Okay, so I used to have another blog, and it's almost 2 years old. It is a good blog, and I refuse to delete it because it's gotten me through some pretty tough times.
So why the sudden move? Bad customer service and a rude dev.
Now, let me explain the situation. I sent a private message asking for clarification of a few things, as sometimes the site (Journalspace) is somewhat vague and disorganised.
I never thought I would get the response that I did. Maybe I should have had second thoughts about using "WTF", but the reply I got pretty much stunned me and made me angry.
Okay...okay...I shoulda done my homework a little better, to be honest, and I ADMITTED THAT! I certainly don't think I deserved a response like that. I just honestly never though "WTF" would insult anyone! I mean, seriously!
Wait, though. It gets better...
As an afterthought to my first private message I shot off another one because I was certainly not clear on the function of the features and my brain was going about 100 miles per hour (and I also never though I would get such a quick reply...that's about ALL they have going for them right now.).
I've been pretty polite, if not a big rambly and the thoughts not quite collected. But the RUDE response I recieved was rather panties-twisted-in-a-knot-ish.
Wow. One would think I had just cussed out his/her mother and then made a rude comment about the integrity of her womanhood. But as seen above, nothing of the like was mentioned. Stuff like that doesn't get anyone anywhere but in trouble.
By the time I had gotten done reading all this, I was pretty miffed. I think I have every right to be angry. I've been made to look stupid, none of my questions were answered how I felt they should have been answered. I assumed that since they ran a public site questions and criticism would be taken in stride, even welcomed, as I know it has GOT to be difficult to take on a project like this. I never expected my PM's to get a reception such as this, nor did I think they were written in a negative sounding tone.
Well, this is the infamous PM they have been DEMANDING that I seriously read.
Oh I DEFINITELY recall getting that PM. And I can also honestly say that I didn't read past the part that said my layout may have been replaced with a default layout. I worked pretty hard to learn (on my own) the stuff to make up an HTML layout and to think that it might have just been baleted due to a bug, did, in fact panic me a little. I checked my blog...saw the layout was fine and never thought another thing about it. I just heaved a sigh of relief and went on my merry little way.
I thought they meant that the actual physical layout was bugged. Not the skeleton and code where I would customise the layout.
See where I am unclear of things now?
Also, a lot of new things get added to the site that I never think twice about, as I do my own HTML, I use off site colour palettes among other things. I just carried on, and when I went to add something into the blog of a friend of mine's, and saw all these new variables, of course I had NO CLUE what the heck was going on. In order to add one small bit of HTML which would normally have taken about 30 seconds, I had to re-do the layout (thank goodness for the design library that was added a few months ago. The second good thing they have going for them.) which, thankfully, only took a few minutes due to said library.
I was baffled. Parts of the layout had to be fixed even afterwards, but that was just pasting in images, no biggie.
We all recieved the pro access coupons for 14 days. Okay, got it. Went on my merry way.
Now, back to the LAST private message that I sent to the dev, because I was STILL not clear about things, and felt they were being incredibly rude to me.
This is the reply to the reply to "WTF!?" I was, admittedly a bit smartarsed as I censored the 'F' in 'WTF.'
So, I've had words put in my mouth, as I never spelled out the F-word. I am actually rather careful in my use. I don't use it in conversation unless I know it's probably okay. I also use it in my blog, as do thousands of others. I don't direct it at anyone. I'm still baffled over the response, that it was recieved in such anger and then had that animosity directed back upon me so rudely.
Here is the final reply, as by now I had decided that I was indeed going to no longer patronise this site. I wold keep the blog and the links, but would no longer be writing there.
Final reply:
Well, then. Thank you MUCHLY for answering my questions in such a knowledgable, friendly way. Apparently I hit a nerve by asking a question and they felt it fitting to be rude and unhelpful, and in the end drive away a paying customer from their site. Well, more than one, actually. My friends are not exactly pleased with the direction that my simply asking a few questions took, and will be leaving with me.
