March 11, 2008
-
A few updates
Wanted to share a few updates:
- Some of you pointed out that the subs module on the Subs page was only showing 10 subscriptions at a time. We dug into it, and fixed it this morning!
- Online Status is live on the site. I was somewhat skeptical about this one, and we only did it because so many people had asked for it and it was so easy to do. But I’ve found it surprisingly nifty! How about you guys?
- We’re getting more and more tagged themes from you guys
and we’re importing them into the Themes Directory tonight. I personally love the themes tagged “simple”, and can’t wait to see more of them. - The new themed photo pages are going over great, and lots of you are using it to send replies . Next up: adding replies to video pages!
That’s it for now. Just wanted to give a quick update. The site is settling down, and we’re basically going through and working on consistency and making the site easier to use… and also make it easier to find good content.
I want to take this chance to thank you guys for all the feedback you’ve been giving us over the last few months. We’ve made a huge effort to blog on this site almost every day, to broadcast twice a week, and to “reply” to as many comments and questions as we can. Most of all, we’ve set our priorities based largely on what you guys have been asking for.
Hopefully you can feel the love? Please let us know how we are doing…
- John
Comments (156)
Sure we can feel the love
And we all love you guys too! Thank you much! 
Of course we feel the love ,do you feel it back?
You have worked hard and I appreciate it!
You rock! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for all your hard work!
I HATE all the changes because I feel I’m entitled to Xanga the way it was when I first signed up. I’m entitled to everything I want.
I’m kidding! I’m just making fun of all the complainers! Good job! Keep up the good work!!
We definitely feel the love!
i like the online status. thanks… now i know when my friends are on…
@manilajones -
.
I get the joke, but we definitely want to encourage people to give
honest feedback! It really helps us in making the site better
That’s great!
Thanks for the updates!! They are great!!!
Does it cost me anything to have a site? i don’t know if i have premium or not, i guess not because it didn’t ask me for payment methods.
@TennesseeMemories - Xanga is free. There’s a paid premium version, but it looks like you have a classic (free) account.
feelin the love from you and the team over here! <3
@awaiting_the_dawn - thanks so much for your help!!!
It’s enough to make kings and vagabonds believe the very best!
You guys are doing an amazing job! Thanks for making it so much fun to stay.
it is better only showing 10 subscriptions at a time!!!
it is now showing my 350 subscriptions at a time and it make the page too LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i like the new online indicator =D and now everyone will see how i’m on xanga all the time
hehe**
I really appreciate how accessible you’ve all made yourselves to us. Thank you!
Thank you
I really appreciate all of the hard work.
Thanks for working so hard for us and giving a say in how Xanga operates.
thank you so much for helping me yesterday, and now the subs list of more than 10 xangans are showing up and that’s fantastic! ahem… but not one of the 112 subs i’m showing are on-line with little “lightbulb”…i guess everyone’s watching the election returns or something, lol. seriously, though, it is kinda strange NO ONE is showing up as on-line. maybe they all have theirs turned off.
hey john
Thank you guys for all your hardwork. You guys are amazingggg!
Xo
You’ve done a good job. Now how about the help desk answering. Judi
I feel the love. <3 I love Xanga, and am happy that you have made these great updates. Keep up the good work – and even better than that…take a break! =) I’m sure you guys need one after all the hard work.
I like the “Online Status”, so interesting!!!~~~
Absolutely I can feel the love!
thanks for the update guys. i really love what you’ve been doing lately, and that you post stuff here. it makes me feel in the loop =]
Thanks for the update, John.
As for the new features, they’re gonna need some getting used to (mostly on my part). I liked the way Xanga was and I also like that you guys are making it easier to use, but all of these new features, like the online status, are unnecessary.
@be_the_rain - we decided to take the “lightbulb” off of the subs module for now, until the feature has sunk in a bit more… don’t want to make it too in your face.
Thanks! I love the changes!
i was wondering what that orange lightbulb-looking thing was.. until i saw it next to my name after i commented on my friends post.. then you know, the lightbulb in my head went off and everything… haha.
you guys are doing an awesome job!
um i need help working this is that alrite
i’m still showing the online icon, even though i changed my settings to turn it off.
cool beans; thanks guys!
