Life in progress

Tag Archives: WordPress community


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#SoCS – Modern Photography

There was a time long ago, back when I walked to school uphill both ways, when I was very careful about the photos I took. There were only so many available on the film, after all. I didn’t want to waste them! I had to buy the film, take it to the store when it was full of pictures, then pay to wait a week until it was developed.

Now that kids have it easier and presumably walk downhill both ways to school (like seriously, did the schools move?), I can take a thousand pictures of nothing and it doesn’t cost me a cent. AND I have them immediately—no waiting a week.

Why am I going on about this? I’m getting there, young whippersnapper.

Because we were so careful, we’d make sure not to get strangers in the backgrounds of our photos if we could help it. And yeah, I still try to be careful, but I can take ten of the same picture to make sure the majority of the strangers are facing the other way.

There’s always been the danger of getting sued by someone who ended up in your picture, especially if you post it publicly. But we take so many pictures these days without really thinking about it. Videos too. It’s a national pastime to photograph as many things as we can.

So that got me thinking—how many strangers have taken pictures of me? Not because they wanted to, but just because I was there at the time.

It’s kinda creepy to think about it.

Kinda.

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This kinda creepy post was brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Find the prompt here and join in! It’s fun!


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#SoCS – Ah ha!

I noticed last month that my blog stats were a little light on the views. And by a little light, I mean it was the second-worst January I’ve had in ten years of Just Jot it January. 2024 was tied with 2015.

And only just now, I realized why.

(I’m so behind the times, but that’s what you get when you pretty much drop off the face of the blog-earth for three years.)

What darkness came to light?

It’s because of the whole subscription thing. The fact that we don’t follow blogs anymore, we have to subscribe to them.

When I look at my email opens, I find they sometimes weigh heavier than my views on my blog.

Friends don’t need to visit anymore. They can just read in their emails.

Which is great! Don’t get me wrong. WordPress is still as clunky and unreasonable as ever, maybe more so.

(Definitely more so when you have to sign in fifteen times a day because you made the mistake of trying to comment on a blog you’ve never visited before. Grrr.)

I’m just glad to have figured out why my stats were so dismal, despite following the prompts every day. 🙂

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This enlightened (and bonus-point-ful) post was brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Find the prompt here and join in! It’s fun!


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One-Liner Wednesday – A favour?

Hi, my friends!

I’m using today’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt to see if we can get pingbacks working again.

I received a reply from the Happiness Engineers to say they tried a pingback and it worked, so they can’t see a problem. Here’s the email:

Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out.

My message to WP: Is there any chance pingbacks will be working again soon?

I checked and can see that the pingback is working on your website. You can see a screenshot of a test of the pingback on your site here: https://d.pr/i/5Q8N1o

You can explain if there is a specific site that you are not receiving the pingbacks from and we can help check this for you.

(NOTE) The Pingbacks may not work if the site from which you are getting a pingback is set to Private. If their site is set to Private, it may not push any notification for the links you add to your blog as Pingbacks.

You need to let the site you getting the pingback be set to public.

So what I figured we can do (or you can do, rather, as a favour) is post your prompt post as usual with your regular (attempt to) ping back to this post.

IF YOUR PINGBACK DOESN’T SHOW UP IN THE COMMENTS, comment with your link and add to your comment “I tried a pingback on this post and it doesn’t work.”

If they’re still not working, I can send the Happiness Engineers a link to this post and they can see whose “specific site” it’s not working from.

If they’re working now, this was all for nothing and you can carry on.

Thanks in advance for your help!

If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com

The Magician’s Curse (2.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else (Amazon worldwide, Kobo, etc.)
The Magician’s Blood (3.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else
The Magician’s Soul (3.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else
“The Great Dagmaru” Complete Series (6.99) on Amazon US and everywhere else
The Magician’s Sire (free with sign-up) here.


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#JusJoJan the 15th/23 – Thank you

Our prompt word of the day today is “gratitude.” Thank you so much, Carol Anne for your wonderful prompt!

I love this prompt, because it gives me an opportunity to say something I don’t say nearly enough.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, each and every one of you who responds to my prompts, not only in January, but year ’round. Thank you to all of you who read what others have written and contribute to this community.

I’m terribly guilty of not being here enough. Of not contributing enough. But you’ve stuck around anyway, and for that, I’m truly grateful. I appreciate you all, more than I can say. ❤

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 ***

This thankful post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Carol Anne! Please be sure to check out Carol Anne’s blog here!

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/15/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-15th-2023/ It’s fun!


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Poll for Pingback Users

Pingbacks have been unreliable for a while now, but it seems in the last week or so they’ve gone from fickle to downright unstable.

I’d like to conduct a little experiment, to see if different types of accounts/different editors have anything to do with the recent issues.

Please choose one of the following, and let’s see if there’s any clear correlation between the technology we’re using and the pingback failures many of us are having.

Thanks for participating!

And thanks for the idea, Shelley!


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 31st

This is it! The final day of Just Jot it January 2019! It’s been a bit of a hectic month for me, but I pulled it off, at least getting the prompts out there and jotting every day. More about all that later.

If you’d like one last look at the “Rules” post, you can find it HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 31st is “your favorite thing/part/blog post of last year or last month.” Talk about what you did or discovered that gave you happiness and/or success. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 31st, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 29th

This is it! Your final guest-suggested Just Jot it January prompt of 2019! On one hand, it seems like it was just yesterday that we began, but on the other, this feels like the longest month in recorded history already. Don’tcha think?

To see the (almost) complete list of prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post. I’m still trying to figure out what to do for tomorrow–please check back, and hopefully I’ll have it written in early today.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 29th is brought to you by Jim! Click here to find his last post and say hi while you’re there! Jim’s word for our prompt today is “dirty.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. And remember, if it’s not safe for work, please mention that fact either early on or in the title of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 29th, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 28th

Happy Monday! And welcome to the Just Jot it January prompt! We’re coming in to the home stretch of the challenge. Let’s make this last week count!

If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 28th is brought to you by Dan! Click here to find his last post and say hi while you’re there! Dan’s word for our prompt today is “testify.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 28th, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 27th

Hey there! We’re back again to the daily Just Jot it January prompt. I’m glad I haven’t had a glass of wine tonight. I almost forgot to schedule this post sober.

If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 27th is brought to you by Enthralling Journey! Click here to find her last post and say hi while you’re there! Enthralling Journey’s word for our prompt today is “cathartic.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 27th, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 25th

Welcome to your daily Just Jot it January prompt! We’re officially into our last full week of January now. Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s been a year already since Christmas?

If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 25th is brought to you by JP! Click here to find her last post (honestly, I’m assuming JP’s a her–sorry, JP, if I’m wrong) and say hi while you’re there! JP’s word for our prompt today is “balance.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 25th, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!