The Complaints Department » « Rebecca Watson at CFI

Welcome to the new digs!

You may be wondering why I had to change my address, why I’m cruelly forcing you to update your RSS feeds, why I’m breaking your familiar habits, why I’m making you read this awkward site with the plaster and lath showing and the ugly paint job and the stuff that doesn’t work very well, as I’m sure we’ll discover. Those are good questions, and here are my answers.

Hey, I’m an atheist, you know. You’re uncomfortable? Tough. I’m writing on this blog for me, not you.

As an outlet for self-expression, this move was necessary. National Geographic will be taking a more active role in hosting the ScienceBlogs stable, which is a good thing, since they’ll be bringing their prestige, better support, and some welcome changes to the site as a whole. They’ll also be bringing their standards & practices, which are different from the more freewheeling policies of Seed Media…and it was clear that there was going to be a culture clash in the transition.

NatGeo and I have worked out an acceptable compromise. This site on Freethoughtblogs is mine and only mine, and none of the content is in any way associated with National Geographic. Yay freedom! I can say whatever I want here! At the same time, whatever I write that I feel is compatible with the more conservative ethos of National Geographic will also appear over there — so less liberal, more religious readers can read the sciencey stuff without getting their staid world rocked. One qualifier: anti-creationism is well within the NatGeo brief, so  young-earth creationists and intelligent design cretins aren’t going to like either site. There are limits, you know.

So, if you liked the old Pharyngula exactly as it was, this is the place you want to be: update your blogrolls, change your bookmarks, redirect your RSS feeds. Other than the address, nothing has changed. This is Pharyngula Unfiltered, double espresso Pharyngula.

If you’ve been wishing Pharyngula was a little less rude and offensive, if you were constantly annoyed by the challenges to your cherished and foolish religious dogmas, do nothing at all and stick with the old site.  That will be Cool Menthol Pharyngula, or de-caf Pharyngula.

Easy choice, right? Take your pick. The only unfortunate catch is that de-caf Pharyngula is also old established Pharyngula, with most of the bugs in the software hammered out and everything already working the way you’re used to. This new Pharyngula is going to be a rough work in progress for a while, so you’re going to have to bear with us for a while, and there might be sudden abrupt changes or downtime glitches or who knows, the occasional catastrophic failure. But we’ll get better over time.

For now, if you find bugs and annoyances, go to the Complaints Department and leave a comment.

The Complaints Department » « Rebecca Watson at CFI

Comments

  4. says

    So, um, do we have to go back and forth between old boring National Geographiced Pharyngula and this new exciting picturesque one to get the whole set? Or can we just come here and then we are not missing out on anything? Please say its the latter. Please. Pretty please.

  5. Minnie The Finn says

    Testing testing.

    So far (now that the site’s working) I find it fairly pleasing to use.

    Must search for a formatting tool somewhere. If I remember correctly, Google had one that you could add to your task bar that might work… unless there are other options?

  11. emrysmyrddin says

    Testing – long-time lurker creeping out of the woodwork. Seems good so far…

  13. Wowbagger says

    I’m happier now that I’m Wowbagger with a capital ‘w’. There were a few moments of anxiety there…

  15. Bernard Bumner says

    For a second during the registration, I thought I was going to be bernardbumner…

    Oh! The humanity!

  16. Wowbagger says

    Anyone want to lays bets on how long we have to wait before the first troll appears, and is subsequently dispatched (with extreme prejudice)?

  17. says

    We’ll have numbered comments before long, folks, and some of the other modifications that PZ had to his old blog. We just wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly before we let the old boy loose on the stylesheets with a bowie knife.

  20. Philip Legge, scribouillard idiote says

    Pharyngula comments are still counted in two digits after six hours… who would have thunk it?

    (If you check out the sidebar for “Recent Comments”, you’ll find the comments are being numbered sequentially over both of the open threads, so #comment-79 was in this thread, while comments -78 and -80 appeared in the Complaints thread. Already PZ has many more comments than his fellow bloggers; physioprof has just received #comment-2!)

  22. serendipitydawg says

    Is it just me or is there an echo in here?

    Need some soft furnishings :D

    Curse you, preview button, why don’t you do something?

  24. serendipitydawg says

    And that author picture looks photoshopped… just look at the smooth, unlined, brow.

    I like the new digs, it looks all modern and sniny.

    Aha! Now preview didn’t live up to its name last time and this time it did.

