When I first used a computer, I was 29 years old. I had returned to college in an attempt to secure a proper qualification (City & Guilds in Poultry Production (Part II) was not particularly impressive, and unless I was up for a job against somebody with only Part I, it didn’t seem likely to do me much good.
And so there I was – one of only two people on a course of around 40 people who didn’t have either a degree or a Higher National Diploma. I think I was the only person on the course who had never actually touched a computer.
Fortunately, it seemed, most of the people who had used computers hadn’t really used them properly. The instructor started off by telling us that most people used word processors like typewriters and that this was wrong as it had so much more to offer. The secret, he told us, was in cutting down the number of keystrokes.
I thought of that today when starting WordPress. I have to start by selecting a block, which is several keystrokes I would not have had to make if I had been able to stick with the old editor.
All this calls into question the concept of the new system being an improvement.
I just looked for my word count. I still can’t find as way to count the words as I type. Another unimprovement.
It’s 236. I just opened a word document, copied, pasted and checked the count. More useless key strokes. Does anybody know how to get a word count in the Classic Editor block? And if there is a way, does anybody know why it is no longer automatic?
Anyway, enough about WordPress, as other people have also been lying to me today.
This includes two customers and eBay. In two cases there’s nothing I can do about it – eBay is a monopoly that does what it likes, and one of the customers, though undoubtedly not telling the truth is unassailable because I can’t prove it.
The third one, I can prove, but the shop owner is refusing to take action.
It’s very frustrating and I am quite upset by the lack of news rel
And at that point all my text disappeared. I started a new blog post with the words below.
After writing over 300 words I have just been confronted by a blank page and a message “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed”. So much for the new and improved version.
If I were writing a story about one man’s struggle with technology even I wouldn’t make up a system so malevolent that it wiped out an hour’s work just like that.
I saved the draft and was surprised to find the whole post had been saved, including the two paragraphs I had written on a blank page after the first part disappeared.
Unfortunately, although I had typed them in a Classic Editor Block, they aren’t in it now and I can’t get the tool bar up. I have tried several times, but it won’t work.
It shouldn’t be such a struggle just to write a blog.
No photos tonight. I am losing the will to write.
Sorry to hear about your trials with WP. As I’m on my phone I xan’t advise but I hope someone else had been or will be able to help.
It’s taking shape…
😊
Oh, goodness! Courage, Quercus.
Was it you who quoted someone saying that they felt like they were like butter being spread too thin? I’m just feeling a bit that way, and WP, which should be my safety net, is letting me down. It will pass.
Yes. The quote is from “The Fellowship of the Ring,” and Bilbo is describing how he feels after so many years of carrying the ring. I think many of us feeling that way.
That’s right, I remember now. 🙂
Don’t lose the will to write! I’ll miss your wry humor and take on life!
Top left of page – i in circle gives the word count as well as other stuff. Preview invariably doesn’t show unless I click on the refresh symbol
I wonder why they feel the need to hide the word count? Thanks for letting me know.:-)
This is terrible. I would like to offer consoling words or genuinely useful advice but I am at a loss. I think that the suggestion to write your text outside WP might be worth taking up. At least you will have a word counted copy safely saved in the event of more unexpected crashes. People lying is hard to bear. Please don’t let things grind you down.
It is actually genuinely useful advice, because it removes the nagging feeling of defeat when writing in WP and I can’t do anything about the liars/thieves so can’t let it get to me.
Keep writing in any medium that works, Quercus.
Yes, there are people out there who will shake one’s faith in humanity. They have always existed and will continue to crop up from time to time.
It is true, you just have to put them in the mental compartment labelled “Scum” and move on. I will not allow myself to be depressed by them. Two days later I am regaining my composure.
I’m not having any issues with WordPress, but probably because I’m new at blogging and don’t know what I’m missing…I enjoy your writing even when you’re complaining! 🙂
This is the third editor I’ve had to use in six years, the second being the one we now call Classic. The first change took a few weeks to get used to but was generally good. The second change, to Blocks, has really not gone well for me and I am having a succession of irritating minor problems. I pay £240 a year and I should be able to have a usable editor for that money.
I write all my articles in Word , save the file, and copy/paste to the website. Sometimes, people lie because they want something, but often it’s because they are insecure. I have an ongoing problem with BT; they lie as a matter of course and their directors appear to be quite happy about it.
That sounds like a good plan, though if I’m having to use Word why do I pay WordPress £20 a month?
I agree with you about why some people lie, and have had problems with BT over the years.
However, one of the customers is lying because he is greedy and he is a thief. THis is the second time in two months we’ve had a problem where I can prove someone is lying and it irritates me to hand over money to thieves just to avoid the dreaded “negative feedback” they might give us if we tackle them.