The New Site Is Up, But….

Posted on by

[ UPDATE 3/17 — I’ve been informed that there is no way to transfer over anyone who followed the old blog via WordPress subscription or the the “Follow” button. Only those people who subscribed to the blog by email can be moved over to receive notifications of new posts. Unfortunately, the new platform does not seem to offer a “Follow” option analogous to what WordPress has, and none of the plug-in or programs that I’ve seen fix that problem. I’m trying to see if anything can be done, but, thus far, the only sure way seems to be to subscribe by email. I realise that some people hate to do that. I apologise, and will understand fully if it is too much of an inconvenience.]

“Houston, we have a problem.” The new site is up, and all the old posts have been moved over. Unfortunately, there are glitches. The main one is that you may have to re-subscribe, re-follow, or re-sign up again, as I’m not sure if the Transfer request that I put in has worked. I remember another blog, Australian Perfume Junkies, having a similar problem when they went to a self-hosting site.

Since I’m not seeing a list of subscribers on the new site administrative page, I worry that many or all of you may need to sign up again, just to be certain. Those of you who are particularly interested in the new Amouage offering, Opus VIII, which was just released may want to do so soon, as that will be the first review on the new blog.

To go to the new blog, you can click on this: Kafkaesque. For your records, the full URL is: https://kafkaesqueblog.com/

I really apologise for all this, and I hope I don’t lose too many of you. I am seeking help for the problem, as well as for the fact that I’m suddenly not getting email notifications of any comments that have been posted (on either site). Thanks to my Tech Wizard friends, the other snafu of the URL links to all the old reviews being broken and not re-directing to the new site has been fixed. Hopefully, the rest of the growing pains will also be minor and short-lived in nature.

I wish you all a happy Saturday and weekend. On that note, I should get back to the brand new Opus VIII with its fascinating mix of contrasts and contradictions. A new Opus as a new review for a new blog. It seems quite fitting. Happy weekend everyone!

50 thoughts on “The New Site Is Up, But….”

  1. K,
    Congratulations on the new site and getting it going so quickly.
    Cheers to a long, happy & fragrant bloglife,
    Jackie

    • Thank you, my sweet Jackie. I just wish I had the faintest clue of what I was doing. There is nothing like technology, Plug-ins, installation, code, and computer programming to make me feel like a complete idiot. 😀

      • You’re doing very well! The new emails are already coming thru to my in-box. Bon courage, brave one!

        • Thank you, Jackie. Alas, it seems I’ve lost everyone who wasn’t following the blog by email, and they will have to re-subscribe. Arrrgghh.

  2. I applaud you and the people who’ve helped you in getting the entire blog up and running so fast! Of course there will be glitches. So, as they say, “Keep calm and carry on!” Cheers!

    • I’m not so sure about “up and running”…. lol. Even the simple act of publishing a post now seems to be fraught with complications, right down to things vanishing in the ether and messages about “How embarrassing, we can’t find that post.” Or double messages. Or no messages.

      I’m just about ready to pull my hair out. At this rate, I’ll be bald by Wednesday. lol

      • Clear your cache frequently. It’s super important after you change web hosting services. If you don’t know what that is, shoot me an email. And please don’t pull your hair out! We all love your blog, but we also care about you (whoever you are, lol)!

  3. Oh my. Sorry to hear of this nightmare. Just a little bit ago, I was reading your post, and I noticed that you only had one follower. There were well over 300 when I signed up, before! I imagined that it was another glitch. I signed up again. FYI, I just received a duplicates of the above post.

    I have some samples that I tried recently, including Roja Dove Risque. I would love to share them, as they were not for me, and I will gladly mail them to you if you provide an address or PO Box. At least they will not go to waste. I do so love reading your reviews. Let me know, you have my email address.

    Thank you for your lovely reviews and insight.

    Best regards,
    Jeri

    • You’re incredibly kind, Jeri. And I’m so sorry about the post duplicates. I can say with complete candour that I don’t have the FAINTEST idea of what is going on. About any of it. 😀 As for followers, I’ve gone from about 428 on the old site (ignoring FB follows, etc.) to yes, just 1. ROFL. From over 500,000 hits on the blog, it’s now reset to about 14.

