numbers stay the same!
I definitely agree about the comment boxes.
But I love these gravatar-things. Remember that avatar thread we had on the OMB?
One reason I don’t like the ‘reply’ thing much, is because you can’t really see it as a ‘newer’ post. And then the replies to a post can get really long…
I’ve got mixed feelings on the layout of the “Recent Comments” bar. On one hand, I like it: It’s much more organized, keeps new comments on each thread grouped together. However, I’ve been in the habit of taking note of which comment I’d last read, hitting refresh, and then all the comments in the bar above that were ones still to read. Now, I have to weed through the entire bar, to make sure no thread farther down it have been posted on it since I last read them.
If it stays as it is, I’m sure I will adjust in time, it’s just, right now, I’ve got mixed feelings on it.
7–We had an avatar thread? I don’t remember that….
6–Good bye to numbered comments? Really? I don’t think so….
Same here. The Recent Comments bar is confuzzling.
I like the word “confuzzled”. It’s fun. I use it on my mom alot:).
It’ll take some getting used to, of course, but I think it’s an improvement.
The Rules should be appended with gravatar usage info.
I agree with Luna about the sidebar, updates are hard to follow.
Sidebar looks good now.
(7, 9, 9.1, 10) It’s easy to change the format of the “Recent Comments” bar. How do you like it now?
The only drawback to strict chronological order (actually reverse-chronological) is that the most popular threads will get all the posts. Under the other system, there were limits to the number of comments listed per thread, so less popular threads would get listed, too.
I like it much better now. I’m very, very, very happy with it. It’s just like “old” times.
*pies GAPAs for all their hard work* 
I don’t really mind the format of the recent comments bar, but is it possible to get the “Recent Posts” section on top of the “Recent Comments” bar? That’s how it was on the OMB, and I liked it better that way–you didn’t have to scroll down as far to find it.
GAPAs–Great work!! Thank you for everything you’ve done to get the blog back up and running; it’s wonderful.
Done.
Hooray!! MB is back!
Hmm, the comment box is a bit awkward… I liked it better at the bottom.
Recent comments bar: rather confusing.
I have a question: would I be able to get an avatar by getting an account on wordpress? Because gravatar doesn’t like me. At all.
When you get an account on wordpress, it directs you to gravatar for you avatar needs. So, no, I’m afraid that wouldn’t help you at all.
I’m sorry I have to be the one to ruin the fun, but here are my opinions on the New MuseBlog:
• Too wide – I have to scroll sideways to read the Recent Comments bar.
• Recent Comments bar is confuzzling – you don’t know what thread the person is posting on.
• Takes too long to scroll down, because the avatars space out the comments to about twice their previous size.
• Comment box at the top might lead to people posting without reading the thread, and the old position let you read the new comments before posting.
• Nested comments mess up number order, and you can’t tell immediately if there’s a new post.
• A bit bright. I did like the old, simple layout, mostly white with touches of blue and green.
But whatever suits everyone …
To address your points:
1. This depends on the computer, or perhaps the browser. Without even having my browser window full-screen, I do not need to scroll at all–it all fits.
2. Actually, the recent comments bar does say the thread. It has the bloggers name, a comma, and then the thread they posted on, all in green.
3. I guess this depends on how you’re scrolling: Can you just grab the scroll bar on the right hand of the screen and pull it down? This is what I always did on the super long threads on the old ‘blog, as I was too lazy to swipe my fingers on the track pad the number of times it would take to get it to scroll down, otherwise.
4. I agree. However, I think the GAPAs might be looking into a way to “fix” it so that it is at the bottom. Not sure yet if that is, or is not, possible, but I believe it’s being looked into.
5. Yes and no. Yes, you can’t just scroll to the last read post and read down, but at least the numbers don’t actually change, like over on MA. I think I can manage, here, because at least responses to comment numbers will not get completely unintelligible with each new reply prior.
6. I think part of that has to do with your monitor. It’s much less bright on my laptop screen than it was on the computer at the campus library. Personally, I rather like the colors.
1. How big is your screen? I do not need to scroll sideways at all.
2. It’s been changed: now you do!
3. Somewhat, though the names are larger, too, which I like. It’s easier to tell who is posting.
4. Maybe, I haven’t tried them long enough to say for sure, though!
5. Here, they don’t mess up the number order. Also, when replying to somebody, the comment box jumps to their comment, thus making it easier than trying to scroll up the page and back down, referring to the comments by number, etc. It might be easier to carry on a conversation with nested comments, and I think they’re worth a try.
Also, see my note about colors in comment 6.1.1.
Hm. When I hit the “reply” link on someone’s post, it has a submit button, and next to that a link that says “cancelar”. Is that Spanish on my end or yours?
It’s there for me, as well, so I’d have to say that it’s not on your end, but rather the ‘blog itself.
The author of the theme speaks Portuguese. He must not have noticed. I think it adds character.
The native language of the programmer who created the blog’s “theme” is Portuguese, and bits of that language show up in the software.
Both of you posted at the exact same time. I think that adds character, as well.
All three of us, the GAPAs and me, posted at the same time. ‘Tis quite amusing…..
Yes, apparently, that “good night” was premature.
Now we’ll probably both decide that the other one is moderating, so each of us can go to bed.
(Rosanne seems to be around, too.)
It’s just too hard to stay away. Besides, I’ve been celebrating with ice cream and chocolate.
Ice cream? I want ice cream….. *drools*
Hm. I just noticed something else about the Recent Comments bar which I, being extraordinarily tired and giddy from MB being back, found hilarious. It has the ‘Blogger’s name, a comma, and the thread. The result: “Piggy, sparkling new!”
Ohhh, I think I’ll go to bed.
Yes, yes, indeed: Perhaps you should got to bed, dear, sparkling new Piggy.
*dies laughing*
I will forever envision you as a sparkling clean piggy…lol
is this a bad thing?
