Just like I recently moved to a new part of Seattle and gained a roommate, my blog has moved to a new part of the internet and gained quite a number of awesome roommates. Hopefully PZ does his dishes and the walls aren’t too thin (hear that, Greta?).
To old readers – welcome to our new home! And to new readers, howdy! I dabble in a little bit of everything – atheism, skepticism, feminism, biology, sex, academia, and general geekery. Please make yourself comfortable. Unless you’re an evangelical Christian or a men’s right activist, in which case, prepare to become very uncomfortable.
I know a lot of my readers had questions about the move, so let me use this introductory filler post to address those:
Q: What attracts you to Freethought Blogs?
- Being part of an awesome community of bloggers and readers. I’m surprised something like Freethought Blogs hadn’t happened sooner.
- Increased visibility and traffic. Another perk of being nestled in with awesome bloggers.
- …Money. You’ve probably noticed that unlike my old blog, FtB has ads. I do put a large amount of time into the blog, and it’s nice to be compensated a little. I won’t be buying sports cars or swimming in pools of money ala Scrouge McDuck, but it’s a nice little bonus to my grad student salary.
Q: Is all the old content going to be migrated?
Theoretically. All of the old posts are here, as are most of the comments, but not all. Jason from Lousy Canuck has been my nerdy knight in shining armor and is trying to figure it out for me. Everything should be functional in the next day or so.
EDIT: Jason is amazing and the archives are all transferred over now! Huzzah!
Q: Will comments still be on Disqus?
No. All the FtBers will be using the same WordPress comment system. And after a week of banging my head into my desk trying to transfer comments from Disqus, I’m ready to be rid of it. Apologies to those of you who will have to comment with different names or logins.
Q: Will the same RSS feed work, and if not, can you post that in large bold comic sans until my dumb ass gets the message and switches feeds?
I can’t figure out how to make things Comic Sans, but…
NO, THE OLD RSS FEED WILL NOT WORK. YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR RSS FEED TO THIS.
Q: Will there be an RSS feed for just your blog, or will it include all the others on FTB as well?
Like I said, the RSS feed for my blog is here, but you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for all of FtB here.
Q: FtB is ugly. Fix the ugly.
There will be a site redesign once all the technical kinks have been ironed out. Don’t worry, it’ll look snazzy soon.
Q: Will there be a decrease in awesomeness now that you’ve sold out to the almighty dollar?
No one asked this, but no. Really I’ll just have a new fund for beer money. And we all know that a well oiled blogger is a good thing.
Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments, get settled into the new comment system, and ask any questions. And thanks for being patient while I figure out this newfangled WordPress thing, and slowly add some finishing touches to the site.
94 comments
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Jen
September 20, 2011 at 3:58 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
First.
Yes, this is a test comment.
Ben Crockett
September 20, 2011 at 5:13 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Um… other first?
Alex
September 20, 2011 at 5:14 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Subbed.
capt_carl
September 20, 2011 at 5:18 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
hay wuts goin on hur lol
mkb
September 20, 2011 at 5:19 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome. The neighborhood has become even more awesome.
Jen
September 20, 2011 at 5:19 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
There goes the neighborhood.
William Brinkman
September 20, 2011 at 5:20 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome to your new home! I hope you like it!
Michael
September 20, 2011 at 5:20 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay! Goodbye Disqus! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
capt_carl
September 20, 2011 at 5:21 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Less than frontslash three you too.
Biodork
September 20, 2011 at 5:25 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay for new homes! I’m looking forward to continuing to read your kick-ass posts on the new site. FtB has got a great set of blogs going here.
kendermouse
September 20, 2011 at 5:50 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
The RSS feed doesn’t seem to be working yet…
beardofpants
September 20, 2011 at 5:53 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Well poo. I don’t remember how to set up an avatar. Good thing I already have one.
[whinge] I don’t like change [/whinge]
Greg Laden
September 20, 2011 at 5:59 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Let me be the first to welcome you!
(Never mind all those other people up there.)
dexitroboper
September 20, 2011 at 6:14 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Nested comments are weird.
Diana
September 20, 2011 at 6:21 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Glad you’re here.
Fiona
September 20, 2011 at 6:27 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
nooooo not change!
I’ll get used to it.