This is the final post on the 'beta blog' that the dev put up just a few days ago.
I will be QUITE happy here at Blogger. | posted by Whatsername again....? @ 4/13/2006 09:16:00 pm |
|
So why the sudden move? Bad customer service and a rude dev.
Now, let me explain the situation. I sent a private message asking for clarification of a few things, as sometimes the site (Journalspace) is somewhat vague and disorganised.
Subject: WTF!?
On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:16:36 -0700, Whatsername wrote:
I don't understand this new color palette thing and why when I open up my layout to add ONE small thing that NOTHING is as I designed it to be (but my blog looks fine). The text is all different and there are different variables there that I sure as heck didn't put there, and it's completely unfamiliar.
I definitely do not like this because I fixed something in someone else's blog today and when I hit save the layout was DESTROYED (thank goodness for the library, good idea on that...VERY) and I want to add ONE small variable into my blog without the hassle of having to halfway re-do my layout. It's a change that should take all of 15 seconds, not 45 minutes of fixing everything that was there before.
I haven't seen an explanation for any of this yet, but then I have been a bad JSer and havent gone all the way through the colour picker because when I do my layouts I use a non-JS colour chooser. Still, a list of THOSE variables would be nice, and if there is a way to disable it and enable it AND a complete list and explanation of the variables, that would be gorgeous.
Thanks.
I never thought I would get the response that I did. Maybe I should have had second thoughts about using "WTF", but the reply I got pretty much stunned me and made me angry.
Subject: Re: WTF!?
Sorry that it angered you to the point that you felt like using the word "fuck" was an appropriate choice.
Did you read the "Bot has been bad" private message you got a few weeks ago? Read it again. That's why we sent it to you: to help you.
Okay...okay...I shoulda done my homework a little better, to be honest, and I ADMITTED THAT! I certainly don't think I deserved a response like that. I just honestly never though "WTF" would insult anyone! I mean, seriously!
Wait, though. It gets better...
As an afterthought to my first private message I shot off another one because I was certainly not clear on the function of the features and my brain was going about 100 miles per hour (and I also never though I would get such a quick reply...that's about ALL they have going for them right now.).
Subject: Re: PS
On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:20:47 -0700, Whatsername wrote:
also, I found this link
http://www.journalspace.com/colors/upgrade_your_template.php
because I actually looked for it and i just wanted to say I don't want that in my blog and how can I NOT have that in my blog since it was so kindly placed there for me?
Sorry. I'm a pain, but this just seems uneccesary and should be a choice, not just shoved in for people.
Thank you again for your time.
I've been pretty polite, if not a big rambly and the thoughts not quite collected. But the RUDE response I recieved was rather panties-twisted-in-a-knot-ish.
Subject: Re: PS
I'm serious: read the "Bot has been bad" private message we sent you a few weeks ago. It's important!
If you don't understand it, go to the bug hunt forum and ask a question there:
http://www.journalspace.com/community/?id=597
Either way, do not swear at me again.
Wow. One would think I had just cussed out his/her mother and then made a rude comment about the integrity of her womanhood. But as seen above, nothing of the like was mentioned. Stuff like that doesn't get anyone anywhere but in trouble.
By the time I had gotten done reading all this, I was pretty miffed. I think I have every right to be angry. I've been made to look stupid, none of my questions were answered how I felt they should have been answered. I assumed that since they ran a public site questions and criticism would be taken in stride, even welcomed, as I know it has GOT to be difficult to take on a project like this. I never expected my PM's to get a reception such as this, nor did I think they were written in a negative sounding tone.
Well, this is the infamous PM they have been DEMANDING that I seriously read.
Sent: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:30:09 -0800
Subject: Bot has been bad. Here is what you need to know.
Greetings,
In a fit of unacceptable enthusiasm, bot has replaced your journal layout with a default template. It's a perfectly nice template, but it's not the one you designed. Your journal most likely still looks fine, but the next time you make a change to your design, you may find that your design has been overwritten by the default template.