I am excited for party times on the new blog!
but alas I need to do all the work I didn’t do during break…whoops
PSA: children, do your homework
It seems like there is so much more information! I feel like I was a hermit scavenging for the barest of bare meals, mostly nuts and berries (cranberries are nice when in season) and then I was transported to a GROCERY STORE
very disconcerting…but delicious?
also I think I might be delirious from the heat/my cold/ new bnlog party times so that’s all I’ll say
*passes out*
I’m confused; I can’t use my normal MB name if I use my gravatar account? That sorta stinks…
The only reason I’m up this late is because I’m doing homework (250 questions of Earth Science) that I had all year to do but left until the last day of spring break.
They’re due tomorrw.
Scratch that; today.
It shouldn’t matter as long as the email is the same. My account is under a different name.
Okay, thanks! I see now that it’s working. If only I had known that before I had asked the question…
HELP!! For me, there is no ‘reply’ button, and the gravatars come up halfway!!!
Are you using Internet Explorer? It seems to have problems, even in recent versions.
Well, I guess I need to get used to everything. The comment box being on top is confuses me. The avators are fun though. I’m clearing my cache the whole time so I can see all of them…
SFTDP:
I love the “your musing is awaiting moderation” ! 
Hmmm, I guess I like it, but it scrools reeeeeaaaaally slowly on my computer. It kind of jerks, but I guess it’s just my computer. It is really old.
The other thing is that I can only see the top part of the avatar-thingies. Again, probably just my computer.
SFTDP
Why did MB have to get a new theme?
(22) We got a new theme because our traditional theme, Blix (and its variant BlixKrieg), was not on WordPress’s list of themes compatible with the new WordPress software (version 2.7.1). It’s possible that Blix/BlixKrieg would have worked, but it’s also possible that it would have required digging around in code and tweaking and retooling that would kept MuseBlog offline for another couple of weeks. Not wanting to risk that, we picked a theme that was ready to go.
“Painter” has its quirks, but it also has a lot of nice features from a GAPA’s point of view. Among other things, it’s easy to color, so Rebecca could sample the blog’s traditional colors and give the place a familar, homey look.
Will MA remain in Blix, or will it too get upgraded?
MA was already upgraded, in effect, when we started there. The big difference is that MA is a free site hosted by WordPress, so it comes with many fewer options (and complications) and remained compatible with Blix.
HELP!!! COMMENT BOXES HAVE DISSAPEARED FROM THE RANDOM THREAD!!!! AND OTHER THREADS TOO!!!!!!!
My eyes are still adjusting to the…bigness of everything. It took me a while to figure out that the comment box is now at the TOP of the page…*headdesk*
Is there a way to make “Recent Posts” show more than five threads? I like being able to get to more new threads easily!
This is great! I just want the comment box at the end of the page.
Just wanted to add something:
Could people stop having long names? I can’t read your comment in the comment bar then.
I totally agree.
I like the little arrow at the bottom that zooms you back to the top.
I for one will not give up my long name!!
Even if we ask very nicely?
GAPAs can’t really do puppy dog eyes, but we would if we could.
Oh, I’m sure you can do quite charming puppy dog eyes that would knock the socks off the most irascible of beings. Give yourself some credit!
Aww, nice of you to say. Of course, the part where I break down into giggles has a way of spoiling the effect.
True, true……but giggles are good as well.
That happened to me, and I got dubbed “cute and scary.” I had to laugh. Then later I got called “scary and intelligent.” I’m seeing a theme here……maybe I should stop terrorizing the poor guy.
Why does the button next to “comment” (like our old “submit” ones) say “cancelar”? It cancels the reply, but why doesn’t it just say “cancel”?
Oh, and the “Your musing is awaiting moderation” is very nice, but would there be a way to make it italic? It’s just a tad odd that it isn’t. *luddite*
See our answers to comment 15 about “cancelar.” Robert will have to answer the italics question.
P.S. Sounds like “scary” is a Good Thing, considering.
Ah, now I see. So we’re keeping the Portuguese “cancel” button.
Yes, I rather thing being scary is fun. It’s just amusing, though she be but little, she is fierce! Apparently. *evil cackles*
29.1
No.
But that was fast moderation!
Well, then what if we insist? The long names really mess up Recent Comments and makes it harder to read.
The gravatars only come up 1/2 of the way. I’m using IE 8. What’s happening? (Can we have a new BUNNY thread? You know the ones like OBEY OBEY OBEY THE BUNNIES YOU MUST OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY NICE MUSEBLOGGERS OBEY OBEY OBEY OBEY OBOE OBEY THE BUNNIES)
This is apparently a problem with all versions of Internet Explorer. Well, except the versions before IE7, which are much, much worse. We’ll have to look into it, to see whether anything can be done. Other browsers don’t have this problem. None that I’ve found yet, anyway.
Fine, Fine. >:(
Thanks, Enceladus. You are doing your fellow bloggers a courtesy. We appreciate it, too.
We really do appreciate it, Enceladus!
Question: Avatars. If someone has had their picture posted on MB before, would en be upsetting protocol if they put up a picture of themselves as their avatar?
If the picture was too small a scale to reveal any identifying characteristics would it be allowed? What if the person was partially concealed and therefore unrecognizable? Is there a way for the GAPAs to know what the poster’s avatar is before moderating?
If so, is there a way to snip only the avatar, or would the whole comment be prone to zappage?
Is there a way to restrict explicit or offensive avatars? I know the gravatar website (where we get ours) makes en choose a rating, so I wondered if there was a block here to permit only G rated. Of course, you can rate anything G, but that’s a different thing altogether, I suppose.
The software is set to accept only G-rated avatars. As far as I can tell, the only recourse we have to any inappropriate avatar that might sneak through is to zap the comment. (And yes, we can see the avatars in moderation space.)
As for personal photos: if someone is truly unrecognizable — like the picture you used on the “avatar” thread with just your eyes peeking around the violin — that shouldn’t be a problem. But it would be too hard to keep up with who has permission to show pictures and who doesn’t.
More to the point, other MBers, particularly new ones, might not realize the distinction and start trying to use photos, too. (These things tend to be contagious.) So, no personal photos in gravatars, please.
Someone had better tell ZVX.
Is mine acceptable? It’s me, but it’s pretty small.
It still gives the appearance that you’re posting a photo of yourself, and I’m afraid it would encourage others.
