June 23, 2016 at 11:14 am

@swalia and @bestwriter I am also seeing it twice.

June 22, 2016 at 11:10 pm

@bestwriter I don’t doubt at all that images are an issue IF they are slowing down page loading. But Google is benchmarking page loads on high-speed networks in urban areas of the US, not on slower networks that can be found many places in North America and around the globe.

Also, you might want to look into the value that images add to your content. Images are THE big thing on the internet right now, even in Tweets. Infographics are huge. Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content with no images or images that don’t relate to the content.

Saying that people are looking for information that is not dependent on images is simply false. Images are the new information for many web readers.

June 22, 2016 at 10:05 pm

I agree with @scheng1 on this: deleted posts are likely to be a system error and should be reported via the contact form.The long delays we’ve experienced this week are another matter.

The long delays we’ve experienced this week are another matter. The site staff need to recognize that users are losing faith in LiteracyBase because support staff remain silent when we ask why nothing publishes at all on the site for days at a time.

The lack of transparency has killed other sites. I would hate to see it go this way for LB, but the only ones who can do anything about that are the staff.

June 22, 2016 at 4:08 pm

@bestwriter The number of images on a page used to be a big deal, but now that everything is much faster I think it’s less of a concern for SEO unless the site is already slow to load. Just a guess, of course, but I think search engines prefer pages with more images – if the alt tags and such are properly used.

June 22, 2016 at 2:59 pm

@bestwriter You’d be surprised at how quiet I actually was in school! I am not much of a talker at all – unless I’m debating, giving a speech, teaching, etc. I write a lot, but it’s a very silent endeavour.

June 22, 2016 at 2:08 pm

Oh, the poor dear! It sounds like your mother needs a stool softener like docusate (sold as Colace or  Dulcolax.) A stool softener is much milder than a laxative and, as long as she gets enough water when she takes it, the medicine will soften the hard stool so she won’t experience any more tearing. It’s slower-acting than a laxative, but should take effect in 1-3 days.

Speak to your mother’s doctor or pharmacist about using a stool softener as needed – or whether she might need it on a regular basis. Some stroke patients who aren’t getting enough fiber and exercise do take docusate daily. If you can increase her fiber intake and ensure she’s getting plenty of water, this might not be necessary. But do ask. Constipation is a common problem with people who have had strokes, and sometimes they become impacted – not a fun condition!

When I worked in chronic care, we handed out a lot of prune juice and fruit puree made from prunes mixed with raisins and dates. That helped some of our patients. A hard stool wants soluble fiber and plenty of water. This page has a list of foods that might help in futre:

http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Fibre/Food-Sources-of-Fibre.aspx

June 22, 2016 at 1:56 pm

I agree that it’s well past time for someone from the staff to say something to reassure the users. LiteracyBase was just starting to gain a lot of new users because we all spoke about our payments on the 10th. I’ve even had a request from a high profile blogging website to write a guest post about LB now that it’s gaining some popularity.

But who will want to support a website where the staff remain mute as posts are left in the queue for days at a time? Many of us are also concerned about the lack of ads on the site, and want to know that the owners have a plan to begin earning revenues from our content soon.

Nobody wants to invest in a site that may not survive a few monthly pay cycles. As we enter the home stretch and come close to the next cashout period, it’s very important that the users feel LB is worth investing in. Otherwise, many will likely stop writing as soon as they reach $10 and will wait until the next pay on the 10th for proof that the site is still solvent. It’s already happened with some last month!

June 22, 2016 at 12:58 pm

@bestwriter I’m still just learning a lot of it, but I do find it all very interesting 🙂

@peachpurple I think I earned about 20 cents so far but I haven’t checked my history to be sure. I’m only about 6-7 categories into it, so far. I stopped for a while earlier to help my daughter with her job search. Now I’m back at it and I want to see how many I can get done before bed.

June 22, 2016 at 12:55 pm

@shavkat I’m not sure who qualifies as a “modern girl,” but I think you’ll find that women of all ages have more on their minds than fashion. If most of the women you’ve met so far love the trends that much, I’d advise you to try meeting women in some new places – perhaps at a lecture or a museum!

June 22, 2016 at 9:03 am

@bestwriter I certainly hope so, Grace! But I hope it will also help the site to be getting some fresh comments even on older posts. It will look to Google like there is new content, and may help to counteract any ill effects from there being no new posts here in days.

June 22, 2016 at 9:02 am

@bestwriter I thought someone should speak up. We women aren’t just pretty flowers to be adorned in clothes that flatter our figures and patted on the hand. We can have an interest in arts and academics, in science and technology, in sports, in politics or business, in the law and social justice. I have met very few shallow women in my lifetime so far. And in every case, they were very young girls in their late teens or early 20s. Once those girls had some life experience, I’ll bet they developed a little added depth.

June 22, 2016 at 8:51 am

@grecy095 I suspect there may be a technical glitch responsible for the disappearing posts. I know others have had content that was not accepted. It stays in your dashboard and gets labelled, “Offline.” So it’s not normal for posts to just disappear if not accepted. Plus, nothing new has published in days.

Maybe there is a problem with the programming for publishing posts. If so, @support should let us know.

June 22, 2016 at 8:34 am

Since no posts have been published in about two days, I am not going to submit anything new until I see that the backlog is clearing up. I decided that forum interaction is not enough right now. So I’m trying to go for the comment challenge.

I’m just getting started on the first few categories. I don’t know how long it will take. I guess we shall see!

June 22, 2016 at 8:13 am

@shavkat Why would you think most women will be interested in fashion?

I think if I were to make a trip to Milan what other women were wearing would be about the last thing I’d care about. I would want to see DaVinci’s painting of The Last Supper, to wander around the churches and museums to see the incredible art and architecture, and to explore the subway. I would want to find local markets to shop in, to listen to music and to just hear people speak Italian or Lombard. And of course, I would want to take time to sample the Milanese cuisine.

Would I want to hit the shopping district, to attend a fashion show, or to fuss over what clothes to wear while on my visit? Not in the slightest! Like Grace, I’d rather wear clothes that feel comfortable – or clothes that have a practical purpose – than to follow the fashion trends. I’ve known a lot of women over the years, and I can only think of a small handful who care a fig about the latest fashions.

June 22, 2016 at 3:28 am

I have two that are waiting, and it’s getting really long on the first one – I think over 48 hours now. But no, I’ve never had one disappear.

@support and @admin need to do more than just say things are slow because of maintenance. If posts are going to sit in the queue for days at a time, and even go missing, they are going to lose members before the site has a chance to establish itself.

We need to hear what is causing the hold-up, and when to expect posts to start publishing again. And if people are missing content, that issue needs to be addressed promptly. Who wants to work on a post and then have it disappear?