Keep being awesome.
x
Vern
September 20, 2011 at 6:29 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It’s about time! Glad you made it! And it appears that RSS is working.
JakeLsewhere
September 20, 2011 at 6:29 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome to the new digs. :D
Also, am I like the only one who likes the current layout of FtB?
Matty
September 21, 2011 at 1:52 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great to see you here – this is fast becoming my one-stop-shop for all the best blogs! :)
Jason Thibeault
September 21, 2011 at 1:52 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
<font face=”Comic Sans MS”>Blah!</font>
Or, if you want to be CSSish:
<div style=”font-family: ‘Comic Sans MS’, sans-serif;”>wibbly</div>
Jason Thibeault
September 21, 2011 at 1:53 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Ignore my malformed HTML entity.
Ed Brayton
September 21, 2011 at 2:08 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome to FTB, Jen! We’re really, really happy you’re here.
Jen
September 21, 2011 at 2:19 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hm, I’m not sure why it’s giving you the source code and not the easy “Click this button to subscribe through ___” stuff. Well, if you enter that link into Google Reader or whatever, it is functional and updating.
Latentexistence
September 21, 2011 at 2:22 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hello.
cr0sh
September 21, 2011 at 2:31 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hey – nice new digs! Hope it continues to turn out great for you, Jen!
ouabache
September 21, 2011 at 2:32 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Nice place you got here. Welcome to the big time, Jen.
Tabby Lavalamp
September 21, 2011 at 2:38 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hello. This now puts almost every blog I read with a couple of exceptions under one roof. Handy!
dpearson
September 21, 2011 at 2:40 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome! Most of my favorite blogs on one site now. Yeah!
Stephanie Zvan
September 21, 2011 at 2:59 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Now it’s a party!
Improbable Joe
September 21, 2011 at 3:00 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Oh noes! And everyone who knows me already knows me, and everyone else doesn’t care!!!
Greg Laden
September 21, 2011 at 3:17 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I agree.
Greg Laden
September 21, 2011 at 3:18 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It is funny how HTML is so passive aggressive in its error handling.
WMDKitty
September 21, 2011 at 3:18 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
*headbonks and purrs*
YAY! Another excellent blog!
Greg Laden
September 21, 2011 at 3:19 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Speaking of a party, what are we doing for your birthday, Stephanie?
John Morales
September 21, 2011 at 3:23 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Nice to see you here. I might read you more.
–
BTW, I suspect you’re gonna disappoint some people who are intrigued by your ‘boobs’ category…
(What? No, not I! Other people!)
Jem
September 21, 2011 at 3:28 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome! Glad you’ve joined the crew over here.
julian
September 21, 2011 at 3:36 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
You ain’t alone.
Aliasalpha
September 21, 2011 at 3:40 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay, glad to see another new blogger (new to here anyway). The rate things are going FTB may eclipse TVtropes as my “Why did I load this site? I’ve just spent 36 hours on the internet after wanting to read one single article” site
Paulino
September 21, 2011 at 3:52 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Well, thank you Blag Hag, for the uneven columns at FTB’s front page!
and welcome!
Kris
September 21, 2011 at 3:56 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
FtB gets more awesome by the day. And please do fix the ugly. :)
Color Me Atheist
September 21, 2011 at 4:36 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome to your new home!!! Excuse me as I go prevent my cat from destroying my blinds….
DLC
September 21, 2011 at 5:14 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Can haz cheezburger nao ?
chigau (...---...)
September 21, 2011 at 5:36 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
me, too
chigau (...---...)
September 21, 2011 at 5:46 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
How does one follow nested comments?
John Morales
September 21, 2011 at 5:46 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Preview is our friend. :)
madscientist
September 21, 2011 at 5:48 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
That’s Scrooge McDuck. Now thath duck has been mentioned, I’m getting hungry.
John Morales
September 21, 2011 at 5:49 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Alas, they’ve evil and abominable.
You refresh the page, then scroll up to that comment to see if there are any responses.
(There’s a reason some of us want a flat-comment base; it’s so easy to go to the last known comment to see new ones)
Eric O
September 21, 2011 at 5:49 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Awesome! Almost all of my favourite blogs are now on one site. The Internet is spoiling me.
Anyway, welcome to the new place.
Noelley B
September 21, 2011 at 6:18 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow, Now that you’re here, Jen, my only Atheist blogger NOT on free thought blogs is Hemant.
