Blog Update

The old server that served Bacon’s Rebellion at Hostmonster.com is still out of condition, the victim of a “denial of service” attack. The server hosted multiple websites, so there is no evidence that Bacon’s Rebellion was the target of the attack.

It has been nearly a week now but Hostmonster still has not resolved the issue. One technician told me that he has rarely seen it take so long to fix a problem like this. It should not be long, however. Once I can access all my files, I can work toward restoring the blog’s full content and functionality.

In the meantime, if you miss participating in Bacon’s Rebellion as much as loyal reader (and frequent comment contributor) Allen Barringer, follow his directions on how to gain full access:

Thanks to Jim Bacon’s problems with his blog hosting service, lots of us are having difficulty signing on to Bacon’s Rebellion. If you try to log in in the usual way with your BR user name and password (or if you have set up your computer to log you in to BR automatically) it will fail — you will get an error message that says you have an invalid password, and also that you have tried too many times to login.  Neither is true; this is an error from BR’s former blog hosting service. There is an alternative: look again at that log-in screen and you will see that it says: “Log in with WordPress.com /or/ Login with username and password.” The first alternative, “Log in with WordPress,” will work, as it bypasses the old blog host and goes directly to Jim’s new website; but you must first create a WordPress account. If you do not have a WorkPress account, here is how to create one:

What is WordPress.org? This is a volunteer organization consisting of people who promote and support blogging, and write the ‘open source’ computer program that makes blogs like Bacon’s Rebellion possible. Most blogs use the free WordPress software, and many blog readers sign on through WordPress because that signs them on simultaneously to all the WordPress-based blogs they subscribe to, or “follow.” By creating a WordPress account you incur no obligation to WordPress;  however, you will be able to sign in to any WordPress-based blog (including BR) through your WordPress account, and also, if you have an interest in blogging, you will be able to read and participate in any WordPress discussion forums.

To create a WordPress account, click on this link: https://login.wordpress.org. A login form will appear. At the bottom right, click on “Create an account” and the “Registration” screen will appear. Choose a Username and fill in your email address — you can skip all the other blanks — except, click on the blank next to “I am not a robot”; and then click on “Register.” Now, WordPress.org will send you an email with a temporary password.  Get the temporary password and sign in.   Your account at WordPress.org simultaneously exists at WordPress.com, with the same username and password.

You do not have to keep using the password sent to you; change it to whatever you want (for example, your old password for BR). To change your password: at the top of the WordPress page click on Support, then on your user name at the upper right. Your user profile will appear. Click on “Edit” and scroll down to “Account” where you will find the place to change your password.

If you would like to do so, take this opportunity to add a photo to your WordPress profile using the “Gravatar” plugin — to do this, click here. You will be asked to upload a photo that is on your computer. While adding your photo, you can also choose a Gravatar “nickname” that will appear with your photo and is different than your WordPress “username.” This photo and nickname will appear with your comments on BR (and any other WordPress blog) thereafter.

Now you are done with WordPress. Go to Bacon’s Rebellion and try to “log in” and you will be asked, “Log in with WordPress.com or log in with username and password” — choose “WordPress.com.” To sign in automatically in future, if your computer asks permission to save this username and password, say yes.

One more thing: Deprived of my comment-spam protection on the old serve, the “new” website is under constant comment spamming, which is accomplished by people (or robots) registering with the blog. I periodically clear out the spam names. In the process, I may accidentally delete a real Bacon’s Rebellion reader. I think Acbar’s solution will avoid that problem.

— JAB