On Upgrading and Comments

Well, it looks like the old comment plugins don’t coexist well with the new site software. On the other hand, the new site software is doing a much better job at blocking spam than the old plugins were. Thus, it’s looking like a new comment policy is in the works.

What would be different? Everyone’s first comment would be moderated, which means that it wouldn’t show up on the page until after I approve it. After I’ve approved one comment, all that person’s future comments would be allowed without approval. The time limit would also be revoked; old and new posts would be treated the same.

Feedback would be appreciated. Note that the above policy is already in effect by default, so your comments won’t show up right away. The question is: should things stay this way?

Upgrade In Progress

So, do you like the default WordPress 1.5 theme?

The main part of the upgrade is done. Now I’m playing around with the look, adding and removing links, and stuff like that. So, don’t be surprised if things look a little strange at times. It looks like the old theme hasn’t been ported yet, so we’ll probably end up with something new.

Oh, and the verdict on WordPress 1.5? Two thumbs way, way up! Every blogger, in my opinion, needs to evaluate this software and decide if it’s for them.

UPDATE: For now, I think I’m going to go with a variant of the default called Steam. Thanks are due to Alex King, the provider of my old theme, for the classy look of the old days. In the meantime, feel free to make theme suggestions in the comments; there are some nice themes here.

UPDATE: The comment moderation plugin is a little freaked out, so it’s now disabled. New comments may not show up right when you post them, because the new spam features of WP 1.5 are sending all comments from “new” posters (and everyone’s new right now) to moderation. I’m still working on getting the site working the old way.

WordPress Update

WordPress has updated to 1.5 recently. This may mean a little instability for the site in the next few days as I upgrade.

When the update is done, though, it should make life a lot easier for me, especially regarding the storms of comment spam we’ve been getting lately.

UPDATE: Well, I guess I wasn’t kidding about the instability part. Our building lost power for about an hour, and after that the server refused to turn on. After swapping out the drive into a spare box I happened to have laying around, we’re back up, but I’ll probably have to put the old server back once I figure out how to refurbish it. So, expect more instability in the future (though hopefully not as bad as today).