Friday, January 22, 2010

RSS Feed Update

Friday, January 22, 2010

Sorry to dedicate a whole post to mundane site news, guys, but we've been fiddling with our RSS feed and I know that has a lot of you concerned.

As I noted on yesterday's post, we pulled the full feed in an attempt to thwart evil thieving spam bloggers. However, over the past day or two we've had the benefit of talking to some Very Smart People who've shown us alternate ways to foil scrapers. (See? We even learned what "scrapers" are. Told you they were smart.)

Therefore, and here's the part you want to hear: we are restoring the full feed tomorrow.

Who loves ya? Huh? Huh? That's right: we do.

(Well, except for those sourpusses who started the name-calling and excessive nastiness the second we touched the feed. Can't say we love them. Nope. In fact, those guys - just being honest here - kinda suck. Fortunately, most of you are NOT those guys - so thanks for that.)
cc said...

Some people don't do well when you mess with their routine, and they blow things all out of proportion. But I just imagine that at home, they're sitting in the floor of a closet, wearing foil hats or maybe with lipstick all over their faces, and then I feel better. Not about the world, but about the role I play in it. Hang in there, CW! :D

amydove said...

Huh, I didn't notice any difference in the RSS feed on my end. Though I would have been very sad to see it disappear. Glad you got it worked out!

Robin said...

Wat's a scraper?

Jeremy Gustafson said...

Thank goodness! Glad you've found an acceptable solution, I missed being able to read your posts over the last few days while the feed was non-functional.

Kaleena said...

thanks so much! i was worried!

Logan said...

I was wondering why you changed the RSS, but figured you had your reasons. I was disappointed, though. I'm glad to see it's back to normal and that you figured out a solution to your spam problem! Keep up the good work.

jen bryner said...

YAY!! good for you guys! way to show 'em who's boss :)

jspencer said...

All I had to do was click through for the full post. It's not *that* big a deal! I mean, the full feed is certainly more *convenient* but, please, it's a blog about cakes. Let's not take things too seriously here!

I'm glad you're putting it back up, but I'm sorry you had to deal with such awful people!

*Michelle said...

Hooray Full POSTS!!! From a google reader stalker - THANKS!! And Im with Robin - whats a scraper?

Amanda said...

So...let me get this straight. You provide hilarious and insightful content nearly everyday all year round for free and people get all up in arms as soon as there is a hiccup on the site? I'm I understanding this correctly?

People suck.

Victoria said...

I'm glad the feed is returning! I wasn't aware that the change was deliberate - thought you were just having technical problems. I read all of my blogs and such through RSS, so anything without a feed doesn't get read!

Thanks for posting such awesome cakes. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for restoring the pictures to the feeds. However, now there are ads showing up as well. Is this part of the deterrent to the spammers, or is it a fluke? (I'd almost rather just have a simple link than to see ads in the feed.)

Heather said...

Yay :) Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Yay, feedback!!

Get it? The feed... is back...

Yeah, I really should just leave the punning to the professionals. ;)

That said, a sincere and honest thank you for getting the feed back up. I'm one of the (no doubt many) people who does rely on the feed as my daily cakewrecks fix... though I'd like to think I didn't resort to name-calling or other such inane immaturity... and it's really great to hear that it's coming back up.

Really. Thank you. For setting up the feed in the first place, for getting it back up so soon after having to take it down... and, of course, for doing those things in spite of the apparent influx of foolish people trying to ruin it for the rest of us. You guys rock.

flutter said...

We love you and are grateful, O kind mistress of wrecked cakes!

Juliana said...

Thanks for restoring the feed. I still clicked over, but I like being able to read everything in Google Reader.

Thank you for your blog - it is so funny!

homeschoolmommy said...

LOL I was wondering what had happened to the pictures on the feed, but just figured it was a blogger thing.

HouseOfEstrogen said...

