Advocatus Atheist on Blogger or Word Press?
I thought I'd try out Word Press to see what all the hubbub is about. I have to admit I like the functionality of it, the options, the formatting, better programming language, and better post moderation (and I do like the idea of blocking spammers).
The downside, no advertising revenue, no ad-sense, it's import feature works fairly okay--as it imported all of my posts, but it keeps the format during the import only to then publish all wonky on Word Press. I have to reformat nearly everything manually just to be readable. It would have been nice if they would have just imported as a plain text to begin with, because fighting two formatting types causes everything to be offset, the wrong font, type set, color, etc. Blogger also gives you the option to *justify the alignment of your text without HTML formatting. There's no *justify option in Word Press, and for a place called Word Press that just baffles me.
Another downside is that it has too many tabs, features, which are disorganized, and although they are nifty sometimes it's hard to figure out which part of the page you're in. It makes the learning curve way higher than I expected. I was fiddling around with it for two days now and I'm still foggy on some of the features, how to get them in order, or work smoothly. Granted I will figure it out, what I love about Blogger is that it's so simple, quick, efficient and easy to use. I write most of my stuff in MS Word anyway, so I don't need a sophisticated program to edit in.
Blogger posts nearly three times faster than Word Press. And because editing is less of a hassle, especially if I catch something and need to quickly jump in and edit, Blogger makes writing and posting much more efficient and less of a headache. Word Press has a better range of capabilities and options. But for a writer who is publishing online, I prefer the quickness and efficiency of Blogger over Word Press.
That's my initial take on the two. For now, however, I think I'll be sticking with Blogger for a while longer. That said, if I become accustomed to Word Press I might actually begin to prefer it. Only time will tell.
So let me know what you think! Do you want to see Advocatus Atheist stay on Blogger or move to Word Press (or both)? Follow the link, check out the Word Press Advocatus Atheist page and let me know what you think!
Hey Tristan!
ReplyDeleteI just realized that I failed to give you the correct link to Mr. Smalkowki's latest Youtube video. My bad! Here is the correct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXKHksVGqDU&feature=channel
Please watch it and comment if you are so moved.
Peace,
Steve
He seems a little embittered in that rant. I mean, I can't blame him for holding a grudge against those who wronged him and his family, but to sit there and tell others to keep quiet is absolutely the wrong thing to suggest.
ReplyDeleteIf atheists & nonbelievers keep quiet then they'll continue to be a maltreated minority. I they speak out en mass then their voices will grow undeniable as a position to take seriously and not recklessly pigeonholed or stereotyped any longer.
Staying silent is the same as a rape victim simply biting their lip mid rape and bending over a little more to aid their molester in his quest to dominate them.
I understand for some the trauma of coming out of the closet will be great, but if they stay in the closet perpetually, then all they've really done is ensured their lower position underneath all those who would seek to have dominion over them.
Wrong advice is there was any.
One of the reasons I love the idea of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (ffrf) appeals to me is that they are a support group helping those escape religious persecution, pressure, and injustice with legal action and attempting to safeguard people's legal rights in the face of religious imposed theocracy.
ReplyDeleteI wish there were more support foundations like this for nonbelievers, and those who need help in relieving the unjust or unfair standards of religious imposed societal regulations.
http://www.ffrf.org/
I have mixed feelings and thoughts about Chuck's situation. I watched several of his other video's at Youtube and also read his articles that were written while in the midst of the legal goings-on. He's a pretty complex cat! I've little doubt that he encountered effective corruption involving the educational and judicial systems in Hardesty. I think in this particular video he is reflecting on the costs that his family, his kids, have had to 'pay' in the pursuit of justice, or some variety of it. I think when he speaks disparagingly of "atheist" in this video that he is referencing what he considers underhanded treatment or an unsatisfactory relationship with American Atheist Inc. who were involved in his legal cases. He alludes to this in part when he says that there is much more to the story than he has so far addressed. I think that part of Chuck's problem is that he is fairly pugilistic and tends to rant a lot, not always undesirable characteristics, but in his social environment and in the context of his life's circumstances perhaps that was not the most effective or judicious approach to realizing the best outcomes for all involved. No, I don't think that silence is the best approach to the issues of religious beliefs or disbeliefs. I am pretty forthright about my disbelief, or at least don't hide it, but I rarely make it a central issue of conversation or object of confrontation, the same courtesy I would hope to have extended to me from a true believer in some faith system. Chuck doesn't live too far from me and perhaps one of these days I'll venture out west and have a sit-down with him. Frankly, I admire him for standing up to the powers in Beaver County, but he and his family are the ones who have had to deal with the fallout from how the whole situation played out. For us briefly commenting on and discussing his situation afford quite a different perspective on the matter of religious freedom and the separation of Church and State than what he experienced while facing felony charges and a criminal trial resulting from this situation, withdrawing his kids from the Hardesty school, and so on. All in all, I think, a regretable situation.
ReplyDeleteWhy I hooked you up with Mr. Smalkowski's video was not to dissuade you in any way from your activism. I think that his story has quite a bit to contribute to anyones understanding of some of the considerations of how things can play out in the "real world". In some ways I think that what he is addressing and communicating in this video is that aspect of what he has experienced and learned through his ordeal that might fall under the heading of "A Cautionary Tale".
