A new dawn
Ok, just in case I am attracting new readers here (*giggles* Well, a girl can dream, eh?) I’ll recap what I’ve been mentioning in my last post over at Blogger.
Well, actually, I’ll make this a longer story, I guess.
For quite some time now, people have been trying to invite me to get a Gmail account. I’ve always declined for the simple reason that people way more geeky than me said that these people do have a very valid point.
Well, yes, in a way, you’re selling most of your privacy rights the moment you go online, and the more you use the net, the more this is true. But I think this is the very reason why we should try to preserve what privacy and rights we have. I simply object to Google’s nosiness. I regularly delete my Google search cookies. And I will continue to decline Gmail invites.
And then Blogger gets eaten by Google. At first I was even willing to bow to the inevitable with time. I didn’t really read the detailed information on the “upgrade” then, so I wasn’t even aware that a Gmail account would be part of the “upgrade”. Anyway, the new Blogger was suffering major flaws, so I figured I’d better wait until they fixed that before upgrading. The test version became the real thing, and still Google Blogger blogs had downtimes at least twice a week. Sometimes it was impossible to comment on some of those blogs for several days, and not only for old Blogger users but at least in one case I am aware of for the blog owner himself!
Then came the day when I wanted to log in to my blog and was redirected to a page that required me to update to Google Blogger and create a Gmail account before proceeding. After some time I figured out that deleting all of my Blogger, Google Blogger and Google cookies enabled me to log in to old Blogger again. As I had been helping someone out with his Google Blogger blog, I thought Blogger might have become confused by the cookies set at that time, and that the problem was now solved.
But it turned out that it hadn’t. More and more often I had to go through the tedious “delete all Google/Blogger related cookies” with an added “clear history” routine to get access to my blog without upgrading. Also, I very often was unable to comment on Google Blogger blogs. The above mentioned routine works for that problem as well….. Most of the time.
I don’t like getting forced to do things, so I very quickly grew sick of this and decided to move my blog. WordPress seemed the obvious solution. I decided to move my blog to wordpress.com before realizing that this was not quite the right thing for me either, but to that later.
I was very relieved that I was still using old Blogger when working my way through WordPress’ “import” function. I see that has changed by now (although you have to get authorization from Google first…), but at the time WP could only import old Blogger blogs. OK:
- Step 1: Log in to your Blogger account and make safety copies. Am I allowed to laugh?
- Step 2: Log out of your Blogger account. Well, I didn’t even manage to log in this time, so that’s ok, yes?
- Step 3: Log in here with your Blogger name and password. “Sorry, you cannot be logged in, please try again.”
Oh, bugger…
Eventually I found out that clearing my history, deleting all Google/Blogger cookies and disabling cookies before embarking on step 3 did the trick.
Unfortunately wordpress.com only offers very limited space for its blogs and has this weird aversion to javascript. So here I am, using wordpress.org software on my very own rented server space! 
Now I only needed to change the link to the new blog that I had left over at my Blogger blog. Right. Last Wednesday and Thursday I repeatedly deleted the evil cookies, cleared my history, even including restarting my computer…. to no avail. I kept getting redirected to the “upgrade or die” page.
Still, Google Google Blogger makes it sound as if the “upgrade” is just an option that Blogger users have, and not mandatory at all.
On Friday morning I was very surprised when I was able to log in and edit my post and the link. Well, some of you have already found it. 
After this lengthy - and likely rather boring - explanation I officially bid you welcome to Melantrys’ new playground! 
I hope you’ll have fun.
P.S.: It would be really cool if some of my faithful “fans” here who only allow registered Google/Blogger users to comment on their blogs might consider trying to allow “others” as well. For one thing, this would allow me to bid my Blogger account a final good-bye, and secondly, I am rather sure that sooner or later I will not be able to comment using my old Blogger account anymore. 
February 26th, 2007 at 2:01 am
sometimes you are too paranoid.. hmmm.
anyway, congrats for your blog, and the new post
i love my google. i’m iraqi, i really can’t think of anything worse than that happening to me :))
take care.. the truth is out there.
February 26th, 2007 at 2:02 am
ooooooooooooohhhh my comment SHOWED UP!
hallelujah!
February 26th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Huzzah!
February 26th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I’m gonna keep my new-blogger-blog anyway, but even before reading your info I didn’t want to use the g-mail-addy that goes with it. Why should I? I’ve got enough e-mail-addies right now. I’m a collector.
February 26th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Nice pic, by the way.
February 26th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Hm, damn, I should start reporting Spambot-13 to Akismet; it’s letting it get through……
Frenzie: Whozzah?
Mafdet: It’s all Chikitita’s fault that I made that pic…..
February 26th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Google Blogger blog
Ohhhh, try to say that really fast!
February 26th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Hi Mel, nice to see your auroral awakening!
The creation of your new blog is an epic story, like the struggles of Conaness the Bavarian! 
So, I wish you continued glad tidings as your adventure continues! 
February 26th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
OMGWTFLOL!
this new system will surely lead to all sorts of a whole new breed of blogging due to it’s superior freedom? EXTREME BLOGGING! it’ll be like snowboarding with a parachute down a mountain!
February 26th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Lynnette: Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google Blogger blog, Google….
David: Medicines…. you forgot your medicines…
Brad: Er. Yeah, whatever…
February 27th, 2007 at 5:55 am
My blog has been Googlized (well, I already had a google account anyway)!! Whats sa matter? Youse got somsin ‘gainst big Bavarian women? Ok, I’ll take my pills now.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:08 am
I just updated my blog’s link to your page.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Hey! I am happy for you that all this complicated stuff is solved. However, I have to say that I disagree with you re blogger and google! I found the new blogger and Google in general is very helpful to me as an internet usert. My Google email which I use for the blog is so professional and I thought of switching from Yahoo to Gmail but forgot about it since most people I know have my Yahoo personal email.
Anyways, your new blog look awsome! More lively!
Happy Blogging,
BT.
February 27th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
What a shiny new BLOG!
A little too shiny… omg… I tried to write shiny with ie… My chemistry studies is destroiings al of mine former englisch abilities
February 28th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
new post, new post, new post, new post, new post,
New Post, New Post, New Post, New Post, New Post,
NEW POST, NEW POST, NEW POST, NEW POST, NEW POST
NOW!
March 1st, 2007 at 7:21 am
*is at work*
A new post, hehehe! I hate cloudy dawns!
Listen, probably I can’t make to be on this weekend….
Wish me luck!!!
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Melantrys how do you “delete Google search cookies.”
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:37 pm
you set you harddrive on fire and run! run…. LIKE THE WIND!!!
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:27 pm
“Ride Like The Wind” by Christopher Cross. Great Song!!
March 2nd, 2007 at 11:42 pm
@ Nadia: Er. I just go into my cookies folder and delete all the cookies associated with Google? (And most of the others as well.)
@ Brad: Well, that is another solution of course. Felt like doing that to my colleague’s pc today…. *sighs*
@ David: Ah, those were the days, eh?
March 4th, 2007 at 6:05 am
In the days when I had a motorcycle, I rode faster than the wind!
March 4th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Congratulation for your new blog (although that is quite late) and I wish u best of luck…
As for me I’m sticking to blogger since I’m too lazy to move anywhere else …;D
March 5th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Yes, David. Probably while listening to “Ride like the wind”….
Kyubai, thanks anyway. Lol, you lazy bum.