Moving Day for the In Box

Due to changes in the way the “Blogger” software we use to create the In Box (and our other blogs) operates, NCPR is in the process of changing all its blogs over to WordPress. We have until May 1 to complete the process and it will make some changes in where you find the In Box, and how you interact with it as a commenter.

The first step will be to move the blog from where it lives now, inside the NCPR domain at:
http://northcountrypublicradio.org/blogs/ballotbox/blogger.php
to a location outside our site at Blogger: blogspot.com. I will begin that process later in the day. You should notice no changes in the way the blog operates during this step–with a few exceptions: NCPR news headlines will not be available in the side bar, and visiting old posts or the old blog home page will automatically forward you to the new blog address.

The In Box will live at that address only for a few days, probably until Monday. So I don’t recommend changing your bookmarks to point to the blogspot address, or if you are an RSS feed subscriber, subscribing to the feed at the blogspot address. The new permanent home for the In Box will contain all the old posts and comments. The final In Box location will be:
https://blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org/inbox/
and the RSS feed address will be
https://blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org/inbox/feed/

During the interim, I will be importing the more than 1000 posts and tens of thousands of comments into the new WordPress location (and fixing the problems that arise with such a task). You can preview the new home for the In Box at the address above. I have put a few test posts there.

When the new WordPress home is ready, I will leave a referral link behind at the blogspot location, directing all visitors to the new WordPress location. From that point on, no new posts will be made at the original address, or the blogspot address, and I will turn off commenting at those locations.

Commenting will work slightly differently at the WordPress location. You will notice that the first comment you make on a post at the new WordPress blog location will not go live immediately, but will go into a moderation queue. Once one of your comments has been approved, all subsequent comments by you will go live when you post them. This is part of the set-up process in the new software.

You will still be able to post using the name “anonymous,” or any other name that you choose. However, the comment form also requires (in addition to a name) an email address (that will never be visible to the public). This is baked into the software, and allows WordPress to distinguish, for example, an anonymous commenter who has been approved before (and therefore gets published without a delay) from a new anonymous commenter, whose first comment goes into the moderation queue before being made visible to the public. You may have guessed that it is possible to be more anonymous by using a bogus email address for comments. But unless you use the same bogus address each time, your first comment using a new address will go to moderation limbo, instead of live.

But please don’t feel uncomfortable using a real email address, even if you post anonymously. NCPR policy is never to collect, share, lend or sell email addresses with or to any other organization, period. In fact, comment email addresses will not be shared within the NCPR organization, either. So you will not wind up on our fundraising solicitation list just because you make a comment on an In Box blog post.

Thanks for your patience during the move. If you have any questions about the move, or the new blogging platform, comment below, or email me at [email protected].

Dale Hobson
NCPR web manager