I’ve got nothing but love for you all–you guys are awesome!
@CrapeDiem - I don’t see an online icon next to your username.
Do you mean that you see other users’ icons showing up on your own site?
I think you’re doing great!
Awesome, I’m really diggin’ all of it.
The online status isn’t showing up on my subs list……! Is anyone else having that problem?
Although if I am commenting on someone else’s blog – the on-line will show up beside their comment.
i love the online status!
I have been trying soo hard to update everyday and comment my subs everyday.. can I please please please become TRUE?
What does a girl have to do?? 
@venice - yup that’s how it works. re: the subs list status icons, we took that out for now… just to ease into it. if people continue to respond as positively as they have so far, then maybe we’ll add it to the subs list?
thanks for all the changes!
Nice. I can’t believe I actually felt that at one point, Facebook was better D:
Xanga=love
Thanks guys!!
no, i see an icon next to my own name, in comments and next to my name on my private (old-style) homepage.
@john - anyway we can PRETTY PLEASE obtain credits by commenting to someone using @ replies? I mean we are participating in the site, and I LOVE the new feature, but if I am using @ replies, this eliminates the comments on their blog, and no credits earned. This would be really useful!
You rock of course.
@curvesalot1 - What’s to prevent someone from replying over and over, just to rack up credits?
@john - that does make sense i guess.. and it would require more software to track commenting to who, yeah i guess that wouldn’t work.. ah well! thanks for responding quickly!
definitely feel the xanga love! thanks for working so hard to make xanga the best
btw, the “online now” icon is pretty sweet
I am really happy with Xanga overall right now … So much so that I recently began blogging here again. It’s nice to have a main blog (TheXangaTeam) that we can check regarding updates and such. It is evident that feedback has been considered and, when possible, implemented. Great job all!
Definitely relieved you guys fixed the subs thing, I was so pissed off about it last night. Apparently other people took the liberty of complaining so I didnt have to.
I wasn’t sure about the online indicator but I like how you did it.
Every
time you make a new entry without addressing this, I will be commenting
on the entry and on the chat board. I see others commenting about it
too. Do you think if you just don’t answer I’ll suddenly want to take
surveys for credits (omg, so I can get some beautiful minis!) and not
mind THE SPONSORED ADS ON A PAGE I PAID FOR TO BE AD FREE?
Ads.
In between my subscription pages. I don’t want to take surveys. I
don’t want fucking credits. I don’t want interruptions in my SIR
page. I don’t want to invite my friends. I don’t want to see your
feature spotlight. I don’t want ads when I pay for premium! HELLO? IS THIS THING ON?
(PS: I am giving you a mini so maybe you’ll pay some attention. Also, they’re idiotic and I will never actually give someone one.)
Good job. Hows the process of making the old inactive usernames available again going?
what can i say, i love xanga too! thanks for all the hardwork.
Thank you, Xanga! I love this site even more.
Wonderful updates
Hi,
I am just letting you know how I feel about the xanga’s new thing. Well, I hate it of skin for xanga background. I liked the colors one better where you can create your own colors. I might give up on xanga if this stays the same. Can’t I go back to the colors ones instead of these xanga themes. I really hate this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get back with me soon? If I don’t hear from you or someone. I am not going to be on xanga no more.
I just wanted to take a minute to say You Guys are Awesome!!
and I do love the little online thing.. it looks like a candle to me and I love seeing that mine is lit…
This new private page is not for someone, like me, who uses xanga as a personal journal. It’s been a long time past since I’ve had to worry about other people’s feedback and all that other business. Please stop trying to redirect people there.
@cyruskakashi - 350 subscriptions? How could you even read them all in one day?
@john - Is there somewhere to go that shows you everyone on your subs list who is on?
@LibraryPrincess -
Premium takes the ads off of your public site? It still costs money to
serve the private pages, so we’ve always had ads on them. There was an
ad on the top of the old subs page:
http://www.xanga.com/private/subs.aspx
The new subs page has an ad that seems more
discreet? That was the thought… we’ve gotten very little feedback
about it so far?