Yea! Thank you! I hope I wasn't one of the Sourpusses you mentioned! I did comment about the feed but only because I had missed your previous warning about working on it. Sorry! If I had seen the warning, I would have kept my mouth shut. Thanks for bringing the feed back! I need my wreck-fix every day in my reader! :)

Lindsey said...

No worries, you guys are just doing what you need to do.

Imho, the REAL fans won't mind clicking over to see all the wonderfulness that we love so much. :)

Jules AF said...

How does not having a full feed ward off scammers?

Unknown said...

I am so glad you are fixing it! I came to the site finally after getting two days of empty emails. :p

john (the hubby of Jen) said...

Hey guys,

I'm glad you guys are happy again. Jen and I have been struggling with this for a while. As far as the ads, they were always supposed to be there but something got messed up somewhere. We've always tried to be gentle with the ads though so they're at the bottom of the posts and I don't think they effect load time or anything. You might even be able to get an RSS ad blocker if it really bothers you.

Thanks for being patient as we continue to fine tune this.

john

Amanda said...

Oh thank you! I missed the last couple days because I thought the posts were mistakes...

favoriteauntl said...

um, people...how do you think Jen and John pay the bills? We get to read this stuff FREE. Ads are part of the system. If you don't like ads, don't dis CW. Instead set up your system to block them.

favoriteauntl said...

I forgot to add - Enjoy your Saturday!

Jenn said...

Oh, thanks goodness. I almost had a meltdown when I reveived the message "site not found"! What would I do without my daily chuckle! Love you guys!

Anonymous said...

I loves ya! And fortunately for me, unlike certain atavistic infants, I knew instinctively that if there were no pictures, I could magically click on the link to see them. What won't they think of next?

life_love_art said...

Hooray!! Thank you so much for finding another solution. I love being able to look at the photos in my Google Reader. I know that clicking through to the full post isn't *that* big of a deal, but it's way more convenient to not have to.

Unknown said...

Jen and John, you guys are the best! I have no idea what a scraper is, but I'm glad that you've found a way to foil their evil plans.

And, people, stop buggin' Jen. You all do realize that if, with all your whining and cranking about the horrible misfortune of having to CLICK A LINK (gasp), you drive her away from my personal source of daily entertainment, then... well I just don't want to think about that.

Cake Wrecks rocks, feed or no feed! And no tiny little unobtrusive ads are going to keep me from snorting tea out my nose at the hilarity of it.

Keep of the good work Jen and John. And we love you too (except for those whiners - I don't think they love anybody).

Pobedochka said...

Thank you for fixing it! :)

Now I'll hopefully be able to read you again trough Bloglines normally.

sincerely~sarah said...

Your posts are so hilarious I'd go to any length to read them- I'm just glad you were able to sort it all out! I'm an amateur technophile but I know enough to know what a pain this was! Kudos for patiently sorting it out. Also, yours wasn't the only blog I read that's been hacked recently. Now, onto the wreckaliciousness!

Anonymous said...

Hey great to see your letting the whiner basher comments go through. You have no idea the reasons or rationale for people choosing to limit their blog reading to readers only. Some work sites block blogger.com. For others, like me, the only possible way to keep up with 100+ blogs a day is by using a reader. I'm glad you turned it back on, but I wish you and your readers would stop calling us whiners and just take a moment to consider that there might be another valid viewpoint out there. Really, whose doing all the complaining here? Seems like it's a lot of fans who are insensitive to some constructive comments.

Molly said...

I'm glad you're restoring it! I wasn't going to say anything though, because it's YOUR blog and it's a privilege to read it, not a right.

And yeah, what's a scraper? No, I'm not going to Google it. Hmph.

Laura lok said...

CC your comment really cracked me up. love it.

no problems getting your feed. I rarely comment but I look at your blog daily. thanks for everything

Queen Christine said...

No stress, I was sad to see the change and will be happy it's back...

For those interested if you read your RSS in Google Reader on Firefox you can get the better greader add-on and see full blog posts in one click.

P.S. I love this blog! Also, I feel super guilty for not commenting until this whole hullaballoo!

Kristine said...

Awesome! Thank you!