Question: If I were to ever consider going back to my Luna (Evanna Lynch) avatar, would that be acceptable? I mean, it’s “obviously” not me, but I guess it could be mistaken for a personal photo, even though it’s not…..
Not that I have any plans to return to it right now, just if the whim should ever strike me…..(I’m telling you, I’m going to be going through avatars like ‘phytes go through names)
Alright, I changed it again. I’m considering uploading the one that I used before (hiding behind the fiddle), but for now I’ll just do a ship.
Oh, and could we change the time so it displays in normal time as opposed to military? It’s okay, but I’m too lazy to enjoy fixing the times in my head.
Yeah, me too…..That is, too lazy to enjoy fixing the times in my head.
Woah, things have changed around here.
It would be nice if the recent comments bar made a distinction between the thread and the commenter. Maybe you could put the commenter’s name in bold…
That’s what the hyphen is for.
True, but I think I get where IBCF is coming from. Both the ‘bloggers name and the thread are both in linky green, so at a very quick glance, it can be hard to tell right off where the name of the blogger ends and the thread name starts.
It’s not too big a deal for me, when the blogger in question has a short name, but I can see why some people might have issues with it….
I shortened my points. This should (hopefully) be better for the comment bar!
Yeah. Sometimes it looks like
Luna the Lovely- Getting used to the New MuseBlog
or
Piggy- Sparkling New!
That last one cracked me up.
Having the comment box all the way up here makes me instinctively think that the thread has been closed to comments.
As a few others have said, it’s hard to get used to the comment box at the top. I’m still hoping I’ll realize that there’s an advantage to this new position. Any positives occur to anyone?
Sorry, but I can’t think of any. In thinking, however, I think I discovered why it’s at the top- Most blogs are just people responding to something written/typed by the moderator. Since they’re responding to, say, the moderator’s thoughts on politics, they want to read the post itself, and could care less about the other comments. But MB is more like a forum, with the post itself as a kind of conversation starter and the comments as one big conversation. The post itself usually isn’t as important as the other comments, which is why the comment box at the bottom works best here.
I suppose I could get used to it, but if it’s not changeable, it will definitely make long threads tougher to post on.
I thought that I had a first post for a sec…until I scrolled down.
It’s different…..not sure if it’s as good as the old one, but hey, maybe I was just used to that one.
I’m starting to feel lost. I’m going to go down the H&H.
38- Ummmmm……. Nope! I can’t think of any advanteges!
!
(38) Less scrolling if you want to post without reading the thread?
But why on earth would you want to post without reading the thread?????? That defeats the whole purpose.
I agree. I don’t suppose there’s any way to have a comment box on the bottom and the top, is there? If not, i.e., definitely, could you move it to the bottom, por favor?
I am still getting used to all the newness .
Thank you, all GAPAs, for putting so much time and effort into expelling the hacker and reconstructing the MuseBlog, and for being so willing to tweak things to make it absolutely flamablamablous. It is greatly appreciated on my part.
38 (Rebbeca Lasely): I think that there are more advantages to having the comment box at the bottom. The only advantage I can think of to having it at the top would be that it may be easier for newcomers.
Note: I don’t especially like the “Reply” feature, but I can live with it.
Oh, and on the main page, the “Don’t Forget These Threads” link to “Ship’s Logs” doesn’t work.
Comment #38 was Rosanne, by the way. But we’re all glad you like how the blog turned out.
“Ships’ Logs” should work now. There was a typo in the link.
But it made me realize one advantage to a comments box at the top — you can tell immediately if I thread is open.
Sorry, both of you! That’s what I get for not double-checking, I suppose.
Thank you for fixing the link.
By the way, GAPAs, when you want to reply to a post simply by clicking “reply”, instead of “cancel”, it says “cancelar”. Just so you know, “cancelar” means “to cancel” in SPANISH. Could you p***** fix this?
It’s Portuguese, actually. I mentioned it in post 15.
We kind of like it.
Keep it. It’s another idiosyncrasy that makes MuseBlog our own.
Agreed: Keep it.
Whoa, this is… new… I like the comment box better at the bottom, it’s kind of disconcerting like this, but I could live with it, I guess. It just means that you have to scroll up and down a lot if you read everything and then post… but I guess that’s what the little ‘up’ button is for, right?
Well, now that everyone has avatars, I suppose I have to get one… *goes off to do that (and I’m not chickening out this time!)*
Lessee, did it work? I don’t know if this is a PoPo or not, but if it is I apologize.
Sorrysorrysorry for SFTDP, but… let’s try this.
YAY! I’ve got a gravatar!
And please, no one chew me out for posting four times in a row. I know, and I’m really sorry and won’t do it again.
Regarding the comments box at the top: we know!
Robert will look into this to see if it can be changed. If it can be changed, it will be. But he’s spent a lot of time lately tunneling through the caverns of the blog, so he might need a bit of a break.
I’m sure you’re exactly right, tgypwya (38.1) about the reasoning. Most blogs I’ve visited lately have their comment box located just beneath the post.
MuseBlog: pushing the limits of blogging formats since 2005.
I guess the physical manifestation of MuseBlog is akin to that of MuseBloggers: unable to fit into preconceptions and labels. But yes; you both need some rest.
49-
MuseBlog has been doing a lot of things since 2005, it seems.
I just thought of another reason to have the comment box at the botttom: If you’re responding to an RPing post or a long post of any kind, you don’t really want to have to scroll
all the way down to look at the post to make references
all the way up again to write part of your comment
all the way down again to check the post again
all the way up to comment again
and so on till kingdom come, or whatever.
I realize this may not be the most helpful info in the world, since you may have already decided to change the placement, but… whatever. Armada likes making comments that are not the most helpful in the world sometimes.
The world forever changed on the 1st of August of that year.
Technically, one could say the same for any random day, but we’re choosing to ignore that.
Yes, please do ignore that.
50.1- Yeah, I know, right? Everything leads to everything else, and the world is forever changing forever. But people insist on using that phrase anyway….
I sort of liked the old way but i will probably get used to it.