@aazxdc - there’s a link on the new private page that lets you toggle back to the old private page. Here it is as well:
http://www.xanga.com/private/yourhome.aspx?set=1
@Headbutting - To go back to the old look and feel system, just follow the instructions here:
http://help.xanga.com/forums/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=12
venice - Theres no place to see who on your subs list is on. Based on the feedback, we may add the online status icons to the subs page.
To everyone else – thanks for all the kind words!
@john -
I know about the link back to the old private site and have had to use it several times. My complaint is that earlier when I tried to post I was directed to a site that tried to send me to the new private site with no option of refusing.
Hi Xanga Team
As always you are doing a great job!
I like the online status…that creates the need for easy messaging…Think that is possible in the near future?
You are one up on me with he subscriptions…I was just about to vent my frustration with the 10 only subscribers and you have already fixed it before I could complain. Well done!
I am motivated to start designing themes as well…that is if I get the time. Themes are great fun … I just need to make more use of mine.
Great to work with a service provider that is committed to communicating with the community.
Best regards,
Jurgens
you guys are like our very own tag team of fairy godmothers!
@LibraryPrincess - ooh, somebody PMS ing
@john - It still costs money to
serve the private pages, so we’ve always had ads on them. Yes, thank you for the condescension? (Much like all the question marks? Is that the online version of talking to me really slowly? So I can see how irrational I am being? Because it’s just very annoying and kinda rude? As well as grammatically incorrect?) See, I thought the money it cost to serve a private page was, um, being paid by me and the other people who have premium? No? And I would like to know how it was decided that went an ad IN BETWEEN every five posts was MORE discreet and unnoticeable than one at the top of every page? I’ve got to stop using these question marks? Because it’s so annoying? Thanks for answering my question by dismissing it entirely and trying to make me sound and feel stupid? I love the customer service?
Have another AWE-SOME mini?
cool
hey i really appreciate what you guys did
Xanga is wonderful!
Lately I have been getting like 3 notifications that I’ve received a reply to a comment, the notifications are all identical although there is only one reply (not like they clicked submit 3 times). Is this a bug as well?
I love xanga so much, I’m sending you a postcard I just need to get the stamp.
-Heidi
I still want a reply button for Pulses, too. Pleeeease?
I think you guys are doing a great job – I’m very impressed about how you’re all taking the time to listen and try to figure out what we want!
Take care,
Kimbers
@ilsurvive - I want that too!
@fullmetalbunny - most of my friends didnt update their xanga daily, so it should be okay. just the page look too LONG. =]
well, it seems to be gone today, so…
and fwiw, i’m really surprised you haven’t gotten more feedback about the ads slipped into the SIR; it’s WAY more intrusive than wherever the ads were before (seriously, how could it not be? it’s easy to ignore the margins of the page, not so much the part that you’re reading.) and it’s not as if we’re not all fully, painfully aware of credits, minis, etc, already.
i paid for premium for five years as rache, but i didn’t buy it for this site, and i don’t intend to; it used to be, you paid to have fewer ads and more writing/photo options. now… remind me what the point is again? there’s more stuff on the page to try to ignore/turn off/opt out of than there is to actually read. and if we can’t even change that by throwing money at it, then really, i’ll save myself the cash.
maybe all these future “improvements” could be made as opt-in features, so if we see someone with something we like, we can go get it, instead of logging in one day and finding sixteen different little tags, icons, and labels next to our names, and having to figure out what the deal is now…
@curvesalot1 -
@john - I wouldn’t like that! Credits for reply comments…..NO!
I don’t think using the REPLY button should eliminate comments on ‘their’ blogs. I think it should be used to RYC, but not used exclusively. And that a visit to the person’s site is also in order and expected on what they have posted. Damnit… Must I write another post on xanga etiquette?
tee hee hee!
Wow, thanks for everything you do on Xanga!
=D
loving the online status, and the themed photo pages. would like more mini’s to choose from.
@LibraryPrincess - I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use two question marks back to back… and definitely didn’t intend to condescend to you or anyone.