      At this point, one has to either laugh or pull one’s hair out. Right now, I’m doing the latter. And, as I just wrote to someone else, I’ll probably be completely bald by Wednesday. At which point, the laughter may kick in out of sheer helplessness and hysteria. 😀

      As for your offer of the Roja Dove Risque and other samples, that is hugely generous of you!! I would very much enjoy that, but I have so much on my plate right now, it don’t even know when I would get to them. I wouldn’t want you to think that your efforts had gone to waste. To be honest, right now, I’m drowning under the weight of everything UNrelated to actual perfume and can’t seem to think straight. I hope you understand, and don’t take it personally.

      On that note, I have to go back to figuring out what the hell is a Google Analytics API key and “Success Code.” If you hear a loud scream in the next 5 minutes, that will probably be me. 🙂

  4. Tech impaired and constantly losing where I am wiith my new laptop, where to I go to insure I am still following…. or whaever, would hate to lose your posts!

    • I’m starting to think that no-one is more tech-impaired than I am, lol, but I understand your reaction fully. 🙂 The new site is: https://kafkaesqueblog.com/

      It looks like you may have responded to the post on the new site, so maybe you did get transferred over? I have no clue, and no idea of how things are working in terms of notification for previous followers. So to be sure, you may want to sign up again. It seems I only have 6 subscribers now, whereas I had 428 before via WordPress and email.

  5. Hi Kafka, I got the email alert and could open this post fwiw. Hopefully a bunch of your other subscribers did if I did.

    • Well, THAT is very reassuring! Maybe I actually have more than 7 followers. LOL. Thank you for letting me know, Vicki. Really, I appreciate it enormously.

    • Likewise! I got an email notifying me of the new post before I re-subscribed (I ended up deleting the old subscription and re-subscribing to the re-launched site, but I don’t even think it was necessary – it was more a safeguard on my part). I think it also showed up in my RSS feed, which I updated as well just in case.

      Best wishes with the new site! Do you think it might help/is it possible to have a temporary banner on the site/on new posts which says the blog domain has changed and to update subscriptions? Perhaps that would notify people who follow, but may not read as religiously and may have missed notification about the site moving?

      • The banner is a good idea, but I don’t think it would be technically possible with the “Themes” and the technical way that things are set up. Perhaps some computer coding inserted in a manual form could work around it, but I lack the knowledge for that. Still, I appreciate you re-subscribing, sweetie. I really do. Hopefully, by now, people will have figured it out if they weren’t transferred over by the Jet Pack group (one of the plug-in thingamajigs that my friends had to download and set up for me).

        • Ah, yes, the issue of technical savvy (which I don’t have either, otherwise I’d certainly offer to try to figure it out!). Thought it looks like at the moment you have 461 subscribers, so apparently people are sorting it out on their own! 😀

  6. I am so confused! I’m blaming being fuzzy on the lingering effects of anesthesia—yep, that has to be it! 🙂

    Darling, I don’t know how you’re doing it but am so glad you are. I have no doubt all will be resolved … without balding. 😉

    • Anaesthesia?! Oh no, not again! I will email you as soon as I can to see how you’re doing. As for the blog, I will try not to be bald by Wednesday, but it’s hard. lol

  8. Poor Houston, this is all going to work out. I am already getting notices of new posts, and we will all re-follow if needed. Breathe deeply, sniff perfume, this is a purely technical issue and can be worked out. Unlike, for example, a new iteration of IFRA, which is a true nightmare…but it hasn’t happened, they can’t confiscate our vintage Opium on grounds of danger to self and others, and so we will muddle through.

    • LOL! I love how Opium gets brought in! As for technological issues, they are bubbling away, as I was just informed that the transfers could only work for people who follow the blog via email, not if they follow by WP. The latter will all have to resubscribe. Argggh.

      • I’m not in any way implying that it doesn’t suck. But don’t pull out your lovely hair. Truly not worth it. And yes, the eternal Opium.

    • That’s so sweet. Thank you! You’re getting them because you’re following by email, I think. Everyone else seems to have gotten dropped. LOL.