  26. Wowbagger says

    serendipitydawg wrote:

    Is it just me or is there an echo in here?

    I agree with Polly-O serendipitydawg!

  27. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    So, if you liked the old Pharyngula exactly as it was, this is the place you want to be: update your blogrolls, change your bookmarks, redirect your RSS feeds. Other than the address, nothing has changed. This is Pharyngula Unfiltered, double espresso Pharyngula.

    If you’ve been wishing Pharyngula was a little less rude and offensive, if you were constantly annoyed by the challenges to your cherished and foolish religious dogmas, do nothing at all and stick with the old site. That will be Cool Menthol Pharyngula, or de-caf Pharyngula.

    It’s like 1950 Miles Davis and 1974 Miles Davis.

  28. Auraboy says

    Wow. Now I can say I was there man. At like the beginning. You kids have it easy with your corporate holo-blogs beamed into your eyes, it was way cooler at the second Dawn of pharyngula… We were so young and innocent then. Plus we had better drugs.

  30. David Utidjian says

    Somehow this all seems eerily familiar. Looks good.

    I get a database error if I go to the Pharyngula root page.Oh wait… different thread for that.

    In any case, Hi everyone!

  34. Roger Jones says

    Testing via trans-atlantic cable. After a few error messages now receiving OK in the UK

  36. What a Maroon says

    So Pharyngula’s been born again.

    Or perhaps renaissanced.

    And now I get a capital M. Life is good.

  38. dvizard says

    So, if you liked the old Pharyngula exactly as it was, this is the place you want to be: update your blogrolls, change your bookmarks, redirect your RSS feeds. Other than the address, nothing has changed. This is Pharyngula Unfiltered, double espresso Pharyngula.

    You should note the fact that a Double Espresso in the US is pretty much what is served as a normal coffee here in Europe…

  39. Audley Z. Darkheart, purveyor of candy and lies says

    Woo hoo! Let’s see if this posts.

    Quick question: is there a way to register? I don’t think my phone will remember my ‘nym and email addy and it’ll be a pain in the tits* to have to fill in those fields for every comment.

    *Or, you know, a minor annoyance.

  40. becominginvisible says

    Two Pharyngula sites. Noted. Bookmarked.

    @Philip Legge, scribouillard idiote
    1 August 2011 at 6:45 am
    Lots of “failure to establish database connection” going on. Took about 40 minutes before I could get this site.

    Possibly longer to submit this comment.

  41. kopd says

    This will take some time to get used to. Hopefully the transition is smooth and this will all be for the better.

  48. Quodlibet says

    *not having been around for months, pokes head in, looks around shyly*

    *sees smart, interesting people still here, and some new ones*

    *notes bits of construction debris and a few tools still lying around*

    *lurks back to the lobby to wait patiently, but with a small smile*

  49. Anton says

    For those with less “internet skills” than many of us, how about using an old term like “Subscribe” with an appropriate link to the choices for “receiving” your blog. I have had several say they like the blog but aren’t sufficiently skilled to find out how they can get an e-mail advice for a new posting.

    I appreciate your “move” and the associated desire not to be encumbered by a corporate agenda.

  50. daveau says

    With you and Ed and Cuttlefish, why go anywhere else? (except, Jerry & Ophelia & Greta Christina &…)

  52. Hekuni Cat says

    Thank you, PZ. I liked Pharyngula the was it was. The lighter version is not for me.

  53. Sastra says

    test test

    There are a lot of bugs. I keep getting error messages, and preview doesn’t seem to want to work for me (I cannot do without preview!)

    I plan on letting this new site be my Pharyngula site — so I really hope the bugs get out.

  54. Patrick says

    51’ish Checking in from Afghanistan. Congrats PZ from the other side of the planet. Now if I could just convince all these angry bearded people to log on..

  58. Diceros bicornis says

    Testing…1…2…3. I’ve been thinking I might join in on the Horde – I’ve been lurking for some time, and now seems like a good time to just…test. Maybe I’ll hold off on the complaining, as the regulars are giving lots of enthusiastic feedback.

    Will see how it shows on my phone…the way I most often read my favorite blogs…

    Anyway, I’m looking forward to the housewarming party!

  59. MikeKaye says

    I thought that NatGeo would cause some kind of change. Glad to see PZ still unfettered.