Please, please, PLEASE bring back the subscription browser. You know, the little pop-up thingy that you could use to click from page to page and actually VISIT your subs as you read them. I LOVED that feature!
so that explains the little candle above my picture. I had wondered what it was and thought maybe it was a precursor to a TRUE tag. Guess not…
@Zeal4living -
Psst… regarding “easy messaging” … on themed pages there is a link to “message user” right next to every comment
@sadoughnutgirl -
we’re working on bringing out more minis! Any in particular you’d like to see?
@tx_christian - it actually still links from the old private page – the direct link is http://www.xanga.com/private/subscriptionbrowser.aspx?id=0 (it’s a little clunky but it’ll do the job until it’s linked
)
@tx_christian - Thanks, I will try it that.
The love.
I love all the change and updates you guys have made!
Keep up all the hard work!
~Skyla
Good work. Xanga has vastly improved as compared to where it was a few months ago.
My opera doesn’t read subscriptions properly with this new format/layout in the subs which SUCKS. I like opera. I like flipping among sub pages by hitting space instead of finding ‘next.’ But, it works fine in IE and Firefox.
Y’all rock.
Idea:
In taking your online surveys… I get rather frustrated that most every day when I go to take a survey I get asked a bunch of questions to find out they don’t want me to take a survey…
Would it be possible to get some credits for trying to take a survey…
~Skyla
one more…
what about getting credits for past xanga premium purchases…
~Skyla
You guys have done a great job of improving Xanga over the last few months. Adding great new features while at the same time streamlining the overall use of the site is no easy task but you all have managed to hit bull’s eye.
My girlfriend who is an avid Live Journal user came to her Xanga site after leaving it dormant for several years and remarked how much more user friendly Xanga is when compared to LJ despite the fact that she is quite used to LJ and never uses Xanga. She also remarked at the shear amount of content on Xanga and that it is capable of inspiring more creativity than LJ.
That’s what I like to hear! Keep up the good work!
Neat-o.
I think I am just full of ideas today… or more so just determined to earn xanga for LIFE!
What if you changed eProps to xanga credits…
~Skyla
Xanga you are doing a top job.
Don’t know what changes are being made, but I use the Opera browser rather than MS Explorer. Â Until yesterday everything has always been fine. Â Now images aren’t being displayed as they usually are.
Also, some of the “Themed” pages have scroll problems which don’t exist on the regular pages. Â Either I can’t scroll the page down, or the page jumps down when I key a character into a comment box, forcing me to type blindly and then edit one character at time, pausing after each correction to reposition the page again.
I have alwas used Opera and never experienced these problems before. Â i have downloaded the most current version of Opera to see if that would help. Â It didn’t. Â The problem persists.
I hope you can isolate this problem and fix it. Â Opera is much too good a browser not to be supported by xanga.
got one more… and not about getting credits…
What about having a search your own xanga link…
And also could it search your protected/private posts.
I remember a post I made (I’m sure protected) but I don’t want to have to read through each of my posts to find it…
Any thoughts?
~Skyla
How do I become featured on xanga? Please reply. Thanks!
I love the updates. the only thing is … with the new photo pages I can’t easily get to my photomanager page where I can see all my “private” photos … is there a way to implement this on the private page? Or am I completely missing something blaring?
@angelbelle - the direct link is http://photo.xanga.com/photomanager.aspx, but the best way i know of is to go “blog now” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, then add photos, then click on photo manager
@jassmine - hmm, i answer every email that comes in, so not sure how yours was missed . . . please message me if you need help with something.
@Natalia - I found that if I go to the picture page and click on add photo I get the option also
But I feel it’s just too buried!
@angelbelle - PHome is definitely a work in progress, so it may show up there in the near future – it just depends on what everyone’s needs are
okay, well, the icon is back… the opt-out on this is definitely faulty, guys.
Looking good mi amigos!
You guys are doing a great job, as always!