    • Thank you, my sweet Ines. I appreciate that, especially as it seems all the people who follow by WordPress were dropped and wouldn’t/can’t be transferred over. It’s such a ridiculous headache. 🙁

  11. Hi Kafka
    I’m am so glad you are working things out. I have subscribed to the new site and I am looking forward to new post. I don’t want to miss a day. Your post and descriptions are one of the highlights of my days. I am a very busy person, I own my own business, and I completely understand the complications of the digital age and all its frustrations. I will all work out and everything will be fine. I completely believe that all of your followers will come over to the new sight as I am sure that they all appreciate your insights as much as I do. I wanted to let you know that I had luckyscent send me a sample of Trayee and I wore it all day last Sunday and it is such an amazing scent. I have made it my goal to try all of the fragrances on the best of list. I sent away to Paris for the Oriza L. LeGrand sample set and I am sooo looking forward to having the pleasure of trying those. I have loved fragrance since I was very young. When I was in school I worked at a fragrance counter at a department store in my hometown and I have recently gotten into the niche fragrances and I love them. I really value your reviews and you have truly helped me to discover some wonderful gems. You have also inspired me to try the Serge Lutens fragrances and to understand them and I so appreciate this. I will probably order a full bottle of Trayee soon. I received so many compliments on it but the truth is that I wear fragrance for myself and how it makes me feel and I truly loved Trayee. Thank you for what you do and keep up the good work. I am sorry for all the problems you have had with your sight. I am glad you are working it all out and as they say “this to will pass” and all will be fragrant and wonderful. Thank You

    • John, your note was so lovely, and meant a lot to me. Thank you for your kindness. When I’ve felt like pulling my hair out, I try to think of people like you. And I’m glad you subscribed to the new site, as it appears all those who followed the old one via WordPress were dropped and could not be transferred over.

      As for Trayee, your love for it is actually one of my favorite parts of your comment. I’m so glad you have fallen for it. It’s such a stormy, intense, complicated scent that it definitely doesn’t work for everyone, but it will always be my favorite Neela Vermeire creation. It is so transformative in a way, especially if one has ever been to India, because it really does successfully evoke the fiery, dusty, sweet, spicy smells of the country. And that Mysore sandalwood….!!! So stunning.

      I’m glad you stopped by to leave a comment, and I hope you will come out of lurkerdom to give me the chance to get to know both you and your perfume tastes better. 🙂 And again, thank you for the kindness you have shown me today.

  12. One giant leap for mankind. I’m as technologically challenged as could be conceivable, so I just wanted to let you know that I’m getting your posts via email in the usual fashion. The only difference was with the initial one after “the ban,” and all I needed to do was type in my name and email. Rest assured all of your chickens will come in to roost. If I come across any lurking in the grotto, I will gently nudge them out.

  13. Bravo! Up and running already! To quote a dear friend: “Some things just need to be done.” 🙂 Looking forward to your new blog with the highest expectations. Sending my best wishes, full support, energy, and a big hug!

  14. No problems with re-signing here. The new info came into my inbox and I signed up without hassles. It will work itself out – I’m sending you a wig, just incase 😉

  16. I’m here from the UK and think I’m in the new, right place. Didn’t have to do anything different – just opened your email and joined in as before.
    Do hang in there, darling Kafka – we need you like never before. Such an amazing journey!
    And Jules is right – NOT PULLING HAIR OUT PLEASE – everything’s gonna be alright… xxxxx

    • Well, I *am* pulling my hair out, as the glitches are quite numerous, not the least of which is that I’ve lost everyone who was following by WordPress. And there are about 5 other big problems too. But I’m taking deep breaths and trying to focus on the big picture. 🙂

    • LOL at “… er stuff.” LOL. I’m glad you found me, James. I seem to have lost everyone who followed by WordPress, but oh well, hopefully it will work out in the end.

  18. Dearest Kafka! First of all, congratulations on making the move to self-hosting. It is something that I have been thinking about and wanting to do for a while, but just haven’t had the guts to. Secondly, totally get what you were saying about the name of the blog and why you have changed it. For myself, I must admit that I kind of cringe when I hear its name spoken out loud. It was a choice made out of a complete lack of better choices as all the good ones were already taken!