I absolutely hate the idea of having the comment box at the top of the page. It just gives people more of a reason to post without reading the comments, especially those who are new to the site. Also it just makes it hard to post after reading all the comments. If there’s a way you can move this back to the bottom of the page, i think that would help a lot.
classic example – just now. i posted without reading the other comments because i decided it was too much of a hassle and i would rather just write a post about it, but it seems people have already made that observation.
Yes, it was the first thing everyone noticed. And we’ve pointed out that we’re working on it. See my comment #49.
ATTENTION! I want to try an experiment. It might mess things up. If it does, I’ll stop, and everything will be back to normal in a few minutes. The experiment will be over, one way or another, by 9:35 p.m. blog time.
Looks like it worked. Except we’ve lost our endearing bit of Portuguese.
Hm. I wonder where it went. It’s still in the code… Maybe I can get it back. Not now, though. If everything seems to be working, I’ll go to bed.
I like.
Oooh! Now they’re pretty again. And “cancelar” is safe.
Yay! I love it like this.
Personally… I do not like New Museblog. Maybe it is because I am old and bad with change. Maybe it’s just preference.
I am happy the comment box is in its proper place now though. Thank you.
Also I notice the blog is now on military time. That’s different. I can still read it, but maybe not everyone can easily?
That’s easy to change back if people prefer, but it’s a useful skill to develop. Military time is also European time, used on train timetables and the like.
I personally prefer 12 hr time. I mean, I can read military, but I prefer not to have to do the math in my head……Addition/subtraction was always one of my weak points. Seriously, I can do algebra and trig and I can get an A+ in college calc, but addition and subtraction? No way.
Imagine my confusion when I first got into London before finding out they use military time.
Hehe, I’m pretty sure when I first went, I already knew they used military time….if not, I gathered it pretty quick when one of the buses we were on had a number up in the teens that wouldn’t be possible on a 12 hr clock…..
Nah, what’s confusing about England is their floor numbering system (although I knew about that in advance, too). I actually kind of like it, in an odd way. The “first floor” is the ground floor, the second floor the first, and on up……’tis a bit odd, at first, to have to climb a set of stairs in order to get to the first floor….
I prefer 24 hour clocks. 12 hours and time zones get more confusing.
Wait, wouldn’t there be time zones, anyhow? Or is the 24 hour time on the ‘blog not still on central, but on a standardized time (whatever exactly that is, I forget right off the top of my head)? I’ve honestly not been paying that much attention to the time stamps, because I don’t want to do the math. I’m lazy, what can I say?
I’m pretty sure it’s GMT or something. Greenwich Mean Time? Bother. I should remember these things.
Anyway, it’s something like that. I should go check, but I won’t, because I’m tired, and now I’m grumpy and lazy. *sticks out tongue*
Actually, wait. It’s something like 400 hours GMT right now (I ended up checking). Must be central time.
GAPA, can we switch to GMT? No importa, but you know.
/gradster(1)/ – Secretary of Bureaucracy of the ASAP
No, I think we should keep it on central time. It’s traditional to MB for some reason. Plus, if we did switch it to GMT, exactly 0 MBers would have the ‘Blog in their native time, judging my my woeful knowledge, or lack thereof, of world time zones. With central, some MBers have it correct already. Or is it a tribute to the Muse offices in Chicago?
Feel free to ignore whatever I just typed. I really need sleep. And so I shall.
As you wish. Wouldn’t it be fairer to all if nobody had it, though?
*shrugs*
… Either way. And it’s nice to have some privileged people, too.
/gradster(1)/ – Secretary of Bureaucracy of the ASAP
I vote we put in on central during the school year, and Alaska during the summer.
At which time, exactly one special MBer could have it in her native time zone. *dodges pies* Jeez, I was only kidding! No need to throw so many pastries! Can’t y’all take a joke??????
Yeah, that’s what I thought: Time zones are still an issue, it’s on military, but it’s still CST (or CDT, whichever we’re on….*thinks* I guess we’re on daylight time, now)
What’s funny is when I’m on other sites or checking the date stamp on email, I keep subtracting an hour.
It’s like meeting a friend who’s had plastic surgery. Some may like the appearance, some may not, but it’s important to remember that it’s the same friend on the inside.
Anyway, my bad metaphors aside, it’s good to see you again, Jadestone.
(56) Jadestone,
We liked the old MuseBlog, too. That’s why we held off upgrading it for so long. Unfortunately, the old software wasn’t very secure, and hackers penetrated it and stuck viruses into the code. Believe me, we didn’t make the changes because we wanted to; somebody we’ll never know forced our hand.
(56 et seq.) Sensing a long for familiarity amid rapid change, the beneficent GAPA hereby restores our time format to the American a.m./p.m. system.
So, wait, did you change it? *is confuzzled* The way your comment phrased it, it sounded like you were in the process of changing it, but it still’s on military……
gah. I need sleep.
I tried to, but the format seems to be hardwired. I guess the Portuguese (or possibly Brazilian) author of the Painter theme didn’t make allowances for North American sensibilities. So military time it shall be, at least until I feel like customizing more code.
Right now, however, I feel more like going to sleep — something I should have done an hour and a half ago. Good night, everybody.
Ah, gotcha. Not a big deal, I was just curious. I hear you on the sleep thing, though. I could use some of that–I went to bed at a semi decent time last night, but for some odd reason I couldn’t fall asleep for well over an hour (that is, not until close to 1) and then I had to get up at 6:45…..I despise 8 o’clock classes. *thanks the powers that be that I don’t ahve any next semester*
Hm. I don’t think I like this very much, but it’s not like we can do anything about it. It’s better than nothing. It’s pretty cool, but it’s not like the old one.
What a lot of neophobes there are around here!
Change is scary.
/gradster(1)/ – Secretary of Bureaucracy of the ASAP
As my grandmother said to me once: You’re too young to fear change.
One would hope; but it appears one would be sadly mistaken.
/gradster(1)/ – Secretary of Bureaucracy of the ASAP
I agree.
60- We’ll shut up and go away now, ‘k?
Don’t worry, I think most of us will get used to it.
… Change is also inevitable.
We will.
/gradster(1)/ – Secretary of Bureaucracy of the ASAP
My music teacher always says that. He is really annoying, to the point of making us think that we want everything to change as long as we can get the cake out of this stuffy, boring class. A quote about change that I like a lot/puzzles me:
Just because everything is changing,
doesn’t mean its never been this way before.