Carrie said...

As long as "scrapers" aren't people who wipe the errors off of the cakes...I need these cake wrecks for a good side splitting laugh daily. Thanks, Jon & Jen, for the wrecks and the wit - you guys rock!

Melissa said...

Yay!!! Thank you.

mcsandwich said...

Nice, having RSS back is awesome! Thanks for your hard work and for going out of your way even when a lot of people responded in a really impolite, reactionary way. Sock it to those plagiarists!

CharlotteS said...

Love yr blog - and don't understand why some people think that it's ok to be rude on-line. Ignore 'em I say!

Anonymous said...

I noticed the change, thought it was weird, wondered what was up, and otherwise went about my life as usual. But then, I know how to click links in my news reader and I prefer that to throwing tantrums on the net (obviously, some folks prefer the tantrum option).

I am glad to hear the RSS feed will be returning. I presume when it comes back it'll have links back to the site and some other tricks to keep the scrapers a little more honest? (I particularly approve of putting ads in the feed, get some clicks off THEIR site!)

Anyone who wants to know what scraper should go here: http://www.google.com/ and type in the word scraper. Just do a search, for heaven's sake!

In the meantime: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping

Oh, and to those morons who felt the need to have a tantrum over someone else's RSS feed, I'd like to suggest you start your OWN blog, build your readership, get a book published, and then see what sort of morons email YOU! Go on, I dare you! I double dare you, you little whiners. What's that? No, you can't because, yeah, that's right, you suck!

0000 said...

I'm glad you managed to get everything resolved on your end, that's the most important.
As far as I'm concerned, one little click was all it took to get to the page, so really it wasn't too a bother at all :).

Thanks again for all you are doing !

cusinera said...

just to let you know, your blog is one of the fantastic site i keep on visiting everyday...because the cakes are hilariously funny and some are breathtakingly beautiful...keep posting, ppl should understand that if it's not working that means there's a problem one way or the other and it needs fixing...have a nice day...

Shieldmaiden96 said...

I only use Reader so I know when there is a new post and click through to the full site anyway, so feh on the naysayers.

I love this site. And now I catch myself cruising the grocery store bakery for cakes to laugh at. Oooh, they're out there.

kathie said...

thank GOD...that one extra click the past two days was really wearing me out. [sarcasm] i guess the up side is that i burned a few extra calories so today i can eat more cake!

Renee Nefe said...

luv you too! your limited feed didn't bother me at all, just click to go to your blog. duh!

I'm glad you've got it figured out and hope they don't strike again.

take care!

Anonymous said...

Yay! I noticed that there was no content in the feeds and figured that you guys must be working on something. I like you guys plenty well enough to click through to get my daily Cake fix.

That said, I'm very happy that the full feed is coming back.

Also, I can't believe you have scrapers! Not right!

jillb-ilslp said...

Anonymous 10:54 I hope your job is reviewing blogs or something. And if it is, then shame on your "work site" for blocking blogger.com. If not, though, and you're wading through 100+ blogs/day, you must be an Evelyn Wood honor roll student or something to still be able to give your boss an honest day's work. I know it takes me plenty of time just to read CW and the comments. Wow!

And as I'm sure you know, constructive criticism gives helpful suggestions. Destructive criticism whines and complains - not real helpful or constructive. But I'm sure you already knew that and were part of the former.

Wreck on, Jen and John!!! Love ya!

Anonymous said...

Gee, I don't even use the RSS feed, so as far as I'm concerned, wreck on!

B-But, on the other hand, I thought you said you weren't going to use curse words on this site. Whiners may be one thing, but on my planet, s*** is still a curse word.

With utmost sincerity,
A younger reader.

Steph said...

Wow...people suck!

(pisstt) Hey RSS addicts- over here...Did ya know there's a little button at the top if your browser called favorites (or bookmarks) you can actually SAVE an entire blog here, and the best part is when you click it- it comes right up. So when a feed is wonky, you can still read it with minimal effort. I know- pressing buttons is difficult, but I just know that you can do it!

john (the hubby of Jen) said...