Not to worry. As soon as we discovered the journalbot's mistake, we saved your existing design. If you go to the Choose a journal design page and look at the Pick a design you've saved into your design library pull-down menu, you'll find a new design called "backup auto-saved by journalspace on March 28." That is a copy of your journal's design before journalbot had its way with it.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience. We'll send you a coupon to make up for your time and trouble. The cost of the coupon will come out of journalbot's salary.
Oh I DEFINITELY recall getting that PM. And I can also honestly say that I didn't read past the part that said my layout may have been replaced with a default layout. I worked pretty hard to learn (on my own) the stuff to make up an HTML layout and to think that it might have just been baleted due to a bug, did, in fact panic me a little. I checked my blog...saw the layout was fine and never thought another thing about it. I just heaved a sigh of relief and went on my merry little way.
I thought they meant that the actual physical layout was bugged. Not the skeleton and code where I would customise the layout.
See where I am unclear of things now?
Also, a lot of new things get added to the site that I never think twice about, as I do my own HTML, I use off site colour palettes among other things. I just carried on, and when I went to add something into the blog of a friend of mine's, and saw all these new variables, of course I had NO CLUE what the heck was going on. In order to add one small bit of HTML which would normally have taken about 30 seconds, I had to re-do the layout (thank goodness for the design library that was added a few months ago. The second good thing they have going for them.) which, thankfully, only took a few minutes due to said library.
I was baffled. Parts of the layout had to be fixed even afterwards, but that was just pasting in images, no biggie.
We all recieved the pro access coupons for 14 days. Okay, got it. Went on my merry way.
Now, back to the LAST private message that I sent to the dev, because I was STILL not clear about things, and felt they were being incredibly rude to me.
This is the reply to the reply to "WTF!?" I was, admittedly a bit smartarsed as I censored the 'F' in 'WTF.'
On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:23:46 -0700, Whatsername wrote:
1. i did not use the full spelling of that word. YOU did. I'm sorry that 'WT*' is insulting. Most nerds nowadays aren't insulted by things like that, as it is so widely used. My bad.
2. It was sent to help us, but what remedy is a 14 day coupon going to do for us? We were notified of the problem, but not how to fix it, at least not from what I saw.
So, I've had words put in my mouth, as I never spelled out the F-word. I am actually rather careful in my use. I don't use it in conversation unless I know it's probably okay. I also use it in my blog, as do thousands of others. I don't direct it at anyone. I'm still baffled over the response, that it was recieved in such anger and then had that animosity directed back upon me so rudely.
Here is the final reply, as by now I had decided that I was indeed going to no longer patronise this site. I wold keep the blog and the links, but would no longer be writing there.
Final reply:
Sent: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:28:36 -0700
Subject: Re: WT*!?
Read it carefully. It explains how to select the backup template to restore your original template. If you're still not sure, post a question in the 'bug hunt' forum and somebody will help you.
Trying to start a beta blog was a noble idea that I should have known was destined to fail. I give up.
Maybe you'll be happier on another blogging site?
Well, then. Thank you MUCHLY for answering my questions in such a knowledgable, friendly way. Apparently I hit a nerve by asking a question and they felt it fitting to be rude and unhelpful, and in the end drive away a paying customer from their site. Well, more than one, actually. My friends are not exactly pleased with the direction that my simply asking a few questions took, and will be leaving with me.
This is the final post on the 'beta blog' that the dev put up just a few days ago.
It's been less than 24 hours since the first post to the beta blog and we've gotten our first flame via private message from a young lady who figured that swearing at us via private message, rather than posting to the bug hunt community, was the best way to get action.
She's right, in a way. We did this to reach out to people who want to try cool new things, not to anger people to the point that their only recourse is to swear at us.
We're going to move on to more productive things. The beta blog is no more.
I will be QUITE happy here at Blogger. | posted by Whatsername again....? @ 4/13/2006 09:16:00 pm |
