I’ve had issues with the WordPress Reader in the past, but this latest one has me scratching my head. Have a look at how many screens I have to go through to comment on a post from the Reader:
This is a screenshot of the Reader. Notice the function circled in red? Comments are definitely available.
So I click on the heading of the article to read what it’s actually about and get this:
‘Share’, ‘Comments’ and ‘Like’ are still available, as you can see, but if you click on the ‘Comment’ function, WordPress just refreshes the page you’re on without allowing you to:
- leave a comment or
- see what other comments there might be.
You can, however, click the ‘Like’ function.
Something not shown in the screenshot [because it wouldn’t fit] is a very small link in the top right corner of the screen that says ‘Visit page’. I didn’t notice that link at first, and assumed that I was already on the page. But no. To get to the actual page, I need to click again, either on the ‘Visit page’ link or on the heading of the article.
Then and only then do I finally get to the poster’s blog where…glory be…I can leave a comment!
And, of course, with all these clicks needed to simply leave a comment, you’ll have to click back just as many times. 😦
Is this a WordPress change-in-progress that isn’t quite there yet? I hope so because this layering is annoying and will probably stop all but the most determined reader from leaving a comment, and that is bad for all of us.
WordPress is not Facebook. It’s a blogging community that interacts via comments. That is its strength and beauty. Likes are all well and good, but we all know that it’s comments from friends and potential new friends that puts the joy into blogging. Anything that creates a barrier between members of this community should be avoided at all costs.
Let’s get back to a format where the Reader provides not only tasty samples but also a direct gateway to the main course.
cheers
Meeks
p.s. And after all that, you can read Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog post here. 🙂
Authors' favourite books
NANO 2012
March 29th, 2017 at 6:54 pm
I also usually read via email but occasionally Reader, WordPress has definitely changed the display and linking, dependant I think on browser, device, etc. I miss the old one click access.
LikeLike
March 29th, 2017 at 8:23 pm
Yeah, I miss it too. Maybe one day they’ll bring it back….-turns quietly blue-
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 7:53 pm
Even though it makes my inbox bulge, I prefer to rely on email notifications but over the years I’ve noticed that WP are great ones for adding extra clicks to a process and it drives me nuts. I won’t be going anywhere near the Reader any time soon!
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 11:18 pm
Yeah, they do don’t they? Very inefficient. As for emails, I’m starting to get so many I can’t keep up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 27th, 2017 at 7:35 pm
Sorry to hear you’re having these issues Meeks – I don’t use the Reader, I go for email notifications instead – but there are times when that fails as well (i.e., not getting emails)
BTW – I sent WP a complaint a week ago regards them removing the Underline Facility Icon from the Draft Posts and Pages Toolbar – but they haven’t replied yet…
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 11:20 pm
Drat. I didn’t notice that. I don’t use underline often but it’s such a bloody standard…why delete it???
Thanks for pointing it out Chris. If they don’t get back to you, maybe we can generate a little people power.
LikeLiked by 2 people
March 27th, 2017 at 11:44 pm
I hadn’t noticed that either but I had noticed they’d removed the Justify button which had me incandescent with rage!
LikeLike
March 28th, 2017 at 9:54 am
Ugh! Why are they dumbing everything down?
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 28th, 2017 at 11:12 am
I guess they want to keep up with the dumbing down all over the planet.
LikeLike
March 28th, 2017 at 7:44 pm
Yeah, and it’s our love affair with the smartphone that started it. My phone may become as ‘smart’ as my pc one day, but that day has not happened yet and I resent losing functionality for such a silly reason. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
March 27th, 2017 at 5:59 pm
I assumed it was just me. There are a couple of blogs I follow who are WP accounts, but have always been a challenge to post comments on – I figured that was a deliberate ploy as they are quite personal blogs (I know, almost an oxymoron) and then of course there are those that don’t use WP and I’ve always had to navigate through to their platform t like or comment. I use edge as it’s my default and I am just too lazy to change it 😉
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 11:24 pm
I think it was Frank that said he uses Edge too but it doesn’t make sense to assume everyone has it, or wants it.
Knowing WP they’ll quietly fix things without ever acknowledging that they were a problem in the first place. Better than nothing though, I guess.
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 27th, 2017 at 12:16 pm
Hello all. I am not having the problems you mention. I do not use the reader. The blogs I follow I get an email telling me they have a new post. I click the link in the email and it goes right to the page where I can like and add my comment. I can also use my bookmarks to go to the main page and click on the title link of the post which again takes me to the post. As for the follow or unfollow, I have a small button that will slide up from the bottom of the page saying either follow or unfollow as I am scrolling. By clicking on that I can change it. I hope things get better for you. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 27th, 2017 at 12:27 pm
Hi Scottie! Yes, I get most of my notifications by email as well but I like to check the Reader every now and then because sometimes I stop getting notifications, for no reason that I can work out. -hugs-
LikeLiked by 2 people
March 27th, 2017 at 12:37 pm
That’s right Meeks, it seems the only reliable way of seeing every post for blogs one is subscribed to is to check both The Reader and email notifications. That’s been my experience over the past three years, and it’s rather annoying, I must say, not least because I know that’s happening to whatever posts I may make.
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 2:38 pm
Yes, annoying is the word. And thanks for reminding me that I haven’t heard from a friend of mine in a while. -grump- Better go check.
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 27th, 2017 at 11:40 am
I end up opening everything in a new window because I hate clicking back. Of course, soon I end up with so many windows open my screen is a mess!
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 12:30 pm
lmao – yes! And then everything sloooooooows right down, or at least it does with Firefox. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 29th, 2017 at 8:54 am
Yep. Same here. Tweakers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 29th, 2017 at 12:33 pm
😀
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 11:03 am
Likewise. I now can’t follow or unfollow unless I change from my preferred browser, likewise I can only ‘like’ something in my reader, and as you point out, to comment is to pack a lunch and get your passport stamped.
Taking the fun out of it WP.
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 12:31 pm
Oh ick…I’m not getting the follow issue. Which is your preferred browser? And yes, I’ve become quite adept at making ham sandwiches. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 27th, 2017 at 12:38 pm
I prefer Chrome, but I only get full range of function with Edge. Asked for help but ended up confused. Oh well!
LikeLike
March 27th, 2017 at 2:35 pm
Edge. Double ick. Firefox chucks a wobbly every now and then but generally, it’s pretty reliable. I definitely don’t think designing everything around Edge is a good idea. Microsoft will remain big for the forseeable future but it’s no longer the only game in town.
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 27th, 2017 at 2:55 pm
Agreed.
LikeLike