![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The little things we take for granted
Apr. 11th, 2008 01:41 pmEvery time LJ does something stupid -like removing interests, changing strikethrough to boldthrough, suspending users for "bad" interests, removing the Basic account level, etc.- I want to leave.
I remember when I was on Greymatter, and while it was a pain to maintain because of all the coding, I liked it because I could do whatever I wanted. Now, I'm very tempted to switch to Wordpress-- they even allow an easy-import for LJ entries and comments.
Problem(s)?
* I can't find any way of embedding user icons (userpics, icons, avatars, WHATEVER!) into posts. I don't want them up in little headers. I don't want them in footers. I want them either in the upper left or upper right of EVERY post I make, preferably with my name underneath said image. I don't know why this is so infeasible. Maybe it's just me and my lack of knowledge about WP, maybe it's theme-specific... but so far I have found nothing that does this, and it REALLY irritates me. I see user icons as a BASIC function of blogging anywhere.
* Sure, anyone can have a "blogroll" (friends' list), but having to go to different sites, have different sign-ins (assuming OpenID isn't used), etc. is a pain in the neck. You'll end up forgetting to read the various blogs on said blogroll. Plus, the concept of "communities" disappears entirely. As the mod of several, still-active communities on LJ, I'd find parting with them the hardest part. Actually, I wouldn't do it. I'd insist on keeping an active LJ account just for that purpose.
Those are the two biggies, and I'm sure there are others. See, on a daily basis, you take certain elements of LJ for granted. Some of them are found, one way or another, on other blogging platforms, but frankly, it's a bit like switching from automatic to stick or caffeinated to decaf-- getting used to a new way of doing things is pretty difficult at first. So while yeah, I'm thrilled to be able to customize themes and add "widgets" to my WP blogs, I don't like this SIMPLE issue with icons/avatars, and I'm sure there's a ton more that would irk me if I played around with it enough.
I remember when I was on Greymatter, and while it was a pain to maintain because of all the coding, I liked it because I could do whatever I wanted. Now, I'm very tempted to switch to Wordpress-- they even allow an easy-import for LJ entries and comments.
Problem(s)?
* I can't find any way of embedding user icons (userpics, icons, avatars, WHATEVER!) into posts. I don't want them up in little headers. I don't want them in footers. I want them either in the upper left or upper right of EVERY post I make, preferably with my name underneath said image. I don't know why this is so infeasible. Maybe it's just me and my lack of knowledge about WP, maybe it's theme-specific... but so far I have found nothing that does this, and it REALLY irritates me. I see user icons as a BASIC function of blogging anywhere.
* Sure, anyone can have a "blogroll" (friends' list), but having to go to different sites, have different sign-ins (assuming OpenID isn't used), etc. is a pain in the neck. You'll end up forgetting to read the various blogs on said blogroll. Plus, the concept of "communities" disappears entirely. As the mod of several, still-active communities on LJ, I'd find parting with them the hardest part. Actually, I wouldn't do it. I'd insist on keeping an active LJ account just for that purpose.
Those are the two biggies, and I'm sure there are others. See, on a daily basis, you take certain elements of LJ for granted. Some of them are found, one way or another, on other blogging platforms, but frankly, it's a bit like switching from automatic to stick or caffeinated to decaf-- getting used to a new way of doing things is pretty difficult at first. So while yeah, I'm thrilled to be able to customize themes and add "widgets" to my WP blogs, I don't like this SIMPLE issue with icons/avatars, and I'm sure there's a ton more that would irk me if I played around with it enough.