Hey Anonymous @ 9:31,

I would say that the word suck is a strong, descriptive word. Not a curse necessarily, though I do have some church friends who are opposed to its use. The problem is that words like suck and ass have multiple uses and can't be lumped in to one category or another. Jen doesn't swear at all so, for her, suck is an extremely strong word.

Which fits how she feels about people who say mean things about having to click a button.

Sorry to offend.

john

catholicmom said...

Keep up the good work.

Kathy said...

Never posted here before. You make me giggle . . . telling people they suck. :-) Keep up the awesome wreckerating!

Anonymous said...

Just a point on the ads. Yes, the RSS feed now comes with ads... but, honestly, that doesn't bother me in the least. The CW feed is a pretty image-heavy one anyway, so another extra graphic at the bottom isn't gonna break anything, and (IMHO) it's not nearly so irritating at the bottom of an image-heavy feed like CW as it would've been at the bottom of a pure-text blog.

Yes, ads are annoying, there's no getting around it... but, honestly, I'd take a dozen ads alongside a functional RSS feed than no ads and no feed. Site revenue's gotta come from somewhere, after all.

Also, once again, thank you so much for bringing the feed back up (and so swiftly, too!) and many many many apologies that so many people saw fit to embrace their inner tantrum-throwing two-year-olds over it.

Anonymous said...

No offense taken; thx for the explanation. I know there are church people who think s*** is a fine word, so I'm not sure if it has too much to do with that, but thanks, anyways. Of course, it's *not* :) like you guys run an insanely popular blog and couldn't come up with another creative word to fit your feelings (dare I list them here?), but I understand what you're saying in the long run, even if I don't necessarily agree. :) Enjoy your "day off"! And yes, people are lazy. Unfortunatley, that's just a bane of life. :)

Melissa said...

Yay, thank you! When the feeds started showing up differently, I figured you were trying something new, but I didn't mind coming to the site when I saw a new post was up. Keep up the good wreck-alicious work :)

Unknown said...

I have your RSS sent to my iGoogle desktop, so every day (when I get home from work - I teach school and don't have a second to read blogs at work)I click on the feed, it opens your blog in a new window, I either have a good laugh or am awed by the creativity and skill of cake-makers, and then I mosey on. Therefore, I noticed none of your troubles and can only take your word for it.

At any rate, thank you, thank you, Jen, for the cakes, but especially for your humorous commentary. You are a daily delight.

Unknown said...

Don't you just love people who get all pissy about the FREE stuff you're giving them?

On a happier note, I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday with my 4 year old and we saw baggies of naked mohawk babies in the cake aisle (getting some white-white to add a necessary detail to something on the second photo here: http://kimberlychapman.livejournal.com/522510.html ), and she pointed to them and said, "That's what's on your computer all the time!" Because you're the only blog that gets a permanent tab open in my browser.

WV anzator: Watch out for the dreaded anzator, the Australia/New Zealand alligator that eats drop bears and hoop snakes for breakfast.

Nancy D. said...

Since my reader/internet connection is so dang wonky, I was cussing THOSE two things out. Didn't realize it was at YOUR end!!! LOL!

Glad you got it resolved and I can go back to rightly and regularly cussing at my reader and internet connection.

Ang said...

Soooo, not to be all 20th century or anything, but I just have no idea what an RSS feed is. No need to tell me--I'm pretty sure this is one of those cases where ignorance is bliss. :-)

janet2buns said...

Mean people should cut the High Priestess of Cake Wrecks some slack when she needs it! I'm glad your Very Smart People were able to help you.

Shirley said...

What a to-do! I have Cakewrecks in my favourites so all I have to do is click on it, and ta-daaa! the site is there, a giggle a day. And while I am tecky enough to be a computer teacher, I don't bother with RSS feeds, and would certainly not admit to reading 100 blogs a day. Sheesh! There are other things to do.

Claude said...

You ROCK!

Hobbit said...

