Bug Bulletin:
Internet Explorer users will notice that, in story creation mode, that little bar atop the story box is gone... This is a temporary fix to a bug that the developers are working feverishly to squash.

Done! A big thank-you to nk and pgaliba for sorting it all out, and to all who reported it.

For those who noticed that "reporting from" is missing... do not adjust your set. We're doing a database update, so location information is currently invisible, but not lost or destroyed. You are not going to end up as The Contributor from Nowhere. The update should be done within 48 hours.

This past week's bugfixes include:

Repairing the comma-separated searcing logic for the Youtube search tool!

A test category, so that Jordan's tests don't clog up subscribers' inboxes!

More security for signup emails!

(The above sounds better if read aloud with the voice of the guy who lists the prizes on game shows) 

Gremlins have attacked the Internet! Some malicious code is making its way around the Web, attempting to execute actin scripts via ads. It's affecting hundreds of sites, including MSN and... us. Our developers and product managers are working on it as we speak- in the meantime, should anything weird happen when you access a NowPublic page, let me know right away, along with the URL of the page you were visiting.

Gremlins have attacked the Internet! Some malicious code is making its way around the Web, attempting to execute actin scripts via ads. It's affecting hundreds of sites, including MSN and... us. Our developers and product managers are working on it as we speak- in the meantime, should anything weird happen when you access a NowPublic page, let me know right away, along with the URL of the page you were visiting.

UPDATE: Found and fixed.

Evidently some as-yet-unknown malefactor busted into one of the ads.NowPublic itself has not been compromised by this, and the ad has been removed until the ad-server can fix/secure it.

Hello Jordan,

For what it's worth, some time ago a hacker got into Blogger and hijacked many blogger's sites, even adding posts!  That might also be something to be on the look-out for here.
   ~ Swan

Good morning everyone!

I just uploaded a story with photographs and put it in the SPORTS channel - however, it's now appearing in the HEALTH channel - and should be returned to sports.  The article is about Gebre Selassie wanting to withdraw from the Olympic marathon.

If someone could change it please?  I've tried twice!  Thanks in advance,
       ~ Swan

I would enjoy the site more if I wasn't constantly having to page down.  When I'm trying to read an article, I can only get a sentence read when the page reloads back to the top.  I'd appreciate it if you guys could fix that problem.

Thanks, JACK

Hello all,

I give up, I've just spent three hours on a story using the Highlight tool, only to lose it again as I was uploading -
everything - all my research - gone.

I could cry just from frustration as this is not the first time it's happened to me.  Once you think you've perfected a story, it's impossible to
get that same enthusiasm back again - so I honestly believe that there
are several really great stories that have found themselves in the
ether instead of Now Public.

On top of that, I was reporting it
here and as I hit enter, I lost that too - and told that I didn't have
any authority to add a comment!

I won't be using the Highlight tool again until someone tells us it consistently works well.  If there is still developmental work going on with the tool, could we please have added:

1. A spellchecker;
2. Ability to refresh keywords when the article is finished. (Refresh doesn't work.)
3. Ability to upload images to our blogs at the same time we're uploading to NP;

See you all tomorrow, no story from me today,

     ~ Swan

Sigh. Last night, maybe around 3:30 ish, I tried 5, FIVE, times to upload a highlight and a great deal of original commentary. Every time I got a note saying that they were having trouble publishing, and if I got this message again, to tell them.

I finally just gave up, too.

One whole block on my front page is missing--just a white box. 

Pep, I feel your pain and I am taking a vicoden.  Try writing a large article. 

Swan, I ahve asked for a spell check many times, The Lord and all of NP knows I need it.  Remember I am the Journalist that travels with a proof reader

Bug check-in:Those missing white blocks are misdirected ads, whose owners have created with faulty code... they used to slow down pageloads something fierce, but the devs readjusted the load order... if you feel like waiting for (I kid you not) two minutes, the ads in question will actually load, but most of us don't spend that long on a given page. 
Other fixes this week: some errors with signup were fixed, as well as the rendering of the Super Tracker.
My favorite fix, though, was the retooling of our email system. Aside from my not getting so much spam, there are benefits for us all: that's right, reliable story creation via email! You can compose a story in your email client (or gmail, hotmail, etc) and send it to news@nowpublic.com. Make sure to use an email address that's linked to your profile (you can store up to three at a time); once sent, the story will appear within moments here on NowPublic, filed under your username. Stories via email default to the World category, and cannot store tags; the subject line of the email becomes the headline, and the body of the email becomes the story-- perfect for sending in eyewitness reports... Should you ever get the slow-Firefox Blues, you can even add the Highlight blockquote commands if you're feeling frisky!

I attempted to add/edit "my blogs" in Safari, and this came up:

The connection was interrupted

The connection to www.nowpublic.com was interrupted while the page was loading.

     *   The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
          moments.

    *   If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
          connection.

    *   If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
          that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

Sounds nasty... which version of Safari/ 'Fox? Have you been able to get it to work since?

I just tried again, but no luck.  I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.12. 

I also attempted to using Safari 3.0.4, but all that came up was a blank box - nothing else.

I just want to remove the blogs I have registered, as I no longer post to them.  Could you do this for me? 

I see that I am not alone in the NowPublic world..Look at my heroic fight with the highlight tool (today and yesterday):

March 27, 2008    A FORMATTING REMARK.
Uploading the article from my blog with the highligh tool,  preserve the formatting in the NowPublic editor, but in the 'publish phase' the formatting is lost and all the paragraphs clump together in an unreadable mess!! See for yourself..

In the preview mode the formatting is correct, as the reader should view it, but after publishing it is again a mess...

March 28, 2008     After removing the post from NowPublic and trying again to upload with the highlight tool without success, I had no choice but to editing directly with the NowPublic editor where there is no possibility to include pictures in the text...so what is going wrong with the highlight tool?

Being a graphic artist, it is frustrating that I cannot enhance the text with pictures because the highlight tool is not working.

Indeed a heroic effort; thanks for reporting this. Format errors, like the many-headed hydra, can be fearsome indeed! We actually found more than one "issue" that we're looking at, and hope to fix very soon.