  61. Audley Z. Darkheart, purveyor of candy and lies says

    One last test to see if the ‘nym change worked, then I promise that I’m done. :)

  63. says

    here’s to “freethought” I do hope we will be getting everything at this site – de-geograpicised and geographicised alike.

  68. Alan Macphail says

    Ah, but the Xtians attacked the “sciency” stuff as well as the anti-superstition stuff. So will they now have to divide their time and forces to attack two sites? Very clever Prof. Myers.

  69. says

    Sooo….. Let’s see.

    Congratulations, PZ & Ed.

    About those allowed tags, is there an XSD you’re validating against? Do you need one?

  72. daveau says

    Myeck-

    Go to Gravatar.com and set up an account. The avatar you upload is tied to your email address.

  73. EvoMonkey says

    Thanks daveau! I hope my avatar comes through. Should I see it in the preview of the post?

  74. TV200 says

    Congratulations on the move. I’m sure there will be some rough patches, but I like the idea of Freethoughblogs being it’s own independent entity.

  77. says

    ‘Tis, in the left sidebar under “STUFF” there’s a Log In button. When you log in, you can only use lowercase letters and numbers for your user name. Once you’ve confirmed your login, you can go back in, enter a nickname* (and password), and select the nickname for your display name.

    *Note: you can’t change the user name.

  81. crudelywrott says

    Well, the WordPress registration was picky. No spaces or caps allowed in nym.

    I went through the routine three times and eventually, fooling with cookies and NoScript and by being stubborn I have now successfully logged on.

    Except my nym is two words. I’ll have to fiddle with that.

    This place has the feel of a large space. Like the Houston Astrodome before the roadies get there. There is welcome elbow room, and a curious sense of floating.

    One thing for sure, we will get to witness an amazing and real life example of evolution as this new place starts looking lived in. This should be fun.

    Hold hands, everybody. Here we go!

  82. J Bowen says

    OK, so now where do I go to buy my Pharyngula Squid car emblem?

    Congratulations to all involved.

  83. Audley Z. Darkheart, purveyor of candy and lies says

    Crudely:

    Except my nym is two words. I’ll have to fiddle with that.

    In your WordPress profile, there’s a space for your nickname. That will display however you’d like it to– that’s how I got my full ‘nym. Just be sure to select it from the drop-down menu that’s below the nickname field. :)

  85. says

    I would like to point out that there are more posts on the ‘old’ version. And since you told us to update our bookmarks last week, I missed the announcement and was redirected automagically here instead.

  86. Crudely Wrott , Empathic Drinking Buddy of Death (on occasion) says

    You missed me by that much, Audley. /Maxwell Smart voice

    I just fiddled.

    hee heee

  87. Crudely Wrott , Empathic Drinking Buddy of Death (on occasion) says

    I missed the announcement and was redirected automagically here instead.

    I am really going to steal that word from you. I can think of some good places to use it.

  88. Audley Z. Darkheart, purveyor of candy and lies says

    Crudely:
    Awesome! Your ‘nym is way better now. :D

  89. says

    As I love the raucous and biting nature of Pharyngula I plan on simply reading articles here rather than regularly checking out both sites. But I worry having two sites will fragment the commenting base and due to that I will miss out on great threads and wonderfully stupid creationists and such by mainly looking in one place. His blog already eats up more than enough of my time every day. I do not think I could manage two even if one of them is a limited subset of the other.

  91. Crudely Wrott , Empathic Drinking Buddy of Death (on occasion) says

    Hey, wait. How can we be in two places at once?

  93. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    Thanks, SC.

    I seriously considered dumping “‘Tis Himself” because it’s a nym I really don’t like. However since I’ve established a persona at Pharyngula under that name, I guess I’m stuck with it.

  94. Audley Z. Darkheart, purveyor of candy and lies says

    Travis:

    But I worry having two sites will fragment the commenting base and due to that I will miss out on great threads and wonderfully stupid creationists and such by mainly looking in one place.

    Well, according to PZ:

    Other than the current flurry of news about FtB on the science blog site, Sb/NatGeo will be a subset of this place. EVERYTHING will go here. Come here, you miss nothing. Go to Sb, you’ll miss the atheism and much of the political stuff.

    My guess is that we’ll have plenty of trolls to chew on and most people will end up here, ‘cos it’ll be more raucous!

  95. Crudely Wrott , Empathic Drinking Buddy of Death (on occasion) says

    Oh, yeah. Before I forget.