My dad used to say, "Discretion is the better part of valor." Words of wisdom, think I.
Later Amigo!
I do agree that Wordpress has a more complex but also more feature-rich dashboard. However, I don't find Wordpress's dashboard disorganized - I can find the features I want easily, and the main dashboard can also be customized to fit the user's preferences. But then, since I'm slightly geek-like, I may be used to disorganized user interfaces! Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThere's another reason why I find Wordpress better - the pages are much smaller in file size (loads faster), and it has better SEO (search engines like Wordpress more than Blogger).
But the most important thing is that Wordpress's commenting is much better than Blogger's. Here on Blogger, it always takes a long time to wait before the comment box gets loaded, and sometimes when the Internet connection isn't stellar, I can't even see the box.
So here are the reasons why I prefer Wordpress over Blogger. But of course, it all depends on you. It's your blog after all.
My biggest complaint with Blogger is that it's system of commenting leaves something to be desired. The comment box is tiny, the "blockquote" statement isn't allowed, and sometimes, it seems to take a while for comments to post.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there seems to be more control over comment moderation within the Wordpress dashboard. You have the option of setting all comments for full moderation or only moderating new commenters. You can also select specific commenters to always drop into your mod queue or always drop into your spam queue.
As for differences between the two menu systems, I suspect it's simply a matter of what you are used to. I find Blogger's menus to be confusing, but I think that's because I'm used to the Wordpress menus.
Ultimately, Tristan, use the platform you feel most comfortable with. IMHO, there's no need to post on two different blogs at once. Those of us with a Wordpress bias will continue to cope. ;-)
In Mr. Smalkowski's video he said something to the effect, its a waste of time you cant cram it down their throat.
ReplyDeleteI was left thinking hmmmmm ? ..So how did faithful folks get to impose their faiths?.
Not that im suggesting at all that everyone need become evangelistist about atheism.Im just saying i think hes wrong, kind of suggesting its a total waste of time things are never ever gonna change.
Hell maybe we dont nessarily need or even want total extinction of faith....But a little change, and even some more regulation might atleast see a few less folks getting abused by it.
Im sure some days some gay folks might feel a little depressed and might feel like fighting for freedom, seems like a bit of a lost cause with little hope.Thats quite normal.....Why im very sure quite likely there was even some black slaves at times,that felt very much the same way.
Folks need to try to remember, Rome wasnt built in a day either.
With regards to blogger or word press Tristan im happy to run with what ever you and others find is best.Much of my problems most likely have to do with stemming from,me only having a cheaper old dial up connection.
That and not understanding how to reset add blocker and spy ware blocker and virus checker programs on my computer,so they dont try to fight my use of blogs.
Man !!... sometimes i could swear, computers nearly give me as many grey hairs as religion did.
It gets so bad sometimes, im nearly down on my knees!.... praying i dont lose everthing i just wrote :)
Gandolf-
ReplyDeleteI agree... the sit back and do nothing apathy approach just doesn't work.
If you want things to change, and change for the better, then that takes work.
Although I can understand his hardships, it was Smalkowski's choice to go public. Maybe he felt he had no other option. Maybe because of the ill treatment of his daughter he wanted the injustice to be brought to light.
Of course things could always go better. I don't know the finer details... but I think it was important that somebody eventually made a stand against theocratic bullies.
Doing nothing... in retrospect... would have just made it harder on the next guy. However, after going through hell, one might be hesitant to recommend it as something everyone should follow suit in.
I agree with Steve's point that there is a "cautionary tale" to be learned here, but it's not role over like a dog to let yourself be kicked some more. So in that case, I agree with you.
Boy, I'm just Mr. agreeable today!
@timberwraith-
ReplyDeleteI'm still tinkering with Word Press. It's starting to grow on me.
I like both at the moment. But I've put so much hard work into my Blogger blogs over the past 6 years it's just hard to find reason enough to make the change.
If it ain't broke, then don't fix it is sound advice. I'll continue to fiddle with Word Press and see if it's really something I'll want to use more or not. Right now I'm still mainly going to be on Blogger--at least for Advocatus Atheist.
As I don't know Mr. Smalkowski personally I wouldn't begin to think that I could speak for him, or to at least represent his thoughts well.
ReplyDeleteSocial progress depends on social activism. While Chester might have employed a better strategy and tactics in his combat with the powers that be in Hardesty, Oklahoma, I think that ultimately struggles such as his own contribute to the advance of humanity. I would imagine that Chester might agree that had he the opportunity to 'do it over again' he probably could have acheived better outcomes for himself and his family, not through inaction, but by a more carefully considered plan of action. Understand that a physical scufffle ensued between Chester and the Principal of the school which resulted in one felony and two misdemeanor charges against Chester. Fortunately Chester was acquitted of these charges. Almost never a good way to begin legal proceedings in a matter of the separation of Church and State.
Speaking for myself, I am sure that if I were able I would have many 'do-overs'. As they say, "Hindsight is golden." I think that most of us could learn something from the Smalkowsi's experience, although I don't think that would be that it is always best to remain passive and silent on matters of this nature.
Again, "Discretion is the better part of valor."