    But so far, the switchover seems okay. I just resubscribed and haven’t checked yet to see if I get duplicate posts. In all honesty, I don’t mind duplicates. Double the Kafka, double the fun 🙂

    (and by double the fun, I don’t mean double the alienation, absurdity, and existential emblems of isolation, individualism, and bureaucratese leading to loss of self and society 😉 )

    • I’m SO glad you re-subscribed, as they told me today that they couldn’t transfer over anyone who was following/subscribed by WordPress to the old site. I can’t even SEE how many subscriptions or followers I have now, so I’m working in the blind with all this, but I really appreciate you following the new site, as I would miss my BaconBiscuit! (Especially as I can’t seem to get email notifications of any other blogs, no matter what I do!)

  19. Hang in there! Your followers will figure out how to find you and come along…
    All the best,
    E

    • I’m hoping so, Queen Cupcake, I’m really hoping so. I was told today that I lost everyone who subscribed via WordPress, or, to be specific, that those people couldn’t be transferred over. So, I’m hoping they will find me in the end. Thank YOU for being one of those who did. 🙂 🙂

  20. Hi, Kafka! I follow with Bloglovin’ (ugh, the apostrophe makes it worse) and the transition has been almost seamless. The Tom Ford Champaca Absolute review was “not found” the first time I tried to read it, but I just checked and it’s there! I didn’t even have to resubscribe. I’m nearly always reading on a mobile device, and your blog even looks better than it did before. From my perspective, it’s all for the best. Try not to let it get to you. I’ve heard it said that all change is good for you, and helps you grow, although I’m still not very fond of it myself.

      • That’s good to hear, thank you. I am no longer provided with a list of ANY subscribers, so I can’t tell anything at all. I can only see if I go to the blog’s home page which currently lists 37. So, about 400 down. :\ Oh well, that’s life. Thank you for letting me know what it says on Bloglovin.

    • How lovely to hear that the blog looks even better than before! That is all due entirely to the efforts of the Temptalia team who worked very hard at fixing the menus, creating new ones from scratch to improving loading (as well as clarity), and to make everything run as smoothly as possible under the circumstances.

      Unfortunately, it seems that I’ve lost all of those who followed by WordPress, and they can’t be transferred over, so that’s a bit of a blow. I hope it all works out in the end. But thank you for letting me know how everything looks on your end! 🙂

  21. Congrats on the new site K’ – glad to see that little ‘red-flag-from-hell’ snafu has only prompted/resulted in loads of positive change. (at least, it WILL before all your hair’s out.) 😉

    And yes (without meaning to cause any added stress, as ultimately it really doesn’t matter) I’ve certainly noticed a few of my comments seem to have disappeared into the web-ether vacuum. – The 1st one (a rather lengthy one at that) made kinda sense as it happened just (at that very moment I tell ya!) as your old blog went MIA. I was like whoaa?? WTF??? … Then since, trying out the new site, a few more seem to never have made it. Consequently I’ve thought it best to just give you the space to recompose, breathe & reset. Lots of time to renew ‘our conversation’ later. 🙂

    Good luck with the rest of changeover – pretty sure it’ll all be over before u know it ! – (& then on to a new shorter hairstyle) 😉 😀

  22. Hey K! I’m still getting your posts by e-mail. The new blog looks wonderful. Congrats with getting things figured out and up and running. You’re doing a good job with it all! I’m still struggling to understand the difference between having my own website and having hosting space. I thought you automatically get the two. Oh well. When I’m ready to switch, I’m sure I’ll figure it out too. Hug!

    -A

    • Hi there, thank you for your interest, Khaled. If you go to the blog’s main page at http://www.KafkaesqueBlog.com, you should see a big email sign-up square and button at the top of the page on the right. One person told me that it doesn’t show up on their iPad, so perhaps that is the same problem you are experiencing? You should find it if you use a desktop or laptop, though. Once you sign up your email, you should get a confirmation post that you will need to click on, because the site wants to make sure you actually wanted to get my posts and doesn’t want to spam anyone. lol. 🙂 I hope that helps.

Comments are closed.