I just have the CW site bookmarked, so didn't notice the RSS issue. But I really don't understand all the complaining. It's a blog, folks, free entertainment. Just be glad Jen and John Husband of Jen still want to put up with us.

Quirky Jessi said...

So while you're posting about mundane RSS stuff, how about editing in what your solution was so the rest of us can maybe follow suit? *bats eyelashes*

Green said...

To be honest, I never noticed any change at all in my "rss" feed. I have an rss feed through firefox on my bookmark toolbar.

So, I guess it ended up not mattering much to me at all. Funny how that works.

I don't think I fully understand RSS feed, though. So that might help. Ignorance has always helped me in the past.

Green said...

post script:

I've never had any trouble with adverts. I have adblock plus as an extension to my firefox and have never seen an add on here since then.

The page is very quick to load, as well. So, in conclusion, I am a very happy customer all around. Continue. *nod*

w.v. coksts (really?...wow.)

Anonymous said...

"Sucks" is a PG word these days, no matter its official meaning or origin. It's the meaner, hipper "stinks." I'd put it on the same level as "crap" and not blanch at hearing it from a 12-year-old.

That said, it depends on the usage. Saying, "That sucks" is different from telling someone to "Go suck it!" I'd judge from your aggravation that perhaps you mean to convey something about halfway between the two, which sounds both fair and still PG to me. Wreck on, CW!

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU! :D

We love you too!

Anonymous said...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! I LOVE this site, love you, love the easy feeds!
Pam

Jenniffer said...

Every time you adjust those feeds, I have to adjust my tinfoil hat!

hehehe... just kidding, my tinfoil hat is securely glued to my head!

WV: slinymem - tell all those haters to kiss your slinymem

RudeGirl said...

Huh? RSS what now? I would be concerned if you were fiddling with ANY type of feed, let alone an RSS type. Besides, didn't your mother ever tell you that fiddling causes hairy palms? Geez!

megan said...

i'm apparently behind the times and have no clue what an rss feed is, but hooray for people helping you to fix it!
the internets are a scary place

Heidi D said...

I don't know what feed or RSS is either. I'm so out of it. If it was messed up though, I'm sure I wouldn't have been a jerk about it. Lighten up people.

MeteorSummoner said...

Good luck dealing with the scrapers, though I, myself, have no idea what that term means... ^^;

(forgot today was Saturday meaning no new post - looking forward to Sunday Sweets 8D )

Gracie said...

As a techie geek myself who is married to a engineering geek, we appreciate the difficulties you've had making this work with the synd feed. Thanks for your hard work.

And as for the naysayers who wish to assert their opinion...if you don't help bake the cake, please don't gripe when it doesn't turn out the way you want! It's free entertainment brought to us by Jen and John, for goodness sake!

Kimberly said...

On the whole 'is suck inappropriate' debate: you could always go the route of my 11th grade pre-cal teacher. She disapproved of saying that something sucked, and she would correct us and tell us that, instead, it 'inhaled profusely'.

Though, I personally am okay with using the word suck. The alternative is just funnier.

MrsKamorri said...

I didn't know YOU had done anything. I thought I had inadvertently messed with my own settings, although how that affected my Mail as well as Google Reader, I have no idea. I was hating on myself a bit, but never on you!
I'm just happy that whatever I did, I managed to switch it back so I can see the "pretty" pictures again :)

Alex said...

@cc, thank you very much for the helpful visualization. I will start using that.

IA had tried to post a comment about how to get a quick and nice load from my crackberry,but it didn't go through.

After the site redesign, I had much trouble loading it. I gave consturctive feedback, and Jen and John were very accomodating. It was still slow, and I adjusted my settings and it is fine now.

It does take a few seconds, but I can click a button, entertain myself otherwise for a few seconds and then read my favorite blog with no troubles.

while in Blackberry browser:
menu: Options
select Browser Configuration
uncheck Support Javascript (leave prompt on and if a site really requires it, it will ask you to turn it on)
uncheck "Use Background Images" this helps the dark background problem, and most sites work best. If you run across one with white font (bloggers - don't do this!) it is easy to turn background back on.
uncheck "support embeded media" then it doesn try and fail to load videos and annoying moving ads.