All you can do is know who your friends are
as you head out to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon
and follow the light …
I’ve quoted this song (the call) a million times already and I still can’t get it out of my head.
60.1.1- Hah.
It’s nice having the comment box back where it’s “supposed” to be…. When I first came on, I didn’t even notice, I’m so used to having it here….
It does look nicer this way, too, aesthetically speaking.
Yayness! Tomorrow’s Earth Day!
62.1- I agree.
I don’t know if I missed something (didn’t read all the posts) but are the avatar thingys supposed to be cut off? And how do you choose your own?
WHOA!!! (SFTDP) I didn’t realize that it says Your Musing is awaiting moderation instead of Your comment is awaiting moderation. That’s cool!
They appear cut off in Internet Explorer. We’re looking into it. Several bloggers have answered your other question. Type “gravatar” in the Search box or use Ctrl+F.
Thanks!
ATTENTION GAPAS. Please?
Many Musers are replying to individual comments… I know that on the Muse Academy *bomb shelter* website, I could reply to individual comments or just leave a general comment on the thread, but on this MuseBlog I can’t reply to comments. I don’t really mind this, as I prefer not using the reply thingy, but I just thought it was odd that other people were replying to my comments but I couldn’t just push a button and then reply straight to theirs… weird.
What browser are you using?
*Agrees with Faye*
Windows Internet Explorer
Yes, it’s internet explorer.
I just discovered something! I can’t SEE the reply button, but it’s there – if I hold my mouse over just the right spot next to a comment, I can click and then a box to reply with opens up. I found this out when I made my previous comment – while my comment says “Your musing is awaiting moderation”, there’s the top half of a “Reply” button next to my name. But I can’t see any other “Reply” buttons.
So far all the reported problems have been with Internet Explorer. Even the newest version. The avatars load only the upper portion, and the reply button doesn’t show.
We are trying to find a solution to the problem. In the meantime, thanks for your patience, IE users.
As Faye pointed out the reply button is actually there. If you hover your mouse above the right margin of a comment, you’ll see the cursor change to the hand. Then you can click.
Here’s something cool about comments — if you reply to the wrong one be mistake, you can cancel, then move to a different reply button. The box preserves your text.
Of course, that’s only if you catch it before you hit submit…..Or, wait, it’s not even “submit” anymore!!!!!!! It’s “comment”. That’ll take awhile for me to adjust to “saying”: “I hit ‘comment’ too soon!”
I meant if you click “cancelar” instead of “comment.”
Really, people, get Firefox. It’s free, it’s extraordinarily customizable, it has far fewer flaws than IE, and it’s simply a better browser. In my humble opinion. I used to have IE as well, and I thought it was marvelous, but, after trying Firefox for the first time, I hate having to use Internet Explorer on the school computers.
Or Safari. That”s what I use, and I haven’t had any problems! *knocks on wood*
Except I’m fairly certain (I could be way wrong on this, so forgive me) Safari is only compatible with Macs, so for those with Windows, Firefox would be the more feasible option.
Anyway, though, I’m with you on Safari. It’s what I use, and I actually much prefer it over Firefox. It’s more aesthetically pleasing, plus the trackpad function of swiping three fingers to go back/forward in the browser works in safari, but not in Firefox.
Safari for Windows has been out for quite some time. I tried it for awhile. You’re right that Firefox plain vanilla isn’t all that attractive (to put it mildly — though at least it’s not aggressively ugly), but you can choose from dozens of themes people have created. Mine’s quite pretty now. There are even some that emulate the Safari look. (I customize like crazy and use lots of add-ons.)
Safari just … I don’t know, but I like it more.
standssits corrected*I’ll have to customize my Firefox, then, if I am to use it very much….
I agree, Firefox wins if you’re online a lot (which we all are), but Safari, Opera, and Chrome are all good for light loads. Mozilla also has a great community, if you’re ever interested in making an extension.
I recommend Adblock, with Add-art to begin. No more ads- art!
Iâ¤Eyebeam Labs
Sorry, but I must disagree. I am on line a lot, as in 24/7 unless I”m out of my dorm (which is only for classes and the occasional meal), and I much, much, much prefer Safari, and have had no issue with it being able to handle what I want.
I guess we use web browsers differently then, I want mine to: block ads, organize bookmarks, sync bookmarks serverside, theme to anything I make, play nethernet, view css/html/color data, and use ubiquity. Now that I think about it though, that’s probably a bit more than heavy use.
Out of curiosity, what do you prefer in Safari?
Piggy- I’ve had the same experience!
Well….It’s hard to say. I don’t exactly have anything tangible that I like better, not that I can think of right off. I guess it just feels more comfortable, perhaps because I was introduced to it before Firefox. Although I’m not sure that’s the reason, either, because I was introduced to IE before Safari, and I don’t have any attachment to it….Nor to whatever the browser was called on our oldest internet compatible computer (which is never used anymore, and the computer is basically dead……although it is sharing its monitor with our newest mac).
The only specific thing I can name right of is that Safari allows me to use the my laptop’s trackpad “short cut” of swiping three fingers left/right to move backward/forward in any given window/tab. Firefox, for whatever reason, doesn’t let me do this. Not entirely sure why, as it would seem this is more a function of the computer than the browser, but……That would go quite a ways in improving my opinion of Firefox, although I think I would still prefer Safari. There’s just something about it. *shrug*
As for ads…..Well, I usually just ignore them, and i don’t have any adblocker added onto my Firefox browser (wouldn’t even have a clue how to go about it….although I’m sure it is ridiculously easy). As for pop-up ads, I’ve got them set to be blocked in both browsers, and both browsers still let them all through anyway. Or if not all, they still let through a ridiculously large number of them, so many that it’s hard to imagine that they’re actually blocking any at all…..
pop-up ads=huge annoyance
Yeah, mouse movement come naturally with Safaris because it was designed with Mac. Firefox can be upgraded to that though, and then customized beyond. Popups aren’t an issue for me, are you sure firefox is up to date?
