I have upgraded this blog to beta. The address stays the same but we get some new features. I have not really looked into the new features, except one: labels. All the posts have labels now, so if you just want to see all the commonplace book entries, or you just want to see all the posts about popular culture other than comics, just hit the label at the bottom of the post in that category and there you go. Let me know if you see any problems.
I already see a small problem with the labels, which is that there is a maximum of 20 posts it will display -- so big categories like the commonplace book will only give you the last 20, not all of them. I will look into this. In the meantime, you can read old posts with the archive.
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ReplyDeleteI've switched to beta as well, but I haven't investigated all of the bells and whistles. It did allow me to switch my template in a click, which I had to because the other one didn't allow links for some strange reason. The new one does. It seems we have a few of the same (Midtown - I'm another Queens guy!) and 33 1/3, my collection of which grows by leaps and bounds. I'm even tempted to just get them all beacuse I'm such a damn completist.
Got Casanova 1-5 in the mail the other day off the raves from this site. Between that, Fell, Elephantmen and Godland, I'm buying more Image NOW then when they set up shop in '92.
Lastly, thanks for putting up my link the other day; forgot to say so earlier.
Marc -- little piece of trivia for you: the 33 1/3 link is there because the guy who writes the blog, the guy behind 33 1/3 is David Barker, my editor on both How to Read Superhero Comics book and Why and the upcoming Imaginary Biographies: Misreading the Lives of the Poets, all published by Continuum.
ReplyDeleteThe labels were the things that got me to switch, too. If you figure out the 20-posts problem, don't keep the answer a secret. Although I will note that at the bottom of the page, there is a "older posts" button that takes you to the next 20, and so on -- so they're not gone, just on page two.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, in addition to an archive by date, you can now put up an archive by label. I, for one, would like to see it -- convenient to have all the labels in the sidebar rather than have to hunt for them. How about it?
one of these days I'll write another blog entry... I've been super busy of late though so that I haven't had much time to put together either of the two possible theses I plan on writing about (Why Civil War is a big step backwards and is probably the opening shot in the next bust cycle for the comic industry, or the funny nature of timezones in the digital age.)
ReplyDelete~I was hoping that the labels would add to traffic and not just be a intrablog categorization tool.
Silly me, I've been Beta for a couple of months and hadn't noticed it only displays the first 20. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteThey're certainly a valuable tool, although I find going back into my archive to label old posts is ridiculously time-consuming. I've limited my back-post-labeling to those which I tend to reference.
...And if I ever spend a few months recovering from an illness, I might get them all labeled... all 22 months' worth of them. Ha.
Stephen and Starrlett: I noticed that Stephen's template has, at the bottom, a button for the next twenty, but Starrlett and Mine do not. I am going to have to look into that; it seems like an oversight on the part of blogger, and I don't want to change my template. And Stephen -- I very much want labels to replace the archive buttons: if you figure out how tell me (also if you know how to add a "older posts" button tell me).
ReplyDeletePing: I look forward to your return.
Geoff,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why I have a "older posts" button -- I don't recall doing anything specifically to get it to do that.
But as for the archives of labels: if you go to the "layout" section of beta blogger, and click "add an element" in the same rough place that the current archives list should be, then one of the elements you can add is "labels". I re-named mine "archive by category"; I don't recall how but it can't have been difficult since I did it (I'm not that good with these things).
Incidentally, I hope that you consider keeping the archives-by-date as well as the archives-by-category: I personally feel like it's worthwhile having both. (And you certainly can have both; I do. I just chose to place the "by-category" above the "by date" archives). Anyway, do think it over before you delete the chronological archives.
SF
Stephen -- thanks. I will take your advice when i get around to it.
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