    We are going to need a Jump To End hot spot before very long.

  96. Philip Legge says

    Hi Crudely Wrott,

    I believe #respond is already there as a navigation anchor, so PZ just needs to code it as a standard part of a posting, preferably somewhere at the top above the first comment. It is really useful for mega-long threads like TET or anything infested by the MRAs, especially for those of us occasionally reading on iPhone-like devices!

  97. Crudely Wrott , Empathic Drinking Buddy of Death (on occasion) says

    Unsolicited suggestion for ‘Tis Himself re: new nym.

    Just fly a banner from the jib. A preceding apostrophe would be hard to miss.
    Plus, there’s a bit o’ the pirate in flying from jibs and all.
    AAaaaarrrrr. And to be shhhuuurrrrrrr.

  98. Crudely Wrott , Empathic Drinking Buddy of Death (on occasion) says

    Hi, Philip Legge.

    I sorta thought that from scanning this new blog. Your news is still good news. Thanks.

    I picture a load of ore being dumped into the end of a huge machine that will eventually succeed in producing a usable, enjoyable and useful point of focus.

    Nice to be riding along with you. ;^>

  99. Sunday Afternoon says

    Things are working much better than first thing this morning! Well enough to attempt a comment…

    The preview thing works – let’s see if comment submission works quicker than the old site!

  101. Joel says

    [ Checks the calendar ]

    OK, just making sure I don’t fall into the same damn fool trap again. Much as I do like the verse over at Cuttlefish.

  105. stapletron says

    I’m actually waiting for the super hardcore LSD laced version of pharyngula.

  107. Sastra says

    Since some of PZ’s posts will be at the old site, I suppose that a real dedicated fan would now have to read all the comments on both sites, so that nothing will be missed.

    Naw. Too hard … I don’t even bother to keep up with The Thread.

    I do foresee one problem, though. Interesting, brilliant, or provocative new commenters lured by Nat Geo can easily remain completely unknown to the Hoard. We could end up with cliques of Old Timers and New Guys, joined in interests and temperament, all reading the exact same blog posts but inhabiting separate blogs.

    Weirdness.

  108. Spaghettificatedgod says

    I’ve always been invisibly there. Now I’m here, just as before. Before freethoughtblogs was, I am!
    Carry on.

  109. ThoughtfulQuagmire says

    Testing……1,1,2,3,5,8,13……

    Complete idiot at blogging stuff here. How do you get an avatar associated with your name? Alll advice appreciated.

  111. Marie the Bookwyrm says

    Ooh, looks like it worked. And we appear to be on Central Time. :)
    (I’m on the East Coast.)

  115. John Morales says

    ‘Tis Himself, OM

    I seriously considered dumping “‘Tis Himself” because it’s a nym I really don’t like. However since I’ve established a persona at Pharyngula under that name, I guess I’m stuck with it.

    ‘Tis the perfect time to transition.

    (You’re not stuck at all)

  116. Richard Eis says

    Really cute, these google ads for “Christian Counceling”… :-)

    They are going to need it if they come here now… hee hee.

  119. says

    ‘Tis:

    It seriously messes with my head when long-time regulars change their nym (their main nym, I mean, not the “subtitles”)… but in the final analysis, who the hell am I (or is any of us) to tell anyone how to identify themselves?

  122. says

    Katherine Lorraine:

    I was actually thinking of you when I made my comment to ‘Tis. It’s more convenient for me not to have to keep track of changing nyms… but my convenience is a trivial matter in the face of people’s need to identify in ways that make sense to them. Not everybody’s reason to change nyms is as… shall we say, existential as yours, of course, but even so, one’s name is one’s name, eh?

  123. says

    Not sure about the FTB logo, but adore the new design otherwise. Incredibly clear & uncluttered. Stoked to see it. Btw, not sure exactly how one gets them to do it, but Flipboard hasn’t picked up any of the feeds here yet. Hope they will soon.

  124. Noah the epistemic pinata says

    Testing comments and the preview button! Seems to be working fine now.

  126. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    Unfiltered! Yay! Just waiting till this place can cope with TET, then I will cease altogether from lurking invisibly over on Pharyngula-Lite and come and live lurk invisibly here in the lair of the ECO instead. If I understood correctly, all the content will be here too – so I wonder who will move in at Pharyngula-Lite? Little by little a whole new ecosystem will emerge over there, when all the sharks and squid are here …