Try googling “Firefox Add-ons”
Vendaval–Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s up to date. I think. Whenever I use it, it routinely lets me know when there’s an update available. It just had one for me yesterday, in fact. 3.0.9 I believe it was. Is that the most recent?
I will look into the add-on thing when I have time…..In other words, maybe later today, but not right now…Gotta finish getting ready for class.
Whee!!!!!!!!!!! I looked around. I downloaded the beta version of Firefox (3.1) cuz it’s supposed to support the mouse shortcuts. And…..success! *is happy now* *likes firefox much better now*
I think I’ll still use Firefox predominantly, but now when I do need to use Firefox for whatever reason, I won’t keep swiping my trackpad and getting dreadfully annoyed when nothing happens….
Oh, I love Adblock. Now I’m so used to the internet being COMPLETELY AD-FREE (I’m still amazed at that), going on another computer and seeing adds on the same sites on which I’m used to there being no ads messes me up. I didn’t even know Facebook had ads until I bypassed the school filter and got on it a while ago.
Ugh, I’m addicted to add-ons, and consequently, it takes a rather long time for Firefox to load. But I think it’s worth it.
Add-ons are Love. So are bookmarklets. I have folders and folders of them. I have way too many toolbars. Google tool bar seems to be the biggest drag on start up, but it’s just too convenient. Anyone tried Diigo for bookmarking? You can add highlights and sticky notes to web pages that you bookmark.
I haven’t used Diigo, but it looks very interesting! My design challenge application to Mozilla was kinda similar though, but made a mindmap of bookmarks. I don’t like toolbars though, Ubiquity is my omnitool now.
I have tons of bookmarks, though I’ve never tried any add-ons. They seem very confusing.
How do you chance the appearance of FireFox? I know it’s supposed to be possible, but I’ve never really figured it out.
I need to get around to putting in the extra plug-ins so all websites show up. I always have to use IE for Youtube. :L
You could install a theme (Tools>Add-ons>Themes), but they’re bulky. I love and suggestPersonas, an addon that lets you just change just the image, or make your own. (Because Firefox is rendered in CSS!)
Hmm, I don’t seem to have any themes other than default. Odd.
You have to download them. You can find themes at addons.mozilla.org or personas at getpersonas.com.
Themes are more comprehensive, they change the look of buttons, menus, and so on. They use more resources, but it’s not too bad, especially with the latest upgrade (3.0.9 for Windows).
I personally prefer (and am using) Google Chrome. It’s extremely fast, very user-friendly, and works with almost anything you find on the web. Aside from occasional minor hiccups, (It is fairly new) I haven’t had any problems.
I like Safari as well, but I’ve only used it a few times (as I don’t own a Mac).
I’ve been using Chrome too, for a while now, and have had very few problems. There’s a few things that freak out on it because they don’t recognize the browser, but the longer Chrome is out the less frequently that stuff will happen.
Yay! The GAPAs moved the comment boxes back!
I just realised something. Why are we having Firefox/Mac/PC/IE discussions on two separate threads? I think we’ve hit that time of night where everyone goes insane.
Well, at least the monkeys still seem content.
Wow. I’d not even noticed that we were……That shows how little I”ve been paying attention.
On the bright side, I’ve written two sentences on my rough draft that’s due tomorrow. Two sentences in one hour. *headdesk* Sleepless night ahead…….How do I only manage two freakin’ sentences in an hour????????
Did you ever find out who hacked MB in the first place? Why would anyone want to? It’s just a Mostly Harmless little forum for readers of Muse magazine. I don’t see why someone would dislike it enough to ruin it that much.
They probably weren’t out to destroy MB specifically, they’ve probably been doing this everywhere, and getting paid to put the ads in.
It was the government. Someone told them about the Kokonspiracy and they set out to stop it. But thankfully, the GAPAs are smarter than they are.
Maybe. besides, the new MB’s working out fine.
60-I’m not a neophobe, I’m just used to MB as a certain thing, and this…is awesome, but not associated with MB. It’s weird. It’s like we’re still waiting for MB to be back.
Here’s something I need to say:
“ GUYS, STOP ACTING LIKE THIS IS IS OLD MBS FUNERAL OR SOMETHING ! MB HAS CHANGED- OKAY, NOW LET’S GET ON WITH LIFE ! THERE WAS MORE LAUGHTER AT STUDGE THAN HERE !”
Okay, I blew it. But let’s stop making such a fuss and get on with it. Pie happens.
I haven’t logged into WP- lost my password- well….ya.
I’m sort-of-but-not-really-a-neophobe.
I like the blog. It’s just very different.
Heywhoa! It DID use my avatar… That was weird.
(76.1) “Pie happens.” Well said.
Well, I like it. It’s very…whatzzth’word…bright. Full. Happy. The old one was more plain, in comparison to this one. I like the comment box and the pictures per poster, and the fact that you can “Reply” to a post. Although, I had to get here using http://www.musefanpage.com/blog, not Googling it. It’s fun though.
Ahgh! It automatically linkified my URL, even though I didn’t use HTML!?
Yes, it does that. Which is why we add spaces, but we’re not likely to complain about a link to the blog. What did you Google?
We’ve checked a box on our control panel to make MuseBlog invisible to Google. Given our recent experience, it seems prudent to make it hard for hackers to find us.
When I google my “name” and Museblog, I get a couple hits……
“Luna the Lovely” Museblog:
yields two MB threads, and two MA threads, and just Museblog alone yielded several MA threads amongst random junk………
But I like the idea!
I assume that anything from before we checked the box is still Googlable, though we’ll probably slip further and further down the list the longer we stay “cloaked.” Every little bit helps.
That makes sense……and yes, every little bit does help…..
Will this make it harder for the spambots to post spam, as well?
Whoah O!
Bonjour everyone! Nice new blog layout here!
Hmm, Luna only has 155 posts (4 shown) and I have nearly 3,000? That’s weird.
I don’t think hiding the blog from google will help, I bet automated methods just troll pages looking for old WordPress version tags.
How do you know how many posts you have?
Aww, boo. The “Your musing is awaiting moderation” thing isn’t showing up on my computer. Is it supposed to happen when you reply, or just when you write something in at the bottom, or what?