Let us Seattlites know where you’re enjoying that beer money sometimes!
Steve Gerrard
September 21, 2011 at 6:31 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
What time zone are these posts getting stamped in? It is still the 20th here on the West Coast of the USA – 11:31 pm.
benjaminsa
September 20, 2011 at 11:42 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Congratulations on the cool new digs ;)
chigau (...---...)
September 20, 2011 at 11:49 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yeah.
I’m not going to participate.
I noticed, on one of the other blogs, that when the the admin turned off the nesting, the comments appeared in chronological order.
Kinda like home.
—–
How the fuck do you bookmark this???
F
September 21, 2011 at 12:31 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Fantastic! It’s getting too easy to keep track of great blogs.
Good to see you here, Jen.
F
September 21, 2011 at 12:32 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
The comment? Permalink is the date/time string highlighted in blue like a link.
azkyroth
September 21, 2011 at 1:08 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Is it still “recently escaped” if it’s been a year?
azkyroth
September 21, 2011 at 1:19 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
But is D the same as 8?
azkyroth
September 21, 2011 at 1:21 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Other boobs, you mean?
(BTW, is there a way to make the entire page not reload when you Reply to someone?)
Lucy Mayne
September 21, 2011 at 1:30 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay! All my favourite bloggers except Hemant Mehta are now on FtB!
Slugsie
September 21, 2011 at 1:53 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Subbed.
Hi Jen. :D
azkyroth
September 21, 2011 at 2:07 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
What’s with all these people talking about subs? Are they possibly looking for Greta’s blog? O.o
John Morales
September 21, 2011 at 2:23 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thing with nesting is that each succeeding comment becomes narrower than the last.
Eventually, you start getting down to one letter per line…
Taneli Huuskonen
September 21, 2011 at 3:04 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hello and welcome from a Finnish long-time lurker who may have commented a couple of times.
Midnight Rambler
September 21, 2011 at 3:11 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Not only narrower on one side, but on both sides, and with margins on the top and bottom as well. I don’t mind nesting per se, but this is a weird setup. Also with the alternate-color backgrounds it looks funny.
Porco Dio
September 21, 2011 at 3:15 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
How many times did PZ say, “we need more women at FTB,” before you decided?
Welcome to our new home.
Chris Grinter
September 21, 2011 at 3:36 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great to see you’re moving on up – although I have to grumble and complain about the ads. I don’t mind a moderate level, I can be one that sympathizes with the desire to turn page views into cash. But… I’m getting popups and it’s driving me nuts! Every other page view is yet another stupid popup, it’s like visiting a porn site!
I’m sorry, my reading of your blog and others on FTB has massively dropped off. Hate to say it and hate to see it go…
Chris Grinter
September 21, 2011 at 3:38 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great to see you’re moving on up – although I have to grumble and complain about the ads. I don’t mind a moderate level, I for one can sympathize with the desire to turn page views into cash. But… I’m getting popups and it’s driving me nuts! Every other page view is yet another stupid popup and it’s about as bad as visiting a porn site!
I’m sorry, my reading of your blog and others on FTB has massively dropped off. Hate to say it and hate to see it go…
Chris Grinter
September 21, 2011 at 3:43 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Aaaand that showed up twice – don’t know why, guess I shouldn’t revise and click a second time. Delete the first one? Terrible internet connection…
docslacker
September 21, 2011 at 4:59 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yay, you’re here! Been looking forward to your arrival since you accidentally posted a few weeks ago.
lordshipmayhem
September 21, 2011 at 6:24 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
And welcome to your new home from l’il old me. Enjoy!
I’m looking forward to enjoying your posts here.
John Morales
September 21, 2011 at 6:30 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Interesting.
In comment #35, I note that fifth-level comments lack a “reply” link.
This has the advantage of avoiding the width-shrinking issue I mentioned there, but the disadvantage that this comment demonstrates (you have to branch out).
(I presume the nesting level is a configurable setting)
John Morales
September 21, 2011 at 6:31 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Huh. I refer the reader to my comment #52.
Drawing Business - I draw stuff for money.
September 21, 2011 at 7:05 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Welcome to the new digs! Finally, I can read the comment threads when I’m at work (Disqus is blocked by the All Seeing Eye-T).
