WordPress has changed the way in which blogs are created and posted. They added an alternative way of doing it about two years ago, called Block Editor, which I and many others found difficult to use. There was however the ‘old’ system, which WordPress dubbed ‘Classic Editor’, to fall back on and continue using. This I’ve been doing, occasionally dropping into Block Editor to see if the bugs have been ironed out. No doubt WordPress doesn’t regard these as bugs but missing tabs for adding pictures and hyperlinks, and the absence of a Schedule button for setting the publication date sure seem like it to the user. I can never find them in Block Editor (see the screenshot below for how helpful it looks) and while these same features are inclined to relocate themselves in Classic Editor too, at least they’re there somewhere!

Unfortunately, just before Christmas, WordPress switched off Classic Editor, leaving bloggers with no choice but to use the uncooperative Block Editor. Actually, there is a choice: bloggers can now pay extra to have Classic Editor restored. So to continue with a system that’s been in use for the 12 years I’ve been blogging, I would now have to pay an additional premium.

I attempted to use Block Editor when Classic was switched off a few weeks ago. It was as difficult as ever, and somehow led to the comments from an earlier post being moved on to the end of the new one (you may have noticed). I’ve currently got a workaround that allows me to use Classic Editor a little longer (I’ll not spell it out here; no need to alert WordPress and have them close down the loophole that makes the workaround possible) but I’m unsure how long it will last and how to proceed from here.

Do I –

• Keep going so long as the workaround works and then call it a day (While I often feel I’ve said everything I can about Christianity there are other subjects I’d like to tackle.)
• Persevere with Block Editor until I conquer it. It really does feel like a battle each time I try though; I need a system that works with me rather than one that seems determined to throw up obstacles.
• Keep going as best I can till my annual subscription to WordPress is due in July and see then how things are working out. If they’re no better, I won’t renew. I could look for another provider and migrate everything to that, but honestly I don’t know if it’s worth doing.

Dennis and I have a saying whenever a system is changed for the worse, from supermarket checkouts, to banking apps and ‘improved’ media: ‘It’s What the Customer Wants’. This phrase is often bandied about by companies when they make changes that suit them, to save them money or whatever, but are really of no benefit to the consumer, the schmuck who is paying but is never consulted.

So, what would you recommend I do?

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• A Voice in the Wilderness (rejectingjesus.wordpress.com)