I like this improvement, hopefully in the future we may be able to search for the themes by name.
will someone help me to change my ‘custom module’ on my old xanga – help_me_disappear … i’ve had it forever and this new xanga stuff is WAY too complicated. i come on here to blog.. to write in here like a journal and all the new changes suck, i personally think. why can’t people stop trying to make things better when they’re fine to begin with? why make a simple thing complicated? the new changes are not cool at all. anyways, please help me because i just made this new name and i can’t figure out any of the old stuff. i just want the layout thats on my old xanga (help_me_disappear) gone so i can actually get to things and see the dates on my entries.
thanks… & quit changing things. please.
@cyruskakashi - I’ve got only twelve subscriptions and they can really keep me on my toes! Then again, I try to comment on each post I read, too. But wow, 350 subscriptions!
Hello xanga team!
I love xanga. brings back the ill throwback.
but it got so much more complicated! why?!
butbutbut, i still
xanga!!
Hopefully, it get more easier..hmm
@InHisSteps13099 - Oooo, that sounds so good. Too good. It’ll never happen. *sigh*
thank you
@CrapeDiem - We track online status based on your browser
cookies. If you change your online status setting on one computer, but you are
logged in elsewhere, that other computer will be showing you as online, even
though your online status is disabled. This will fix itself once you log out
and log back in to get the new cookie. The same thing applies to browsers. If
you change your setting on Firefox and you are signed in on Internet Explorer at
the same time, Internet Explorer will not know that you changed your setting.
When this happens, logging out and logging back in should solve the problem.
@eugenia - since you asked, yes there are a few in particular I would like to see. sine I am a wife of a minister and a minister myself, as is the majority of my xanga friends….I would like to see “Praying for You”, Bless Your Heart, You are in my prayers…. thanks for asking.
awhhhhhhhh love!
how do you make editing with themes go away? I liked creating my site with the original method..
i really REALLY REALLY dont like the new look of my homepage.
its cool. but im not used to it and i dont want to get used to it.
i miss being able to see my layout.
i used to be able to click the link that lets me go back to the old page,and its not there.
I WANT A CHOICE!
give it back y0!
mmm that made no sence. hopefully you understand what im talking about.
if you dont understand what page im talking about,ill screen shot it and tinypic it to you.
I was kinda unhappy with the way Xanga was going, but its getting a lot better. Maybe eventually I can get enough credits to get Lifetime, or perhaps I can figure out how to get a TRUE badge.
Thanks,
-Kelly
The ads are on top of my posts. What can i do to either move the ad to the bottom… or get rid of it altogether.
OH HI
hey there,
I wanted to know, is there any special page/way i can submit suggestions for xanga to maybe implement or not?
)
(If not, that would be my first suggestion
Not to be a jerk or anything,
but are you deliberately making the ads on xanga more hideous than usual to try and get people to go pro?
Because the whole “Are you fat? Take this quiz!” and the newest classic “Are you ugly? Take this quiz!” things are really awful in my opinion, even if they are just supposed to be jokes.
Some people ARE fat and ugly, you know. Not me…I think. Jus sayin.
I can feel the love!
<3
I was wondering if you have an option to change the name of a Xanga? Like, I’m Red_Foxes_Rock right now, but if I wanted a different name, would I have to get a new Xanga or could I change it?
Thanks!
-S
Guys, I tried to leave you for Livejounal but HAD to come back! I missed this site too much, and now, I can honestly say that Xanga is 1345345 times BETTER than LJ!!!
I can’t wait to start updating my site again.
I will never leave you <3
You do a great job, xanga is amazing.
My only suggestions would be maybe adding something like LJ-cut, which is really cool, and enabling javascript again, please??
I heart xanga-
Fara
@Red_foxes_rock - you can change your username here http://edit.xanga.com/signin.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2feditusername.aspx
@silence_of_words - you can always leave your suggestions here on the xanga team page or message me (www.xanga.com/eugenia) or natalia (www.xanga.com/natalia). Thanks!
@sadoughnutgirl -
thanks for the suggestions! I’ll keep those in mind. =)
@NotYourAveragePsyco - . . . you do have a choice. click “back to the old private page” under the Add Stuff! icons on your private page.
