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I've vanished from Travel Network!! Why?
Yesterday I was no.2 in the Travel Network... today? Vanished altogether :-(
Could someone check what's going on asap? Thanks!
http://frogblog-thaidings.blogspot.com/
Could someone check what's going on asap? Thanks!
http://frogblog-thaidings.blogspot.com/
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Inappropriate?Hey Frog,
I'm looking into this. It'll take me a bit to trak it down, so hang in there.
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Inappropriate?Hey Frog,
Looks like there's now some Javascript in your feed that's jacking with the parsing. You'll need to get that JS out for the network to correctly parse your feed.
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Inappropriate?It's a blogger template, I've not touched the template itself. I've added no new widgets since yesterday, and I never touch the widget code. The widgetbox code is the same it's always been
I’m worried
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Inappropriate?OK, found the real issue. Still an issue with your feed though. You'll need to adjust your template. The issue is that you have two link elements in the top level without an attribute define (e.g. self, or alt) which breaks stuff. I'd suggest for compliance to always define the alt out, or remove that flickr image from your top level.
Not sure if this is a blogger setting or a feedburner setting that you need to change, but it will need to change. -
Inappropriate?Have shifted the travel network widget much nearer the top, can't see a change yet. Don't suppose you could email me the template code I have to change because I don't know what you mean I'm afraid.
Still not sure why it was working before though, and suddenly stopped working today?
I’m confident
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Inappropriate?Hey Frog,
This is a Feed change. Since you don't build your own feed, you'll need to contact Feedburner or Blogger (depending on what settings you have set) to make your feed compliant OR remove that link item with an image on flickr.
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Inappropriate?Ok but what doesn't make sense to me is that I've made no changes, either to page format, widgets, template code in two days, nor have I added a new blog. The blog is identical to the one that was there yesterday in every aspect.
If I have to contact Feedburner that will take for ever.
No other alternatives?
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Inappropriate?Just because you haven't made any changes doesn't mean that feedburner or blogger haven't changed your feed, unfortunately. The only alternative is for you to find another feed provider that can do this for you.
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Inappropriate?Well that's a shame - no other widgets have reacted in the same manner to the changes, whatever they are, in the Feedburner feed. Everything else is functioning perfectly.
I therefore have little choice but to withdraw the widgetbox widgets, as they no longer draw traffic.
Pity, seeing as I'd reached no.2 in the Travel Network listings.
If there is anything you can do, please let me know, then I can restore the widgets.
.
I’m sad
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Yeah, the network widget has more specific requirements than a normal RSS widget or any other widget really due to the advanced use case. If we somehow find a way to rule out your second link element, I'll be sure to post here.
Alternatively, if you find the controls to make your feed RSS Compliant, be sure to give it another go. Also, keep in mind that this will be an issue for other feed readers out there that use that link element. Fortunately, however, the end result will most likely be less severe than this case, as readers usually use this element for links to your blog, completing relative links (which you don't have), etc.
It's not like this is the first time a feed provider has changed something without user interaction, but it's always a bummer when they break something :/ -
Inappropriate?I had the same issue with my blog in the music network. I am also using blogger and feedburner. I also have made no changes and am a bit dissapointed that you cannot offer a solution at your end Dave.
http://www.vainzine.blogspot.com
I’m sad
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Inappropriate?Vain,
Sorry, but it's just science really. If you have two top-level link elements without any differentiation between them, all we can do is guess. In this case, we guessed it was the second as an RSS compliant feed generally has a self first.
It is too bad that some feeds won't work, but this is why RSS Compliance exists, ya know?
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Inappropriate?I have cancelled my widgetbox account. I think widgetbox should do more to help users rather than just patronising them.
I’m sad
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Sorry to hear that you feel patronized. Best of luck to you all the same!
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Inappropriate?Few points here. Dave, you should learn to speak to non-geeks in non-geek language. You may or may not have intended to patronise, but I had a similar impression.
Secondly, you never answered my question. Why is the Widgetbox widget affected, while none of the others on my blog sidebar were.
Thirdly, it's a shame that you don't make more of an effort, for example, to sort out compliancy issues with the likes of Feedburner which as part of Google (along with Blogger) must be one of the major feeds.
Overall, a pretty unsatisfactory service, all things considered.
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Hey Frog,
#1 I would love to keep it non-tech, but there's some things that you can't discuss non-tech. RSS (Really Simple Shndication) can be one of those things. An unavoidable burden on us all.
#2 As I mentioned, only the network widget requires the use of the link element to verify your blog URL for security reasons.
#3 We work with other sources as much as we can, but in the end, it's up to them to want to work with us, and as the way of the internet goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If we report an issue to them, we're just another consumer as you are. This is why I always encourage our users to speak with the services that they consume when a change is needed. They do what most web services companies do, which is prioritize based on user demand (volume).
In the end, there's not really an answer that I can give you to make you happy since it just won't work without you fixing issues on your end. If it's any consolation, it's not any more satisfying for me when you leave unhappy than it is for you. To use a poor example of an extreme nature, if I told you that you had to turn your computer on to see the widgets, but you weren't comfortable turning on your computer or asking someone to turn it on for you, we'd be in a similar place: everyone's bummed.
On a side note, I do frequent your blog often, so whether you use us or not, keep up the great work! -
Inappropriate?Ok Dave, not much more to say. (1) hmm well I think that it's a matter of use of language. I'm ok with string theory, so maybe it's not entirely my fault I haven't a clue what you're talking about some of the time. (2) So Feedburner/Google may have introduced something that causes security non-compliance with a single widget amongst myriads of others. I still don't see why it's up to me to juggle the code, or Feedburner/Google to sort it out, rather than the Widgetbox code-writers to write something that is compliant with Feedburner. (3) See (2).
The bottom line is that I've always used Feedburner along with countless others, and I can't see them bothering to adapt to a problem if it's only with Widgetbox networks.
Glad you liked the blog, I'll try installing again now and again to see if the bug has cleared, but there is little else I can do.
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On the feedburner point, it's because not all feedburner feeds have been affected. There's most likely one settings that is doing something funky, such as a setting that allows to to put an image at the top of your feed (guessing since your other link was a non-compliant URL to an image) or one of those settings that they have. It's similar to how enabling/disabling browser-compatibility can actually flip you in and out of RSS compliance. They make certain concession based on those settings that will lower compatibility and leave it up to the user to make those decisions.
Also, again, having two conflicting link elements isn't only an issue for Widgetbox... it'll be an issue for any application that relies on that element. -
Inappropriate?Not sure if this was the same issue. I just got dumped out of the TV network tonight, after working my way up to #15. When I re-clicked the "Add your blog" button and clicked that I'd added the widget, it said it couldn't find my blog. So I copied the new code it gave me, re-pasted it into my Blogger set-up, and it seems to be working again. Unfortunately now I'm back at #49 in the ranking.
I’m frustrated
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Hey Valerie,
If you're back, I doubt the issue is the same unless you made some significant changes to your blog. If you fell out, your site was most likely unavailable for a period of time when we went to check it. This is one of the only cases that will disable you.