Column vies is the best view for a nice readable font that fits the page perfectly. Also you can change your font size in General Properties.
and also change image quality to low there for better speed. Never repeat animations.

Hope this helps the frustrated blackberry users.

I was stunned by the whining too. I am willing to go to any effort to get my daily fix of your amazing humor. The cranks get very tiring, and I only just recently started reading comments again as it had gotten to negative and upset me more than the post lifted my spirits. I am in a better frame of mind these days and can laugh at the sucky cranks again.

Hannah said...

I come to Cake Wrecks the same way I do all of the blogs I read - through a bookmark. So I didn't notice any difference at all, and I'm sorry you've had so much hassle from so many mind-bogglingly lazy people. Or if not 'lazy', then far, far too entitled. This site is free guys - if you are giving nothing you can expect exactly that back and have no right to complain if you don't like a change.

Anonymous 7:24 - I would say 'suck' is a very, very mild word as well but as a UK reader, I'd ask to refrain from the use of 'c***' - it's considered much more offensive over here and I know of lots of young people who read this blog.

I know it's not considered particularly offensive in the US so you couldn't know and please don't take this as a criticism or rebuke - just a friendly request for any future posting. :)

Anonymous said...

@Hannah--

I am willing to bet your version of a no-no word (C***)and the version of what would make that vulgar in the U.S. are definitely NOT the same word! Took me a minute to figure out what everyone meant, because I couldn't imagine why CW would EVER say that! rotfl...

I love this blog, and I love the comments from readers, too!

Angie said...

I don't usually read ALL of the comments, but today I just had to ... and might I say how hilarious I think it is that there are debates over "offensive" words? I'm a "to each his/her own" kind of gal, so I just breeze over things that might offend me coming from, say, my pastor or child, when it's not said pastor or child saying them.

Jen & John, you two ROCK on such a high level that I'm not sure you can be touched. Love love the blog & will never understand the people who insist on the name-calling & excessive nastiness over anything you do. Thanks so very, very much for all of the time that you take to give us FREE entertainment!!!

Angie said...

Glad you could bring the full feed back but, really, was it *that* bad? My RSS feeder still gave me a link to the post. Does clicking one little link really ruin your day? Especially when you follow up the linkage by reading the funniest blog on the planet? I'd happily click links if it saves Jen and John from getting scrapped (which is only slightly less horrible than the imaginary medical procedure you think of when you hear "scapers").

Keep on wreckin', Jen and John, keep on wreckin'.

Mira8 said...

I'm so low tech I don't even know what RSS is, I just came in to say Jen and John are awesome and WHINERS SUCK! kthxbye.

Milo Bloom said...

I think it's a nice surprise to come back to after the weekend.. now I get the full graphics and stuff in my RSS reader, which is great. And if doing that has somehow foiled evil spammers.. even better. :) Thanks for a great site.

Anonymous said...

Inhaled Profusely?!?!? Love it!!!
My coffee was exhaled with great exuberance when I read it!
Sorry for the whiners, may they be "scrapped" though being "scraped" would be much more painful.

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one who thinks of Labyrinth when I hear about the scrapers? Why do I picture little puppet goblins on a big drill looking thing?

Anonymous said...

Some people can be as challenging as some of these cakes.

To say my blood runs cold would be overstating it, but it does drop a degree or two when I see people with an inflated sense of entitlement tsk/complain/threaten about perceived limitations on their enjoyment.

Anyone who "needs" to get through "100+" blogs a day might need to consider just reducing their intake without comment. Those who would normally view this blog by RSS feed on a tiny screen might consider, hmm, waiting until they are around a larger screen (I know, you want it NOW). The rest of the cranky should simply properly read posts that clearly state a temporary (!) change is coming up.

Thank you very much for the original humor (and the hard work behind it), the charm, the weirdness.