***Great job you guys…sending you some ‘love’…:) take care all..Lee
I, for one, am glad to hear that things are “settling down” on the site. Xanga has taken a decidedly “MySpace” turn lately, and that’s not a turn I was happy to see. As a more “mature”
Xanga user, I like the more traditional features, and hope you’ll consider those of us with blogs of a less trendy nature as you continue to “improve” Xanga. Thanks.
doing=amazing!
We love it here at Xanga….know you are busy visit us at pokmongalore.com when you get a second….keep up the great work guys, you are all AWESOME!!
no on-line symbols on subs list and only 10 showing
why does ie go to my new private page, and mozilla goes to the old one?
and now what are you doing? can’t even get to my site, seems to be acting up a lot lately
Good job
cool
“reply” option on pulse?
feelin the love!
I LOVE the online status thingy. Love it, love it!
One thing though….I just don’t get why xanga still has those annoying “Pulse” and “Chatboards” module. It’s definitely taking up space in Xanga Themes, which is why I love my classic page. I really did want to opt for Xanga Themes, but it’s just too cluttered. If we have the option of “replying” to a certain person’s comment and if we have the option of sending private messages to each other in “Message Me”, then what’s the use of the Pulse and Chatboards? It’s really annoying. I wish someone would take them off.
Just some thoughts…
-Jam
What’s so great about these features? So what if a friend is on, maybe if I’m lucky enough if I post, they’ll give me feedback right away; or try some instant e-mailing?
Why are you doing so many changes than what it used to be. Because of your changes, my friends decide to leave here for MySpace, as they tell me this site in now trying to be a wannabe MySpace now.
How about making useful stuff as in an universal option bar when your logged in, so when you’re on someone’s site, you can always access your options on the page instead of hitting the back button a couple of times?
I know running a site is hard and you must’ve put a lot work into these ‘great new features’, but you must not forget who you are, a blogging site, where people want to post and read opinions, sometimes expression it in video, audio, or picture. Maybe someone (who works on the updates and maintenance of the site) could tell what are significant of these features, other than being able to comment to pictures (that’s a good update).
Other than that, I have two separate issues.
1. Sometimes when I go to another person’s site, the left side bar information will get “smashed” into the blog and comments.
2. Every once in a while, when I try to access my site, it claims that the site has vanished with me giving up and try again the next day. I don’t mess with the html or try to create a theme, so troubleshooting won’t tell me.
I hope you don’t see this as an attack, just a concerned user who happens to have questions.
The subs thing is still working differntly than before.
Thanks for fixing! Good work!
Charlene
Hey I have published a few themes, but I recently changed my username. The themes I published before still say that they were published by my old username. Is that ever going to change?
@Jazanne - Yup, it’s been fixed for you!
http://themes.xanga.com/themehome.aspx?t=r&tm=all&l=0&u=jazanne
@john - Hye, thanks a lot =]
Speaking of UPDATES….why is my rich text editor suddenly updating to current date and time everytime I click on edit on any given post?!?!?! If I change to plain text, it doesn’t do it, but I don’t like plain text because it reads only html preview and editing any post is a hassle. The problem with the editor occurred with my renewal of premium and if there is a problem, I would like to have it fixed. I prefer the old version of text, but now I don’t even have that option. If I click back to old version, it returns to rich text default and all of my posts update to current time and date. If I wanted the post updated to current time and date, I would click the little box that says current time and date. I like posts to stay on the date and time they were originally posted unless I DECIDE otherwise.
Am I the only one whose editor has gone mad??? Or have I missed some announcement that it is currently faulty?
I would appreciate some kind of answer.
Thank you
I like the idea, but it would make more sense if I could see all my subs and the symbol could be in the sub module
as it is now, I would have to scroll through all of my inbox, so it is of little use
thx
how do i start a new blog please
for those who dont know i would like you all to know that jamaica is a small caribbean island with lots of wonderful people there and great places to be with the lovely weather and bright sunshine so make it a date and visit jamaica soon for a vacation as am sure you will not regret it
Aww. Yes we all feel the love, Xanga’s amazing :}
Thanks!