80.2- That does seem like a good idea, but then how are ‘phytes going to find us?
I guess we’ll have to hope they use the URL instead of Googling “MuseBlog”. Otherwise they’ll have to be very persistent and thorough.
That reminds me, once Google helped me find Muse Academy when MB was down. At least I know MA’s URL now. Is MA un-Googleable as well?
One thing I don’t like about nested reply comments: Before, when everything was just in order, you went all the way down to check for new posts. Now, it’s a bunch of erratic scrolling up and down.
83.1- Where would they find out about the URL, though? I mean, it’s not like it’s museblog.com or something easy to figure out like that…
84- If you’re getting to a new comment from the Recent Comments bar, it’s not suck a big deal. Otherwise, though, I know what you mean.
But “museblog.com” will indeed bring you here.
how do you get posts to go on top of other posts?!??!!???!!!
the only time there is a reply icon on my computer is when i just submitted a post, and its only on my post!
See the discussion of this topic on the Sparkling New thread.
That’s an issue with IE (I assume you’re using IE?). The reply button is invisible, but from what other IE users have said, it is still there and clickable, if you position your cursor over it (apparently it will turn from the arrow to the hand when you mouse over it…..)>
86.1 Muchas gracias, Ms. Bunniful
SFTDP
86.2- I’m using AOL. It’s an email service and a web browser.
I don’t know if it’s still the case, but AOL’s browser was built on Internet Explorer. Here’s a screenshot of where the Reply button should be:
(You probably don’t need the arrow, but they’re fun to add.)
Hmm, I like it. It’s wider than before, which’ll take getting used to I suppose… But yeah generally I like it.
I am confused about this gravatar thing though.
Hello TNO! Nice to see you here! (I KNOW you’ve been on for a while) I go by ‘Pirocks’ on the Chatterbox!
Oh hi.
Hi TNO!!!! *pies* I am still THE RIGHTFUL QUEEN OF PIELAND!, so you know. YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME! *pies TNO* *TNO EXPLODES* *TNO REASSEMBLES* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! BOW BEFORE THE RIGHTFUL QUEEN OF PIELAND!!!!!
Please keep that to ‘World of Piecraft’ you can find it here: https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=1644
Okay, I have a question. Why does everyone from the Chatterbox view TNO as some kind of celebrity?
Good question. I haven’t the slightest idea.
I know why!!! TNO is regarded as God-like, due to her:
Dissappearences
Hilariosity
Intelligence
ect.
Well, I to be honest, worship you! Except for your “General Pie” aspect, in which case I will unmercilessly pie you untill you admit that I am the only ruler of PIELAND!! It’s a thing we’re doing on the Chatterbox, “Pie Wars”, and we’re fighting over the throne of Pieland.
Except, you know, I haven’t been on the pie war threads since the first installment.
That’s another thing about the Chatterbox- I can’t comment from my iPod for some reason. :/
You were on the pie wars for one short post in the third installment………hey, I can’t post from my iPod touch either! It’s a first-generation one. What type is yours? But I can post on here with my iPod Touch……….wonder why………….I guess it’s different format………….hey, my website has very similar formatting to this one! Its a Proboard, GAPAs have you ever heard of ProBoards? Mine is–wait, am I allowed to put a link, or can I just say what to put in the address bar? I’ll just say what to type, then. [Personal website snipped. –Admin] if you type that in, it’ll take you there. (it’s a shortcut I figured out!)
It’s a 2nd.
Cool!
Not that you aren’t cool, TNO, that’s not what I mean at all. But I went and poked around on the Chatterbox and saw a TNO fan club thread.
Er, yes, I was a bit scared by that to be honest.
Perhaps it’s just my amazing awesomeness?
*finds it*
wow, you’re right. That’s bizarre.
they do seem to.
“You seriously thought I was, like, TNO?!?!” -someone on the Chatterbox
Woah! That quote is from me! I said that! “You seriously thought I was like, TNO?!?!?!?!”-me! heehee!
92) She’s really popular over there….she posts a lot too.
I visit the Chatterbox sometimes under the name “The Fish”
(92, 93) Perhaps any MBer who goes to the Chatterbox will be worshipped as a god.
Hm. I should try it sometime. A couple of younger MBers seem to regard the oldbies, me specifically, as worthy of honour and glory, so godlike is just the next step up. And of course, I am omniscient and omnipotent.
Indeed.
what is the Chatterbox?
I think it’s Cricket magazine’s version of a forum. However, I neither receive Cricket nor post on Chatterbox, so you’d have to ask someone else to explain it better.
man, they have a lot of exclamation points there. Particularly when talking about Diana Wynne Jones. I approve of the DWJ talk. I disapprove of the excessive exclamation points.
Exclamation points are fun! Anyway, there are only four people on chatterbox that have read any DWJ books.
It seems to have a pretty different atmosphere, yeah. What think you, MB-Chatterboxers?
I think I posted on the Chatterbox once or twice a while ago, just to check it out, but it seemed to be a very different kind of community then MuseBlog. I wonder if it’s any different now that it’s had time to find its foothold a little more.
It’s Cricket’s version of Museblog, essentially. There’s a link on the side of the page, below “Offical Muse Website.”
I’ll probably post over there eventually, at least once. Although whether I’d post as Tesseract or Abby I’m not entirely sure, seeing as most people there seem to use their real names. I’d probably stick with Tesseract.
I go to the Chatterbox some, and I’M never worshipped. >:( *grumpy face*
You probably don’t post on a near-daily basis though, do you?
I just checked it out, and it was coolish. I like MuseBlog a lot more, though.
Yeah, there’s some things that really bug me, like the long moderation times, the way threads refuse to stay put, and a couple of bugs. But it’s fun. *shrug*
“BUG” you!? Haha! Was the pun intended or non-intended?
From reading it, I’d assume non-intended, but I can’t answer for TNÖ.
But she also said “a couple of bugs”, and that COULD mean Cricket and the other buggies…….heehee!
Er, yes, it was unintended.
I’m not liking nested comments because they’re hard to follow. Conversations can go out of order, and en can’t read through the most recent comments on a thread in order.