And what do you know, the account I created for PZ’s blog works here too! Even more win.
chigau (...---...)
September 21, 2011 at 7:28 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Then there’s the problem of wearing out the scroll wheel.
SQB
September 21, 2011 at 7:46 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Let’s find out how deep we can nest!
Oh, welcome here, BTW.
Jen
September 21, 2011 at 8:19 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Heh, I was actually one of the first people to sign onto the project – I was just slow about getting here.
Ophelia Benson
September 21, 2011 at 9:38 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hellozies. Nice place, isn’t it!
Robert
September 21, 2011 at 9:45 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Howdy!
Paul
September 21, 2011 at 9:56 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Will the long list of links to other skeptic, atheism, and biology sites that was on the left hand side of the old blog eventually be duplicated here? That was a nice feature.
Paul
September 21, 2011 at 9:58 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Whoops. Please disregard previous post. I see that the links are located at bottom right instead of top left. My apologies.
Svlad Cjelli
September 21, 2011 at 10:20 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Again, boo!
Comments load better here, but post worse.
Jason Thibeault
September 21, 2011 at 11:00 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
That would involve an AJAX-based comment system. I’ve seen plugins for it, but not sure if they would work with this setup.
SeanK
September 21, 2011 at 11:23 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Like the new digs!
Kris
September 21, 2011 at 11:45 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
If you use Firefox to browse, download the Adblock Plus and NoScript add-ons: they will disable all the ads and you can browse atheist blogs to your heart’s content.
Brian
September 21, 2011 at 12:04 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Okay.
Chris Grinter
September 21, 2011 at 12:52 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Ah, thanks for that tip! Seems to do a much better job at blocking these ads.
freemage
September 21, 2011 at 2:15 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Jen: I’m delighted you moved here. See, every once in awhile, one of my other fave reads (Myers, Brayton, Skepchick, Hemant, among others) would link to your old site. And they’d always highlight how insightful the post was, or how interesting the discussion brewing had become. And every time, I’d click the link.
And every. Damn. Time. The site would eat my computer whole, and spit bits back at me, until I finally had to do Ctrl-Alt-Del and Task Manager and repeatedly try to shut down my browser until it obeyed. And I just KNEW I was missing out on some of the most awesome stuff on the Web. So here’s looking forward to finally getting to read your stuff.
Timothy (TRiG)
September 21, 2011 at 3:09 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Slacktivist had issues with nested comments after the move to Patheos. For a large community, they are a bad idea. Please get rid of them.
TRiG.
Physicalist
September 22, 2011 at 4:55 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi, I’m me. Welcome to FTB.
Wolf Stettler
September 22, 2011 at 10:46 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Ok, RSS is updated. Hop the posts to come will be as interesting as those in the past.
When you change the layout, please change the font of the titles – those shadows make me feel to need new glasses.
Unbeliever
September 22, 2011 at 2:51 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
[CLICK] Bookmarks updated.
Miss the pic with the sign, though… :)
Jalyth
September 23, 2011 at 2:48 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I’m just seeing if I can comment.
Gregory
September 23, 2011 at 7:16 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I live in Seattle too! Welcome to the city, and to FTB.
Phillip Helbig
September 27, 2011 at 9:33 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Someone help a luddite. With all my other RSS feeds, I just clicked on them and they show up in Firefox. With the new feed here, I get some options about how I want to subscribe to it, Feedburner and stuff of that ilk.
What do I have to do to put it in the “bookmarks toolbar” of Firefox?
Kojack
January 23, 2012 at 7:09 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
congrat for your new home!
Sunday Link Encyclopedia and Self-Promotion « Clarissa's Blog
September 25, 2011 at 2:11 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
[...] BlagHag, a great atheist blog, has moved and here is its new home. [...]
international luncheon
January 18, 2012 at 1:25 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
international luncheon…
[...]Welcome to Blag Hag’s new home! | Blag Hag[...]…
[financing health care|ghanaian economy|primary health care|primary health care services|reproductive health care|sanitation problems|wikipedia the free encyclopedia|women with disabilities]
January 24, 2012 at 11:01 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
[financing health care|ghanaian economy|primary health care|primary health care services|reproductive health care|sanitation problems|wikipedia the free encyclopedia|women with disabilities]…
[...]Welcome to Blag Hag’s new home! | Blag Hag[...]…