The TNÖ Fan Club is pretty funny. I was at Chatterbox once, but I got ensnared in arguments about religion/politics. Perhaps I need to work on just letting things be.
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.
Yeah, I know. I’m really obnoxious. But I couldn’t resist.
96 – Yes, I noticed that too. Conversations that made sense start to fall apart once there are nested comments in between.
(96, 97) Vendaval, Tesseract: You still have the option of replying at the bottom, MB1-style, as I’m doing now.
I haven’t been here in FOREVER! And I came back and was totally shocked.
Okay guys, here are my suggestion:
Get rid of the yellow/orange. There’s too much of it. Was there ever yellow on the old blog? It doesn’t look good, aesthetically speaking.
Well…. that’s it. Everything else I rather like! Except for nested comments. I HATE NESTED COMMENTS!
But I really miss the old blog, too
The search box is precisely the same color as it was on the old blog.
99- Yeah, me too. But once you’ve been on the new blog for a few weeks, you’ll get used to it. And welcome back!! The last time I saw you on the blog was like two years ago!!
99- I feel the same way. This new blog is mainly due to the hackers anyways. Hackers need to take a pie to their crummy faces. I wish we could find out who hacked us so I could do it myself!
In case you haven’t noticed, I like the word ‘hack’
By the way, Kiki, welcome back!
First post all day.
I like this blog better than the last because the layout is better.
First post all day.
:0 
I like this blog better than the last because the layout is better.
I just learned how to make faces.
If you don’t Know go to smileys and code tricks.
I mant second.
102-105 – It’s fine if you mess up; most people here would prefer that to four posts in such close succession.
Now that I’m getting used to the new layout, I do like it a lot as well. It has a more modern, complex feel than the old Museblog. That’s neither a good thing nor a bad thing; it’s just different. I’d leap at the chance to have the old layout back, simply because it’s the old layout. If it had never existed, though, I’d love this one.
I have made a decision to quit my usage of nested comments. I liked them at first, and they certainly have great surface appeal, but when people respond to old comments in a thread it’s easy to miss them. My method of checking for new comments is to scroll to the bottom of the page and then scan up until I find the last comment I remember, then read down the page from there. When we reply with post numbers it’s much easier to follow and one can reply to multiple (often unrelated) posts in one place.
Is there any way this feature can be turned off, or has everyone else fallen in love with them?
I’ve got mixed feelings. While I’m here at college, and I’m “logged on” to the ‘blog all my waking hours, they don’t bother me: I refresh the browser often enough, and look for new posts often enough, that my last read post is rarely off the recent posts bar. Thus, I merely click on each post on the Recent posts bar that is on a thread I follow, and it doesn’t matter if it is nested or not……But once I’m back home, I will not be on near as often, and between the time I go to bed and the time I get up (I’ll be three hours behind most of y’all), there’ll be so many posts that it’ll be WAY off the RP bar.
*shrug* Whatever people want.
107.1~ yes, it works very well for when one is on all the time, but for catching up after being away it seems like it would be rather difficult.
I’ve just started a new thread specifically for discussing nested comments, pro and con.
I know it’s been awhile, but do the GAPAs choose the random smileys when someone doesn’t have an avatar? Or is it only random? Jus’ wonderin’….
The blog automatically assigns them.
Oh. Because sometimes it seem that the smileys match what the person is saying… THANKS!
I’ve noticed that, too. It’s almost eerie how well they seem to fit some people.
110.1-Like my craziness? -smiles-
How do you get your own avatar on here? I think I might have a good one.
111- Gravatar. Google it, but sign up under your own blogname.
GAPAs, I’m having avatar problems. I’ve registered and everything, but it won’t show up.
Is is a black and white picture of a hilly landscape? If so, I see it; clear your cache. If not, I have no idea what’s wrong. Third option: you already figured it out.
Oh Piggy. How did you get so wise?
I spend each morning meditating in a hidden waterfall. But now I can go no farther, and you must confront your greatest fear. Use well what I have taught you, grasshopper.
How do you get your own gravatar? I don’t really prefer the grimacing pink square…
Gravatar.com, make an account, upload some pictures. It may take a while, but it’ll work.
You can go to gravatar.com if you have a working email address and get a gravatar of your choice.
There’s no official way, but the best solution to the avatar problem is to get one at gravatar (just google it). It’s free and you can use almost any picture. Then the image will appear automatically with your email address.
*likes this blue square* It seems very fitting-maybe I’ll use it as my gravatar too.
It’s really easy – just search “Gravatar” on google, click on the one at the top, and get an account. After that, just pick an image and wait. It shouldn’t take any longer than a day (or two).
Okay, i made a gravatar account and made a gravatar. Now how do I get it onto MB?
just make sure your MB email matches your gravatar email, and wait. It should take some time – anywhere from an hour or two to a day.
Yeah, it could take awhile. It’s taken a few hours for me before. Now like I-Man said, just use the same email address on your gravatar as the one you’re using on MuseBlog.
Clearing your cache (under “empty cache” in Safari) usually speeds up the process.
Well, it’s been 5 years, this 2010. I just wanted to post for the first time in…two years? Yep, happy new year all
~Kitten/Pie Bandit/Mysterious Muser
Oh yeah, and I as well as Krissy = Kricket = mousie = mousire are both girls
Ah, hello. Will we see more of you after this?
I’m not quite sure. Maybe not on schooldays, because I (unfortunately) still have to attend and do homework, but I think I’ll start to try to get back into MBing again.
i made an acount, but it won’t let me on. it says the adminastrator must approve it. AND IT’S BEEN AT LEAST A MONTH!
Ahem.* coughahemavataralert*
betsy:
We get a lot of requests for account registrations from people who never even post on the blog. To keep from cluttering things up with lots of inactive accounts, we prefer to wait awhile to make sure the new MBer really intends to stick around. “Awhile” usually means six months, the time it takes newcomers to gain access to the “paleophyte” threads. Unless you want to play chess with someone else on the blog, there’s nothing else you can do with an account before then anyway.
Meanwhile, you don’t need an account to post on MuseBlog. What are you waiting for?
thanks. and i love my avatar thing. (skunk is my account name)